Quests

There was a silence. Nevan just looked completely blank at the ID card and then up at his friend. Dax was really confused, it seemed and of course, Nevan understood. He took the ID card and inspected it. Nevan Kimura, born on 22nd of November. All of his personal informations were the same ones as before. Expect for his last name. From Nevan Ayers to Nevan Kimura.

"Did I not tell you? I was disowned." The way Nevan said it, it sounded like anything but a lie. As soon as he saw Dax's eyes turn wide, resembling the plates in front of them, he let out a small laugh. "Just kidding." Then a pause. "Mom gave it to me. Dad said, I wasn't allowed to use his surname, so mom lend me hers."

"Don't scare me like this!" Dax seemed to relax a bit. Nevan probably shouldn't have played such a prank but he couldn't help using even such situations.

The breakfast continued. Nevan told Dax about how he had coincidentally met Keisuke in the park and how they ended up going to Athlete Zone and had a match there.

"I wish I was there." Dax commented. Since he had moved away from his parent's house and started working, he often only met up with his other friends on weekends when he was free.

Nevan kept glancing at that annoying blue screen. It was disturbing him at this moment and he barely contained himself from asking his friend whether he could see it or not. It was a rather dumb question since if Dax could see it, the blunt guy he was, he would have already questioned it.

Despite this thing being annoying, Nevan couldn't help but feel curious about it. That was why when his friend had left the apartment to go grocery shopping, Nevan had let out a sigh. Now he could explore this 'AllStars System' in peace without making a fool out of himself.

The screen was still the same as he had left it after his failed attempt of saying 'start'.

[System has been updated. To navigate through the system, call out 'Start'.]

The darkblue-haired guy took a deep breath before finally mustering enough courage to speak. "Start."

Nothing seemed to happen at first. But then another display appeared. One more, then another. There were several displays disturbing his line of vision. Every sound seemed to suddenly nullified, leaving a 'beep' sound ringing in his ears uncomfortably.

Before Nevan could comprehend any of it, they started disappearing again and only one remained. On his right side, floating just half a meter above him and a distance of 40 centimeter between them. The lines disappeared, making room for the next words.

No, not words. The next display. There was an opening desktop, if you will. A person that probably represented Nevan, a few options, he could choose from and his.. level? He was Level 1. Of course. Was this some sort of game? Nevan had never really been into videogaming. Okay, more like his parents had deemed it a waste of time and made sure, Nevan never got into it. He took a look at the options.

[Host's information] [Attributes and Skills] [Career] [Quests] [Shop]

How was he supposed to select the options? By touching? He reached out, in order to touch it but his hand went right through it. Just when Nevan was about to think of another way to operate it, his eyes darted to the display when new words appeared.

[To operate the system, use voice interaction.]

Was this system somehow watching Nevan? This was a bit scary, actually. He let out a small sigh and then went on following the instruction that was given just now.

"Host's information." Nevan spoke out, waiting for something to happen. And, there was an action: the display changed to something that was different from the first one.

---------------------------------------------------

[Name] Nevan Ayers

[Level] 1

[Exp] 14/100

[Status] Newbie

[Career] Soccer

---------------------------------------------------

Nevan looked at the informations. So, this was like a video game, after all? It seemed this way when he saw the experience points. So, he would have to level up. By completing quests? That was how almost every game worked.

"One question, can I change my name?" It felt quite weird, talking to some empty space. There was nobody, he could look at. He was simply staring at the blue screen.

[Changing one's name will alter the reality. Are you sure, you want to use this application?]

Alter the reality? What did it mean? A change in this system will become the new reality? He tilted his head.

"Yes, change my name to 'Nevan Kimura'" He leaned back against the couch, hearing intos painful sound. It was quickly ignored.

[Request confirmed. Changing '[Name]' to 'Nevan Kimura'.]

That was it? Pretty easy. He quickly checked and truly, the name had been changed. But did it have any effect on the reality like the system had just informed him? This could only be found out later.

"Attributes and－" Something appeared at the display which interrupted Nevan. A quest? He looked a bit confused and it only intensified as he read through the task.

---------------------------------------------------

[Career]

Task - 1

[Call Keisuke.]

[Status] Active

[Deadline] 10 minutes

[Reward]

30 [Exp-Points] 1 [Attribute-Point]

---------------------------------------------------

Now, that was just weird. Why was he supposed to call Keisuke? He would be lying if he said, he was just curious. Nevan ended up grabbing for his phone and calling Keisuke.

"Yeah?" That was how Keisuke picked up the call. Nevan's mind was completely blank. The system had told him to call his friend and ultimately, he had just thought, it was more like a future predicament where the system knew, Keisuke wanted to talk.

His mouth opened as he tried to form some words that didn't make any appearance to the reality yet. Suddenly a thought came to his mind. Right, soccer career, was it? He had promised to talk to Keisuke when he had thought through it.

"Hey, man. You said, you could help me with my soccer career? You are already ahead, aren't you? Can you guide me?" It was more of a spontaneous talk instead of something he had thought through.

There was a shrill laugh at the other side of the line. "I thought, you would take longer than this." Keisuke commented. Nevan already imagined how the red-haired guy would have patted his shoulder if they were next to each other.

"Well..." Nevan trailed off, his eyes scanning Dax's living room. His heart ached as he just imagined his more spacious place. "I do want to go home."

Another laugh. How could Keisuke be in such a good mood? It was a mystery to Nevan. Whether it be a rainy day or a monday at school where the first lesson was maths, Keisuke was always in a cheerful mood. "Yeah, sure. Dax actually contacted me too. Why don't we three meet up today? At the park? Dax is free today, so it is very convenient."

Dax? He didn't tell Nevan anything about this. Why? He knew Dax mostly kept to himself but to think, he would pursue a career in soccer too was very odd, considering he never mentioned any obvious interest in the sport. "Yes. At 3? What do you say?"

"Sure, you will see Dax anyways. Tell him yourself. I have to run!" Keisuke's voice was still annoyingly cheerful. At the end of his sentence, he sounded in a rush. Then the call was ended by Nevan.

Then, all he could do was to wait for Dax now? What else did he have to do, anyways? But it did annoy Nevan to an extent that Dax hadn't said anything about a potential career as a soccer athlete or even suggested it when Nevan was in desperate need for an ambition.

---------------------------------------------------

[Career]

Task - 1

Completed.

Rewards earned.

~ 30 [Exp-Points]

~ 1 [Attribute-Point]

---------------------------------------------------

His eyes scanned over the words that appeared. Honestly? He didn't even know how to navigate through the system. Maybe, he will get a hang of it with time or he could ask for a walkthrough.

He hadn't even finished his thoughts yet when his attention was occupied by the system once again.

[! Daily Tasks are availiable.]

"Show daily tasks." Nevan commanded. Voice interaction, right?

---------------------------------------------------

Daily Tasks (0/3)

- Jog for [40] minutes. [0/40]

- Do [45] push-ups. [0/45]

- Do [45] sit-ups. [0/45]

[Reward] +3 Attribute-Points

[Penalty for not completing the tasks] Hidden - Will be revealed if Host fails to complete the tasks.

---------------------------------------------------

What was this? A workout routine? Oh, he could get used to it. And what if he didn't complete it? A penalty? What could it be? Definitely nothing too bad, right? He didn't truly believe, it could be that bad.

These tasks were in range, actually. He could do this if he were to follow his usual workout routine.

The holidays had been boring, considering his family had made no effort on vacation this time. Before he had been kicked out, he had had a lot of time to use his time like this. There had been nothing useful to do which had made him determined to put some effort into maintaining his physiques.

Maybe, he would get to work then. Nevan was certain of one thing: he didn't want to deal with penalty just yet.

He looked into his suitcase to find suitable clothes for this. After a quick look, he determined, he would have to buy new clothes. For now, he would be using a tanktop and his sweatpants. A gaze outside told him what he absolutely didn't want to do. Jogging. And yet, his task was to do exactly that for half an hour.