A 'New' Day

Aisam was waking up, squinting at the bright sun shining on his face.

"Another day, still alive in this world," he mumbled casually, lying in bed, reflecting on his life, the previous day, and his strange circumstances.

"*Sigh... It's boring. I wouldn't mind if yesterday was my last."

Aisam lay still on the bed, lost in his thoughts of misery and confusion. After about half an hour, he decided to get up. He went to the bathroom, took a quick bath, and felt a little better. Looking in the mirror, he realized he had no scars on his back. He thought it might be due to the 'The Revenant' achievement. He changed into a fresh set of clothes from his cupboard and returned to sit on the bed.

"I need to check my system first and complete the daily quests," he said. Instantly, the system screen appeared in front of him.

[Name: Aisam/Erebus]

[Age: 40/12]

[Race: Human]

[World: Earth/Elysiuma]

[Quests🔺]

[Stats🔻

variable stats 📍

Strength: 2.5/20

Dexterity: 1.8/20

Constitution: 2/20

Vitality: 2.4/20

Mana: 1.3/20

current optional stat points: 0.9

Inherent stats 📍

Intelligence: 16.8

Charisma: 12.6

Luck: 4]

[Achievements: (???) 🔒]

[Skills: Childcare (Passive-Intermediate), Acting (Passive-Intermediate), (???) 🔒]

[???🔒]

[Hint to unlock your exclusive system: FEAR]

"Everything is the same, except for the fact that my achievement has been removed. I've also noticed a slight improvement in three of my stats, and I have 0.9 optional stat points. On top of that, there's a hint to unlock a better system," he thought to himself as he examined his status screen. After a moment of reflection, he quickly decided to invest in a particular stat.

"Aha, 'Constitution' is what I need the most right now to tackle the daily quests and grow stronger. As for the other stats, I'll rely on my luck to improve them over time, even if it's a random process, it will eventually its pity like those gacha games, right?" Aisam thought to himself before promptly allocating all his points to the 'Constitution' stat.

*Ding

[You've put all your optional stat points to Constitution]

[Constitution increased from 2 to 2.9]

After doing such a thing, he could slightly feel a ripple of energy spreading all over his body and his body tissues changing a bit which caused a little pain accompanied by minor contraction of his muscles but nothing he was not used to.

After doing that, he felt a wave of energy moving through his body and his muscles shifting slightly, which caused some discomfort and muscle tightening that he was familiar with.

"Alright, that's done. It must be noon now, time to complete my daily tasks quickly. I'll ponder that clue later... I can't be lazy," Aisam thought as he promptly dropped to the floor for push-ups, unbuttoned his shirt, and placed it by his bed.

...

*Ding

[You've completed the daily quest: do 100 push-ups.]

[Dexterity increased from 1.8 to 2.1]

*Ding

[You've completed the daily quest: do 100 set-ups.]

[Mana increased from 1.3 to 1.6]

...

After finishing his second daily quest in 1.5 hours, he took a 30-minute break and then put on his shirt. He wanted to go for a run outside but remembered a past incident, so he decided to run around the yard instead. Feeling a bit disappointed, he went downstairs and found Rayna sleeping on the dining table.

Dark bags and dark circles in her eyes had become more visible, hints of crying had made her eyes swell, and disheveled hair expressed the depth of her lamentation.

"I kinda feel bad for her, what could have gone through her mind that made her mourn this much... it's none of my business as far as I know, but I will ask her a bit as Erebus after I've asked some of my questions from her when she wakes up... If I can," Aisam Contemplated and quietly left the inside of the house to the yard to complete his last daily quest.

...

*Ding

[You've completed the daily quest: run 10 km.]

[Strength increased from 2.5 to 2.8]

*Ding

[You've completed all the daily quests]

[Reward received: 0.9 optional stat point]

"*sigh... it's finally done for today," he said to himself disinterestedly, lay in the yard, and closed his eyes to take a short rest.

...

After resting for an hour, he stood up to continue his plans. He noticed it was getting dark as night approached.

"I'm so hungry!" Aisam said after hearing a familiar voice next to him.

"Why didn't you wake me up? Why are you sleeping in the yard all cold and sweaty after recovering from a life-threatening situation?" It was Rayna, looking serious with her hair neatly styled and subtle makeup, sitting beside him.

"Perfect timing! Now I can ask her my questions and clear up my confusion a bit," Aisam thought, considering what to ask and how to respond to her questions.

"Shall we head inside first and talk? I have some questions for you as well," Erebus said calmly, looking directly at her and waiting for her response.

"Okay, let's go in. But you should eat something first. You haven't had anything since last night. Wait in the dining room while I prepare something for you," Rayna said calmly, then turned away and headed straight to the kitchen.

Aisam noticed that Rayna was acting very differently from yesterday when she was panicking. Even the girl he thought was annoying became friendly when she found out he was alive.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Aisam went straight to the dining room and sat at the table, waiting calmly for his food.

"..."

"While I wait, I might as well think of questions to ask her," Aisam said to himself, realizing the food would take a while.

"I can't ask questions that sound too suspicious, considering Erebus probably has been with her for over a decade," he thought.

"I can't ask about the world's history or Erebus's past for now. I need to come up with different questions," he pondered.

Aisam struggled to think of questions that were convincing but not suspicious as he continued to contemplate.

"It has been a while since I felt this uncertain. I might just try my luck and hope for the best, but that's risky. Trust is delicate, especially when there's a lot at stake. I can't afford to take chances in this unfamiliar situation. It's like solving a puzzle with too many missing pieces. I need to be cautious, even though the uncertainty is daunting."

Aisam spent another 10-15 minutes trying to come up with questions, thinking deeply and obsessively.

"Alright, got it! I'll take it slow, and turn it into a casual chat to extract info without raising suspicion. If needed, I can blame a fuzzy memory from yesterday or make up something else. The worst outcome might just be a rejection."

He figured out his questions, saw Rayna almost finished with food, and opted to wait calmly, distracting himself with less pressing matters.

After waiting for 30 minutes, she prepared three delicious plates of food for him. He ate all of them gratefully and thanked her.

"Shall we begin now?" Erebus calmly asked Rayna. After a few seconds of silence, she replied, "Let's start in my office at the back, where we can talk."

"Sure, sounds good. It looks like we have a lot to discuss," Erebus said casually. Without a word, Rayna led the way to her office.