Chapter 16

[1st POV]

It was a draw in another training session with Artemis.

We were both completely exhausted.

We focused solely on hand-to-hand combat, which we usually mix with sword fights.

Three weeks have passed, and the storm still hasn't subsided.

The worst part is that no one knows when it will end.

In these three weeks, I've made some progress in learning ancient Greek.

Donna has been helping me with this, and surprisingly, Diana and Artemis have also helped me.

She and Artemis have been "educating" me together, but Diana doesn't come into the library very often due to some other duties.

Currently, I can easily read most of the words, but my Greek writing is terrible.

As for Donna, it turns out she hasn't been here forever.

She made a mistake about a year ago, and the queen herself sent her to work as a librarian here for ten years as punishment.

She was quite bored on her own, but with my arrival, she finally had someone to talk to and even teach...

Over this time, my relationships on Themyscira have also grown:

Residents of Themyscira: 1500 (Friendly)

Artemis: 1900 (Strong interest, respect, friendliness)

Diana: 1600 (Interest, respect)

Hippolyta: 900 (Interest)

Donna: 800 (Interest, friendliness)

Additionally, my stats have increased:

Name: Isaac Dinklage

Health: 495

Health: 130

Experience: 8800/9550

Titles: Hot Fuzz (Novice), Newcomer (Ordinary), Racist, Good Guy, Philosopher

Attributes:

Strength: 55

Agility: 20

Endurance: 45

Intelligence: 37

Intuition: 35

Luck: 18

AP: 70

I am proud of the few levels I gained after sparring with Artemis and my studies that significantly boosted my intelligence.

I've come to realize something important from training with Artemis.

She's much stronger, more experienced, faster, and so on.

I just managed to hold my ground thanks to a combination of luck and her underestimating me.

She stated she'd "grown rusty" from a peaceful life. 

She didn't take me seriously initially, and my Berserker mode definitely played a significant role in the evening of the odds.

Skills:

Stealth - Level 3

Darts Mastery - Level 7

Shooting - Level 6

Hand-to-Hand Combat - Level 17

Regeneration - Level 3

Berserker Mode - Level 1

Cooking - Level 12

Guitar - Level 13

Problem Solving - Level 17

Persuasion - Level 7

Casanova - Level 13

Chuck Norris Kick - Level 10

Melee Weapon Mastery - Level 8

Troll - Level 6

Accuracy — Level 7

Cheater - Level 2

Talk No Jutsu - Level 16

Carpenter - Level 5

I don't quite understand the ten free attribute points I received as a "gift from the system."

I mean, I'm not against it, but something feels off. I can't shake the feeling that there's more behind it.

[+1 Intuition.]

Well, there's the confirmation.

Artemis and I sat on the steps, waiting for the rain to pass.

Afterward, I figured we'd do a few more sparring rounds before calling it a day.

Artemis leaned back against a column in deep thought.

Since I was bored, I took out the deck of cards I had made and set up a game of solitaire.

I don't have anyone to play cards with because no one here knows what they are.

"What are you doing?"

Artemis asked, glancing over with curiosity.

"I'm playing cards… by myself."

After a few minutes of quiet, Artemis moved closer, watching me intently.

"What?"

I asked.

"Is this game only for one person? Will you teach me?"

"Well, will you teach me?"

"Alright, I'll teach you. With cards, you can play more than just solitaire. There's Blackjack, Spades, Bridge, Poker, and even more…"

I ended up giving her nearly an hour-long lecture on this whole world of card games...

"So, that's the gist of it."

"Let's play, then!"

Artemis' brown eyes sparkled with wild excitement.

"Alright."

I agreed.

"Finally, I'll have someone to play with during free time."

"Ding!"

[New Quest: Player

Description: You have a unique opportunity to defeat the renowned Amazon champion, Artemis, not just in combat but also in a game of luck.

Objective: Win against her ten times to receive a reward.

Progress: 0 out of 10

Reward:

+1000 experience points, increase relationship with the Goddess of Fortune

+1 to Luck.

[Failure or Refusal:

+Title: Loser

-1000 relationship with Artemis]

[Do you want to accept this quest?]

[Yes/No]

Finally, they've given me a decent quest, not just some pointless task...

Did the recent upgrades to the System have actually improved the quality of quests?

"Well, let's get started."

I said, dealing the cards.

We played for over two hours.

At some point, Diana, Donna, and a few Amazons I didn't recognize came over.

Initially, they wanted to drag us away for a walk, but they eventually settled around us, watching this "battle of titans" with keen interest.

I occasionally let Artemis win a round or two so she wouldn't lose interest too quickly and quit.

After all, I needed to finish the quest and definitely didn't want to lose a thousand relationship points with her.

Then I realized that even goddesses can enjoy the thrill of competition.

By the fifteenth round, she lost again.

In the end, I even leveled up. I'd only needed a bit less than a thousand experience points.

My "Cheater" skill increased by two levels, and I gained points in Luck and Intuition.

Artemis got furious and announced she was tired for the day and stomped off, muttering something that no one could understand.

I figured the day's excitement had ended and was about to head to the library to find something new to read.

Just as I was leaving, Diana called out to me.

"Hmm. Can we play too?"

Diana asked.

[New Quest: Player 2.0

Description: You have a unique opportunity to defeat not only the famous champion of the Amazons, Artemis, in a game of luck but also a hundred of her sisters in arms.

Objective: Win against her ten times to receive the reward.

Completed: 1 out of 100 Reward:

Reward:

+5000 experience, increase relationship with the Goddess of Fortune.

+5 Luck

[Failure or Refusal:

+Title: Loser

-10,000 relationship with all residents of Themyscira]

[Do you want to accept this quest?]

[Yes/No]

I was taken aback and stared at the quest notification.

A hundred Amazons?

This would definitely be a challenge, but the rewards were tempting.

Moreover, the penalties were severe, especially losing relationship points with every single resident of Themyscira.

'Well.'

I thought to myself, 'it looks like I can't back down now.'

"Yes."

I said aloud, accepting the quest.

"Let's do this!"

To be continued...