READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 9: This System Is A Scam
The next day, Emmy was woken up by several dings resounding in his head. As he opened his eyes, the system screen flashed across his sight.
"Ah, what is it now? Don't tell me the system has an alarm to wake me up,"
He muttered in a half-frustrated tone as he opened the system to see what the message was.
[The time for the daily quest has been reset.]
[Host has failed the previous day's quest.]
[Penalty: -5 Speed points, -2 Agility points.]
[It is advisable for the host not to practice the act of laziness. The consequences of laziness are more terrifying than death.]
"Hell no! What the hell?"
Emmy shouted, throwing the duvet off his body as he quickly sat upright, waking his brother up in the process.
"Can you let me sleep in peace?"
Sunny said in a frustrated tone, turning around and using the duvet to cover his entire body.
"How...how did this happen? I didn't even know there was a penalty. This system is cheating!"
Emmy said, staring at the penalty he had received for not completing the quest. Losing 5 speed points and 2 agility points was a lot. He had thought completing the quest every day wasn't compulsory—that he could do it whenever he wanted. But now he understood what they meant by "daily quest."
He must not slack off for even a single day.
Not completing the quest yesterday wasn't intentional. He was eager to do what the system had tasked him with. However, the day had been entirely consumed—not only by running errands, including buying the fake wristwatch at the store—but also by his lack of awareness that there would be penalties for skipping the quest.
"Now, this is frustrating. It should've at least mentioned the penalty. This system is a scam!"
The word "system" seemed to trigger his brother, who quickly threw the duvet off and got up.
"What happened? Was the system stolen?"
Sunny asked, staring at him with concern.
Emmy turned his head, looked at his brother with a sad face, and said, "You won't believe it. There was a penalty for not completing the daily quest, and the damn system didn't bother to mention it to me, like it doesn't matter. And now, I've lost 5 speed points and 2 agility points." He buried his face between his knees.
"A whole five speed points? Ah, that's a lot. Then you should get up and go complete today's quest—don't linger on it,"
Sunny said.
Emmy raised his head, as well as an eyebrow.
"Early...early this morning?"
"Yes, of course. Early morning is the best time for exercise. Don't worry. I'll prepare breakfast and get the talisman from the old man. He should be done by now."
Sunny said, getting up and dragging his brother along.
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Several minutes later, Emmy could be seen jogging around the highway cones, beads of sweat rolling down his face. He wore a black, simple, tight body-hugging shirt paired with shorts. The shirt was completely soaked with his sweat, thick drops dripping off it.
He had been jogging around the highway cones for a while now. This was his fourth lap, and he needed to complete ten laps to cover a couple of hundred kilometers. There were other people jogging around the cones too, most of them training to lose weight. Emmy, however, was the only one who didn't look like someone exercising for weight loss—while others were visibly overweight, he was quite skinny.
He continued jogging non-stop, his legs buckling under fatigue. It seemed like he might fall at any moment, but he kept moving forward without stopping. He had already completed the two-hundred-meter sprint. After this lap, he would have just one quest left to complete—the hardest one.
Thinking about it, Emmy pushed himself even harder, finishing the final lap. Then he collapsed to the side after successfully jogging 200 kilometers straight.
"Ah, this is exhausting,"
He muttered under his breath, staring blankly at the blue sky, coming to life in the early morning.
"Hey kid, did you forget this is a highway? Get up and leave if you're tired,"
An older man said, bringing Emmy back to reality. Realizing he was still on the highway and not some training pitch, Emmy quickly got up and found a secluded area to rest.
He decided to check the system for his progress.
[Quest: Run a couple hundred meters sprint.]
[Completed.]
[Quest: Jog 200 kilometers.]
[Completed.]
[Quest: Run back and forth between 10–20 yards, changing direction quickly for 10 minutes.]
[Uncompleted.]
[Rewards will be granted when all quests are completed.]
"Well, not too bad. I just need to find somewhere safe to complete the last quest. But first, I need to refuel myself,"
Emmy said, tapping his tummy a few times before heading home.
At home, he was greeted by the sweet aroma of well-prepared chicken stew and rice. His brother had already finished cooking.
"Hey, you're back. I was just about to head to the old man on the mountain,"
Sunny said as he saw his brother walk into the room. Emmy didn't respond; he just nodded, took a shower, and joined Sunny for breakfast.
"So you've only completed two quests?"
His brother asked as they ate and chatted.
Emmy nodded, swallowing the last bite of rice.
"I'm still thinking of the best place to complete the last quest. It requires me to set up cones 10–20 yards apart and run between them for 10 minutes, which means I'll need a pitch with enough space and convenience."
"You can use the school field. It'll be pretty dry now since we're still on holiday. Plus, you know where the equipment is kept,"
Sunny suggested. They considered the idea. The only problem was getting into the school, as everything would be locked and they needed the correct combination code. But with Sunny's ability, the problem was quickly solved, and they got into the school field with relative ease.
"Now to think your ability is this useful and incredible,"
Emmy said, running around the field with a large smile on his face. Since summer break began, Emmy hadn't had the chance to play football or even step onto a field. He couldn't deny that he had missed the school—especially his class and the football pitch.
Although students who hadn't undergone the awakening ceremony could train once a week, Emmy cherished those moments deeply. Apart from the time spent with his brother, his most treasured memories were on the school field. He couldn't describe the joy of playing there. Now, being back to train, he felt overjoyed.
"You better set the cones yourself,"
Sunny said, emerging from the shadows and dropping a sack of cones on the field.
Emmy turned and said,
"Now that I think about it, I can ask the coach for permission to train here after school closes."
When it came to favoritism, the school coach had always liked him for his extraordinary talent. Asking for permission didn't seem like a bad idea.
"You can ask him tomorrow when we resume school,"
Sunny said as he walked off the pitch, heading toward a bench under a tent to watch Emmy set up the cones.
Emmy arranged the cones in a U-shape, extending from one goalpost to the center of the field. The width spanned slightly more than a goalpost. He wasn't entirely sure if this setup matched the system's requirements but decided to give it a try.
"I bet you'll last five minutes,"
Sunny commented from the side. Sunny wasn't obsessed with football like his brother—in fact, he'd never played it. He grew up learning how to fight and protect others, unlike Emmy, who had been spoiled from birth.
"Just set the timer and watch me,"
Emmy shouted, standing at the starting point of the cones.
"The timer's already running,"
Sunny said with a smile, standing up for a better view.
"Bastard!"
Emmy shouted but didn't waste a second as he took off running.
He sprinted through the U-shaped cones at full speed, not holding back. He could feel his reduced speed—losing 5 points had a noticeable impact. Reaching the cone's edge in a quarter of a minute, he made a quick turn and started running back.
Running around the cones and returning to the starting point took him half a minute. After three minutes of continuous sprints, Emmy couldn't go on anymore.