Chapter 24 : The system reward
Quota 0/391 - 27 days left to start the quota
They had just left the restaurant. While Victor was still thinking about the new debt he had just incurred, a car approached the group. It wasn't Olivia's car, which was still waiting for them nearby, but a white Fiat Panda. In the front sat a man in his fifties with a massive beard. Once he reached them, he turned off the engine before getting out of the car.
"How's it going, kids?" he asked them.
He had gotten close enough for Victor to notice the bulging muscles protruding from his t-shirt.
"Did you have a good day?"
He rested his elbow on Shirley's shoulder, trying to seem cooler. No one responded, expecting a violent reaction from Shirley. But she did nothing, simply lowering her head.
"Lost your tongues, kids? That's okay! You can just point out which one of you is her boyfriend."
"Stop it, Dad!"
Victor couldn't see Shirley's face, but it must have been a mix of red with embarrassment and green with anger.
'Red and green must make some kind of brownish tint...' Victor thought, lost in his thoughts.
"What's the problem, sweetie? Is your old man ruining the vibe?"
"Yes!"
The answer was a bit too abrupt, leaving the man no chance.
He took his elbow off his daughter's shoulder, sensing the awkwardness in the air.
"I'm sorry, Shishi, if I embarrassed you in front of your friends."
He apologized with genuine sincerity, but Shirley's face only grew more closed off.
"Shishi is a cute nickname..." Olivia thought out loud.
Shirley shot her a dark look before turning back to her father.
"Since when are you back in the United States?"
The man glanced at his watch before answering her.
"I landed at JFK Airport at 10:31 p.m., so I've been back in New York for exactly 46 minutes."
"And you decided to come see me right after getting off the plane."
"Of course!"
"Why didn't you wait until tomorrow morning?"
Shirley's father seemed puzzled.
"Tomorrow morning I wouldn't be able to see your friends to thank them."
He turned towards Victor and the rest of the group and bowed.
"Thank you for taking care of my daughter during the three days of the quota."
They felt a bit awkward, seeing Shirley's father bow before them to thank them, especially when Shirley rolled her eyes behind his back.
"Listening to you, it sounds like I was a burden to them for three days."
She grabbed her father by the ear and dragged him toward the car. The man could have probably resisted, but he was too busy begging "Shishi" to let go of him.
"Alright guys, see you tomorrow morning at the hotel for breakfast," she announced before getting into the car with her father. She didn't even let him drive, as if she didn't trust his driving skills.
'That must be one of the weirdest father-daughter duos,' thought Victor as he watched the Fiat Panda turn at the end of the street.
Now there were only three of them left. A black sedan had already arrived several minutes earlier to pick up the mysterious man. However, with Shirley's father's appearance, the man had stayed a few extra minutes.
"I'm going to head out too," he told them. He pulled his hands out of his coat pockets to shake hands.
He started with Olivia before turning to Victor.
"Have a good rest of your evening, Victor."
- Thanks, you too, mysterious man!"
It was only after hearing Olivia's translation that the man finally gave his name to Victor, weeks after their first meeting.
"My name is Nathaniel, but my close friends call me Nate."
With those words, he walked away to join his driver, who had opened the door of the sedan for him.
'Nathaniel it is I guess.' thought Victor before leaving.
They headed back to the hotel with Olivia's car.
Once in the lobby, they greeted Charon before going up to their respective rooms. Victor was so tired that he should have fallen asleep immediately. However, the system had decided to start speaking in his head.
Congratulations, host! You survived!
'Thanks, system, but what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice at this late hour?'
Victor had badgered the system a few hours earlier with no response. He held a slight grudge against it, which would require more than kind words to disappear.
It's time for you to receive your rewards!
'That's a good start for making it up to me. I just hope your gifts will meet my expectations,' Victor threatened with a big smile.
He had no way to act on his threat, but maybe he'd find a way in the future.
First, host, you've earned 2,287 points to spend in the shop!
'We're not going to get very far if all I can buy is lamps and shovels,' Victor grumbled as he looked through the shop tab.
He had hoped the system would sell new items, like a rocket launcher for example, but no.
It was either a shovel or a lamp. But not just any lamp — a pro-fes-sio-nal one!
'You don't seriously expect me to buy something like 80 shovels, do you, my dear system?' Victor asked, feeling his blood pressure rise.
Technically, host, they're 50% off. So you could buy precisely 152 instead of 76.
Victor took a deep breath to calm himself.
'I already bought 11, and I can barely move them. I don't see what I'd do with 163 shovels besides building an army. Don't you have anything else in stock?' he asked, with little hope.
I'm in alpha version, host! But now that you've completed your first quota, my creator will update me. You should find your favorite items and more once the installation is complete!
'And how long do you think that will take?'
One night at most, host. You'll find me fully operational tomorrow morning when you wake up!
Victor closed his eyes again.
'Go update yourself and let me sleep in peace, then,' he thought, trying to fall asleep.
One second, host, I wasn't finished with your rewards!
He reluctantly opened his eyes. A holographic screen had appeared right above his face. It was a kind of pie chart with two colors. There was a red section and a blue section. The system had hastily drawn a Jester on the first section and a Looting bug on the second. The drawings were so bad that it took Victor several seconds to figure out what they were supposed to represent.
'What am I even looking at?' Victor thought, half bewildered.
This, host, is a pet wheel! The creature you land on will become your most loyal servant—within its means! All the creatures you defeated by your own hand during your quota appear on this wheel. Then, you'll just need a bit of luck to get the one you've always dreamed of!
'Sounds great, but why is the Jester on my wheel when I didn't kill one?'
He had stepped over the Jester's corpse on the second day, but he wasn't its killer.
The Jester is immune to your attacks, so you can never kill one! Other creatures like the Coil-head are also invulnerable, but you can still get them. The system is lenient in such cases! All you need is to be one of the main causes of their death!
'I don't understand.'
Let me explain, host. The Jester on the second day died because it angered the owner of the place. But it angered him by trying to get to you, so you are one of the main causes of its death. Therefore, it has its place on today's pet wheel!
'So I'll have to find a way to kill a Coil-head?' Victor asked.
That's up to you, host! You survived your encounter with the Jester by luck. So maybe a bit more planning is needed before taking on a Coil-head.
Victor frowned. He had thought about doing the same thing to a Coil-head as he did to the Jester, but the system's words made him doubt his plan.
'Forget it, Victor, you'll think about it the next time you run into a Coil-head...' he told himself, trying to stay calm.
He had only encountered one so far, which was locked in a box. Even though the system had told him how to defend against it, he still lacked practical experience.
'Spin the wheel, system. I'm warning you, I'll curse you if I land on the Jester.'
Victor had had enough nightmares over the last night to dream about the Looting bug. The thought of waking up with a Jester by his bedside every morning gave him chills.
The wheel began to spin. It spun very quickly at first before gradually losing speed. After about ten seconds, it stopped.
The pointer froze at the junction between the two sections. Victor had to get closer to the holographic screen to be sure, but it had indeed stopped on the blue section.
Well done, host! You just won a Jester. It's a pretty complex pet, but it can be useful in many situations!
'Can it at least help me kill other monsters?' Victor asked, who would have preferred at this point the cute Looting bug.
No, host!
'Can I sell it for money?'
No, host!
'Then how is it any useful?' he asked, starting to get frustrated.
That, host, is for you to discover!
Before Victor could continue grilling the system, the Jester appeared at the foot of his bed.
It looked exactly like the ones he had encountered during the first two days. For a moment, he imagined himself running through the hotel corridors with the horrific creature chasing after him. However, the Jester remained still. It hadn't tried to wind up its music box, simply staring at Victor. It didn't seem able to communicate but was waiting for Victor's commands.
'Can't it just disappear?' Victor asked the system.
He couldn't imagine going through life with a Jester following him around. It was a matter of both mental health and how others would perceive him.
He wasn't sure how long he could remain free with such a pet. He'd probably be locked up in some desert prison by people wanting to study the Jester.
You only need to wish for it to disappear or reappear, and the magic will happen. You can do this as long as you have your keychain on you!
'What do you mean by my keychain, dear system?'
Ask for it to disappear, and you'll see what I mean, host!
Victor followed the system's instructions. The Jester vanished before Victor could even blink. It had turned into a keychain with a figure of the Jester at the end of the chain.
Once you have more pet creatures, you'll be able to add them to your keychain so you'll always have them with you!
'And if I lose my keychain and someone else gets it?'
That would suck, host! Try not to lose it!
With that, the system began its update.