Completing the Tasks

Lu Jae-sung was on his way to the Adventurers Guild, but walked slowly while inspecting the other part of his system, the 'Tasks' prompt.

It appeared beside his statistics as a smaller block on the right side.

Main:

Daily:

- Run 5km (0/5km) (Reward: 1 point of agility)

- Do 300 Push-Ups (0/300) (Reward: 1 point of strength and endurance)

- Punch 1000x (0/1000) (Reward: 1 point of dexterity)

He momentarily halted, observing the extensive exercises. However, completing those tasks required around three hours.

"It's amazing to get a point to almost all stats in just a day." He thought, interested in how much he could grow in just a week.

With future stat gains in mind, his power level should surpass others of his tier, at least with the stats only. The fact active skills and special abilities changed the course of fights, mere strength won't be enough.

"I guess it's time to run to the guild, even if it's nearby." He said to himself, increasing his speed.

Since Lu Jae-sung was at least fit, the three-minute run didn't exhaust him that much, completing a five-hundred-meter run to the guild.

The grand building resembled a massive castle, with many groups of people coming in and out through its large front entrance. A simple tiled path led to the grand structure that could fit hundreds of people on a floor.

Upon entry, receptionists filled the building's left, mission boards on its right. The side staircase on the rear side, next to a Guild Office, accessed upper levels for high-ranking members.

Gilded chandeliers, many and small, lit the room with wooden floors.

Carefully passing the members, he talked to one of the staff members at the reception.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The receptionist spoke in a high-pitched voice.

A striking blonde woman, who appeared to be about thirty, graced the scene.

"Hello, I want to register as a member of the Adventurers Guild." He responded politely to her.

She then looked under the reception, opened a cabinet, and handed out a multiple-page form.

"You need to sign it here, here, and in the end. But before you do so, I advise you to read through it before signing." She said with concern.

Following her advice, Lu Jae-sung read the twenty pages. It stated a bunch of information about liability, code of conduct, missions volunteering, injury protocol, etc.

There were also rows of termination clause rules, under which they might revoke his membership.

After signing up the underlined blocks and filling up his details, he handed her back the papers.

"Great! After three business days, we will give you an F rank badge, which will allow you to sign for the same, or one rank higher, missions." She said her last words before saying goodbye to him.

Lu Jae-sung had dealt with the important matters, gazing at the orange horizon in front of the guild.

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

It was almost the end of the exhausting Tuesday. He left his old home, toured a new house, awakened, reviewed his system, and then managed the guild — all within a day. It was already dark, and the sky was empty because of the bright city lights.

*Beep-Beep*

A system notification reminded him of the 5km run completion.

- Agility: 5

After increasing his agility, he wanted to test his speed and run to the apartment complex, even if it was already dark outside.

A dozen cars and people were the only things to pass. He used a winding path to explore one side of the city from his apartment. What Lu Jae-sung didn't know, he would face a difficult situation after awakening.

On a dark, dead-end street, littered with garbage, two thin adults cornered a child who cried for help. The street was completely dark. They matched the clothing style, wearing a torn biker vest with a fiery skull on the back. They also wore simple jeans with a cap on their head. Their faces were rough, with visible jawlines. At first glance, one might think they were undernourished.

"Brat, stop fucking around and hold in one place! The boss will treat you right and sell you off to an excellent family, hahaha!"

"Yeah, don't worry kid, even if they will treat you like a slave, you will at least have a roof over your head!"

Lu Jae-sung hid by a nearby wall when he ran around and overheard those lousy guys' phrases. He observed them, looking out for weapons. They had nothing sharp, but he noticed knuckle dusters in their hands.

Why was he observing them? He finally got the first main task from his system, to defeat the two gangsters in front of him. After the system had specified only two were present, he crawled closer to them, creeping on their backs.

When he finally closed up the range between him and the due unnoticeably, he struck one of the guy's head as strongly as possible, making him collapse to the ground.

The other guy turned quickly and shouted. "How dare you hit my bro from behind, you fucking bitch!"

He swung his fist towards Lu Jae-sung, trying to crush his chin swiftly.

Lu Jae-sung easily dodged the attack thanks to his improved agility. However, his inexperience with street fighting left him vulnerable to a gut kick, sending him stumbling back.

*cough* *cough*

In pain, one hand instinctively went to his stomach, but something else surprised him. A right hook tried to land on his face.

"Yes! Avoid me and entertain me more! I will beat the shit out of you when you are exhausted!"

Lu Jae-sung remained calm and high-alerted and dodged a surprise attack while expecting a leading attack. With his reflexes, he saw through the gangster's maliciousness and grabbed the horizontally flying leg with brute force. After that, he pushed forward while holding onto his leg, making the attacker lose balance, and landing on his hand.

"Aaah! You bastard!" The gangster screamed in agony.

When the guy landed on his hand, the positioning wasn't the best, leading to a wrist fracture. He continued to scream and cry, holding his hand above him while lying on the rough asphalt below his back.

"You think it will end here? Huh! No, I will remember your face and hunt you down! We, the Fiery Skull Gang, will prove what we are capable of!"

"scream as much as you want. I met guys like you daily, bitch. You don't intimidate me at all! And your gang's name is as lame as your appearance." Lu Jae-sung cursed and ran up to the kid.

Running, he gripped his hand, escaping the alleyway toward the deserted park.

"We should be out of trouble now." Panting heavily, he told what was on his mind.

*sob* *sob*

After the horrifying experience, the kid calmed down and tried to say something, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out.

"Don't worry, you can say whatever you want. Before you do so, can you tell me where your parents are? Or where do you live so I can lead you there?" He asked, showing concern about the kid's safety.

"I… I don't know my parents… I live in that orphanage." He said, pointing at a pseudo-looking building on the other side of the park.

"I guess I am lucky to have led you this way, no? Come on, let's get you to safety."

On the way, the child, Yoon Dong, opened up more to Lu Jae-sung. His parents left him here when he was just two years old, so he didn't know how his parents looked. The orphanage's unusual appearance stemmed from its unique status as a special school. Students could go outside by themselves, even if they were in the first grade, but with a limited area.

"Well, I guess we have to part ways." Lu Jae-sung stroked the kid's hair and waved back at him.

Lu Jae-sung hid his true feelings when he was with Yoon Dong, not wanting to depress the kid while being with him. He even shed a few tears on his way home, since he could see himself in that kid.

*Beep-Beep*

The system made a notification sound for the completion of the task he received. It happened a lot later than he had expected. He probably needed to at least knock them out, which meant the guy had passed out recently.

"Well, I have to be careful to do the tasks properly next time. I am lucky he was a gangster wannabe weakling that passed out of a wrist fracture." He thought, confident with his deduction.

"First primary task completed. You will receive additional rewards on the first completion."

The prompt disappeared, and then the system rewrote the reward.

Main:

- Defeat 2 gangsters. (2/2 Defeated) (Reward: 2 points of intelligence) (First Completion Reward: 10 stat points)

Lu Jae-sung rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Ten stat points?! That will strengthen me in the blink of an eye!" he screamed in his mind, looking at the rewards dumbfounded.

*Beep-Beep*

This time, the system redirected him to the 'Passive Skills' tab.

↓ Uncommon:

- Fist Fighting Mastery Lv 1 (1/100 XP) (New!)

Even more shocked, he got his first uncommon passive skill, which improved his fist combat. However, he didn't know if the system would assist him, or if he inherited a natural feeling when fighting.

"Wait, thinking about it, I wouldn't have made such advanced thoughts? Did the increase in intelligence improve my thinking?"

It was a truly strange cliche, thinking about how he wouldn't normally question how natural would the skill feel and then make another deduction out of it.

Finally, he stopped thinking too much after a while and headed back home to recuperate.