Chapter 3 : Leveling Up One Chore at a Time
My school isn't far from home. It's not close enough to roll out of bed and land in the classroom, but not far enough to justify a bus either. So I walk. About fifteen minutes, which usually feels like a casual stroll—unless I've spent the whole day doing unlicensed science experiments on myself.
After pulling off a personal fitness montage that would make any gym teacher weep with pride, I figured I was done. But nooo. The mysterious cosmic game master (or whatever's behind this madness) had other plans.
[DING!]
Daily Quest Complete: Daily Stamina Building
Reward:
+1 Free Stat Point
+1 Free Skill Point
Cool. I guess that's better than a participation trophy.
And apparently, all that running like a maniac also earned me this:
[SKILL ACQUIRED: Running Lv.1]
Run slightly faster. 5% boost to speed when sprinting. Warning: You still can't outrun your responsibilities.
Okay, that last line might've been my own brain talking. But still, a skill is a skill. If I can level it up enough, maybe I can make it to the Olympics. Or at least outrun gym class next time Coach makes us do laps.
I dragged myself home, legs aching, body sore, but with one important truth:
This is real. And I'm not crazy because the moment I stepped through the front door... boom. No ache. No sore muscles. No gasping for air like a wounded wild beast.
I checked my stamina bar. Full again. Thirty minutes after exercise apparently equals a full recharge.
So yeah. Pretty sure I'm not dreaming.
Or if I am, at least it's a dream where I get passive healing buffs. Neat.
Anyway, my plan was simple:
Take a hot shower.
Eat my weight in rice.
Maybe poke the status screen and obsess over my new Free Stat Point like a sane person.
But fate (and by fate, I mean my mom) had other plans.
"Kyle!" she called from the kitchen. "I need you to go buy some groceries!"
That's Alice Walker, my mom. Almost 40, annoyingly energetic, and (objectively speaking) way too attractive to be related to me.
My dad? He's... usually not here. Some kind of overseas business thing. Sounds shady, but he claims it's for "our future." Which I guess makes me the present. And as the present, I'm currently being sent to haul vegetables.
"Okay, Mom," I replied with the weariness of a man twice my age.
And then—ding.
Another notification blinked into view:
[URGENT QUEST ALERT!]
Grocery Gauntlet
Objective: Buy everything on Mom's list and survive.
Reward: Unknown. Possibly snacks.
A little bit of XP.
Yup. Even my chores are quests now.
At this rate, I'm going to level up from doing laundry.
I sighed the universal sigh of burdened sons and grabbed the shopping list from the counter. It was two pages long. Two. I didn't even know we ate half of this stuff.
By the time I got to the store, I'd already received a second notification:
[Quest Update: Location Reached – SuperMart Local #9]
Bonus Objective: Don't forget the eggs this time, Kyle.
Even my system was passive-aggressively sassing me. Great.
The grocery store was one of those deceptively peaceful places where grandmas battle for bread and toddlers scream like mini banshees over cereal. I pushed my cart through the automatic doors like a knight charging into battle.
"Alright," I muttered. "Let's do this."
First stop: fruits and vegetables section. As I reached for some suspiciously shiny apples, I tried something dumb but potentially genius.
I Appraised one.
[Red Apple]
HP restore +1
Not actually delicious. May cause disappointment.
"Yeah," I muttered. "Figured."
I started appraising everything in sight. It was kind of addicting.
[Cabbage]
Defense +1
when thrown att +1
Might stun an enemy if aimed at the head.
[Discount Bread]
Questionable expiration date.
Buff: Courage (Temporary)
[Tofu]
Morale -5
Do not trust the squish.
It was like the store had turned into a dungeon with loot and traps, except instead of skeleton warriors, it was bargain-hunting moms with deadly elbows.
I was about halfway through the list when I turned the corner into Aisle 5 and almost crashed my cart into a familiar face.
Guess who?
Michael.
Yep. That Michael. Level 27 martial arts wonder boy. Still looking like he walked out of an anime opening, holding a basket of Greek yogurt and spinach like it was a blade and shield.
He looked up, blinked, and said,
"You stalking me again?"
"No! I mean ...no. I'm grocery shopping. For my mom."
Then, because my brain is the enemy,
"Are you... on a quest too?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"You really need more sleep, Kyle."
And with that, he walked off, leaving me there wondering if I'd just blown my cover as a low-level protagonist. Again.
Eventually, I finished the list (and yes, I got the eggs), checked out, and hauled everything home like a true hero.
[Quest Complete: Grocery Gauntlet]
Reward: +1 INT, +10exp,
Chocolate Pudding Bonus Acquired.
Title Unlocked: Mom's Favorite Minion
[Title Unlocked: Mom's Favorite Minion]
Effect: Mom will now trust you with 37% more chores.
I stared at the notification and groaned.
Of course the system thinks this is a reward.
Nope..I will never ever equipped that title.
But wait—
Inventory?
Hold up. I have an inventory now?
Every gamer's dream just punched me in the brain. A personal pocket dimension. A secret stash. A magical closet where I could hide snacks, game controllers, and, I don't know, emotional baggage?
I said the word "Inventory" like a prayer, and boom....
A giant floating window appeared in front of me, filled with neat square grids. Ten by ten, total hundred slot. What a generous system.
I nearly walked into a mailbox staring at it.
This wasn't just cool. This was next-level. This was epic.
I needed to test it. Now. Right now.
Only problem? I was still walking home. On a sidewalk. In public. With my eyes locked on what looked like the interface of a loot goblin's backpack.
Totally safe behavior. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Then I tripped.
Yup. Full-on, no-dignity, face-first stumble.
Because what do you expect when your eyes are glued to a floating inventory screen like it's the Holy Grail?
I landed hard on one knee. The kind of hard where your brain immediately goes, "Yup, that's gonna bruise." A sharp sting zipped up my leg.
And then—ding.
HP -2
Oh, great. The system noticed. Thanks for the update, buddy. Super helpful.
I sat up, half-expecting to see blood or at least a dramatic tear in my pants. But… nothing. Just the pain and some dirt on my pants.
Well, the brief pain. Three seconds later, it was gone. Like it ghosted me.
And then ...
HP +1
I watched my health bar slowly crawl back up like it was no big deal.
"What?" I muttered, poking my knee like it owed me an explanation.
No wound. No soreness. I was healing like a video game character with passive regen.
This wasn't a dream. It was the best patch update my life ever got.
I got home, handed the groceries to Mom, and she looked at the bags like I'd just solved world hunger.
"You got everything on the list?" she said, eyebrows climbing like they were trying to escape her forehead.
Of course I did. The system helpfully pinged me every time I tried to leave without something. I could practically hear it judging me: You really gonna skip the milk, Kyle?
So, yeah. Victory.
After that, it was shower time. I turned on the hot water, stepped in, and...ding.
(You took a hot shower. Stamina fully restored.)
Excuse me? Showers now regenerate energy? This system was clearly built by someone who never experienced Monday mornings.
Feeling like a freshly rebooted laptop, I flopped onto my bed, still in towel mode, and pulled up my favorite new toy: the inventory screen.
Time to test.
Ten rows by ten columns of glowing grid squares floated in my vision like the world's nerdiest treasure chest. Plus three extra slots at the bottom—quest rewards, maybe?
Naturally, I had to test it.
I picked up my T-shirt, whispered 'store' like a laundry wizard and bam, it vanished.
I checked the panel.
T-shirt
DEF +0.5
Smells faintly of heroism (and fabric softener)
I blinked.
Did… did my shirt just give me defense points?
This was every gamer's dream. I was one sword away from becoming an isekai protagonist.
Even better? Taking stuff out was as easy as thinking about it. Poof... it reappeared in my hand. Like magic. Because, well… it was.
I started grabbing things like a man possessed. Books? In. School bag? In. Chair? Barely, but in. My bed? Too heavy. The system made a little "Nope, try again when you're Hulk" sound.
I even discovered I could stack stuff. Five identical notebooks? One slot. Infinite potential.
And then, there it was.
My bonus chocolate pudding.
Sitting in the quest-reward slot like a tiny edible trophy.
Obviously, I pulled it out and took a bite. It was creamy, perfect, and definitely not imaginary.
"Kyle! Dinner!"
Mom yelled from downstairs.
"Coming!" I yelled back, still chewing.
I glanced around my room. Chair missing. T-shirt in the void. I was half-naked, grinning like an idiot, eating magic pudding from a screen only I could see.
Yeah. Life was getting weird.
And honestly?
I didn't hate it.
...
Dinner smelled like victory. And by that, I mean fried chicken and mashed potatoes which, let's be honest, are the only victories that truly matter after surviving gym class and banana-related accidents.
I plopped down at the table, now properly clothed (thanks, inventory), and tried to act like a totally normal teenage boy who definitely didn't have a glowing stat panel floating in the corner of his vision.
Mom handed me a plate.
"You've got an appetite today."
"Yeah, uh… extra muscle needs extra fuel," I said, flexing very subtly. She raised an eyebrow. I quickly un-flexed.
I was halfway through my mashed potatoes when it happened.
Ding!
New Skill Unlocked: Eating Enthusiast (Lv. 1) (Passive )
Digest food slightly faster. Can absorb more nutrients.
Warning: May cause delusions of becoming a food blogger.
I choked on a piece of chicken.
"You okay?" Mom asked, pausing mid-sip of her tea.
"Yeah," I wheezed. "Just... really enthusiastic about this drumstick."
Seriously? A skill for eating? At this rate, I'd unlock Sleeping Master by bedtime and Toothbrushing Prodigy by morning.
But that's when I noticed something new pop up at the corner of my view—a little blinking icon.
I tapped it (mentally), and a small window opened.
Stat Allocation Menu
You have 11 unassigned stat points and 11 skill points.
Assign now?
Ooooh.
Finally, the Choose Your Own Superpower moment.But why 11?
I stared at my stat panel like it was a restaurant menu. Did I want more strength? Dexterity? Intelligence? Charisma? (Okay, that one could use serious help but I don't even have that stat).
But before I could decide, Mom's voice brought me crashing back to Earth.
"Kyle, don't forget to take out the trash."
Right. Minion duty.
Quest Updated: "Mom's Favorite Minion"
Objective: Take out the trash
Reward: Household peace + her not yelling
Bonus: +1 Responsibility (maybe)
I sighed, stood up, and gave my stat screen one last glance before it faded out.
"I'm coming," I muttered, grabbing the trash.
Of course, no good meal goes unpunished.
"Kyle, your turn to wash the dishes," Mom said sweetly, like she hadn't just served me a quest in disguise.
I dragged myself to the sink, full of heroic determination and mild soap rage.
As I scrubbed the third plate, ding!
New skill acquired!
Dish Washing Lv. 1
Congratulations, you now have a cleaner soul (and plates). +5% dish speed.
Oh great. This is how legends are made. Forget sword-fighting or spell-casting—I, Kyle of Class C, have unlocked the sacred art of... dish-washing.
At this rate, I'll hit level 100 and open my own restaurant by next semester.
Maybe the System is trolling me. Maybe this is all a cosmic joke.
But I'll tell you one thing, I've never rinsed dishes faster in my life. Even Mom raised an eyebrow when I zoomed through them like I was speedrunning a kitchen simulator.
"Wow, someone's enthusiastic today," she said.
"I'm just grinding," I replied.
She blinked. "…Grinding what?"
"…Soap scum," I muttered quickly.
After achieving my noble rank as Apprentice Dishwasher, I retreated to my room like a true warrior returning from glorious battle.
I flopped onto my bed with a dramatic sigh. My stamina bar had fully recovered, thanks to the magical effects of:
"Hot Water Shower: Full Stamina Restore."
Honestly, I'd shower three times a day if that didn't make me look clinically unhinged.
I opened my Character Panel again, just to admire the stats of someone who definitely didn't nearly cry scrubbing a burnt pot.
Then I saw it:
Unassigned Stat and Skill Points: +11
Wait. Eleven?
I knew I got one point from the groceries quest… but where did the other ten come from?
Maybe from earlier level-ups—if I'd leveled from 1 to 3, and earned five points per level, that would add up. Huh.
Math confirmed: I was now Level 3. Two level-ups = ten points. One from the quest = eleven.
I stared at the panel, brain in overdrive.
STR: 8
VIT: 8
DEX: 11
INT: 8
WIS: 7
LUK: 10
Unassigned Stat Points: 11
Unassigned Skill Points: 11
Eleven glorious points. Both for stat or skills. But at the moment my skill are mah.....
That wasn't just power—it was potential. And potential meant planning. Strategy. Min-maxing.
The sacred art of not messing this up.
Naturally, I spent the next twenty minutes Googling "best stat builds for RPG characters," scrolling through gamer forums like I was prepping for a national exam, all while lo-fi beats played softly in the background.
Was I about to min-max my awkward teenage life?
Maybe.
But first, I had to figure out what tomorrow's quest would be…
And if there was any way to grind my way out of doing more chores.
Character Panel: Kyle (Lv. 3)
Title(s):
Savior of School Belle from Banana
Effect: +1 DEX when equipped
Mom's Favorite Minion
Effect: Mom will have more chores for you.
HP: 180/180
MP: 180/180
SP: 180/180
Stats:
STR: 8
VIT: 8
DEX: 11
INT: 8
WIS: 7
LUK: 10
Unassigned Stat Points: 11
Unassigned Skill Points: 11
Important Skills:
Appraisal (Lv. 2): View basic info of objects and people. Higher level reveals more detail.
Running (Lv. 1): +5% speed while running.