It was a bright morning, and someone was up extremely early.
Tti-ring
[Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong]
[Press-up, 100 times: Complete(100/100)
[ Sit-up, 100 times: Complete (100/100)
[Squat, 100 times: Complete (100/100)
[Running, 10Km: Complete (10/10)
[You've completed 'Daily Quest: Preparation to become strong'.]
[Completion rewards have arrived.]
[Would you like to confirm?] (Yes/No)
Hal ignored the message floating in front of him and continued running.
It was a good thing that he had gotten today's reward for the daily quest, but he needed more.
He couldn't wait to get another dungeon quest, as it would be very beneficial right now.
He didn't know when the Organization would give him a call, so he was on the lookout for any opportunity to level up.
The Organization normally summoned Hunters two or three times a month to clear dungeons that spawned within the area.
It had been over ten days since he got discharged from the hospital, so he didn't think it strange to hear about a Gate opening up in the vicinity, so his ears were alert for any distress call from the Organization.
For the time being, he couldn't even afford to miss an E-rank Gate.
That was how In need of a dungeon to raid, he was.
As he ran, the distance bar for the running part of the daily quest suddenly went up.
[Running, 10Km: Complete(11/10)]
"Huh? That's unusual." He said his voice edged with uncertainty.
His gaze stopped dead and remained fixed on the column of 'Running.'
He had gone a little farther into the city today, so was that why it added one more kilometer? Because of the distance?
However, the longer he thought about it, the stranger it seemed to him.
As he was still immersed in his thoughts, he got home.
Bethany was still asleep due to stress from yesterday, so he had the living room to himself.
'I've filled up my quota, so why does it keep reading the extra distance?'
'It's time I test my hypothesis.' He thought.
Hal's gaze became sharper. He needed to test if it was merely a coincidence or if there was more to it.
Hal got down to the floor and supported his weight on his hands. His body moved fluidly in an up-and-down motion.
However, his sight was fixed on the seemingly empty air in front.
Tti-ring!
[You've completed one 'Press up']
[Press-up, 100 times: Complet(101/100)
Tti-ring!
[You've completed one 'Press up']
Press-up, 100 times: Completed (102/100)
'As I thought...'
'Running' wasn't the only one that could add an extra amount more than needed to meet the daily quota; the rest of the exercises also had that ability.
He continued the push-ups, curious to see how far the number would increase before coming to a stop.
He planted his hands more firmly on the ground, veins bulging, and he increased his speed.
Thanks to his enhanced strength, his body felt light like fuzzy hair.
Before long, the number hovering near the hundred mark hit 200.
Tti-ring!
[You've completed one 'Press up'.]
—Press-up, 100 times: Complete (200/100)
The count stopped for sure at the 200 mark. He performed a few more press-ups just in case, but the value remained constant.
He went through the rest of the exercises and.....
Both the sit-up and the squat also stopped counting at the 200 mark.
—Press-up, 100 times: Complete (200/100)
—Sit-up, 100 times: Complete(200/100)
—Squat, 100 times: Complete(200/100)
—Running, 10Km: Complete(11/10)
It was exactly 200.
The 100 mark wasn't the end, but it wasn't just climbing up without an end; there was still a fixed value for it, which meant it was premeditated by the system, and knowing the system, Hal knew it to be very delicate in matters which could mean...
'If they're all like that, shouldn't that mean one could get another reward? Considering that the amount had been doubled.' Hal thought mischievously, he was on the lookout for free stat points to level up.
He needed to confirm if by the time the 'Counting' were all filled, there would be a reward.
With much quicker steps than he came in, Hal re-exited the apartment.
He was going to shower when he got in earlier, but his curiosity had taken the better part of him, and here he was now.
Running, again.
The 9 km for the rest of the 'Over count' was quickly filled, and Hal returned home.
Tti-ring!
A message popped up in his view as he re-entered the apartment.
[You've completed 'Hidden Quest': Preparations to become strong.] [Completion rewards have arrived.]
[Would you like to confirm?] (Yes/No?)
The title of the quest hadn't changed, but the quest type had. 'Hidden Quest'.
His suspicion was proved to be correct.
Hal swallowed his saliva.
"Confirm..."
Tti-ring!
[The following rewards are available.]
—Reward 1: Full recovery of the current physical condition.
—Reward 2: All stats +5
—Reward 3:
(1) Blessed random box.
(2) Cursed random box.
[Would you like to collect them all?]
Hal's eyes shot open in disbelief for a moment.
The rewards for this elusive 'Hidden Quest' were just too good!
'All stats raised by 5!'
With all the stats getting a five boost point, it was the same thing as his levels rising by five.
No, wait – His stats might have risen, but his level remained the same, which meant with the much higher stats it'd be easier to raise his level, which also meant he had gained even more!
But at the same time, he felt a bit fearful as well.
The rewards for the 'Hidden Quest' were just too good, which meant it could be a one-time deal, so he had to be careful in his choice for the third reward, as he might not get another chance.
However, on the other hand, he was secretly excited, as he held a vague hope in his heart that it would continue this way, and he would get to receive two rewards per day.
These are the normal rewards for the 'Daily Quest' and then the rewards for the 'Hidden Quest.'
It would have been lovely, but he also feared that if the rewards were that much per day, the daily quest might come to an end, as it might calculate that the level of strength was enough.
Hal felt like he was in a tight position, and his feelings were hanging on the edge of a cliff, with a high possibility to tilt towards any side. Good or Bad.
For now, he decided to collect the third reward.
"Collect the third reward."
Tti-ring!
[You must choose between one of the two available random boxes.]
[Blessed random box]
Presents the §¢&#@∆ with the item he wants.
[Cursed random box]
Presents the §¢&#@∆ with the item he needs.
Hal didn't comprehend the words any further but fixed his gaze on the gibberish in the middle of the words.
'Just what could it mean?' He thought.
His brain was running full tilt now, and he could only come up with one conclusion.
'Whatever it meant, the system doesn't want me to be aware of it now.'
But it was clear that it was regarding to him as something, whatever it was he didn't know, but he was sure it must've been something of high importance, enough to be made unknown even to the possessor of the system. Him.
Well, he was sure the system would unveil whatever it was in due time. He need not fret – for now.
He went through the explanations of the boxes and finally chose to pick the Blessed random box.
The explanation was clear: the Blessed random box granted him what he wanted, while the Cursed random box granted him what he needed, and what he wanted now was a hell of a stats point.
And if it was exactly to the explanation, he would get just that. How? He didn't know. That remained to be seen.
Hal spoke to the system in his head not uttering a word.
'Blessed random box.'
And a small box slowly materialized in front of his feet.
Hal picked it up.
'Could it be...?' He thought with palpitation.