The familiar creak of the front door greeted Alex as he stepped inside, the warmth of home washing over him like a balm after the cool evening breeze. The scent of Ria's cooking—something rich and savory, maybe her signature beef stew—drifted from the kitchen, mingling with the faint tang of lemon cleaner she always used on the hardwood floors. He barely had time to kick off his sneakers before she appeared in the foyer, her dark hair streaked with gray pulled into a loose ponytail, her apron still dusted with flour from whatever she'd been fussing over. Her brown eyes lit up as she saw him, and she crossed the room in quick strides, wrapping him in a hug that squeezed the air from his lungs.
"Alex! You're back," she said, her voice warm but edged with that motherly curiosity he knew too well. She pulled back, hands lingering on his shoulders as she studied his face, her gaze sharp despite the smile tugging at her lips. "How was your day? Anything exciting happen at that big university of yours?"
He shrugged, dropping his backpack by the stairs with a casual thud. "Same old, same old," he replied, keeping his tone light, a practiced deflection that rolled off his tongue with ease. "Classes, some running around—nothing special."
Ria arched a brow, her smile turning sly as she crossed her arms, leaning against the banister with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Oh, come on now. No special someone keeping you busy? A girlfriend, maybe? You've been looking awfully sharp lately—don't think I haven't noticed."
Alex scoffed, a loud, exaggerated sound that echoed up the stairwell, his lips curling into a grin as he waved her off. "Yeah, right, Mom. The only thing chasing me is homework," he shot back, taking the stairs two at a time. "You're dreaming if you think I've got time for that!" Her laughter followed him, bright and unrestrained, tugging at the edges of his guilt as he disappeared into the hallway.
His room was a sanctuary, unchanged despite the upheaval in his life—posters of sci-fi classics peeling at the corners, a bookshelf groaning under textbooks and comics, a desk cluttered with notes and coffee mugs from sleepless nights. He shut the door with a soft click, the noise of the house fading into a distant hum, and peeled off his jacket, tossing it onto the chair. The day's tension clung to him like sweat, and he swapped his campus clothes—jeans and a hoodie—for a loose T-shirt and sweatpants, the fabric soft against his newly defined muscles. The mirror caught his eye as he passed, a fleeting glimpse of sharper cheekbones and a broader frame, the Sovereign System's handiwork etched into his reflection.
He settled at his desk, flipping open his laptop. The screen flared to life, bathing the room in a cool blue glow as he resumed his research. Forums, conspiracy threads, and grainy X posts he'd screenshot before they vanished filled the screen. Recently, he'd been chasing whispers of something strange—unexplained phenomena, rumors of power beyond ordinary limits—but the trail had gone cold. Pages disappeared almost as fast as they appeared, scrubbed with precision. Frustration gnawed at him, a dull ache behind his temples that no caffeine could fix.
Alex's thoughts drifted, restless. March 11, 2025—Selene's birthday was on March 23, and a tension tightened in his chest. He pictured Anurag and Krarth hovering around her, their teasing grins flashing in his memory. The thought of someone else close to her, someone daring to steal her attention even in small ways, made him bristle. He shook his head, trying to dismiss the possessive edge, but his mind wouldn't let it go.
He reached for his phone, a distraction from the spiral of thoughts, and noticed a ping—Grace. His best friend since high school, someone who had been a constant in all the chaos of adolescence, someone he could vent to without pretense.
Grace: "Hey, zombie-boy. Survived campus without getting eaten?"Alex: "Barely 😏. My life's a series of minor disasters, as usual."Grace: "I swear, one day you're gonna trip over your own chaos and vanish. Or get expelled. Or both."Alex: "Funny. I somehow survive everything—don't ask me how."Grace: "Magic? Luck? Or maybe you're secretly a superhero and just waiting for your cape to arrive?"Alex: "If that were true, I'd be way richer by now. Definitely more than broke-student rich."Grace: "Ah yes, the rich superhero trope. Saving the world in between ramen noodles and late-night cram sessions. Classic Alex."Alex: "I'll have you know, I do more than cram. I'm basically a professional problem-solver."Grace: "Sure, if problems count as memes and cafeteria fights, then yes. Absolute professional. I bow to your greatness 😎."
Alex smiled despite himself. Talking to Grace grounded him, a tether to normalcy he didn't realize he'd been craving. Her teasing made the day's tension lift slightly, even if only for a moment.
Grace: "So… anything interesting happen today? No mysterious girl sightings or weird fights?"Alex: "A little of everything. Nothing I can share here, top secret 😏."Grace: "Top secret? You mean I'm not allowed to nag you about it?"Alex: "Exactly. Classified info. You'd be blown away, anyway."Grace: "Yeah, yeah. Keep your secrets. Just remember, if you disappear mysteriously, don't expect me to do a rescue mission. I'm not Batman."Alex: "Noted. You'll be safe, don't worry."
They chatted a bit longer, exchanging mundane complaints about classes and campus life, Grace teasing him relentlessly, Alex responding with equal parts sarcasm and humor. The conversation lulled the creeping unease in his chest, a temporary reprieve from the endless questions about what the Sovereign System was planning next.
Just as he was about to put his phone down, a sharp chime cut through the quiet room. This was different—sharper, insistent. His vision flickered, and a translucent panel materialized above him, hovering in the air like a mirage—Sylvie's interface, sleek and glowing:
[Host Improvement Quest Deployed]
Quest Requirements:100 push-ups5 km run100 pull-ups(May increase depending on host development routine.)
Reward:+10 points to all main stats (excluding charisma)Basic Body Training Liquid
Punishment for Failure: Death
Alex froze, his heart hammering in his chest. Death? For push-ups and a run? The stakes were insane. He ran a hand through his damp hair, exhaling slowly, trying to steady his racing thoughts. All the chatter, the jokes with Grace, the mundane life at home—it all felt like a fragile bubble now about to be shattered.
He stared at the panel, the glow casting faint shadows across the ceiling. Sylvie wasn't joking. This was no simple training nudge; it was a test, a demand, a boundary pushed to extremes. The rewards—stat boosts, the mysterious liquid—were tempting, but the threat of failure loomed larger than anything he'd faced before.
"Fine," he muttered to himself, a grudging surrender to the system's whims. He glanced around his room, already thinking through how he would tackle the quest, stretching his arms and shoulders instinctively. His muscles hummed with latent energy, the Sovereign System's enhancements thrumming beneath his skin, ready to be tested.
The chat with Grace still lingered in his mind, a fleeting warmth in the tense moment. He hadn't wanted to burden her with the system, not yet, but part of him wanted to text her again—to tell her this was serious, that he might be risking his life over something that felt almost unreal. But he didn't. Not yet. For now, it was just him, his room, and the blinking panel hovering in the air, waiting for him to act.
This chapter ends here, with the suspense of the quest hanging over Alex, his mind buzzing from the chat with Grace and the sudden, deadly demand from Sylvie.