Fai slowly reached out and collected the exact number of coins Johnson still owed him according to their deal.
Five golden coins.
Johnson had already given him five earlier. Adding these new ones completed the payment and sealed the agreement between them. Johnson had kept his word.
As Fai gathered the coins, a series of notifications rang inside his head. For now, he ignored them. This wasn't the time.
He stored the coins directly into his System, while still pretending to put them in his pocket .Now that his memories had fully returned, the emptiness he once felt was gone. Before, it had felt as though pieces of his life were missing, gaps in his puzzle, lost memories he couldn't reach.
But not anymore, that chapter was closed.
All that remained was to check his System, review what had happened to his quests, and see how much progress he had made. However, this wasn't something he could do here—not with the others around. He needed privacy, time, and a calm place.
So for now, the System would have to wait.
For a brief moment, everything grew quiet. Conversation faded, and calm settled in.
But it didn't last long.
Soon, the group began talking again, each of them sharing their thoughts about the earlier fight. They laughed about how things had turned out—especially the part where Fai was the first to fall, barely lasting a minute against them.
Still, they didn't laugh too hard.After all, he deserved his respect.He had been human,just human,facing four mutant opponents at once. That alone was no small feat.
But was he really still human....?
Once everything was settled, a new question arose."So," Fai asked, his voice steady as he shifted the mood, "what do we do now?"
Sarah met his gaze. "Now we move smarter."
Johnson nodded slowly. "No more solo plays."
He glanced in Fai's direction.
Fai straightened. "Okay, I get it. We stick together."
"But for now," Sarah added, "we recover. Not all of us can stand properly yet."
Her eyes flicked toward Johnson.
Despite his swollen face, Johnson smiled.
Seeing that, Fai's lips curved upward.
Yesterday, he had been alone.
Today, he wasn't.
And that… that made all the difference.
It was decided that the group would rest for a while before moving on. The decision was mainly for Johnson's sake—right now, he was the group's weakest link, their broken leg.
While Johnson rested, Fai and Sarah stayed off to the side.
Sarah sat on the floor, legs crossed, her posture calm and meditative. Fai, meanwhile, sat a short distance away, staring intently at the translucent screen only he could see.
He was reviewing every update, carefully registering his progress.
'Of course I didn't complete the quest,' he thought.
The screen displayed his Morning Grind Quest. Its status read: Pending.
'Luckily, it seems as long as I complete it sometime during the day, it still counts.'
In many games, quests had strict time limits. Fail to complete them on time, and you'd lose experience points,or worse, receive a penalty. He was grateful this wasn't one of those quests.
'Now… let's check yesterday's quest. I wonder how I performed.'
[Ding]
[QUEST: SURVIVE!!]
[Objective: Try your best. Stand your ground for ONE minute.]
[Constraint: The skill Auto Fairy Defense is unusable for the duration.]
[Quest Status: Complete]
"What the—!!"
Fai nearly shouted before realizing he had drawn attention from the others , Johnson and Sarah were looking in his direction .
"What the… uh—my muscles feel really sore. I think I need to do some push-ups."
Without waiting for a response, he dropped to the ground and started exercising, successfully diverting their attention away from him .
Not long after, another ding echoed in his mind, that was his signal to stop.
Luckily, push-ups were part of his daily quest anyway.He killed two birds with one stone.
Standing back up, Fai reread the quest details, disbelief washing over him.
[QUEST: SURVIVE!!]
[Quest Status: Complete]
'How is this possible?' he thought. 'I passed out. I didn't even stay conscious the whole time.'
Fai thought .
The System was unpredictable. Every time Fai thought he understood its rules, it proved him wrong.He was sure he had failed.
He lost the fight. Lost badly. He had been overwhelmed, humiliated, and even saved by his friends. Worst of all—he had blacked out.
'But… the quest only said survive,' he realized. 'And I'm alive.'
The method hadn't mattered, he had it all wrong from the start , maybe even running away from them would have still counted as a win . In such critical moments Only the result matter
[Quest Rewards:]
[• 2 Instant Level-Ups]
[• +3 Additional Uses of Auto Fairy Defense]
'Instant level-ups? That's it?'
For a quest where he had nearly died, this felt underwhelming.and I agree, this system was selfish .
Fai had expected a new skill. Something flashy. Something defensive, maybe another fairy ability.
Instead, all he received was raw growth.
Fai stared at the screen, conflicted.
The rewards weren't exciting…
But he had to admit , they were helpful.
And deep down, he knew it.
*******
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!
Thanks allot for the support and thanks to everyone reading sofar , it all the motivation I need to keep going .
you might have noticed that I have tried my best to give you guys three chapters every week ...If nothing comes in the way I promise to do even more, but for the moment that's what I can do ... And I pray it doesn't drop back to one chapter a week ..
Right now I'm doing better, fully healed if I may say and I'm planning to go in for Medical training next month , but before that I plan to give you all a full month of consistency (Three chapters each week nothing lesser only more by the grace of God )
THANKS AGAIN FOR READING, AND THAK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT.
SHEKIKH ,ANNA GRACE.