The blue panel flickered once.
Then it expanded.
Way bigger than anything Ray had seen before.
---
[Daily Mission — HARDCORE]
Objective:
Alter one designation within the human family tree using Global Alter.
Conditions:
• The altered designation must be a universally recognized family relationship.
• The Host must actively participate in conversation for at least half of the Global Alter duration
with an individual who now falls under that designation.
• Ending the interaction early will be counted as failure.
Reward:
• +500 EXP
• +300 Alter Points
Failure:
• The altered family designation will be permanently imprinted in the Host's mind.
• Emotional side-effect severity: UNKNOWN.
---
Ray stared at the panel.
Then stared a bit longer.
"…The hell?"
He scrolled down slowly, rereading it.
Again.
And again.
"Five hundred EXP…?"
His brain switched into math mode on autopilot.
"…Hold up."
His fingers moved in the air as he counted.
"If I clear this clean…" he muttered, eyes widening,
"…this ain't just Level 1 or 2."
He swallowed.
"This jumps me straight to Level 5."
That was insane.
Ray let out a slow breath. His heart was beating a little faster now.
Then reality hit.
"…Family tree?"
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the cracked ceiling of his apartment.
"…Fuck."
His jaw tightened.
Family.
Mom? Gone.
Dad? Gone earlier.
Relatives? Might as well be NPCs from a deleted save file.
"I don't even have a family," he muttered.
The room felt colder for a second.
The Hardcore mission didn't care.
The panel just hovered there, silent, waiting.
Ray closed his eyes and took a long breath.
"…But," he said quietly, opening them again,
"it never said it had to be my family."
A slow grin formed.
He checked the time on his phone.
Still early.
Too early for office crowds.
Too early for gym bullshit.
But—
He looked out the window.
Across the street, past a row of dusty parked cars, was a small public park.
Benches. Trees. Walking paths.
And every morning—
That place was packed.
Old men playing chess.
Grandmas speed-walking like it was an Olympic sport.
Retired couples gossiping like high schoolers—just with bad knees.
Ray's grin widened.
"…Oh."
He stood up, stretched his arms, cracked his neck.
"Family tree, huh…"
He grabbed his jacket, slipped on his shoes, and headed out.
---
The park smelled like morning dew and cheap coffee.
And yeah—
It was full of seniors.
Ray slowed down, scanning the area.
Old men arguing over chess moves.
Grandmas feeding pigeons like it was a sacred ritual.
An elderly couple whispering about someone else's grandkid.
Ray stopped near the entrance.
The fingerprint icon floated calmly in front of his chest.
He tapped it.
The panel appeared.
[Global Alter — Ready]
Ray inhaled.
"…Alright," he muttered.
"Let's build a family."
The input box appeared.
---
[Input Required]
[Definition of Family Designation:]
---
Ray glanced across the park one last time.
He smiled.
And started typing.