Chapter 42: Endless Mode Part 2
Chapter 42: Endless Mode Part 2
[Task Completed!]
[+5 Exp]
[Exp: 6/25 | Level 4]
Tristan deliberately put on his shirt again. “Alright, bro. I helped you with the task, I gotta go somewhere now…”
“Okay,” Jin smiled, “Thanks. I was gonna pick a fight outside or something. Luckily you were here to help me out.”
Tristan smiled softly at him. “You’re always welcome, my lad. Remember that.” Then, he turned around slowly, and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Jin alone.
Jin laid supine on his bed, his palms colliding with the back of his head. “I have no idea what I’ll do without those guys.” his smile reappears after his voice trailed off.
***
Jin had fallen asleep upon being shrouded in the comfort of his soft, white mattress. His eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell slowly. Then, he started hearing an ambient sound, even entering his dreams.
Having heard the sound intensify, he bolted upright; sitting on the bed now with dilated pupils. “Oh my god, I fell asleep. How stupid of me!” his voice, panic-stricken.
He brought up his system interface upon thought.
[Endless Mode (???)] (?)
[Deal 20 damage, you lose 1 HP for every hour passed without task completed]
He quickly tossed his dilated pupils at his Health.
[HP: 12/15]
He heaved in great relief. “If I only lost three health points, this could only mean that the task appeared only three hours ago.”
“How come though? Aren’t the tasks supposed to be appearing one after the other?”
He peered down at the display of his wristband. “It is almost five o’ clock already! I slept through the whole day!?”
He pivoted his body, turning to the edge of the bed. On the edge of the mattress, he perched. He placed both his feet on the floor, gazing at the screen before him.
[Endless Mode (???)] (?)
He noticed that there was now a single question mark that looked quite interactive. He edged a finger closer to the system screen. Then he rested the finger atop this question mark.
Something else came up.
[Difficulty: 1]
On Jin’s part, this could only mean that the difficulty of the Endless Mode he had been experiencing was only one out of a bigger number.
No wonder why it was this easy for him.
Though, he wasn’t complaining. Had it been much harder, he knew that it would have been a huge crisis for him, given his current level.
He sighed. He would call his good friend Tristan back over to help him again … but does he really want to do this? Shouldn’t that be regarded as cheating the system?
Or should he just shoot pride in the face, and roll with it? Continue being dependent on Tristan whose level by means of the system was far beyond that of his.
He shook his head at the thought. No, why should he always rely upon his friends? How would he learn, and become stronger this way?
He decided he would not call Tristan, but execute the given task himself. No one wants to be too reliant at the end of the day, right?
“Nothing beats being autonomous at times,” he stood, “I’ll do the task myself …”
Besides, what takes the fun out of punching faces in is … not punching faces in. As simple as it goes.
He turned to his door, and started approaching it. He revolved the door knob, pulled the door open, and walked into the living room.
Dobby was sitting on the couch using a smartphone. It was a bit surprising for Jin to see him still present at his place.
Dobby’s uncle just did not care about him as much. His uncle was never on good terms with his parents but Elves were essentially known for their easy-going lenience.
Get into a fight with an elf today, it will return tomorrow with a smile on its face. Such was the intrinsic part of an Elf that differed so much from so many other races.
But Dobby’s uncle seemed different. Why had he been begrudging his own sister and her husband so much?
These things were still unbeknown to Dobby. Jin sighed upon thinking about it.
Having heard his heave, Dobby shifted his attention to him. “Ohh hey, Jin. I checked on you a while back … you’re finally up.”
“Yeah I am. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. Tristan got us new phones and stuff. He’s such a nice guy at times. Doesn’t change the fact that I just feel like punching his baby face.”
Again, smart phones were still not obsolete. Wristbands could do nearly as much of the functions one of them could. But people still had their reasons for remaining a smartphone user.
“He did?”
Dobby looked at him again. “Yeah, he did. The wristbands are great for everything—but you can’t play games and browse through apps and stuff, can you?”
He then picked up a cuboid-shaped box that rested beside him on the couch. He looked at Jin, and tossed the box in his direction. “Here’s yours.”
Jin quickly caught it. He looked down at it. It was evident to him that it was expensive. When everyone started getting free irremovable wristbands at birth, the smartphone industry was hindered quite a bit.
And so, they stepped up their games. Smart phones were better than ever now.
Upon looking down at the box, Jin knew Tristan had gone out of his way and squandered money on one of the greatest smartphones out there. He shook his head in firm grievance. Wry molding on his countenance.
Dobby raised a brow. “What’s the matter? Don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“This looks really expensive…” he turned the box over, roving at it.
Tristan screwed up his face, and rolled his eyes. “Well duh, it’s the greatest brand out there. Of course it’s expensive. I bet he paid anywhere around two thousand ECoins for just one of these.”
Jin shook his head. “That’s not right. That’s a lot of money to waste.”
“I know. He said think of it as a gift to express his gratitude.”
“Gratitude my arse, hasn’t he done enough?”
Dobby raised his shoulders in a half-suppressed shrug. “Meh…”
Jin opened the box. The box accommodated a green phone that was built out of the strongest metallic glass there is.
There was also a strip of paper in the box that read, ‘LOKIII!!!’
He couldn’t hold back himself from shaking his head, and pressing his lips together in line. “He even got me a green one … what a funny guy.”
Dobby toyed with a lock of hair. “Mine is gold—not sure if it’s real—but it looks so. Probably to match my blonde hair?”
“Probably.”
Jin then uttered, “Hey, Dobby. Relax, okay? I’m gonna get something at the pharmacy for Grandma. It’s five, I’ll be back in a while.”
He turned off his phone. “I’m coming with you.”
Jin folded his arms. “You shouldn’t. Please. Remember we have somewhere to go with Flint and the others—if it’s a trip you really want.”
He frowned, and drawled, “Fineee…”
Jin smiled. He walked off, and got himself a hoodie. Apparently his friends had even done his laundry. At this point they were going a bit overboard with it.
He shook his head, and started putting on the hoodie. Then, he approached the front door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay…”
He opened the door, walked outside, and closed it again.
[Deal 20 damage, you lose 1 HP for every hour passed without task completed]
Suddenly a mask conjured on his face. He quickly sunk his hands into his kangaroo pockets. “Let’s go complete that task…”