As the sun finally rose to fill an orange hue across the sky, Inso was proud. Sure, it was just completing basic daily tasks that every other high ranked player probably did while knocked out in their sleep, but damn it, he'd done it with his own two hands when he nearly burst his eyeballs.
He turned to Devi with a grin so bright it could've powered a small city. "I did it, Noona!"
Devi smiled back, but her thoughts were considerably less celebratory. At least he's motivated now. But knowing the actual extent of his abilities... we might be more screwed than I thought.
Will he actually make it? The question gnawed at her as she walked over and ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Good job, little bro."
Inso practically glowed with smugness. He'd completed a basic daily task and was acting like he'd just conquered the universe single-handedly. Devi felt the overwhelming urge to smack some shame into him, but she held back. Let's not push him too much on day one.
"Alright, we've done what's necessary for today," she said instead. "Get some rest. I'll explain everything else this evening after I make some preparations."
Inso's brow furrowed in confusion. "Preparations? For what?"
The innocent question made Devi's stomach twist slightly. She couldn't exactly tell him she needed to figure out how to keep the worst player in the universe alive during their first mission.
"But wait," Inso continued, "what if that black fog lady comes back? I still can't use my abilities when she's around, remember?"
Devi shook her head dismissively. "She won't be back for at least a week. You're safe for now."
She paused, remembering something important. "Oh, and make sure to collect your daily task rewards. Don't forget."
"But who is sh....", within Inso could complete his question, Devi left with a word, "Later"
With that, she left him standing alone in the wasteland, with only the wind for company.
Inso watched her disappear into the distance, then spoke to the empty air with the exhausted tone of someone who'd just discovered that life was unfair.
"If she was going to let me rest anyway, why the hell did she drag me out here at dawn?"
The wind offered no answers, which was probably for the best.
"Oh right, the rewards," he muttered, suddenly remembering Devi's parting words. He opened his profile screen, deliberately avoiding the soul-crushing "Rank 150" notification, and clicked on his rewards.
A new window opened, and Inso's eyes widened.
[Unlocked skills]
[Bondmaster - 2%
.>On usage, can create explosions out of gases in air]
[Electro float – 2%
>On usage, can levitate objects]
Below these were several more skill slots, all locked and unnamed, taunting him with their mystery.
"How am I supposed to use these?" he asked the screen hopefully.
The screen, being a screen, maintained its dignified silence.
Inso sighed deeply, adding this to his growing list of injustices. "I guess I'll have to wait for Noona to explain everything. Again."
Scratching his neck in frustration, he continued exploring the interface and discovered a weekly tasks tab next to the daily tasks. Curiosity piqued, he clicked it open.
[Weekly tasks]
[Elemental harmony – 200 exp]
[Spark sculptor – 200 exp]
[Hydrocraft – 200 exp]
[Static shift- 200 exp]
[Neural echo – 200 exp]
Inso stared at the list, his chin multiplying as he processed the science-sounding names. The last one caught his attention like a particularly shiny object.
"Neural Echo?" He clicked on it, and a detailed popup appeared.
[Neural echo
Description: Record. Reflect. Replicate
Task: Record your limb's charge pattern and animate it in a dummy limb
Bonus skill: Replicate
Exp- 200]
If you need a visual representation, click the comment
Inso's brain went into overload mode. "I can... do THAT?" He stared at his hand with the thought of trying it ASAP. "That's basically creating copies of my movements in other objects!"
The possibilities were staggering. But when he removed his glasses to attempt the task, his eyes immediately protested with the intensity of someone who'd just stared at the sun for sixty straight seconds.
"Right. Rest first, world domination later," he mumbled, trudging back toward home.
Back in his house, Inso found his grandmother still peacefully sleeping. He knelt beside her bed, watching her gentle breathing, and felt a fierce protectiveness surge through his chest.
"I'll protect you, Grandma," he whispered. "I promise."
Dragging himself upstairs, he finally reached his bed—that beautiful, wonderful, horizontal piece of furniture that promised peace. He collapsed onto it like a cut tree and closed his eyes.
For exactly three seconds, peace reigned in his dark realm.
Then came the SWISH.
It's probably just Noona, Inso thought drowsily. She'll leave when she sees I'm sleeping. I'm not opening my eyes this time. Not even if the moon crashes onto earth.
His exhausted body had basically fused with the mattress at this point. Nothing could make him move.
"Hey."
The voice was deep, low, and carried the kind of menace that made small children cry and grown men reconsider their life choices. Inso's eyes snapped open so fast, and his expression immediately shifted from drowsy peace to pure disgust.
"You?"
Rex stood in his room, the worst uninvited guest, his alien or whatever veins twisted with barely contained fury. "Where's that b****?" he snarled, literally radiating heat waves of anger.
Inso felt his own temper flare. The absolute audacity of this ass-hat to come into MY house and insult MY Noona...
Taking a deep breath to keep from doing something stupid and wasting his precious sleep time, he settled for the most mature response he could manage: "Not telling ya. Bleh"
Then he rolled over and closed his eyes again.
The silence stretched on for several seconds. Rex's composure faded as his angry self popped out again. But then, something shifted in his expression—a flicker of cunning that was somehow more terrifying than his rage. Aren't humans foolish creatures that succumb to soft words?
"Alright," Rex said, his tone suddenly softer, almost unsuitable for his huge self. "I'm not going to fight with her. I just want to ask how she learned about that trick. So can you tell me where she is?"
Inso squinted at him, his neck retreating into his shoulders until he looked like a suspicious turtle making a double chin.
"Believe YOU? My ancestors would roll in their graves, slap me with a slipper, and disown me again if I trusted that face, you alien hemorrhoid."
Rex blinked several times, his alien brain apparently needing a moment to process the creative insult through his human language database. When he finally understood, his face went through 50 shades of interstellar fury.
"You called me WHAT?"
The tension in the room rose. Rex looked ready to demonstrate why he has so much enemies, while Inso was prepared to defend his right to insult the alien with creative names.
And then—
Click.
The bedroom door opened.
"Inso, you brought a friend over?"
Grandma stood in the doorway, her blind eyes somehow radiating more warmth than a summer day. Her smile was so pure and genuine that it could have melted the hearts of war criminals.
Both Rex and Inso froze like ice.
"I didn't know you had friends other than Devi," she continued, stepping into the room with the kind of joy that only grandmothers could express upon discovering their antisocial grandchild might actually have a social life. "How wonderful!"
The sweet, innocent soul had absolutely no idea that she'd just walked into the middle of what could generously be described as a Superman vs. Batman showdown.
Rex stared at the elderly woman in complete bewilderment. His database of human behavior apparently hadn't prepared him for encountering someone who radiated pure grandmother energy in the middle of war.
Inso, meanwhile, was experiencing the unique horror of realizing his grandmother was about to invite a potentially dangerous alien being to stay for tea and cookies.
To be continued...