Rooftop near the Southern Gate – Late Afternoon
The city of Valis shimmered beneath the slanting sun, rooftops bathed in amber light, shadows stretching like long fingers across the cobbled streets. It was almost beautiful—almost peaceful.
Thalen crouched atop a weather-worn rooftop, the breeze tousling his dark hair. He barely noticed the chill.
His gaze was fixed on a single man moving through the plaza below: Doran Kess.
A B-rank hunter, taller than most, with a proud gait and two enchanted swords slung low at his hips. He radiated confidence, that familiar smugness that high-ranked hunters wore like perfume.
Thalen had watched him for days. Observed his movements. His mannerisms. The way people looked at him with awe—or fear.
But today, Thalen wasn't watching out of admiration.
Today was a test.
His pulse thrummed with quiet anticipation as he activated his skill.
[Eye of Desire – Active]
Desire: To prove he's above others. Wants to be recognized as extraordinary.
Perfect, Thalen thought, eyes narrowing. Let's see how far you'll go to prove that.
He opened the interface. The now-familiar hum of [Quest Architect] curled around his mind like a wire tightening.
This time, no mischief. No trick. He wasn't trying to teach a lesson or steal ice cream money.
He was going to push the system itself.
He was going to create a perfectly impossible quest.
[Quest Architect – Active]
Target: Doran Kess
Title:Touch the Moon
Description:Leap into the sky and place both palms against the moon for three full seconds.
Reward: 1 mana stone
Penalty:Death
Duration:60 seconds
Confirm?
Thalen stared at the lines for a long moment.
His thumb hovered over the "Confirm" button, heart pounding now—not with guilt or doubt, but something colder. Sharper.
If this works, he thought, I'll know I can kill without weapons. Without combat. Just words and will.
He pressed Confirm.
Doran's Perspective – The Plaza Below
It hit him mid-step.
A sudden pulse of divine pressure—an unfamiliar golden screen blooming across his vision.
His heart jumped in surprise, and he froze.
[Divine Quest Issued]
Leap into the sky and place both palms against the moon for three full seconds.
Reward: 1 mana stone
Penalty: Death.
Time Remaining: 60 seconds.
Doran blinked hard. Once. Twice. His pulse spiked.
"What the hell…?"
He looked around instinctively. No one was staring at him. The plaza was alive with its usual chaos—children chasing fruit carts, merchants haggling. Everything normal.
Everything except this.
A divine quest. The text glowed with that same crystalline light that came with system-verified events.
It was unmistakable.
"Is this a joke?" he muttered.
Then he saw the penalty again. Death.
The hell kind of divine test is this? he thought, fists tightening. The moon? Are they mocking me?
He glanced upward. The crescent moon was visible, faint in the daylight sky—distant, unreachable.
It has to be a metaphor, he reasoned. A symbolic challenge.
45 seconds remaining.
Maybe if he said the words? Acted like he could? Maybe that would count?
"Touch the moon," he muttered aloud. "I reach beyond my limits. I—"
40 seconds.
Nothing changed.
Is it literal? Is that even possible? He thought back to every mobility skill he'd ever learned. His highest leap didn't even graze the rooftops, much less the stratosphere.
Doran felt sweat bead at his neck. But I'm not a coward. I've faced wyverns. Bloodfiends. I won't be mocked by a riddle from the heavens.
30 seconds.
He bent his knees. Sprang upward. His jump cleared maybe three meters. He landed with a grunt. Nothing.
No system ping. No adjustment. Just failure.
20 seconds.
His mind raced. Do I fake an attempt? Beg forgiveness? Kneel? No. I can't look weak. But what if I—
He looked around again, wild now. The world kept moving. No one else seemed aware.
10 seconds.
And that's when the real fear began.
He understood then—this wasn't a test of faith. It wasn't metaphorical.
It was execution.
And there was nothing he could do.
He fell to one knee—not to comply, but from the weight of realization. His eyes locked onto the moon, and he whispered:
"I want to obey."
Tears sprang to the corners of his eyes—fury, frustration, helplessness all tangled together.
"But I can't."
3…
2…
1…
[Quest Failed]
[Penalty Applied: Cardiac Disruption – Status: DECEASED]
Doran's heart stopped in a single, soundless beat.
He collapsed sideways. Lifeless. Expression frozen in blank disbelief.
Thalen's Perspective – Rooftop Above
From his perch above, Thalen watched it all unfold.
He didn't blink.
He didn't breathe.
The moment Doran fell, something inside Thalen shifted.
He expected satisfaction. Triumph.
But what he felt… was cold. Too cold.
He stared at the death notification. Then at the body.
He wanted to live, Thalen thought, swallowing dryly. He tried. He begged.
The realization didn't spark guilt.
It sparked awe.
I created an impossible demand… and the system still enforced it.
His hands trembled—but not from fear.
From power.
He didn't need poison. Or traps. Or blades.
He needed only words.
He had weaponized reality.
He slumped back against the chimney, arms wrapped around himself. Something inside him laughed—but it was quiet, thin, like a string pulled too tight.
Below, the square exploded into chaos.
People screamed. Guards rushed in. A healer knelt beside Doran's body, fingers trembling with a useless healing spell.
"It was a heart attack," someone whispered. "He just dropped…"
No one questioned the system.
No one looked up.
Thalen slid backward across the roof, disappearing into the alleys like smoke.
I gave him a task only a god could fulfill.
And punished him for being mortal.
...