Chapter 8: Quest
When morning came, he opened his eyes. He had been waiting for a month to see the quests.
Slowly, he pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed.
His gaze wandered toward the window, where laughter echoed faintly from outside. Through the dusty glass, he saw Maya playing with the village children in the courtyard. Her laughter carried freely on the morning breeze, light and unrestrained ,so unlike the weight of guilt crushing down on him
For a moment, he allowed himself to just watch. There was something comforting in that innocent joy, something that reminded him of a time before titles, curses, and his betrayal to his friends and someone like Maya but the warmth quickly faded when reality settled in once more.
He dragged his eyes away, sweeping them across the small room.
He went outside from his room in search of Arthur, the old man who had given him shelter was nowhere to be found. No doubt he had already left to move around the village doing his work.
When he returned to his room again,the silence of the room pressed in, broken only by his own heartbeat. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of hesitation, he spoke aloud the word he both dreaded and longed to see.
"Status."
When the window status opened:
[STATUS WINDOW]
[Name: Ank ???]
[Race: Fallen True God (Sealed)
[Title:
The First Emperor of the Universe (Sealed) Conqueror of Worlds (Sealed) Ruler Beyond Universes (Sealed) ???? ???? ????....]
[Rank:???? (Sealed)]
[Level: Unknown (0.001% Unsealed)]
Attributes
[Hp :Life Force Burning
Effect: Temporarily Suppressed
Time Remaining before restart: 2000 Days ]
[Energy: Sealed (0.001% Accessible)]
[Strength: Sealed (0.001%)]
[Constitution: Sealed (0.001%)]
[Stamina: Sealed (0.001%)]
[Charisma: Sealed (0.001%)]
[Intelligence: Sealed (0.001%)]
[Magic Affinity:
All Elements (Sealed)]
[Skills:
All Skills Sealed]
[Spells:
Basic Tier Only
Note: Forbidden Spells consume Life Force]
[Temporarily basic spells cannot be used for some time, so the host has to wait for at least gods' permission before using spells.]
[System Restrictions
Magic usage temporarily disabled Seals limit all abilities to 0.001%]
Quest: Available
And his eyes saw his sealed status. At first, he didn't understand what all the sealed status meant, but now, slowly, he understood everything.
He clenched his fists. Fallen True God , The title mocked him, reminding him of everything he had lost. Once, he had stood above all rulers, conquerors, emperors . Now? Reduced to scraps.
[HP: ?????] (Life Force Burning – Temporarily halted, resumes after 1970 days). At first, he did not understand what this was , now he understood that he had limited time before his death.
Almost two thousand days. That was the countdown to his death. Unless he erased the curse.In order to erase the curse, he had to complete quests.
And now the quests section appeared.
[System Note:
All Emperor-level powers have been sealed.
To unlock Seals: Complete the tasks issued by the God of Creation, the God of Destruction, and the God of Protection.
To erase the Life Burning effect: Complete quests issued by the God of Protection.
To unlock Spells: Complete quests issued by the God of Creation.
To unlock Titles: Complete quests issued by the God of Destruction.]
Quest: Now available.
Another window appeared, smaller but sharper. This one showed his "current state after unsealing."
[STATUS WINDOW]
[Name: Ank[
[Rank: Beginner]
[Level: 2]
[HP: 19]
[Energy: 50]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 31]
[Constitution: 12]
[Stamina: 19]
[Charisma: 18]
[Intelligence: 11]
[Skills: None]
[Spells: None]
System Message:
Current status reflects the host's partially unsealed state.
This was his status after one month of training, which was not much, but he was satisfied with the result.
But the humiliation was unbearable. From wielding galaxies in his hands to being weaker than a seven year child.
Even the system felt like it was mocking him, repeatedly showing his locked status as if it wanted to remind him of the power he had once possessed.
And after a long wait, the quests appeared.
Quest: To erase the Life Burning Curse
Sub Quest 1: Save the planet before planet destruction.
Time Limit: 8 years
Location: Duskwild
Difficulty: ?????
Reward: Life extended by 2000 days
Penalty: Planet Destruction
Time until quest starts: None
Sub Quest 2: Kill two million zombies
Time Limit: 6 years
Location: Duskwild
Difficulty: ?????
Reward: Life extended by 200 days
Penalty: Planet Destruction
Time until quest starts: None
Ank nearly choked after seeing this.
"Save the planet? Kill two million zombies? With this pathetic body? " He slapped his forehead, groaning. "What was this, some sick joke?"
But the window wasn't done. More quests spilled out like poison.
Quest: To unlock Spells
Sub Quest 1: ?????? (You cannot see this quest until the time comes)
Time Limit: 44 months
Location: Duskwild
Difficulty: Extremely Difficult
Reward: Shadow Soldier Army [Description: army made of shadow]
Penalty: ????
Time until quest starts: None
Sub Quest 2: Make someone your fiancée
Time Limit: 48 months
Location: Duskwild
Difficulty: ??????
Reward: ??????
Penalty: Your mom will be angry at you if you do not complete this quest.
Time until quest starts: None
Ank blinked. Then blinked again.
"Wait, what the hell? Make someone my fiancée? " His voice cracked again.
"That's a quest requirement? What kind of twisted system was this? And what does it mean 'Mom will be angry at you'?".
And what was this quest that I cannot see until the time comes?
But the torment didn't end there. The final set of quests scrolled into view.
Quest: To unlock Titles
Sub Quest 1: Kill 1000 dragons (but you cannot kill innocent dragons)
Time Limit: 15 years
Location: ????
Difficulty: ??????
Reward: Dragon Slayer [Provides a skill that allows you to summon dragons]
Penalty: A dragon will always hunt you
Time until quest starts: None
Sub Quest 2: Insult Creation
Time Limit: None
Location: Duskwild
Difficulty: ??????
Reward: Strongest Person in the Universe [Provides infinite strength capable of destroying planets with one punch]
Penalty: Continuous electric shock for 2 months
Time until quest starts: 1 year 2 months
Ank's face turned pale.
His fingers trembled as he scrolled through the lines again, hoping, praying that he had misread something.
But no.
Every word remained the same.
"Insult Creation?"
His voice rose into a strained shout.
"Are you serious?"
He stared at the glowing window in disbelief.
"What kind of system makes insulting a god a requirement for becoming the strongest being in the universe?"
The system gave no response.
It never did.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
Not out of amusement, but at the cruel twist of fate.
"What kind of quests are these..."
His thoughts spiraled as he read them again.
Eight years to save an entire planet.
Six years to kill millions of zombies.
Make someone his fiancée.
An unknown hidden quest.
Kill dragons.
And now... insult the God of Creation.
And he had to do all of this while being weaker than the average seven year old child.
For a moment, Ank simply stared at his trembling hands.
The former Emperor of the Universe slowly exhaled.
"...I see. Destruction is taking revenge on me... by forcing me to complete these absurd quests."
How could he even begin?
.