The blue holographic window hovered in front of him like a pop-up ad that refused to close.
[SYSTEM GENERATED RANDOM QUEST!]
Haru blinked.
"…A what now?"
The screen cheerfully bounced.
[Beginner Quest: Breathe slow and steady for 5 seconds]
Reward: Steady Mind (Minor)
He stared.
Was this a prank? A hallucination? A side effect of brain damage?
But then again, he DID feel like his brain got unplugged and plugged back in.
…Eh. Breathing was easy.
He inhaled slowly. Exhaled slower.
Five calm, deep breaths.
PING!
[Quest Complete!]
Reward Granted: Steady Mind]
[Mental clarity + small increase]
He blinked again.
"I feel… slightly calmer and less stupid. Nice."
But before he could enjoy his moment of victory, he heard a choked sob behind him.
His mom stood there, hands over her mouth, eyes glossy and trembling.
"H-Haru… are you… y-you're talking to yourself? A-are you hearing voices? Oh no… oh no…"
"…Mom?"
She rushed over to him and hugged him tightly, as if hugging could fix amnesia.
"It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay. Your brain is just… overwhelmed. You don't have to force anything. You should rest. Yes. Rest."
She gently guided him back to his bed like he was made of glass and trauma.
Haru lay there thinking,
"I just got a stat buff, not a lobotomy."
But he didn't get a chance to argue.
As a New Quest Appeared
The moment his head touched the pillow:
[System Generated Quest: Take a Nap]
Reward: Zero-Calorie Chocolate Bar
Haru stared.
"…That's kinda nice."
But he was tired. His brain had basically rebooted twice today.
He closed his eyes.
Sleep took him instantly.
When he woke, something was in his hand.
A chocolate bar.
Wrapped nicely. Cold. Real.
He turned it over. It looked almost… premium.
"…Okay," he murmured. "This system might be weird, but at least I wont go Hungry."
After a minute of intense moral debate
("Is this safe?"
"What if it's poisoned?"
"Would a system try to kill its host?"
"…Probably not?")
he took a bite.
His eyes widened.
"…It's so good I'm gonna cry."
He devoured it with the energy of a man discovering free snacks after a breakup.
He didn't notice his mother watching from the doorway, silently worrying.
She hugged her arms around herself.
"Is he… stress-eating? Crying because of Chocolate?"
Flashback At the Doctor's Office
Earlier, while Haru had been poking his chubby cheeks in the mirror, the doctor had pulled his mother aside.
"He may be suppressing memories due to trauma," Dr. Takamura said gently.
"Children sometimes forget things intentionally when something bad happens."
His mother's heart twisted.
"T-trauma…? But Haru never told me…"
The doctor sighed.
"I'm not saying anything definite. But symptoms like his are most commonly caused by severe emotional stress. Bullying… or wanting to forget something deeply upsetting."
Her eyes filled with tears.
She remembered how Haru had come home some days looking shaken… pale… and yet he always smiled at her, insisting he was fine.
She never pushed him.
She thought he just had a bad day.
Now she wondered how much he had been hiding.
"With your permission," the doctor continued, "I'd like him to rest for at least a week. No school. No pressure. We'll observe his condition."
She nodded, tears falling.
"I… I should've noticed sooner…"
Meanwhile, Back in the Present
Haru stretched on his small bed, feeling surprisingly recharged.
The system screen blinked back to life.
[Improvement Quest Unlocked!]
[Daily Quest: Run 3 laps around your neighborhood every morning]
Duration: 7 Days
Reward: Improved Genetics (slower weight gain)]
He stared.
He blinked.
He reread it.
"…So you're telling me," he said slowly, "that running can Make me lose weight?"
(A/N: no shit sherlock)
The window sparkled as if proud of itself.
He sighed dramatically.
"Well… it's not superpowers, but it's something."
He hopped off the bed, only to immediately wobble like a bowling ball with legs and looked out the window toward the street.
"…three laps. Every day. For a week."
He gulped.
"…I'm gonna die."
And thus began the greatest workout arc in the history of chubby 10 year-old.
-Eye of the Tiger Plays in the Background-