Chapter 2 - The App That Insulted Me
Eli spent twenty minutes trying to uninstall the app.
It had no icon.
No permissions page.
No developer name.
When he held the power button, his phone displayed:
[RUNNING AWAY IS A RECURRING PERSONALITY TRAIT.]
“Who programmed you, my ex?” Eli muttered.
A status panel opened.
[HOST: ELI CARTER]
[AGE: 20]
[CULTIVATION: MORTAL]
[STRENGTH: 6]
[AGILITY: 7]
[FOCUS: 4]
[QI: 0]
[DEFIANCE: 0]
Below it sat one quest.
[BEGINNER QUEST]
Perform 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and run 3 miles before 8:00 a.m.
Reward: Body Tempering I.
Failure: Trevor Cross breaks your nose.
Eli looked at the clock.
12:18 a.m.
“I have class at nine.”
[CORRECTION: YOU HAVE A MIDTERM REVIEW AT NINE. CLASS IMPLIES LEARNING.]
He hated the app immediately.
He did the push-ups anyway.
At thirty-two, his arms shook.
At fifty-six, he met God.
At eighty-one, God told him to finish the set.
By sunrise, Eli staggered through the last half-mile along the river trail.
His phone rang like a slot machine.
[QUEST COMPLETE.]
[REWARD: BODY TEMPERING I.]
Heat surged through his muscles.
His spine cracked from top to bottom.
He nearly fell into a trash can.
Then everything sharpened.
His breathing became easy.
The ache in his knees vanished.
He looked at his hands.
They were still his hands.
Just... steadier.
A final notification appeared.
[NEW PASSIVE SKILL: BASIC BODY AWARENESS.]
[10:13 A.M. APPROACHING.]
Eli checked the time.
10:06.
May you like
“Oh, come on.”
