Meret woke to sunlight creeping through her blinds, creating slanted golden bars across her room. The glow highlighted the chaos of unpacked boxes and the general disorder of moving into a new house. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, half-dreading another day of trying to make this new place feel like home. Before she could swing her legs off the bed, the now-familiar system screen materialized above her.
Daily Task: Start the Day
Objective: Get out of bed and prepare for the day.
Reward: +2 XP
Meret blinked at the hovering text, then groaned. “Seriously? It’s not enough that I have to get up—I have to earn points for it now?”
The screen shimmered in response, as if to say, Yes. Exactly that.
“Fine,” she muttered, throwing off her covers and standing up.
The system chimed.
Task Complete: Start the Day
+2 XP awarded
The number floated briefly before fading, leaving her with a fleeting sense of accomplishment.
Meret Novak – Level 1
XP: 23/100
She glanced at the display and sighed. “This system’s just a glorified to-do list,” she muttered. Yet, despite her skepticism, curiosity gnawed at her. Was there more to this thing? Could it actually help her with… life?
The first half of the morning passed uneventfully. After a quick breakfast, she dove into the tedium of unpacking her room. There were boxes to empty, clothes to fold, and a desk to set up. To make the monotony less painful, she began narrating her actions aloud, hoping the system might reward her for the effort. To her surprise, it did.
Task Complete: Organize Living Space
Reward: +4 XP
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
As soon as the notification faded, another one appeared.
Bonus Task Unlocked: Precision Challenge
Objective: Arrange items in a specific pattern
Reward: +3 XP
Meret arched an eyebrow at the new task. “What does that even mean? Do I alphabetize my socks? Stack my books by color?”
She decided to try. Grabbing a box of trinkets—a mix of old keychains, erasers, and random collectibles—she carefully arranged them in rows by size, with the tiniest pieces on the left and the largest on the right.
The system chimed.
Bonus Task Complete: Precision Challenge
+3 XP awarded
Meret smiled, a small thrill sparking at the sight of her updated stats.
Meret Novak – Level 1
XP: 30/100
Her progress bar edged forward, and she found herself oddly motivated. For the next hour, she unpacked with more focus, waiting to see what else the system might throw at her. Unfortunately, no other tasks appeared. By lunchtime, she had chipped away at her XP bar but was still far from her goal.
After lunch, Nico and Maeve dragged her to the nearby park. “You can’t just sit in your room all day,” Nico said as he practically shoved her out the door.
Meret rolled her eyes but followed her siblings, more out of boredom than enthusiasm. Once at the park, she leaned against a bench, watching Nico dribble a soccer ball with practiced ease. Maeve sat on the swings, humming to herself as she twisted the chains into loops.
“Hey, Meret!” Nico called, kicking the ball toward her. “Want to try?”
“Not really,” she said, catching the ball with both hands.
“Come on,” he insisted. “It’s easy. Just try to dribble.”
Meret sighed. “Fine, but I warned you.” She dropped the ball to the ground and made a clumsy attempt at controlling it with her feet. The ball wobbled away after her first kick, nearly tripping her in the process.
The system chimed.
New Skill Unlocked: Basic Athletics (Level 1)
+1 XP
Nico burst out laughing. “That was terrible!”
“No arguments here,” Meret said, her cheeks flushing. Still, the notification made her grin. “I guess the system gives out points for trying.” she whispered to herself
Feeling slightly emboldened, she picked up the ball and tried again. This time, she managed to keep it in motion for three taps before it skittered away.
The system chimed again.
Task Complete: Physical Activity Challenge
Reward: +5 XP
She glanced at her stats as Nico reclaimed the ball.
Meret Novak – Level 1
XP: 36/100
Tutorial Milestone
That afternoon, back at home, the system prompted her with something new.
Quest: Complete the System Tutorial
Progress: 80%
Objective: Demonstrate adaptability across multiple tasks.
Reward: +15 XP
Meret stared at the glowing text and sighed. “Adaptability, huh? Guess I need to get creative.”
She decided to experiment. The system seemed to reward effort, so she pushed herself to try new things. First, she balanced on one foot while sorting her books. When the system didn’t respond, she upped the ante by switching feet after every book. Nothing. Next, she unpacked the last few boxes at lightning speed, timing herself with her phone. The system failed to appear, offering her no additional experience points. Desperate, she dropped to the floor and attempted push-ups, managing four before collapsing in a heap.
Task Complete: Adaptability Exercise
Reward: +6 XP
Panting, she sat back against her bed and checked her stats again.
Meret Novak – Level 1
XP: 42/100
She groaned. “This is going to take forever.”
But then, with a soft chime, the system screen lit up with bold text.
Tutorial Complete!
+15 XP awarded
Meret blinked in surprise as her progress bar jumped forward.
Meret Novak – Level 1
XP: 57/100
Still short of leveling up, but progress was progress. She stared at the screen for a long moment, the faintest trace of pride creeping into her voice.
“Well, I’m still Level 1,” she muttered, “but at least I’m actually getting somewhere.”
With a small smile, she collapsed onto her bed, already racking her brain on how to level up faster tomorrow.
<3