The next day, I woke up with a sense of groggy purpose as I flailed around for my glasses. The world around me was a blurry mess, but once I managed to get my glasses on, the world was more or less back to the shape I remembered. Except…I blinked a few times, looking around the room. Something wasn’t quite right about my vision.

It was as if the prescription was slightly off, warping the world around me enough to be annoying. Wearing glasses that weren’t the right prescription was a surefire way to get a headache, but I couldn’t exactly see without them. A visit to the eye doctor was definitely in order.

I waited expectantly for that now-familiar chime that meant I’d received a new Quest, but it didn’t happen. Weird. What is it that triggers my power? Is there some magical AI determining if a task qualifies as a Quest? What criteria are they using?

Pushing those thoughts aside, I decided to get ready for the day. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since my epic battle with the rage-tail. Eggs sounded pretty good, and I briefly entertained the idea of actually cooking something healthy. Maybe it was time to start eating better, but then I spotted the box of Pop-Tarts on the counter.

That sounded more my speed. I grabbed the box and was just about to open up the foil when I heard the chime I’d been waiting for all morning.

New Quest!

Balanced Breakfast

Objective: Eat a balanced breakfast containing:

3 Eggs

1 Meat

1 Vegetable

8 fl oz of water

“Seriously?” I groaned, staring at the Quest screen hovering in front of me. “Who sent you, Quest? Are my boss and my mom somehow in on this together?”

I dragged myself to the fridge, opening it to reveal the sad, neglected contents. There were some eggs, a lonely sausage, and half a shriveled red pepper. What had happened to the other half was anyone’s guess. Well, it was a start.

With a sigh, I grabbed the ingredients and laid them out on the counter. I diced the pepper and tossed it into the pan with the sausage meat. As they cooked, I cracked the eggs into a bowl and whisked them into yellow goo. Once the sausage and the pepper had been cooked sufficiently, I added in the eggs and mixed them all up until I had a fully acceptable breakfast.

I sat down with my plate, checking the Quest as I did, and quickly shot up to get myself a glass of water. Downing the water in one gulp, I sat down to enjoy my meal.

“You know,” I said through a mouthful of eggs, “if you’re going to give someone a cooking checklist, you should really include salt.”

Quest Completed!

Balanced Breakfast

Rewards:

2 Experience Points

$20

I felt a small rush of satisfaction. Sure, it wasn’t as thrilling as fighting a rage-tail, but a Quest was a Quest. I pulled up my stats and checked my experience points. I needed 12 points to level up. That was six breakfasts until level 3!

I stared at the empty plate in front of me, thinking about the absurdity of it all. Yesterday, I was fighting a magical raccoon, and today I was earning experience points by eating eggs and sausage. This new life was definitely going to take some getting used to.

But if eating breakfast was what it took to level up and gain more powers, then I’d do it. I’d eat all the eggs and sausages the Quest screen threw at me. Why did I care? I didn’t know. Nathan was right about one thing though: put a checklist in front of me and I can accomplish anything. With a newfound determination, I rinsed off my plate, put it in the dishwasher, and got ready for the day, my head already buzzing with the possibilities of what other mundane tasks might net me those precious experience points.

After all, if I was going to be a video game protagonist, I might as well play the game right.

Just as I was grabbing my keys, my phone buzzed with a text from Nathan.

“Hey man, can I get a ride to work? Car’s still in the shop.”

I sighed, knowing that Nathan’s car was always in the shop. I was about to reply when a new Quest notification popped up.

New Quest!

Taxi

Objective: Give Nathan Rivers a ride to work.

“Alright, alright. I get it,” I muttered to the Quest screen before texting Nathan back.

“Sure thing. Be there in 10.”

As I pulled up to Nathan's place, he hopped in with his usual grin, his mop of dark hair swept back with some sort of crispy styling gel. He was looking much more relaxed than the last time I saw him. Granted, the last time I’d seen him he was coming down off of a near-death experience with a giant, magical raccoon, but still.

“Thanks for the ride, Li,” Nathan said, buckling his seatbelt.

“No problem,” I replied, pulling away from the curb. “Actually, I have some news for you. Remember how I checked your character sheet before you left yesterday?”

Nathan looked at me incredulously. “You what?”

“Right. So, I looked at your character sheet yesterday, and you’ll never guess what I saw.”

“I won’t have to guess if you just tell me.”

“Okay, well it looks like the experience you got from the monster fight bumped you up to level 1.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. “No way! Your power gave me experience too? Is it playing by Pokémon rules? Wait. Level 1? What does that mean?”

“Well, apparently, it means you’ve got a power now,” I said with a grin.

Nathan was practically vibrating with excitement. “A power? Me? What is it? What can I do?”

I glanced at him, enjoying the moment. “Your power is called Invincible, and the first thing it does is it increases your Durability stat.

“Wha—”

“What’s the Durability stat? I had the same Question. Help says it governs how resistant you are to physical damage. Anyway, you can also activate your power to become truly Invincible for a short time. There were some formulas involved to say how much your stats go up and how long you can keep the skill active, but I didn’t have time to read them. The only downside I could read was that it has a high mana cost.”

Nathan’s jaw dropped. “So I’m like Superman now?”

“Well, Superman had a lot more going for him. You’re maybe more like Colossus? Except you aren’t super strong. And you don’t turn your body metal…I don’t think… Also, you can only be Invincible for a few seconds at a time.”

“Still, that’s awesome!” Nathan exclaimed. “You know, I felt different after the fight, but I thought I was just imagining it. I’ve got to try this out!”

“For sure, but let’s be safe, okay? The only way to test this out is to try to hurt you, and I don’t want you, you know, actually getting hurt.”

Nathan laughed, shaking his head. “No worries. But seriously, this is amazing. I never thought I’d get a power too.”

“It’s pretty great,” I agreed, pulling into the parking lot of Brownbag Groceries. “If monsters are going to keep materializing in parking lots, I’m glad we’ve got some methods of keeping safe.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Quest Completed!

Taxi

Rewards:

2 Experience Points

$20

As we got out of the car, Nathan was practically bouncing with energy. “Thanks again for the ride, Li. And for the news. This is the best day ever!” Nathan bounded in to work, still buzzing with excitement, while I dragged myself a little more sluggishly to clock in and head to the register.

The morning rush started as usual, with customers bustling in and out. I tried to put on my best customer service face, even though I didn’t have a Quest or a bonus Quest to motivate me. Still, I found myself falling into the rhythm of scanning items, making small talk, and bagging groceries with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

As the day went on, a few Quests popped up here and there. It seemed like every time I considered slacking off or avoiding work, a new Quest would appear.

New Quest! Clean Up Aisle 4

Objective: Clean the spill in Aisle 4.

New Quest! Customer Care

Objective: Help the elderly customer find their groceries.

I couldn’t help but groan internally each time, but I did them. After all, experience points were experience points. The tasks were mundane, but they made my shift go by a bit faster and gave me a weird sense of accomplishment.

Before I knew it, my shift was over. I clocked out and found Nathan still stocking shelves. His shift was longer than mind that day.

“Hey Nate, I’m heading out. Need a ride later?” I asked.

“That would be great,” he said, pausing to wipe his forehead. “We can meet up and try out my new power.”

New Quest! First Blood

Objective: Help Nathan try out his new Invincible Power.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said, smiling at the new Quest notification. “I’ll see you after your shift.”

As I walked out, Nathan called after me, “Hey, have you told your mom about your power yet?”

I froze for a moment, considering the Question. “Uh, no. Not yet.”

Nathan looked at me sympathetically. “She deserves to know, dude.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said, forcing a smile. “I just… I’m not ready for that conversation.”

As I turned to leave, I heard the familiar chime again.

New Quest! Call Your Mom

Objective: Call your mom and tell her about your new power.

I stared at the notification for a moment and rolled my eyes. Of course, the Quest system wanted me to tackle the one conversation I was dreading. But if it would earn me experience points, I might as well get it over with.

I pulled out of the parking lot with my phone and dialing my mom’s number. She picked up after a couple of rings.

“Hey! How’s my favorite son?” she greeted cheerfully.

“Hey, Mom,” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. “Wait. Does Kenneth know I’m your favorite son?”

“Oh, sons-in-law don’t count, Li. You know that,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Right. Anyway, do you have a minute to talk?”

“Oh no, this sounds serious. Don’t tell me you—”

“I’m not going to let you finish that sentence,” I interrupted. “Here’s the deal: you know how weird things have been since the monsters appeared?” I began, pausing for a second before plowing forward. “I’ve developed a power.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Eventually, her reply came back, hesitant: “Are you serious?”

I took a deep breath. “It’s called ‘Quest.’ Basically, I get these Quests, like tasks to do, and I earn experience points and rewards for completing them.”

She breathed out in a relieved sigh. “So you got a power, but it’s basically a to-do list. I can live with that.”

“A to-do list that gives me rewards for checking items off of it!” I said, a bit defensively.

“What kinds of rewards?”

“Well, so far, I’ve gotten some money and a few items,” I explained. “The money actually appears in my bank account, labeled as coming from the Quest power.”

“You’re getting money from a superpower?”

“Yep. Direct Deposit, it seems.”

She sighed, “Well at least it’s not a power that gets you out there fighting monsters. Still, you should probably keep this to yourself for now. I hate to say it, but a power that makes money appear in people’s bank accounts is exactly the sort of thing that could make you a target.”

“A target?” I exclaimed. “By wh—”

“And make sure you keep a record of any money you get from this power. You’ll want to talk with a tax attorney about how to report it as income anonymously.”

“You think I’ll have to pay taxes on it?” I pouted. “But it’s magic!”

“Liam, if there are other powers out there giving people money, the government will figure out how to tax it eventually. Best to save the receipts and get ahead of it.”

I frowned, considering her words. “What if I’m the only one with a power like this?”

She chuckled softly. “One of the truths you learn as you get older, Liam, is that no matter how exceptional you may feel, you are not an exception. Whatever special thing you think you can do that no one else can… you’re not an exception.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced. My power felt pretty unique. But she had a point—if there were others out there with similar abilities, it was only a matter of time before it all came to light.

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Anytime, Li. I’m always here for you. Just be careful, alright?”

“I will,” I promised. “Love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, Liam. Take care.”

I hung up, feeling a mix of relief and lingering uncertainty. Talking to my mom hadn’t been as bad as I’d feared. It never was, but somehow it always felt like it was going to be such a chore.

Quest Completed!

Call Your Mom

Rewards:

2 Experience Points

$20

Twenty more dollars! Nice. So far today, I had made an easy $150 from my power. Not world-changing, but if I added that to my income from Brownbag Groceries, I was getting close to skating above the poverty line. Unfortunately, that meant Mom was probably right. Keeping track of my earnings and staying low-key about my power seemed like the smart move.

I glanced at the clock. It was almost time to pick Nathan up. I grabbed my keys and headed out, my mind still buzzing with everything that had happened. This new world of powers and Quests was a lot to take in, but at least I wasn’t facing it alone.

When I pulled up to the store, Nathan was already outside, bouncing on his toes with excitement. He jumped into the car and grinned at me. “I’ve been thinking about my power all day, Li. I even did a little experiment.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked, curious. “What did you try?”

Nathan held out his arm. “I tried using a knife from aisle 8 on my skin. It didn’t cut me, but I don’t know if that’s because of my power or because I’m…you know…magic now.”

I blinked, confused. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Nathan sighed, clearly trying to be patient. “Okay, so people with powers have the same resistances to normal weaponry that monsters have. It’s not usually as strong, but it’s there. So, I don’t know if my power is protecting me or if just having power is protecting me.”

I nodded slowly, trying to wrap my head around it. “So you’re saying you don’t know if it’s your Invincible power or just being magical that’s keeping you safe?”

“Exactly,” Nathan said. “I’ve tried a bunch of knives, and none of them work on my skin.”

“Wait,” I said, a thought dawning on me. “You’re magic now, so shouldn’t you already overcome your own resistances?”

Nathan frowned. “Maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t read where any Arcanists have done experiments on people with powers attempting to hurt themselves.”

“Yeah, I can imagine that would be an awkward conversation.” I chuckled. Then a thought occurred to me. “Have you tried the box cutter? It’s magical, so if it works, we’ll know.”

Nathan gulped, then nodded. “Alright, let’s do it.”

“Not in the car, dummy! You can wait until we get to my apartment.”

Once we were safely in the kitchen and not hurtling along the highway at 55 miles per hour, I had Nate hand me the box-cutter. I took a deep breath and carefully—gently—poked Nathan in the finger with the tip of the blade. It took more effort than I would have expected, but eventually a tiny drop of blood appeared.

“Okay, that worked,” I said, wincing a little at the sight. “Now, let’s try a regular knife.”

I grabbed a standard kitchen knife and repeated the process. Once again, it drew blood.

Nathan sucked his finger, wincing. “Alright, so I guess normal knives can still hurt me if they’re magical or if someone else uses them.”

“Now you try the box cutter on yourself,” I suggested, handing it over.

Nathan took the box cutter and hesitated for a moment before pressing it slightly into his pointer finger. A tiny pinprick of blood appeared once more.

“Well, that confirms it,” I said. “It looks like you can’t hurt yourself unless you use a magic weapon. I wonder if that means we can’t stub our toes anymore.”

Nathan nodded, his expression serious. “Good to know. Now, let’s see what happens when I activate my Invincible power.”

I stood back as Nathan closed his eyes and concentrated. His skin seemed to shimmer faintly, and he gave me a nod. I raised the box cutter and pressed it gently into his finger. Then I pressed harder. This time, nothing happened. No blood, no cut.

Nathan grinned, looking at his unscathed skin. “That’s awesome! It really works!”

We both laughed, feeling a mixture of relief and excitement. It was amazing to see Nathan’s power in action, and knowing he had this incredible defense made me feel a lot better about the dangers we might face.

“Alright, now we know what we’re dealing with,” I said, clapping Nathan on the back. “This Invincible power of yours is going to come in handy.”

Nathan nodded, still examining his arm. “Yeah, it will. Thanks for helping me figure this out, Li.”

“No problem,” I replied. “I had a Quest, remember? I’m just in it for the experience points.”

Quest Completed!

First Blood

Rewards:

5 Experience Points

$50

“Woah! I got 5 XP for that!”

“Weren’t you pretty close to—”

A notification window appeared.

Level Up!

Congratulations! You have reached Level 3!

+1 to all Attributes.

3 Power Points have been allocated to Help

3 Power Points have been allocated to Quest

Quest has leveled up!

2 Attribute Points to spend

You have 5 Skill Points to spend

You have unlocked the new power: Inventory

“leveling up?” Nate finished, oblivious to the interruption.

“I just did!” I practically giggled. “And I got another new power!”

“I can’t believe you’ve gotten three magic powers in two days,” Nate shook his head.

“Of course I have, Nate.” I beamed, “That’s because, despite what my mother may think, I am a very special boy.”