After finally finishing the rent quest, Matt saw light forming in front of his face. It was gathering and swirling into a point, and it seemed like it was starting to condense once again into an item.

But this time, it didn't have the same shape as before. It started to form into the shape of two large lumps. He recognized the shape, the light was turning into a pair of shoes.

As the light started to settle, he saw a pair of white running shoes floating in the air in front of him. They looked pretty normal, but he noticed that they had no brand name on them, which was the only thing off about them.

[Random Artifact Generated]

He grabbed the shoes from the air and they started to obey gravity.

'Shoes? Is this my first real equipment?'

He was trying to figure out what they did and remembered that his inspect skill had leveled up. He wondered if it would work on the shoes at its current level.

__________

(Sports Shoes of Bursting Speed)

Sports shoes with a clean white appearance. These shoes provide a minor increase in defense and speed but their main function is allowing the wearer to shoot forward in a sudden burst of speed.

Ability: Speed Burst [10m Cooldown]

Passives: +10% Speed, +10% Defense

__________

'Woah, nice! I got myself some loot!'

He was impressed by the features of the shoes and was glad that they looked fairly normal so that he could wear them all the time. The shoes he was currently wearing were also starting to become worn, and he never had spare money for the past few months to buy new ones.

He immediately put them on and was about to put his old shoes in his spacial storage, but realized the hole was too small.

‘I wonder when that will level up…”

He sighed and decided to just carry his old shoes for now until he got home.

'Ok, so I guess I should try the ability?'

He started to walk, and then run. He made sure there was no one around and then activated the shoes ability by just thinking about it, suddenly he was pushed forward incredibly quickly. It felt like he went from 0 to 100. He almost didn't recover after and barely avoided falling flat on his face.

'I didn't expect it to be that fast. Though it was only like a split second long.'

It seemed like it could be helpful especially if he needed to make a long jump or dodge something. Though for travel it wouldn't be so effective since it was very short, not to mention the 10-minute cooldown.

'Well, I guess this is what artifacts are all about.'

He remembered that one of the rewards for one of his quests was an artifact. While they seemed cool, he was hoping they continued to look like normal clothes when he got more in the future. It would look super suspicious to be walking around in a suit of armor or something.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

'The 10% bonuses are really nice. It's not a lot, but it adds up.'

After he finished experimenting with the shoes, he realized that it was getting late. It was already almost 8 AM and he really needed to get to work. He felt a bit bad because he was planning on quitting.

It seemed strange to quit since it was free money. But his thought process was, that it took up too much time in the day, and he had other ways of making money more quickly. He could be using that lost time to do quests or train his stats.

Soon, he'll have college classes, but at least those will probably give him skills or stat points, so it was worth it. The textbooks should be a breeze as well since he had the mind palace and increased intelligence.

He quickly stopped by his apartment to drop off his old shoes and then set off again into the city.

He started to head to the bookstore, possibly for the last time. He knew it was rude to quit on such short notice, but he wanted to transition as fast as possible. Although it was unlikely that the public release would happen right now, he wanted to make as much progress as he could, quickly. The more he remained here, the more he was spinning his wheels.

Once he arrived, he knocked on his boss's office door and she opened it.

"Oh, hello Matt. You're early again."

"Hey, uh, I wanted to say something. I really appreciate you letting me work here and increase my work experience, but I have decided to go to college, and working here at the same time would be challenging. So, sorry for the short notice, but I've decided it's time I move on from my job here."

Matt had searched online while he was walking here. He had read about how to quit a job while not sounding rude or like it was anyone's fault. But his boss just looked amused.

"Sure, Matt. I wasn't expecting you to stay here your whole life. You're young, I'm glad you're prioritizing your education."

'Oh, that was easier than I thought.'

They both headed into the main bookstore area and she spoke up again.

"When you first came here a few months ago, I noticed you looked sad. I was a little concerned, but these past few days, you seemed like a new person. So, I was kind of expecting this."

'Oh, was I really putting off that kind of vibe before I got the system? I guess I was a bit stuck.'

He didn't realize that the people around him noticed his mental state that much. He always thought he was good at hiding his emotions.

"Ok, Matt. You don't have to work today. It would be tricky to figure out the pay since you'd only be working one day. I hope that's okay."

"Oh, sure. I guess, I'll be going then. But I'll make sure to come here and buy some things every once in a while, it really is a nice store."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

With that, he left and started to walk down the street. He wasn't exactly sure where to go. So many things had changed, that he didn't exactly feel like there was anywhere to go. It felt strange. But change always did.

'Why are they all so nice? I used to never do anything right.'

He had forgotten what it felt like to not have the system. It felt like he was in a place that was hard to climb out of. He didn't really have a goal, and so he was just living day by day.

The system allowed him to just focus on something important. It was basically a distraction. He started realizing that everyone around him saw his worth when he didn't. He thought he needed the system to be worth anything.

'I didn't realize how much I was relying on the system. But, it's different now.'

He started to understand that it was him that mattered, not the system. If he lost the system today, he was determined to still get strong without it. His boss and his landlord helped clear up his doubts.

'I'll make sure to help them once the system releases.'

He vowed to not leave them behind. They were good people. Now he had more people to worry about, but he didn't mind. He would carry everyone to safety if he needed to. A sharp glint reflected in his eye. He finally understood he needed to become strong, regardless of the system or anything else, so that he could protect everyone. He was now more determined than ever.

He remembered the news about the flying man. He probably wasn't the strongest currently. He needed to start training seriously.

'I'll bend the system to my will and become the strongest.'