CH 76

"Beep. Beep. Beep. Be-"

"Shhh... Quiet!" Zel who had just woken up felt irritated by the alarm coming from his phone. He turned his head to look at his desk where it was, squinting his eyes at the blinding light of the sun. He had been mentally calculating if it was close enough to reach from his current position by just extending his arm.

"Uff. I forgot, it's a new body."

Zel looked at his short arm and couldn't help but give a wry smile. He was so small now. He doesn't even know if his stats are up to par with his fellow kids.

"Toph, Show me my stats."

[Inherent Stats:]

Will Power - SS+   Intelligence - B+

Dignity - A+  Luck - C -

[Fluid Stats:]

Agility - F   Strength - F+

Dexterity - F   Endurance - F

Charisma - F+

"How much of a loser was I?"

Zel looked at the interface in front of him with shock. He wasn't able to see this before because the younger him didn't know about it. But now that he was looking at it himself, he was so disappointed.

'At least the low ones are just fluid stats. I can easily get those higher by hard work, completing daily quests should increase those to a good level.'

It was only now that Zel realized that the alarm was still going off. He hurriedly stood up and stopped it, only to see that he was running late.

St. Legaspi started classes at 7:00 am, and it was already 6:10 am. If he didn't hurry, his sister will get angry again. She hates having to run just to arrive in time, which would happen if he didn't hurry up.

'I still need to take care of my problems here before heading back to my 'Cerebral Kingdom'. It takes a lot of time to sort those things out, so I'll do them at night instead. The 'Legacy of Time' makes it much easier to handle it.'

Zel was thankful that the first Legacy he had received was that of 'Time'. If he had the Legacy of Healing instead, he'd be hard pressed to even consider handling that mess that is the Cerebral Kingdom. Just designing the floor plan of the kingdom would need some time, much less gathering the materials needed for it.

"Zel! You're going to be late for school!"

"Ok, mom! I'll be downstairs in a minute." 

Zel took a look around his room, reminiscing in silence at the sight of it. He stood up, went to his cabinet and took the school uniform into his Artifact. It served as a storage ring, in addition to being his throne that handles the processing power for the system.

'I guess I forgot about these, huh.'

The cabinet was close to his desk where a pile of notebooks laid. Journals of his thoughts that never came to see the light, ones that he wanted to share to the world. He remembered throwing them out when he started high school. That was the time when he started to desire for more in life, to be rich enough to retire early.

'Now, I can do it right.' 

A smile formed on his face, a smile full of happiness. If he does things right here, he stands to gain more than he ever did. Just personalizing the system is already a great boon for him, what more if he applies his future knowledge here?

"I'm back! Haha!"

"Hurry up, Zel!" 

Zel jumped from his bed and took off to the bathroom. He wasn't even inside for a minute before heading back to his room. Wearing his uniform in a few seconds, he descended down the stairs and saw that his sister was about to scream again.

"Zel! Hurr- Huh?"

Melba could have sworn that the twerp hadn't even showered yet. But he looked like he's ready for school. She didn't mind, though, as this was actually better. Now they could leave.

"We're going now. Bye, mom."

"Bye, honey!"

....

[Daily Quest (16H:11M:30S)]

(Run)

A healthy body is one that moves all of its muscles. As the user is still too young, he cannot conduct any strenuous exercise routines. Running is an essential cardiovascular exercise that improves Endurance.

Run (5) kilometers.

*Reward:

-Increases Endurance Advancement Requirement by 1

*Current Progress:

Endurance [0/10]

(Talk)

Socializing with others is an essential societal skill. The more you converse with another person, the greater the connection between the two of you.

Talk to (5) persons

*Reward:

-Increases Charisma Advancement Requirement by 1

*Current Progress:

Charisma [0/20]

"Is this all of it?"

[Daily Quests are only limited to two at a time. Complete one to receive another. Upgrade the system processor to increase the limit.]

"Alright, alright. Thanks, Toph."

Walking to his homeroom, Zel was looking around the hallway. It had been too long since he saw this place, yet it was still recent for another part of him. What a strange feeling.

"You looking for this?"

"Hey! Give it back!"

A commotion in the locker area caught Zel's attention. His body might not be able to give off the same output that it could do before, but his senses hadn't dulled. He could hear the conversation between a boy and a group of three in the distance.

"Is this a picture of your parents? Ha! What a baby."

Carlo looked at the picture in Jared's hand. It was the last picture that he took with his parents, something he kept in his locker when he goes to school. He had just placed it when the three boys suddenly took it without permission.

"Maybe he wants to go home? Or maybe he wants to have his mama stay with him in school, too?"

"Haha. Aww... Don't cry, baby boy~"

Jared and his minions kept on harassing Carlo who kept on trying to take back his picture. Though his efforts were in vain as the three passed it to each other. Zel could see that the boy was getting tired as he forced himself to be fast enough to take it back.

"Ow!"

Ranton caressed his reddened arm that Zel had tightly gripped just a moment ago. He did that because he wanted to take the picture from Ranton, which he did. The two other boys glared at Zel with hostility. Something that Zel just ignored as he went to his sweating friend.

"Here you go, bud. It's good to see you today." 

Looking at Zel's gentle smile, Carlo couldn't help but shed a tear. He quickly rubbed those with the back of his hand before taking back the picture that was being handed to him.

"Thanks, Zel. It's nice to se-" Carlo forced a smile as his heart felt like it was being filled with warmth. In his time of need, his friend came to help. I guess that's what friends do, as he helped Zel a few days ago.

"Bang. Ow!" But their interaction was cut short when Jared was about to try and steal the picture again. Only to be met with a strong slap on his thieving hand. The sound was so sharp that everyone who heard it knew that it was a hard slap.

"Fuck off!"

A face that the three bullies had never seen before, one that made their legs tremble, appeared before them. It was strange to say, but it felt like the temperature suddenly increased by a few degrees in an instant. The three couldn't help but sweat, though Jared was better off than the other two.

"Yo-you! Why are yo- Hik! "

Joe was about to try and pick a fight with Zel when the boy's focus suddenly focused only on him. The other two's tense bodies suddenly fell to the floor while Joe was left to carry the burden of Zel's rage on his own. His legs weren't just trembling now, they were visibly shaking. His eyes couldn't meet Zel's, but he could feel them. Scanning his body like someone was pointing a gun at him, ready to shoot at any time.

"Let's go, Carlo. We don't want to keep the others waiting. Oh, yeah. I got a new friend to intro..."

"Phew." The three bullies heaved a sigh of relief as the threat to their lives suddenly left. No, he didn't suddenly go, he stopped bothering with them. He smiled along with his friend as they met up with their other friends, leaving the three alone.

While the Ranton and Joe felt nothing but relief, Jared wasn't quite the same. Jared had more to the gaze he sent Zel's way. Something much more sinister. He wasn't going to let this go, he swore on his title as the 'Heir of the Linton Family'.