Matt rolled in his bed trying to ignore the sun seeping through the window. Despite turning away from the window, a bright flashing light kept interrupting his sleep. He opened his eyes slowly annoyed at the light only to see a menu floating next to his face.
In shock, Matt tumbled off the bed and fell headfirst straight onto the floor. Rubbing the top of his head, he stood up and peered over the edge of the bed at the floating blue menu that was flashing with a message.
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[Quest Complete]
Get sufficient sleep [8/8 Hours]
+8xp [XP 18/100]
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He stared blankly at the menu across the bed for a few seconds.
'Am I still dreaming or something?'
He stood up and looked at the menu trying to disprove that it was there somehow. But it remained floating in the air above his bed. The top of his head still throbbed every few seconds from hitting his head on the floor.
'This doesn't feel like a dream. But this stuff doesn't happen in real life! There's no way this is real.'
He got closer to the menu and pressed the 'X' in the corner of it which make it pop out of existence. He stood there in silence for a few seconds when he thought of something to try to prove he was still dreaming. He used to be interested in lucid dreaming and he knew a few ways to test if he was in one.
He started by counting his fingers. All 10 were there and the counting worked fine. Then he pinched his nose and closed his mouth. Eventually, he felt the need to breathe but kept going. Eventually, he couldn't hold it anymore and gasped for air.
'Is this really not a dream? No, I can't give up yet. There's one last thing to try.'
Matt made his way over to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. Usually, in dreams, mirrors don't work and show a distorted version of yourself. But everything seemed normal. Nothing was wrong with his messy black hair and brown copperish eyes.
Heavy bags formed under his eyes but we're less visual than normal. His frame was still scrawny and he was still wearing his go-to white t-shirt and black shorts which he forgot to change out of before bed. Everything seemed fine.
'If everything that happened last night was real, and if it's still real, then the stat screen should work.'
Once again he shouted "Stats!" and a large screen popped up showing all of his information.
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||Stats||
Name: Matt Peterson
Age: 18
LVL: 1 [XP 18/100] (+8)
HP | 10/10
MP | 0/0
Status Effects: (Sleep Deprivation) [Lesser], (Nutrient Deficient) [Minor]
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||Attributes||
[Str] - 6
[Con] - 8
[Agi] - 8
[Dex] - 11
[Int] - 12
[Luk] - 10
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He stared at the floating screen in front of him. His heart was racing in excitement.
'No way...'
Before this, life had become boring for Matt. Every day was the same and even games stopped feeling fun. The emotions he felt now were more than he had felt for years.
The excitement he had lost over the years of harsh reality started to resurface. He didn't know where to start and the possibility of this being real completely overwhelmed him.
Matt took a deep breath. He stared at the stats screen in front of him with a glimmer in his eyes. Every new game he played, he always enjoyed looking at the detailed stats of his character and optimizing everything. The screen in front of him was a treat.
'Can I really play real-life?'
The more he thought about it, the more his heart raced. But before he could think about it anymore, a new screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
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[New Quests]
Eat a Healthy Breakfast [0/1 Plate] [Rewards: +6xp]
Go for a run [0/1mi] [Rewards: +1 Agility, +10xp]
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He eyed the screen in front of him and read its information.
'Did these show up because I finished the other ones? The first one seems similar to the quest I completed last night. I'm still not sure how it measures a plate full.'
He glanced toward the second quest and as he read it his eyes went wide.
'The reward gives me +1 Agility!? Isn't that kinda overpowered? That would bring me up to 9. I wonder what happens when I increase a stat. Will I just get faster if my Agility goes up?'
The thought that he could actually get faster and stronger by increasing his stats made his heart race faster. It was like a cheat code for real life.
'Well, I might as well get started on the first quest since I need breakfast anyway.'
Matt closed the quest window and looked at his stats for a second before closing that menu too. His apartment is pretty small but it includes a kitchen with some basic appliances. It was the best he could afford with his part-time job and after spending most of his paycheck on PC parts and games.
As he went to grab a box of junk cereal by habit, he remembered what the quest said specifically.
'A healthy breakfast. Uh.'
There was already a major problem with the quest. He didn't have any 'healthy' food. The broccoli was the last of his vegetables which were leftover from a while ago. Not even one scrap of healthy food was in his apartment.
He learned that the hard way as he opened every cabinet in the kitchen and checked the mini-fridge as well. Most of the kitchen was stocked with leftover take-out, soda, and some chips. He was never the type to take care of his health.
'Looks like I'm going to have to go out anyway. Might as well get started on the running quest.'
Matt put on some sneakers and made his way to the front door. Before leaving, he opened the stats screen again and stared at it with excitement. He couldn't wait to get started and stepped out of his apartment.
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||Stats||
Name: Matt Peterson
Age: 18
LVL: 1 [XP 18/100] (+8)
HP | 10/10
MP | 0/0
Status Effects: (Sleep Deprivation) [Lesser], (Nutrient Deficient) [Minor]
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||Attributes||
[Str] - 6
[Con] - 8
[Agi] - 8
[Dex] - 11
[Int] - 12
[Luk] - 10
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YOU ARE READING
Systematic Survival
ActionMatt's life changed when he unexpectedly gained a system that allowed him to level up and complete quests in real life, believing it to be the ultimate gift. But little did he know, everyone in the world would soon unlock their own systems, turning...
