Chapter 3: New Powers

Evan couldn’t react. It was shocking enough to return to the past. Now, a screen appeared before him, like something he had read about in novels.

“I must be going crazy,” Evan muttered. His world had turned upside down in just a few hours.

How could this all happen? Did he really gain powers? Could he become stronger?

As if reading Evan’s thoughts, the words on the screen changed rapidly. What was initially a welcome message now began to answer Evan’s questions.

Player Evan has the opportunity to restart his life and achieve greatness never before attained.

Evan frowned. “What does that mean? Can you read my mind?”

As a new player in this world, players start their journey from level 1. To develop their abilities, players need to complete various quests and challenges.

Reflexively, Evan looked at the screen that had suddenly appeared before him, similar to a HUD (heads-up display) in a game. The screen displayed basic information, such as current level, health status, and a list of quests to be completed.

Name: Evan Theodore Walker

Job: -

Title: -

Level: 1

Experience: 0 (10 experience points to reach Level 2)

Health: 100%

Stats:

Strength Points: 5

Agility Points: 5

Quest: Rescue the Cat from the Tree (0/1)

Evan was stunned by the quest list. “Rescue a cat? This must be a joke.”

Evan wanted to ignore the quest in front of him, but he couldn’t sleep because of everything that had happened.

Do I really have to rescue a cat? Where can I find a cat that needs help?

Just as Evan asked himself this question, he heard the sound of a cat outside the window. Evan immediately got out of bed and went to the window.

There was a kitten stuck in a tree. Evan felt shocked and confused but remembered that he needed to complete his first quest.

“Do I have to climb that tree?” Considering the late hour, Evan thought about completing the quest the next morning, but the system warned him about the consequences of not completing the quest.

Players will incur a penalty if they do not complete the quest within one hour.

Penalty 1: The cat falls and dies.

Penalty 2: The cat’s owner will become hostile to the Walker family.

Evan was stunned. He couldn’t ignore the penalties because the system had already proven some things to him. With renewed determination, he decided to save the cat.

Evan left his room and went to the backyard, where the cat was stuck. Evan was only 8 years old, and the tree in front of him was quite tall. Nevertheless, Evan had to climb the tree.

Carefully, Evan began to climb. He complained about having to do this in the middle of the night but was haunted by curiosity. What would he gain by completing this quest? Would he become strong like in the novels?

After a lot of effort, Evan successfully rescued the cat and brought it down. As soon as he landed, a notification appeared on his HUD screen.

Quest Completed: Rescue the Cat from the Tree

Experience: +5

Rewards:

Strength Points +5

Agility Points +5

Evan felt a surge of new energy in his body, even though he had been tired before. He experienced an instant increase in strength and agility. He refocused on the screen and checked his stats.

Name: Evan Theodore Walker

Job: -

Title: -

Level: 1

Experience: 5 (5 experience points to reach Level 2)

Health: 100%

Stats:

Strength Points: 10

Agility Points: 10

Quest: Help the Vegetable Seller (0/1)

Deadline: 1 day

Evan felt inspired by this system. “So, I need to complete quests to level up and gain new powers. It’s like a game, only more real.”

Since the deadline for the next quest was one day, Evan decided to rest for the night. Now he was sure that he had returned to the past and gained the power to change his life. While feeling happy, Evan also held onto his resentment. If he had returned to the past, he might be killed again at age 17. Thus, Evan also had another motivation to become stronger.

“I will become stronger and get my revenge!” Evan swore under the moonlight.

***