My Questrewarding System

Chapter 003 – Difficult To Convince

*****

Williams was momentarily taken aback by this unexpected voice that came from nowhere.

He couldn't react, and his face wore a blank expression before it was overtaken by shock.

"Hey brat, watch where you are going!"

"You fool, I almost thought you were going to jump in front of that speeding truck."

The voices of two passersby grannies were what woke him up and made him return to his senses.

"I'm... I'm sorry," he quickly apologized blankly before looking around him.

"Don't tell me I've only heard wrongly."

He was confused for a moment more before he eventually sighed to himself with regret and looked behind him at the now-disappearing truck.

'Could it be that it was my fear of death that made me think I heard something?'

Williams shook his head again regretfully, then he sighed heavily.

'What could a stupid fear do for me? Could it grant me shelter or my daily meal?'

He mocked himself with a dry chuckle, then he gazed about the road, looking for another opportunity, alas...

'Is this how strongly cursed and unfortunate I am that even finding an ordinary means to die is extremely difficult for me?'

Thinking this, Williams' mind quickly raced through many things before finally, the best way to end his life that would not hurt him the most crossed his mind.

"Unless the sea runs away, this would be the perfect place to relieve myself from this unfortunate live

," he muttered to himself and continued walking.

But in the next moment, Williams went still, and he almost even fell on his face with his legs almost crossing each other, but Williams didn't notice this.

"What are you?" he suddenly asked with an angered look on his face as he quickly looked around him.

But in response, all Williams got were people looking at him as if he had gone crazy, with all the people who had previously been walking near him quickly distancing themselves from him, as if they were scared that he would suddenly jump at them and bite them.

"I..."

Williams felt embarrassed and quickly quickened his pace.

"No! My fear of death will not stop me this time," he convinced himself, making the entity inside him completely speechless at the moment.

[Fuck, this system is not your subconscious mind!]

A mechanical voice kept roaring ferociously in Williams' mind, but as if he no longer heard it, Williams quickened his pace and ignored it, causing all sorts of curses he had never heard of in his life to enter his mind.

After a while, the owner of the voice seemed to have realized that threatening or forcing Williams to do its Will wouldn’t work, which prompted it to change to a much calmer, even pitiful, and apologetic voice. But instead, Williams opted to start jogging and chanting some words as a mantra, as if those would prevent him from giving in to the voice.

[Boohoo! This system regrets it so much! Why hadn't I appeared when I was supposed to appear? Why did I try to act differently than other systems? How disgraceful would it be to my esteemed reputation if it were learned by the other systems that I had failed with my host before I even began my purpose?]

Williams heard all sorts of words in his mind, which he assumed were some crazy things his mind had come up with to stop him from achieving what he felt was the best for him.

After a long time of jogging and forcefully controlling himself from letting his curiosity about the source of the voice in his mind take over, Williams reached a huge ocean with a bridge over it.

Standing atop the bridge, Williams didn't hesitate at all and jumped right in.

[Please don't!!! This system is begging you! Don't let me be destroyed alongside you yet!!!]

[Is it money? Don't worry, I will give you two billion, no, no! 100 billion dollars as a welcome gift! This system would even give you a gigantic mansion if it's about shelter.]

But in response, Williams only smirked with mockery.

'My mind thinks it can stop me by enticing me with those things! It should have tried better than using those impossible things.'

With this last thought in his mind, Williams fell hard into the water and directly sank. He didn't fight it at all or try to swim back up. He remained in the water, unable to breathe, for a time, and life gradually slipped away from him.

But just as he was feeling relieved that he had finally received freedom from this daunting world, he felt a hand suddenly dragging him from his subconscious mind.

'No!!!!'

He tried to scream, but he was already extremely short of breath, so he fainted.

...

"Where am I?"

Williams suddenly groggily opened his eyes, with a sudden headache afflicting him. He looked around, directly recalling everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.

'Who was it that saved me? Did I beg to be saved?'

Two tears fell from Williams' eyes when suddenly, the never-ending voice that had tried to stop him from ending his life all along sounded again.

[Thank the goddess of the system that you are finally awake, host.]

Williams, "_"

He couldn't react for a moment, then he jumped up and sat up straight.

'What are you exactly?!' He looked around him vigilantly.

"Are you something implanted into me by my uncle and his son? Why don't you just let me die peacefully?"

Pitifully and with anger, he began to act comically, portraying the act of craziness.

Thankfully, no one was in the room with him right now, as they would have thought Williams had simply gone crazy.

[Just calm down! Calm down, please, host. Let this poor and unfortunate system explain itself first before you do something unfunny again.]

The pitiful mechanical voice that was once filled with arrogance sounded in his mind helplessly, portraying something that was now utterly fed up and felt like crying.

Hearing this helplessness in the voice, Williams was startled, but he still refused to believe the unbelievable.

[Just wait, please. Hear this poor system out first. There is no harm in listening.]

"Oh..."

Williams, who was just about to snap out the needle attached to an intravenous (IV) tubing transferring fluid into his bloodstream away from his wrist, stopped for a moment, then hesitating greatly, he nodded his head.

[Thank you!]

As if it had been released from a death sentence, the mechanical voice sounded with relief in his mind.

[I'll be fast.]

It started and quickly began as if it was scared that Williams would go crazy again.

But Williams only listened without the intention of believing its words at first. However, the more he heard, the more shocked he became.

"Wait... wait..."

He suddenly interrupted the voice, scaring it badly as it thought that Williams was about to go insane again.

"You are what? A system created by the goddess of the system, and you are called the Quest Rewarding System?"

[Yes...]

'You and the others were randomly scattered across the universe, one in each world to latch yourselves onto the most miserable things there?'

[Yes...]

'And you are here to help me out of my wretchedness, giving me everything I want by giving you what you want?'

[Yes...]

"You are crazy!"

Williams suddenly rolled his eyes with a resigned sigh, then he finally snapped the needle in his arm out.

"Listening to you would only be detrimental to my mental health."

The system, [I…]

It suddenly hesitated greatly before sighing hopelessly.

But just at that moment, the door to the room where Williams was lying was opened, and a middle-aged woman entered.

"You are awake?"

As if she couldn't see what Williams had just done with the intravenous (IV) tubing in his hand, she asked with a bored and unsmiling expression on her face.

"I..."

Williams was suddenly nervous.

But the middle-aged woman, not allowing Williams to answer her question, continued.

"You were brought to our hospital by a group of fishermen who claimed to have saved you from under the sea."

Williams, "_"

"Fuck them," he cursed under his breath but listened to the bored-looking unsmiling woman.

"We've given you all the required treatment and saved your life, but the ones who brought you here are no longer to be seen. How will you pay your bills?"

Williams, "_"

He was flabbergasted, then speechlessly, he watched the woman put a bill beside him.

Picking it up, Williams' eyes widened as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Five hundred dollars?"

His breathing got caught in his throat.

But in response, the woman turned around.

"Don't think you will be able to escape. Even professional thieves would never be able to escape from this hospital once they are admitted inside. Just find a way to look for that money before I come back."

Williams, "_"

He suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

'Wouldn't it have been better if I was left to die? What was this?"

But just then, an excited voice sounded in his mind.

[Let's make a deal.]

Williams, "_"

He rolled his eyes with a dull face.

"What deal?"

[I help you out of your predicament, and you believe everything I just told you.]

"You can help me out of this?"

Williams' eyes suddenly regained focus as he automatically ignored the voice's other words.

[Yes.]

"What do I need to do?"

[You only need to accept the following prompt.]

"Where is it?"

[Ding! A quest for the host to become a hospital janitor for the next 24 hours has been issued. Would you like to accept or decline?]

Williams, "_"

"Is this the way?"

He suddenly didn't know what to do. But after a moment, knowing that this seemed to be the only option left for him for now, he sighed and accepted, making the voice further excited.

Just then, the door was opened again, and the unsmiling face of the middle-aged woman returned.

But before she could speak, Williams opened his mouth.

"Please give me one day to sort things out. I will be a janitor here in the meantime."

The woman, "_"

She suddenly eyed Williams seriously for a moment. "You aren't trying something funny, are you?"

"No... no ma'am, I'm not."

The woman continued gazing seriously at James, then she pointed at a corner.

"Cleaning utensils are there; you can start work now. We are initially short of cleaners."

Williams, "_"

"You can change your clothes first; I will come back to pick you up and show you where you will be cleaning."

Williams again, "_"

He watched the woman once again disappear and shut the door behind her.

"If nothing happens after one day, trust me, not even the gods will be able to stop me from leaving this filthy world."

With that, Williams fully propelled himself from the bed, still weak from the sea experience, and walked to the corner pointed at by the middle-aged woman.