Henry chuckled and continued running. The world was a blur now. He couldn't make out individual details anymore—just shapes, colors, motion. It felt like he was flying.
[Good work, Henry. You did it] Miley's voice rang out in his mind. [But I think you should stop]
Henry scoffed. "Stop? Why? I can go faster," he said excitedly, like a child having sugar rush. "I want to exceed my limit."
[You can't] Miley retorted. [Your stamina is almost depleted]
Henry furrowed his brows. He finally paid attention to the system warning that had appeared a while ago. Only now, it was way worse than before.
[Stamina: 2.5/62.5]
[Warning! Stamina is critically low. Host is advised to prevent further movement of limbs or risk losing consciousness]
Henry's eyes widened. He could feel it now. The strain. The cry of his muscles, the ache in his bones. Even his vision started to blur... and not in the cool speedster way.
He was truly exhausted. And he was slowly running out of breath... his consciousness already fading.
[Stamina: 1/62.5]
[Henry! Stop now!] Miley yelled in his mind.
Her voice snapped Henry out of his mild hypoxia and he finally skidded to a stop, his chest heaving, sweat dripping down his face.
He crumpled to the ground, trying to catch his breath.
"Huff! Huff! Huff! What happened back there. Huff!"
[You almost passed out is what happened] Miley said sharply. [When you reached your top speed, your body instantly demanded an extreme surge of oxygen and glucose, thus consuming a large bit of stamina from whatever you had left]
[And since you didn't have any more stamina to give, your cardiovascular and respiratory systems hit their limits at the same time] Miley continued to explain, her tone serious. [Your brain and muscles weren't getting the oxygen they needed, and... you almost passed out]
Henry lay on his back, staring at the sky as it spun lazily above him, lungs burning like he'd inhaled fire. "So... I practically burned myself out."
[Yes] Miley replied. [Your stamina value reflects your body's integrated tolerance—heart efficiency, lung capacity, muscle endurance, and neural oxygen demand. You exceeded all four simultaneously]
Henry closed his eyes, chest still rising and falling hard.
[If you had continued running], Miley said quietly, [your brain would have forced shutdown. Fainting is a protective mechanism—your body's emergency brake]
[So next time...] she added sharply. [...when I tell you to stop, you stop!]
Henry let out a deep sigh. "Yes, ma'am. Won't happen again," he chuckled.
Miley scoffed. [This is serious. Depleting your stamina mid-run is incredibly dangerous] she stated in concern. [You passing out is only a probability. There are far more chances of you having a seizure or even an heart attack. Pull something like that again, and the next time you'll be running, it'll be in the afterlife]
Henry eyes widened. He sat up slowly, having recovered part of his stamina. "Woah, woah, hold up. Heart attack? No one told me that being a speedster could be this dangerous."
[Well, it is] Miley retorted. [And trust me, hypoxia is only just the beginning. When you attain sonic speed, you'll have bigger things to worry about. Like burning up or crashing into a building]
Henry sighed. "Then this whole training better be worth it. And..." he paused. "Wait, did you say I'm gonna burn up?"
But Miley didn't reply. She remained silent, which only increased Henry's anxiety.
He tried to say something when...
DING!
The system screen appeared with a notification.
[Objective 1 Complete: Run 1 kilometer without stopping]
[You have received: 5 EXP and +10 km/h to Top Speed]
[Current Top Speed: 130 km/h]
[Exp: 15/100]
Henry chuckled. "Would you look at that, I still got that top speed boost anyway."
[Yeah. But it wasn't because you kept running after reaching 120 km/hr] Miley said. [This boost is simply a reward from the system. If you want to increase your top speed on your own, you have to be prepared to run like hell. And to do that...]
"I need to have a lot of stamina." Henry finished her sentence.
[Precisely] Miley agreed. [Your stamina is your most crucial stat. It's basically the only thing that differentiates speedsters from people that can naturally move faster]
Henry nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're right," he muttered. "The higher my stamina, the more distance I can cover."
[Exactly. So if I were you, I'd invest most of my stat points into stamina]
"Right," Henry exhaled, rising back to his feet. "So I just have to keep doing my quests and find a way to build my endurance. Either by stat points, or extreme training. Or both."
[Indeed] Miley said. [You're finally starting to understand what it means to be a speedster]
"Yeah." Henry straightened, still breathing hard. "But I still have one more objective to go."
[Oh, right. The lifting quest] she pointed out. [You just have to lift one hundred kilograms in total]
Henry scoffed. "Stop making it sound so easy." he murmured, looking around the area for anything heavy enough. He was near the edge of the estate grounds, close to the ornate iron gate that marked the boundary. And just beyond it was a public park—one of Arcadia City's green spaces.
"Think anyone will mind if I use their park equipment?"
[You're the son of Felicity Myers. I doubt anyone will question you]
Henry shrugged and walked through the gate.
The park was quiet this early in the morning. A few joggers passed by, and an elderly woman sat on a bench feeding birds. Henry scanned the area, looking for something heavy to lift.
His gaze landed on a stone bench near a fountain—solid, thick, clearly weighing a decent amount.
"That'll work."
He approached the bench, gripped the edges, and lifted slightly.
The bench was heavy—probably around forty kilograms. Henry's arms strained, his legs bracing to support the weight.
And as he lifted the bench fully, a progress bar instantly appeared in his vision.
[Weight Lifted: 40/100 kg]
Henry held it for a few seconds, then lowered it carefully and caught his breath.
"Okay. That's forty. Need sixty more."
He gripped the bench again and lifted, holding it higher this time.
[Weight Lifted: 80/100 kg]
His muscles burned. Sweat dripped down his face. But he held on, dropping and lifting one last time.
[Weight Lifted: 100/100 kg]
DING!
[Objective 2 Complete: Lift a total of 100 kilograms]
[You have received: 5 EXP, +2 Strength, +2.5 Stamina]
[Exp: 20/100]
[Strength: 10 >> 12]
[Stamina: 62.5 >> 65]
[Daily Quest Complete]
Henry set the bench down carefully, flexing his arms. He could already feel the difference—his muscles felt denser, stronger.
[Good job] Miley praised. [You're making excellent progress]
Henry wiped the sweat from his forehead, grinning. "Not bad for a morning's work."
[Indeed. Now, I suggest returning to the estate and getting some rest]
"Right." Henry started walking back, his body buzzing with the aftereffects of his training.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt like he was actually moving forward.
Later that evening,
Henry sat at the long dining table with Felicity and Emily. The meal was elaborate—roasted meats, steamed vegetables, fresh bread, and some kind of crystalline dessert that looked almost too beautiful to eat.
Felicity smiled at him from across the table. "So, how was your day?"
"Good," Henry said. "Went for that run. Explored the area. It felt… normal."
Emily glanced up from her plate, her expression neutral. "Normal? That's new for you," she snickered.
Henry shrugged. "I guess losing my memory must have changed my perception of things," he chuckled.
Emily scoffed. "Of course it has," she murmured. "Though I wish it'd also made you less of a talkative. I preferred you better when you never spoke."
Felicity shot her a look. "Emily!"
Emily rolled her eyes but said nothing more.
The rest of dinner passed in relative peace. Felicity asked Henry about his plans for tomorrow, and he mentioned going out for a run again, and maybe exploring the park. She seemed pleased by that—pleased that he was finally being social, making plans, acting like a normal teenager.
As they finished, Henry stood, stifling a yawn. "I think I'm going to head to bed. Today wore me out more than I expected."
Felicity smiled warmly. "Of course. Get some rest, darling. You've earned it."
"Goodnight, Mom," he said with a smile, then turned to Emily. Goodnight, Emily."
"Goodnight, Henry," Felicity replied.
Emily didn't even look up. She just made a scoff sound that clearly meant "Piss off, brat".
Henry left the dining hall, his footsteps echoing through the corridor as he made his way back to his room.
The moment he was out of earshot, Emily turned to her mother, her carefully neutral expression cracking.
"You do realize that he's acting strange, right," Emily said flatly. "That isn't the Henry we know, mom. He's different."
Felicity glanced at her daughter, still smiling softly. "Of course he is. He's lost his memories, Emily. It's only natural that—"
"No." Emily's voice was sharp, cutting through her mother's gentle explanation. "I don't mean different like that. I mean 'different'. His entire personality has changed. The way he talks, the way he smiles, the way he looks at people—it's like he's a completely different person."
Felicity set down her glass, her expression becoming more thoughtful. "You're reading too much into this."
"Am I?" Emily leaned forward, her eyes intense. "Mom, you know as well as I do that Henry has been the same since he was five years old. Cold. Distant. Barely spoke to anyone. And now suddenly, after this 'memory loss,' he's cracking jokes? Smiling at the staff? Actually talking to me?"
Felicity studied her daughter for a long moment, then chuckled softly—a warm, knowing sound. "Emily, sweetheart, he lost his memories. Of course he's going to act different. He doesn't remember being that cold, isolated person. He's starting fresh."
Emily's jaw tightened. "That's exactly my point. People don't just… change their entire personality because they forgot things. Memories shape who we are, yes, but the core of a person? That doesn't just disappear."
"You're overthinking this," Felicity said gently, reaching across the table to place her hand over Emily's. "Henry is opening up. Finally. After all these years. Isn't that what we wanted? For him to let people in? To be happy?"
Emily pulled her hand back, frustration flickering across her face. "But what happens when he gets his memories back? What happens when he remembers who he was? He'll just… go back to the way he was. Shut everyone out again. Push us away."
Felicity's smile turned bittersweet. "Then we'd better enjoy this while it lasts. Or better still… hope that even after getting his memories back, he stays like this. Jovial. And happy."
She stood gracefully, smoothing down her blouse before looking at Emily with a softened expression. "Henry is home, Emily. He's safe. And for the first time in over a decade, he's actually talking to us. I'm not going to question that. I'm going to cherish it. And I hope you do too."
Emily watched her mother walk toward the door, her expression conflicted.
Felicity paused in the doorway, glancing back. "Let it go, Emily. Be happy for your brother. He deserves that much."
And then she was gone, leaving Emily alone in the vast dining hall.
Emily sat there for a long moment, staring at the empty seat where Henry had been. Her fingers drummed against the table, her mind racing.
"Something is wrong with him," she thought. "I know it. I can feel it."
Finally, she stood, her expression hardening with resolve.
"Fine," she muttered to herself. "If Mom won't look into it, I will."
She walked out of the dining hall, her footsteps purposeful.
"I'll get to the bottom of this myself."