The glowing letters seared themselves into the air, burning across Henry's vision. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He questioned it again and again, even as Cristy carried him back to their mother's room in secret. Shock clung to him like chains, weighing down every thought.
The quest had promised ten points. Yet the reward had been ten thousand.
Was it truly a bug… or some hidden one-time event? Could it be repeated? Could it be exploited?
Henry sat on the bed for hours, staring into nothing, the numbers carved into his mind. At last, he clenched his tiny fists.
I have to test it again… but how do I even trigger another delivery quest?
His brows furrowed, drool slipping down his chin, though inside his thoughts churned with calculation.
No… maybe the better question is this. How do I spend these points? Is there… a shop?
His tiny fingers jabbed at the air again and again, but nothing happened.
AHH! This is annoying. He crossed his arms with a scowl. To anyone else—if they could see—it would have looked unbearably cute.
Maybe it works like in those movies… He retracted his finger, took a breath, and shouted, "Blah blah blah blaa!!"
In his mind, he'd meant: System shop, open! But only now did he realize the truth—he could understand others, yes, but speaking properly as a baby was impossible.
Heat rushed to his cheeks as he glanced back at his mother. She twitched, half-opening an eye before settling back into sleep, reassured it was only baby babble.
Close call… He wiped at his tiny forehead, then tried again, willing the shop into existence. Nothing...
What the hell is this useless thing? He pouted, slumping down. What's the point of skill points if I can't even spend them?
But that wasn't the only problem. He couldn't control the system at all. He'd glimpsed the window before, yet now it was gone. How do I even bring my stats back up? Shouldn't basic access be there from the very start? Or is my occupation level too low?
A heavy sigh escaped him. He swiped his hand down in surrender, as if to say, I give up for today.
The moment he did, the system window flickered back into view.
Henry froze, staring at his hand. Wait… I was thinking about the system, then swiped down… So if I just—
He hesitated. Please work…
With another deliberate swipe, he focused on the shop. Gold and black smoke twisted together, letters burning into the air.
[Welcome to the Skill Point Store]
[You have — 10,000 Skill Points]
[Please select the category you'd like to explore:]
[|> Skills <|> Body Techniques <|> Stat Point Exchange <|> Courier Exclusive Skills <|> Cosmetics <|]
Well damn… it actually worked. He plopped back onto his tiny butt, staring at the glowing menu. Let's see… what do I need first?
He tapped on [|> Skills <|], only to be met with disappointment.
[To buy and use skills, please first unlock a suitable Body Technique.]
Then why didn't you say that beforehand? He rolled his pink eyes, cheeks puffed in frustration, and jabbed again—this time opening [|> Body Techniques <|].
[Please select the Major Body Technique you'd like to purchase.]
Henry's eyes lit up as the first option unfolded.
[Bronze Body — Limit: Combat Lv. 50 | Max Stats: 100]
[Cost: 100 Skill Points]
[Description: The foundation of strength. Your body hardens like tempered bronze, allowing greater growth and resilience.]
Only a hundred? He found it amusing. That's nothing! I could max that ten times over already…
He swiped again.
[Silver Body — Limit: Combat Lv. 200 | Max Stats: 500]
[Cost: 10,000 Skill Points]
[Description: Muscles like silver threads, nerves refined, energy flow expanded. A body fit for knights and warriors.]
Ten thousand… okay, that's more like it. But even this… one more quest and I could buy it.
He kept going, his little hands trembling with each scroll.
[Gold Body — Limit: Combat Lv. 500 | Max Stats: 1,000]
[Cost: 1,000,000 Skill Points]
One million? Alright, that's starting to look insane. But if each quest gives 10,000 then i should be able to save after... quick maths... 100 deliveries, not bad.
[Platinum Body — Limit: Combat Lv. 1,000 | Max Stats: 5,000]
[Cost: 10,000,000 Skill Points]
Ten million?! Why does it keep increasing so much?! Thats like, one thousand deliveries. Still... not bad, I could do that in two days in my past life. He smiled into the air proudly.
[Diamond Body — Limit: Combat Lv. 10,000 | Max Stats: 50,000]
[Cost: 1,000,000,000 Skill Points]
His throat caught. A billion… just for one upgrade?
[Celestial Body — Limit: Combat Lv. 100,000 | Max Stats: 500,000]
[Cost: 100,000,000,000 Skill Points]
His baby fingers shook. A hundred billion… how many deliveries would that even take?!
Then his eyes fell on the final entry.
[Immortal Body — Limit: ??? | Max Stats: ???]
[Cost: 100,000,000,000,000 Skill Points]
[Description: The pinnacle. A body that cannot decay, a vessel worthy of gods. Its very existence bends reality.]
Henry froze, drool slipping from his lip as he whispered in his head: One hundred… trillion…
But then he noticed something else—a technique hidden behind question marks. And beneath it, written in the smallest font, lay a staggering number: 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
[{Locked} ??? Body — Limit: ??? | Max Stats: ???]
[Cost: 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (100 Decillion Skill Points)]
[Description: Data corrupted. This body cannot be comprehended. The system itself rejects its existence.]
He gulped, his eyes spinning. Forget the Immortal Body… whatever that last one is, it's not even remotely achievable in my lifetime. No way. If the system really intended for me to earn just ten points per delivery, I'd never even touch it. Ten thousand points instead… that's saving me years—no, centuries—of grinding.
How about I just unlock Bronze for now? Then maybe Silver later… His baby face scrunched in thought. Test the waters with skills and stats first. If those are as expensive as the Body Techniques, then… yeah, forget it. I'll never reach the end in one lifetime.
Unless…
His pink eyes gleamed, a spark of hunger flashing inside them. That Immortal Body. If it truly makes me immortal… then I could deliver forever...
An eternal courier. The true Delivery God.
He let out a tiny giggle, waving away the impossible number beneath the final technique. Immortal would be enough. Or so he thought.
Because in the future, with every tier he unlocked, his desires would only grow—endlessly.