The third notification was the one that broke the cycle.
The first had been his boss, a text in the company's passive-aggressive corporate-speak: "Per our earlier email, hoping to see those TPS reports hit the inbox before you log off, Leo. :)". The second was from his mother, a link to an article titled "Ten Ways to Put Yourself Out There in a Digital World!"
The third was different. It chimed with a clarity that seemed to bypass his phone's speaker and ring directly in his skull. He looked down. The screen was frozen, not on his messaging app, but on a stark, black background with lines of glowing white text.
System Synchronization Detected.
Analyzing Host...
Leo blinked, his greasy finger smearing the screen as he tried to swipe it away. Nothing. A prank? A particularly vicious virus?
Analysis Complete.
Host: Leo Mears
Condition: Sub-Optimal. High Body Fat, Low Muscle Mass, Weakened Cardiovascular System, Vitamin D Deficient, Clinically Depressed.
Assessment: A Prime Candidate for The Proactive Path.
A cold knot tightened in his stomach. "Prime Candidate?" The words were a clinical insult. This thing, whatever it was, had scanned him like a piece of faulty hardware and found him wanting. And yet... a flicker of something—not hope, but a desperate, morbid curiosity—stirred in his chest.
The Proactive Path System is now initiating integration.
Your journey to a higher self begins now.
The pain was electric, a lightning bolt that seared up his spine and exploded behind his eyes. It wasn't the pain of injury, but of violation, of something foreign and vast threading itself into the very core of his being. He gasped, his phone clattering to the floor as he slumped in his chair. Visions, sharp and jarring, flashed through his mind: himself, panting and red-faced on a run; himself, fumbling through a conversation with a beautiful woman; himself, staring at a complex equation until his head throbbed.
As quickly as it came, the pain vanished, leaving behind a profound and unsettling clarity. The air in his stuffy apartment seemed thicker, each dust mote a tiny diamond spinning in the lamplight. The hum of his laptop fan was a roaring symphony. And in the corner of his vision, translucent and permanent, was a screen.
---
<< Leo Mears >>
Essence Core: Unawakened
Proactive Energy (PE): 0/100
Attributes:
· Vitality: 4
· Strength: 5
· Agility: 3
· Intellect: 11
· Willpower: 6
· Charisma: 7
Active Skills: None
Idle Projects:None
---
He stared. It was real. The thing he had read about in a hundred webnovels, the fantasy he'd used to escape his life, was here. And its first act was to present him with a numerical indictment of his existence. An Agility of 3? A Willpower of 6? He felt a hot flush of shame.
A new window materialized, its border a gentle, pulsing gold, belying the harshness of its text.
<< Daily Development Quests >>
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Inaction is the only true failure.
1. {The First Step}: Engage in sustained cardiovascular activity for a minimum of 20 minutes. [Reward: 10 PE, +0.1 to Vitality]
2. {A Stronger Foundation}: Complete 3 sets of 10 push-ups. Modified (knee) push-ups are acceptable. [Reward: 10 PE, +0.1 to Strength]
3. {Nourish the Vessel}: Consume a home-cooked meal containing a balance of protein and vegetables. [Reward: 5 PE]
4. {Expand the Mind}: Read one chapter of a non-fiction book. [Reward: 5 PE, +0.1 to Intellect]
Leo let out a shaky breath. It was a to-do list from a life coach from hell. Twenty minutes of cardio? He got winded running for the bus. Three sets of push-ups? He couldn't do three proper ones on his best day.
"Not happening," he muttered to the empty room, pushing himself up to get a soda. The screen moved with his field of vision, a constant, nagging companion.
He reached for the fridge handle, and a sudden, profound sense of wrongness washed over him. It was a physical sensation, a low-grade nausea coupled with a building pressure behind his eyes. It wasn't pain, but it was deeply, fundamentally unpleasant. It was the feeling of skipping a crucial step, of walking away from a vital task.
It was the System. Disapproving.
He pulled his hand back. The feeling receded, replaced by a faint, approving hum that vibrated at the edge of his perception.
"Fine," he snarled, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and fury. "You want a show? I'll give you a show."
He found an old pair of trainers, their soles hardened with age. He changed into a pair of shorts, the fabric tight around his thighs. His reflection in the dark TV screen was a pale, soft ghost of a man, his eyes wide with panic.
The first quest glowed. {The First Step}.
He walked out of his apartment and onto the quiet evening street. The System helpfully provided a translucent timer in his vision. He started to jog.
His body screamed in protest. Within a minute, a stitch dug into his side like a hot knife. His lungs burned, each breath a ragged gasp. His legs, with their Agility of 3, felt like concrete pillars. The timer seemed to slow down, mocking him.
This is impossible. This is stupid. I'm going to die on this sidewalk.
The moment the thought of quitting fully formed, the wrongness returned, the headache spiking sharply. The System wasn't just a guide; it was a enforcer.
Gritting his teeth, tears of frustration and exhaustion mixing with the sweat on his face, Leo pushed on. It wasn't a jog; it was a stumbling, pathetic shuffle. But he didn't stop. He put one heavy foot in front of the other, his entire world collapsing into the rhythm of his suffering.
When the melodic chime finally sounded, it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard.
{The First Step} Completed.
Reward: 10 Proactive Energy Gained.
Vitality +0.1
He collapsed onto a bus stop bench, his chest heaving. He was a wreck. But as he sat there, a strange thing happened. Beneath the overwhelming fatigue, a single, warm thread of satisfaction wove its way through him. It was small, but it was real. He looked at his status. Vitality: 4.1. Proactive Energy: 10/100.
It was nothing. A statistical rounding error. But it was his rounding error. He had earned it.
Back in his apartment, the journey was far from over. The push-ups were a fresh new hell. On his knees, his arms shaking, he managed one set. Then, after a long, painful rest, another. The third set ended with him face down on the carpet, but the chime came.
{A Stronger Foundation} Completed.
Reward: 10 Proactive Energy Gained.
Strength +0.1
He scrambled some eggs and wilted some spinach he found at the back of his fridge. ({Nourish the Vessel} Complete. +5 PE). He then picked up a dense history book on the Roman Empire that had been gathering dust on his shelf. ({Expand the Mind} Complete. +5 PE, Intellect +0.1).
He was more physically and mentally drained than ever before. But as he lay in bed that night, the System interface a soft, silent presence in his mind, the hollow ache of his usual depression was filled with the solid, satisfying pain of used muscles. He had generated 30 Proactive Energy.
A new option had appeared: Idle Projects. He focused on it.
Available Projects:
· Awaken Essence Core (Requires: 100 PE, and a Tribulation) - LOCKED
· Dedicate PE to Attribute Growth (1 PE = 0.01 to a chosen attribute over 24 hours)
The path was endless. It was a grinding wheel that promised to crush him. But for the first time in years, Leo Mears closed his eyes and didn't dread the sunrise. The grind was terrible.
But it was his.