How did he become such a hypocrite?
|You have always been one.|
Shut up.
After soaking in his blood, sweat, and tears, the greenhouse finally looked less like a jungle. Reis shuddered whenever he remembered his long battle in this glasshouse.
So many times he wanted to back out, but couldn't.
It wasn't even on his own accord. This divine creature, whom he hadn't even seen the face of, was constantly nagging him like a parent. No, taunting him. He was poking fun at him at random moments.
His ears were going to bleed out if this went on.
Yet, he was doing this to summon that very being. So yeah, he was a hypocrite.
Reis had a feeling this was some creature who hadn't visited the mortal realm in so long that he was simply curious and was using summoning as an excuse. He had even started imagining him as an austere old man with a long white beard and tall stature, whom he thought of whenever the guardian was mentioned.
He had also imagined getting a nice gift for fulfilling the old man's demands. He didn't mind being used as long as he gained something out of it.
But the said creature wasn't even helping in any way. So far, he had made no visible contribution. The wild cats that lived in the greenhouse for who knows how long made more contributions than him.
Reis wanted to use his special skill to clean the garden. But even that wasn't possible.
On the scale of one to ten, where did 'cleaning a whole jungle in a second' rank in terms of inviting more trouble? Zeroth.
That would be like saying: Look at me. I have this otherworldly power that makes me a better candidate for everything. So throw more trouble at me. I'm chosen for that.
Insert evil smile at the end, and that's the perfect declaration of a fool.
Ultimately, he had to do everything manually.
|You have gained the skill: Heartfelt Gardener.|
|Seeds you nurture will have a 70% chance of growing into a rare herb.|
It was moments like this that reminded him that this was originally a game he played.
|You have built a shelter for the wild cats.|
|Your affinity with felines has reached 90%. They'll treat you as their own kind.|
Excuse me?
|You have restored one of the oldest architectures of the palace back to its glory. Your fame has increased by two points.|
|Current Fame Status, minus 64. Current Notority, +321|
|You have exclusive rights to this area. You may utilize it.|
Can't you give me something I can actually use now?
A month. That's how long it took him to bring the plant graveyard to life. He worked here diligently, even though the council just kept finding things for him to do. The benefits and all were fine, but he needed, no, he deserved better rewards than this.
|You have obtained the hundred-year-old Blue Mints.|
Yeah, I did. That's not a reward. I worked for it.
|...since it wasn't a life-threatening task, I cannot provide extra rewards.|
Tsk.
The Blue Mints sat in his palm, looking suspiciously poisonous with their glowing, electric-blue veins. He'd found a good amount, but he'd brought only a few stalks back to his room. If the plant worked, he could sell it for a fortune. No one else would find it in there anyway.
It was still just mint, right? He used to enjoy the mint salad served at a restaurant near the gaming cafe. It was nice on the throat.
|I will compile a consump-|
The leaves were already down Reis's throat before the system could finish. It tasted like mint, too. A tad more spicy, and there was a fuzzy aftertaste. Not too bad. "How long until it works?"
"How long indeed."
|I do not know. You were supposed to consume a leaf a day for a year.|
|May I resign? I do not wish to be a witness to a player's death for such a cause.|
If the System were a person, this would be the moment they stared at one another in a long, soul-crushing silence. A scream got stuck in Reis's throat, confused as to whether it should go up or down. His limbs suddenly felt like they were made of paper, and the world began to tilt.
|The herb will spread into your veins within ten minutes. I recommend reaching out for help immediately.|
Help? Where do I go for help right now?!
"Pay attention to your surroundings."
A chill ran down his spine. The usual complaining voice sounded alert. A warning.
But he didn't get the chance to process the command.
A hand, gloved in rough, salt-scented leather, clamped firmly over Reis's mouth. Usually, Reis would have bitten the intruder. He would have kicked, clawed, or at least insulted their lineage. But his muscles had turned into overcooked noodles.
He could only let out a muffled, gurgling sound as the blood on his lips smeared against the kidnapper's glove.
"That was easy," a low, gravelly voice whispered near his ear. Reis couldn't turn, eyes stuck on the shining metal below his chin. "Wait—the hell? He's bleeding out. Did you hit him?"
"I didn't even hold him that tight!" the second voice hissed, sounding panicked. "He just started coughing. Look at the floor…that's a lot of blood."
"He's barely conscious. The reports said he was frail, but this is ridiculous."
"Hush. Don't talk, just move," another voice hissed from the darkness. "If the guards find this mess, they'll think we killed him on the spot."
Reis felt himself being hauled upward like a sack of rice. He was hoisted over a broad shoulder, the impact knocking the remaining air out of his lungs, and another trail of dark blood escaped his mouth, dripping onto the pristine rug. His face dangled against a cold, black tunic.
"Stay awake. I can only help if you are awake."
As if that was his choice.
Reis wanted to argue. He had not spent days fixing security gaps to get kidnapped!
But petty complaints died down in his bloodied throat as the kidnappers leapt from the balcony into the coldness of the night.
|Call for—|
The blue screen faded from his vision, and darkness claimed him, leaving the palace to wake up to a nightmare.