Chapter 76: [GOOD REWARDS]

Ding.

The glow of the panel bathed his pale face in sharp blue light. Despite his raw throat, his panic, and his exhaustion, Eli leaned forward, eyes locked onto the words like they were a lifeline.

[SYSTEM REWARD]

Mission Accomplished.

Reward granted: 1 Affection Point = 50 System Points

> Player may choose to allocate System Points to enhance core stats:

– Strength: 0

– Agility: 0

– Speed: 0

– Endurance: 0

– Perception: 0

Warning: Once allocated, points cannot be retrieved.

Would you like to allocate your points now?

> YES

> NO

Eli’s eyes widened. His pulse skipped.

’Holy shit.’ His mind reeled. ’I can… enhance myself? Actually enhance myself?’

For a moment, he simply stared, the sterile hospital room melting away into nothing but that glowing list.

“Yes,” he whispered. His voice cracked, but the panel responded instantly—the confirmation shifted, the list of stats pulsing faintly, waiting.

Eli blinked, breath quickening.

’Okay… I need to be smart about this. Be strategic. Fifty points isn’t much, but…’

He exhaled sharply. “Allocate five points to each core stat.”

The numbers on the panel blinked, then shifted with a mechanical precision.

– Strength: 5

– Agility: 5

– Speed: 5

– Endurance: 5

– Perception: 5

Eli’s chest eased just slightly. Balanced. A solid foundation. But balance wasn’t enough. He had seen what an S-Class dungeon could do—ogres tearing through walls like paper, statues moving faster than his eyes could track.

He needed speed. He needed reflexes.

“Add ten to agility, and fifteen to speed.”

The digits flared, adjusting again.

– Strength: 5

– Agility: 15

– Speed: 20

– Endurance: 5

– Perception: 5

Eli’s lips parted into a small grin. “Yeah… that’s good enough.”

Ding.

[SYSTEM REWARD]

> Point allocation confirmed.

> Stat enhancement commencing…

The moment the words appeared, the air shifted.

A low hum rippled through the room, vibrating in his bones. Blue light wrapped around his body like living flame, surging down into his muscles.

His veins lit beneath his skin, pulsing with azure fire. His lungs seized for a second—then expanded as if fresh oxygen had been shoved into him.

His fingers curled against the sheets, trembling. The tendons in his arms stretched taut, his nerves crackling alive like struck wires.

His heart hammered, not from panic this time, but raw, electric power.

Eli sucked in a sharp breath as the glow focused on his palm, a bright seal etching itself across his skin before fading into nothingness.

The hum cut off. Silence returned.

But his body didn’t feel the same.

He clenched his fist experimentally—his hand moved faster, lighter, like air itself bent around his motion. His pulse was steady, but it carried a new strength with every thud.

’Woah…’ His eyes widened, chest rising and falling quickly. ’I actually feel… different.’

Ding.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

> Enhancement complete.

Eli let out a shaky laugh, whispering hoarsely, “That’s… great. That’s really nice.”

One affection point from Caelen had barely felt like anything—but this?

This was real. This was tangible. Better than those random-ass rewards the system had tossed at him before.

And if the core stats really were a recurring thing, that meant every step forward with Caelen and Kairo wasn’t just a survival tactic.

It was actual growth.

Power.

Motivation lit his chest, trembling but fierce.

“Thank you, System,” Eli whispered—for the first time since the damned blue screen had ever appeared.

Ding.

The glow flickered again.

[SYSTEM REWARD NOTICE:]

> You have a pending reward.

Would you like to open it now?

> YES

> NO

Eli blinked. ’Wait… more rewards? Oh. Right. The mini task.’

His lips curled into a cautious smile. “Yes.”

[SYSTEM REWARD NOTICE:]

> Player chose ’YES.’

> Player will now receive reward for completing bonus task: [OPEN THE DOOR]

Eli raised a brow, whispering dryly, “Again… such a random thing to turn into a task.”

The panel pulsed, then unfurled into a treasure-like animation, shimmering golden as if a chest had been cracked open.

🎁 [SYSTEM REWARD]

+ Navigating Compass

+ Saving Whistle

“…What the hell am I, Darla the Explorer?” Eli muttered, blinking rapidly as the glowing icons of a compass and a whistle hovered in front of him.

His lips twitched into a scowl. “This is the second time you’re giving me random junk… why?”

The system, of course, offered no answer. Just the steady blue glow of its panel, impassive and uncaring.

Eli let his head fall back against the pillow, exhaling sharply through his nose. He thought back, tallying the so-called rewards he’d collected so far.

A hearing aid. Seeing glasses. Now a navigating compass… and a saving whistle.

He narrowed his eyes.

’For what though? Why the hell would I need any of these?’

They weren’t weapons. They weren’t armor. They weren’t stat boosts. Compared to the core allocation system that literally rewired his body… these were trinkets.

Trinkets that made no sense.

Eli groaned, running a hand down his face. ’Why couldn’t you just give me useful gear, huh? A sword? A dagger? A shield? Something that doesn’t make me look like I shop at a discount travel store?’

And yet… the irritation didn’t quite smother the gnawing curiosity clawing at his chest.

Because the system wasn’t random. Not really. Every task so far, every mission, had a cruel sort of purpose hidden behind it.

If it gave him junk, then the junk must mean something.

Eli licked his lips, his throat still rough but voice steadier now. “…Fine.” His eyes sharpened, the faint glow of determination returning. “System. Open inventory.”

Ding.

📦 [SYSTEM INVENTORY]

— Hearing Aids

— Seeing Glasses

— Navigating Compass

— Saving Whistle

Eli blinked. His brows furrowed as the glowing list pulsed, each item shimmering faintly.

“…Okay,” he rasped, voice cracking. “Now don’t tell me these are just props.”

As if responding to his suspicion, the screen unfolded again, spilling out detailed text beneath each line.

Ding.

📦 [SYSTEM INVENTORY]

Item: [Hearing Aids]Description: Amplify your world. Hear anything within a 50-meter radius. Filter sounds by choice—voices, footsteps, whispers. The world is yours to tune in or out.

Item: [Seeing Glasses]Description: Vision beyond walls. Peer through anything—brick, steel, glass. Distance is limited only by the user’s will.

Item: [Navigating Compass]Description: Think of a person. Think of a place. The needle will point the way. Accuracy depends on clarity of intent.

Item: [Saving Whistle]Description: Blow in desperation. Alerts your “assigned targets” instantly. Current Targets: Caelen, Kairo. Warning: Cannot be reassigned.

Eli’s mouth went dry.

He stood corrected.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me.” His hoarse laugh cracked out of him before he could stop it. “These aren’t junk. They’re—holy shit, they’re actually good.”

He stared at the list, stunned, heartbeat thudding with something dangerously close to excitement.

He could hear anything.

See through anything. Find anyone.

And if all else failed—he had a damn panic button tied directly to Caelen and Kairo.

’This… this changes everything.’

His fingers trembled against the sheets, not from fear this time, but adrenaline. A sharp, biting thrill raced through his veins, the same way it had when the stat boost lit his body alive.

Eli exhaled, shaky but grinning. “So you were helping me all along, huh? Sneaky bastard.”

The sterile room didn’t answer, but the faint glow of the system panel seemed smug somehow, as if it was pleased he’d finally caught on.

For the first time since he woke up in this body, Eli felt something other than dread. He felt… confident.

Maybe, just maybe—this wasn’t impossible. Maybe he could actually survive this twisted mission, maybe he could even figure out how to claw his way back into his own body.

The thought brightened in his chest, sharp as a blade unsheathed.

But then another thought slithered in, cold and unwelcome.

’…Did I just jinx myself again?’

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