Chapter 6: Akira's Path
[Change In Personality - Quest Complete!]
[You have leveled up] x2
[Status: Healthy
Level: 10
Combat Prowess: Weakest
Skills: Cooking(Lv. 8), Slash(Lv.3), Adaptive Evasion(Lv.3)
Talent: Sword(Lv.2)
You have 2 unused Skill Points]
The requirements to complete the Chain Quest weren't particularly challenging.
I took Anna on the supposed "date", read a straightforward book about Ostania's history in front of the maids, and asked my parents for permission to enroll in Eden Academy.
Their agreement was reluctant, but they didn't outright refuse.
They were worried of the inevitable teasing I'd face for enrolling late, but I didn't care much about that.
Now, entering Eden Academy required studying for and passing an entrance exam, but for the System, the intent sufficed.
This hinted at a judging meter, allowing for a degree of flexibility in how Quests could be "bent" to assist me. While it might not be immediately valuable, this insight could prove advantageous in the future.
Despite pondering these potential advantages, I needed to focus on the present. With some time to strategize my next moves, various paths lay ahead.
One option was requesting my parents to hire a tutor for proper swordsmanship.
Another involved hitting the gym to improve my overall endurance and strength.
The third was developing my own training regimen, but I dismissed it since I lacked expertise in designing an effective routine.
And yes, Saitama's training does not count.
Anyway, the first two options were practical and direct. I could leverage financial resources to skip the learning curve and receive specialized guidance.
Hiring a tutor for swordsmanship and a personal trainer for physical conditioning seemed the optimal route.
However, even as I considered these immediate gains, a sense of dissatisfaction lingered.
Immediate improvements in 30 days weren't enough. Beyond physical enhancement, I required knowledge and practice in dealing with unforeseen challenges.
I had 99 more trials ahead of me.
While the quests and modern-world assistance could bolster my strength, I couldn't depend on that.
What if the next trial placed me in a world where humans were primitive beings?
What if there were no quests to boost my growth?
I couldn't solely rely on my training in this Trial; I have an opportunity to study everything I need for the future right now. I cannot waste such a thing, even if it meant dying more than 9 times before I am strong enough to defeat Yor.
Hence, while committed to strengthening my body, my primary focus would be accumulating knowledge. This decision crystallized as familiar blue windows materialized, heralding a new wave of information.
[New Chain Quest!]
[The Path of Knowledge]
[Description: You have chosen to utilize the world of [Spy x Family] to prepare for the future. Whatever difficulties may lay ahead, you will be ready to face it. Unlike mere physical training, the path of accumulating knowledge is arduous but promises an exponential raise in strength in the long run.
Tasks to Complete:
Read Books: Body(0/50)
Read Books: Sword(0/75)
Read Books: Training And Fitness(0/25)
Ask Questions: Swordsmanship Tutor(0/20)
Ask Questions: Personal Trainer(0/50)
Additional Conditions:
Quest completion mandatory before exiting the [Spy x Family] World.
You will have an [Inspection Meter] for the duration of this quest. Under the scrutiny of the [Inspection Meter], each book must prove its worth. If the Meter deems a book lacking, it won't contribute to its designated task. Similarly, if the Meter questions the competence of a tutor or trainer, deeming them unfit to answer to your question, it will not count to its task.
On Failure: Your intelligence will deteriorate.
On Success: Level up(10), [Wisdom] Talent, [Intuition] Talent, [Photographic Memory] Skill, Medium-level Body Purification, 3 [Skill Ticket], 5 [Question Ticket]]
"So, it's just as I suspected."
I couldn't help but mutter aloud.
From the first chain quest, the suspect had been lurking, and now it's almost confirmed.
Whether this pattern will persist in future trials or if it's a unique feature of the first one, it's evident that the System dishes out quests based on my choices.
I have gone through two choices thus far.
The first, a mere shift in the character's identity, wrought a consolation prize of a pretty much effortless quest.
The second, a deliberate focus on a specific path, brought forth a plethora of challenging tasks but promised "unparalleled" rewards – Talents, Skills, Body Purification, a cascade of levels, Tickets.
While I appreciate these boons, they weren't the primary goal. I aim to gain independence from the System. If I achieve that, I won't need to rely on it to face Trials.
No, I won't need to rely on it for anything.
For now, my move will be to follow the quests and trust my instincts. If a quest is tied to a decision, I need to subject myself to as many decisions as possible to discern the specific conditions for quest activation.
Afterwards, I'll explore the possibility of having more than one quest active simultaneously, a potential game-changer given the limited time frame of 360 days.
At a glance, it may seem like a generous amount, but in reality, it's not. If I were on my own, I wouldn't be confident that 5 or 10 years would be sufficient to gather the knowledge needed. Now, with the quests on the table, the actual time I may need is an enigma, dependent on the actual impact of the acquired talents and skills, much like the uncertainty surrounding the usefulness of the Magic Swordsman class that, at first glance, seemed the only reasonable choice.
Even if the day comes when the futility of all my efforts is laid bare, and I discover I'm truly nothing more than a puppet, I'll be satisfied. Deep down, I'll know how hard an average person like me strived to resist being a pawn in the hands of the self-proclaimed God and a so-called System supposedly aiding me, only to realize they were using me for their own amusement.
Let's see who gets the last laugh.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone