Chapter 67 – Infinite Quest Glitch

The moment I stop tensing that mental muscle, Will of Iron deactivates, and the pain immediately rushes back.

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. OUCH.

It feels like the pain went to the gym, hired a personal trainer, and came back with a vendetta. My abs and back stage a full-scale revolt, reminding me in no uncertain terms that they were NOT consulted about my little "standing up experiment" and they're filing a formal complaint with HR. Which is also them. So they're just yelling at me.

I hunch over, arms wrapped around my abdomen like I'm trying to hold my organs in place.

I spend the next few minutes slouched, doing my best impression of a question mark, waiting for my midsection to stop protesting. Slowly, mercifully, the pain begins to dissipate, going from "active war zone" to "mild natural disaster" to "unpleasant but manageable."

Finally, I feel safe enough to attempt movement again. I walk slowly to my door, each step a careful negotiation with my angry muscles, and open it.

I pull out my phone to check the time: 8:30 PM. Mom usually gets home at 10 PM, which means I actually have a bit of time before I'm forced to have The Talk about what happened with Jack.

First things first: A shower.

The shower is glorious. Hot water has never felt so good, even if bending and reaching to wash myself feels like participating in an extreme sport. I take my time, letting the heat work on my sore muscles, and by the time I'm done, I feel almost human again.

I wrap a towel around my waist and head to the sink to do my nightly skincare routine. As I'm rubbing moisturizer into my face, this weird panicky feeling starts creeping in.

My daily schedule is completely scrambled. I didn't do my workout. I didn't go for a run. The only thing I managed was my nightly skincare routine. My everyday grind has become so ingrained that breaking it feels wrong.

I stare at myself in the mirror, moisturizer still on my fingers.

When did this happen? When did I become the kind of person who feels bad about not exercising?

I remember like a month and a half ago, I would have done literally anything to avoid physical activity. The only thing I was training was my ability to find the most comfortable position on the couch.

I literally collapsed after doing three knee push-ups back then. My idea of cardio was walking from my bedroom to the kitchen. And now? Now I'm standing here, freshly showered, face moisturized, feeling genuinely stressed because I didn't work out today.

But okay, I have some time before Mom gets home, and I'm injured, so I can't do my normal routine. But maybe... maybe I can try something.

An idea starts forming in my mind. I've been living with this system for over a month now, and I've started to notice patterns in how it works. One of the big ones: quests seem to trigger based on strong desires or intentions.

When I really wanted a haircut, boom, quest. When I wanted to look more attractive after seeing myself in the mirror, quest. When I wanted Jack to stop bothering Luna, you guessed it, quest. The system seems to respond to me genuinely wanting to accomplish something.

So what if I deliberately try to trigger quests by thinking really hard about what I want to do?

I head back to my room, towel still wrapped around my waist, and sit on my bed.

Okay. Let's test this theory.

I really want to rest today, I think to myself, trying to inject as much genuine desire as possible into the thought.

I wait.

...

Nothing. Complete radio silence from the system.

Huh. Okay, so that didn't work. But why?

I reflect on my failure for a moment, and I realize that I don't really want to rest. I mean, I want to not be in pain, sure, but actual rest? The idea of just lying around doing nothing is making me feel restless and anxious. That's not my real desire.

Alright, let's try this again. What do I actually want?

The answer comes pretty quickly: I want to do a really light workout. Not my full routine, obviously, I'm injured and that would be stupid. But something. Anything. Just enough to feel like I didn't completely abandon my daily habits.

I want to do a really, really light workout today, I think, focusing on the genuine restlessness I'm feeling. I'm injured, but not incorporating any workout into my daily routine is making me twitchy.

Ding! Quest log updated.

YES! Success! I'm a genius!

I immediately open my quest log, eager to see what appeared:

Available Quests:

There it is! A quest to do a light workout!

I click on it to read the full description:

Light Workout

Description: You're frustrated about breaking your routine, but your body needs rest to recover properly. Pushing too hard when you're injured is the fastest way to make things worse. That said, your restlessness is reasonable. You've built these habits, and breaking them feels wrong. And sometimes doing something is better than doing nothing at all. So here's an easy one: just take a nice, leisurely walk for ten minutes. Nothing crazy. No sprints, no pushing through pain. Just gentle movement to keep the routine alive without making your injuries worse. Your body is a long-term investment, not a rental car you can trash and return. Treat it accordingly.

Quest Details:

Quest Progress:

Quest Rewards:

Okay, the description is actually really sweet. My system is basically telling me to take it easy, which is comforting. And the actual requirement is incredibly simple, just walk around for ten minutes.

I can do that.

I get dressed in comfortable clothes and spend the next ten minutes just walking around my room in slow circles. It's not exciting, it's not intense, but it is movement, and honestly? It feels good. My muscles appreciate the gentle activity, and by the end, I actually feel a bit better.

Ding! You've completed the quest: Light Workout

Rewards:

Sweet. I mean, it's only one Evolution Point. But hey, it's not much, but it's honest work.

Now I'm feeling productive, and there's still time before Mom gets home. I glance at my computer setup.

I should work on my side project, I think. I really want to finish it.

Ding! Quest log updated.

Ding! Quest log updated.

Wait, two notifications?

I open my quest log with growing excitement:

Available Quests:

Holy shit. Two quests. One for working on it, one for finishing it.

I click on the "Work on Your Side Project" quest first:

Work on Your Side Project

Description: Every hour you put into this project is an investment in yourself. It might not seem like much in the moment, but all these little sessions help define who you are as a person. Keep at it!

Quest Details:

Quest Progress:

Quest Rewards:

Simple enough. Now let's see the big one:

Finish Your Side Project

Description: This trading bot has been your passion project for almost a year now. It's something you chose to build because you wanted to, not because anyone told you to. Here's the thing though: anyone can start a project when motivation is high. The difference between people who actually accomplish things and people who just talk about them? Following through when it gets hard. You're so close to the finish line. Don't give up now!

Quest Details:

Quest Progress:

Quest Rewards:

Fifty Evolution Points. Fifty. And I’ll gain proficiency in programming. Sweet!

And the best part? I was going to finish this project anyway. It's been my baby for almost a year, and I've already put in hundreds of hours of work, I have no plans of giving up anytime soon.

I sit down at my computer, crack my knuckles, and dive in.

Once I start coding, everything else just fades away. The pain, the stress, it all becomes background noise. It's just me, my code, and the satisfying click of keys as I work through the logic.

I lose track of time, entering that beautiful flow state where minutes feel like seconds. I'm vaguely aware that I'm making good progress, that the autonomous trading algorithms are starting to come together in a way that makes sense.

I'm in the middle of debugging a particularly tricky function when I hear the front door open downstairs.

"I'm home!" Mom's warm voice echoes through the house.

"Welcome home!" Three voices chorus back: Bianca, Selene, and mine overlapping.

Ding! You've completed the quest: Work on Your Side Project

Rewards:

Nice. I should have been doing this way sooner. If I'd known I could generate quests by thinking hard about what I genuinely wanted to accomplish, I could have been racking up Evolution Points this whole time.

Though, to be fair to Past Adam, I wasn't exactly in a rush to improve myself. I thought I could just let everything happen naturally, take my time, improve at my own pace.

That was naive. The whole situation with Luna and Jack was a wake-up call. The world won't wait for me to improve at my own leisurely pace. If I want to actually make something of myself, if I want to protect the people I care about, I need to be proactive. I need to squeeze every advantage I can out of this system.

No more coasting. Time to optimize.

I'm still processing this revelation when I hear rapid footsteps approaching my room from down the hall. A moment later, Selene's face peeks around the side of my open door, her pink eyes bright with anticipation.

"Adammmm! Mom's home! Time to spill! You promised us the full story, remember? Come on!"

I take a deep breath, save my project files, and slowly stand up from my chair. My body protests the movement, but it's manageable.

Well. Here we go. Time to explain to my family exactly how I ended up looking like I went three rounds with a meat tenderizer.

This should be fun.