Chapter 2: 3. The Failure and their Mom

'A reward? The System didn't specify what the reward is! Maybe the reward is something that improves my trashy body and common spiritual root. I really needed a talent boost right now.'

I watched as Chang Ye's eyes lit up. He looked very animated. I didn't need to guess his thoughts, I could hear them ringing through my ears, loud and clear. I shoved another potato chip into my mouth. Sadly, I didn't plan for him to get any body or spiritual root upgrades just yet, but it was nice to keep the child guessing.

'I only have to talk to my mom for 10 minutes. There's not even a time limit!' Chang Ye thought. 'Piece of cake.'

Wait. Fuck. I forgot to put a time limit. How much was enough? I wondered. I did give him an easy mission at the beginning, so would around an hour be okay? I changed the settings of the task but didn't bother sending another hologram.

"Task time limit: one hour." I announced in a robotic voice. "Host, please clear the task within this time."

'Fuck. Jinxed myself.' Chang Ye thought.

"If I don't, what will happen?" He asked.

"Failure to complete the mission will result in the penalty." I answered mercilessly.

Chang Ye cursed inwardly until his face turned purple. I watched him, still shoving potato chips into my mouth. It was a false threat. If I killed him off, it wouldn't be good for my record. Imagine reading a book where the protagonist gets killed by the tutorial task in the first chapter. Not fun. But Chang Ye didn't know that. And the more panicked he was, the more entertaining it was for the audience.

Chang Ye seemed to have understood he couldn't waste any more time. I looked at him appreciatively. He wasn't too bad, as people went. And though a touch on the horny side, he was a nice boy. I thought all chosen main characters were supposed to be idiots and showoffs. Chang Ye wasn't a genius, but he wasn't an idiot either. I mean, it was thanks to him I remembered to set a time limit to tasks. Which I would definitely not forget in the future.

I sighed. I should really get my shit together. This wasn't the time to sit and eat potato chips. I stuffed the bag back into my spiritual void.

'My mom has to be somewhere in this place. The courtyard is very big- maybe she is in one of the buildings around it.' He wasn't too far off. I watched as he kept looking around.

'How much time passed, anyway?' I heard him complain inside his mind. 'There isn't even a clock. The task's name really needs to be changed from 'Talk to my mother' to 'Find my mother'. What a scam.'

In my defense, it was my first day on the job.

Chang Ye looked more and more desperate. I feared he was just about to randomly barge into a building, ready to do anything to survive. That would ruin the story. His mother was currently on her way to him, he just needed to wait. But patience did not seem to be Chang Ye's strong suit. I was just contemplating if I should help him in some way, when a lady pranced out one of the buildings.

She was dressed in a beautiful, flowing red dress and her hair was neatly tied into a bun. There was an intricate fan in her right hand. Two people, possibly servants, trailed behind her. Chang Ye looked at her dumbly as she approached closer and closer.

"I see you've woken up." The older woman remarked. 

At those words, Chang Ye stepped out of his trance. "Yes," he managed, "And I'm feeling better than ever! Thank you. Mother." he added after a while.

It was a gamble on his part. As expected, Chang Ye wasn't stupid. He got it in one try. It wasn't the work of a genius. The woman looked rich, and since she was living in the palace, it was natural she was his mother, but it really went against my expectations of male cultivation protagonists. I should cut him some more slack.

The woman didn't contradict his way of addressing her. Chang Ye started to mentally dance and whoop. He was a lively guy. Apparently he thought the rest of the mission was simple, and there wasn't anything to worry about. I pursed my lips. It wasn't that simple, though.

The woman also pursed her lips, then hid it behind a fan. She didn't say anything.

'Well, I can't let the conversation end now! I have my life on stake!' Chang Ye thought, grinning. I started to wonder if I was too harsh in putting his life on the penalty.

"Mother, you look beautiful today." Chang Ye said. Fuck. That wasn't a good decision. Chang Ye didn't notice. I gritted my teeth. The most important part of the task I gave him wasn't to find his mom, or to talk to her. The key was not to have her notice his identity. She was the person most likely to suspect he was from another world, and if she did, it would mess up the story and start to derail from the common plotlines.

Chang Ye and his mother did not have a good relationship. The protagonist should never greet his mother like that. What was the prick doing? Flirting?

His mother was frowning, as expected. She studied him with a disdainful air, and a gaze that wasn't friendly at all. She was looking down on Chang Ye. No, more importantly, she was suspicious of him. That was not a good sign at all.

I sighed. Luckily, it seemed that Chang Ye had also realized this crucial fact.

'She's frowning.' Chang Ye thought, 'Wait. What if... I neglected to consider the situation in which we don't have a good relationship. No, maybe she isn't even his real mother.' The woman clicked her tongue. Chang Ye's hands turned into fists despite himself.

'I... messed up.'

You and me, both of us, kiddo.

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The woman seemed to have noticed his anger. She lowered her fan, a smile finally playing on her lips. Her suspicion wasn't gone, but it had lessened. And at the very least, she wouldn't think her son was a transmigrated foreigner or a demon.

"Thank you, my son." She said dismissively. "It's a relief that you managed to heal quickly. Your body is weak. You should rest and heal yourself for a while. It'll be good for you."

'Weak? Did that woman seriously call me weak?'

"I've already healed, Mother." Chang Ye said, more emotionally than I would have thought. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm not that weak."

So he hates being called weak, huh? That also explained why he wanted to improve his spiritual root and body. Was it some sort of complex? Or some kind of psychological factor? I watched him curiously. Chang Ye's past world was one of the more peaceful worlds. Not that there wasn't any fighting, but at least on the surface, there was peace. And Chang Ye's life was especially peaceful. No war or strife. No starvation or robberies. There was law, he had his essentials, and he never physically fought, not once in his life.

If it wasn't due to outer forces, maybe he simply liked being strong. I etched that detail into my mind, in the 'personality' column. I'll remember it later when it's necessary. For now, though...

I made a dinging noise. Chang Ye's head snapped up.

"Five minutes have passed." I said. Chang Ye froze for a moment. Oh. He was worried his mother might hear me. He didn't have to worry about that. I was speaking directly to his soul, so even the most talented people from his world wouldn't be able to hear me.

'Wait. I don't think she can hear me. Can only I hear the System?' Chang Ye wondered.

"Yes, Host, you are correct." I echoed once again. "The Host has a spiritual connection with the System. Only we can hear each other."

Actually it was more complicated than that. And if I wanted to, I could set up the connection with anybody I wanted, but I thought this would sound nicer to the readers. Plus, it might let Chang Ye feel he was special. Main characters were usually special, weren't they?

"Don't force yourself." Chang Ye's mother said harshly. "Trash will always be trash, no matter how much they try. In front of true talent," her eyes turned sharp as she said the word, "you are nothing."

"Then how about we bet?" Chang Ye said, eyes glinting.

The woman's eyes narrowed, and she brought her fan up again. It seemed like a habit whenever she was upset. "What bet?"

"My brother." Chang Ye said, "I bet I can beat him in a duel." His voice was filled with confidence.

His mother was not happy. She was getting more and more suspicious. "That's quite a funny joke you are telling," She said, raising one eyebrow. Her face was a bit pinkish, not from embarrassment, but from anger. As if the mere thought of Chang Ye winning against his brother was impossible.

Wait. I thought. How did Chang Ye know he had a brother? Well, forget that. Fuck. This wasn't in my plans.

"Danger!" I said. I wrote the words down and sent it to him in a hologram, and this time I colored it full on red. "The Madam is currently harboring suspicions on your identity. Continuing the conversation is not recommended."

Chang Ye hesitated. 'But if I don't continue the conversation, how will I finish the task?'

You know what? Fuck it.

"You have completed the task 'Have a 10 minute conversation with Chang Ye's mother.' You have received your reward, Beginner's Package." Actually there were still a good forty three seconds left, but at this point I was more scared of my main character being assassinated in the middle of the night. If I didn't say anything, nobody would know, I told myself. That couldn't be said for Chang Ye's identity being revealed. That went against all protocol.

Or so said the manual.

Chang Ye was satisfied, and most importantly, his mother was satisfied. Her eyes soon returned to normal. I sighed in relief as she clicked her tongue, then pranced away again with her fancy servants.

Oh wait. Fuck. I didn't decide on what was going to be in the Beginner's Package yet. I should put in a points system, right? So maybe like 50 points? What are 50 points, anyway? I have a headache now- if I give him points, I'll need to open some kind of System Shop, as written in the manual, but I can't do that within a couple of minutes. I started to hastily organize my stuff and create a sloppy shop font, when I realized something. Chang Ye wasn't saying anything.

His eyes closed, then he fell full unconscious. I watched as he crumpled on the floor like a puppet with lost strings. His servant ran towards him, shouting, "Young Master! Young Master!"

Urgh. I still had a bit of a headache. The butterflies in my stomach disappeared, to be replaced with a great feeling of relief. Work was over. Time to go back home.

And reflect on all the things I did wrong.

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