Sylvia had shaken Jin's hand. The simple shaking of his hand ensued the transferring of a sum of 1209 E-Coins to his virtual account.

He would not have to get a job for a while, now that he had this much money in his possession.

Lingering on the floor stagnantly supine for such a lengthy period; Jin opted for bed. And so, Tristan and Dobby carried him to his bedroom, and placed his body onto his mattress.

They caringly left him be; for they did not wish to disturb his slumber.

For the boys, it was strikingly awkward that Sylvia was there in the same room as them. And they feared that speaking to her would spell even more awkwardness.

They constantly passed whispers to each other; all of which allied Sylvia in some way or another.

She sat there knowingly on one of the couches as their mummering filled the room. She had not the slightest care about what they said about her.

They knew nothing about her anyway. So she knew their mummering must be related to her ethereal physique.

They could be speaking about anything. Anything yet she didn't care.

The whispers kept going.

"She's actually a looker…"

"If she were an elf, I'd hit on it…"

"Yeah, Tristan. You didn't need to say anything … I think we all know that already …"

"Jin probably owns the chick already so it's too late. Saving her and stuff—he wants her; no doubt about it."

"I know Jin well. He would act like he likes a girl … blushing and whatever. But in truth, he only likes people if he likes their personalities and has built a bond with them."

"Knowing Jin … he's not gonna hit on her."

"Hey, Ashton. I dare you to walk over there, and sit next to her…"

"No way!"

"What the fuck, man? You're shouting…"

"Sorry."

"Walk over there and sit next to her."

"C'mon, Dobby. We already know he's not gonna do that. Don't torture the guy…"

"Yeah, Tris. I think you're right. He's too much of a chicken to do it."

"I wasn't really saying that but … okay?"

"I'm no chicken!"

"There he goes again …"

"Dude, what did we tell you about shouting? The girl's gonna overhear our conspiracy."

"Sorry!"

"He's gotta be doing it on purpose now…"

"No. I'm actually not doing it on purpose."

"Then you're retarded and a chicken. A retarded chicken."

"I'm not!"

"Sounds like something a chicken would say when you say it's just some old hag's lunch."

"Why do you always call me a chicken!?"

"'Cause you are a chicken. Actually …"

"Huh?"

"You're not a chicken…"

"Really?"

"You're a pussy … either a chicken or pussy—one of those."

"I hate you…"

Ultimately, Dobby taunted Ashton until he relented. He had mustered all his bravery and looked over at Sylvia.

He started approaching her. His heart throbbed. The stabbing that entails palpable pain. Something definitely had to be stabbing him to his heart, right?

They were no more than four meters apart, yet the walk to this distance felt like forever on his part.

But luckily…

Before he made it over to her, Baron had returned.

A sigh of certain relief.

In short, Baron used his teleportation to port away from Jin's house with Sylvia. Ashton, Tristan, and Dobby were now left alone in the house.

The awkwardness that dwelled in the room had quickly withered away.

***

[Progression: 210/210]

[Task Completed!]

[+5 Exp]

[Exp: 10 / 20 | Level 3]

"I swear," Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead, "These tasks are just getting easier."

Jin had woken up from his slumber the next morning, and the first thing he did was complete his daily task.

Doing this grew on him quite a bit. He even liked doing the tasks now as opposed to before.

He put his hands on his waist, "It feels amazing doing these exercises every morning, but I wonder what'll happen if I don't do the tasks. No punishment?"

Suddenly; Jin began to feel a throbbing pain in his head. The pain conjured a wince on his face as he stood there; rubbing his temples.

"Going up and down from the push-ups is finally taking its toll on my head. Pain elsewhere is just … pain but these headaches are just a whole new ball game."

He looked at the hovering system screen again.

[HP: 5/10]

His health still had not gone up.

"I don't know how the hell I'm not healing anymore. It's strange."

'That cop was incredibly strong when he was only a low rank. No wonder why he was so desperate for action. He definitely wanted a promotion.'

'Police officers right now are way out of my league. I'm no different from a normal human in the likes of them.'

'But they're dangerous,' his eyes darkened, 'and because of people like them, I can't remain this weak. I must get stronger.'

"Stronger so that something like this doesn't happen ever again. No one will be able to stand in my way. I'll protect my friends with my power too. And I'm not gonna be evil. I'm not gonna betray my friends … am I?'

Incertitude delivered a searing agony to his heart. It throbbed.

Unbeknownst to him, a few months from now; his being would be immensely contradicting who he is now.

Suddenly, Ashton opened the door, and unbiddenly stepped into his room. As soon as he turned around and had landed eyes upon Jin, he quickly paused.

"Ashton? Got a problem?" Jin raised a brow.

He remained in the same position. "You're up?"

"Yeah?"

Ashton suddenly rushed toward the door again. He hurried outside, and closed it shut once more.

Jin grimaced, "O'kay?"

He simply sighed, and walked over to his bathroom. He brushed his teeth, took a bath, and changed into his clothes.

And finally, he left his bedroom.

Ashton, Dobby and Tristan were sitting on the same couch.

"Oh, Jin. Ash was right … you are awake." Tristan peered at Jin while sitting on the couch.

Ashton who sat next to him also peered at Jin. "He's looking much better than yesterday, isn't he?"

Dobby folded his arms. Wry on face. "It's the fact that he's working out in his condition that is worth all the concern."

"Yeah, you're right."

Tristan raised a brow, "Is that right, Jin? You were doing push-ups this morning?"

Jin remained silent. He narrowed his eyes at Ashton to which Ashton turned his head in guilt.

Tristan nodded his head. "Dobby was right. You're the biggest asshole in the world, Jin. How can one be so smart yet so stupid? You and Ashton are practically the same."

Ashton glared at him, "Hey … I'm right here y'know…"

Dobby plastered the most pretentious smile his face could make, "Trust me, Ashton, we know."

Jin walked over to the single-seater opposite their couch, and sat on it. He heaved as his body descended.

They chatted with each other for a while. Jin and Tristan tried their best to avoid bringing up the System as best they could.

"Who remembers when Tristan and Dobby had that smack down with each other?" Ashton tittered.

Jin looked at him, "I do. Actually, they had more than one fist fights."

"All of which I won," Dobby simpered.

"Why do you guys even fight so much?"

"That doesn't matter," blurted Tristan, "All that matters now is that we're not gonna fight each other anymore. Right, Dobby?"

Dobby smiled softly, "You're right. Because no way I'm gonna fight with you when you've gained that much muscle mass."

Tristan smirked, "You better not."

"He's just saying he won't. But we all know Dobby … even if he fears you, he'll go down throwing fists," added Ashton.

Jin agreed, "Yeah, Dobby's bravery is on another level at times. To think Dobby was at first a bully before he became our friends."

Ashton's eyes widened from the memories. "It gives me chills every time I think about it."

"People change I guess…" Dobby heaved.

Suddenly, they heard a car horn sounding from outside the house. It was a testament to Ashton that this said horn was that of someone he knew.

The heads of the other boys swam into his view. They obviously knew whose car that was as well.

"Your mom's here, Ashton …" uttered Dobby.

"Yeah," he stood, "I know." his eyes were downcast.

A nuance lingered on his face as the horn sounded again.

"See you guys later?"

"Yeah, bye Ash."

"Later, Ash."

"Have a good day."

"Go lose your virginity."

Ashton then opened the door, closed it again, and started approaching the white Range Rover in front of him. That subtly inexplicable look on his face ran its course again.