Rewards and Mental health
[Quest reward: $500,000 received.] [Quest reward: Elixir x 1.] [Death count: 3.] [Received reward: $1,000,000.] [Received level: 300 / 1000] [Received 1 luxury suburban house at suburb.]
"Status."
Status
Name: Samantha Whitmore
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Level: 300 / 1000 (Max!)
Strength: 1500 (+1000)
Agility: 1500 (+700)
Stamina: 1500 (+1000)
Dexterity: 1500 (+700)
Luck: 300 (+100)
Sickness: Chronic allergies to women (Elixir 2 / 20) (Cooldown: 29 days)
Skills
Mixed martial arts mastery (passive)
Sharp mind (passive)
Charm (passive)
Intimidation (passive)
Manipulation (passive)
NEW Taunt (passive)
Functions: Full resurrection, Dimensional storage, Third eye.
Total reward money: $3,350,000.
Death count: 3.
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Samantha stared at the screen, then mentally said, "Dimensional storage."
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Dimensional Storage
Elixir x 1.
Personal data map x 1.
Set of luxury house keys, five bedrooms and four bathrooms in the suburbs x 1.
Folder containing house ownership documents x 1.
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"I... I got a house... b-but my body won't stop shaking. What am I gonna do?" Samantha mumbled to herself, her eyes darting around, unfocused. She hugged herself.
Soon after, two police patrol cars and an ambulance pulled up in front of the store. Two officers, hands ready on their holsters, went inside. They found Samantha sitting at the counter, her face covered in blood that was already starting to dry. Her body was visibly trembling and shivering, even though it was daytime and not cold.
Seeing Samantha's blood-soaked face, one of the police officers immediately approached her after confirming the situation was safe. He put a hand on Samantha's shoulder.
"Waaaaaaa!"
"Calm down, ma'am," the officer said, trying to soothe Samantha, who had screamed when his hand touched her shoulder.
"Oh no... this is bad. I'm having a panic attack... Don't tell me I have PTSD now because I died three times in two days," Samantha thought to herself.
The officer grabbed a flashlight and checked Samantha's eyes, which this time remained still. Then he led Samantha outside to be treated by paramedics. A nurse brought Samantha over, got her to sit in the back of the ambulance, and wrapped her in a towel. She then examined Samantha's forehead and dried, bloody face.
[Don't worry, sir, I've checked, and you're perfectly fine.]
"Yeah... but my mental health isn't doing so good," Samantha shot back in her head.
[You'll get used to it. The important thing is, from now on, you need to find activities that keep you focused and that you enjoy doing.]
"Grrrr... don't you dare give me advice!" Samantha retorted, annoyed.
[I'm also obligated to look after your mental well-being, sir. Please trust me.]
"Then why were you quiet just now? You didn't explain anything about the quest?" Samantha demanded.
[Because you asked me to be quiet unless asked.]
"Aaaaaargh, you're really something, you messed up system!" Samantha yelled.
[Thank you for the compliment, sir.]
"Grrrrrr... fine, whatever. What kind of activities should I do?" Samantha asked.
[Anything that's your passion, as long as it truly involves using both your hands. For example: if you enjoy painting, you can paint. If you enjoy making pottery, perhaps you can try making clay vases, and so on.]
"So, I really do have PTSD, you bastard! I want to get rid of my allergy to women, not get PTSD instead!" Samantha replied.
[Not yet, sir. These are still just symptoms.]
"Same difference," Samantha retorted.
"Ma'am... ma'am... ma'am,"
Samantha looked up and saw a nurse standing in front of her with a worried expression. The nurse held a towel to clean Samantha's face, then asked,
"Excuse me, ma'am, but whose blood is this? I've checked you, and you're perfectly fine," the nurse said.
[See, sir? I told you so.]
"Yeah, I'm fine, but my mental health isn't!" Samantha shouted out loud.
The nurse immediately gasped and jumped in surprise. She went completely silent, and Samantha, seeing the nurse's face, felt a little bad.
"I-I'm sorry, ma'am," Samantha said.
"It's okay, ma'am. I understand. You've just been through something terrible," the nurse replied, forcing a smile.
Samantha fell silent again, looking down at her still trembling hands. She clenched them tightly until her knuckles turned white to stop the shaking. Slowly, she tried to regulate her breathing to get back to normal and focused on her clenched fists. She began to search for something she enjoyed, something buried deep in her heart. After a while, as her mind started to focus again, she realized she enjoyed cooking.
"I love cooking! That's right, Grandma and I used to cook together all the time because she was the only one who didn't trigger my allergy," Samantha said.
[Excellent, sir. Please look for cooking classes or a cooking community. The main thing is that you shouldn't be alone.]
"Okay, I'll look for cooking classes after this. Thanks," Samantha said.
[Glad to be of assistance, sir.]
After sitting in the back of the ambulance for a while, Samantha finally regained control of herself. But as she stood up and was about to leave,
"Excuse me, ma'am," a police officer greeted her.
"Can I help you, officer?" Samantha asked.
"Are you ready to talk about what just happened?" the officer asked hesitantly.
"No problem, sir," Samantha replied.
"Alright, I'd like to ask a few questions, but first, please watch this recording," The officer showed her his smartphone. Samantha's eyes widened. It was a CCTV recording from inside the convenience store, showing Samantha's actions, including her getting shot and then getting back up, followed by the cashier fainting.
"The person in this recording... that's you, isn't it?" the officer asked, looking at Samantha.
"Huh... that's impossible, sir. I'm perfectly fine. It looks like I got shot in the footage, huh? (Damn it, why was there CCTV in there?)" Samantha muttered.
"Oh, I didn't say you were shot, because from any angle, it looks like you fainted from hearing the gunshot. What I mean is, what you did was very dangerous. Can you defend yourself or something? Why would you, as a civilian, dare to face two men who are clearly bigger than you and carrying firearms? What motivated you?" the officer asked.
"I-is that so? I'm sorry, officer, my body moves on its own to rush in," Samantha replied.
Samantha looked at the footage again. It was true; she fell while covering her ears, and the cashier deflected the man's shot from behind the counter.
"Is that how it really happened? What I experienced felt different, but... my memory's a bit blurry," Samantha mumbled to herself.
"Please be careful next time. What you did today was very dangerous, but I admire your courage. Thank you for saving the cashier and the hostage, so there were no casualties. We're still pursuing these two men; their faces were caught on CCTV," the officer said with a smile, extending his hand to Samantha.
"Oh... y-yes, sir, thank you," Samantha replied, shaking the officer's hand.
After the officer left, a stunned Samantha sat back in the ambulance, deep in thought.
"How come it didn't look like I got shot?" Samantha asked in her head.
[Because I altered the recording.]
"Huh?" Samantha asked.
[I altered the recording. What you remember is what actually happened.]
"Brrrrr," Samantha started trembling again. She immediately hit her own head, annoyed, wanting to forget her memory.
"Damn system! Why would you confirm my thoughts were right, you bastard?!" Samantha yelled in her head.