The initial shock began to fade, replaced by a buzzing energy Chris hadn't felt before. Forget Valiant Tactics; this was the ultimate game, and the stakes were his own life. He had one Idle Point, a slowly ticking IQ counter, and a head full of possibilities. First things first: more Idle Points.
He focused on the [Tasks] menu again.
[Available Tasks]
[Task: Hydration]
Description: Drink a full glass (approx. 250ml) of water. Staying hydrated is key to cognitive function.
Reward: 1 Idle Point (IP)
Status: Available
[Task: Basic Tidiness]
Description: Make your bed properly. A tidy space can lead to a tidy mind.
Reward: 1 Idle Point (IP)
Status: Available
Seriously? Drink water? Make his bed? These were the "quests"? It felt almost insulting, yet… efficient. Easy points.
Chris immediately got up, went to the kitchen, poured a large glass of water, and downed it.
Ping. (Mental chime)
[Task: Hydration - Complete!]
[Reward: +1 Idle Point]
[Current IP: 2]
He returned to his room and, with more enthusiasm than he'd ever shown for the chore before, straightened his sheets, fluffed his pillows, and smoothed the duvet.
Ping.
[Task: Basic Tidiness - Complete!]
[Reward: +1 Idle Point]
[Current IP: 3]
He checked the [Tasks] menu. New, equally mundane tasks had appeared: 'Put away laundry,' 'Wipe down desk surface,' 'Brief Exercise: 10 push-ups.'
Chris tackled them one by one. Put away the clothes heap migrating from his chair to the floor (+1 IP). Wiped down his dusty desk (+1 IP). Dropped and did ten slightly shaky push-ups (+1 IP). He was starting to sweat a little, but the steady accumulation of points felt incredibly rewarding.
He glanced at his [Idle Slots]. His IQ was now 100.04. It wasn't much, but seeing the number physically change, however fractionally, spurred him on.
More tasks followed: 'Read a News Article (5 min focus),' 'Help with a Household Chore (Ask Parent),' 'Plan your next study session.' He read an article about local politics (+1 IP), helped his mom carry some groceries in from the car (+1 IP), and mentally mapped out reviewing his physics notes later (+1 IP).
Finally, after about an hour and a half of this bizarrely productive chore-based grinding:
Ping.
[Task: Plan your next study session - Complete!]
[Reward: +1 Idle Point]
[Current IP: 10]
Ten points! Exactly what he needed for the first upgrade. He practically vibrated with anticipation as he focused on the [Idle Slots] menu.
[Idle Management]
Available Slots: 1/1
[Slot 1: Intelligence Quotient (IQ)]
Current Value: 100.09
Idle Rate: +0.01 IQ per 10 minutes
Time to Next Increment: 03:18
[Add Idle Slot (Slot 2): Locked - Requires 100 Idle Points]
[Upgrade Idle Rate (Slot 1): Costs 10 Idle Points for +0.001 IQ/10min increase] <--- Option now available!
He focused his intent on the upgrade option.
[Confirm Upgrade: Increase IQ Idle Rate by +0.001/10min for 10 IP?]
[Yes / No]
Yes! Absolutely yes!
Ping. (A slightly more substantial chime this time)
[-10 Idle Points]
[IQ Idle Rate Upgraded!]
The screen refreshed.
[Idle Management]
Available Slots: 1/1
[Slot 1: Intelligence Quotient (IQ)]
Current Value: 100.09
Idle Rate: +0.011 IQ per 10 minutes
Time to Next Increment: 03:05
[Add Idle Slot (Slot 2): Locked - Requires 100 Idle Points]
[Upgrade Idle Rate (Slot 1): Costs 10 Idle Points for +0.001 IQ/10min increase]
His IP dropped back to 0, but the rate had increased! Now he was gaining 0.066 IQ per hour instead of 0.06. Still slow, but faster. And crucially, the upgrade cost hadn't changed. It was still 10 IP for the next +0.001 increment.
A thought struck him. If the price didn't increase... could he just keep upgrading this?
A new wave of determination surged through him. Forget unlocking new slots for now; boosting his core intelligence gain seemed like the most efficient path. He needed more points. Back to the [Tasks] menu.
The system seemed happy to oblige, feeding him a steady stream of simple objectives. 'Organize Desktop Files,' 'Practice Touch Typing (10 mins),' 'Meditate (5 mins),' 'Research a topic of interest (15 mins).'
Chris became a whirlwind of minor productivity. He cleaned up his digital clutter (+1 IP). He used an online tutor to practice typing, his fingers stumbling slightly (+1 IP). He sat awkwardly trying to clear his mind, mostly thinking about the system (+1 IP). He read a Wikipedia rabbit hole about the history of computing (+1 IP).
Each time he accumulated 10 IP, he immediately poured it back into the IQ upgrade.
Upgrade! (Rate: +0.012 IQ/10min. IP: 0)
Grind. Grind. Grind. (Tasks: 'Clean Keyboard,' 'Stretch Routine,' 'Listen to Educational Podcast Snippet,' 'Review Math Formulae')
Upgrade! (Rate: +0.013 IQ/10min. IP: 0)
Grind. Grind. Grind. (Tasks: 'Water the plants,' 'Take out recycling,' 'Read System Help File,' 'Perform Online Speed Test')
Upgrade! (Rate: +0.014 IQ/10min. IP: 0)
Grind. Grind. Grind.
Upgrade! (Rate: +0.015 IQ/10min. IP: 0)
Grind. Grind. Grind.
Upgrade! (Rate: +0.016 IQ/10min. IP: 0)
He'd done it five more times after the initial upgrade, for a total of six upgrades. His IQ idle rate was now +0.016 per 10 minutes, a 60% increase from the base rate. It cost him a total of 60 IP, earned through dozens of small, mundane tasks over the past few hours. It was now early afternoon, around 2 PM. His IQ had climbed to 100.31 – the real-terms gain was still tiny, but the rate was significantly better. He felt strangely accomplished, even though most of what he'd done was basic self-maintenance and chores he usually avoided.
He was down to 0 IP again when a new task popped up, this one looking different. It had a faint golden border.
[Major Task Available!]
[Task: Troubleshooter]
Description: Your father is experiencing frustrating issues with the new smart home lighting system in the living room. It keeps randomly desynchronizing. Investigate the problem and find a solution. Utilise observation, deduction, and available resources (manuals, online forums).
Reward: 100 Idle Points (IP)
Status: Available
100 IP! Enough to unlock the second slot outright. This was huge.
"Dad?" Chris called out, heading towards the living room. "Need help with the lights?"
His dad, Mr. Miller, was indeed looking perplexed, fiddling with a tablet controller. "This blasted thing," he grumbled. "Worked fine yesterday, now half the lights won't respond, and the other half are stuck on puce. Who needs puce lights?"
Chris felt a flicker of his usual uncertainty, but the promise of 100 IP burned brighter. "Let me take a look," he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
He spent the next forty minutes observing the system, checking connections, reading the confusing online manual, and cross-referencing error messages on a tech support forum he found via his phone. His slightly improved IQ, even at just over 100, seemed to help him focus better, to connect bits of information more readily than usual. He noticed a pattern: the lights furthest from the main Wi-Fi router were the ones glitching most often.
"Maybe it's a signal strength issue?" Chris suggested. "The manual mentions needing a strong, stable connection." He found a setting in the app to check device signal strength – sure enough, the problematic lights had weak signals. After helping his dad reposition a Wi-Fi extender closer to the affected area and rebooting the system, the lights synced up perfectly.
"Well, I'll be," Mr. Miller said, genuinely impressed. "You figured it out, kiddo! Thanks, that was driving me nuts."
As his dad cycled through colours (settling on a warm white, thankfully abandoning puce), Chris felt the familiar mental chime, but this one resonated deeper.
Ping! (A clear, resonant sound)
[Major Task: Troubleshooter - Complete!]
[Reward: +100 Idle Points]
[Current IP: 100]
Yes! He suppressed a fist pump. Trying to act casual, he mumbled something about being glad it worked and retreated back to his room, his heart pounding.
He immediately pulled up the [Idle Slots] menu.
[Idle Management]
Available Slots: 1/1
[Slot 1: Intelligence Quotient (IQ)]
Current Value: 100.37
Idle Rate: +0.016 IQ per 10 minutes
Time to Next Increment: 08:44
[Add Idle Slot (Slot 2): Costs 100 Idle Points] <--- Option now available!
[Upgrade Idle Rate (Slot 1): Costs 10 Idle Points for +0.001 IQ/10min increase]
Without hesitation, he focused on unlocking the second slot.
[Confirm Action: Unlock Idle Slot 2 for 100 IP?]
[Yes / No]
YES!
Ping! (Another substantial chime)
[-100 Idle Points]
[Idle Slot 2 Unlocked!]
[Please select an Attribute or Skill to assign to Idle Slot 2.]
The menu expanded, showing his base stats again: Strength, Agility, Stamina, Perception, Charisma. He could presumably idle skills later, but for now, it seemed limited to core attributes.
What to choose? Strength, Agility, Stamina were tempting for physical improvement. Charisma… maybe later. Intelligence was already covered. Perception seemed incredibly useful, though. Better observation, noticing details… it might help him find more tasks or understand the system better. It felt like a good synergy with Intelligence.
He focused his intent on Perception.
[Assign Perception to Idle Slot 2?]
[Yes / No]
Yes.
The screen updated again.
[Idle Management]
Available Slots: 2/2
[Slot 1: Intelligence Quotient (IQ)]
Current Value: 100.37
Idle Rate: +0.016 IQ per 10 minutes
Time to Next Increment: 07:55
[Slot 2: Perception]
Current Value: 10
Idle Rate: +0.01 Point per 60 minutes
Time to Next Increment: 59:58
[Add Idle Slot (Slot 3): Locked - Requires ??? Idle Points]
[Upgrade Idle Rate (Slot 1): Costs 10 IP for +0.001 IQ/10min increase]
[Upgrade Idle Rate (Slot 2): Costs 10 IP for +0.001 Point/60min increase]
His IP was back at 0, but now two of his stats were passively improving. Perception gained much slower than IQ – only 0.01 per hour – but it was a start. And crucially, its upgrade cost was also only 10 IP.
Chris leaned back in his chair, a wide grin splitting his face. It was still his birthday, barely mid-afternoon, and he felt like he'd accomplished more than he had in months. Two stats idling, the primary one significantly boosted. The grind was real, but the rewards were undeniable. Average Chris was officially under construction.