[Ding—]
[Physique +1]
[Hidden Quest Activated: "Male God's Body"]
Quest Progress: 1%
Reward: +1 to All Base Stats (Assimilation Pending | Time Remaining: 12 hours)
Gu Xi stopped mid-stretch.
The faint ding echoed like a coin falling in water, and in the back of his mind, the translucent status panel opened without needing a call.
He blinked.
Then instinctively—focused.
[Status]
Strength: 21
Wisdom: 37 (+1)
Charm: 31 (+1)
Physique: 27 (+2)
Vitality: 36 (+1)
Evaluation: "Plain but refreshing. Slightly likable when not speaking."
Minor Skills:
• Cooking: 60
• Singing: 60
• Linguistics: 40
Active Quest: "Male God's Body"
Completion Rate: 1%
Reward Pending: +1 to All Stats (Assimilation: 12 hours remaining)
Gu Xi exhaled through his nose.
1%.
That was all it took to earn a stat boost?
His eyes lingered on the quest name: Male God's Body.
It sounded like a joke. Like one of those clickbait novel titles with exaggerated premises and 500+ chapters of face-slapping.
Still... it was real.
He looked down at his hands. The skin wasn't flawless, but the acne was gone. He'd seen it in the mirror that morning, and the swelling under his eyes had faded too. Even his posture—though still narrow and slightly hunched—felt more balanced.
For the first time since waking up in this world, he didn't feel like a used towel.
He tilted his head slightly and muttered, "System?"
No response.
"Can you hear me?"
Nothing.
No voice. No robotic assistant. No golden bell, old man in white robes, or cheerful fairy mascot.
So much for fantasy.
"Just numbers, huh…"
Still, numbers didn't lie.
And if this system was the cold, mechanical type, that suited him just fine.
He stood up from the bench, joints still sore from jogging. City F's salty breeze drifted in again, carrying the cry of seagulls and the distant beep of pedestrian crossings.
To his left, the beach curved wide like a silver blade.
Clean sand. Quiet surf. Blue horizon.
Gu Xi walked forward slowly until he reached the low concrete ledge dividing the boardwalk from the beach, then sat down again. The sky had already begun to shift—clouds melting into orange. Sunset was approaching.
Down on the beach, people wandered in pairs or groups.
It was an everyday scene in City F.
And yet to Gu Xi, it looked like a portrait of inversion.
On the sand, two women were throwing a volleyball back and forth—each over 180 cm, legs like tree trunks, their sports bras soaked through with sweat. One shouted something crude, the other laughed and caught the ball with one hand like she'd done it since birth.
Meanwhile, several men sat on the benches under parasols, their expressions sweet, their poses elegant. Each wore chest wraps—like decorative bras made of lace, sometimes layered with transparent fabric. Below that, most wore bikini bottoms in pastels or floral prints. Their skin was smooth, their limbs hairless, and many had delicate makeup on their cheeks and lips.
It wasn't a cosplay event.
It was just a normal weekday evening.
Gu Xi rested his chin on his palm, watching quietly.
In his old world, this scene would've been scandalous.
Here, it was just… Tuesday.
Across the promenade, a couple walked past.
The woman was tall, muscles visible beneath her tight tank top. The man beside her had soft dyed hair, his shoulder-length bangs curled carefully at the ends. He wore platform sandals and held her arm with both hands as they chatted, smiling shyly when she leaned down to whisper something into his ear.
Gu Xi looked away.
That's right. In this world, men were the flowers, women were the wind.
It wasn't wrong.
Just different.
And right now, he was the only weed among lilies.
He pulled out his phone and opened the notepad again.
He added two words to his morning plan:
Plank. Stretch.
Then underlined: Don't miss a day.
[Ding—]
Hidden Quest Complete: "Quiet Reflection Under the Sunset"
Wisdom +1
"…Really?"
Gu Xi scoffed lightly.
This system was strange.
It rewarded everything from smiling to spacing out. It was as if it knew exactly which parts of his soul needed polishing and decided to clean them one by one.
Still. Wisdom was wisdom.
He stood, dusted off the seat of his pants, and gave the sunset one final glance. The sky was painted with layers of gold and wine, the sun folding gently into the sea like an egg yolk into broth.
"Alright," he muttered. "That's enough for today."