Ash and Demittry ate their dinner, and Ash was surprised when he received a notification from the system.
[You have consumed a rare meat of Crocosaurs – a giant crocodile-like monster.]
[100 Points Added Successfully.]
[+1 STR.]
"I can get points, and stats from eating as well? How convenient can the system be?"
[Yes, but only if the meat comes from a rare and edible monster. Anything except that is pointless.]
"That make sense, what would I look like if I just continue eating to make myself stronger? No, I don't want to think about it, as I don't want to look like a small tanker."
Ash didn't want to think about his image, but thought about it anyway.
"So Ash, who are those people that you sucked into wherever you put them?"
Demitty asked as he mulch his food.
"Oh, right. I don't know how much have you seen, but the truth is, they were the ones who bullies me everyday. Taking all of my earnings from begging in the streets."
"Earnings? How can you earn from the streets of a rundown city?"
Demittry asked as he was confused on how can Ash earn from the City.
[Ash wasn't working every day, although it's true that this place is considered as rundown, there are still a lot of people from the neighboring countries who likes to visit this place just to have a boost of confidence, and to feel good about themselves.]
"Well, it wasn't an everyday work, but when there are people from the neighboring countries who likes to visit this place just to feel good about themselves, we begged them to give us something that we could use to buy food, or sometimes they give us food to eat instead of pennies."
"Thank you system, you're a life saver for once."
[I will gladly provide whatever the user needs.]
"Don't kid yourself, we both know that wasn't true."
Ash mocked the system.
"So? How is that related to what I saw earlier?"
Demittry wanted Ash to hurry with his story as he was about to finish his food.
"Well, those bullies that stole my money and everything, came to me earlier and wanted to actually kill me for whatever reason."
Demittry continues to mulch his food while listening to Ash.
"Uh-huh, so, you killed them first before they could kill you?"
Pointing his spoon to Ash, Demittry concluded immediately.
"No! Of course not! It was a legit self-defense and they only got killed because they let their guard down by underestimating a kid."
Rolling his eyes, Ash had a grumpy face because of Demittry's poor assessments.
Demittry gestures to Ash to continue eating while telling his story.
"Alright, I think that covers all my questions for now. Ash, like I said earlier, don't ever forget the people that you have killed. Although you are still young, but it doesn't mean that you are exempted to the laws. However, when we reach the Capital, I want you to leave all your bad behaviors outside the gate, is that clear?"
Demittry firmly said to Ash.
"Yes Sir, I will keep that in mind."
[You could leave your stupidity outside the gate as well.]
"No one asks for your opinion! And just so you know, I was about to snap right now so you better shut you trap or else!"
[I just wonder how a dumb user like yourself can do something about it.]
"Urgh! F*CK YOU!!"
[Ha-Ha-Ha.]
The system laughs like a robot, which irritates Ash more.
After a few moments, they finished eating their dinner.
Ash sat in front of the fire, as Demittry washed the used kitchen wares by using the water from his spatial storage.
Getting bored from the silence because he wasn't used to this new type of setting, Ash began to do the other training course from the system.
"What are you doing? You just ate dinner but now your doing an exercise? You might get sick if you continue doing that."
Finishing up cleaning the dishes, Demittry warns Ash as he store the kitchen wares in his spatial storage.
"I think it's alright. I know my body really well."
Ash replied with confidence.
Ash finished his remaining training courses and sat back in front of the fire while scanning the system's notifications subtly so that Demittry won't notice.
"Open System Notification Tab."
[Opening SNT.]
[Congratulations! You have covered 10 km run. +1 AGT]
[Congratulations! You have finished 100 pushups. +1 STR]
[Congratulations! You have finished 100 curl-ups. +1 STR]
[Congratulations! You have finished 100 squats. +1 AGT]
[Congratulations for finishing your daily training course. +1 MANA]
"Did you just abbreviate the System Notification Tab? Are you starting to get lazy?"
[...]
"Don't be lazy system, we are in this together!"
"What happened? Why did you become so quiet all of a sudden?"
Demittry asked as he sat opposite to Ash.
Ash jolted in shock.
"Uhh, I was just thinking if what I did earlier was the right thing to do."
"Ash, we cannot change what happened in the past. All we can do is move forward with our lives."
"You have a point."
Agreeing to Demittry, Ash opens up another topic that he didn't know how crucial it is to his life.
"Hey Old Man, I have a question."
Demittry wasn't expecting to be called an old man, and he couldn't let it slide as it hurts his pride.
"Ash, I don't think I can let you call me an old man. Why don't you try calling me with the most awesome name that you could come up with?"
Understanding where Demittry was coming from, Ash thought another nickname for Demittry.
"Hmm, how about D.A.S.E? An Acronym for Demittrius Aurellius Spatial Expert?"
[What a lame name, can you do any better?]
"Ash, as much as I appreciate the thought, I don't think acronym suits me very well. To me it feels like a title or something, right?"
[See? He knows it. Don't worry Demittry, I am with you on that one.]
"He can't see nor hear you though. So could you please be quiet?"
[Why are you even trying to change it? Can't you just call him with his real name?]
"I already said that it's too long, stupid."
[I forgot the fact that the user is a lazy one as well. I'm sorry. I'll shut myself up for a bit.]
"Sigh! Thank you!"
"How about to just call me by my name instead?"
Demittry could see the struggles in Ash's face.
"You're right. I'm sorry, I'm not really good at naming things, hehe."
Scratching his head, Ash apologized.
"Anyways, what was your question?"
Demittry asked.
"Oh right. Well, I kept on thinking, this place was covered with many infrastructures, and the buildings here are so huge, with a massive area. I wonder who made all of this, what actually happened here, and why did it became like this?"
Said Ash, as he kept putting fire woods to the fire.
"You mean 'the slumps'?"
"The slumps? Did you mean this place is called 'The Slumps'? Why is that?"
Ash look at Demittry after hearing the place's name.
"Yes. Wait… did you really lived and got raised into this place? You seem more like a tourist than a resident. In fact, it looks like I know more about this place than you do."
Demittry glares at Ash's eyes.
"Uhh. It's because I grew up alone after my parents died when I was a kid. And I had no one beside me that could explain the name of the place where I grew up, or something like that. So, if you feel like you know more to this place than me, well, it's only right because you do know more stuff than me."
Ash explained smoothly, but in reality, his sweats were dripping from nervousness.
"Alright, I believe you, you don't have to be so nervous about it."
[The user seems to know how to create an alibi himself. Kudos to the user's quick thinking, he manage to make an excuse for himself.]
"I'm glad you noticed how smart I actually am."
[Not really.]
"!!!"
"So, where was I again? Oh right, slumps. Well, this place or 'The Slumps'.But to tell you the truth, it wasn't its first name. This place had a great name a long time ago, and it was called the 'White Oasis'. Although, this place is the farthest area that belongs to the Kingdom, it was actually once a very well developed area before the Big One occurred. However, due to the tremors caused by it, this place was destroyed and most of its buildings were unable to be used anymore, so most of the people migrated in the Capital."
Demittry paused for a second to let the information sink in Ash's mind.
"Hmm, now it makes sense why there are only a few people in this massive place."
Ash replied while scratching his chin.
"Yes, and those who have committed violations to the laws of the Kingdom, and those who are banished from the Kingdom chose to go here. A great example for that are your Parents."
[Ding!]
-End of Chapter