System Quest 2.0: Harvest My Family's Regret

"Fine. I accept."

As the system's mechanical voice faded, a profound weakness washed over my entire body.

I had agreed to take on the new mission, but I honestly had no idea if I could actually pull it off.

After all, I had spent so many years failing to earn a single shred of their love, so it was hard to believe they would suddenly regret my death now.

Still, I didn't have time to dwell on it, for the massive blood loss and agonizing pain were quickly dragging my consciousness under.

I still remembered right after the accident happened, someone moved my limp body around.

It was my older brother, Owen Winslow.

He had nothing but a tiny scratch on his leg, yet he was leaning over me and smearing my blood all over himself.

So, when the ambulance screeched to a halt and the doctor jumped out, the first thing she saw was Owen lying in a pool of blood.

She frantically ordered her crew to load him onto the gurney first.

Hearing that familiar voice, I fought to force my eyes open, even though the blood had nearly sealed them shut.

The doctor running the show was none other than Audrey Hayes, my wife of ten years and the original target of my mission.

I forced my arm up, reaching out to her for help, but she only offered me a brief, hesitant glance.

"Owen's condition is critical," Audrey said. "The next ambulance is going to be here any minute, so just wait right here."

Seeing her turn to leave, I used every last ounce of strength to grab the hem of her pants, but she pulled away.

"I know all about those weird abilities of yours!" she snapped. "You aren't going to die, but Owen might."

With that, she turned and rushed into the ambulance, leaving me stranded on the freezing pavement and watching in despair as the ambulance faded into the distance.

By the time the second ambulance finally got me to the hospital over ten minutes later, I had already slipped into a coma.

Because of the delay, I had missed the critical window for survival. After undergoing an emergency surgery, I was wheeled straight into the ICU.

Deep down, I knew my time was up, but then again, I was never supposed to stay in this world anyway.

I was a mission runner who had moved through countless assignment worlds. Winning over Audrey was my very last mission, and succeeding meant I could finally return to the real world.

Audrey was just an ordinary surgeon in this world, but before she met me, she was a total magnet for troubles. Walking down the street only to have a flowerpot fall on her head or to fall into open manholes was a daily occurrence for her.

To complete my mission, I didn't hesitate to spend the points I had accumulated across other worlds just to protect her from all those disasters.

It was the most difficult mission I had ever accepted.

To balance out Audrey's streak of bad luck, I spent practically every single point I had to my name. I even put myself in harm's way for her multiple times, nearly dying on the spot on several occasions.

Nevertheless, my efforts finally paid off the day she asked me to be her boyfriend, marking the mission as complete.

The night before my scheduled departure, a massive blizzard broke out, and I told her that I had to leave.

Instead of letting me go, she drove through the blinding snow overnight just to see me, bringing a homemade meal because I had once mentioned offhand that I wanted to try her cooking.

Audrey's tears were streaming down her face as she pressed the warm lunchbox into my hands.

She said that although she didn't know where I was heading, she hoped I would always remember the taste of that meal and the person who had made it for me.