Chapter Text
All was going as planned. Developments were swiftly underway and the new cargo was set to arrive in a few days. Lloyd couldn’t help but grin himself silly. Things were finally looking up, looking stable. About damn time!
He and Javier were entering the manor when a sudden alert came through. He was used to randomly seeing them but this one was different. Instead of its usual blue or red color, it was purple.
Ding!
[You have been selected to carry out three major ‘canon event’ tasks. Denial of participation costs 179 RP points but a successful completion rewards you x100 your current points. Would you like to participate?]
“What’s this? So suddenly?” Lloyd muttered under his breath. No, the system has always been random. He was used to expecting the unexpected. He glanced over his current RP points and laughed. He had exactly 179 points. If he were to reject the offer he would be left with zero but if he were to accept and successfully complete it…179 multiplied by 100 would be, what, 179000 PR points? Whoa. He’d be able to do so much with that amount.
Still, he needed to make the best decision. “Can’t I at least know what the three tasks are?”
[Nope! Haha.]
He frowned, ‘Tsk, I should’ve known…’
“Master Lloyd, is everything alright?” Javier, who was holding the door open, asked. Mild concern washing over his face.
“Yup, lets get going. Dinner’s going to get cold.” He ultimately decided to make the decision after eating. But a voice in the back of his head kept nagging at him.
Ding!
[Talk about having no self control! (Laughs) – anyways, Your side quest journey has begun!]
[RP System is being updated. You can now earn RP points by correctly following the given steps. Failure to do so will result in ???]
[Current RP Total: 179]
Lloyd’s surroundings turned blurry as he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Damn! He shouldn’t have trusted that damn system!
“Javier...” His cries went unheard as his bodyguard also crashed next to him. Unconsciousness took over his body as a terrible headache throbbed his head. ‘Is this how I die? No way.’
One final notice came through before he passed out.
[Good luck, you’ll need it.]
Lloyd awoke in his bed, his bedroom looking the same, nothing out of the ordinary. Except that his knight was nowhere in sight. Oh, and his headache was gone. In fact– he felt light. Too light actually…
He looked down at his hands and began laughing nervously. “Did I shrink overnight or something? Haha, this must be a joke.” His hands seemed to belong to a kid.
The systems words rang in his head, “by good luck, is this what it meant?” Lloyd nearly pulled his hair out as he screamed, “GAH! DAMN YOU SYSTEM!”
The baron’s physician burst through his bedroom door. He seemed younger. “I though my ears were deceiving me! Young Master Lloyd! You’re finally awake! I’ll be right back with the baron and baroness!”
Finally awake? Where was Javier? Just what the hell was going on?!
Ding!
[You have been sent back in time in order to complete three major ‘canon event’ tasks for the recompense of 179000 RP points. Complete all tasks in order to successfully return back to the present!]
“WHAT?!” Lloyd fell out his bed, just what the hell had he gotten himself into?!
He took in a deep breath and analyzed the situation. Ignoring the whole 'time travel' thing, all he had to do was complete three easy tasks. No biggie. “Alright! I have no time to waste. Let’s see, how hard can these tasks be…?”
Ding!
[First canon event: Destroy Javier’s precious wooden sword and maniacally laugh in his face!]
“Shit.”
He didn’t even have enough time to process what his parents started saying once they entered the room. Even as they hugged him tight, all he could think of was Javier.
Were the three ‘canon events’ just Lloyd tormenting Javier three separate times? His chest tightened at that thought. Hopefully he was wrong.
His parents finally left once they saw his complexion better. They were busy during this time of the year apparently. “You heard what they said, right Young Master?” the physician asked for the millionth time. Lloyd couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “Yes, I heard them loud and clear.”
Little kids sure were stupid. Little Lloyd surly would’ve drowned if it wasn’t for Little Javier’s help. What made a little kid who couldn’t even swim jump into a large body of water? Delusion maybe?
The physician still looked somewhat skeptical, “I promise I won’t go anywhere near water.” Lloyd reassured. Even though he wasn’t the idiot who couldn’t even swim, he still swallowed his non-existent pride and made empty promises.
"And?"
He sighed, "And I'll thank Javier."
“Good.”
[Good.]
‘Oh shut up.’ It was all the damn systems fault for not explaining things properly.
[I just wanted to remind you that there’s a time limit on this task but, (sigh), it seems as if you want me to ‘shut up’.]
‘I apologize. Please continue.’
[Every task has a time limit. This one has a 48 hour limit. You were asleep for 28 hours. Do the math.]
48 minus 28 was 20. In other words he had less than a day…
Lloyd swatted at the blue floating square in front of him. ‘Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?!’
[I tried to but you were asleep!]
As if that were a good enough reason. First things first, he needed to find Javier. Find Javier then his wooden sword and then–
The door to his room slightly opened and someone peeked through. Never mind, there was no need to look for him. It seemed as if Javier came to him.