3 Chapter 3

"Ah-ah! Did I hurt you, Abriel? N-no, don't cry ... I'm sorry," Edmund stuttered with shame.

For the second time today, he was waving his arms around like an idiot. Nothing he tried worked. He could not get Abriel to giggle or smile again. It felt like a lost cause seeing her cries and hearing her wails that pierced his very soul.

Again, his class monitor had set the expectations too high for him. While the parenting test put out for him seemed bleaker than his calculus finals a little over a year ago, the thought of Charlize handing him a big fat goose egg and a red 'F' was more disturbing. He slapped himself on the cheeks.

He never had any brothers or sisters or met any of his cousins, so he had zero experience in coaxing babies or young children. At the very least, he knew one thing: he did not want to his daughter to cry no more. It pained his heart, especially when he was the cause here.

No more of the self-deprecating thoughts he was drowning with the past months. He was a changed man now, a father.

Then it dawned to him. The Perfect Father System! His mind snapped back into action.

"System...? System? Hello?" Edmund called out in his mind.

Much to his disappointment, there was no reply, no answer, nothing. Not even a mechanical beep that at least acknowledged that its existence inside his brain or anything.

'What about the mission?'

He glanced around left and right his room frantically, but nothing had changed. The supplies he carefully placed back in position under the kitchen sink was still there, though he was sure he had used up every drop in the bottles. He left the house speck and dust-free. He was sure of it.

Why was there no prompts or voice in his head that told him he had completed part of the mission, then?

Edmund gritted his teeth in humiliation. Whoever created this elaborate prank surely must have gotten a good laugh out of it. There was no way a meat-pie as golden as a system in those RPG games would drop out of the sky. Nine months of zero sunlight does crazy to a person. He must be crazier, asking and expecting a top-secret underground elaborate cleaning supplies company for help in parenting of all things.

The thought of parenting reminded him of his own mother and what she would do whenever his younger self was crying and acting like a brat. He scourged his memories for something, anything, but came up with nothing, a dead end again. He was mind-blocked out of answers.

"God-damnit," Edmund muttered. He did the one thing he thought was rational: pick up Abriel and hold her in his arms.

It did not work. Her cries only grew louder, her thrashing only stronger. She kicked and kicked.

"Oh, shi—shh, shh, Abriel. It's going to be alright, don't cry anymore."

Having his first experience with a baby's temper, his face was full of black lines. He was not sure if he could put up with this incessant wailing longer than a few months, not a mention years.

He held an even greater respect for single parents, caretakers, and babysitter—Abriel alone was going to drive him crazy—and most importantly, respect for his mother. His younger self was always scolded as a problem-child, a brat, and a splitting migraine to his mother.

His pudgy stomach was getting uncomfortable from Abriel's temperamental kicks. Though the fat had lessened the impact considerably, he did not want to know what that felt from the inside. He directly added that to his list of reasons to be glad for being a male list, so the only thing he could do was man-up and endure the surprisingly tough kicks, out of fear that moving even slightly would only further annoy the little girl.

After spending a few more minutes in that position, his growling stomach (Edmund wasn't sure if it was from hunger or Abriel's ruthless kicks) and the growing ringing in his ears was too much. He hoisted the cradle upwards and kind-of-not-really gently set her back down when an familiar white light enveloped the kitchen.

While system's mechanical beep shocked Edmund, Abriel's eyes wide in amazement, silence shocked him even more. He, of course, was much more composed than Abriel. He was only was mesmerized by the ridiculously cute Abriel who was mesmerized by the system's magic retrieving the cleaning supplies for a few seconds. Now he was regretting the fact his webcam was not open on his laptop.

'No wonder so many families record everything about their babies in their first few months.'

He was just about to give Abriel the biggest, wettest, sloppiest kiss on her chubby baby cheeks when a game panel opened under his eyes.

[Main Mission - 4/5 parts completed]

[An clean, quiet and minimal environment is ideal for a baby's development, as well as a great start for self-improvement. A change in environment is a change of pace in life. Supplies will be provided and taken away at the end of task, underneath the kitchen sink. Duration of task: 1 week]

[Air out the room] (1/1)

[Wipe down and dust windows, furniture and other surface] (1/1)

[Clean and disinfect if needed] (1/1)

[Empty out all trash except valuables] (1/1)

[Maintain new neat and tidiness for a week] (0/7 days)

[Rewards: Beginner Perfect Father Starter-pack x2, 10xp]

[The following rewards will be delivered shortly: Beginner Perfect Father Starter-pack x1, 2xp]

[Stats Panel Unlocked]

[Levels Unlocked]

[Missions, Tasks, Shop Unlocked]

[Current: Level 1, 2/25xp]

[Host, would you like to open the beginner starter-pack right now? All rewards are randomized.]

Edmund sucked in a deep breath. Rubbing his hands together, he did not hesitate to tap the holographic [Yes] prompt as he would on the laptop in the open-world hard fantasy RPG games he played. The system's voice then rang out again in his mind.

[The following rewards will be delivered shortly: Beginner-level Cradling Skills, System Custom-tailored Newborn 3-piece Outfit x1, Father Archetype Potion x1]

[Beginner-level Cradling Skills - Beginner cradle-hold position provides reasonable aid to a baby's development, creating for them a sense of security. Baby, when playing with her hands or reaching for parent's face, results with some mild discomfort. Baby is generally relaxed in this full body, supportive position that is often calming and can aid in her falling asleep]

[System Custom-tailored Newborn 3-piece Outfit - System provided clothing that automatically adjusts size, outside temperature, and flexibility when needed. Made with breathable material. Quality is denoted higher than silk, providing both ultimate comfort and luxury. Will not damage baby's high sensitive skin. Cute design. +10 Charm, +20 Cuteness]

[Father Archetype Potion - no information available]

He was brimming with excitement until the system's final sentence. The shine in his eyes dimmed. They drooped. Everything was great for his current predicament, especially the cradling skills he realized he desperately earlier, and he would not pass up and opportunity to stat-check Abriel's peers in style and cuteness.

"System, you gave me an unidentified dad pot," Edmund stated, grimacing halfway through his sentence.