Endurance System

No Money, No Gifts, And No Love

[Your job is gone.]

[You don't even have a place to stay.]

[But you haven't lost your right to live.]

[The gift is open.]

[Basic survival skills.]

[This gift includes: Your body feels hunger, thirst, and fatigue less quickly; short periods of sleep still restore some stamina; and minor injuries do not worsen quickly.]

"Wait." Elric blinked rapidly as he reread every word clearly displayed in front of him. "Basic survival skills? I don't need this. Where's the money?"

Elric glared at the transparent screen, wanting to grab it but refraining because he didn't want to look strange to others.

He looked around, made sure no one was there, and said, "System, I need an amazing reward. A house, money, and a car. Please give me that. You see my condition now. I need it."

[Sorry, the system cannot provide that.]

"What do you mean it can't? Aren't all systems like that?" asked Elric, unwilling to accept it.

[Life endurance requires slow progress. Please enjoy the process towards eternal life, sir.]

Elric was about to respond to the system again, but the transparent screen flashed, and the text changed.

[Companion gift has been opened.]

[Mental state: mind remains clear.]

[Sir, this is not comfort, but opportunity.]

"What kind of opportunity is this?" Elric asked in frustration.

He had imagined riding in a luxury car and living in a house bigger than the Voss family's, or maybe even bigger than the Maverick family's. But now, it was all just a fantasy.

Elric could only stare at the transparent screen in front of him, which slowly disappeared.

His shoulders slumped. His enthusiasm evaporated. The light in his face was gone, replaced by gloom. He pulled his suitcase and dragged himself to the nearest bus stop.

Elric exhales roughly.

He sits with a blank stare. "It's all useless. I should have beaten them until they lost their teeth."

At that moment, his stomach growls, snapping him out of his hopeless despair.

He opened his wallet and found a few bills left. Even when he checked his phone, he didn't have much money. Maybe just enough to book a hotel room for one night.

"No money, no prize, no love," he muttered sadly.

Then he walked to a minimarket to buy two loaves of bread and mineral water.

While eating, he stared at the street in front of him, wondering where he would sleep tonight.

Suddenly, a scream came from his left. "Help! Thief! Thief! Help!"

Elric quickly got up and kicked the man who was running past him carrying a woman's bag.

However, the pickpocket did not give up so easily.

He got up, picked up the woman's bag that had fallen on the ground, and prepared to run again. Elric immediately grabbed the back of his clothes.

"Damn thief! Give back the bag!"

The pickpocket stared at Elric with hostility. He tried to break free by pushing Elric hard until he fell onto a chair in the minimarket.

"Damn it!" Elric struggled to get up and chased after him.  

He managed to grab the thief's clothes and pulled him down hard. Then he took the bag and gently patted it, removing the dust that had stuck to it. "You're still young, why steal other people's things? Working is much more satisfying. The results are greater."

As he was about to approach a woman who had just arrived, the thief grabbed his ankle, causing Elric to cry out in pain.

"You're meddling too much in other people's business," said the thief.

"How can I just stand by when this is happening right in front of my eyes?" Elric said with a slight frown. "Let go of me! You're ruining my clothes!"

"If I can't have it, then you can't have it either." 

After saying that, the thief stood up and shouted. "Thief! Thief! Help, there's a thief!"

Elric looked around in panic. "Uh uh."

"He stole that woman's bag," said the thief to three men who came out of the minimarket.

In an instant, Elric was surrounded and pushed in all directions.

"Uh, it wasn't me. I didn't do it," he said, immediately drowned out by the shouts of the three men.

"No thief would admit it. I saw it myself. He snatched the woman's bag and was about to run away, but I stopped him. Take him to the police station!" The thief provoked them loudly.

After that, he quietly left.

"It wasn't me. Really, it wasn't me." Elric tried to defend himself by protecting his head, fearing he would be hit by them.

"The evidence is clear, and you're still denying it? You damn thief!" One of the young men roughly took the bag from Elric. "Next time you want to lie, make sure there's no evidence or witnesses to incriminate you."

"Idiot!"

The woman who owned the bag approached hesitantly. "Excuse me."

The three men turned to look at her. One of them asked, "Is this your bag?"

"Yes." The woman nodded slowly.

Then she looked awkwardly at Elric and said, "Can you let him go?"

"Don't be too kind. Evil people like this need to be taught a lesson so they don't do it again," replied one of the men harshly.

"That's right. He must be punished. At least one day in jail. You may be fine today, but what about the next victim? This cannot be allowed," continued another man.

The woman became even more hesitant, but she plucked up the courage to say in a louder voice. "But he's not the thief."

"What?"

"He's not the thief. He was the one who saved my bag," explained the girl.

The three young men looked at each other. Then they asked in unison. "Not him?"

The girl who owned the bag nodded firmly. "He was just helping me. So, can you let him go?"

Immediately, they looked at Elric, who looked annoyed.

"Why didn't you say so?" One of them blamed Elric for being too shy to admit he had mistaken the person.

This made Elric even more upset. "I said it many times, but you didn't listen to me."

"The real thief is already gone." Elric pointed in the direction the thief had left. "It's okay to defend someone from crime, but you misunderstood and didn't even listen to my explanation."

His words made them feel guilty. "Sorry."

"Never mind. Besides, I haven't been taken to the police station yet," replied Elric, returning to his table and devouring his bread in big bites.

The three men looked at each other, thinking of a more appropriate way to apologize. But the girl who owned the bag took the initiative and approached Elric, sitting down in the chair in front of him.

She paused in embarrassment for a moment, then spoke with her head bowed. "Thank you for saving my bag. May I know your name?"