【Fairy tale】The Chore Points Game: Book 1 of The Chore Points Game

Subtitle:Level Up Your Messy Life, One Dish at a Time.

Chapter 1

One day, a tiny God spoke.

"Starting today, we shall begin the 'Chore Points Game.'

Player A—You are our very first test case."

"Ehh? Why meee?"

Player A looked utterly displeased.

"Because you are someone who simply does not do chores. Just look at your apartment room. Is it not cluttered and swimming in trash? The soiled dishes from your last meal are left exactly as they were. And look at that mountain of laundry piling up."

Player A hung their head. It was undeniably true.

The tiny God gave a small, authoritative cough to ensure they understood, and then proclaimed:

"Now, let me explain the game. Whenever you perform a chore, 'Chore Points' will accumulate at the Heavenly Chore Points Centre. The more chores you do, the more points you earn. When your points reach a certain threshold, your level will rise. With each level you gain, you will receive a 'Ticket for a Beautiful Dream.' However, if you overexert yourself and try to force your way through chores while exhausted, points will be deducted. In such moments, you must quietly rest or seek someone’s help, and only return to your chores once you have recovered."

"That’s completely unfair," Player A complained. "Deducting points when I’m actually pushing myself to try harder?"

The tiny God spoke with solemn gravity.

"Chores are not something you merely complete in a single day. They must be done day after day, endlessly. Therefore, overworking yourself until you cannot move is a penalty-worthy offence."

"Is the only reward a 'Ticket for a Beautiful Dream'? I want money."

"No, only the ticket. There is no money."

"Why not?"

"Because Gods do not possess money. We possess things like love, wisdom, and virtue."

The tiny God puffed out their chest with a proud "Ahem!"

Player A thought it wasn't really something to brag about, but remained silent. At any rate, it was clear that God was broke.

"Oh, how boring."

"You utterly fail to grasp the gravity of the situation. Chores are a vital survival skill for living within human society. Rich or poor, child or adult, everyone must do them for a lifetime—unless, of course, you wish to live alone in the woods like a primitive soul. Indeed, if you neglect your chores to the point where your home becomes a house of trash, you will, at worst, be cast out from the collective human society of towns and villages. And human beings have a drastically lower chance of survival when they do not live together. Yet, the world is filled with too many people like you who neglect their chores. In short, this is a crisis that threatens the very extinction of humanity!"

Player A thought the speech was a bit dramatic, but once again, kept quiet.

"Even if you say 'seek someone's help' when I’m too tired, that costs money. The only people who help for free are family."

Housekeeping services are expensive. Player A had no such room in their budget.

"The 'someone' who helps does not necessarily have to be human. It can be a machine like a dishwasher, or any convenient gadget that streamlines your tasks."

The tiny God offered this as if it were a grand act of salvation, but to Player A, it didn’t feel that way at all.

"Do I absolutely have to participate in this game?"

"Yes, participation is mandatory. Even in the divine realm, the fact that humanity is on the brink of extinction because they refuse to do chores has become a matter of grave concern."

"How awful..."

Resigning themselves to fate, Player A reluctantly decided to begin the 'Chore Points Game.'