NOVPUB
Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Experience Point
Liam finally arrived home, stretching his arms as he shut the door behind him. The house was quiet, just the way he liked it.
He let out a breath, finally able to relax after the chaotic day.
But as soon as he settled on the couch, he suddenly remembered something.
Yesterday.
When he was with Ann, he had received multiple notifications from the system.
At the time, he had been a little too busy to check them, but now, he had nothing stopping him.
His curiosity got the best of him, and without hesitation, he pulled up the system interface.
As soon as he did, a series of messages flooded his screen.
Lines upon lines of notifications, most of which were about stat increases and something else he hadn’t seen before.
But one particular thing caught his eye.
There was a new section in the system that hadn’t been there before.
It was a small progress bar labeled:
[Level 1: EXP 20/100]
Liam frowned slightly.
EXP?
That definitely wasn’t there before.
His eyes moved down, scanning the rest of the system messages.
Then he noticed something else—his stats had all increased by two points.
---
[Liam Carter – Stats]
Strength: 12/1000
Agility: 11/1000
Endurance: 9/1000
Charm: 8/1000
Intelligence: 9/1000
---
Liam raised an eyebrow. The stat increases were nice, but his mind wasn’t even focused on that.
The EXP bar was way more interesting.
What the hell is this?
He was certain it wasn’t there before.
Was this some sort of new system feature?
There wasn’t exactly a manual or a guidebook for this thing.
So, he had no choice but to figure it out himself.
Liam leaned back on the couch, tapping his fingers against his leg as he thought about it.
Then something clicked in his mind.
Games.
In video games, EXP was short for Experience Points.
And normally, when EXP reached a certain amount, a character would level up.
Could it be the same with this system?
Does this mean that when I reach 100 EXP, I’ll level up?
He wasn’t sure, but it was the only logical explanation.
If that was the case, then his next goal was clear—increase his EXP to 100 as fast as possible.
But then something else hit him.
He had gained 20 EXP last night.
And what had he been doing last night?
Liam scratched his chin, his lips slowly curving into a smirk.
"So they gave me 20 EXP while having sex with Ann..."
His voice was a low murmur as he thought about it.
Which meant...
If one round gave me 20... does that mean I’ll get more if I do it longer? Or more times?
Liam exhaled, rubbing his temple.
If this was really how the system worked, then grinding EXP wouldn’t be that difficult.
Too bad Ann isn’t here.
He clicked his tongue, shaking his head.
His eyes moved back to his Strength stat, and he started thinking.
If he was already this strong at just 12 Strength, then what about when he reached 100 Strength?
He was certain that at 100, he would be the strongest person on the planet.
And at 1000 Strength?
Liam’s heart raced at the thought.
No one would be able to stop him. No force on Earth could match him.
Hell, no force in the entire universe would be able to stop him.
A grin spread across his face as he imagined it.
This system is insane.
Excitement rushed through his veins, but at the same time, he was exhausted. He didn’t know why but he was tiring out quickly these days.
His body felt heavy, and his eyelids started drooping.
Yawning, Liam stood up, walked upstairs and jumped onto his bed, stretching his arms as he allowed his mind to drift for a moment.
His thoughts briefly wandered toward Ann, but before he knew it, he was out cold.
---
When he woke up, the sky outside was pitch-black.
It was already late.
Liam sat up, rubbing his eyes before his stomach suddenly let out a low growl.
Hungry.
He hadn’t eaten anything since morning, and now, his stomach was reminding him of that fact.
But there was just one problem—he had no food at home.
And the reason was simple.
He couldn’t cook.
It wasn’t like he had never tried, but cooking just wasn’t his thing.
It was way more convenient to buy food since there were plenty of restaurants nearby.
But right now?
Everything was closed.
He sighed, shaking his head.
This is what I get for not keeping anything in the house.
Since he had no choice, he made his way to the freezer.
Opening it, he grabbed an apple and a can of soda before heading outside for some fresh air. Looking at the weird combination in his hands he rolled his eyes. Anything was better than none
The cool breeze felt nice against his skin.
Liam leaned against the railing, taking a bite of the apple as he stared up at the sky.
His AC had stopped working a long time ago, and honestly, a lot of things in the house weren’t working properly.
But he had never bothered fixing them.
He didn’t want to stress his uncle by asking for money, so he just dealt with it.
Maybe one day I’ll get around to fixing this place.
But right now, there were much bigger things on his mind.
He had EXP to grind, a debt to erase, and most importantly—a criminal organization to handle.
And he couldn’t wait.
---
Liam was halfway through his apple, staring up at the sky, when his ears caught the sound of a commotion downstairs.
His brows furrowed as he turned his head toward the direction of the noise.
From his balcony, he had a clear view of one of the houses close to his.
And sure enough, just as he expected, it was them again.
One of his neighbors.
They were an interesting family, to say the least.
The father was a complete drunkard, always stumbling around, slurring his words, and causing a scene whenever he got wasted—which was almost every night.
Meanwhile, the mother was a retired UFC fighter, a woman who had clearly not lost her strength over the years.
So, their fights were always... entertaining to watch.
Liam leaned against the railing, taking another bite of his apple as he watched the scene unfold like a live-action drama.
The loud crashing sound echoed through the street as the front door swung open violently.
And just a second later, the man came flying out, landing harshly on the pavement with a loud thud.
His wife stepped out after him, standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, her face twisted in disgust.
She spat on the ground beside him before shouting, "You bloody wanker! Go back to whatever tub you crawled out from!"
Liam smirked.
Damn.
The guy must have really pissed her off tonight.
The man groaned, rolling over onto his back, then slowly pushed himself up.
His face was flushed red, his clothes were a mess, and he reeked of cheap alcohol even from this distance.
Pointing a shaky finger at his wife, he started mumbling something completely incoherent, probably trying to defend himself, but his words made zero sense.
Liam chuckled under his breath.
Here we go again.
The drunkard stumbled forward, attempting to walk away in some sort of dignified manner, but his balance was all over the place.
And just as Liam had predicted, he didn’t make it far before—
CRASH!
The unmistakable sound of garbage cans toppling over filled the air.
Liam sighed, shaking his head.
This guy does this way too often.
Falling into the trash seemed to be his specialty at this point.
He took another sip of his soda, about to turn away, but then something made his eyes light up.
His gaze flickered toward the doorway of the house, and this was the best part.
Their daughter was about to come out.
And sure enough, just as he expected, the door creaked open again, revealing a young woman who stepped outside hesitantly.
She looked to be around twenty years old, with a curvy, hourglass figure that stood out even in the dim lighting of the street.
Her long, dark brown hair cascaded over her shoulders in soft waves, framing a face that was simply breathtaking.
High cheekbones, full lips, and piercing green eyes that held a certain intensity to them, as if they could see right through a person.
Even without makeup, her beauty was undeniable.
But what really caught Liam’s attention was her outfit.
She was dressed in a comfortable yet incredibly alluring nightdress, made of silky, light fabric that clung to her body in all the right places.
The thin spaghetti straps rested delicately on her smooth shoulders, while the low-cut neckline offered a generous glimpse of her cleavage.
The dress stopped just above her mid-thighs, revealing long, toned legs that seemed to go on forever.
Her movements were graceful, yet there was a sadness in the way she walked.
Her alluring beauty was overshadowed by the expression on her face—a look of worry and frustration as she glanced toward the direction her father had stumbled off to.
Liam could tell exactly what she was thinking.
She knew that if she didn’t catch up to him, he would probably end up passing out in the trash or worse—getting himself killed in some alleyway.
With a small sigh, she hurried down the steps, chasing after her father.
Liam leaned against the railing, watching her with mild curiosity.
Interesting.
This night was turning out to be a lot more entertaining than he expected.
