Locking In With My Life System

⸢Daily Quests

› Road to College

└ Read and assimilate a page from next year’s curriculum – [0.01 LP].

⸢Exclusive Quests

› We’re making chump change with this one!

└ Get a part-time job during the summer break – [0.1 LP]

⸢Time-limited Quests

› Hot diggity dog!

└ Make $5000 before the end of the summer break – [1 LP]

-

Aiden frowned.

Then he pinched himself, just for good measure.

The pain that assaulted him gave him enough clarity to believe he wasn’t in fact, dreaming, or dreaming in another dream.

Then,

”The hell are those descriptions?!” he muttered to himself, his eyelids creasing to a skeptic squint.

Though he said that, he was already considering how he was going to go about all three quests.

’But first,’ his eyes flicked over to his laptop on the desk in the corner, prompting him get off the bed and to walk towards it.

’Who in incarnation was that eccentric old man?’ he sat before it, switching it on.

No sooner had it booted up, Aiden vigorously began searching the internet for the name he’d seen on the man’s van.

’EmrysTheGreat, was it?’ he thought to himself as he clicked the keys and began scrolling down the Eagle page.

For the next hour and half, Aiden’s olive-green irises were razor-focused, his expression getting more and more concerned by the minute.

There, unfortunately, wasn’t a single mention of the man on the internet.

Even after inputting ’EmrysTheGreat Vehicle’ and ’EmrysTheGreat Hippie Van’, he didn’t get a single picture of the peculiarly painted van.

Leaning back into his chair, seemingly contemplating if what he’d seen was a ghost of some sort, Aiden suddenly remembered the gem that was handed to him.

Yet, amidst all that had happened all morning, he hadn’t thought to check for it.

Checking his bed, he soon found it... or at least what was left of it.

Staring at the lone woolen thread, the gem itself nowhere to be found, the youth let out a sigh of resignation.

There was no use worrying over what he clearly had no way to make heads or tails off of.

Seating on the edge of his bed once more, he finally took the opportunity to fully assess the status screen.

’The color grading of the panel’s much the same as the gem’s color though,” he mused to himself, a finger on his chin.

Nonetheless, Aiden figured he should at least understand how the system worked.

Psychically pressing the ⸢FAQ⸥ function, the panel phased into another;

-

What are Life Points [LPs]?

└ LPs are the sole currency of the Life System.

Can I use Life Points to upgrade stats?

└ Yes. Each new upgrade requires 1 LP. No exponential increment.

Can I use Life Points to purchase skills from shop?

└ Yes. Skill value determines LP required. Prices range from 0.1 to 10 LP.

How do I gain Life Points?

└ By completing quests.

-

’Intuitive enough,’ Aiden nodded to himself, all the questions he’d thought of answered in a jiffy.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being coddled.

With that out of the way though, the panel phased back to the main page and he turned his attention to the flashy ⸢Starter package available!⸥.

Mentally clicking it, a new panel phased into place;

-

› 1 LP

› Voucher (Any skill of choice from shop).

└ Claim Now?

-

Seeing that prompt, Aiden crossed his arms, choosing to be level-headed instead.

Despite the eager dopamine rush his brain was after, he refused to be an idiot.

There was no telling which skill he actually needed right now, or what he should invest the LP into at the moment.

To that effect, it would do him a whole lot of good if he held back for now.

Dismissing the panel, his stats came into view once more.

-

[Aiden North] – Life Points – [0]

⸢Stats

› Mind — D

› Strength — E-

› Stamina — F+

› Agility — F-

› Charm — C­

-

’Such shitty stats. And I thought I was average.’ he derisively thought to himself.

’But hey, at least I ain’t bad-looking?’ he let out a smug smile.

Ridding himself of that thought, his focus finally returned to the quest tabs.

’Reading a page daily should be doable. Assimilating it is another ball game entirely given the shitty memory I have,’

’But if I want those daily points, I’ll just have to suck it up,’ Aiden thought to himself.

’Getting a part-time job shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll sift through job listings. See what I can find.’ he continued, rising to his feet as he proceeded to head down the stairs.

The Saturday and Sunday newspapers tended to have job listings that were nearby in the boroughs so he was hoping to begin sifting through that first.

If he didn’t find anything worthwhile in it, then he’d pivot to searching online, though the possibility of him having to get a job in the busier areas of the city was higher.

’As for the $5000...’ Aiden mused to himself, fingers pinching his brows.

’Boy, oh, boy is that gonna be a hassle. I don’t even have a hundred bucks to my name much less, thinking up a way to make five grand.’

’But that 1 LP’s just too tempting to give up on,’ he sunk deeper into his thoughts.

Casually walking into the living room and past his dad whom was equally making his way out to pick up the newspaper from the vestibule on the door, Richard watched in perplexity as his son opened the door and retrieved it first.

Then, watching him move over to the couch, retrieve a pen from a chipped mug turned pen holder of sorts, plop into said couch, cross his legs over and begin to read it, Richard demanded in amused disbelief;

”Who are you and what have you done with my son?!”

”Same old Aiden, Pops. Just uh... job hunting.” he casually responded, his gaze never leaving the papers as he flipped open another page.

”Again! Who are you and what have you done with my son?!” Richard demanded a second time, his perplexed amusement dialed up even higher.

This time, Aiden simply chuckled and continued searching, flipping open yet another page.

”I would also like to know what brought about this turn of events, especially since we’ve had this conversation before,”

”I thought we agreed that you should focus on your studies.” Richard soon walked up behind the couch, leaning in to catch a glimpse of the page before his son flipped again.

”Is it related to the dream you had?” he curiously asked.

Aiden was just about to flip another page when the terrible memories surfaced briefly in his mind.

Pausing a bit, he then replied;

”Yeah. It is,”

”Made me realize that complacency kills a man.” Aiden added without missing a beat, sighing like an old man who’d been through every pitfall in life as he flipped yet another page.

”That bad, huh?” his father simply remarked.

Then, he casually offered;

”Well, if you’re really in need of a job, there’s a restaurant a couple blocks away from the construction site I’m working at in need of part-timers. The manager’s also a buddy of mine.”

Without thinking twice, Aiden flipped the newspaper shut and said;

”Take me there.”

”Right now?” Richard asked, clearly taken aback by his son’s decisiveness.

”Yes, right now, Pops.” Aiden got off the sofa, rushing up the stairs for a quick shower and a change of clothes as he called out from above.

”Given where you’re currently working at, I’d bet it’s one of those nice ones that pay well!”

Unable to refute the young man, Richard simply gave his Saturday newspaper a forlorn look, sighed and then moved into his room to do the same.

A few minutes later, Aiden was gingerly waiting in the living room. No sooner had his father arrived, he quickly walked out the door, prompting the poor man to move faster.

”Cool it champ! What’s with your energy this morning anyway?!” he called out.

”Summer break nets me approximately ninety days to make a killing dad! Of course, I’m excited!” Aiden replied in kind as he arrived by his father’s vehicle.

Yet, the next response that came wasn’t even from Richard, but from their neighbor’s son instead;

”No!”

”There’s a hundred and four days of summer vacation, not ninety!” the child voiced his argument with unwavering conviction.

”You keep watching that beautiful show, Joey! Just keep watching it!” Aiden pointed from afar, earning a genuine laughter, both from his father and Joey’s parents whom were chilling on their lawn.

”Mornin’ folks.” Richard greeted both neighbors just after.

”Mornin’ Richard.” both reciprocated in kind.

No sooner had that interaction passed, Richard got into the car alongside his son, the vehicle reversing out the driveway.

As the ride to Fifth Ave began, his dad blasting his favorite songs from the 1990s and vibin’ to them, Aiden got a couple messages from his messenger app.

Opening up the device, he saw that it was from he and his buddies’ friend group.

-

Larry: So, Aiden. You gonna attend prom?

Clyde: Or are you holding on to that body pillow for dear life?

Benjamin: Cool it, Clyde. It’s too early to roast the maidenless one.

-

Grinning upon seeing the messages, he replied.

-

Aiden: First off, I hope you guys trip on the dance floor. Secondly, I’m gonna be busy, so no. I won’t be attending no sappy ass prom.

Casper: Busy with what?

Aiden: Busy locking in! That’s what!

Larry: Cringe reply.

Clyde: Cringe as fuck.

Benjamin: Cringy ass boi. Just say you’re embarrassed to come alone.

Aiden: Fuck you guys! Not you Casper. You’re cool.

Casper: Still a cringy ass reply though.

Aiden: Fuck you too!

-

Pocketing his phone, Aiden simply looked out the window, smiling to himself as the cool morning breeze tousled his long, coal-black hair.