Locking In With My Life System

Soon enough, Aiden and Richard arrived at the restaurant, their vehicle pulling to a stop at the already crowded parking lot.

Stepping out of the vehicle, his olive-green irises taking in the fancy establishment and finding its billboard which read; Haute Cuisine; Aiden muttered to himself;

”Quite fitting, I must say. Busy too. Very busy.”

Through the polished window panes alone, he could see the plethora of customers in, each looking notably well off as the attendants swiftly attended to them.

Walking around to meet with his son, Richard ruffled his coal-black hair as both proceeded to make their way in.

By the time they’d walked into the building through the back door, Aiden’s already long, messy hair was even messier.

”Pops. You do realize I’m supposed to look well-kept and professional?” he admonished the old man, though the smile on his features betrayed the fact that he actually quite liked the gesture.

”You’re barely of the age where you need to look anything professional, champ. Natural’s more up your alley.” he replied dismissively, his palm landing with a soft pat atop Aiden’s head.

Then he walked forwards and greeted the employees running around the back.

Yet, despite how busy they were, they were more than willing to offer the man a quick greeting or two with a familiar smile.

”Well, you seem to be a real charmer around these parts.” Aiden teased, albeit his tone hinted at his curiosity.

”How’d you figure?” his father ambiguously cocked a brow in response.

That earned an eye roll from the young chap.

Soon enough, both figures arrived before the manager’s door.

Upon knocking once;

”David. It’s me. Richard.”

”Richie!?” a particularly firm yet surprised voice came from the other end of the door.

”Well, come on in.” he followed up immediately.

Turning the door knob open, Richard and Aiden walked in.

”Well, well, well,” a man of average build with cropped black hair and deep-blue eyes who looked notably sharp yet reserved, and was also casually dressed, leaned back into his chair as he said;

”Fancy seeing you here on a weekend,”

”To what do I owe this visit?” he gestured to both individuals to have a seat.

Taking their seats, Richard reciprocated, his smile relaxed;

”Take a wild guess?”

”Your son wants a part-time job?” David immediately clocked the reason.

”Bingo.” Richard remarked.

No sooner had he heard that, David turned his attention to the young chap whose only major semblance to his father was their shared color of irises.

Given he and Richard went way back, he deemed no reason as to why he couldn’t honor the man’s request.

”Last time I saw you, you stole my kid’s ice-cream.” he casually stated, levelling the youth an amused squint.

Aiden’s head shook slightly in perplexity. Then he blinked, seemingly trying to gauge if he heard right. Only after making sure he did, did he respond, his tone no less bewildered;

”What?”

His father on the other hand was already chuckling to himself, seemingly aware of the incident.

”You heard me.” David doubled down, an amusement playing on his features.

”You were maybe about three, I think, and your parents were on a walk,”

”And I was getting some ice-cream for my kid nearby. So, I offer him and say; Here you go, champ.” David expatiated, his hand vaguely gesturing.

”Next thing I know, a little hand pops into frame and steals the darn thing from my hands.”

”What were the odds that there was another kid whose dad frequently called ’Champ’, mistaking himself as the target recipient?” David chuckled in conclusion.

Aiden equally chuckled in kind, finding the story notably amusing. He hadn’t heard that tale from his childhood before so it was interesting to pick up another nugget from his younger years.

”So, that incident aside,” David’s tone shifted.

”Why do you want a job?” he inquired, his tone serious.

Though David wasn’t opposed to having his friend’s kid working at the restaurant, especially since they were always in genuine need of part-timers to fill in the gaps during rush hour, and especially during the summer, he still needed to interview him to assess his competency nonetheless.

There was also the fact that practically most of the people whom had been employed thus far had ultimately quit within the first few weeks of joining... though that was just a lack of resilience on their parts.

That was what David believed at least.

Still, due to the interviews he’d had with those former employees, he had gotten a good idea of whom to accept for the job.

Aiden to him was no different.

Whatever he responded with would ultimately determine if he’d accept him or not.

Proceeding to lean back and into his chair while waiting on the youth’s response, David hadn’t even completed the action when the youth responded.

”I need to retire him before he turns fifty.” Aiden pointed a thumb in his Pops direction.

A stunned silence gripped the room, one that had Richard slowly widening his eyes in genuine surprise, and David leaning forwards as the youth before him kept speaking.

”To do that, I have to start somewhere and make my own money,” he continued.

”Starting as a part-time waiter in an upscale restaurant is a good way to build capital when I’m still in my teenage years with little to no responsibilities.” he concluded.

Yet, the resolute gaze in his olive-green irises remained unwavering, one that sent a thrilling shiver running down David’s spine.

For a while, no one spoke.

Then, genuinely touched by his son’s words, Richard began ruffling his hair with a wide, exuberant grin;

”Retire me, huh?! You didn’t tell me you had such grand plans!”

”Pops! C’mon! I put so much effort into making this look presentable!” Aiden fought back this time, though his words fell on deaf ears.

David on the other hand, watched in amusement for a while.

Then he spoke a couple seconds later, his tone of choice characteristically authoritative yet professional;

”Mondays to Thursdays. Seven hours a day. You come in at eight in the morning, you leave by two in the afternoon. Lunch break is from twelve to twelve-thirty. Rate is twelve dollars an hour. Payment is bi-weekly.”

”Do we have a deal?” he inquired, gesturing with an open palm.

”Deal. You won’t regret it.” Aiden saluted mid scuffle with his father, a genuine grin on his features.

No sooner had he said that, his system updated in sync.

-

[Quest Completed!]

⸢Exclusive Quests

› We’re making chump change with this one!

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

-

*

As his father’s vehicle coasted through the bridge, the man in notably high spirits as he jammed to his favorite songs, Aiden on the other hand was doing some calculations on a notepad he’d looted from his father’s glove box.

’7 hrs/day, multiplied by 4 days should be 28 hrs/week, and um... 112 hrs/month,’

’If the rate’s $12 per hour, that’s $12 times 112 hours, which should be... $1344 per month,’

’Add that up to three months’ worth and I should have... $4032 by the end of summer break.’

’Not enough,’ he tapped a pen on the notepad, a bit concerned as to how he would make up for the remaining funds to complete the quest.

’I need to find something else to invest into to hit that $5000 goal,’ he pondered to himself.

’But what, exactly...’ his thoughts trailed as he looked out the window whilst drumming his fingers on the arm rest.

Just as they were descending down the bridge into the suburbs of Brooklyn though, Aiden caught sight of a graffiti of a popular anime character on the wall shouting ’Dattebayo!’.

No sooner had he seen that, his thoughts slowly began to churn, his lightbulb switching on a couple minutes later;

’Yes, yes... that could work...’ he said to himself, his fingers wiggling in excitement.

Arriving home a few minutes later, Aiden, now in his room, brought up the system interface.

-

[Aiden North] – Life Points – [0.1 LP]

⸢Stats

› Memory — D

› Strength — E-

› Stamina — F+

› Agility — F-

› Charm — C­

⸢Skills

› {Empty}.

⸢Shop

› Browse Catalogue.

⸢Daily Quests

› Road to College:

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

⸢Exclusive Quests

› Pending Update.

⸢Time-limited Quests

› Hot diggity dog:

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

-

⸢FAQ⸥

-

⸢Starter package available!⸥

-

Without thinking twice, Aiden pushed his intent towards the starter package.

-

› 1 LP

› Voucher (Any skill of choice from shop).

└ Claim Now?

-

’Yes.’ he accepted and immediately, his life points were updated.

Yet, Aiden’s entire focus had shifted to the shop, mentally surfing through it.

Interestingly, the shop was segregated into three sections.

-

⸢Shop

› Browse Catalogue.

└ {Beginner}

└ {Intermediate}

└ {Advanced}

-

To that, each skill was recurrent across each section, implying their respective proficiencies.

Surfing through the, {Advanced} section, Aiden soon found the skills he’d wanted.

Yes, skills.

In order by which he found each one, they were listed out as;

-

{Digital Illustration} – [0.4 LP]

{Drawing} – [1 LP]

{Type Designing} – [2 LP]

-

”Sheesh,” Aiden hissed upon laying his eyes on the last skill.

Though he’d sort of expected it, it was still pretty shocking to see.

Thankfully, he could claim any one of these skills for free using his voucher.

However, there was a reason Aiden had sought out all three. And that was because he’d figured he would need all three for what he intended to do.

Yet, at the same time, he was pretty cagey about using his LP points.

Though he wasn’t certain, he had a feeling the Life System would be very grindy. That thought process alone put him in a bit of a dilemma over if he should splurge on getting the other skills.

However, after mulling it over for a while, he came to a decision and proceeded to do what he felt would be the best course of action.