Locking In With My Life System

Aiden woke up with a refreshed yawn and a stretch, his mind booting for a brief instance before he swept off the covers and transitioned straight into his dailies.

With today being a weekend--Sunday to be specific--he’d opted to spend most of the day lazing away like a contented feline.

That said, after sorting out all the usual stuff and freshening up, he proceeded to head downstairs, his laptop held in one of his arms.

Walking into the living room a moment after, his Pops quietly reading the Sunday newspaper on his favorite armchair, Aiden crashed onto the long sofa.

Inclining into a comfortable position, the youth gently opened the laptop’s lid, switching on the device.

Having started work on the label art of his beverages, and even completing most of them, Aiden intended to knock the rest out of the park today.

Only then, did he intend to pivot into working on the game he and his buddies were building.

That said, considering Aiden hadn’t gotten a response from SlurpPAK within a week of e-mailing them, he’d assumed they might’ve not been in business... or perhaps, they’d ignored his mail.

Cold emails were the norm with businesses like this after all.

It was also why he hadn’t bothered to check his e-mail in the past couple days.

Yet, today--literally a day after their senior trip to Coney Island--he opened up his e-mail to a pleasant surprise which had been sent to him yesternight.

-

Re: Beverage Production Inquiry

Hello Mr. North,

Thank you for reaching out to SlurpPAK and for giving us the opportunity to learn more about your beverage concept.

We’ve reviewed the preliminary information you provided regarding your coconut-water sparkling beverages, and the concept certainly falls within the types of products we’re equipped to manufacture.

We understand that you’re looking to begin with a relatively small production run...

...

...

If you’re available, we’d be happy to schedule a call sometime this week.

We look forward to hearing from you, Mr. North.

Best regards,

Nathan Gregory,

Chief Executive Officer,

SlurpPAK

-

Promptly, Aiden shifted into a more upright position.

It was already odd enough that they sent the message to him late into yesterday night, way past work hours.

It was another for his eyes to have immediately caught the last part, further implying what Aiden had long presumed from the moment he decided to contact them a week ago.

”The CEO...?” he audibly muttered in surprise and his Pops looked over in curiosity.

”Oh, they must be desperate, desperate.” Aiden remarked as he casually began structuring a message in response.

”Who is?” Richard’s curiosity won over and he asked of his son who immediately replied;

”SlurpPAK. The co-packer I intend to work with. The just messaged me and are requesting to schedule a call.”

”They’re also based here in New York and they had quite the undocumented fall out with Stellar Enterprises so I’m taking advantage of their current predicament.” Aiden succinctly added, his fingers darting across the keyboard.

Hearing that, Richard easily pieced together the general state of things.

At the same time, he simply shook his head in a mix of concerned amusement yet pride.

There was something deeply intriguing yet mildly bothering about hearing his son speak so bluntly about taking advantage of a struggling company at such a young age.

Still, he was a hundred percent assured that Aiden wouldn’t be doing anything untowardly just to get his product out there. That wasn’t the kind of child he raised, after all.

Him using cunning tactics to get what he wanted though, as long as it wasn’t at the detriment of anyone really... fair game.

”And... sent.” Aiden hit enter and the message was promptly delivered.

Inclining right back into the sofa, Aiden returned to his initial plan as he switched tabs.

Staring at the mock-up of the label design for the Cucumber-Lime Coconut-infused Sparkling Water from his chair as his son began editing it, Richard couldn’t help but remark in amusement;

”Of all the things to name it, Champ, Death Wish, was not what I thought you’d pick.”

”Oh, you just watch me, Pops. I’m going to dupe people... in a good way.” Aiden chuckled in response as he continued working on the design.

Honestly, the design itself looked like something straight out of a punk-metal band’s signature logo, fumes of what could only be considered toxic emanating from death skull.

Honestly, it gave it an almost forbidden appeal, like it was the stuff of nightmares.

It was also the kind you’d see on alcoholic beverages.

The kind a tween or teen wouldn’t ever want their parents finding out they secretly bought.

The kind that shouldn’t normally be hanging about in the soda section of any supermarket of convenience store.

And that, was exactly why it was going to stand out. Enough that people would be tempted to try it, only to be duped into taking something healthy.

Safe to say, Aiden was employing the Von Restorff Effect... which was also referred to as the Isolation Effect.

By making his product deliberately stand out from everything surrounding it, it ensured that the very thing that made it look out of place was also what made it difficult to forget.

Then there was the second concept operating underneath it.

Expectation violation.

Considering how bizarre the packaging was, it would create an expectation of something dangerous, alcoholic, or rebellious, while the actual product contradicts that expectation by being a refreshing coconut-based beverage.

That incongruity alone, would further add to create curiosity and encourage closer attention... especially when word about it began to circulate.

All that was left for Aiden, was to catch that trade wind in his sails and ride on it to pull off a good marketing stunt in the form of an equally memorable advertisement.

As Aiden kept working on the label art, a response to his e-mail came in.

”Yep. Very desperate.” Aiden thoughtfully remarked as he pulled up said e-mail, one in which SlurpPAK was requesting if they could schedule the meeting for tomorrow morning.

Considering they were done with their entire curriculum and graduation was around the corner, Aiden and the rest of his peers in their senior year weren’t required to attend classes, much less go to school.

It was also why Aiden agreed to their request.

To that effect, Aiden continued working on his mock-up, eventually rounding things up roughly thirty minutes later.

No sooner had he done that, his system pinged into his field of view.

-

[Skills updated!]

[Achievements Updated!]

-

’That’s always a welcome notification.’ Aiden inwardly commented, a thin smile touching his lips.

Though he was pretty certain about the skill that had upgraded, he casually pulled up his panel nonetheless.

-

[Aiden North] – Life Points – [10.465]

⸢Stats

› Mind — S

› Strength — B+

› Stamina — B+

› Agility — B+

› Charm — B+

⸢Skills

› {Type Designing - A}, {Digital Illustration - A}, {Drawing - A}, {Cooking - A}, {Brewing - A}, {Singing - I}, {Dancing - I}, {Writing - I}, {Lettering - I}, {Driving - N}, {Programming - I}, {Riding - N}, {Video Editing - I}.

⸢Special Skills

› {Insight}, {Midas Touch}.

⸢Titles

› {Expand}

⸢Achievements

› {Expand}

⸢Shop

› Browse Catalogue.

⸢Daily Quests

› {Expand}

⸢Exclusive Quests

› {None}

⸢Time-limited Quests

› {None}

-

⸢FAQ⸥

-

Considering two weeks had passed since Aiden’s last stat upgrades, one where he’d previously had 7.315LPs which he’d ended up eating into after his concoction session had taken 1.65LPs, he’d been left with 5.665LPs.

In addition to that, he’d equally also accumulated 3.5LPs from his daily quests.

When one factored in that he’d farmed 1.5LPs from his time at Luna Park yesterday, with the exception of the baseball which he’d improved with {Midas Touch} that had cost him 0.2LPs, he was left with 1.3LPs from the trip.

All those Life Points tallied together, was what netted him his current 10.465LPs.

That said, Aiden was glad to see that his {Digital Illustration} had indeed evolved into the Advanced grade.

At the same time, he was glad he was getting yet another achievement.

-

⸢Achievements

› {I Have the Power!} – [Claim 3 LP?]

└ Have five skills in the Advanced grade.

-

Mentally claiming it, his shore of Life Points buoyant, Aiden bobbed his head softly in satisfaction as his LPs ticked up to 13.465.

Still, he opted to keep his skill and attribute upgrades for later.

Just before he dismissed his system though, Aiden pulled up his father’s stats in an effort to test something.

Considering he usually experienced some sort of tingly yet somewhat pleasing sensation whenever he bumped up his stats, he wondered if his Pops would experience it much the same.

Considering his father wasn’t bound to the system like he was though, he also had a gut feeling that they probably wouldn’t feel it as intimately as he often did.

In any case...

-

[Richard North]

⸢Stats

› Mind — C-

› Strength — B+

› Stamina — B+

› Agility — B+

› Charm — B+

⸢Skills

› {Architecture - I}, {Construction - A}, {Driving - I}, {Cooking - I}, {Brewing - N}.

-

Aiden’s eyes flickered in an instant, all of his amusement vanishing as a cold chill ran down his spine.

Why had his Pop’s Mind stat ticked down two grades?!