5 Wanting Something Does Not Give You the Right to Have It

Have you ever had a moment where the only thing that was happening was an uncomfortable silence among 3 individuals?

That was my reality at the current moment as the Storm siblings gave me a lift out of the forest. I knew that if I said anything that it would mean opening a pandora's box of questions from Sue and Johnny was mercifully taking a nap. I knew that it wouldn't last long as Sue could be as bad as Reed when she wanted to know something, but staying silent could only last so long and if summoned by Lord Murphy a crack appeared in the silence.

"Mr. Price, I don't know why you were in those woods but I suggest that you try not to meddle with what ever produced that crater we saw." Sue said as she stared ahead with a blank face. Devin knew that she doubted his story, but for her to actually warn him against meddling was slightly surprising. He decided that even with his perfectly viable story there would be some doubt, but not nearly enough to warrant a warning and suspicion. Best to stick to the story for now.

"I'm sorry Ms. Storm, but I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm was there by coincidence and curiosity, nothing more. All I wanted was a nice walk through the woods." Devin said with what he hoped was an innocent look and a smile. A quick glance out of the corner of her eye signaled that what he said wasn't being believed.

"I'm sorry Mr. Price, but I don't believe it one bit. We get a massive unknown energy reading and when we go to check it out you are already there claiming to just so happen to be there while passing by on a hike through the woods while wearing clothes ill-suited to that very activity. Yes, very believable." She said with quite a bit of skepticism and a large dose of sarcasm lacing her voice.

"Believe what you want Ms. Storm, but that's all I have to say. You have no proof nor an alternate explanation, yet you are dead set on painting me as some nefarious person with a hidden agenda. All that is left is for you to get me back to the city and I'll be on my way." Devin said with a small bit of frustration beginning to creep into his voice. After that the silence returned once again to oppress the atmosphere once again. Only being broken once more as Johnny woke up with a particularly loud snort and asking if he missed something when they were just a few minutes away from the city.

Devin watched as Sue landed the aircraft on a landing pad that was situated on the roof of the Baxter building. As all three hopped out of their cockpits they crossed to an elevator. Descending down the building they arrived at the ground floor upon which Devin and the siblings exited and began to walk towards the doors to the street.

"Well it's been fun, but I have somethings to take care of and not a lot of time left to get them done. So I shall bid you both goodbye and head out. Thanks for the lift and good luck with the UFO or whatever it was." Devin said as he shook Johnny's hand.

"Good luck man! Don't worry we'll take care of what ever that was. Sooner or later." Johnny said with a smile before giving a small wave and turning on his heel to go back upstairs. Devin decided to git while the gittin was good. He didn't make more than a half dozen steps before Sue's voice stopped him.

"Good luck Mr. Price and remember our little conversation. Hmm?" Sue said as she had her arms akimbo and her hip cocked with what had to be the hundredth critical look of the day. This prompted Devin to turn around and throw a little bit of caution to the wind along with the flames of his temper being stoked with frustration.

"Don't worry Ms. Storm. I'm sure whatever came out of that crater doesn't have any grandois plans to take over the world or mass genocide, but if it helps you sleep better I'll make sure to stick to my own business and leave the crater alone." Devin said with a knowing look before turning and walking out. Devin made it a point to disappear among the crowd as he wanted to get away from any prying eyes. As he continued to walk Devin heard the notification sound go off, but ignored it in favor of finding a secure spot to stop. He walked for several blocks before happening upon a large park with small clusters of people doting it here and there.

'What is it with me and nature so far?' Devin thought as he found a small wooden bench to rest on. It was at this time that he decided to check his rewards and stats now that he had completed the mission that had been given as well as what next. It was also a chance to try something he had thought of in the elevator on the way down the Baxter building.

'Alice open menu please' Devin thought and soon a screen popped into his vision.

1. Stats

2. Inventory

3. Spirits

4. Shop

5. Party

6. Missions (1)

7. Notifications (0)

'Open {Mission} tab please' Devin ordered next with anticipation.

{Find a way out of the forest} (Cleared)

Rewards: 150 Exp, 1 weapon of choice w/ accompanying skill manual

[Accept? Y/N?]

Clicking yes not only caused a a chime noise to go off, but Devin could feel his strength rise and notification that he had leveled up with the next one requiring 200 Exp though he already had an extra 50 left over. Devin had decided to go with the basics of the game when selecting his weapon and manual. So he purchased the Basic Broad Sword and technique. Soon info rushed into his mind causing a small level of discomfort that soon passed. Next he opened the notifications and hit collect on his first two gifts which opened two new windows. The first had the list of the available Dragoon Spirits that he could select and the second was a small window notifying him that a new tab was added called {Warp}. It was he was looking at the first window that he noticed something missing.

'Alice, where is the Divine Dragoon Spirit? it isn't listed.' Devin said as he scrolled back and forth while looking for said spirit.

[Host, there are requirements that need to be met before it can be unlocked.]

'Ah, I see. In that case I choose the Red-Eyed Dragoon Spirit. It lacks support abilities but makes up for it with pure offensive capabilities. Plus fire is always useful in most situations.' Devin reasoned as he clicked on his selection. What he wasn't expecting was for a searing pain to shoot through his chest, dropping him to his hands and knees from the bench. After a few minutes of agony the pain abated and Devin sat back on the bench.

"What the hell was that!" Devin exclaimed as he held his chest, breathing raggedly.

[Host, the spirit has been embedded into your chest to prevent loss or theft.]

"A little warning would have been nice!" Devin yelled before realizing he was speaking aloud again. Pulling down the neck of his shirt showed a red gem-like orb embedded in the left side of his chest with a black, slit pupil just above his heart.

'Great. Alice can I retract this or can I hide it somehow?' Devin asked in case of loosing his shirt. Nothing says abnormal like a half-dollar sized orb stuck in your chest.

[Host, just will it to retract and it will. Then will it out and it will return.]

After experimenting a couple times he released his shirt to finish his last few objectives before he sorted out the house/identity situation. Checking his stats showed that they had risen with his leveling and his magic stats were unlocked now that he had a spirit in his possession. Now there was only one question and one task left.

'Alice how do I know if the spirit has been filled with enough spirit energy to activate?' Devin asked as he stood up and began walking towards the entrance to the park.

[Host, there are three ways to tell. The first is through the {Spirit} tab. The second is that an alert can be turned on that will notify and remind you and lastly as the spirit fills a glow will begin to emanate from the spirit itself.]

'Right. Also, Alice designate host as Master or Sir. The Host thing is getting annoying.' Devin said as he hit the street and began looking for a place to put his new home in this world.

[Adding...Added, designation changed]

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Fifteen minutes later found Devin strolling through an area that is currently being developed as a residential area but so far they hadn't even broke ground yet except for the planting of a sign that said 'Pleasant Acres: Coming Soon!'. Devin being the wonderful person that he is decided that this was a possibly a good place to settle down. Take some work off the developer's hands and all.

"Alice, before I accept the house just how much space will it take and can it be adjusted?" Devin asked while pulling up the tab once more.

[The house will take up an adjustable amount of room that includes the full property such as yard and such. In addition since the house is fully customizable that means the yard is as well Sir.]

"Great! Let's get started!" Devin exclaimed as he hit collect again. Soon a map of the area popped up in a window causing a frown on Devin's face.

"Alice, didn't you say you don't have a map function?" Devin asked with an neutral tone.

[Affirmative]

"Then why is there one in front of me?" Devin asked now with a cold tone taking the place of the neutral one.

[...]

With a sigh Devin began his work on his house as he felt a vein pulse in his temple. He increased the property size to include a few dozen acres of land. He cleared a space for his house and both a front and backyard as well as a large and very deep pond in the backyard that was encased in thick trees on three sides, the front being left open. He placed a double storied basement in the ground first, filling the bottom level with room for his armory and vault which will store armor/weapons and other dangerous artifacts respectively. The second layer with a medical area, war room, and a store room for supplies would be where he planned all future missions. Then he topped that with the first story of his house which contained the living room, kitchen, and library. With the second story he added six bedrooms including his master bedroom with a massive bathroom. He anticipated guests since he might meet other heroes eventually. Finally, he added a massive garage for the collection he would hopefully build in the future. With the last touches like a long drive way leading to the garage and a beefed up security system Devin had finally gotten his new home.

He spent the last few hours of the day adding the furniture and electronics to the bedrooms and living room, plus all the equipment to the lower levels, including appliances and food in the kitchen and books in the library. The vault, armory, and storeroom all stood empty as he had nothing to place in them just yet, but he did add any and all medical equipment necessary for the "Med Lab" as he liked to call it. By the time he finished off the details of the interior he was exhausted. He locked down the house and trudged into his room before ditching his clothes on the floor and crashed on the bed. His last thought before sleep claimed him was that he would need to check his documents in the morning as well as figure out a means of making money. Not even a minute later soft snores can be heard from Devin's collapsed figure.