7 And It Commences
'Yo, System, I've been meaning to ask, what exactly is a special trait?'
[Essentially, it's the special characteristic that is unique to the individual and it is also a hidden ability that activates in certain situations.]
'Hmm...mine says Absolute Tenacity, so I'm guessing that it means that I have above-average endurance. That would explain my high vitality and stamina.'
[You should be aware of another thing; there is a ranking system for special traits.]
'Really, then what rank does my special trait have?'
[That function is not available]
'What?! I need to obtain the function to see my own ranking???'
[Yeah, that's the whole point of the system. You work hard and I'll help you along the way. Don't think that you'll be able to get anything for free, life isn't that easy.]
'...fine'
'Status'
============================================================
Charles Raylan
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Special Trait: Absolute Tenacity
~ Attributes ~
Strength: 12
Speed: 11
Flexibility: 9
Appearance: 18
Intelligence: 17
Vitality: 14
Stamina: 16
~ Skills ~
Guitar: 25/50
Piano: 18/50
Cooking: 12/50
Computer Science: 20/50
Tennis: 25/50
~ Language ~
Korean: 20/50
Chinese: 20/100
Spanish: 30/50
French: 30/50
Dutch: 25/50
Russian: 25/50
AP: 0
SP: 3
Coins: 0
Lottery Tickets: 1
============================================================
'Oh yeah, is there any way for me to see other people's information?'
[That function is available in the shop]
'Dude, you're killing me here. You expect me to buy the functions, when I don't even have a single Coin to my name?'
[Sorry, man, but that's just how it is; I have no control, they're assigned randomly. Just hope that you get some missions soon.]
'Yeah, let's hope so.'
***
The car arrived in front of a large mansion and parked in the driveway, in front of the garage.
The mansion was an exceptional piece of art.
There were nicely trimmed square hedges encompassed the house and a brick path that led to front door as well as the backyard. The grass that surrounded the brick path was a solid green and emitted a healthy aura. There were flower pots on the first floor window ledges with an assortment of flowers that gave color to the plain white house.
The garage doors were fully made of wood and four rectangular windows were implanted into it, allowing sunlight to shine within. The front door was a large double door opening with an old-fashioned door knock handles made into a circular ring.
In the backyard, there was a large balcony that overlooked the jacuzzi and swimming pool. The swimming pool was made in the shape of an oval and the jacuzzi sat in the bottom left corner of the pool. The water was crystal clear and completely filled the pool. There was a 3 foot side for the ones who can't swim well and a 10 foot side for the experienced swimmers. There was an area to the right of the pool that only had a basketball hoop on top of the white cement floor.
The interior of the house was as grand as the exterior.
When Charles and the others entered through the front door, there were two spiral staircases that merged at the second floor. There were 5 rooms on the second floor: a living room for hanging out, a master bedroom, a slightly smaller bedroom, a bathroom, and an office for Charles's father. At the end of the hallway, there was another set of stairs that led to a single large room on the third floor. The entire third floor was designed to be Charles's own bedroom. It was stacked with its own large bathroom, spacious closet, and even a mini fridge.
The first floor had another living room, a spacious kitchen, a dining room, and a restroom.
The living room had a 60" flat screen TV that fit snugly into its wooden TV stand. There were multiple gaming consoles underneath it, including a Wii and Xbox 360. A black couch sat facing the TV and a black reclining chair was placed next to it.
The kitchen had a large refrigerator that stored the food and multiple cabinets that held the kitchenware. Different kinds of knives hung on the wall and next to them, were the grills and oven. The common condiments used for cooking were placed on the counter, against the wall.
In the dining room, there was a long dark brown rectangular table with a white table cloth sitting on top of it. The table was devoid of any object except for a small jade vase that held a single white rose. Although the family has only four members, there were many dining chairs for guests in the event of a party.
Everyone's shoes were left behind on the shoe rack in front of the door. Katrina put on slippers, while the boys just stayed in their socks. Charles's paternal grandmother is Chinese and so his father adopted the tradition of no shoes in the house as well.
Charles and Zach walked to the living room and tossed their backpacks onto the ground. They flopped onto the couch and laid there motionless.
From the kitchen, Katrina yelled,"You boys want a snack?"
In unison, the boys yelled,"YES!"
Charles and Zach, surprisingly, weren't assigned any homework today and so, they decided to hang out, playing Wii Sports and basketball outside.
Zach stayed until 7:00 when his butler came to Charles's home to pick him up. Uncle Cooper, as everyone calls him, is Zach's caretaker since no one else is around to keep him company.
His father is in charge of a well-known petroleum company called Cyclo. Because his work requires him to make frequent business trips to other countries, Zach's father can rarely come home, maybe once or twice a month. Zach's mother passed away from a brain tumor when he was 7.
You can imagine his loneliness during his childhood. Although Zach had many friends in school, the only person he felt a connection with was Charles. Their childhood is similar and they can relate to each other's experiences; this is probably the reason why Charles and Zach became best friends.
***
Charles closed the front door, saying goodbye to Zach, and went upstairs to take a shower in his room. Afterwards, as he went down the stairs, Charles saw the lights on in the office room. He took small steps, in order to not disturb his father, Curtis, and quietly went to the living room.
Katrina was laying on the couch, watching the evening news. Charles got a can of coke from the fridge and sat on the reclining chair next to her.
"Mom, does Charl have something today? I haven't seen her at school either?."
(AN: pronounced sharl)
"That's right, I forgot to tell you. Remember the 9th grade trip, where you went to Big Bear? Yeah, she left this morning, didn't you see her go to school with her suitcase?"
"Oh yea...it's that time of year already, huh?"
Katrina glanced over at Charles and saw his eyes drifting off, staring at the ceiling blankly. She let out a helpless sigh.
"Don't be so worried about her; she's not a child anymore. Besides, it's only for this week. She'll come back this Friday, ok?"
***
In Charles's room
Charles laid on his king-size bed, his hands on the pillow, holding his head.
'It's been 6 years since that time. Yo System, didn't you promise to help me become a star?
What happened man?'
[Yeah, I did promise you, but my help really only begins after you receive your first mission. Until then, I can't really offer any support.]
[Well, speak of the devil]
[Ding!]
[New Mission]
[Title: Through the Flames]
[Description: In Host's community, a house has caught on fire and it has spread rapidly throughout the house. There are people trapped inside and are unable to break free from the falling debris and rising smoke]
[Objective: Rescue the trapped people]
[Reward: 1,000 Coins - 3 SP - 3 AP]
[Progress: 0/4]
[Does Host choose to accept this mission: Y/N]
Charles got up from his bed and stared intensely at the mission in front of him, carefully deciding on what to do. He thought only for a few seconds before slowly raising his finger to the screen before him and clicked...
Yes
