Who's cutting onions?

Dropping out of school was becoming more and more lucrative to me. Yeah, I probably won't be able to find a job other than something like being a construction worker, but did I need a job when I can get money from fighting mobs?

Haaaa... the only reason I'm going to keep going to school was because of grandma. I don't want to disappoint her, no matter how satisfying it was when I saw my stats/skills increase. I can get another half a day worth of time, but... making sure my only remaining family was happy was more important.

While entering my class, I thought I should buy some new clothes soon. The loose hoodies I wore were starting to be not as baggy, and it's not like I don't have the money. I still can't believe I got over $2 000 in two days. My power is so broken!

When Kurt entered the room, I had a hard time trying not to stare. He looked like a completely normal human. There was no tail swirling behind him, and no fur covered his body.

"Hey, Kurt." I offered him my hand for a handshake, and he took it.

"Hey, Will."

His hand didn't feel like it had fur, but I noticed that it felt slightly odd. Like, it wasn't exactly a human one. That's so strange, I'm sure we've shaken hands multiple times before, but why haven't I noticed this until now?

The day continued with me doing my best of trying not to touch Kurt to see if he had fur. I did, however, spam Observe all over him to see if I can find that Image Inducer. I didn't, but I found out he wore gloves.

I also noticed that some of the mutants that fought yesterday were missing. Whoops, my bad. I still wonder what happened with Bobby and Scott.

During lunch, I was sitting with Kurt, and he was telling me about a prank he pulled off. It was something about putting something sticky in Mort's locker. I just said, "That's cool," but I had no desire to know what that sticky thing was. I didn't even want to think about it.

"Hi, guys." And here came Jean Grey.

I was attracted to her physical appearance, but I was still... upset? Yeah, that's the word I'm looking for.

I was upset at her for being suspicious of me and even shooting me down before I even asked her for a date. I mean, I probably wouldn't have even done it since I lacked the courage to do it, but being turned down hurts, you know?

Why was she even here again? Doesn't she have someone else to hang out with, or is she here to keep an eye on me?

---

Jean did have others she could hang with, but she didn't want to. Even though they called themselves her friends, she was able to feel their emotions as an empath.

Knowing how envious her girl friends were while chatting with them wasn't an easy thing to deal with.

The boys? They all tried super hard to impress her and act cool in her presence. The lustful emotions and thoughts she caught from time to time, made it even harder to hang out with them. It was... disturbing.

With Kurt, she didn't have that problem. Like many others, he had liked her at first, but after Jean politely turned him down, he hadn't bothered her at all. Kurt was funny to hang out with when he wasn't pranking you, but she couldn't get past the fact that he had fur. That was something he was aware of, and even though it hurt him, he was able to understand.

Unlike Scott. Summers didn't understand when Jean turned him down and continued pestering her. However, that wasn't the worst of it. He always tried to keep her safe, told her what she should do as apparently, he knew what's best for her.

When other boys approached her, Scott scared them off as if they were trying to steal something that was his. True, Jean didn't want to deal with them, but it infuriated her that Summers thought she was his!

She talked to him about it more than once. Jean tried getting him to understand and hoped he will. That never happened, and a few weeks ago, when Scott literally chased off a boy that came up to her, she exploded.

Jean raged at him in the middle of the school hallway, shouting at him how she doesn't want him to meddle in her life at all. Scott had looked like someone had sliced him in half, but she was too angry at him at that point and didn't care. She was fed up to the back teeth with him.

William, Kurt's friend, was almost like a novelty to her life. He was socially awkward, that much was obvious to Jean after their first conversation, but she knew that he didn't have many friends. In fact, Kurt might be the only one.

The way they became friends also confirmed that William was socially awkward to her. Kurt had pranked him, but rather than getting angry, he had laughed it out and asked him if he wanted to play video games with him.

Most got mad at her teammate when he pranked them. They usually lashed out verbally at him. William hadn't, and to Jean, it sounded like he just wanted a friend, and considering how Kurt was his only one, she was sure that was the truth.

Also, not being able to feel William's emotions or hear his thoughts was almost pleasant. Yes, Jean was suspicious of that. She was sure there was something strange about him, that he was hiding something, but so was she and Kurt.

Kurt and William might not be the most popular in school, but hanging out with them was a lot better than the rest.

---

I returned home after school and greeted my grandma.

"Hey, gran, I'm home."

"Welcome back, Will. How was school?" She asked, sitting on the couch in the living room and watching TV.

"As boring as always, I'm going to go and make us something to eat. I think I can do it on my own this time," I said, and before I left for the kitchen, I impulsively used Observe on her. I haven't felt such regret in a long time.

[<Loving Grandmother> Amelia Thompson Lvl. 3]

[Amelia Thompson, mother of Sophia Williamson, and grandmother of William Williamson. She lived a simple life, but unlike most people of her generation, she married in her mid-thirties to James Thompson. Together, they had a happy life and a loving child who grew up to be a fine woman.

Amelia was sad James didn't get to witness their daughter's marriage to Trevor Williamson, but she was happy about Sophia. Amelia was even happier when Sophia became pregnant, but the pain she felt when her daughter didn't make it past childbirth was unbearable.

Amelia knew it was her time to go after that. She knew it ever since James passed away. However, Trevor, someone who she believed was a fine man, turned into a drunk after Sophia's death. He named their son as a joke and neglected him. She started visiting her grandson every day to make sure he had everything he needed.

When Trevor realized he wasn't needed, he put a bullet through his head, and Amelia has been taking care of William since then.

Her grandson is a nice kid, and she wished he made more friends, but she knew that was hard for him. After William was made fun of by the local kids for not having parents, he shut himself off to others and turned to video games.

Recently, William has been going out a lot. Amelia hoped he had finally opened up to more people because she knew her time has long passed.]

[Observe has increased to 6.]

It hurt, it hurt so much. Gamer's Mind was trying to calm me down, but I couldn't stop myself from crying.

I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have done that!

I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. I just wanted to lie down on the ground and cry my heart out, but... grandma wouldn't be happy with that.

I... I'm just going to try and make the rest of her life as happy as I can. I will spend more time with her. It might slow my progress, but... that's the least I can do for her.

The meal I prepared was my best ever as I put my heart and soul into making it.

Grandma looked so happy when I presented it to her. She said it was the most delicious meal she had ever eaten, but I couldn't stop thinking about what I saw from my Observe.

God, it hurt so much, and this was with Gamer's Mind trying to calm me down. Without the skill, I don't know what I would've done. I don't even want to think about it.

This was the first time that I hated my ability, something I didn't think would be possible. The Gamer brought color to my life. It gave me a reason to strive to be better and improve myself. I felt like it was the best thing ever until now. It showed me something I didn't want to see.

However, I won't stop using it. I couldn't. At this point, I was already addicted to seeing myself grow.

Still, that didn't mean I can't change up my plans a bit. Grandma has taken care of me for my entire life, now, it was time for me to take care of her. I was going to have less time to grind, but it was more than worth it in my eyes. She deserved at least that much.

I stayed with her for half an hour after our meal, and she started to feel sleepy. I helped her get to bed and left the house. I really needed something to punch.

I created a zombie Dungeon and started fighting them all while only using Mana Strengthening. Every single one of them, I killed with only punches and kicks.

Even the Legion Zombie. With my increased physical stats, I was able to run around it while kicking and punching it. It was my longest Boss fight ever, but I ended up beating it after an hour and a half.

My Vitality increased by 1, Martial Arts, and Mana Strengthening also increased, but I wasn't happy about that. I wasn't satisfied, so I did it again, and again.

I wasted a lot of time, but I had the need for that. I had so many plans for my Tuesday. I wanted to go shopping for some new clothes, materials for me to use my crafting on. I also wanted to sign up for a gym membership since I couldn't raise my strength by doing only pushups and lifting my small dumbells. All of that went to the bin.

Maybe I had to change a few things for my future plans. I intended to continue grinding without bothering with much else, but I might try to socialize a bit more. Maybe make a few more friends, as hard as that would be.

I have no idea how to go about it, and I'm not sure how much I want it, but I will do it for grandma, not for me.

[Name: William Williamson

Mutant Power: The Gamer

Level: 27 Next Level: 7%

Title: Apprentice Sorcerer]

[HP: 620

MP: 2,228]

[Strength: 20 + 10.8

Vitality: 24 + 12.96

Dexterity: 25 + 13.5

Intelligence: 101 + 48.48

Wisdom: 51 + 24.48

Luck: 11]

[Stat Points: 18

Cash: $4519.70]

[Skills: Lying(Passive) Lvl. 14/50

Observe(Active) Lvl. 6/10

Physical Endurance(Passive) Lvl. 22/100

Martial Arts(Passive) Lvl. 27/100

Cooking(Passive) Lvl. 14/100

Meditation(Passive/Active) Lvl. 24/100

Create ID(Active) Lvl. 10/100

Exit ID(Active) Lvl. 10/100

Energy Blast(Active) Maxed

Crafting(Active) Lvl. 3/100

Eldritch Magic(Active) Lvl. 35/100

Portal Creation(Active) Lvl. 5/10

Language(Passive) Lvl. 4/10

Mana Affinity(Passive)

Spinning Mana Bullet(Active) Lvl. 33/100

Weapon Mastery(Passive) Lvl. 3/100

High-Speed Calculation(Passive)

Sense Danger(Passive) Lvl. 2/50

Medium Mana Capacity(Passive)

Medium Mana Control(Passive)

Parkour(Passive) Lvl. 5/100

Mana Strengthening(Active) Lvl. 25/100

Gamer's Body(Passive)

Gamer's Mind(Passive)]