Chapter 4: Is This Real Life?

After a few hours, Zoey left and Ian started asking the construct questions. "So, are there achievements for leveling things up?" Ian asked.

"Of course, though they are only for mastery." She responded. "You are far more likely to gain titles from levels." She added.

"I see." Ian said as he sat on his bed. "So, in order to level things up I have to use my abilities, yes?" Ian asked. The construct nodded. "And quests appear every so often, so I just have to wait... I guess using my ability is all I can do for now." He said.

"Indeed." The construct said as it climbed into Ian's chair and sat down. "I recommend using it as often as possible. You also get scrap from all of those things." She said.

"I see, so it also benefits you." Ian said. "Well, I'll deal with that tomorrow, I should sleep for now." Ian said as he laid down and covered up with his blankets, making sure to be in a comfortable position.

In the morning, he woke up quickly and followed his usual routine. "It's Saturday, right?" The construct asked. Ian jumped upon hearing these words and turned to face the source of the voice.

"Yeah, no class today." He said as he relaxed and regained his composure.

"Good, go out and level up. Remember to check your quest log too." She said.

"And what will you do?" Ian asked.

"I continue to be your information database." She said.

"Fair enough." Ian said as he got dressed. Once he was dressed, he put on his shoes. "I'm leaving now, don't break anything." He said as he opened the door and fixed the collar of his shirt. He put on his jacket, then left, closing the door behind him.

Once out of the house, he opened the GUI with his mind and checked the quest log. In the log, he has three quests which involve his abilities. 'It's nice having quests and all, but... Why are they all perverted?' He thought as he read them.

Quest #1: Use x-ray to view the 'goods' of ten members of the female sex.

Quest #2: Use x-ray to peek on girls that are changing.

Quest #3: Use x-ray to peek on women in the shower.

Ian sighed. 'Alright, well, it may not tell me the reward, but it's likely decent.' He thought as he looked around. He spotted a few good-looking women walking around and activated x-ray to look beyond their clothing.

Some of their breasts are small, others are large, and some are inbetween. After a few seconds of observation, he had completed the quest. He quickly moved to the log and finished the quest.

As a reward, he received ten scrap and a mystery box. The mystery box appeared in his hands a yes and no button appeared in front of him. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then clicked yes.

The box began to glow slightly, then morphed into an item. 'Congratulations! You have received the incredible trowel! (+1 dex and +1 wisdom when wielding.).' The text said.

'That's... Kind of garbage...' He thought as he stared at the trowel which is now in his hands. He dismissed the text. 'If I continued peeping on women, I'm sure I could get a title, but I don't think I would like that title.' Ian thought as he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around and saw a familiar face with blue eyes. "Hey, didn't expect to see you here." Lily said. Ian felt a shiver go down his spine suddenly.

"Same here. Nice to see you again." Ian said. Out of curiosity, he activated his x-ray vision and saw her pale skin replace her clothing. Her nipples are small and light pink and her breasts are a B cup at best.

He deactivated it once his curiosity had been satisfied. He looked at her outfit. A long sleeve polka dot shirt and some jeans. "You seem rather distracted." she said.

"Sorry, your outfit just looks rather great on you." Ian said.

"Aww, thanks, I thought it looked cute as well." She said. "Not only that, but look at you. A dress shirt and a nice proper jacket that matches, not many men dress like that casually nowadays." She added.

"Most men nowadays also don't really care about how they look." Ian said.

"That's true. I wish they did though, men look great in formal wear." Lily said with a smile. "Ah, that's right." Lily said as she realized something. "Want to grab a drink? I'm paying." Lily said. Ian hesitated.

"Sure." He said. They went to a nearby bar and went in.

"And that's when Haley decided to jump off of the roof into the pool. I mean, why would you do that?" Lily said as they sat down.

"Haley sounds kind of..." Ian trailed off as he searched for the right words.

"Oh, she's dumb as a box of rocks." Lily said bluntly.

"That's one way to put it." Ian said with a warm smile.

"I'll be taking a beer." Lily said to the bartender. "What would you like?" Lily asked Ian.

"I'll take a beer as well." Ian said.

"Alright, so two beers total." Lily said. The bartender grabbed two beers and placed them on the counter, then opened them one by one and slid them over to Lily and Ian.

Ian took a sip. "That story actually reminded me of a friend I knew in highschool." Ian said.

"Oh? Is he as dumb as Haley?" She asked.

"Dumber, if you can imagine." Ian said.

"No way, is that possible?" She asked.

"Well, this guy, Aaron, he used to..." Ian told a long story over the course of a few beers.

"No way! I can confidently say that he is much dumber than Haley!" Lily said with a laugh. Ian laughed as well.

"I can agree. Aaron really was the dumbest person I had ever met, hard to imagine anyone dumber." Ian said. Lily sighed.

"It's been a while since I was able to have this much fun on a date." Lily said.

"Why is that?" Ian asked.

"Most guys just don't listen, y'know? They dismiss me and only act interested because of my looks." She said.

"That's a shitty thing to do." Ian said.

"Well, at first I thought you were one of those guys as well on our first date, then I realized it was something else. Something seemed to be on your mind." She said.

"Ah, well, I guess I kind of did." Ian said.

"What were you thinking about back then? It seemed like you were uncomfortable at the time." She said. Ian sighed.

"I'm what most would call an empath." Ian started to explain.

"Oh! I've heard of that, they can tell what people are feeling just by looking at them, right?" Lily asked.

"Most of the time it's as if I'm feeling what the other person is feeling." Ian explained.

"Interesting. Was someone else uncomfortable around you?" Lily asked.

"Not quite. You see, there are a few people I can't read, no matter what. I can't even tell what they're feeling, so I tend to feel uncomfortable around them." Ian explained.

"Who was it that you couldn't read?" She asked.

"It was you. But the more time I spend around you, I realize that it's actually relieving. It becomes harder to read others, which means I get less feedback as well." Ian said with a gentle smile.

"Really? Then maybe we should go out some more." Lily recommended.

"I think I'll take you up on that. How does this Tuesday work for you?" Ian asked as he sipped his beer.

"It works well. Are we meeting around six like our first date?" She asked. Ian nodded.

"That should work." He said.

"Great! Let's go to that restaurant again, the food there is amazing!" Lily said. Ian chuckled. "What was that for?" She asked with a sarcastic defensive tone.

"I'll be paying that time, I get a discount there." Ian said.

"Really!?" She asked with surprise. "Why is that?" She asked.

"I own a large amount of the shares there." Ian said.

"Wow~, and here I thought you were just a college student who got lucky and won the lottery." She said with a happy tone.

"Well, there's always more than meets the eye." Ian said. Lily nodded as she began stretching.

"Well, I should be getting home, I should get some programming done while I have time." She said as she stood. Ian turned around as she took a step away from the bar. She turned around and gave Ian a kiss, then put her finger up to her mouth. "Shh~." She hushed Ian.

He smiled. "Alright." He said. She giggled and walked away happily. After a few moments, Ian stood up and walked home. Once he was home, he went straight to bed.