Dinner with the...Family

Since Dad died, and Mum got diagnosed with cancer, it's been a while since I sat down with her to have dinner. You could say that I was a terrible son (I mean, I wasn't the best), but I'd rather blame it on bad circumstances and schedule conflicts.

It was honestly difficult for me to see Mum so weak and withered because of the cancer. I guess that not only was I weak physically (like the System has thoroughly shown me already), but I was also weak emotionally.

What made the family dinner even more surreal was that Alan Fallrow joined the dinner.

As we all sat down at the dining table in the house I grew up in, I could see Alan Fallrow with Mum everywhere I could see pictures of Dad.

Obviously, in this life, Mum remarried after Dad's death. She married his Tutorial World best friend, Alan Fallrow and from the evidence of their married life in the photos, it was clear to me that they've been married for a while. This fact, and I assumed many more that I didn't know yet, were all considered 'variances' by the System that may come up when I use the Prestige ability.

So, I had to navigate through this dinner without letting them know that I'm not the Eric that they knew me as.

"It's been so long since I've been able to enjoy something like this," Mum beamed as she started to eat her braised pork ramen. She delicately held her chopsticks and used them so effortlessly that it looked like actual magic to me.

(Yes, I'm sadly very disconnected from my historic genealogy. Chopsticks are the bane of my existence.)

Even Fallrow was able to use a pair of chopsticks well which made my face blush with embarrassment as I was relegated to using a fork for my ramen.

"I haven't had ramen in ages myself, so this was a great idea, hun," Fallrow said, looking deeply into Mum's eyes.

I had to fight myself from visibly shuddering from his lovey-dovey language. I simply focussed on my meal.

"Oh ~mayte~!" Fallrow said with a wide grin. His usage of the word once again caused Mum to giggle quietly, "Didn't you go to Hero's Stand to get your Registration done today? How'd you go?"

"Oh," I mumbled. I could feel my face redden as I thought about how bad my stats were, "It was fine. I'm gonna get my guild card in a couple of days and they're going to get back to me when my account in the database is done."

"Nice!" Fallrow thumped the table a little bit too hard in his excitement. He quickly and quietly apologised to Mum about it before he returned his focus back to me, "Well, let's have it. Let's see what your stats are like!"

"I don't know…" I mumbled.

I hoped that my apprehension would be clear to him, and he would back down, but he completely missed it. He continued to ask to see my stats.

"I'm sure it's nothing compared to a lot of people in the guild—"

"Well, of course, but with my help I'm sure that we can make an impressive tank out of you like your father!" Fallrow smiled widely. He was probably genuinely excited to have somebody that could be like a protégé to him.

"Actually—" I started.

"Alan, I think we should just leave him be for now. Let's just have a nice dinner," Mum chimed in. She noticed my discomfort.

"Oh, come on Eric, you can trust me!"

"Alan…"

"…I don't think I'm going to—" I said before I was interrupted again.

"Eric, show us your stats, there's no need to be self-conscious," Fallrow said.

"I'm not going to be a tank!" I yelled after I couldn't take it anymore.

My outburst took everyone by surprise. Even myself.

There was an extended silence as everyone struggled to work out how to react.

I was the first to break the silence.

"I—," I stuttered, "I don't have the stats to be a tank. I don't have the stats to be much of anything."

"What do you me—?" Fallrow asked quietly but stopped when I permitted him to see my Status window.

I watched his face as he read through my disappointing attributes. To his credit, he seemed to be genuinely disappointed. He didn't joke or tease me. He looked at the screen silently.

"What is it?" Mum asked. Because she's not a Player, she couldn't see or interact with the System.

Fallrow cleared his throat, "Well, it's not the end of the world. With a little bit of training, you'll surely be able to get strong enough to be a decent Player."

He smiled at me kindly, "I remember when your dad first started, he was considered a weak Player. He had to work so hard to get as strong as he was."

After a short pause, Fallrow nodded, "I believe in you."

Even though the whole situation was still so strange to me, it was good to hear the genuine encouragement that Alan gave me. He and Dad went through many dangerous situations and even though it made me feel uncomfortable, Mum being married to him now seemed to have lifted her spirits in the many times where I was lacking that emotional strength.

"I still want to be a Dungeon Clearer like you and Dad were," I said to Alan.

He nodded understandingly, "What matters is not what your current levels are but improving and exceeding your innate limits. Though Hero's Stand isn't the biggest guild around, I can assure you as one of its co-founders that you will have the support you need."

"Thanks, Alan," I said as I sheepishly started to focus on my ramen, "I mean it."

"What's happening?" Mum asked. Unfortunately, it seemed like Alan and I just had some sort of bromance-ish, man-to-man moment and we forgot about her, so I told her confidently, "My stats as a Player are really low, but I'm going to work hard to improve them."

She nodded and smiled. I could see the pride in her eyes as tears started to well up in her eyes.

"You guys just bonded, right? It's lovely to see."

I turned red again as Alan laughed raucously, "I think this calls for a toast!"

The System chimed in my head, and it distracted me from Alan's overly zealous and loud toast.

[CONGRATULATIONS!

'Family Dinner' is completed! The Player has managed to unlock a 'new experience'! The Player has been gifted 5PP as a reward!]

If I was alone, I would have danced a little.

5PP was now mine, finally. As I continued to eat my ramen, I switched over to my Status screen and started to think about which attribute to put my Prestige Points into.

The method to improve my Fortitude attribute seemed to be simple, and if I was able to complete all the daily tasks each day, I would also be gifted a little bit of PP, so I didn't want to use it on that.

As cool as being able to do actual magic because my Thaumaturgy attribute is non-existent right now, there's no guarantee that if I use my PPs on the attribute it would make a worthwhile significance.

Improving the Aptitude attribute only means that learning new skills and abilities would get easier for me, but I've only got the Prestige ability right now.

The only attribute left after crossing those three out is the Vitality attribute, and as I finished my bowl, I started to feel confident and comfortable that investing in Vitality would be the best thing for me right now.

Vitality is all about the Player's survival capabilities and improving that seems mighty helpful for a weakling like me.

The System recognised my final decision and sent a confirmation message about using the PPs for Vitality. I accepted it and a new message appeared in front of me.

[CONGRATULATIONS!

The Player has used their PPs to reach their innate limitation in the Vitality Attribute!

Vitality has reached a new grade!

Vitality: D(+)!

The Player has unlocked the 'Blood Circulation' skill!

Blood Circulation (LVL 1): A form of meditation that promotes higher blood circulation. Utilising this with medicinal items allows the Player to heal faster than normal.]

As I expected, my Vitality grading only improved slightly, but it gave me a new skill that I could seemingly work on. Even though it seemed weak, I was still excited that the System was finally giving me something more to work with than just the Prestige ability.

Alan's phone ringing snapped me out of my focus, and I watched in silence as his face hardened as he spoke.

"What's up?" Alan said.

A pause.

"Right now? I'm eating dinner with Ella and Eric—" he suddenly stopped as the person on the other end of the call interrupted him.

"Okay, I'll be there in a half-hour," Alan said darkly and hung up.

"You're getting called in again?" Mum asked him.

"Yeah," Alan sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "It was Edward, and there seems to be a situation developing in one of the B-rank Dungeons in Cairns. He wants me to come into the guild and gain control of the situation."

"That's ridiculous!" Mum exclaimed.

As she continued to voice her disappointment, I was distracted by who they were talking about.

Edward Pitcher, the third co-creator and current guild leader of Hero's Stand.

And the person I believed was behind Dad's untimely death.