Chapter 4
I opened my bag and took out my phone only to see a bank notification. My mother had transferred a hundred dollars into my account. So this is how it would be, huh? She's just planning to send me money without a word and expecting me to suddenly be happy about it? Not a chance. I'll take the money though, I know I'll need it.
I took out my wallet containing the rest of my money, two hundred twenty dollars, and went downstairs. I would need to thoroughly clean my new room and something told me I wouldn't find any cleaning suplies here.
The smell hid me hard. I was trying not to gag as I went up to Father's door and knocked.
"What is it?" He grumbled.
"Uhm..can I go out to the shop?" I asked.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you don't have to ask. If you wanna go somewhere, then go. I don't need to know,"he replied.
Oh. That was easy. We were almost never allowed to go out alone, not even to the neighbors house. I was expecting him to be the same, but I guess he doesn't care. Not that it bothers me, it'll be a lot easier like this.
"By when should I be back?" I went on.
"Whenever you want. Come back at midnight for all I care." He hissed.
Okay. I can't tell if I should be happy or concerned about this. After all who else would know if I went missing? I shook those thoughts away before I scared myself to not going. I didn't think it was a good idea to ask him where the nearest store was, so I just searched it up on my phone.
.....
I wasn't expecting the store's to be this far away. It'll be a pain to walk all the way back later.
Sigh, it can't be helped. In front of me is a sign that reads 'welcome to aris plaza'. Almost all the stores in this town are located her. I walked into the nearest grocery store and went over to the cleaning isle.
None of the items at this store have any labels or price, I went over and picked up one of the green bottles and stared at it. Ding. Suddenly a blue screen popped up in front of me.
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Item name: lemon scented floor wash
Ingredients: chemical solution, water, lemon scent...
Use: Cleaning floors
Rarity: common
.....
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I was so startled that I dropped the bottle. What the heck is this? It looks like a game screen. I heard a sound and saw everyone staring at me. I quickly picked up the bottle I dropped. I put it back on the shelf and left the store. What was that I thought. I went into a quiet ally way far from all the people on the street.
Alright, I thought. How do I get the screen thingy to appear again? Maybe if I say it?
"Open screen," I said out loud. Nothing. "Open glowy box? Open blue screen? Open status -"
Ding.
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User: Ashley Cyefin (human)
Level 1
Points: 10
HP: 100/100
Defense: 3
Attack speed: 4
Movement speed: 5
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 3
Powers:
- lightening magic (low)
- Shadow magic (low)
Skills:
- Inspect
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Whoa. What is this? It's just like a game system interface. There's a shop available at level 10 and a quest board. And what's this? Shadow magic...?
The sun is starting to set. I should get what I need and get home before dark. I don't want to be out here at night. I'll investigate this later.
I went back into the store and picked out the things I needed as well as some instant noodles for dinner. I got home at five and went straight up to my room. I took my bags out and set them on the chair outside my room before putting on some gloves and getting to work.
....
2 hours later.
That was the most disgusting thing I've ever done. I thought the room was pretty clean now. I ripped off all the old wallpaper and cleaned the walls with bleach. I dusted the rest of the room and cleaned the bathroom.
The walls were made of a rich dark oak that looked beautiful. I'd need to buy new sheets and some air freshener in the morning, but this would do for tonight.
I went down to the kitchen and found a kettle. I cleaned it for like ten minutes before putting it on the stove to heat some water for the noodles.
I went up to my room to eat. I couldn't bear the smell downstairs. I sat up on my bed food in my lap and phone in hand. There weren't any messages, as i expected. I didn't have many friends, if any at all. I was horrible at socializing. Instead, I tried to find out more about tauriel, my new home.
Ding.
After a while, the little blue screen popped up again.
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Achievement 'Surroundings check' complete!
Description: Find out more about your new surroundings.
Gaining skill 'awareness' as a reward.
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Oh. I had completely forgotten about this little system.
"Open status," I commanded.
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User: Ashley Cyefin (human)
Level 1
Points: 10
HP: 100/100
Defense: 3
Attack speed: 4
Movement speed: 5
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 3
Powers:
- lightening magic (bronze)
- Shadow magic (bronze)
Skills:
- Inspect
- Awareness
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What are all these? Skills? And why do I have two powers? Shadow magic? Alright, let's see.... oh
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Lightening magic (bronze)
Summon small sparks of electricity from your hands.
Points needed for next upgrade: 20
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So taping on them gives a brief description. I wonder what will happen if I upgrade it? Alright, let's try shadow magic next.
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Shadow magic (bronze)
Control the shadows around you in a 10 by 10 radius.
Points needed for next upgrade: 20
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Alright. Let's check the skills next.
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Inspect skill
See through illustions and identify the name, use, traits, and rarity of an object.
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Awareness skill
Become hyper aware of your surroundings and temporarily boost all stats by 5 for 30 minutes.
Cooldown: 1 hour
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This one has a cooldown. I thought, staring at it. That made sense. Considering my current stats, this skill would be incredible in battle. It actually doubles my current stats.
There's also a quest board with daily quests. I wonder what that's about. Meh. I'll investigate in the morning. Im gonna go to bed. It's already eleven fifty...