Lap of Luxury (1)

Reed looked at the metallic box placed in front of him. It seemed to be cast out of some sort of dark steel. There were no decorations on the box and the size of the cuboid did not exceed 10 centimeters.

The box had a small latch that was locked. The padlock through the loop could only be unlocked by a combination and when thinking of the passcode of the pdf files, Reed tried his birthday and it unlocked with a satisfying click.

21082006.

Placing the padlock aside, Reed opened the box and saw a single device that looked like a music pod but with two antennas on top. The side of the pod was layered with a shiny grip. Next to the pod was a piece of folded paper.

Picking the paper and unfolding it, Reed read the printed words.

'To use the measuring tool, the user must hold the device in a tight grip. After switching it on, the user may feel discomfort from the hand holding the device but this lasts for an extremely short period. The display on the device records the value of the user's aptitude in numbers.

Unlike various testing devices, the information from the device cannot be spread and is completely in the user's hands.'

Reed slowly folded the paper and placed it within the box. Not glancing further towards the measurement device, Reed closed the box, locked the latch, and placed the box in the lower right drawer.

After hearing what Lex had to say about the measurement devices, Reed had no plan of testing himself. At least, he wasn't willing to get his body scanned using technological means since no matter how much he is assured, there is always a chance that the information is exposed to someone else and in this case, probably the interested higher-ups of the family.

And, the status from the system seemed to be more than sufficient at this moment.

Then Reed silently began to go through the pdf files set by the family with a slightly exhausted expression. Just in a matter of few hours, his situation had changed. Not for the better, however.

Although Reed now has the access to the knowledge he desired, the more he understood the policies of the family, the more he realized that the cost was too much and the only way to reach the break-even would be by using the resources alongside the knowledge to grow far more than the expectations of the family.

That way, he wouldn't be completely bound.

But all these thoughts were his fantasies. After all, the moment he completed reading the policies and the websites alongside their functions, Reed fell asleep the moment he leaned back on the comfortable chair.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Young master?" Rex slowly opened the door. Seeing that Reed was sleeping, he silently walked towards him and lowered the screen of the laptop. He then walked out of the study hastily and only returned with a thin sheet with which he covered Reed.

Switching off the lights, Rex placed his left palm over the right side of his chest and bowed slightly before leaving.

---

"Hmmm?" Reed let out a soft grunt as his cellphone rang the tune of nightmare and vibrated in his pocket. Yawning, Reed looked around curiously, and seeing the unfamiliar environment... rich environment, he panicked.

'Ah...'

Then the realization struck.

'I'm not poor anymore,' Reed groaned and removed the bedsheet.

'Hmm? Who put this on me?' Reed frowned and realized that he needed to lock his doors from now on.

As usual, his first instinct after waking up was checking the time. Stopping the alarm, Reed rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms out while leaning back on the chair.

"Best sleep ever!" he groaned comfortably. Now, he wanted to try the bedroom.

'Wait... I never checked the bathroom. It must be big... do we have a bathtub? Man, I would feel so pretentious if I have a bathtub but... I want to try bubble bath if I have one!' Reed stood up from his chair.

He recalled last night and once again sighed.

He was slightly familiar with the Riot Family now and he understood that the six months of peace that Lex claimed wasn't as easy as he made it sound like.

There were definitely resources allocated to Reed for his integration into the family. The laptop, the cellphone, this house, Lex, and Rex, and even the measuring device and the books on the shelves. These were all resources.

Reed had to manage these resources and start cultivating strength, or so it was expected of him.

But if he knew how to manage himself, much less so many things, he wouldn't have settled for being a waiter.

It was easy for Reed to understand that why the butlers were prepared. The butlers were the only resource that could assist Reed with his management issues.

Walking out of the Study, Reed proceeded to lock it with his key and looked at the only other room on the floor.

Probably his bedroom.

'Awesome! Let's check it,' Reed walked forward and twisted the doorknob. Entering the room, Reed saw a large bed with a thick, stuffed headboard. The stuffed headboard and the side slats were dark brown in color which looked good with the creamish set-up of the room. In a glance, the room looked 'mellow.'

Walking towards the bed, Reed stood in front of it. His knees touching the footboard and he raised he spread his arms out.

*Swish*

His body fell down with complete confidence after seeing the thicc mattress.

*Oomph*

His body wasn't completely swallowed but the texture was soft. Just enough that Reed could also keep his body straight.

For a moment, laziness spread over him and his eyelids felt heavy once again. His legs sprung up at this moment and Reed quickly turned around to breathe loudly. He almost fell asleep!

The sensation was heavenly!

The temptation was heavenly!

Looking in front of him, he saw a luxurious entertainment unit. In the largest space was a thin LED television. On the lower shelves...

'Games!' Reed's eyes lit up.

He hurriedly got out of his bed and walked towards the entertainment unit. There was a set of two game boxes of the competing firms and plenty of disc cases were piled on top of each other.

'Sweet!' Reed gulped. He could either game now, or see the bathroom and then do it.

He decided to choose the former.

Just for a few minutes. After all, his schedule will be packed tight from now on. He just had too many things to take care of.

---

Lex looked at his cellphone once again. Right now, both Rex and Lex stood in front of the staircase while showing calm and collected expressions.

"It's almost 11," Lex smiled.

"Yes, Brother," Rex stated plainly.

"What do you think Sir is occupied with?" Lex inquired.

"Strict studies. 6 months isn't nearly enough. He must have understood the predicament he's in," Rex recalled how Reed slept in his chair and replied without a hint of hesitation.

"I see."

Rex and Lex stood silently without moving an inch. The two were strictly trained for various situations and 'occupied' family members like Reed was one such situation.

*Thck*

A dull echo could be heard from the top of the stairs and soon, a slightly tired and exhausted Reed could be seen walking down. His hair was disheveled and he still wore the same clothes from yesterday. At a casual glance, it would seem like Reed was Rex's and Lex's servant due to the difference in get-up and temperament.

"Good afternoon, Sir," Lex smiled.

By the Reed woke from his gaming urge, it was already 1 in the afternoon.

"Yeah. Let's go out and eat," Reed stated offhandedly when Lex bowed.

"Sir, I impudently cooked breakfast. Please give me some time and I will prepare lunch. Is there any dish you would like me to cook?"

Reed looked towards Lex silently.

"Impudently cooked breakfast?" He frowned. He wasn't used to getting such form of reverence and it felt plain awkward.

"Yes. I did not know that Sir's morning routine included the intense exercise for the fingers."

Reed pursed his lips.

It wasn't reverence. It was simply clever sarcasm but the fact that Lex had prepared breakfast impressed Reed nonetheless.

"Just... heat up what you prepared for breakfast. I still have a few questions for the two of you now that I have read the policies of the family," Reed sat down on the couch in the living room while Lex walked towards the kitchen.

"Rex, while Lex is heating food, answer a few of my doubts."

"Yes, young master."

Rex stood in front of Reed and in between his vision and television.

"Sit down already," Reed sighed.

"Yes, young master."

Rex sat on the smaller couch to the side.

"The policy states that a certain amount of money will be deposited in my name only once. How much is it?" Reed inquired with anticipation bubbling in his heart.

"Young master, it is 100,000 dollars," Rex replied with a nod.

"Excuse me?" Reed's excitement fell face first and he felt like his nuts have been crushed and then turned into a paste to further his ache.

"100,000."

"Why... so low?" Reed finally inquired. From the sports car, antique car, this amazing house, and other forms of benefits, the last thing Reed expected was for the family to be stingy on cash. At least a million should have been deposited into his account!

"Young master, as the policy dictates, you won't have to suffer competition to gain resources for the first 6 month period. You can apply for various concessions, too. But, to gain benefits from the family, hard work is necessary. The seed money is simply a way to allow you to find such opportunities within the family.

Meanwhile, this house is built on a special Warlock's Conclave property treaty so there will be no taxes on electricity, water, or property. This way, the seed money can be used entirely on yourself."

Reed's lips twitched. Maybe he expected too much, after all.

"Alright. Next, the one thing I still don't understand is how the main gate of the house operates."

Rex nodded and fished out a small black device from the inner pocket of his coat.

"Young master, the gate is remote controlled. Of course, it can be manually opened, too."

Rex replied while indicating towards the rubber button on top of the device.

'Well, so much for mysticism. It's a freaking RC gate!'

Reed's shoulders slumped slightly.

But he didn't let his mood get fluctuated by his expectations being broken. He was already in a higher starting point than many others now so all he needed to do was make an efficient use of his system.

But first, he would need knowledge.

The kind stashed away in the shelf of his new study.

***

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