>"Nope, nope, nope. We are going with what"s outlined. It"s enough that you"re messing with my life, but you"re not messing with my family"s," Michael thought quite firmly.
<...>>
After waiting for a few moments without receiving a retort from the corner of his eye, Michael proceeded with his previous train of thought - he could start the sides around 6:40, which gave him a good 2 hours of gam--
Description: With over 2 hours before dinner needs to be prepared, and homework to do for two cla.s.ses, it makes perfect sense to get it out of the way before the evening meal. There will be plenty of time for other activities afterwards if homework has already been completed.
Reward: Ability to subsequently engage in further activities with a clear conscience. Opportunity to complete other missions.
Penalty: Guilt over wasted opportunity.>>
Michael sighed, defeated, and made his way back to the kitchen table, where he started pulling out the pile of textbooks, notebooks, and supplementary material.
---
"Hey bro!" a young girl with sandy brown hair exclaimed as she came in from the back yard. Receiving only a grunt in response, she peered over his shoulder at the page full of equations. "Homework on the first day? Man, high school is rough!" Another grunt was the only reply. After a beat, she shrugged. "I"m gonna watch cartoons - Anne"s next door playing with the neighbours." With that, she tore into the living room like a freight train and hopped onto the couch. As the sounds of animated violence drifted into the kitchen, Michael looked up forlornly in the direction of the living room. "I want to watch cartoons, too," he muttered sadly.
---
Rewards:
Willpower-??? => +0.002
Willpower-??? => +0.001
[Mission: Algebra Homework] completed. Rewards:
"Algebra" Skill unlocked. Previous experience added to current level. Please check Status at Subject"s convenience for progress.
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Optional Goal completed.
Further rewards:
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
"Dedicated Student" t.i.tle progress increased. Please check Status at Subject"s convenience for progress.
[Mission: Chemistry Homework] completed.
Rewards:
"Chemistry" Skill unlocked.
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Previous experience added to current level. Please check Status at Subject"s convenience for progress.
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Optional Goal completed.
Further rewards:
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
"Dedicated Student" t.i.tle progress increased. Please check Status at Subject"s convenience for progress.>>
Breathing out a deep, somewhat satisfied breath, Michael stored his books, set his bag on the counter near the stairs down to the bas.e.m.e.nt and checked the time. 6:30pm. Peeking into the living room, he noticed that Anne had come home at some point without him noticing and was sitting in a chair reading a book with her legs folded underneath her. She looked up at him and smiled as he came in. "Lou"s upstairs, doing something. You starting on dinner now?" she asked. "Yeah," Michael confirmed. "Would you mind setting the table?" Anne quickly nodded and marked her spot before setting the book down and heading into the kitchen. Michael followed her and started the process of making the sides for dinner.
---
"Cleaning" Skill unlocked. Previous experience added to current level. Please check Status at Subject"s convenience for progress.
Physique-??? => +0.001
Willpower-??? => +0.001>>
Michael saw these new prompts show up as he finished wiping down the counters from the inevitable mess made preparing the sides, plating the roast, and cleaning up the slow cooker. He basked in the aroma of the various foods laid out on the table, and was pleased that even his ch.o.r.es seemed to add some benefits - of course, if basic tasks like walking and doing his homework were counted, it wasn"t surprising when these did, too. Right on queue, the door to the garage opened up and his parents walked in. His father looked almost exactly like Michael aged up about 20 years, and while he didn"t bear as many physical resemblances with his mother, only a few minutes in the same room would start to expose the similarities in their personalities.
Lou and Anne quickly entered the kitchen from the direction of the living room, and hugs were given all around before everyone sat down to dinner. Everyone went around the table describing their day: the parents described their uneventful rides to and from the capital on the commuter train, the book they had been reading, and their early meeting with a new prospective client. The girls regaled the rest with their adventures during the last week of their summer vacation, and Michael described the computer malfunction and his elective change to Computers, which his parents weren"t surprised by but certainly approved of. His father wanted to hear about his Latin cla.s.s, but since that wasn"t on Michael"s schedule til later in the week, he instead decided to quiz the girls on the various nouns for the items on the table. Michael quietly observed, since this was elementary level vocabulary.
Once everyone had finished dinner, the girls went to take their turn washing the dishes, while Michael cleared the table and offered to parcel out the left-overs for tomorrow"s lunches. Considering the rather tense interaction he had had with the System concerning his lunch from that day, he decided to check with the system on the "nutritional profile" of leftover roast and vegetables. The system approved of them both, though did for some reason feel the need to comment on the "inefficient calories" of the rice, whatever that meant. Once the lunches were all packed and his parents had retired to the living room, Michael took his bag and proceeded downstairs, looking forward to an hour or two of gaming before bed. Unfortunately, as soon as he set foot on the floor of the bas.e.m.e.nt...
>"System, you lied!!"