A shadow entered past the doorway of Matt's apartment. Then another followed. Two shadows made their way into the main living area, and then towards the hall leading to his bedroom. The smallest shadow sprinted towards his bedroom door and pushed it open with intense force.
The door swung open and slammed into the wall of the room, waking Matt. He quickly looked around for the source of the noise and saw a figure standing in the doorway. Then she yelled with joy as she leaped towards him.
"Big Brother!"
A girl leaped into Matt's arms giving him a big hug.
"Ashley? What are you doing here?"
He looked surprised, but also happy that his sister was there and hugged her back.
"We came here to check on you! And we wanted to see you too!"
After she said this, he noticed another figure standing in the doorway. He was tall and well-built. It was his older brother Jay.
"Yo," he said with a wave and then smiled.
"Sorry for coming here so late, the traffic was insane," Jay explained.
"No, it's fine, I'm really happy to see you guys! I see you used that spare key I gave you."
Ashley looked excited and spoke up.
"Yeah Jay wanted to knock but I wanted to surprise you!"
Matt sighed, she almost gave him a heart attack earlier but she isn't good at thinking things through. He gave her a pat on the head and then Jay spoke up.
"So, have you talked to Mom and Dad recently?"
Matt looked a little sheepish at the mention of them and replied.
"I haven't since the fight, but I will soon. Actually, there's something I need to talk to you all about when the time comes."
Jay narrowed his eyes and wore a grin.
"Oh? Did you finally get a girlfriend?"
"No! Nothing like that, you'll find out when I tell you."
Matt decided that he would help them with their systems when it went public. But if he tried to explain it now, they would just think he was crazy and worry about him.
He realized that there really was no way to prove the system was real. Hell, he didn't even know if it was real and he was just insane.
The system was mainly internal, so he doubted they could even see the portal for [Storage], but an item disappearing could be slightly convincing. But for now, he would just avoid telling them.
"Hey wait for a second," Jay looked surprised and then continued.
"Have you been working out? You don't look like a sick old man anymore. You actually look fit?"
Ashley also looked surprised and realized he looked much healthier than before.
Matt hesitated for a second, he forgot completely about the fact that his body changed so much. Before, if his hair was gray, he probably could've infiltrated a retirement home.
"Uh, yeah I wanted to focus on my health recently. I couldn't keep living like that y'know?"
Jay walked up and patted him on the back.
"Well good for you! Are you still obsessed with those games too? You kinda played those things way too much."
Matt laughed in his mind. If only they knew he was actually "playing a game" more than ever.
"Nah, I only play on the weekends now."
He talked with his siblings for a bit longer, just catching up since they hadn't seen each other in a while. Ever since he left home, he had been so busy trying to find a part-time job and an apartment that he didn't see them much.
Near the end of the conversation, Jay mentioned their parents again.
"You know, you really should take up their offer. I know you want to be independent, but the job market is rough. College would really help."
Matt flinched when he heard the word college. That was the main reason he left home. High school was literally hell for him, and so when his parents wanted him to go to college, he instantly refused, even though they would pay for it.
"I, might. I just need to think it over more."
His situation was different now. The system was now his top priority and he was struggling to even just pay his rent. If he went to college, he could focus his full attention on leveling up. Studying wouldn't be a problem with being able to raise his intelligence, there was just one last barrier he had to overcome.
He needed to be able to defend himself. If he went, he wouldn't be bullied. He had the system now, maybe it could be different than high school.
"Well, I hope you do think about it. I know it's a sore subject for you, so I won't push anymore."
With that, Ashley gave him another big hug, and then both made their way out of his apartment. Matt helped them out the door, and Ashley ran ahead, crashing into everything on the way out.
Jay stopped at the door.
"Just so you know, I heard your friend Fen is going to college. The same one Dad works at. Well, see ya."
With a smile, he left and ran after his sister since she had already gotten so far ahead.
Matt thought about what his brother said for a moment. If Fen really was in college with him, it sure would make it a better experience. Fen was the only reason he didn't drop out of high school and made it fun when he was there.
Matt sighed. He wouldn't have even considered going if he didn't get the system, and now Fen was going too.
"Damn, why am I hesitating so much?"
His heart felt fast and his body was tense. That's just what the word "school" did to him. It just wasn't easy getting over trauma like that.
'I promised myself to change. Avoiding college was just another one of the ways I was dodging my fears. I have the system now. That's it, I'm going.'
Though he said this, he was mainly trying to convince himself. At least it was a step in the right direction.
With a big yawn, he stumbled back into his bedroom and flopped on the bed. His body was still very sore from earlier that day and he needed to get up early.
After a few minutes, he fell back into a deep sleep.
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||Stats||
Name: Matt Peterson
Age: 18
LVL: 2 [XP 3/120]
HP | 20/20
MP | 0/0
Status Effects: [None]
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||Attributes||
[Str] - 10
[Con] - 10
[Agi] - 12
[Dex] - 12
[Int] - 14
[Luk] - 11
[Stat Points]: 0
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||Skills||
Inspect [Lv.1], Map [Lv.2], Help [Lv.1], Storage [Lv.1]
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||Quests||
-General-
Do Pushups [36/100] [Reward: +2 Strength, +20xp]
Pay the Rent [$112/800] [Reward: +Mystery Reward, +30xp]
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-Daily-
*Daily quests not available in beta*
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