Locking In With My Life System

Aiden rapid fired with a series of question he swiftly got answers to.

-

What are Special Skills?

└ Skills automatically acquired upon reaching max grade for an attribute.

How do Special Skills work?

└ Using the host as a conduit, it offers access and allows for an imposition of the Life System’s deepest functions on the host or the environment around the host.

What does the {Insight} skill do?

└ {Insight}, upon activation, procures information and assesses the quality of people or things at the cost of LPs.

What does the {Midas Touch} skill do?

└ {Midas Touch}, upon activation, suggests improvement for or directly improves the quality of a designated person or thing as host wishes at the cost of LPs.

What are Titles?

└ Rubrics that offers a passive or an active benefit to host. Awarded upon reaching certain milestones.

What are Achievements?

└ Milestones tailored to using the Life System and reaching host’s goals. LPs are awarded upon completion.

-

Staring at the panel in his field of view, Aiden’s expression couldn’t have been more intrigued as he took yet another bite of his apple.

’What a grindy system.’ he inwardly remarked, realizing that there was a possibility he’d never truly run out of stuff to use LPs on.

That said...

’Titles and Achievements are just as I expected...’ he thoughtfully mused.

’Special skills though...’ his gaze flickered and a light smile touched his lips.

"Guess my assumption was right then." he muttered to himself.

What Aiden was referring to, was how he’d assumed that the Life System was metaphysically bound to him.

The truth couldn’t have been clearer too, especially upon seeing the explanation behind how the Special Skills worked.

Which meant for a fact, his Mind attribute served as an interface his system functioned off of to impact his body.

Now, he’d gained skills that essentially allowed him to extend that very interface between himself and the world around him.

It was also why it had expended so much time in integrating the feature into him and had forcibly shut down his entire being.

That was what Aiden believed, at least.

Afterall, in comparison to when he simply assimilated a new skill for himself, a simple wave of wooziness washing over him just wouldn’t cut it.

’Figures it’d also cost me LPs to use,’ he curiously rubbed his chin to which he then bit into his apple as he pondered audibly;

"Wonder what I’d get for maxing out my other stats..."

Dismissing the thought a moment after, Aiden decided to open up the Title tab;

-

⸢Titles

› {Aw, they grow up so fast} - [Awarded for unlocking Master Control]

└ Gain more LPs for completing quests.

-

Naturally, Aiden’s lips twitched upon reading the title.

Perhaps because he hadn’t gotten a new quest in a fair while, he’d forgotten just how much of a troll the secretly sentient thing was.

In any case, upon pulling up his Quests tabs and realizing that the LPs they awarded still remained as they were, he figured it would probably take effect after he’d completed any of them.

It was also why he didn’t dwell on it and shifted his attention to the Achievement tab;

-

⸢Achievements

› {Aren’t you an Average Joe?} – [Claim 0.1 LP?]

└ Take all attributes to grade D.

› {Now we’re getting somewhere} – [Claim 0.5 LP?]

└ Take all attributes to grade C.

› {’Cause I’m a Punkrocker, yes, I am!} – [Claim 1 LP?]

└ Max out any attribute.

› {One small step for man...} – [Claim 0.1 LP?]

└ Purchase your first skill.

› {Ooh, shiny!} – [Claim 0.5 LP?]

└ Own five skills.

› {My precious~!} – [Claim 1 LP?]

└ Own ten skills.

› {A Renaissance Man} – [Claim 1.5 LP?]

└ Have five skills in the Intermediate grade.

› {Rookie numbers} – [Claim 0.1 LP?]

└ Earn ten thousand dollars.

› {I mean, it ain’t much, but it’s honest work} – [Claim 0.5 LP?]

└ Earn a hundred thousand dollars.

-

Aiden’s eyes widened!

He honestly would’ve been laughing at some of the achievement titles if not for the figurative dollar bills replacing his irises as he watched the plethora of LPs just waiting to be claimed.

Then he casually tossed the apple core over his shoulders, the little thing perfectly landing into the bin as he rubbed his hands like a shady drug dealer.

Flexing his brows in excitement, his grin widening by the second, he began claiming them one after the other.

Soon...

-

[Aiden North] – Life Points – [5.39]

-

’Ah~. That was so satisfying.’ he placed a palm to his chest, a blissful smile on his lips.

Then, staring at his system panel for a brief while, he dismissed it with a light smile.

Though he was itching to test out his special skills, there wasn’t an avenue for him to do that just yet and he didn’t want to misuse his Life Points.

Casually, he eased himself off the stool to go freshen up and observe his personal hygiene.

About thirty minutes later, after he was done and had slipped into new clothes, his phone which was still resting on the bedside table buzzed with a new notification.

Promptly plugging it in first as the battery was down to its last percentages, Aiden sat at the edge of his bed and began going through each notification.

Most were as a result of yesterday’s missed calls so he simply cleared them out.

Then he dropped his Pops a text message to let him know he’d finally woken up, lest the man began to worry.

Most of the other notifications were from Portal, and the social media accounts he was managing for their little indie team, alongside his personal side gigs.

As for the newest notification which he’d finally circled back to, it was a text from Dr. Kowalski.

-

Mr. North. I’d like to see you in my office tomorrow to follow up on several things.

Oh, and bring the homemade brew. Walters told me about it and I’d like to vet it first before we proceed with including it alongside other refreshments for prom.

-

Reading through the message, Aiden couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement.

’He really works fast. Probably why he was made Council President too...’ the coal-haired youth mused to himself.

Replying to the text a moment after though, Aiden was just about head down and start prepping for dinner when a sudden realization hit him.

’Wait a minute...’

’Doesn’t Dr. Kowalski also have a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics--’

Aiden hadn’t even completed that statement before he facepalmed!

’How’d I miss that?!’ he demanded of no one in particular.

Considering Aiden had decided to pivot and begin with a beverage business first, he’d been biding his time, thinking he’d probably have to start much later as he’d wondered how he was going to meet with and hire a professional nutritionist.

Their charges could be pretty expensive after all... more so because he was planning to make something healthy and refreshing without cutting corners.

Naturally, that meant a whole lot of experimentation... which also translated to more work hours for high-tier professionals whom would probably charge no less than $200 to $300 an hour.

Yet, right under his nose, he’d overlooked someone whom could very well do it at a much lesser price, solely for the goodwill between them, not to talk of the fact that he knew she had a soft spot for him.

Yet, just as quickly as that thought came, another promptly followed, Aiden’s eyes getting progressively sharper as the gears in his head clicked and turned.

Then, like he’d suddenly stumbled upon a breakthrough, he bolted downstairs, a wide grin spreading across his features.

A moment after, Aiden was in the kitchen, gingerly retrieving the gallon of homemade brandy and two mugs.

Then, pouring the contents into a mug, he used his {Insight} for the very first time, a panel popping into his field of view;

-

› {Homemade Brandy} – [0.05 LP].

└ Assess?

-

’Yep.’ Aiden internally responded and his points were promptly deducted.

At the same time, a new panel followed just after;

-

› {Homemade Brandy}

A deep amber, non-alcoholic fruit infusion created by Aiden North, with concentrated grape and dark-fruit notes, rounded by vanilla and brown sugar, with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg providing a gentle warmth. Oak and black tea lend it a subtle dryness and aged character, leaving behind a lingering, slightly woody finish.

└ Quality: Good.

-

No sooner had he seen that, Aiden grinned and then poured yet another cup. This time though, tugged on his other skill;

-

› {Homemade Brandy} – [0.5 LP].

└ Suggest Improvements?

-

Despite the sudden spike in the required Life Points to use, Aiden went ahead nonetheless;

’Yes.’

Yet again, his LPs were deducted as necessary and a new panel phased into place;

-

› {Homemade Brandy}

Suggested Improvements:

Increase the concentration of the fruit base to produce a fuller body and more pronounced depth.

Reduce the amount of brown sugar and molasses by 15% to prevent the sweetness from overpowering the darker fruit notes.

Increase the black tea infusion slightly to improve tannic structure and provide a more convincing spirit-like finish.

Introduce a small amount of toasted oak during the maturation process to deepen the woody character without imparting excessive bitterness.

Allow the mixture to rest for an additional 48 hours after filtration to allow the individual flavors to harmonize.

Optional: A small amount of caramelized fruit concentrate may be introduced to enhance color, aroma and depth.

└ Potential Quality: Excellent.

-

Aiden stared for a while.

Then he suddenly let out an excited, thrilled laugh.

He was practically being handed a blueprint right now, was he not?

It wasn’t for free, clearly, and he himself still had to make it work, especially considering the ’Potential Quality’ phrase, but even then...

’The possibilities of these two skills alone are endless!’ Aiden exclaimed inwardly, a wide grin spreading across his lips.

Now, he was fully coming to grasps with what it meant to have the keys to the Life System’s master control.

Picking up the gallon once again, his expression gradually becoming more determined, Aiden grinned as he said to the inanimate object;

"Alright, homemade brandy. Round two."

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