✨ Please take your time reading. ✨
In a matter of seconds, what was supposed to be an 18th birthday celebration turned into a battle of who screams the loudest: my parents, sisters, brother, brother-in-law, and aunts and uncles all participate.
The reason: My future.
It's not that my future doesn't matter to me; the problem is that there really isn't much to raise money for in a suffocating society.
A part-time job doesn't even cover a quarter of what's needed to have a chance at the end of the month, and to get a better-paying job, I need higher stats, which brings me back to the beginning.
Don't think I'm special within the family or that cruel fate has only targeted me, since each of my relatives has their own problems to solve.
Starting with my father at his job, my mother with the bills at home, my two sisters with their studies and training, my older sister getting married and unable to get pregnant, or my older brother with my sister-in-law, for he not being a hunter, not to mention my uncles, cousins, and grandparents.
It's the same in both my father's and mother's families on both sides.
My opportunity is the hunting academy, but since I don't have enough money, I simply let out a long, deep sigh.
It's an expense I can't even dream of affording.
After my share of alcohol-fueled insults and yelling, I decide to end my birthday celebration and head up to my room.
Nothing special, I'm just tired. I go into my bedroom, lie down on the bed, and with my cell phone in hand, waste my time, watching short videos and browsing the web on dubious websites.
When I felt bored, I raised my phone above my face to check the time. Since the music at the party had finally ended and I needed to sleep to start training early, I wanted to raise my basic stats.
Strength, Agility, and Stamina are the only ones that can be raised with daily training. Others, like Intelligence, Charisma, and Perception, require specific training, but Luck can't be raised even by accumulating lives.
This is because I'm poor, weak, and useless, since there are so-called Power Stones with a specific statistic, and they are obtained by buying, stealing, or killing beasts.
It was at that moment, when my mind wandered, that I noticed in the corner of my vision, just above my phone, a dot, a golden dot. It's larger, but barely visible to the naked eye, like a computer program.
( ▧.... ) Behind the dot are three smaller ones. These three dots move, appear, and disappear.
This went on for a very long time.
Maybe curiosity or the excitement of the unknown wiped out my sleep completely, and I spent my time waiting. I watched those dots appear and disappear.
Two or three hours later, the next word appeared: ( ▧.... System loading... ) My excitement skyrocketed. It was late, and screaming like crazy wasn't a good idea, so I ended up biting my lips, and they even bled a little. But I didn't care. I simply couldn't take my eyes off the sentence.
When dawn broke, the sentence finally changed. ( ▧.... System booting... ) At this point, my vision felt tired and my eyes irritated, but I refused to close my eyes until I saw the next sentence: ( ▧.... System: Milf Hunter... )
The moment the initial dot appeared, ( ▧.... ), out of inertia or excitement, I immediately pressed the air just above the dot.
At that moment, a purple screen covering half my vision unfolds before my eyes, but sleep overwhelms me and I fall asleep.
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When I wake up and open my eyes, my vision is purple. This scares me and makes me jump up. I panic and I'm about to scream for my mother, but something stops me, since the edges of my eyes are normal.
I spend a few minutes calming my emotions and paying more attention.
When I realize what's happening, I feel like an idiot. I'm much calmer now. I sit on the edge of the bed and check.
What's in front of my eyes, completely blocking my vision, is a purple screen. When I touch the screen, it gets bigger or smaller, depending on the situation.
One tap to maximize, two taps to minimize, I can also move the screen sideways with my hands, making it bigger or smaller.
After playing for a few minutes, I position the screen in the upper right corner, and when I touch its center, the automatic startup and installation begins.
This time, I don't panic, and I watch as the endless stream of golden words and numbers flash before my eyes, like the installation of your PC's boot system. I've seen this before; it's very similar to the Universal Hunter System, but with some obvious differences.
The screen of the Universal Hunter System used by all hunters is transparent white with black letters. It has a small screen that displays statistics, an inventory measuring 1 meter x 1 meter, and a bank account.
This Universal Hunter System applies to all hunters and is not customizable. They must also pay a monthly fee, without exception, and if you want to customize or increase your inventory or use the market, you must pay.
Taking this Universal Hunter System as a starting point, I begin to compare both systems, with my own foldable, touchscreen, and customizable screen.
I can move or remove any section, or add it if necessary. While I'm trying to kill some time, the system installation finishes, appearing across the screen in big, gold letters:
Milf Hunter
I was honestly expecting some kind of retro-futuristic presentation with high-definition 3D images, but nothing.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing. The gold letters fade away, and only my stats appear.
◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆
Name: Dave O'Connor.
Range: 0
Mana: ?????
Strength: 1
Perception: 1
Stamina: 1
Charisma: 2
Intelligence: 1
Agility: 1
Luck: 1
Skill: [ 0 ]
Passive Skill: [ Active ] ( Capture Essence ) ( Cum x 2 )
◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆—◆
With such a poor charisma stat, I realize why the girls at school barely even look at me. The big question is how to increase my stats.
There's nothing, no tutorial, explanation, or section with any kind of guidance.
I simply tap on the Capture Essence passive skill: Your seed causes an addiction.
Bonus: Women over 35 years of age, married, widowed, single, or with children will have double effects.
My main option is still basic training. Since it's already quite late, and hunger has my stomach starting to make strange noises, I can't think of any other alternatives for the moment.
I go down to the kitchen. I find no signs of life in the hallway, which means no one else has woken up. Upon entering the kitchen, I find my mother. She's sitting on the corner of the table next to her, holding a still-steaming cup of black coffee with a serious expression on her face. She's holding a document in her hand, rubbing her temple with the other.
Noticing my arrival, my mother looks up, smiles, and says,.—"Good morning." — With that, she lowers her gaze back to the document.
—"Good morning, Mom."— I respond to her greeting, but without pausing my steps toward the refrigerator, my eyes still fixed on the system screen.
Before I reach the refrigerator, a pile of plates and glasses in the sink, used at the party, catches my attention.
I stop in my tracks and say out loud. —"Wow.!"—
This catches my mother's attention, and as she follows my gaze to the sink, my mother lets out a sigh and comments,.—"I'll wash them later."— My mother immediately lowers her gaze back to the document, rubbing her temple as her face crumples.
I shrug, but before I can open the refrigerator door, the system screen automatically opens and pops up an alert. This catches my attention, so I stop to read the alert.
[ Wash dishes: +5 ]
This makes me frown, and I look at the sink. Then I look back at my mother, and a red [ 20 ] appears above her head.
My actions don't go unnoticed by my mother, and she immediately asks. —"What's wrong.?"—
Before answering, I touch the phrase on the screen, and it turns green. Then I minimize the screen and see my mother. "—Let me wash those dishes."—
My mother is about to speak and say something. Her mouth even opens, but her voice doesn't come out, as if it's stuck in her throat. Seconds later, my mother's mouth slowly closes, her face still stunned by my words, and she even babbles.
He Intrigued by the alert and its colors, both on the screen and above my mother's head, I go straight to the sink and begin washing each plate and glass one by one.
As I'm washing the dishes, I hear my mother's voice behind me asking: —"Okay, Dave, tell me what's going on." — At this point, I'm torn between telling the truth or keeping the system's existence a secret.
—"It's okay, Mom, I just felt like helping,.— I reply, still washing the dishes and spoons.
My mother's response comes right away: —"Sure, it was just helping." My mother comments sarcastically, and continues: —"18 years of living in this house, and just today. why not before when I should be cleaning your bedroom, doing your laundry, or mowing the lawn, Dave... you think I'm an idiot.? Tell me what the hell is going on and say clear."—
When she finishes speaking, I finally turn to look at my mother. She's visibly upset, her face wrinkled, her mouth twisted, her arms crossed under her chest, and her snorting every five or six seconds.
I don't know how to explain it. I have a feeling if I lie this time, I'm screwed..
literally.
I take a breath and blurt it out: —"I have a system."— I say clearly, and then I end up letting out a sigh.....
Suddenly, she starts to say to me: —"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, darling, but Mom's under a lot of stress these days, and don't worry if it's drugs. We'll get through this together."— I was shocked after hearing her words.
—"We'll get money from somewhere, and I'll send you to therapy with a specialist, even if I have to ask..."— Before finishing that sentence, just at that moment, something in my mother's head clicked, and she asked, confused. —"You have what.?"—
I asked indignantly. —"Drugs.?"— Still surprised, I added.— "Mom, are you serious.? Drugs.? Do you really think I use substances, for the love of God, Mom.?"— I shout in frustration.
—"Dave, Dave darling, your pale, thin appearance doesn't help,, stop being such a fool you say you have."— She asks me again, so I immediately repeat myself. —"System, I have a system.."—
This time my mother's face changes to one of total astonishment, and she covers her mouth with both hands to stifle her screams.
When my mother manages to control her emotions, she asks me a new series of questions: —"How, when, where, why, what it's like, what it's about, is it bad.?"—
I just raise my hand to stop her questions and shake my head, adding, —"I don't know if saying this about the system has any kind of consequence, but I got it in the middle of the night, and it's very similar to the Universal Hunter system, but much more sophisticated, that's all I can say."— Trying to sound interesting.
The effect of my words was immediate, as the previous red "20" above my mother's head changed to a yellow "30."
—"I think you're right, and we should both keep this a secret, because the fewer people who know about your system, the safer you are." — She tells me with clear emotion that makes her voice tremble with each word.
Suddenly, Mom walks over to the cupboard and pulls out a bottle of whiskey. —"I need a drink."— With that, she takes a glass, and she immediately downs it before pouring the next one.
By the time I finish washing the dishes, glasses, and spoons in the sink, she's already taken three gulps.
—"It's done."— I tell my mother, as I point to the sink.
The number in her head [30] becomes [35]
—"Thank you."— she replies.
When I see the dirty table, I say. —"I clear the table."—
Without waiting for a response from my mother. I immediately go over and start cleaning.
My mother simply smiles and, out of courtesy, adds. —"Don't bother." — But she doesn't stop me from doing so.
When I finish cleaning the table, the number above her head remains [35] with no change. This confuses me, and I check the screen, but there's nothing.
Until my mother interrupts my thoughts. —"Since you're at it, you can take out the trash."— Before I can answer, a new alert pops up on the screen.
[ Take out the trash: +5 ]
Just as I'm about to take a step forward, my father's voice is heard behind us. —"Wow, you're awake! It's been a while, why are there so many shouts today?"— With that, Dad enters the kitchen dressed in a blue suit, carrying his brown leather briefcase in his right hand.
Both my mother and I greeted Dad. —"Good morning,"— my mother commented. As I headed toward the trash can, my mother kissed my father on the cheek and asked. —"Are you having breakfast?"—
My father immediately shook his head and added. —"I'm running late. We'll have a meeting in 30 minutes."— My mother nods and straightens his suit lapel. When she's finished, she pats Dad on the chest a couple of times.
That was a kind of signal, because Dad, for no reason at all, asks me. —"How does it feel to be an adult?"— At the end of his words, Dad tries to smile a little, so I just shrug and point to the trash can: —"I feel like my obligations are increasing day by day."— Then I take the bag out of the house.
After putting the bag in the trash can, I look up and notice those dots above the women's heads again.
They are my neighbors, just like my mother. There are dots on Mrs. Palmer, Teresa, the store owner, and even her daughter, Fátima, but those dots don't appear on Dad's head or on men in general.
Looking down and checking the system screen again, I notice that in the upper right corner there are <"10 System Coins."> Clicking on the number displays a deposit history.
5 coins for washing dishes.
5 coins for taking out the trash.
Within the system costs, these 10 coins can buy you a hamburger, fries, and a soda at a fast food restaurant. If I want to eat something more elaborate, these coins definitely aren't enough.
The interesting thing is that I can earn some extra coins by doing housework. This gave me an idea, so I immediately go back inside.
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✨To be continue...remember, if you like this story, consider adding it to your library, that helps me to know that you are liking and I will give it more priority. ¥ $ ₤ ₯ € ₨ ₩..✨