Chapter 3: 4. After Work

I collapsed on the couch with a grunt.

"No teleporting in the house!" Mom yelled.

"Yes, Mom." I answered her nagging, then snuggled my soft and fluffy clouds of cotton. If only I had a tub of chocolate ice cream, I would feel better. I closed my eyes, willing it to happen. It only took a second. Strings of mana wove themselves together according to my command. I tapped the air. A medium sized tub of mint chocolate ice cream popped into my hands. I summoned a wooden spoon from my void and promptly dug in.

"Soriel! Did you have a good day at work?"

And here comes the reminder. I sighed. "Not really, Mom," I answered. I slumped on the sofa, tasting another spoonful of ice cream. Mmmm. As expected. It tasted good.

Mom must have understood I didn't want to talk about it. She didn't press any further. I aggressively stuffed my face into a pillow, trying to wipe my mind clean. The tub of ice cream, free from my grip, floated in the air.

What a horrible first day. I sat up. The spoon automatically sent me another bite of ice cream. I leafed through the basic instruction manual given to me by my boss.

"For the story to progress, it is best for the System to be systematic." A pun. Funny. I kept reading, "First, issue tasks within a time limit." I colored the world 'time limit' with a yellow highlighter.

"Second, follow the MC's progress and the progress of said task. It is important that the MC not stray from the task to randomly do whatever he wants. The task should also all focus towards a singular goal." There were a couple of examples next to the guideline, but I didn't bother to read those.

"Third, according to the progress of the task, give out rewards or penalties. Recommended rewards: Items, blessings, or status changes. Recommended penalties: Electric shocks, pain, paralysis, curses, bad luck for set periods, or losing control of their bodies. The System may also use points in order to efficiently manage their host."

"In the case of points, there should be a penalty when points drop to a specific number. The MC may also use points to purchase items. These points may be seperate points, or may not be seperate. See System Store."

I highlighted the various recommended rewards and penalties, and also the word 'System Store'. The System Store was a great idea, but it would take too much time and effort to design. And I had to get this mess ready before Chang Ye woke up next morning.

I aimed a kick to my right, only for it to fall short and hit air. I huffed and adjusted my posture. And almost fell off the couch trying to avoid the kick that was returned back to me. I looked around, looking for my tub of ice cream and the spoon that wasn't feeding me any longer, to notice it wasn't there.

"Hey! That's mine!" I said crankily.

Jonathan took another bite out of my ice cream. "You took my spot at the sofa. It's fair." He retorted.

"What do you mean, your spot? This sofa isn't yours! Wait, ew!" I wrinkled my forehead, utterly disguested. Jonathan didn't seem to care. He took another bite.

"Stop that! That's my spoon. It has my spit on it!" I shooed him away, but it didn't work. He stuck out his tongue. On cue, golden sparkles appeared in the air, and a soft light shimmered on the tub of ice cream. It glowed for a quarter second, before returning to normal. Jonathan shoved me aside and sat next to me on the sofa. I crossed my arms.

"Even if you purify it, it's still gross." I complained. "Make your own ice cream."

"Can't. Low on energy." Jonathan answered.

"Ask Dad to make some for you."

"He's at work."

"Buy some."

"Too expensive."

I yawned and kicked Jonathan again. This time my hit landed full on, however, the dude didn't budge. It was like a bug had landed on him. He just kept eating ice cream. How infuritating. Warriors. They couldn't do anything on their own. I gave up and stuffed my head into the pillow again. Another fresh tub of ice cream popped out of the air, this time vanilla. There wasn't enough space, so I put my legs on Jonathan's lap. He didn't complain, probably since he also knew he deserved it.

"I wish you were my host," I said, "Then I can give you a penalty. Electric shocks should work. No, wait, since you warrior types are all bloodthirsty masochists, I'll just curse you to have a crippling fear of blood."

"That's super racist, sis." Jonathan said without batting an eye.

Curse Jonathan. "Hey," I said after a while, "What kind of reward do you think will be best for a beginner task?" I said it in a calmer and smaller voice than before. Jonathan hesitated, as if musing over the question. My mint ice cream tub sat in his lap, along with the spoon. I peeked at it. It was completely empty. Jonathan had the mouth of a hippo.

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"Don't they usually give beginner packages and stuff like that?" Jonathan remarked, not sounding very interested, "Or points and EXP. They always give those."

"Of course I'm sending him a beginner package," I said with a hint of exasperation, "I'm asking you what I should put in it. Obviously."

"Why are you asking me?" Jonathan grumbled. "Ask your boss."

I opened my mouth to retort- then realized he was right.

"No teleporting in the house!" Mom called. There was a stiffled grunt.

I looked up to see a black haired, black eyed man staring down at the both of us. He was wearing an all black suit- he really should stop it with the all black, what was he, emo? He had on a nochalant expression, as if he wasn't yelled at by Mom just seconds ago.

"A HIM? Did I hear that right, Princess?" Father asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be too hard on her. It's her first day at work." Mom said, walking into the living room. She was carrying cups of blue liquid. We all each took some. Mom turned to look at me as I drained my cup, and I tensed, winding up tighter than a ball of string.

"But you do have to be careful with male characters, Soriel," Mom added, "Especially male main characters. They have the most peculiar things going on inside their heads, I've heard. They are bundles of desire."

"I know, Mom."

"If they know you are alive, with your own consciousness, they'll pester you on and on. Did you fashion a seperate voice and avatar for yourself or did you use your real voice?"

"I know, Mom."

"It's dangerous to use your natural voice. They might try to pull you into the story, you understand? They might flirt with you, manipulate you in order to gain benefits or satisfy their lust. They might-"

"I know, Mom." I said in monotone.

Father laughed, ignoring Mom's glare, "It looks like you're the one being hard on Princess," he pointed out. "So, any worries?" He was grinning. A pointy tooth stuck out from his top lip, which also happened to be pierced. I looked into my hands, wanting to find more comfort in my vanilla ice cream, to find it gone. The tub was in Jonathan's lap, and it was completely empty. I figured as much.

"I was wondering what kind of reward to give to the main character." I answered. "Just not points or EXP. I've searched every website ever, and they all say points and EXP."

"Dad, I'm hungry." Jonathan grumbled.

Father produced a bowl of cheese pasta and a fork. Jonathan snatched it out of the air and wolfed it down. He always ate so much, I thought disdainfully. He didn't eat like a beast, always keeping manners to the barest extent, only taking one bite after another. But at the same time, he took his bites so quickly that the resulting wind rushed around his body.

Father answered my question in no time at all, "Ask your seniors at work." he said

"But I've already messed up," I said, "And..." I swallowed. "If I disturb them, won't I be a bother? I want to get it all right by myself."

"Soriel, if you're having problems with your work, it's best to ask your seniors. I'm sure they'll prefer that to you trying to get it right on your own and messing up even further." Mom said gently. I nodded, wilting a bit. Father turned on the TV, now that the conversation was over.

Jonathan kept slurping his pasta. I froze it with magic. Jonathan's lips subsequently froze together for a moment before he used brute force to break the ice. His face wasn't even a bit blue, I thought, disappointed, but not that disappointed. Jonathan swallowed down the rest of his pasta, not minding that it was cold.

Urgh.

"No teleporting!" I vaguely heard as I transported myself into my room. My family was right. I brought out a book from my personal void and conjured up some hot cocoa. I should send a message to my boss. Messages flew quickly in the Otherworld. I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers.

Here's to hoping I'm not fired.

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