I was still not fluent with the language because apparently, language talking fluency was a skill I had to level up. So I could not become a polyglot overnight but I will be able to master a lot of languages before this school year ends and it will definitely look good on my application.
Suddenly I remembered and called Leonard, and he picked up on the second ring, already knowing why I called. He asked in anticipation, "So how much did we earn?"
I replied, excited to hear his reaction, "Fucking Twenty-four grand."
Leonard was thrilled. I could imagine his eyes going wide through the phone. "Really!! That...that's a lot"
I continued, "I'll send you your $2,427, CEO."
Leonard hesitated, feeling wrong to accept it, but I'd already decided he would be the CEO for my game company. "Really, you're giving me that much?" he asked.
"Yup, and don't worry, I'll make you work for your share," I said, grinning.
"Alright, thank you, man, for including me that time." Leonard's voice was genuinely grateful. He was grateful because I called him during the making of the game because he knew I could have done it alone but still included him.
"Don't sweat it. Start searching about how to set up a company," I said, delegating the boring part to Leonard, who was actually happy to do it. I also decided to give Leonard 10% share in the company.
We talked for an hour, deciding things like the name of the company, legalities, finance-related things, and eventually concluded that we'd need a lawyer to handle the details. I told Leonard to research while I'd do my part.
I remembered that Alex's uncle, Mitchell Pritchett from the show was a lawyer—environmental law, I know but maybe he can point us in the right direction if he couldn't do it himself. I will have to discuss this with Alex and naturally bring up her uncle and ask her about it because she doesn't know that I know about all her family.
I glanced at the clock—still a couple of hours before I was meeting Alex at the mall. I was actually looking forward to it, not just for the instrument shopping, but for the chance to see her reaction when I dropped a little Spanish into the conversation. Maybe I'd serenade her with a song in another language someday. That would definitely level up my boyfriend game.
With nothing else to do, I started humming again—couldn't waste a chance to grind that singing skill, after all. I ran through scales, tried a few pop hooks from my old world, and even attempted a falsetto. It wasn't perfect yet, but I could feel the improvement. Every note came a little easier, a little smoother. It was weird, knowing that with enough patience and a few more days of humming, I could probably out-sing people who'd practiced for years.
Like this, a couple of hours passed. I stopped singing and stared at the app, watching the download numbers for Flappy Bird go up. It was so close to a million downloads, and eventually, after a few minutes, I got the notification for completing the quest. I collected the XP reward, and my XP bar crossed the threshold—I leveled up after just a month since my previous level up.
I immediately opened my status and it looked like this:
[Lucas Reed]
LVL: 21
HP: 75
MP: 68
STR: 5
AGI: 5
END: 5
INT: 10
WIS: 4
LUK: 5
SP: 3
My physical stats were serving me well where they were and were also the easiest to level up naturally, so I wouldn't add any to them now. I also didn't want to spark any rumors of enhancement drugs, so yeah, I'd let them progress on their own and also I don't want to waste all my hard work of last month by instantly increasing them.
One more reason is that I could calculate that the physical stats' will be capped way before my mind stats. I would prefer to break those limits with my stats if I could not train them after a certain point.
I'd been thinking about this—humans aren't built to be physically powerful but are more intelligent than other species so their mind stats cap at much higher level. Take a bear, for example: its physical strength cap is much higher than a human's, but it has low potential to develop its mind stats.
That being said, Even if I were to allocate some points to physical stats, my focus would likely be END. It's much easier to conceal and harder to train than STR or AGI.
With three stats remaining and three SP to distribute, I figured one to each should work. One can never have too much WIS, and while I might not need more INT at the moment, more can't hurt, can it? As for LUK, I hadn't found any way to increase it naturally, and it was the only stat that seemed to affect reality more than my own body, so I decided to give it a point every other level.
I wanted to be luckier, even if I didn't know exactly how that was calculated. Having a higher stat would undoubtedly help.
One thing I also wanted to test but couldn't yet was whether I'd get a new perk at 10 in other stats, like I got eidetic memory from 10 INT. Maybe it would be the same for the others and I would get some new ability with 10 WIS.
So after some thought, I gave one point each to LUK, WIS, and INT.
I increased WIS because I wanted to make better decisions for myself in the future, but I didn't feel much wiser after increasing it. I just felt my mind got refreshed, like it finally got to drink water after a marathon. That was the kind of feeling I got after increasing the stats. I opened my status and looked at it.
[Lucas Reed]
LVL: 21
HP: 75
MP: 74
STR: 5
AGI: 5
END: 5
INT: 11
WIS: 5
LUK: 6
SP: 0
Eventually, it was time to get ready to meet Alex, so I had a quick shower, put on my good clothes, and looked at myself in the mirror. I was looking sharp and grabbed my wallet, which felt heavier than before (not really, just a figure of speech). I messaged Alex, "I am on my way, see you there," to which she quickly replied, "ok, see you there."
I called an Uber to go to the mall because I could afford it now and thought to myself that I really needed a car. After reaching the mall, I waited outside for Alex and called her. There she was, waving at me, smiling from afar. She was walking towards me, wearing a red top with jeans and looking effortlessly beautiful. I kept looking at her as she came near, and I offered my hand and said humorously, "I am honoured to be in your esteemed presence, my lady"
She laughed at my bad attempt to humour her. I hoped she was laughing with me and not at me. We started walking like a couple, her hand around my arm, as we went to look for the music shop.
The mall was buzzing with weekend energy—families with strollers, couples holding hands, groups of teenagers laughing too loudly. Alex and I fit right in, but I felt like the luckiest guy there. We strolled past the food court, the smell of cinnamon rolls and popcorn wafting through the air. Alex's hand looped around my arm, her thumb tracing lazy circles on my sleeve. I could feel the warmth of her skin even through the fabric.
"So, what kind of instrument are you thinking?" she asked, glancing up at me with that curious glint in her eyes.
"I'm not sure yet," I admitted, grinning. "I was thinking maybe guitar or keyboard. Something I can sing with, you know?"
"Classic," she said, approvingly. "Guitar is always cool. But I always thought a guy with a bagpipe is the hottest " She was joking because who even likes bagpipe
I laughed. "If I start to perform with a bagpipe serenading, will you promise not to run away?"
She laughed and blushed a little and said "No promises."
We found the music store named "DANNY'S MUSIC SHOP" tucked between a bookstore and a trendy clothing shop. The moment we stepped inside, it was like entering a different world—guitars hanging on the walls, keyboards lined up on stands, a drum set in the corner, and the faint sound of someone testing a violin in the back. The vibe of the store was really great. We started looking around and browsing.
I wandered over to the guitars, running my fingers along the neck of a sleek, black acoustic. Then suddenly a voice came from the back of the counter.
"No touching without supervision"
I was surprised to see the guy because he looked a lot like a cartoon character from my previous life's memories. He played guitar in a band called 'Love Händle'.
"Danny at your service" He introduced himself lazily.
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A/N: Do you know where this character is from?
Gimmmee the power stones
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