Chapter 11: Status Check
<<[Mission: Culinary Initiative] completed.
'Cooking' skill =>+0.1,
'Organization' skill => +0.005
Congratulations on a successful meal.>>
It seemed as though the carving was not required to consider the meal completed, for which Michael was grateful.
"What smells so good?" Michael's father said in an overly exaggerated way, a big grin on his face.
"It's dinner, Dad. Sorry it's not pizza," Michael responded, a little nervous.
"Don't be sorry just yet - wait til we taste it first!" his mom said as she walked through the door. His sisters came down from upstairs upon hearing their parents' voices, and went to sit down at the table.
His father quickly carved up the chicken, and set it on the platter Michael had put next to the rack. Michael watched his father intently during the process, so he would feel more confident the next time he needed to do so.
Soon, they were all digging into the fruits of Michael's efforts. "You know, it's not pizza, but this is pretty good!" his sister Lou commented. "It'd be even better if there was gravy, but the chicken's pretty juicy! So are the veggies."
"Of course," Michael groaned and smacked himself in the forehead. "I forgot about the gravy."
"You can use the trimmings from the veggies, along with the giblets and the bones, to make a good gravy - or a stock!" Michael's mother added helpfully. "But overall, an excellent job, especially for your first try doing the whole thing! It'll certainly help with some of the nights where your father and I are stuck late, or have to leave early, to have someone else helping out. Who knows - once they get a bit older, maybe we can get your sisters into the rotation, too!"
"Thanks for nothing, Michael," Anne joked as she went back for more veggies.
As the dinner continued, Michael had the idea to ask his parents if they had any books on world history, or any books on maps. Since the System seemed to be leery about using the WorldNet to perform the searches, and he had a limit on the number of non class-specific books he could take out from the library, he decided to start at home.
"Sure! Can I ask what spurred the sudden interest?" his mother responded. Michael explained about his Latin class and his Computers project, and wanting to respect the concept of not using a computer for it outside of class. He reasoned that getting additional background information that would help direct his research without actually being referenced in the project would probably be okay - all of the actual work would still be done in class, it would just be like he was working on a topic that he was more familiar with, anyway.
"That sounds a bit like splitting hairs, if you ask me," his father interjected, "but I suppose you're following the letter of the requirements, if not the spirit. Which is actually kind of clever. Oh, by the way, I found my old copy of the Fundamentals of Reading after you'd mentioned it - if you want to hold onto it after you have to return the school's copy, you're welcome to." Michael eagerly thanked his dad for the loan, and dinner proceeded happily.
---
Since Michael had made all of dinner tonight, he was excused from the cleaning up. He had planned on taking some of the chicken for lunch tomorrow, but was shocked to discover that there was nothing left! It seemed like his first full meal was quite popular, after all...
Bringing his new pile of books down to the basement, Michael set them all on an empty space on one of his shelves. He didn't want to disturb the orderly space he had created, or the associated bonuses. That done, he decided to quickly pull up what open missions he still had.
<<Existing Missions:
[Mission: Status Check]
[Mission: Road to a Healthy Body (1/7)]
[Mission: Take it for a Spin]
[Mission: Latin Homework]
[Mission: English Homework]
[Mission: Regional Games]
[Extra Credit: History of the World]>>
Looking at the time, Michael had just over two hours before he should get ready for bed. He figured he might as well plow through as much of the Fundamentals as he could in advance of tackling the reading for his Latin and English homework, which he had decided to tackle after he could leverage the improved skills he was building through advancing his understanding of Reading. He sat down at his work desk with the Fundamentals and activated the use of Enhanced Focus he had gained.
---
<<[Mission: Take it for a Spin] complete.
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Intelligence-??? => +0.001
Willpower-??? => +0.001
Willpower-??? => +0.001
'Reading' skill => +1. Reading upgraded to Level 2. Active Ability 'Enhanced Focus: Reading' unlocked.
'Fundamentals of Reading' Complete.
Foundational Reading List (Tier 0) Complete.
Foundational Reading List (Tier 1) Unlocked.
[Mission: English Homework] updated. Please check details for further information.>>
Michael leaned back from his desk, his eyes closed in a contented look, the contents of his reading permeating through his mind and consolidating his new awareness. "This is such a better way to read and study in the future. It really makes sense to be the foundation of the rest of the reading targets. I really want to read more now, but..." Michael's voice trailed off as he looked at the time. 10:15 - about 15 minutes to get washed up and ready for bed if he wanted to get 8 hours of sleep - not the 9 the system had mentioned last night, but he had really wanted to get this mission finished up.
He got up, put the copy of 'Fundamentals' from school back in has bag, and went up to the powder room off the kitchen to brush his teeth. His mom was once again working away at the kitchen table, but he decided not to disturb her as he returned to the basement. Finally he set himself in front of the mirror and told the system to check his Status.
---------------------
Name: Michael Prout
Age: 14
D.O.B: Sextilis 31
Overall Level: 1
Base Statistics:
Physique: 8
Intelligence: 11
Willpower: 8
Presence: 10
Disciplines:
Student - Secondary I
Tinker - Amateur I
Performer - Amateur I
Labourer - Amateur I
Housekeeper - Amateur I
Cook - Amateur I
Unlocked Skills:
Organization - Tier 0
Reading - Tier 2
Algebra - Tier 2
Cooking - Tier 2
Chemistry - Tier 1
Cleaning - Tier 1
Titles:
Dedicated Student (3%)
Limit Pusher (3%)
Opportunist (1%)
Doesn't Have to be Told Twice (2%)
Active Abilities:
"Cooking Assistant" mode:
- Timers
- Steps
- Guide-lines
Enhanced Focus: Reading (Level 1)
---------------------
"Great - a bit of progress. Why doesn't it look like my stats have increased, though? And what's Level 1 mean next to the Enhanced Focus: Reading?"
<<Subject's stats are an average of all underlying factors and skills. The progress Subject has made is not yet sufficient to update those averages. Level 1 Enhanced Focus provides you with 1 hour of enhanced focus time while performing the associated skill, and has a 12 hour cool-down.>>
"So if I time it right, I can use it for 2 hours every 24 hours. Or I can use it for an hour twice. This is handier than the required 2 hour block from the first time. Very cool! Thanks, System."
<<You're welcome. [Mission: Status Check] complete. Subject has been rewarded with Basic Enhancement Package (1/4).>>
With that, Michael turned in for the night and had the System wake him up at 6:30 the following morning. He wouldn't get the full amount of recommended sleep, but he would still do pretty well, and he wouldn't be as rushed in the morning. He could continue to adjust his time as things went on.
---
6:30AM, September 3rd, 2000 CE
<<Subject has awoken. Displaying missed notifications:
Physique-??? => +0.004
Physique-??? => +0.002
Physique-??? => +0.002
Intellect-??? => +0.0005
Intellect-??? => +0.001
Existing Missions:
[Mission: Road to a Healthy Body (1/7)]
[Mission: Latin Homework]
[Mission: English Homework]
[Mission: Regional Games]
[Extra Credit: History of the World]>>
"Great! Even better than yesterday morning. Is that because I exercised more yesterday?"
<<Correct. That, combined with proper nutrition, allowed the Subject's recovery and growth to improve. Further improvements to exercise and nutrition will allow Subject's growth to increase even further.>>
"Great. If I want to do well in the games, I imagine that's going to be a must. Do you have any way to help me with that?"
<<Subject should focus on the current targets first. System will construct a better exercise and nutrition plan as time goes by. A proper survey of available ingredients and resources would assist with this.>>
"Got it. I'll see what I can do about that. First things first, though," Michael concluded as he made his way over to the exercise space.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Asmodiac
Asmodiac This was a hard one to get through! A lot of details and groundwork for making future writing easier. I'll be working hard to get the rate of chapter releases back up - more power stones definitely help with the motivation! Thanks, everyone! You've been great.
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