Chapter 18

Tomorrow will be better. Syn’s voice was in his head again.

“Not now.” Dan muttered aloud. He was laying in his bedroom, lights off, with a pillow over his face. His conversation with his father had gone about exactly as he expected…ending with him saying things he shouldn’t have to his dad, and his dad just sitting there in stunned, hurt silence. Honestly…it would have been better if his father had reacted in an aggressive way. That way, Dan wouldn’t feel like such a piece of shit after these fights. Every time…every single time…why did he always have to bring his mom up in these fights?

I’m telling you. Close your eyes, get a nice sleep, and just wait to see what tomorrow brings. Syn was winning the award for being a completely tone deaf individual. You’re going to love the upgrade to your powers.

“Please,” Dan let out a muffled sigh into his pillow. His eyes were sore from the tears he’d been shedding. Normally he’d stay up for a couple more hours, but he was just done. He just wanted the day to end. Everything stopped hurting when he slept. And hell, these new powers even kept him from feeling the soreness of his physical exercise. If only that were true for emotional pain. Sadly, he doubted these powers could wash that away so easily.

Look at it this way buddy.

“I’m not your-”

You’re not even supposed to be alive in this world anymore. Which means this fight, all of this you are feeling right now, normally wouldn’t be happening. What would you prefer? A fight like this, or that your father has to live without you forever? And if you’d died in that accident, just think, you’d never see your father again either. So one month, seriously, get over yourself.

Syn’s words stung. Not only that…they actually startled Dan. He hadn’t heard the being take on such a tone before. It was far from his normal, sarcastic, condescending tone. This time it was low, cold, and hard. The voice of someone who didn’t care about anything in the world.

Be thankful for what you’ve got. Syn clicked his tongue, and then his tone changed once again, and hurry up and go to sleep, so your damned powers can upgrade man. I’m getting bored. I ordered a freaking awesome shenanigans filled adventure…not a drama.

“I hate you.” Dan replied. In that moment…he really wasn’t sure of which part of Syn he hated. Sure, there was the fact Syn was the reason for all of this…but he had to admit…these powers were awesome. Especially if he ignored the fact Syn had been behind trying to kill Dan. Luckily that failed, and now Dan not only was still alive, like Syn pointed out, and with his father, but he had magical powers no one else did. He was living a dream that surely many people would willingly die for…no pun intended. And yet, how was he handling it? Less than a week in and he was wallowing over the fact his dad had to leave for a month…

Dan felt pathetic.

-1 Self Esteem (49)

Self Esteem Tier Bonus lost

-1 Charisma (47) -3 Happiness (55) -1 Ambition (58) -5 Mental Fortitude (0/100) -5 Aptitude (1/100)

Dan glared at the prompt before his eyes. Even in the dark room, the prompt still came across, loud and clear.

You know…if you’d fallen asleep when I told you to, you wouldn’t have lost that bonus either. Just saying.

Dan really didn’t need that from Syn. It was just adding injury to insult. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a dick?” He questioned.

All the time. I’ve started placing bets on how quickly before they do. Seriously, people need to get more imaginative.

Syn had an answer for everything. “Fine. I’m going to sleep. Leave me alone.” He close his eyes tight, trying to force his mind to quiet down enough for him to fall asleep.

About time. Sheesh. See you when you wake up buddy. Sweet dreams. And like that, the voice in his head was gone, leaving him just with his thoughts, and the quiet room. Dan slowed his breathing, and begged for sleep to come. Thankfully, blissfully, it came to him rather quickly, and before long, his mind went-

Pain flared through him, causing his eyes to shoot open. Dan audibly gasped from the feeling, like a thousand needles poking across his flesh, while ice picks were driven into his mind. His back arched violently, and the sheets of his bed were flung about. Dan’s mind was overwhelmed, and he couldn’t even process what was going on, nor even remember who he was or what was going on.

Thankfully, after who knew how long, the pain subsided, and he collapsed into the bed, soaked from sweat. As his breathing calmed, and his mind returned to him, a message appeared before his eyes.

Ascension to Tier 2 Complete, +1 to all stats. Unlocked: Minor Skill Assist. Improved: Relation Monitor

That message, was followed promptly by another:

Self Esteem Tier Bonus gained

+1 Charisma (49) +3 Happiness (59) +1 Ambition (60) +5 Mental Fortitude (6/100) 5 Aptitude (7/100)

A second later, that message faded away, and another rolled across. The gains from his training the day before.

+1 Strength (3), +1 Dexterity (3), +1 Constitution (3), +1 Intelligence (3), +1 Wisdom (3), +1 Aptitude (8)

He blinked again, taking everything in. That…had been a lot. Had the influx of everything caused the pain he felt? Or had that been a part of the ascension? Additionally, what exactly did it mean the he’d unlocked Minor Skill Assist? Furthermore, what type of improvements had been made to his Relation Monitor? He had so many questions.

And I’ve got answers good sir. There was Syn. The way he popped up really made Dan question if the voice was actually just a part of his mind. How else would he know when to respond in some of these situations?

Don’t question my timing. Syn responded. I’ve been doing this a long-time buddy. Just know I’m damned good at what I do. But that’s neither here nor there. What’s important, is you just reached Tier 2, huzzah. Dan heard literally horns, bells, and whistles in his mind. He was also pretty sure he heard what sounded like a confetti canon. Tier 2 is the first step towards truly mastering your awesome, amazing, super cool powers.

“How many-“

There are a total of five tiers. Syn cut him off. Getting to tier 2 takes about a week, tier 3 usually averages a month after that, tier 4, six months, and tier 5…well that depends on the person. But that’s all at a later date. Syn chuckled. Right now, you just gotta know what spiffiness you just gained.

More celebratory sounds, along with other voices cheering. Were they having a party? For him? Who were these people, and what exactly did they do?

“I’m listening.” Dan responded. He glanced around the room as he spoke, noticing the sun was streaming into his room from one of his windows. That was strange. Normally he was up before sunrise. Apparently, he’d slept in. Even weirder though, his dad hadn’t woken him up. Usually after a fight his dad would surprise him with homemade pancakes the next morning. Of course…that would just make Dan feel like an even bigger piece of shit. Since he was the one who should be apologizing, not his dad. Thinking about how much his dad loved him, made his heart hurt.

I’mma just ignore your sudden shift towards your emo nature, and continue buddy. Try and pay attention yeah? This is a party. We didn’t order a party pooper. Come on, get with the room. Laughter, cheering, and was that the sound of champagne being opened?

Now I’m sure you want to ask ‘oh great Syn, what are these new upgrades?’ And well, lucky for you, I’m going to tell you. Because I’m so benevolent and all that. First off, the less interesting one. Your Relation Monitor has been upgraded to give a better gauge of someone’s relationship with you. Not only that, it improves what you know about them. Instead of only being able to judge everything as Low, Medium, and High, you now get to see it as Very Poor, Poor, Average, Good, and Excellent.

For some reason, all Dan could envision as Syn mentioned this, was one of those customer satisfaction scales he’d seen occasional. Or the charts in the doctor’s office. For how crazy and magical all of this was…this scale seemed rather…underwhelming. “That seems…pretty basic.”

It’s simple, just like you buddy. Don’t knock the system till you try it out, sheesh. The voice clicked its tongue, and continued. What you’re really going to want to test out, like today, is the Minor Skill Assist. That bad boy will give you a slight bit of…magical aid, when utilizing skills associated to your special traits. Meaning, starting today, you’re going to get some actual training wheels for your tennis practice. Lucky you.

Dan thought to inquire more, but just before he could, he heard a knock at his door. A moment later, his fathers voice, “Dan.” It was gentle and full of love.

“Yeah dad?” He replied. Glancing at his clock, he saw it was just about 8am. So, he hadn’t slept in too late.

“It’s about time for you to get up. You’ve got a friend from school waiting downstairs, and I’ve started breakfast. It’s your favorite, pancakes.”

Dan half hopped, half fell on his way out of bed. Who would be at his house at 8 in the morning? He figured checking out the rest of his stats would have to wait, as he moved to get dressed quickly. After all, his magical powers weren’t going anywhere, and his curiosity about who had come over, coupled with his stomach hungering for some fresh pancakes, demanded satisfaction.

“Be there in a minute.” He heard footsteps, signaling his dad was starting to walk away. “And dad,” the footsteps stopped.

Don't you do it. Syn's voice came immediately.

“Yes Dan?”

“I love you.”

+1 Compassion (59)

Fake gagging noises flooded his mind, followed by. Ugh, it's a freaking soap opera.

Dan didn’t even offer Syn a response, and simple smiled to himself as he continued getting ready. He’d heard his dad’s response, even over Syn’s commentary, and he couldn’t help but feel everything was going to be alright. Besides, he resolved himself, here and now, to ensure he took full advantage of the fact he was still alive, and had these powers. Because as Syn had so ineloquently put it the night before…if everything had gone as planned…none of this would have been happening. Meaning, he wasn’t going to waste this new chance at life.

+1 Ambition (61)