On the way home in the car, Sevs had a little time to reflect. He remembered that little notification that had drifted past his vision earlier that morning. It had been a busy day, and he really hadn’t had a chance to reflect on the significance.

Sevs could feel the access to his menu that was now available, so he was sure that it wasn’t a hallucination. He was waiting to look at his status until he was alone and had time to dig into it and the log. It probably wouldn’t take very long, but still, he wanted to give his full attention to it.

So what did getting experience years before he was supposed to mean? As far as he could see, there were only a few options. Either the System was taking pity on him and giving him a boost to help him along. That seemed unlikely as the System was already doing everything it could to help people ascend, as that was its goal in the first place.

If it wasn’t that, then what? Maybe a charisma-based class levels differently? Sevs thought that this was more likely. While he had never heard of it before or read of it in any form of a guide. It wasn’t like he had ever really deep-dived into that playstyle before. Still, something like this should have been common knowledge. Especially if it was for only one sort of playstyle.

That left only two other options that were apparent to Sevs. Either there was a change in the game, which was not impossible, but the updates had dwindled a very very long time ago. Or Sevs had been playing the game wrong the whole time.

That last one stung a bit. It seemed that it was the most likely, and that meant that Sevs had wasted countless years.

There was still the question of how this was not common knowledge. It might have been suppressed on the forums, though he was not sure why. Or maybe because guides and forums were updated at the end of a playthrough. Sevs heart rate quickened.

For the first time, Sevs could remember, he felt some lightness float up in his chest. Was this the one? Could he finally join his peers?

Sevs only indulged for a brief second before he quickly squashed that feeling. Tamping it down deep. He needed to be focused and couldn’t get lost in dreams.

Before he could think further on the conundrum Sevs was jolted out of his mental wanderings. Father had just pulled into a parking space at one of their favorite restaurants for dinner. He looked back over his shoulders at Sevs and smiled slightly. “Ready to eat?”

Sevs returned the look and nodded as he started to work on the buckles of his car seat.

“You know I question the usefulness of the seat if you can get out of it so easily,” Father commented.

Sevs chuckled. “I think anyone who can get out of this straight jacket is smart enough to know not to do so when the car is moving.”

As he opened the door and hopped down. “And besides, it's not like a normal seat belt would help me much. I am much too small.”

***

Dinner passed without too much fuss. Father had a steak, and Sevs had chicken nuggets and fries. They started just chatting about work. Sevs kept asking questions to get more background knowledge. Father fell into answering these questions openly and honestly. Over the past few days, he had quickly gotten past the oddity of talking to a young child as if he was an adult.

Long after they had finished the dinner, they kept talking over the check. Father had started telling stories. Of work and friends. He had started telling Sevs of a problem and asking for a solution.

Sevs would answer thoughtfully for the most part. He was not good with people, understanding them was always a chore. To his mind, this made them unpredictable and confusing. Afterwards, he gave his guess on what would happen and how he would have solved the issue. Father would nod or give some other nonverbal confirmation. Sometimes he would pause for a second before filling Sevs in on what had concluded and maybe what he would have done differently.

It didn’t feel like an interrogation to Sevs, but there was a sense of keeping score. Like Father was testing him. Honestly, he didn’t know how he was doing. Sevs was wrong about the outcome of whatever situation Father put before slightly more often than he was right. He felt his actions would have been alright for the most part. Father didn’t give away his impression of Sevs's performance either way.

Still, he didn’t let up. As they stood and walked over to the car, the conversation continued. Night had fallen over an hour ago as they drove the short way home through the dark. Father unlocked the door to their empty house; they never stopped talking. They made their way through the kitchen to the parlor room with a few armchairs and a small table between them.

The room was just a little before the bedrooms, but neither of them went to go down the hallway. As Sevs took a seat, hopping up to let his feet dangle from the slightly over-stuffed chair, Father went to the drinks bar in the corner. He pulled out a couple of whisky glasses and poured a couple of fingers a fine double oak whiskey in one. Father then reached into the mixer fridge and filled the other with the same amount of apple juice.

The conversation shifted as it continued later into the night. They soon had left work behind. After a bit, when Father had finished a glass, he poured himself another and began telling the story of how he had met Sevs’ Mother. These stories continued for several hours until Sevs little eyelids couldn’t take it much more.

Father realized his son was drifting off and paused. “It’s time to head off to bed, little man.”

“Tomorrow, I will come with you again, right?” Sevs asked sleepily.

“Of course, you have a friend waiting for you. Remember?” Father stood up and pulled Sevs to his feet by his hand, steading his sleepy child by resting a strong hand on his shoulder. After a quick hug, Sevs went to his room and got ready for bed.

Looking at his face in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, Sevs could feel a routine form. He smiled at his reflection and went to lie down. It was a bit of a struggle not to fall asleep right as his head hit the pillow, but he had gains to look at. With a mental command, he pulled up his status and read through the familiar text.