Free Web NovelChapter 17: It’s The Hautest!!!
Currently seated on the couch after hours upon hours of trial and error, Aiden and his Pops had finally gotten a sweet spot for the homemade, non-alcoholic brandy.
Though it shared a general flavor to the brand Richard usually consumed, there was a particular bite and a zing to it that made it just a bit more suited to the man’s tastes.
"I could get used to this..." Richard remarked, savoring the taste of the drink with a satisfied smile.
Though it was clearly non-alcoholic, just the fact that his son had put in so much effort to make it made the drink taste far better than he believed it to be.
And that was really saying something, as the concoction itself was quite immaculate and rich.
Turning over to his son whom was also taking a sip out of his, Richard spoke, a proud smile on his features;
"Thank you, champ. For being a great son."
"Thank you, for also being a great father." Aiden reciprocated with an equally proud smile of his own.
To that effect, father and son simply sat in shared warmth as they enjoyed their quiet company.
Soon enough, night came and both proceeded to hit the sack.
The very next morning though, Aiden awoke to the sound of his alarm and multiple notifications ringing in head.
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[Quest completed!]
[Quest Updated!]
[Stats updated!]
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Aiden stretched, a woozy expression on his features.
Then, blinking his bleary eyes a few times, he stared at the notifications in his field of vision.
Letting out a yawn, he casually summoned the system’s interface, a mild curiosity on his features.
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[Aiden North] – Life Points – [1.09]
⸢Stats
› Mind — D+
› Strength — E-
› Stamina — D
› Agility — F
› Charm — C » C+
⸢Skills
› {Type Designing - A}, {Digital Illustration - I}, {Drawing - I}, {Cooking - I}, {Brewing - I}.
⸢Shop
› Browse Catalogue.
⸢Daily Quests
› Road to College.
└ Read and assimilate a page from next year’s curriculum – [0.01 LP].
› Eat Your Broccolis, Champ.
└ Eat a healthy meal within the first half of the day – [0.01 LP].
› Wakey wakey!
└ Log 7 to 8 hours of sleep from dusk till dawn – [0.01 LP Awarded!].
› How To Be Stronger!
└ 20 push-ups! 20 pull-ups! 20 sit-ups! 20 squats! 10km run! – [0.02 LP].
⸢Exclusive Quests
› Pending Update.
⸢Time-limited Quests
› {Expand}
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⸢FAQ⸥
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It was one thing to have seen his Charm attribute tick up a bit. It was another to witness the evolution of his workout routine.
Still, it didn’t come without reason.
’Hmmm... I guess it makes sense,’ Aiden mused to himself, his bleary eyes still blinking but his mind fresh.
’Wouldn’t wanna hit a plateau after all.’ he inwardly remarked as he let out yet another yawn.
Considering his stats had improved, it was only natural the system was trying to keep up with him.
As for the bump to his charm stat though, Aiden curiously tugged on his ⸢FAQ⸥ function. Though he had a hunch as to why, he still wanted to clarify nonetheless.
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Can attributes be temporarily buffed or debuffed?
└ Yes. Certain actions, or the lack thereof, can temporarily impact certain attributes.
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’That solves it then.’ Aiden dismissed the panel as he got off the bed.
Given how he’d maintained a good sleep schedule, while equally also eating healthy for the most part, it made a lot of sense to him that his Charm stat had benefited quite a lot from it.
And though Aiden wasn’t exactly certain, he believed his daily regimen of exercises might’ve also had a hand in it, though one could argue its effect was quite minimal in comparison to the formers.
Staring at himself in the mirror though, his expression markedly curious, Aiden really couldn’t tell a difference between how he looked previously and how he looked now.
He did have to say though, that there was an overall clearness to his skin. There was also the fact that his acnes, had significantly reduced... or maybe he was just overanalyzing.
’Oh well,’ he simply shrugged it off, and proceeded to get into his new regimen.
Surprisingly, by the time he was done with the calisthenics a few minutes later, and then his cardio forty minutes later, he wasn’t as tired as he’d expected to be.
In fact, no sooner was he done freshening up, he promptly got into the kitchen with energy to spare and prepared breakfast.
As he was doing that, his Pops shuffled in, both sharing a warm greeting as the man retrieved a jar of coffee from the kitchen cabinet and switched on the electric kettle.
Thirty minutes later, both were done eating and Aiden returned to his room, picked up his book and knocked off his last daily quest for the day.
Seamlessly transitioning into his side hustle, Aiden couldn’t help but be perplexed when he opened up his TweetTalk account and it was blowing up yet again.
With a resigned sigh, especially since he was more than aware of what the ’cause might’ve been, he casually navigated over to the source of it all.
It was yet again another one of his old posts that got retweeted by the popular NSFW artist Dommy_Mommy with the caption;
I’m still watching you, young padawan...
Again, Aiden sighed, his head shaking in slight amusement as he replied;
Sucks to be you. You’re gonna be watching for a mighty long time.
Having sent that message, he then opened the comment section, already expecting the usual string of not-so-subtle, suggestive requests.
However, he was rather amused to see varying reactions this time.
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Uncle Ben: With great power, comes great responsibility. Remember that, kid. Remember that.
Harvey Dentist: You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Two Face Coin: BE. THE. VILLAIN!!! Draw it! BE, THE, HERO!!! SFW art for the win!
Uncle Iroh: All road leads to Ba Sing Se.
Sifu Hotman: I’m tracking your ass for misusing that @Uncle Iroh.
Master Oogway: One often finds their destiny on the path they take to avoid it.
Master Shifu: Hey yo, what the fuck! Quit using my masters name for your agenda!
DatOneAnimator: Haha! I can’t with this comment section.
Gooner4Life: Strong enough to have it all, but TOO WEAK TO DRAW IT!!
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No sooner had Aiden seen that last comment, his lips twitched. Then he replied, just for shits and giggles.
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AidenDraws: It’s on sight with you from now on @Gooner4Life. I’m blacklisting your sorry ass.
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Aiden hadn’t even left the comment section when a response came back.
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Gooner4Life: Hey, hey! It was just a joke! Don’t blacklist me! I actually really love your work! Just draw me a busty ass elf and my life is yours!
Carl Johnson: Cuh. I’m so disappointed in you.
Brodddyyy: So much aura lost @Gooner4Life.
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Chuckling to himself, Aiden left the post and then proceeded to check his DMs.
Unluckily for him, there wasn’t any ’reasonable’ commissions to accept this time so he simply moved over to the Webnovel site.
Yet again, there was no dice. To that effect, he promptly checked his gig account.
This time, he was met with good news.
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Zolthrak: Hello. I’ve seen your work and I really like it. I’d like to commission a cover art for my novel.
Cindy Moon: Hi! Cindy here! A friend of mine recommended you. I need a couple character arts for my books.
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Adjusting in his seat and pulling it forward, Aiden assumed his professionalism and got down to business.
*
(The next day...)
As Aiden rushed down the stairs, he spotted his Pops in the kitchen, retrieving the chilled homemade brew from the freezer and pouring it into a flask.
Shaking his head in amusement, he simply greeted the man and soon, both were out of the house and on their way to their places of work.
On the drive over, Aiden got a credit alert.
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[Wallet Notification]
You’ve received $178.00 USD from XXXX.
Previous Balance: $462.00 USD
Current Balance: $640.00 USD
Thank you for using SwiftPay.
-
Smiling at the fruits of yesterday’s labor, Aiden tucked the phone into his pocket, his arm leaning on the door frame as the morning breeze tousled his long, coal-black hair.
Soon enough, he’d arrived at his place of work, his father bidding him farewell as he drove up the street.
Walking into Haute Cuisine’s main dining area ten minutes later, his energy high and his bank account fuller, Aiden watched as Cody danced into the area whilst exclaiming;
"Third time’s the charm, baby!!!"
To that, Mrs. Bao and Jermaine laughed, as did Aiden himself. Clearly, he didn’t need to ask why the young man was extra peppy this morning.
Exchanging pleasantries and engaging in mundane discussions, they all soon had to disperse to their spots the moment the restaurant was open for business.
And no sooner had Aiden’s first customer taken his seat;
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[Ding!] ƒгeewёbnovel.com
[Exclusive quests updated!]
⸢Exclusive Quests
› It’s The Hautest!!!
└ Serve a total of 1250 customers before the end of the month – [2 LP]
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Aiden’s eyes twitched upon seeing that.
Yet again, he couldn’t help but think to himself;
’This darn system’s definitely sentient!’
