Mateo was returning home for the first time since the new year festivities ended.
The first 3 months of the year had passed by in a flash and they were now well into the month of April. With the first quarter over, some people had already began to realise that just like the previous ones, this year wasn't their year.
Of course not everyone was like this as some seemed to be blessed with good fortune, a prime example being Mateo.
Mateo hadn't exactly been idle for the past three months, though he hadn't spent his time like how he envisioned he would at the beginning of the year.
For one, he now had a girlfriend. He and Amber had finally made things official and had decided to start dating, spending time together in amusement parks, cafés and in the diner where Amber worked.
Yes, Amber worked, in a nice quick service restaurant known for their chicken.
Mateo had jokingly suggested that she stop working and start living off of him, a suggestion whose true intention was to see Amber's reaction.
He saw it, in the form of a hard glare first, silent treatment next and an eventual talk at last.
Amber refused.
Something she thought would hurt Mateo's pride as a man and would lead to them breaking up.
But how wrong she was, because her answer only made Mateo fall deeper for her, but he hid it well.
After all, which man didn't want a woman of substance who could stand on her feet in times of trouble.
Amber lived in Detroit and went to college nearby, she worked in order to support her education, at least that's what Mateo deduced.
Mateo on the other hand had stopped being punctual, now only going as and when he felt like it, or when there was a test announced.
His original reason for going to school was just to experience a new kind of environment, interact with different people and if absolutely necessary, form connections.
For him, college was not a matter of life and death, unlike some others.
He had already earned his money through a mismatch of working multiple part-time jobs, investing in stocks, winning underground fights, and of course, the occasional gambling.
Though most of his wealth could be said to be as a result of his frugal lifestyle which made him unpopular with many girls.
Using the time meant for school, Mateo underwent training in different forms of martial arts, grasping enough knowledge for practical application but not enough to be called a pro.
In relation to the CODE'SSelf Assessment Page, he had found no way to increase his level or TIER, and no way to change the (?) status of the remaining STATS.
He had tried taking vitamins for VITALITY, wearing glasses and hearing aids fir PERCEPTION, getting a haircut and wearing an expensive fragrance for CHARISMA (Amber complained about all the attention he was getting).
He even went as far as ordering four-leaf clovers online to see if they made him luckier (16 dollars wasted).
Lucky for him, it wasn't all bad.
He found out that physical training can increase his STATS by small amounts, unfortunately, the process wasn't as clean and easy as the CODE'S method, since an increased stat had consequences on the other one.
An example was when he decided to bulk up a bit, lift heavier weights and increase strength.
The increase in strength was accompanied by a reduction in agility and stamina, but a surprising increase in speed.
Race: Human (Earthling variant)
TIER: 1
Level: 2 (11.75/20)
STRENGTH: 11 →11.2
SPEED: 10 → 10.1
AGILITY: 12 → 11.9
STAMINA: 9 → 8.9
DEXTERITY: 8
ENDURANCE: 12 →13 (+)
VITALITY: ?
PERCEPTION: ?
LUCK: ?
CHARISMA: ?
ENERGY: ?
ENERGY CONTROL: ?
Available STAT points : 0
The changes in the Self Assessment Page was the result of three months of hardwork.
An increase which might have seemed like a big deal a few months ago had now been reduced to lacklustre, mainly because Mateo got a 3× increase with just a few hours attributed to slaying zombies.
Although he didn't know when next he would be given the opportunity to kill zombies, he hoped it would be soon since the underground fights he was participating in began to lose value when he remembered the thrill of his body being reinforced by the allocation of a single stat point.
Whereas he had bad luck in the S.A.P (self assessment page) of the CODE, the market version seemed to be favouring him.
In the
He also managed to find out that you could even pin a maximum of 5 potion ads to the top, which he did.
*Mina Poliver's muscle growth potion - 220č* (Why not?)
*Doombloos skincare lotion - 80č* (For his mum and Amber)
*Onewithlyight's last chance healing elixir - 600č* (Just in case)
*Wundiqama's elemental potion - 500č* (Satisfying the otaku in him.)
*Jadeice's everburn explosive potion - 120č* (No comment.)
With the help of [CODED Eye] which was priced at 20 ĉ per 100 uses, he was able to read the uses of multiple potions and decided on these 5 to pin for the time being.
The [CODED Eye] had revealed to him how some traders intentionally misrepresent potions and other solutions as different items.
One such incidence occured during his daily browsing when he saw a potion being advertised as Aroma of the Gods by a trader, Liptweech.
The potion actually turned out to be a concentrated vial of Evolved Skunk Spray, going for a cool price of 150ĉ.
It was that chance encounter that reaffirmed his decision to stop being frugal and purchase all the benefits he can afford.
Of course none of his activities had any link to the reason he was returning home for a while.
The reason for his return was simple.
It was 5th April, his mother's birthday and he wanted to surprise her.
Getting out of the taxi, he made his way to the front door, opened it as gently as he could and entered the house.
Sneaking inside, he was about to shout 'SURPRISE' when he heard sobbing coming from the kitchen.
Getting closer but remaining out of sight, he heard his father comforting his mother as she sobbed and spoke, her voice barely higher than a whisper.
Straining, Mateo finally managed to catch a bit of what she was saying, and what he heard left him shocked.
"I saw them Julian, I know I saw them. Short little zombies…"