[2 week timeskip]
It was a good day—the kind of morning when the sun hits your windshield just right and everything feels beautiful. I was driving my Mustang to school, the engine roaring beneath me, and me, thinking about how the last two weeks had flown by. If someone had told me six months ago that I'd be living this life, I probably would've laughed them off. But here I was, Mustang keys in hand, a game developer, chess prodigy, and, apparently, a budding musician.
A lot had happened in those two weeks. My game had blown past 9 million downloads—9 million! I even got a new quest notification: "Hit 10 million downloads." The XP reward was quite generous, and I could not wait for the next level up, but that bar was getting harder to fill. Gone were the days when I could just do chores or cook dinner for a little XP boost. Now, I still did those things, but mostly for my own satisfaction. The XP was just a bonus.
Chess was still a big part of my routine. My rating was stable, and I was just waiting for FIDE to officially rate me so I could jump into online tournaments and start raking in some real prize money. I'd been studying grandmaster games, and honestly, I felt confident enough to take on most of them. I was inching closer to what people called "super grandmaster" level—no official title, but everyone knew what it meant. It was the chess world's version of "final boss." My chess-related skills were all sitting around level 85 and they were not budging from there any sooner.
My guitar and piano skills were averaging around level 78 now, and I could feel the grind getting steeper. Every level took more effort—like climbing a mountain that just kept getting taller. I realized that just practicing wasn't enough anymore; I'd need to boost my WIS stat to really break through. Still, the progress was there, and it felt good. My singing was at level 84, but leveling up from 83 to 84 had taken almost a week. I could see now that skill growth was exponential, not linear. Each step up took more time than before and I thought that I was good enough now anyways and I could sing and with a little autotune I would be able to call myself a professional singer.
I kept up my book absorption ritual, never missing a day. Five books a day, every day, none missed. I picked up skills I never thought I'd need—how to light a fire, build a tent, fishing, and how to make a gun. Survival stuff. Maybe I was being paranoid, but after Alex made me binge-watch The Walking Dead, I figured it couldn't hurt to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse. If it ever happened, I'd be the guy leading the group, not the one getting eaten in the first episode.
I made it a routine to order five books every day and even made friends with the delivery guy, asking him to call me before arriving so I could grab the books before my parents noticed what I was ordering. It wasn't suspicious stuff, but I still didn't want them to overthink things and ask me questions. I didn't want to explain why I needed the books even if I could make a random excuse, but I would rather not talk about it at all.
But honestly, the best part of my life right now was Alex. Everything with her was just… perfect. She'd become the highlight of my days, and I could tell she felt the same. After that song I "wrote" for her, she got even more attached—always fussing over me, wanting to know what I was up to, what I ate, whether I'd slept enough, if I'd eaten. She was starting to act like my second mom, but I wasn't complaining. She was hot, and her new "proactive" attitude was something I definitely wasn't going to argue with.
I didn't know my mom got Alex's number but she also contacted Alex and invited her over several times and I had to cook for them, reluctantly. She got friendly with my mom, and I didn't want to know what they were even talking about. I mean, they only have me as a common interest point.
Yes, we did it whenever we got the chance. I was her stress buster—her words, not mine. We were both exploring, pushing boundaries, and I was pretty sure I was approaching pornstar-level skills (minus the cameras, thankfully). I read everything—from classic erotica to the Kama Sutra—and made sure to try out whatever seemed interesting. I was determined to be the best for her, in every way.
And boy, after hearing her moans, I couldn't be any prouder. I was a certified sex beast now. 6'4" hunk sex beast.
After school, we'd play our instruments together—sometimes at her house, sometimes at mine. Both kinds of 'instruments'. It became our thing. We'd jam, swap songs, teach each other new riffs and melodies. I helped her with the ukulele since I was a guitarist now. It was not difficult.
I got more familiar with everyone in her family and Phil being the social butterfly made me comfortable with him in his own way.
School itself felt easier. I noticed that I was drawing more attention nowadays compared to before. I have started to look after my appearance after I got in a relationship with Alex. I cut my own hair and I was a muscular tall guy who had a cool car. Of course I would get famous. I didn't spend much time with my friends after school since I got busy with other things and they understood that and respected it since I got a girlfriend now.
Everything was going normal in school.
The Mustang rumbled as I pulled into the school parking lot, drawing a few admiring looks. I parked, grabbed my backpack, and sent Alex a quick text: "Meet you by the lockers."
She still came to school with her mother and I offered to drive her to school but when Claire heard it, she emotionally manipulated Alex to still go with her. Alex said that to me, I didn't know how exactly.
I saw Leonard sitting with a girl and approached them.
"Yollo my man!" I said, startling him from behind.
"It's you, Lucas!" Leonard jumped, then turned and didn't say much, embarrassed in front of the girl whose name was Isabel. I could see something happening there, but Leonard was a dunce and didn't notice the clear interest she was showing in him. Since he only had a thing for blondes and she was a brunette, he didn't act like a nervous nerd in front of her and talked with her not with that intention and because of that, he had actually managed to impress Isabel.
"How's the progress?" I asked him, and then we talked about the game. I was happy with the progress and couldn't wait to release the next game.
"Today you got the basketball tryouts, right?" Leonard asked me—Josh must have told him.
"Yeah," I said, not at all nervous.
At that moment, I saw Alex coming toward me with her trademark jeans and shirt on. She doesn't care about her dressing like other girls and wears whatever is comfortable and still looks like a total hottie. She came near me with her charming smile and quick-hugged me, then greeted Leonard and Isabel.
"Hey, Lucas! Good luck at tryouts today," Alex said, giving me a squeeze.
"Thanks, babe. Are you coming to watch me dominate?" I grinned.
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course. Someone has to keep your ego in check."
Josh snorted. "He'll need it." he came from behind me and patted my back.
Alex squeezed my hand. "I'll be there, cheering for you. And if you miss a shot, I'll still be your number one fan."
I winked at her. "With you in the stands, I won't miss."
__________________________
Funfact: Do you know people who read the story and still don't donate power stones are Gay.
Hey! Thanks for reading and supporting the story. If you want early access to advanced chapters, check out my Patreon.
[patreon .com /amrev] (no blank space)
If you are not capable no worries-you'll get the chapters soon enough. Appreciate you being here!