$23750?!
I was still upset with the $1250 tax, though, but it's alright. While I was admiring the money, Anya said to me,
"Wow, you earned a month's worth of money in a day. Congrats," Anya said to me, seemingly amazed.
Now that reminds me, she gave me $50 at that time. I then proceeded to provide her with $100.
"It's for the $50 and the information," I said
"A..alright, thank you." She replied, slightly reluctant to take the money.
"By the way, what are they going to use those cores for?" I asked
"Many ways, they could extract the energy to power this building, sell it to other businesses, or strengthen their cores," she said.
"To strengthen their cores?" I replied, quite confused.
"Yeah, all awakened to receive the benefits of the core, which is in the heart. The core provides either plenty of energy, physical capabilities, or other abilities. People with abilities like Kenta, your friend, can strengthen their abilities with training, but they could hardly increase their energy limit with training. To increase the energy limit, people can try to use the energy within themselves. " She replied in detail.
"Use the energy into themselves? What do you mean?" I asked
"It's a new technique, so basically, you can inject yourself with the core energy into your bloodstream, which then flows into your heart and enters the core. Too much energy and the core will reject the energy, which is okay since the energy then goes out of our body through excrement. But just the right amount of energy will allow the core to adapt and enlarge its capacity to be able to store the energy." She said
"I see, that's cool. Say, if I use 1kg of energy core, how much stronger will I be?" I asked
"For James, he was able to extend his abilities by 1 second after using 1 kg of the core." She replied
"Yeah, and the hard part is that. I need to increase it to 2kg of cores to increase it another second. " James continued.
"Why is that?" I asked
"You see, after taking in 1 kg of core, my core can't no longer take in anything less than or equal to 1 kg of energy. It just won't understand anything as it is used to a 1kg core. A 2kg core is new to me as my core could use it without rejecting it. Of course, I couldn't just try a 3kg core as it is hazardous. My body might reject the energy, and the money would go to waste. So in short, I have to do it one step at a time, with a lot of money." James explained
I understand. James's skill uses 10MP for a second of his ability. So, 10MP increase for $1000? Are you kidding me? That's a waste of money, for sure. Compared to them, I'm getting 40 MP every level for free, which is damn unfair. Anyways, my curiosity has been answered, and I have plenty of money. I guess I'll go home.
"I see. That's interesting. Well, it was nice talking, and I'm very interested in that core injection thing. I'll see you next time!" I said while leaving, of course, I lied about the core injection, but well, no choice.
After going home, I went up to my mom and told her
"Mom, would you like to go out for dinner?"
"Sorry dear, I have to take care of the store." my mom replied while looking at my eyes.
"No, Mom, It's okay, look." I then showed her the $23,750 I received from selling the cores.
Seeing the money, my mom was taken in by surprise.
"Where did you get this money, dear?" She said while worrying
"No, believe me, mom, I earned this by selling my work. I told you I would make you happy, " I said excitedly. Seeing this, my mom sobbed and went to change her clothes.
I, too, went to change my clothes into something more extraordinary. We went into a nearby restaurant and ordered a steak. It's been a long time since I ate outside with my mom.
When I was thinking about our family, I remembered my father, who divorced my mother and took my little sister with him when I had the leg accident a year ago; I still resented him to this day, but I stopped thinking about it because thinking about bad things makes the food taste bad.
"Hey, how are your studies?" My mom asked me
"Oh, they are doing well, mom," I said, half a lie.
Truthfully, I'm not sure if I should go back to school or not. I would instead farm the dungeons every day and earn money for my family, just like a proper adult.
Though, I still want to interact with other people like my friends. Being lonely would be bad for my mental health. But I guess I'll prioritize my family first, so I'll try talking to the principal about it later.
"Mom, I don't think I need to attend school," I said
My mom said. "Dear, just because you earn money doesn't mean you should miss school."
"But Mom, I don't need it. It's only one year of school left anyway."
"You don't need to worry about money. Okay, go to school and do your best. Trust your mom, and you will regret missing school later in life. " My mom said
------------------------------------------------
The next morning,
I awoke, dug the [Trusty Shovel], and discovered a [Bounty Rune].
[Gold: 3510] <+500>
[EXP: 560/750] <+500>
I prepared myself and went to school. Luckily, it's the weekend, so not many students are at school. I went into the principal's office and knocked.
"Come in," he said.
I saw he was still wearing the same shorts and still hadn't trimmed those Hitler mustaches, so I sat in front of him and said
"I'm sorry for my sudden change of decision, but I don't think I can attend school anymore," I said
"May I know why?" the principal asked me.
"I want to provide for my family. I recently found a good part-time job that will allow me to support my mother and myself. Other than that, I think that we're in school mainly to prepare ourselves for the work environment, but since I am capable of earning money on my own, I don't think I need to go to school anymore. " I replied
"I understand. I'll try asking your mother." The principal told me
"No, sir, I don't think my mother would agree with me not enrolling. " I said
But it was too late. He called my mother on the phone, and my mother was on her way here.
As my mother arrived, she seemed to be wearing a sad expression.
She then proceeded to take a seat and talk to the principal. I had my opinions too. In the end, we agreed that if I enroll in the school, if I can finish all the homework and exams with an average score of at least 80% and attend at least 20% of the classes, I can graduate.
After a lengthy discussion, I don't think my mom would allow me not to enroll anymore, so I'll take this offer. It doesn't seem so bad anyways. After the discussion ended, the principal told my mom that he wanted to talk alone with me. After my mother left, he said
"Dendi, I know you're an awakened."