I woke up slowly, not because I was still tired but because it felt like I had been drained of all the life in me. I heard Cee Cee snoring quietly on the floor. If it weren't for that sound, I might have even believed that I had just woken up from a hyper realistic dream and that nothing was real from the past few days.
I felt drained because I realized that everything was bigger than I thought, and my input meant very little. This was not only because of the revelation that I was a pawn to higher beings, but also because I had committed murder somewhat against my will.
While I resented whoever it was that gave me the system, I knew it was ultimately my choice to kill those men and I was clearly benefitting from the system. I finally decided to get up from my bed but only because my stomach was protesting violently for sustenance.
Stepping over Cee Cee I went into the kitchen while checking my phone. Thankfully I was only inside the trial for a few days, and today was the day of the art exhibit. I still had a few hours before I had to get to the gallery so I wasn't stressed about it.
While making some breakfast I silently summoned my status. Thankfully it was still there. The progress from yesterday also was there. The prisoners didn't give me any gold, but they gave me a total of 400 EXP.
[Draven Franz]
[Class: Mage]
[Level: 5 - 985/1600]
[Gold: 1223]
My eggs were done so I laid them onto a plate and grabbed some toast out of the toaster. Sitting down on the couch I laid an egg onto a piece of toast and took a large bite.
'Today is the last day of me having to eat like a damn animal. Hopefully that cuts down on the amount of food I have to collect.'
[-1,000 Gold.]
[2nd Class Slot purchased.]
[Gold: 223]
[Rogue Class unlocked!]
[Stealth Lvl. 1 learned.]
[Backstab Lvl. learned.]
[While Rogue class is active Rogue skills are 1.5x more likely to appear.]
I switched my class to rogue. Nothing happened so I didn't bother changing it back at all. Since I had taken care of the second class, I finished my breakfast and wrapped my painting of Yasmine in a box I had.
It was the box that previously held an easel, but it seemed that Cee Cee had taken the liberty to open my packages while I was gone.
I put the other painting of Cee Cee into the box as well, I slid on my tattered shoes and walked out the door. I walked alone and boarded a train to the art gallery. The train ride was uneventful, and I was just glad that nothing crazy happened on it.
I disembarked at the closest train station to the art gallery in the upper city. I had looked it up five days ago, but with my increased intelligence I had no problem remembering how to get there even now.
After a few minutes of walking I arrived outside of the gallery and walked up to the front entrance. There was a good looking man in a tuxedo behind a podium stopping people from entering.
'Oh geez, I didn't know it was this fancy... I'm definitely underdressed... I hope he lets me in.'
Walking up nervously I got in line to enter. When it was finally my turn I walked up and flashed my best smile. The man looked at me, then looked at my outfit before his smile changed slightly. It went from polite and common courtesy to a clearly fake smile that was clearly unwelcoming.
"What can I help you with?"
"My name is Draven Franz, I'm an artist and I was supposed to show some pieces today."
Without looking down the man in the tux said with an annoyed tone.
"Look, not any artist is allowed to showcase their work here. Maybe you should work on getting your name out there before trying to make it big."
"What?"
I asked a little stupidly. Further annoying the man.
"Your name isn't on the list. Please leave."
I showed an incredulous look on my face as I stared in awe at the man.
"That shouldn't be the case. Mr. Griffin invited me."
"LOOK. BUDDY. You're not getting in, so get out of here. Go show your art on the side of the subway or something, I don't care but get out of the way so others can get in."
Unconsciously I stepped out of line and watched as other people seamlessly flowed inside. I was feeling so incredibly confused that I started just walking away with my head down. I was about to turn a corner to head back to the train station when I heard a familiar voice.
"Draven?"
I turned around and there stood the woman from the art museum. Almost unconsciously I called out her name.
"Yasmine."
A bright smile lit her face, and I noticed the man standing beside her. He was in an expensive looking tuxedo as well but I saw that he was standing slightly in front of Yasmine. However he didn't block her. Again, I recognized the power dynamic.
'She is someone with a butler? She's not just some average woman.'
I glanced at the man and back to her.
"I didn't know you were someone with status in the city... Are you here to see my exhibit by any chance?"
She showed a surprised look but smiled brightly instead of being offended.
"I knew you were interesting. You recognized that he is my servant instantly... To answer your question though, yes I was here to see your painting in person, but why are you walking away from the gallery?"
I looked back at the entrance with an complicated expression.
"I thought Mr. Griffin had wanted me to show my work... But the man at the entrance said I wasn't on the list of artists, so I was going to head home."
It was then that I saw something odd. Yasmine's expression immediately changed to one full of hostility, and even a trace of killing intent.
'No, that can't be right. I must have seen wrong...'
Her expression was back to her usual smile but it felt oddly cold.
"Let me go in and find Mr. Griffin. I'll ask him about it."
I shrugged indifferently.
"I don't really care anymore. I think I am much too underdressed anyways. I was going to sell my painting, or try to find a buyer at the show, but I don't really feel like it anymore. If you don't mind, you can have it. As a gift."
Showing a look of surprise she stood without saying anything. I walked forward a little and held the box out towards the butler. He took it before opening it up. Once he confirmed that it was just a couple paintings he closed the box and bowed lightly towards me.
"Thank you Draven... I'll make sure to remember this."
I smiled and just waved it off.
"Don't sweat it. There is my latest painting in there though. I hope you like it as much as I do. Anyways, I'm going to head home. Enjoy the event."
I waved as I walk to the train station. I wasn't feeling great about myself but I realized that when I saw Yasmine that I didn't really care about the money.
Yes, I needed money, but this was my art. I started it originally for me. It helped me work through my emotions. I wanted to show Yasmine my painting of her, but gifting it to her would be the same.
'I hope she likes it.'
****
"Ms. Heath..."
"Hm? What is it Brunelli?"
Brunelli removed one of the paintings and slowly turned it to Yasmine. When she saw it she dropped her clutch bag and slowly walked forwards. She gently touched the canvas.
"Is this how he sees me... It's... Too beautiful. If he knew who I was would he still be able to see me like this..."
She turned her head angrily towards the art gallery.
"I don't care about the show anymore but... I won't let them disrespect my new friend like that."
She quickly walked to the front of the line, skipping ahead of everyone there, and Brunelli followed behind her. He had carefully put the painting back in the box and picked up Yasmine's purse.
"Who are you? You can't just cut in front of other pe-"
"Yasmine Heath."
The moment the man heard that name he quickly shut his mouth and nodded.
"I am so sorry for not recognizing you! Please head inside and enjoy yourself!"
"Hm. I don't think I'll need to be here long."
She quickly walked past the man at the entrance and walked inside. The gallery had hundreds of pieces from different artists, but when she thought about how an artist who was able to make her experience emotions just with his paintings wasn't allowed in, the whole thing felt like a joke to her.
Even the pieces she ended up seeing didn't compare to the painting she had just seen on the side of the road.
Yasmine quickly found Mr. Griffin, as she had come to his gallery a few times now, and they had friends in the same circles.
Mr. Griffin recognized Yasmine from a distance and excused himself from the people he was talking to just to greet her.
"Good evening, Ms. Heath, it's an honor to see you at today's show. I didn't know you would be attending otherwise I would have come out to receive you personally."
"Hello Mr. Griffin. I came because someone I met at the art museum said they were going to be in the show. I liked one of his paintings and was going to see what else he had made."
"What is the artist's name, we could head over toget-"
"But I saw him walking away while carrying his paintings in his hand. He told me that he was turned away at the door. Is your eye for art getting worse, or is your eye for good employees the problem?"
Mr. Griffin's expression turned nervous. Ms. Heath was from one of the most powerful families in the country and also a large amount of proceeds from sales in his gallery came from her.
He made sure not to say anything wrong and asked carefully.
"Can I ask who the artist is, so I can make sure there was not a mistake made somewhere?"
"Draven Franz."
Malcom Griffin immediately recognized the name, but showed a confused expression.
"No, Young Mr. Franz was someone I invited personally just a few days ago, there is no way his name wasn't on the list..."
Yasmine nodded and gave Mr. Griffin a polite hug while whispering to him.
"I'm glad you aren't the reason I can't enjoy my friend's art today... But you should keep better employees otherwise you will continue to lose talent... Today you missed out on an incredible artist showcasing a painting that I would have paid millions for... I hope to see you under better circumstances next time."
With that Yasmine ended the embrace and left with her servant.
Mr. Griffin soon came out of his shock and quickly made his way to the front entrance. Once there he angrily walked up to the greeter and grabbed his collar.
"W-wha- Mr. Griffin what's wrong?"
"Did you turn away a man named Draven Franz?!"
"Wh-wha-"
"DID YOU?!"
The greeter thought for a moment before he remembered a certain man who showed up a little while ago.
"Huh? Y-yeah I did, is he some well known scam artist or a stalker?"
Mr. Griffin pushed the man aside.
"You IDIOT! I personally invited him! Also he is a friend of Yasmine Heath! Do you know how much you've cost us with your actions?! MILLIONS!"
"W-what? But-but I didn't know! He was dressed so poorly and I thought he was some beggar..."
"That judgmental attitude is your problem! Your financial status and your talent have nothing to do with one another... How can you judge someone when you're only a bad day away from being in the same financial status as them?"
Sighing Mr. Griffin walked away in frustration. He quickly pulled out his phone and sent a message to Draven on his social media page apologizing for the misunderstanding.
"I hope it's not too late to fix things."
****
I was currently fixing the phones I had with the parts that arrived a few days ago when Cee Cee came out of the bedroom.
"Oh, welcome back Master. You were gone for a few days."
"Yeah. It took longer than expected, but it'll become a regular thing I think."
When replied how I normally did Cee Cee reacted strangely.
"Master... Did something happen to you?"
Confused I looked up from the phones I was working on.
"What do you mean?"
"The air around you is different. The same change as when a child from my tribe would come back from their first battle."
I raised my eyebrow at this.
'People who had experienced combat are incredibly perceptive to small changes.'
I nodded after a little bit before turning my head down to work on my phones again.
"You're correct. I had to take the life of a human for the first time. I'm alright though."
However she quickly stepped forward and placed her hand on my shoulder. It wasn't a tight grip but it felt incredibly warm. I looked up in surprise and Cee Cee was looking at me with understanding.
"Taking a life is never easy, even more so for those who are kind hearted, and I can say from the short time I have known you... You are a kind person."
My eyes shook and I quickly looked away before I became emotional.
"I can't afford to show weakness anymore."
With a gentle squeeze Cee Cee stood up and began to walk to the kitchen.
"It takes strength to be kind."
Silence fell on the room while she took out ingredients and began cooking. I considered what she said but I didn't completely agree with her. How could someone be considered kind if they commit murder?
It seemed contradictory to me.
Finishing the replacements on the phones I quickly double checked that they were all working, and listed them online for sale. Each phone was going to be sold for $200 so I was making almost a profit of $170. I left the room again after finishing what I needed on the computer before sitting on the couch.
Cee Cee walked over while I was lost in my thoughts to place a plate full of food before me. She had put together a fruit salad and some fried pork chops. She placed a knife and fork next to me. She headed into the room and went back to browsing the internet.
At first I thought it was ridiculous she spend so much time online but when I considered how she was in a whole new world it made more sense. I cut into the pork chop and tasted it.
'She definitely spent time to learn how to cook... She still sleeps on the floor... I have to change that.. I haven't been a good master...'
Deciding I need to step it up I opened my notifications from my last run.
[Gold: 223 (+75)]
With the gold for clearing Stage 1 and 2 I only had enough money to buy a simple dagger for 150 gold.
[Gold: 148]
I held the dagger in my hand and turned it over. It felt good. I wasn't an expert in daggers or anything but it really felt comfortable to hold. I was hesitant to immediately go back into the trials, but with how my situation relied heavily on me improving my skills I knew I had no other choice.
"I just hope I don't have to fight any humans today."
However when I went to enter the trial I was met with a message instead.
[Unable to enter Trial.]
'What?!'
****
It had been almost a month since I last entered the Trials.
Over the past month I had been focusing on starting an electronic repair shop. I had managed to catch up on my rent with the money from fixing and reselling phones, laptops and computers. I also got a large bed for Cee Cee that was now in the living room. I moved my art stuff into my bedroom but I hadn't really touched it. I had been so engrossed in trying to earn money that I didn't even spend time to enjoy myself.
However some things have changed in the past month. Most notably:
Me.
[Advanced Metabolism] trait had prevented me from gaining weight, and I found that if I didn't eat the fat in my body was broken down to give me energy immediately. When this was paired with the improvements I had seen because of the cleansing elixir from before my looks had improved tremendously. Also I had sprouted a bushy beard.
Perhaps all that fish I had began eating had actually helped my hair grow. Either way the beard was not something I liked at first but it helped a lot when it came to improving my looks. The saying that a beard was like make up for men was true.
I had purchased myself a broken new model phone and fixed it up to use for myself. I never knew that being able to fix things would help me out so much, but I am glad I had [Basic Electronics].
With my phone I had become a little more connected to people. Cee Cee also had a phone but she only ever used it to talk to me. However I could use mine to talk to buyers and customers for my business.
Today I had woken up and checked my phone as usual. I checked my messages, most of them were people asking about prices for some sort of repairs, and others asking about electronics I sold.
However there was one notification that caught my eye as I was brushing my teeth.
[Yasmine.H has messaged you.]
Instantly I was interested in the message and so I opened the social media account where I posted my art. I hadn't painted since the painting of Yasmine so there was not much activity on the account.
I had checked it before though. I saw the message Mr. Griffin sent me apologizing for the way I was treated but I didn't reply. Not that I held it against him, but the start of our collaboration was ruined, it just didn't feel good anymore.
However I was interested in the new message.
[From Yasmine.H: I hope you have been well, Draven. I saw your painting over a month ago but I didn't know what I could possibly do to pay you back for the beautiful gift. However tonight I am going to an art exhibit, as a guest, and would love to have you join me. After we would go to dinner together. My treat.]
I was surprised to see it. I thought she might have saw the painting and didn't like that I drew her. The lack of contact after that made sense to me. I was melancholic about it but I simply kept myself busy so I wouldn't think about it too much.
I looked at myself in the mirror and thought to myself.
'I should get a haircut and buy some decent clothes. My hair has gotten pretty long... Let me reply to Yasmine.'
I told her that I would come to the event with her and she told me that she would pick me up. I tried to decline but when she said it would be easier to get in if we arrived together I relented. She would come to pick me up at around 5 PM.
I looked at my phone.
[11:34 AM.]
Since I realistically didn't have a lot of time I headed out immediately to a well reviewed barber. It didn't take me too long to arrive because they lived in the Lower City. They said they would be able to get me in today, but I would have to wait since I was a walk in.
I told them I understood, and would wait. I took a seat and was simply looking out the window when I heard something that almost made me stand up in shock.
[System will undergo an emergency update.]
[8 Hours Remaining.]
'A month goes by without so much as a notification and suddenly it's going to get an update? This is hard to deduce the reason why things are happening.. But perhaps it has something to do with that golden woman from the trial... Maybe she is back...'
I calmed down and leaned back with my eyes closed. I was excited that I could start going into the trials again. It felt almost like my stagnant life had a clear direction of growth again.
I happily waited and after an hour they finally got me into a chair.
"Alright, what kind of look are you trying to get done today?"
"I wanted something clean but keep my length. I just want it to look manly and not feminine."
"Mm... We can do that for you. I'll trim the beard so it's all even, and keep it tight so its easy to manage. Just apply some beard oil and brush it everyday. For your hair, I'll trim it to make it even, and you want to tie it up right? How does an undercut with a fade sound?"
I didn't really know what he was saying, so I just nodded and said I trusted his expertise. He seemed to like that I was open to his advice so he started right away. We didn't talk much but it was a really nice experience listening to everyone else in the barber shop talking to one another.
The atmosphere was nice and I saw why men liked to come to barber shops to hang out. When the haircut was finished I paid and left a good tip.
"Hey, this is a lot for a tip man. I appreciate it but you don't have to give this much."
However I shook my head.
"I'll be back often."
"Thank you then. You're welcome anytime. Good luck on whatever date you're going on."
"How did you know I was going out..."
The man put his hand on my shoulder.
"Brother... The way you looked when you came in... Men only take care of themselves for one reason."
The whole shop broke into laughter. I smiled and thanked him again before leaving. I would love to stay but I had to get to a clothing store before it was too late.
I wanted to look nicer, but I wasn't willing to break my bank for it. I also didn't feel that I was someone who would spend so much effort to make myself look like someone with money. No reason to pretend to be something I wasn't.
I walked into a decent clothing store. I bought a couple sweaters, a set of seven black t-shirts, and three pairs of easy to move in pants. They were a mix between khaki and dress pants. I also got a nice sweater cardigan and a pair of comfortable shoes.
I then headed home. To prevent making myself a target for a mugging I placed all my new clothes into my inventory.
I had refrained from stealing food, since I heard some employees talking about it one day at a supermarket, and been cutting back on using my inventory to not get caught.
When I got home I quickly showered and put on my new clothes. I made sure to carefully remove the tags so that the fabric wasn't damaged, and sprayed some cologne I had gotten while I was out.
Cee Cee was in my bed room so when I came out of the bathroom she looked at me with an amused look.
"What?"
She had a big grin on her face.
"Master is trying to court a woman to mate with? I've read that this is what men in your world do as part of the mating ritual. Orcs in my tribe would hunt a giant boar but men in your world eat pineapple-"
"Stop."
I had to stop her here.
'Maybe I need to put a child filter on the computer...'