The members of the Board were at first skeptical of their new Chairman. Shaving it down to stereotype; it was because he was young...and what is always expected from having lots of money handed over to a youth? Yes, that is right, the outcome is a stupid spendthrift who flaunts their cash for the world to categorize them into a class above the common.
And yet, that is not how Talbot Voss portrayed himself, his actions and words made him appear more experienced with money to the older members; and this, they silently respected and heaved a sigh of relief. At least with this type of a clear head holding the reigns of their investments, they could slightly rest assured that in the near future, would not be making entries of expenses in the ledger.
They would need more time to study the Chairman to get a full grasp on his character, until then, the members unanimously agreed to remain neutral and not antagonize Talbot.
Nonetheless, there was one member that had gotten closer to Taobot without the others noticing, and this was Althea Rein. A no-nonsense type of woman that rarely smiled and always had an unapproachable aura. Her piercing gaze would make playboys blush and stutter.
Yet, here she was, smiling and laughing with a younger man without reservations. Her brown eyes were glossy with mirth and she had hijacked Talbot all to herself shortly after the meeting was adjourned. She was on her second cup of coffee with the Chairman, the two were engrossed in a conversation the rest could not butt in on as it was her forte.
"Wait Jacob, you really have Cruise ships?" Althea put down her mug and gazed admiringly at the young man.
Talbot, savored the drink as he mulled over her question. Yes, Althea was a lover of the seas, and she had taken the aspect of tourism to a whole new level. She had fleets of ships, and even had dipped her fingers in other forms of trading such as shipping of a variety of goods as well as oil. Now, being the junkee that she was, Althea had surprisingly hit it off with the Chairman, who actually was interested in her profession!
Talbot had not found the need to hide that he was new to all this; the members had picked up the hints left by Sarah concerning his previous life. And when they were about to burst with curiosity, Talbot indulged them to his circumstances- which actually made the Board piece the puzzle better. A sudden emergence of the Chairman after so long being anonymous was rather unsettling, thus, all this resulting from an inheritance was eligeable enough.
"Yes I do, Althea," Talbot drummed his chin. He had a plethora of ships, but the only vessel resembling a ship he had ever seen was that of containers.
{Royal Carribean Ship. Voyager Class- 130,000GT}
'Phew, thank God you've got my back system,' he breathed an internal sigh.
Turning to the ship-aholic, Talbot smiled,"Yeah, I think I signed a deed of a Royal Carribean Ship? What was it again? Uhh~ Voyager Class 130,000 GT?" He raised and eyebrow to emphasize the 'strain' he underwent to remember such details.
"Whoa!" Althea was amazed like a child with a favorite toy,"Can...will I get the chance to ride on her?" Now her voice became small, her cheeks brightening as she is made aware of her enthusiasm. She let her hobby get the best of her, she was about to brush off her request but Talbot had other plans.
"Sure thing, I'll make sure to contact you first thing when one of them hits our waters," this earned him a genuine smile.
It was nearing midnight and the other members of the Board could no longer take all the hogging Althea was enjoying.
"Althea, we ought to let the young Chairman have his rest. You shall pick this up another time," one of them yawned as he got to his feet, the rest followed suit.
Oliver Brix was spread out on a sofa, he could not handle all the geek talk between Althea and Talbot. He was out like a light. A few staff were called in to show the Board to their respective rooms as Talbot was left to handle his Lawyer.
"Hey, you have the card to the floor, right?" He crouched and tapped the blond to rouse him from his sleep.
"Murr~aeeah?," Oliver opened his eyelids halfway, "They're in my ass pocket," Talbot rolled his eyes as he tried to get him up to his feet.
Luckily, there was another staff left, who rushed over to support the groggy Lawyer as Talbot's much skinnier frame would not be able to handle him.
As they prepared to head to the 40th floor for some shut-eye, the masquerade mask-wearing duo stepped before Talbot.
"Sir, may I inquire; are you planning to head over to floor 40?" Swan's angelic voice prompted.
"Yeah? It's where I slept in yesterday," Talbot raised a brow at this.
"Well, not anymore sir, your designated room is on floor 65," this time, Raven spoke, causing Talbot to turn his head to his left.
On cue, Swan reached into her suit and retrieved a sleek card, it was black with maroon accents. She handed it to Talbot, who turned it over his hand for study. It was cold to the touch; metallic, and was smooth, the material was durable and allowed a degree of flexibility. Talbot nodded and let the two lead him to his new residence.
'Ok system, what was that about me earning Utility Points suddenly, and what was with that Charm notification?' He probed.
{Host will be able to acquire points through quests as well as notable impacts on the surroundings.}
[Utility Points: Is what will be used to upgrade the sytem in accordance to your tier.
Any locked features can be attained through U.Ps.
Points shall be rewarded majorly through quests as well as impactings made on certain circumstances that the system shall deem eligible to award U.Ps.
Store Points: Will be the currency used to puchase items from the system shop.
Anything can be purchased, but in accordance to your assigned tier.
Shall be earned through quests as well as awarded by the system where deemed worthy. ]
Talbot read on the panel as the elevator chimed to a stop and the doors parted. He did not have the time to look around and just went and opened a random door, seeing that it contained a bed, Talbot went it and decided to call it a day.
{The Charm is an essential aspect in increasing Host's likeability to the world. Such adjustements shall be made to bring the Host to the peak of his potential.}
For emphasis, the little moss coloured model puffed up its chest and flexed its arms. Talbot chuckled as he felt the plush mattress drain his energy and soothe his body into a lethargic state.
'Status,' he yawned.
[Name: Jacob Talbot Voss Tier: Bronze
Age: 25 U.Ps: 593/10,000
Height: 177cm(5'10") S.Ps: 0
Weight: 65kg(143lbs)
Analysis: Slight Malnourishment; Lethargic
Notice: Host is advised to upgrade current tier and unlock unavailable features. ]
{Would Host like to access the Quest tab?}
'Let's see it.'
[Daily Quest: Brick-by-Brick
A healthy meal: More protein intake is recommended.
Exercises~
(Advised to stretch before and after body tasking activities)
Plank: 30s
Pushups: 15
Squats: 25
Run: 4.6km(2.8miles)
Dips: 35
Climbers: 35
Leg raises: 15
High knees: 20
....
Punishment: None, as Host is of lower level.
However, if quest is not achieved in under 2 days, Host shall be introduced to nerve stimulation. ]
Talbot took his time to go over the seemingly unending list of exercises and nodded to himself. He was ready to put in the effort, an excitement began to well up within his chest as he anticipated the challenge set out before him.
'Nerve stimulation?' He raised a brow to that, but the system did not offer any further explanation, which set off the alarms in Talbot. He was a man willing to risk for a gain similar in worth, but he was not, under any circumstances, willing to find out what the system implied by the last statement.
'You've been highlighting my tier, tell me more on it,' Talbot pulled the sheets over himself.
{Analysing...Host shall have access to 3 tiers. As follows, in ascending order:
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Bronze is the very first stage and is to familiarize Host with the system.}
'Like a tutorial?'
{Affirmative. Silver is the following tier and Host will be eiligible to outstanding features to further utilize the system. The system shop will be available and with this, Host shall be introduced to the use of Store Points. Take note that items per tier shall differ in utility as well as amount of points required for purchase.}
"Mhhm~" Talbot nodded, finally getting information on his system.
{Gold tier is set to be the highest stage Host shall attain under normal circumstances. Points awarded shall be noticeably higher, quests shall be harder and the items in the shop shall become of unimaginable leagues against the laws of the world.
Requirements of Utility Points to allow Host to attain the next tier shall be incresed. Enjoy the upgrades!}
The robotic voice lulled him to sleep.