'Seriously? Has she not heard that enough? Whatever, my breakfast is more important.'
The phone call remained silent as I finished making breakfast. Yes, it was still ongoing.
I made my plate and sat down at the table, placing my phone to my left and my drink to my right. A pretty standard layout, I'd say!
"Y'mngou, there, Ruby?" I asked with food stuffed in my mouth. I heard some strange sounds come from the phone after asking, but I still got no response.
I need to shower in a bit. Wait... shit. I forgot to wash my uniform! The school was just going to deal with it. I'm sure one day of me without a uniform won't cause too much of a problem!
I couldn't be bothered with school regulations so early in the morning, and if they told me to go home, I'd just let Saeko know. How would I let her know? I'd figure it out later. Besides, if they really did send me home, I'd have time to go see how well my money was invested!
"I'm back again."
"You alright? You sound tired already."
"No. I'm just reading some comments, and they are so mean!"
'I mean, kind of a given you'll get hate online. No matter what, it's there. You'd think she'd be fine with it by now.'
I finished the last of my toast with the last of my water. I felt so much better now that I had eaten!
"You know..." I picked up my phone, removing it from speaker while slouching in my chair. I paused, really not knowing if she didn't know the consequences of online content or was just venting. "...I don't think it should affect you too much."
"I know, but it still sucks to see!"
"You can't please everyone. Plus, if you focus on perfection, you'll never move forward. The best thing to do is take the criticism if applicable and improve from that point forth." I shrugged. I didn't post online, so my opinion really didn't matter on the subject, but hopefully, it cheered her up.
"Yeah, you're right."
"Good that you know."
"S-Shouldn't it be 'thanks' or something? Not that!"
"What? Why? I know I'm right, so why sugarcoat it and act humble?"
"Are you normally like this?!" Her energetic self was slowly coming back, which meant I could feel better. Selfishly, I hate sad atmospheres, so her energy wasn't right for my morning.
Is that called being a dick? Eh. It's 4 am... I'm sure it's not.
While I did start to enjoy our conversation, I had things to do, so I figured it was time to wrap this up.
"Alright, Ruby, I gotta go."
"AWWW! I understand."
"Send me the details on the video and all that! I might be able to show up depending on how things go today."
"Ah, right! I forgot to tell you!" I facepalmed behind the phone and just hung up the call.
Time to shower!
{A few hours later}
"Now tell me why the hell you thought coming to school dressed like that was appropriate!"
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I forgot to wash my uniform."
"So, you think that coming to school like this is an alternative?"
"Sensei, can I attend or not? Please don't waste our time."
"Say that again, brat!"
"I-I would like to know if I need to study at home or here, s-sensei!"
God, she is scary!
If you hadn't figured it out yet, I came to school not in uniform, and here I am in front of Shizuka, better known as Hiratsuka-sensei. As for what I'm dressed in? I'll get to that later, but what's important here is that one does not disrespect her. Otherwise, she'll raise that damn fist of hers!
"What the hell do you think, kid?"
"Alright, I'll just let my club president know."
"You're in a club?" Her gray eyes scrutinized every inch of me. Considering our last interaction a few weeks ago, her suspicion made sense.
I nodded.
"The Kendo club. I joined yesterday!" I felt quite proud saying that. It brought back the real sense of improvement I felt yesterday.
Sure, I've had this feeling in small spurts, but the system kind of turned my progress into numbers. Seeing numbers made me feel like I wasn't really improving. it just showed me a goal, and the moment I reached it, it immediately gave me a new one!
"That's the one with Saeko. I'll let her know for you, but knowing her, she'll give you a harsh beating when you come back."
"Oh god..." I shook in fear. I can't explain enough how rough she already was when training me. I can only imagine what a punishment from her would be like!
Shizuka waved me off, and I left in a daze.
Okay, to make myself feel better, how about I spend some money? That sounds so materialistic. How about I reword it? Actually, it's my own head! why the hell should I have to?
For some reason, I was having a debate with myself, inside myself, which was complete hogwash. One could say it was due to fear, and honestly, they might be right. But it could also just be that my normal schedule wasn't proceeding normal. Plus, who really cares?
"System shop."
[?]
"Any interesting modules?"
[Specify.]
"Uh... slice-of-life modules?"
[Searching... 920,102 found... lowering... popular option identified.]
[Cost: $4,000; Thought and Action Module: Open and operate the system with your mind.]
"What the fu-?"
[Main Quest #2: Update the System!]
[Buy five more modules of any type, and the system will update! Bonus: Receive five additional random modules upon update.]
[Main Quest #3: Help People.]
[Help five people achieve their dreams or help ten people get on the right path.]
[Reward: None.]
"I can understand Main Quest #2, but why the third? And also, no reward? I don't mind, but it's a first, I think."
There is still so much I didn't know about the system. Sometimes, I wish I had a list or guide where I could know everything about it without any surprises.
I went ahead and bought the [Thought and Action Module], leaving me with four more to choose. Four that I had no clue where to even begin in choosing.
"Hah~" I sighed and put it behind me. I didn't have to choose now, and since the system didn't force anything, I could take my time. It was my life, and the system was just a bonus!