16 New Determination

Staring at the sheet in front of him, Michael let out another deep breath. It was really a bit overwhelming. A regular high school student's life was already pretty full, if they didn't slack, and he was making his even busier. Still, in a way it was quite interesting. He'd always been a fan of puzzles, and in a way this was just a big optimization puzzle.

Regardless, it was a puzzle for another day. "It'd be nice if I could make better use of all of this time I spend sleeping," he mumbled as he crawled into bed.

>

"...That's nice. Good night, System," Michael mumbled as he quickly drifted off.

>

---

That night, Michael dreamed an incredibly vivid dream. He was back on the track, running as fast as he could, but it felt like innumerable hands were pulling him backwards. As soon as he escaped the grasp of one, two more would grab onto him. In front of him were the figures of the five military students from his class, who were all casually strolling down the track. Despite this, Michael never gained on them, and all he could see was their backs.

---

6:30AM, September 4th, 2000 CE

+0.004

Physique-??? => +0.002

Physique-??? => +0.002

Intellect-??? => +0.0005

Intellect-??? => +0.001

Existing Missions:

[Mission: Road to a Healthy Body (2/7)]

[Mission: English Homework]

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[Mission: Algebra Homework]

[Mission: Chemistry Homework]

[Mission: Regional Games]

[Mission: Upgrade Personal Territory - Bathroom]

[Mission: Empty your Bowl]

[Extra Credit: History of the World]>>

Michael slowly sat up in bed, his dream still vivid in his mind. After several breaths, he turned and put his feet on the ground, but continued to stare off into the distance, his vision unfocused. Finally, he sighed, shook his head, and swiftly brought his palms to both sides of his face, producing and audible sound. Finally, he stood up, turned around and made his bed, and made his way to his exercise mat.

---

"Good morning, son! Even earlier this morning!", Flavius greeted Michael as he entered the kitchen. He and his wife, Rowena, were taking the later train into the capital, and therefore enjoying a leisurely breakfast.

"Morning Dad, morning Mom," Michael spoke with a determined look on his face. "Are you two able to discuss the bathroom project tonight after dinner? I have some ideas on how we can get it up and running a bit more quickly, though I have some research to finish up. I was also wondering if you'd be willing to front some of the surplus cost in exchange for paying me half my normal rate for the work. Essentially, half my pay would go to the surplus funds for the bathroom until it's either paid off, or the end of the project, at which point I'd have to pay you the rest. What do you think?"

Flavius and Rowena looked at each other quizzically, then Rowena responded. "That should be fine, depending on how much extra we're talking about. But what's the hurry? While it's going to get a little bit more hectic once the girls are back at school, it shouldn't be anything a schedule can't fix."

Michael thought for a bit and then replied. "As you know, we've got to compete in the Regional Games as part of class. I've decided I want to place well in the games, and I have my work cut out for me. It's going to mean a lot more exercise, and a lot more recovery time."

Both of his parents were a bit shocked at this, as Michael had never shown much interest in physical activity before. After sharing a quick look of concern, his Dad spoke up. "You know we'll always support you, but some of those kids have been training for years. We don't want you setting yourself up for disappointment. Besides, with school... are you sure you want to take on this as well as the contracts? Should we find someone else?"

Michael quickly shook his head. "No, I can do it. I've planned out my time and I can make it work. Besides, I don't expect to win. I'm just determined to do my absolute best."

Satisfied, his parents smiled. Rowena said, "Alright. If you're certain, we'll talk to the construction company about getting ready today, and we can plan out the details tonight. Now, go take a shower. You look a little sweaty."

Michael grinned and rushed upstairs. After he'd gone, his parents looked at each other and smiled. "First dinner a couple of days ago, finding his own contract yesterday, and now this?" Flavius said, bemused. Rowena chuckled. "Our boy is growing up."

---

Soon after, Michael was packing up his bag. He'd joined the remaining half of his sausage from yesterday with an apple, some cheese and a couple of hard-boiled eggs, and placed them in a hard container so they wouldn't get crushed in his bag. Then he placed his books on top, along with a two sets of clothes - his last clean set of training clothes, and his school uniform. He reminded himself that he needed to do laundry tonight, as he was pretty much out of clean clothes. As he looked at the shorts and tee-shirt he was wearing, he nodded in satisfaction, then bent down and checked the knots on his running shoes one more time. After confirming that they were secure, too, he tossed his backpack on, tightened the straps as much as he could, and stepped outside. Once he got onto the sidewalk outside his house, he started running.

---

+0.005

Physique-??? => +0.003

Physique-??? => +0.003.

Progress for title 'Limit Pusher' increased.>>

Breathless, Michael stretched his hands behind his head as he took in big, heaving lungfuls of air. He noted that it seemed that running for longer than the minor laps they did in class seemed to be significantly more beneficial for his development than walking. However, he didn't see his 'Healthy Body' mission trigger, so it looked like the running didn't replace the walking he needed to do. Deciding to deal with that later, he made his way to the showers.

About 10 minutes later, he walked towards the library, and happened to meet Mr. Maddox in the hallway. "Good morning, Mr. Maddox," he greeted him warmly. "Ah, Mr. Prout! Even earlier today. What brings you here? Not another book to hand in, is it?" the librarian inquired. Michael shook his head. "No, sir. But I was wondering if I could use the library for a while, before opening bell."

Mr. Maddox contemplated this for a moment, then said. "Alright, you can sit at the tables, but I'll have to ask you to refrain from accessing any of the library books until I'm finished any sorting and shelving. I don't want anything to go missing or get misplaced."

Michael nodded, as he had plenty of other work to do, and could use his lunch and free period for any research. In fact, Free Period today was right after Lunch, so he'd be able to stay in the library the entire time. The prospect of this made him smile, which pleased Mr. Maddox, as he thought this was due to his consent at letting Michael use the Library. "What a good student," he thought to himself.

They quickly reached the library, and Mr. Maddox unlocked it and opened the door for Michael. Michael stepped in and made his way to one of the long tables in the middle, while Mr. Maddox made his way to the front desk to begin powering on the system.

Looking at the time, Michael saw that he had just over an hour until first bell. Looking through his options, he decided to pull out his Algebra homework and get that out of the way.

---

The hour passed quickly, and Michael put his completed Algebra homework back in his bag and made his way to Latin. He met a rather bleary eyed pair in Jeremy and Valeria.

"Looks like you two kept at it for a while last night?" Michael said, smiling. An indecipherable grunt was the only response he received from the the two as they all made their way into the class. Michael stifled a yawn as he made his way to his desk - he realized that in his zeal that morning, he'd forgotten to grab his usual cup of coffee.

>

This made sense to Michael, so at his prompting, the system quickly generated [Mission: Research Proper Nutrition Plan] for him to tackle later in the day. By then, they'd all sat down in their usual spots just as the bell rang and class began.