No, thankfully

There are no more distractions and so I am able to work uninterrupted for the rest of the day. I do a mix of brainstorming, editing the short stories I finished previously, and writing my first book. It takes a few attempts, but I manage to finish the prologue and start on the first chapter.

My stomach's growling reminds me that I haven't eaten anything since morning. “I'll stop here for today.” I decide as I save my work and close the program. “Now, what should I make for dinner? Hmm, maybe I should wait for Lisa to come back first, so that we can have dinner together. She should be back soon...”

I relax for a couple of minutes before I am proven correct and hear the door open. The way it slams shut a few moments later, however, tells me that something happened. Immediately I get up and go check on my roommate.

One look at Lisa's frustrated and angry face tells me all I need to know. Without saying anything I go and give her a tight hug. Silently she hugs me back and we hold each other for several long minutes, until she has calmed down.

“Welcome back,” I say softly after we separate, “I was about to start making dinner. Anything in particular you would like to eat?”

“I'm... not sure. Give me a minute to change my clothes and then we can figure it out together.” Lisa gives me a smile that is obviously somewhat **** – she is clearly still upset, but trying not to show it.

“Sure, take your time,” I tell her and watch her go to her room to change.

While I wait for her to come back I think about the reason she's upset. There's only one person that can cause such a reaction from Lisa: Melanie Whitethorn, a spoiled rich bitch and a bully. I have met her exactly once, and... well, let me put it like this: I would call her a cunt, but I don't want to insult all the cunts out there. It took all of my willpower not to slap her, consequences be damned.

Lisa and I had gone out to the park for a walk because there were some loud repair works taking place not far from our place when we ran into a trio of hot chicks. Sadly they turned out to be Melanie and two of her cronies. We talked with her for just five minutes, but that was more than enough to make me hate the arrogant bitch. When we got back – thankfully the repairs were done – Lisa told me about Melanie: The two had gone to the same school and Melanie had been the school's queen, doing whatever she wanted and bullying whoever she wanted. And apparently Lisa was one of her favorite targets... To this day my roommate is still not over the horrible things she experienced at Melanie's hands. Hmm, I wonder if the QuestMaster app can help me do something about it...

My thoughts are interrupted by Lisa coming back, having changed into a simple white dress. “Alright, let's start making dinner, shall we?” She smiles at me. It's still somewhat ****, but not as much as before.

During dinner we make small talk and I do my best to help Lisa get over her - thankfully brief - encounter with Melanie. It seems to work and by the time dinner is over she is back to her usual self. Neither of us feels like washing the dishes, so we put them in the washing machine.

After that Lisa borrows a book from me and goes to her room to read while I get back to writing. Or so I pretend. In reality I just stand there, waiting. And as soon as the sun has fully set I get the notifications I have been waiting for:
Jack Dickinson has successfully completed a quest. He has earned the following rewards:
* +15 xp
* Relaxation
Jack Dickinson has leveled up and earned a perk point. He is now level 2 and has 1 perk point.
Jack Dickinson has earned an achievement for successfully completing his first quest. He has earned the following reward: +5 xp
A target completed a quest. You have earned 3 xp

Immediately I remove Jack and re-add Lisa as a target. I still have a few hours left before I can give her a new quest, but I want to be ready, just in case.

Sadly there are no notifications about my other targets. Victoria won't be bale to finish her quest until morning, so that's not surprising. But it seems George is taking his time... or maybe there's more to fix than I imagined. Whatever the case, his quest is still ongoing.

Next I start looking through the perk tree and making notes of any that catch my eye.

I leave Marie to her writing and return to my room. The encounter with Melanie, brief as it was, was exhausting, to the point it drained the increased vigor from my last quest.

That thought makes me pause. I take out my phone and check the Life Quest app. I find a notification waiting for me:
The QuestMaster has re-added you to their list of targets. You may now receive new quests, earn experience, and gain new perks.

I know it's silly, but the news makes me happy. “I wonder what sort of quest I will get this time? I hope it is something fun... Guess I will find out in the morning.” And with that thought I pick up the book I borrowed from Marie and start reading.

Half an hour later I have chosen a few perks I am going to buy when I can. The first one is Quest Master's Favor I:
Quest Master's Favor I (1 point): Can designate a target as favorite. Both the Quest Master and the Target will gain extra xp every time the target completes a quest. Targets must be removed from the list of Favorites before they can be removed from the list of active targets.

Quest Master's Favor II (2 points): Can designate up to three targets as favorite. Both the Quest Master and the Target will gain extra xp every time the target completes a quest. Targets must be removed from the list of Favorites before they can be removed from the list of active targets.

It has more levels, each more expensive than the one before it, but for now even the second level is too much. After all, Lisa is the only person I would consider marking as a favorite.

The other few perks I make a note of are for when I decide to do something about that bitch Melanie:
Quest Failed I (1 point): Future quests will include a randomly-generated punishment for failing the quest.

Quest Failed II (1 point): Future quests will include a randomly-generated punishment for failing the quest. The QuestMaster will be given a choice of three possible random punishments and be able to choose one of them

Master of Punishments I (2 points): Requires Quest Failed I. The QuestMaster can now edit the suggested punishment and even create a new one instead of having to choose a random one.

I am definitely getting all three before I target that arrogant bitch.

There are more perks I want, though. For starters, Additional Slot. I plan to buy it twice to increase my max targets to a nice round 5. Then there's Basic Quests III, which will allow me to get Advanced Quests I and its upgrades. I also want to upgrade Common Quest Rewards I to at least II, so that I will have more choices of rewards when making quests. Common Reward Creator I and its first upgrade seem useful, but at 5 points each are quite expensive, so I will leave them for much later. And speaking of expensive perks, I should get Public Unawareness sooner rather than later... That's almost thirty points, and I have only one currently... I have a lot of work ahead of me before I can even think about messing with Melanie...

A yawn interrupts my planning and I realize how tired I am. I close the app and head to bed.