He already resisted enough

(Marcus POV)

I heard the water running on the kitchen, hopefully Leonard will see the dirty dishes from last night and take it upon himself to wash them, he may grumble about it later but it's not like he's going to confront me about it and none of us even think I'll actually do the chores unprompted.

My phone made a loud buzz on the table, picking it up I thought that it may have been the team's groupchat but instead of that I received a notification from [Life Quest], I apparently received a new quest...?

Right, that odd app, I still had to ask who had installed it on my phone, must have been someone from the party, maybe someone from the team? That aside I decided to tap on the notification.

╔═══╦ ════════════════════╗
║User ║ ········································ Quests ·································· ║
╟───╨──────────────────── ╢
║Quest: Take a shower ······················································· ║
║Description:To complete the quest you'll need║
║to take a shower and clean up ·········································║
╟──────────────────────── ╢
║Reward: Perk: Hygiene I ·················································║
╚════════════════════════ ╝

I huff as I read it, this thing is already as nosy as Leo and Luna combined.

Still, my head was pounding, my mouth was like cotton, and I reeked of last night’s beer. I muttered a curse under my breath and hauled myself out of bed, whatever, a shower wouldn’t kill me.

Soon enough I am undressing on the bathroom and getting under the shower head, the warm water cascading down on me, soothing my muscles like a masseuse, I close my eyes and let myself rest and enjoy the sensation of the water hitting my body under it.

Going through the motions I finally wrap a towel around my waist, body mostly dried and body cleaner than minutes ago.

There is a buzz that takes my attention, my phone, taking it I see that it's another notification from Life Quest.

╔════════════════════════╗
║ · You completed the Quest successfully! ·· ║
║················································ + 2xp ················································· ║
║······················ Perk: Hygiene I Acquired ······················║
╚════════════════════════╝

I dismiss the app and head back to the living room, where Leo is now sitting at the dining table with his laptop open and some books, probably working on his homework or whatever, dude stresses too much. I'm gonna show him who's boss, Marcus thinks to himself as he struts in, feeling more refreshed than he has in days.

Leonard looks up at me, his eyes widening slightly, "Did you just... take a shower?" He asks, his voice a mix of surprise, accusation and... something else? something I couldn't pin point.

"Yeah, so what?" I reply casually, trying to play it off "It's a new day, right?"

Leo nods slowly, his eyes flicking back to his screen "Right" he grumbled something under his breath but I didn't catch it. It must be a complaint against me though but he wouldn't say anything like that to my face, not my shy cowardly little bro.

The TV was playing some cooking show, something about Gordon Ramsey, and while I didn't hate it, I was about to switch it to something more my speed when I got another buzz from the app.

Groaning I opened it again, expecting another annoying notification from the app and sure enough I had a new quest already.

╔═══╦ ════════════════════╗
║User ║ ········································ Quests ·································· ║
╟───╨──────────────────── ╢
║Quest: Do the dishes ·························································· ║
║Description:To complete the quest you'll need║
║to wash the dishes in the kitchen's sink ··················║
╟──────────────────────── ╢
║Reward: Perk: Dish Washer I ·····································║
╚════════════════════════ ╝

Well, if it's gonna make Leo happy and shut up, wait, now I know what Leo grumbled about! I was still naked, with only my towel covering, little shit complains like my physique isn't the best male body he has ever seen... unless the little shit is gay in which case... Nah I'm still peak male physique, if anything if Leo's in the closet he should thank me for parading my naked body around the house.

I sigh with a grin and make my way to the kitchen, grabbing the sponge and some soap. The dishes weren't too bad, just a few plates and cups from our dinner and two bowls from Leo's and I's breakfast. I start scrubbing, feeling the warm water on my hands as I clean off the last of the food that had been stuck in the plates.

Sitting on the kitchen table to rest I groaned as I felt another buzz from my phone.

╔════════════════════════╗
║ · You completed the Quest successfully! ·· ║
║················································ + 2xp ················································· ║
║····························· Perk: Dish Washer I ······························║
╚════════════════════════╝

I huff and see "my" profile what were these [perks] even about anyway? Like sure he was getting rewarded by completing these chores but what even where they?

╔═══╦ ═════════════ ╗
║User ║ ·························Quests·····················║
╟───╨─────────────·· ╢
║Name: Marcus ··········································· ║
║Surname : Williams ······························║
║Gender: Male ···············································║
║Age : 22 ····························································· ║
║Level 1 (6 / 10 xp) ································· ║
║Class : None ···················································║
║Perks : Dish Washer I, Hygie.... ║
╚ ═ ════════════════╝

Since the perks cut off I tried tapping the list and it expanded to show me a full list.

╔════╦══════════════╗
║·· User ··║ ·························Quests·····················║
╟────╫──────────────╢
║· Perks ║···································································║
╟────╨──────────────╢
║**** Tolerance I ····································║
║Hygiene I ································································║
║Dish Washer I ····················································║
╚═══════════════════╝

The names by themselves helped little to make heads or tails of the perks so I decided to see if tapping them let me see a description of them... and it did.

╔═══════════════════╗
║················· **** Tolerance I ·················║
║Drinks with 5% or below **** will║
║·················· hardly get you drunk ················ ║
╟───────────────────╢
║································ Hygiene I ····························· ║
║········ Cleaning yourself up is easier ······ ║
╟───────────────────╢
║························· Dish Washer I ························ ║
║·············· Washing Dishes is easier ············ ║
╚═══════════════════╝

Damn good thing this is just an app having that kind of **** Tolerance would suck, I would need to get absolutely shitfaced to even get a little buzz but the hygiene one... that one would actually pretty nice, not that I need it, I keep myself clean whenever I go out.

Closing the app I get up, ready to get lazy and cozy on the couch and watch trash TV.

Once it was noon my lazying was interrupted by a buzzing from my phone, a notification, and I had a good idea of from what it was.

╔═══╦ ════════════════════╗
║User ║ ········································ Quests ·································· ║
╟───╨──────────────────── ╢
║Quest: Grocery Run ····························································· ║
║Description:To complete the quest you'll need║
║to buy groceries for lunch ····················································║
╟──────────────────────── ╢
║Reward: Perk: Smart Consumer ·····························║
╚════════════════════════ ╝

This app is really starting to piss me off, I can't believe I'm actually considering doing this. But, the thought of getting trash food and lazying around the house all day is an alluring one, fuck it, seems I'll go shopping.

I grumble walking to the hallway and grabbing the keys to my car.

"Where are you going?" I heard Leo ask me from the living room.

"Grocery run!" I shout and step out of the house, slamming the door behind me. It's a bit too bright outside, and I squint as I make my way to my car.

"Grocery run!" He had shouted, the door slammed shut behind him, and I was left sitting at the dining table, feeling conflicted.

I gulped loudly as I heard Marcus get out of the house to complete the quest I gave him I looked down at my phone and remembered that I had to buy a perk to hasten the cool down of the quests and to give him various concurring ones.

╔════════════════════════╗
║································ Concurrent Quests I ························ ║
║···························· Cooldown Reduction I ······················ ║
║··········································· Acquired ···········································║
╟────────────────────────╢
║·································· Growing Potential ······················· ║
║························ Buy a perk for the 1st time ·······················║
║················································· + 3xp ················································ ║
╚════════════════════════╝

Thanks to the [Concurrent Quests I] I had gained access to a segment that wasn't there before yet.

╔═══════════════════╦════╗
║QuestMaster│Targets│PerkTree║Quests·║
╟───────────────────╨────╢
║1st Quest: Grocery Run ···················································║
║Description:To complete the quest you'll ··········║
║need to buy groceries for lunch ··································· ║
║(Hidden) Target(s): [Marcus]··································· ║
╟────────────────────────╢
║Reward: Perk: Smart Consumer ·························· ║
║(Hidden) Perk will make user try to get the ···· ║
║best cheap/quality ratio when shopping ··············║
╟────────────────────────╢
║2nd Quest : 0 0 : 3 0 : 1 0 ·················································║
╚════════════════════════╝

I locked the phone and decided to focus on the assignment, the screen on the laptop showing the unfinished powerpoint... but my mind still drifted back to the situation at hand.

I had basically bossed Marcus around to do chores and he hadn't complained yet and even if he did he could just... not do the quests right? Like, sure, he had a magical app telling him to do the things I sent through mine but he still had individuality and free will, I wasn't forcing anything on him.

Sighing I decided to continue working on my presentation for Monday, I progressed a lot but making quests for Marcus distracted me a bit.

As I cross-referenced the sources on the internet I let out a curse as the page froze and then told me I had no internet, checking the internet bill apparently we haven't payed for it yet, taking my phone out I decided to give Marcus a quest to pay for it.

╔════════════════════════╗
║························· 2nd Quest : 0 0 : 2 8 : 4 2 ·······················║
╚════════════════════════╝

That is until I saw that I still needed to wait almost half an hour and by that point Marcus, deciding to kill some time I decided to look at Marcus' perks to see if they had any hidden characteristics and...

╔═══════════════════╗
║································ Hygiene I ····························· ║
║········ Cleaning yourself up is easier ······ ║
║(Hidden)User will feel uncomfortable║
║when dirty more easily ······························· ║
╟───────────────────╢
║························· Dish Washer I ························ ║
║·············· Washing Dishes is easier ············ ║
║(Hidden) User will feel compelled to║
║wash any dirty tableware they see······║
╚═══════════════════╝

I let out an audible oof when I see the hidden effects, at least he will be the de facto dish washer, that's a plus. But the hidden effects on the Hygiene perk... that could be a bit of a problem if it's too strong, I'll be praying for you big bro, RIP.

Hell, even the smart consumer perk made it sound like Marcus is going to turn into the protagonist of one of the **** couponing episode.

Grimacing and going back to my phone's home screen I caught a glance of the phone icon of the call and the realization that I could just call Marcus and ask him to pay for the internet slapped me like a wet fish to the face. Why the hell did I need to make a quest out of it? Sometimes my own brain baffles me. I sigh and tap the contact list, my thumb going down over his name in my contacts.

"What's up, bro?" Marcus's voice comes through the line, the sound of the car's engine in the background, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I say, trying to keep my voice calm, "I just noticed our internet connection got cut off and , I sent you the bill can you go and pay it?"

There's a pause on the other line, and I can almost hear the gears turning in Marcus's head, "Alright, I'll swing by the store and pay it," he says, surprisingly without complaint.

After hanging up, I lean back in my chair, feeling a bit of guilt for giving him quests, but then again, they're just chores, right? The app doesn't seem to be doing anything too crazy, just making him more responsible all around. Maybe it's not so bad after all.

With nothing to do the house felt empty without Luna's constant chatter and my father's grumbling about his work, and now with Marcus out, it was eerily quiet...

I got up, switched the TV on and started sorting out the dirty clothes and loading the washing machine. Thankfully a few minutes later the internet connection came back and I immersed myself on my research.

The door to the house opens and I hear the familiar thud of Marcus's weight hitting the floor just as I receive a notification on my phone, he's back. I peek into the hallway and see him carrying two bags of groceries with a smug look on his face, I roll my eyes and go back to the dining table.

"I'm back," he announced unnecessarily, dropping the bags onto the kitchen counter, "I got everything we need for lunch and dinner."

"I see that" I give a non answer and glancing at the bags on the kitchen aisle.

"What? Not even a thank you?" He shot me an annoyed look but quickly turned around and looked at the groceries "Damn I should've picked something else"

"Something else?" I ask, standing up and seeing the groceries, there was nothing wrong with them particularly "Is something wrong with any of it?"

"Nah, I just remembered that there were other cheaper brands with more quantity" he grumbled, almost to himself.

Oh, this was the Smart consumer perk at work, he even looked regretful as he stored the groceries.

I took a few of the remaining groceries and helped store them "I'm sure it'll be fine, besides it's not like we haven't been buying these brands before, I'm sure one or five dollars won't matter much"

Marcus seemed hesitant at my words but gave a finally gave a sigh "I guess, It's just that I felt like I could've done better, you know?"

I nod, I don't really think it's that important, maybe the trait was affecting him too much? Or was he like this from before? I mean, he is competitive and always wanted to improve but this is a bit absurd, it's grocery shopping.

The guilt starts to creep back in and I open the Questmaster app once we both are at our spots for the day, Marcus watching TV on the couch and me on the dining table directly behind him.

I try to see if there is a way that I could maybe get rid or eliminate some of his perks but I find nothing, I do see that Marcus is one quest away from leveling up though, if my level up gave me perk points maybe it would let Marcus do something with his perks too...

With that in mind I wait a few minutes and use the 2nd Quest slot to give him a new quest.

╔═══════════════════╦════╗
║QuestMaster│Targets│PerkTree║Quests·║
╟───────────────────╨────╢
║Quest: Cooking time ························································· ║
║Description:To complete the quest you'll need║
║to make lunch for all the the people currently· ║
║in the house ····················································································║
║(Hidden) Target(s): [Marcus]·····································║
╟────────────────────────╢
║Reward: Perk: Cooking I ················································║
║(Hidden) User will feel the urge to cook for ·····║
║the people they like ··································································║
╚════════════════════════╝

There two birds with one stone, he makes us lunch, probably a sandwich knowing him AND he levels up, wonderful.

I watched as Marcus disappeared into the kitchen, far as I remembered he was a simple guy when it came to cooking but he did have a moment a few years back when we had a neighborhood BBQ it also helped that it was the debut year of Marcus in the football team so he was the talk of the closed community for a while.

As I heard him cook, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of satisfaction, knowing that it was all because of me, well, the app. He didn't know that I was the one giving him these quests, but somehow, it felt like we had a middle ground him and I. Like I had a way to make him see things from my perspective, to understand the importance of taking care of the house and maybe, just maybe, appreciate me a little more.

Hell, who knows maybe I'll start asking for his help without using quests in the future! I just had to see if there is a way that I could help lessen the effects of the perks and it'll all be fine, all's well that ends well and such.

Marcus emerged from the kitchen with two plates of sandwiches, looking at them, they weren't half bad, the bread was toasted and there was even mayo! It's not a restaurant meal but it's definitely better than junk food!

"Here," he said tossing one plate to me and taking his to the couch and sitting down "I'll be honest I didn't go all out but it's edible"

"Thanks," I reply, taking a bite, "It's surprisingly good, actually" As I take a bite I can feel the vibration of my phone, thank goodness I have it in silence mode.

He nods, chewing his sandwich, watching the TV with a bit of a grumble, "Wow actual praise? Luna won't believe it" he chuckled to himself.

After I finished Marcus took both our plates and washed them himself, as expected of the house's dish washer, I tried to suppress a grin but I couldn't help it as I realized that he actually felt compelled to wash any dirty dishes, god bless.

I mean, not that I wouldn't remove the perk if I could, but it's so helpful for the house and specifically me... I sigh and open Marcus' profile, not before being assaulted by a notification.'

╔════════════════════════╗
║·····[Marcus] [Williams] completed the quest ·······║
║···········································successfully···········································║
║··············································· + 2xp ·················································· ║
╟────────────────────────╢
║···························· They grow up so fast ······················ ║
║·One of your targets leveled up for the 1st time║
║················································· + 3xp ·················································║
╟────────────────────────╢
║·············································LEVEL UP············································║
║······································· +1 Perk point ···································· ║
╚════════════════════════╝

╔═══════ ╦════ ╦═══════════╗
║QuestMaster║Targets║ PerkTree│ Quests·║
╟─────── ╨──── ╨───────────╢
║Target 1 ····························································································· ║
╟────────────────────────···╢
║Target Name : Marcus ························································║
║Surname : Williams ·······························································║
║Gender: Male ················································································║
║Age : 22 ······························································································ ║
║Relation: Brother ·····································································║
║Level 2 ( 0 / 12 xp)···································································║
║Class : None ····················································································║
║Perks : Smart Consumer, Dish Washer I, H..║
║Perk Points : 1 ············································································ ║
║✍ ············································································································║
║Add Class (Perk needed) │ ··············Add Quest ║
╚ ════════════════════════ ╝

It seems like he got one perk point but that seems to be about it, sadly nothing aside from experience was gained on my side of the app, maybe I should have saved my perk points for something like a perk editor or the like.

And since the Quest are on cooldown until 6pm I don't have much to do but continue my work, Oh right, my mind has been on the Questmaster so much forgot I was doing homework!.

The afternoon drags on, Marcus himself went out after receiving a call from who knows who so I had the house all for my lonesome self, again, for the time being anyways, good news is that the solitude greatly boosts my productivity and the presentation is as good as done, I could tweak that thing for hours and I still would think it would need "one graphic here" or "less images here", so now I started doing something or the other, even more so now that I am alone and as such I am now scrolling through X (formerly known as twitter) seeing how Dragon Ball Fighterz became a party game with the last patch while I waited for the dryer to... dry the freshly washed clothes.

As the hum of the dryer starts to fade into the background noise of the house I heard the unmistakable sound of the garage door opening, followed by the heavy footsteps of possibly more than likely dad, probably tired from his job. I quickly grab my phone and rush over to the kitchen, in my rush of productivity I made a small casserole of lasagna so I uncovered it and started cutting it.

Dad came into the kitchen, not only did I know this because of the creak of the door but because I could smell the scent of grease getting in.

"Damn dad, not even a change of clothes before coming in?" I grimaced at what I said as I served a slice of lasagna on a plate, placing it on the kitchen table.

"Lasagna," I replied, serving myself a plate as well, "Just finished making it, figured you'd be tired from work and since you made dinner yesterday well it just seemed fair"

Dad nodded, his eyes lighting up a bit at the mention of food. We ate in relative silence, the occasional clink of silverware on plates punctuating the quiet. It was strange, eating alongside him, or someone for that matter. With Luna out of the house unless she came for old clothes or knickknacks she had on her room or it was a day where she was expected to be here, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, family time had reduced considerably, she was the one that got dad off his ass and Marcus to behave so without her home we all just kinda eat whenever and whatever is at the fridge.

"You still have money for school?" That's another thing, dad didn't really want me to work and study at the same time like Marcus and Luna do so he usually gives me money, for my own use and to keep the house groceries stocked whenever Marcus isn't around.

"Yeah, I got it covered," I nodded, "But thanks for the concern."

"Marcus?" He asks.

"Friends" I answer and he grunts and nods again and that was the end of our conversation. The quiet was comfortable, though, well, at least to me, I never seem to know what is going on on dad's head most of the time, only that both he and I didn't really use more words unless we were talking to other people, Marcus and Luna took more after mom, or at least that's what auntie said anyways, apparently I had the looks of my mom and the mannerisms of my father according to her.

As we both finished eating, me taking them to the sink and dad standing up to go out of the kitchen, we both turned towards the garage's direction, hearing the door open and loud music coming, we both knew Marcus had arrived home, soon enough the kitchen door was swung open.

"What's up?" He greeted us both, eyeing the lasagna with confusion. "Didn't know we were having a family dinner" he said as he took a seat on the table as I served him his slice of the food.

"It's just lasagna," I said with a shrug, "I had time to make it" I couldn't tell him that it was because I was bored when I got the house alone to myself, that would just sound sad.

Marcus stared at his plate for a moment, looking back and forth between dad and me, before finally giving in and starting to eat "It's good, Leo" he said, and I felt a small sense of pride at his compliment.

"Alright, I'm going to bed" announced dad as he got out of the kitchen, I gave him a curt okay and Marcus gave him a thumbs up as he ate dinner.

As I scrolled through twitter feed my attention was drawn to Marcus as he stood up from the chair and took his plate to the sink, began to clear the table, gathering the plates, cups, and silverware. His movements purposeful and driven, that [Dish Washer] perk really did things to his mind sheesh, I couldn't help but watch in amazement as he filled the sink with soapy water and began to scrub the dishes clean.

"Thanks Marcus, for doing the dishes I mean" My words gave him a pause, something must have happened as he grimaced.

"It's nothing, just think of it as a thank you for cooking dinner, besides the clutter was bothering me" I just hum as I watch him resume soaping the plates, rinsing them and placing the clean ones on the side.

The clock says that it's 9:43pm already, I remember not wanting to give Marcus any quests while he was out so now I had both Quest slots open for me to assign him some quests.

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║··········Write a Quest for [Marcus] [Williams]·········· ║
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