My Future Self Is Ruining My Life!

"What's up?", Michael asked, curious.

"Your father and I were a little concerned about your ability to handle things, but you seem to be doing quite well. The only major concern we currently have is that you might be trying to work too much. We know that you've got this new arrangement at the cafe, and we're not trying to get you to change that, but we hope that you'll keep things limited beyond that. In order to help out - there's not much we can do, and we don't want to take away your independence. But what we can do, and have put into motion, is to co-sign a credit card for you.

"Also, we're going to give you a 'bonus' for quick completion on this project, which is what we'd normally do for other developers we work with. The only thing we'd ask is that you truly take care of yourself. Get enough sleep, don't burn yourself out. Okay, I've said my piece," Rowena concluded, a mix of admiration and concern visible on her face.

Michael was moved by his parents love and concern. He was quiet for several minutes as he thought about how blessed he was, and always had been.

Previously he'd just been working through his missions for his selfish curiosity about magic, but he now realized how much care and attention was being paid to him on a daily basis. He could see the pride in his parents eyes, and he made a decision. He resolved at that moment that he would make his parents proud - he'd gain citizenship and help them with their business, and make sure that they would always be safe and well taken care of. He had tools within the system that no one else could dream of, and he would use them to make the lives of his family better.

Eventually, he looked up at his parents and spoke. "I'll agree, on two conditions. First, the credit card is a guaranteed credit card, and I'll pay you back the value of the guarantee on an agreed upon schedule. Secondly, I'd like to also open a trading account to potentially do some investing. Whatever initial value is required I will also pay back. I appreciate you being willing to support me, but I want to be able to stand on my own two feet, too."

His parents were a little shocked at the counter proposal, since he'd never really shown an interest in investing in the past, but they agreed. They could easily open one through their bank, especially since that was also the bank they did their business with.

"One other thing you should probably do, son. Well, two, really," Flavius commented after they concluded that they would meet with the bank the following weekend. "Since you'll be doing business more broadly, you should officially incorporate and get an accountant. If you need one, we can make an introduction."

Michael thought about this and agreed with his father. "I'll ask around with Jeremy first, see if he can recommend someone. If not, I'll let you know."

His parents were amenable to this. Soon, dinner concluded and the girls went to clean up. His parents said that they would review the work tomorrow, as they were taking the night off. He agreed and decided that he would take a bath. He said goodnight to his parents and made his way downstairs.

He went into the bathroom and drew himself a bath. As he slowly lowered himself into the tub, he started to run through his various tasks and items as he'd promised himself. He needed to take stock of all of his missions and obligations.

His major goals were still the Mathematics competition and the regional games. One required him to complete a lot of studying, and the other required a lot of training. He had to keep up the running, and get even faster. He had to train in the javelin, discus, shotput, as well as archery and combat. He also needed to start lifting weights, both for the games and for his mission to access his personal combat style.

He also needed to build up his mental energy more, and complete the ȧssociated missions, which meant a plethora of other hobbies.

Thinking of all of this, Michael sank further into the tub and ġrȯȧnėd.

---

"I just need to do what I can, and focus on each task in the space I can handle it," he murmured.

He changed into his sleepwear and lay down.

"How long is this upgrade going to take, System?"

0.1

Intelligence-??? => 0.2

Presence-??? => 0.5>>

"Not bad!", Michael said at the notifications. "It seems like manifesting things like this is a good way to train aspects of my brain. I'm gonna take a guess that this can help me improve my mental energy? Makes sense - it's kind of like training a brain muscle."

"...you know that that isn't how the brain works, right?"

"...of course."

"I know... now, let's do this thing."

Michael walked over to his exercise mat and faced the Centurion. Then, with another thought, the Centurion began to perform the same set of movements he had in class.

Michael continued this for the remaining time in the Lucid Space. Just as he was moving towards the bed, he decided to ask a question that had been bothering him for the past couple of hours.

"Hey, System?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you pick this voice, anyway?"

"... I don't know, actually."