Chapter 20: Four mission

"Ahead of us is the estate of the host; he’s generous to give you students a taste of the luxurious life" a professor who takes one of the classes Parker doesn’t attend says. The man gestures to the grand building in front of them and Parker’s mouth falls open.

He thought Tim’s house was big but this one swallows the Lanes home up. The house is painted white on the exterior and calling it a house feels like a sin. It’s a freaking mansion. It stretches for miles and has a tasteful outside.

"Wow" Parker whispers and walks with the rest of the students into the house. The system is quiet and he’s lost in the beauty. So this was what he missed previously? Parker stumbles over nothing as his mouth hangs open and he looks at everything through awe-filled eyes.

"Crazy" he whispers again and Tim jabs his elbow in Parker’s side.

"Hey, look at that statue" he says and when Parker looks, he almost bursts into laughter. It’s a stone carved cat peeing into the bowl shaped fountain. The owner of the mansion has taste AND humor. Parker and Tim snicker as they walk up the stairs together. They enter the building and it’s like walking into a palace. The ceiling is high up, curved, and pristine.

"You all have a room to yourselves. Don’t worry about anything. It’s a vacation for you" the professor says and students start to cheer. Some of them exchange high-five and grin at each other. It’s exciting to get this started.

"After all, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. There’s a pool you can use whenever. The only rule is don’t damage anything" he says and when he gestures to the side, a beautiful woman comes down the stairs. She’s older and looks very pretty. She’s dressed in a maid outfit and her hair is pinned up. Everyone’s eyes follow her movement as she stops at the bottom of the stairs with a warm smile on her face.

"This is the housekeeper Yasmine. Whatever you need, you can always ask her" he says and Yasmine gives them a wave.

Parker, mesmerized by her beauty, swallows the saliva pooling in his mouth. His cheeks burn as she smiles softly. His crush count keeps going higher and higher, at this point he might as well just own a harem.

[System: if I were human, I would facepalm myself and then facepalm you.]

’That would be slapping me’ Parker replies in his head.

[System: congratulations, you have unlocked the power of sarcasm.]

"Jeez" he mutters out loud and Tim looks at him instantly with sparkling eyes. "You see that right? She’s so pretty" the guy with the glasses whisper and Parker nods. This is the first time Tim has talked about a girl to Parker.

They all choose the rooms they want and the three people with the highest scores get the three biggest rooms. Parker unfortunately isn’t part of that number, but he’s glad to be here. Once he gets into his room, he explores everything. There wasn’t a single sign of the cheap things he’s accustomed to.

The lights, the shelves, the sheets, and everything else are expensive.

Parker gets served dinner in his room by a maid and he’s told to enjoy himself. He settles on the couch in the room and starts to eat the meal. He spoons his rich soup and sighs with satisfaction. No instant noodles or Ben’s forgotten leftovers...life is pretty good.

"Hey system, what happened to me in the bus?" Parker asks when he’s full. He pushes the tray of food away and waits for the system’s response.

[System: a glitch.]

"A glitch? Whatever that thing was, it sounded like it wanted me dead too. What’s going on?"

[System: Try not to fail a single mission and you won’t have a problem.]

"You have to be more detailed. What was that...no, scratch that...what are you?"

[System: I am your second chance system.]

"No, no...I mean...what exactly are you. You’re suspiciously conscious and humanoid for a system"

[System: I am your second chance system.]

"System?"

[System: I am your second chance system.]

Parker sits up. The repeat response is weird. He hasn’t had anything like this with the system before. He’s now concerned...did he accidentally damage it? Has he done something wrong to the system?

[System: error. Error. Temporary shut down.]

"Shit" Parker jumps out of the seat, expecting to see something that will scare him or take him right back to the life he was taken from, but nothing comes.

"Sy...system?" Parker calls.

Silence.

Freaked out, he picks up the food tray, and leaves the room. He bumps into a maid who takes the tray from him. Now having nothing to do, Parker continues to wander.

He goes into a part of the mansion that he’s not sure he’s supposed to visit. Then he sees Ben and Mina arguing. He pauses by a stone column but doesn’t hear anything.

[System: operating system is back up. Full mode. Times two rewards.]

[System: mission loading...]

Parker ignores the system. He’s more interested in the fight between Ben and Mina. Ben walks away and Mina starts to sob.

[Mission four: first step revenge on Ben. Break his pride in stealing your women.]

[Step one of mission: comfort Mina Tanaka.]

"How is that..."

[Fuck Mina Tanaka in semi public scene.]

Parker’s heart falls to his ass with his jaw.

"What?!"