After leaving the store, Tyler immediately made his way home.
A few minutes later, he got home. He went to the kitchen to drop the things he bought, before going up to Devin's room, to check up on him.
When he got to his room. He saw that he was just finishing with his assignments and was packing his books into his bags.
"You're back," Devin said, smiling, when he saw him standing by the door.
"Yeah and I got some groceries too," Tyler smiled.
He saw the surprised look ok Devin's face and his smile widened. He understood that the little kid was curious about how and where he got the money from.
But Tyler wasn't going to explain anything to him.
"I want to go and start making us something to eat. You can come help it if you want to," Tyler said.
He didn't actually need Tyler's help with cooking but he wants to use the opportunity to bond with his younger brother, who he hadn't seen or spoken to in more than a decade, in his past life.
Devin smiled and nodded at Tyler's offer. He immediately dropped his school bag beside his bed, and followed Tyler downstairs.
....
Some minutes later, Tyler and Devin were done with cooking.
Immediately, Tyler served a meal of peanut butter toast, scrambled eggs, and banana slices.
"Let's eat, buddy," he said, taking his seat at the dining table.
He picked up his fork and looked up to see Devin looking at him with a somewhat strange expression on his face, as he chewed his food.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked curiously, smiling.
"It's strangely delicious. How did your cooking improve so much?" Devin asked.
"Is that more important than eating," Tyler asked, smiling as he deflected the question.
"No. I was just curious," Devin replied, as he continued eating his food.
"Just eat and stop bothering yourself with unnecessary things," Tyler smiled, as he started eating his food.
The two of them ate in silence, enjoying the meal.
"Are you really going to bring lunch to mom? And can I come?" Devin asked.
Tyler raised his head from his plate and looked at him, smiled and nodded.
"Sure."
He made sure to cook enough for the whole family, because he will taking some to their mom that's working on an empty stomach.
So, even if Devin didn't ask, he would still bring him along.
They continued eating their meal and were done a few minutes later.
Devin took care of the dining table and the dishes, while Tyler picked up his school bag from the couch, and went up to his room to freshen up.
He arrived at the door of his bedroom and let out a deep breath, before opening it and walking in.
The moment Tyler stepped into his old bedroom, time hit him like a freight train.
The room was small—barely big enough to fit the single bed pushed against the wall and the old wooden desk beneath the window.
The mattress sagged in the middle, its springs creaking even when untouched. The bedsheets were faded from years of washing, a dull blue patterned with peeling cartoon spaceships—leftovers from a younger age he had outgrown too fast.
The wallpaper, once white, had yellowed slightly with time. Stickers from childhood—stars, dragons, sports logos—were still plastered on the closet door, half-peeled and stained with age.
In the corner sat a plastic drawer unit, its handles cracked, one drawer permanently stuck from being forced shut too many times.
His clothes were a mix of school uniforms, hand-me-downs, and bargain bin shirts folded neatly by his mother.
The desk was cluttered—not with tech, but with the essentials of growing up poor: an old pencil sharpener bolted to the edge, dollar store notebooks, a cracked desk lamp held together with tape, and a shoebox full of loose paperclips, crumpled test papers, and forgotten dreams.
There were no posters, game console, or bookshelf of fantasy novels. It was just a half-broken alarm clock on the nightstand, blinking the wrong time, and a half-filled glass of water that e probably didn't finish in the morning.
But what caught Tyler's eye the most wasn't the dust or the quiet—it was the feeling. This room held echoes of long nights staring at the ceiling, wondering how to save his family. The silence, the weight of everything he couldn't say... it had never left.
He shut the door quietly behind him, with a smile of deep nostalgia on his face.
"How many years has it been?" He muttered.
The memories of his past life tried to resurface again but he quickly suppressed them.
He dropped his bag beside the bed and started taking off his clothes, before making his way to the bathroom.
....
A few minutes later, he was done and out of the bathroom. He quickly put on his pants and was about to put on his shirt when his reflection in the stained wall mirror caught his attention.
As his eyes landed on the mirror, what Tyler saw wasn't the face of a sixteen years old, but the face of someone that already knew struggle.
What he saw was a boy with tired eyes, sunken slightly from too little rest and too much thought.
His jaw was slim, but his lips were tight—set in that natural frown kids wear when they've had to grow up too fast.
His frame was lean, almost too lean. His arms were wiry, his shoulders narrow and slightly broad, and his chest flat.
His skin held a faint dullness from long days under the sun and cheap soap. A bruise was healing near his rib, probably from some hallway scuffle he'd already forgotten.
His hair was overgrown, uneven, and slightly dry. He remembered how he was cut it often by school regulations.
"I also need to take care of my body too. I look like death," he smiled wryly.
The next moment, the system's screen popped again, accompanied with the voice.
[Ding! New Mission Available!]
[Mission: Train Your Weak Body! (Recurring)
Objective(s):
Press-up, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)
Sit-up, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)
Squat, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)
Running, 10 km: Incomplete (0/10)
Reward(s): +1 Stat Point.]
....
"A new mission and a daily recurring one... Nice," Tyler smiled in satisfaction.
The new mission came at a perfect time and he couldn't had asked for a better reward.
The mission reward of +1 stat point was more than enticing. There's also the fact that he will get to receive it everyday if he completes the mission.
It was exactly what Tyler would had asked for.
The new mission made Tyler to realise something. The system seems to create missions based on his needs.
"Hmmm... If that is really the case, then maybe... Just maybe, I might be able to manipulate it for my own benefits," he muttered to himself.
But all that would be for later, as he still have to take lunch to his mom, at her workplace. When he gets back, he will face the system mission.
He quickly put on his shirt and made his way downstairs. When he got to the living area, he saw that Devin was waiting for him with a bag in his hand.
"You ready?" He asked, and Devin nodded.
"I already packaged mom's food," Devin said, showing Tyler the Tupperware containers in the bag he was holding.
"Good. Let's go," Tyler smiled and nodded.
The two of them left the house and made their way to their mom's workplace—a nursing home located at the end of the neighborhood.