07. New Face, New Life

"He's quite handsome too."

Ave had been in the bathroom for quite a while, staring at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror—or Elias's face, the guy whose face was duplicated and turned into Ave's new face. Luckily, Ave's grandma was blind, otherwise, she would have had a heart attack seeing her grandson's face change like that.

The young man then turned on the tap at the sink and washed his face using soap—he was too poor to buy special face soap, so he used regular soap for both shampooing and washing his everyday clothes.

Ave rinsed his face with water until it was clean before drying it with a towel and gazing again at his new face in the mirror.

Again and again, Ave was amazed by this new face.

He thought he would get a plain face or even worse, a face older than his own.

Ave’s new face is much smaller than his old face. His hair is still the same black color, but Ave's black pupils have now changed to a golden color like a marble. Moreover, his chin looks slimmer, making Ave's new face more fitting to be called beautiful rather than handsome.

"Is he an idol?" mumbled Ave, wondering. Faces like this are often seen on TV or in dramas. Of course, he did not know much because Ave did not have a TV at home. They were too poor to afford the monthly TV subscription fees.

However, Ave now had a new problem.

He could not just go to school with this face and continue using the name Avery Blythe. People will surely be suspicious, and worst-case scenario, Ave might get caught to be experimented on by crazy researchers in New Orleans who are ambitious to discover new genes and make humans mutate into something more superior.

"I need to create a new identity and transfer to school as a new student," Ave said, thinking of a strategy. He might move to another school as safer option, but only Neogen High School graduates that would get direct recommendations to join the Elite Ranger force, Ave's dream workplace.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Ave? Are you still inside?"

The young man blinked and spontaneously returned from his daydream. He looked at the bathroom door made of old, rotten wood, with its hinges half-loose.

"I'm done, Gran."

He would think about this later after dinner. For now, Ave had promised to have meat together with his grandma.

The young man stepped out of the bathroom and walked toward the living room, which was not more than a few steps away. His grandma was sitting, peeling oranges she got from the trash bin at the supermarket, a bit far from the 72nd Street area.

Ave himself was sometimes puzzled.

His grandma was completely blind but she could walk without a cane for kilometers.

"Ave, eat these oranges." Grandma handed over the peeled oranges to Ave, and he gladly took them. He sat down and enjoyed the oranges peacefully.

Ave glanced at the kitchen and saw a set of beef lying there, a reward from the previous quest.

"Gran, want to have a barbecue tonight?"

"Bar... bar what? Gran doesn't know what that is."

Hearing his grandma's innocent response, Ave chuckled lightly. Of course, she would not know. Ave, too, could only watch his friends enjoy barbecue during lunch break in the cafeteria, while he just stared, suppressing hunger because he did not have money to buy lunch.

"I'll make it for you, Gran."

"Ave," called Grandma, making Ave, who was about to stand up again, turn to look at her.

"Yes?"

"You... you didn't get this meat the wrong way, did you? I-I don't mean to accuse you... but you know, we don't have money to buy chicken, let alone beef." Grandma's hand trembled in fear, making Ave unable to hold back the trembling tears. Since when had they been living in such misery? If Ave had not misbehaved before, would they have moved to a more decent place and lived much better?

Ave approached his grandma and held her hand tightly. "No, Gran. Don't worry. I have a very good friend. He gave me this meat for free after I taught him material for the daily test."

The young man had to lie because his grandma would not believe it if Ave said he got the meat from the system. Perhaps Ave would be taken to the hospital and considered insane if he revealed the truth.

"Ohhh—so that's how it is. My grandson is indeed very smart and kind. He even teaches his friends for tomorrow's test."

"Of course, because I'm your grandson."

"Hahaha, you're right."

After his grandma believed Ave's lie, he smiled sadly and stood up to cook the meat for barbecue.

---

The sound of crickets filled the silent night as Ave lay on a thin mattress, feeling the cold floor beneath his back. But Ave did not pay much mind to it as he was busy looking up to read something that floating there.

//

Host Profile

Name: Avery Blythe

Age: 17 Years

Gender: Male

Occupation: Student

Stats:

Resilience: 3 points

Courage: 48 points

Charisma: 11 points

Wealth: 6 points

Skill List:

Mighty Blow Level 1

Item List:

3x Rejuvenation Potion

Balance: 12,000 Gold Coins

//

Ave closely read every piece of information on the hovering hologram page, and what stuck in his eyes was the number of coins he had.

"1 gold coin equals $100, so if I convert all my coins to money, I have about... $1,200,000."

Ave's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with both hands, as if not believing he had that much money now.

"With that much money, I could buy ten kilograms of meat, then get new clothes for me and grandma. Should I buy my school supplies too? It's been a while since I bought a new bag. Right, grandma often complains about her back hurting at night; maybe I'll get her a new mattress and an electric massager...."

The young man continued mumbling while staring at the hole-ridden and almost collapsing ceiling of the house. He could see the bright moon in the sky. Ave had a bunch of dreams he wanted to fulfill with the money he got. Unconsciously, Ave fell asleep, exhausted from thinking about what he would buy tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that.

When Ave woke up again, it was already morning.

"Mmmh," Ave mumbled as he sat up and gazed at the sunlight streaming through the cracks in his ramshackle house.

He had to go to school. Today was an important daily test schedule for Ave.

However, before Ave could attend classes like normal, he had to take care of something first.

Yes, Ave had to take care of his new identity.

He would enter school as a new person.

Avery Blythe had died in the dark abyss yesterday, and today he would come back to life as a whole new person.

"Let's do this."