“Sheila?!!”

Sheila's appearance surprised Devon. He opened the door to find a charming high school girl in a neatly pressed uniform holding a cake decorated with colorful icing and decorations. The cake had the word "Congratulations!" written in elegant script. Her bright eyes and genuine smile showed excitement and happiness, but she also seemed a bit nervous. Despite standing confidently, she became surprised and embarrassed, with her cheeks turning red when she saw Devon.

Without warning, Sheila dropped the cake, sending it tumbling to the ground. Devon tried to catch it, but it was too late. The girl turned and hurriedly fled down the stairs, leaving Devon confused and wondering what had just happened.

"Why did she run away?" Devon asked himself, he tried to call Sheila's name but she was out of sight.

He realized that he was only wearing boxer shorts and felt embarrassed about what happened. He had assumed that it was his father who would open the door, so he didn't bother putting on a t-shirt. Devon cursed under his breath, knowing that things would be awkward if Sheila came to their house again in the future. He knew that Sheila would always hang out at their house, especially since the vacation was starting next week. Sheila was his sister's best friend, and his sister always invited her and their other friends to hang out at their house. He is afraid that Sheila might tell his sister what had happened, and they might have a misunderstanding about it.

He also didn't expect Sheila to come to their house, as he knew that Divine's friends were going to have a sleepover, but he didn't notice if Sheila was going to be there with them. Devon sighed and looked at the shattered congratulatory cake on the floor, remembering the events of the previous week.

Divine kept asking him what he wanted as a gift because his graduation was coming up. Devon joked that he wanted a homemade cake with dedication, but he didn't expect his sister to take it seriously because he knew her too well. She wasn't the type who would cook or bake.

In addition, he was surprised that Sheila was the one who gave him the cake. He wasn't sure if Sheila was in cahoots with Divine to give him the cake as a prank. But he didn't think it was like that. He didn't want to read too much into it because first and foremost, why would Sheila give him a cake? They didn't talk much, and he felt like she avoided him whenever they crossed paths in their house. She seemed to be avoiding him.

He stopped thinking about it and felt bad because he didn't have a chance to thank Sheila because she ran away. He really appreciated what she did because he never received a congratulatory cake from someone who wasn't a relative or close friend. His circle of friends wasn't that big either. Devon thought of giving a gift to Sheila because they were also graduating from high school in the next few days. He might ask Regine to help him buy a gift later.

He went back to his room and took utensils and a plate to eat the cake outside. He also took pictures of it and took selfies to send it to Sheila and thank her. He explained what had happened earlier and apologized to her to avoid any misunderstandings. Even though they weren't friends on social media, he still sent the message and hoped that Sheila would see it on her message request. He also sent a message to his sister Divine to thank her and started eating the cake on the floor.

***

After eating the cake, Devon cleaned up the mess in front of the door. He also activated his Rest Skill, which triggered a 30-minute countdown and refilled his stamina. He did this so that he could gain Stress Points while preparing for school and restore some of his mana. He just needed to ensure not to exhaust his stamina while in the Rest State so as not to cancel it and trigger the 30-minute cooldown. He also called his dad to ask where he was because he wanted to talk to him in person. He learned that his dad had not yet left their house and was having breakfast in their dining room. Devon wasted no time and went to the dining room.

When he arrived, he found his dad drinking coffee while reading the newspaper. He called out to him, but his dad was surprised to see Devon.

"Who the hell are you?!" Devon's dad asked, throwing a spoon at him, but he dodged it. Perhaps his dad did not recognize him immediately because he had changed a lot. Devon expected this to happen, so he knew he had a lot of explaining to do today.

"Dad! It's me, Devon, your son!! My appearance and body changed because of my Gift!!. When I woke up, this was my body," Devon explained.

"Okay, prove to me that you're my son!"

"I have a birthmark on my left leg," Devon removed his pants and showed his dad his birthmark. But his dad still wasn't convinced.

"Hmmmnnn, what's the password for the bank account I created for you?" he asked.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"Daddylovesyou1234, with a capital D," Devon said with a laugh. But his dad still wasn't convinced because he had done something on his phone.

"Okay, now put your thumb here. If your fingerprint matches, I'll believe you're Devon."

"What's up with that, Dad? Aren't you convinced with the password?" Devon followed his dad's command. He scanned his fingerprint, and his dad confirmed that he was Devon.

"Just making sure. What happened to you, son? You've changed a lot. The last time I saw you, you looked out of shape," his dad joked.

"This is the effect of my Gift; when I woke up, my body changed. I'm embarrassed to go to school; people will surely stare at me, and no one will believe I'm Devon."

"Your Gift is a stress ball, right? Report what happened to your school to update your information," his dad said, continuing to read the newspaper.

"How did you know that my Gift is a stress ball?"

"Son, I have my scouts who watched your opening ceremony. Sadly, my scouts saw that you weren't qualified for the invitation, so they didn't approach you. Based on reports, they found your Gift unsuitable for the company. Also, I plan to train you to manage a business, so it's okay even if they don't see the potential in your Gift," his dad explained.

Devon agreed with what he heard. While his Gift may not seem interesting to others, he knew the potential of his Gift was immense. However, he couldn't prove this to anyone else because he was the only one who knew or could see its system. He also realized that it was good that he couldn't disclose the abilities of his Gift to others, remembering the dream he had earlier. He needed to be careful because people were looking for him. Until he knew who they were, their intentions, or if the dream was even real, it was best to keep a low profile and prepare for whatever might happen.

"Do you know what your Gift can do, son?" his father asked.

"I haven't explored it much yet, but my body had already changed when I woke up this morning. Maybe because it's a stress ball, it made my body stress-free," Devon said, laughing.

"Okay, nice joke, son, but it's good to explore the capabilities of your Gift so that you can get recommendations from the Guilds and enroll this school year. Anyway, let's get to the request you mentioned. What are they?" his father closed the newspaper and sipped his coffee. He also leaned back in his chair to listen to Devon.

"First, I need a support item that can contain two familiars. Second, I need the latest model of the storage watch that your company is selling, Pa. As for the expenses, I'll cover them with my allowance fund," Devon requested.

His father, David, was disciplined regarding his children's money. He told them he would no longer indulge in their luxuries once they reached legal age. He would only provide them with basic needs, and when his children started working, he would stop giving them an allowance. So he taught his children to be frugal with their money, and he had no problem with Devon regarding money. He rarely spent on anything luxurious and only spent money when he treated a friend or bought personal items or gifts for his friends. Devon's allowance fund balance was also significant, and his father knew it would cover his son's request, so he agreed.

"I'll agree if we can deduct it from your allowance, and I'll have my secretary prepare your request right away. Are your requests for your two friends, Johnny and Regine?" David asked.

"Yes, it's my graduation gift to them," Devon explained.

"Okay. What about your third request? What is it?" his father asked.

"Uh, well, I need physical work that will tire me out. Maybe you have a connection with a business or company that needs personnel so that I don't have to apply elsewhere," Devon replied.

Devon knows that he will have difficulty finding a job that would exhaust him because he has no experience in this field. Even if he says he is strong, someone with work experience is still different. In addition, his laziness in applying and searching for job openings adds to the problem. He is shy and has no patience for these kinds of things, so he thinks that if there is a faster way, he will take advantage of it.

David laughed loudly when he heard his son's last request. He knew his son, and laziness was one of his habits. He had no patience in finding a job. David was ready to help his son, and he was happy that his son was willing to find a job. But what surprised him was that his son was looking for a physical job, which is contrary to his son's usual activities of eating, sleeping, playing computer games, and using his cell phone.

"What made you think of looking for that kind of job? Are you sure you can handle it? Because as far as I know, you are not the type of person who does not want to get tired. Why don't you just get a job in my office, and I'll teach you how to handle business? You still have your time, and you can do what you want. You can even take a rest."

"I don't need that kind of job because I need to get tired. It is related to my Gift. I can't explain it now. So, if you know someone, Papa, please refer me."

"Okay, I know someone you can work for, but on one condition."

Devon was ready for any condition his father would give him. He knew his father always asked for conditions whenever he wanted something ever since he was a child.

"What is the condition?" Devon asked.

His father handed him the newspaper he was reading. Devon recognized the man in the headline.

"I don't know if you are familiar with that guy, but based on the reports, he had the number next to you yesterday at your Opening Gift. He is Tomo Mendoza, the same age as you."

Devon remembered him as the guy who bumped into him yesterday. He wondered why he was in the news and read the article about him.

"Pleasure?" Devon asked his father because he was not familiar with this term.

"Yesterday, the Gift he received was a Pleasure. It is a high-class sidekick-type Gift. It is considered one of the Rare Gifts, and according to documents, he is the seventh person among the live Gifted who has Pleasure in this world and the second person in the Philippines. And the interesting part is that of the six people with Pleasures, all of them have criminal charges. Our team wants to interview him, but the government officers have stopped approaching Tomo because they want the government to look into and observe his Gift first."

"Why they named it Pleasure?"

"As far as I know, son, Pleasures become stronger and survive when they feel satisfaction or happiness in themselves, in short, when they feel pleasure. Pleasures are the root of all true evil. Pleasure for doing good? What is the basis for doing good in today's world? For Pleasures, they don't care if their actions are good or bad. The only thing that is good for them is what can satisfy them. That is why they are one of the most dangerous Gifts in history."

"Okay, I understand now, but what does this have to do with the condition?"

"Because my scouts can't approach Tomo, and he's still allowed to attend your graduation practice. I'm sending you to talk to him for us. You decide to ask what he wants, and we'll see if we can negotiate. If you can get him to talk to us, I'll fulfill your three requests without deducting them from your allowance. What do you say?"

At first, Devon didn't know if he would accept his father's offer because he found it challenging to approach someone he didn't know. But his curiosity about Pleasures prevailed. So he accepted his father's offer.

"Okay. Game!! I accept the condition," replied Devon.

"So just give me updates every day. By the way, do you still need my testimonial to prove it's you? You know, there have been significant changes in your body."

"It's okay, Dad. I'll call you if I need help."

The father and son ended their conversation, and Devon left for school. He was nervous as he went to the jeepney stop, thinking about what would happen. He knew he had a lot to explain to his classmates and friends.