The living room was filled with the sound of tearing paper as the twins ripped open their presents in excitement. They eagerly unwrapped boxes filled with clothing, toys, gadgets, and many other items as their parents and other adults watched on. Some of them were munching on the birthday cake. Others had their phones out, ready to capture the moment the twins opened the presents they brought.
In front of them, Kristine and Christopher acted like any ordinary child during their birthday. They didn't seem like reincarnated adults at all. Just two young kids who loved opening presents and playing with them afterward.
"We got some great gifts," Kristine said with false enthusiasm as she held up a small pink purse, "Thanks, Auntie Mary!"
Then she showed off another one of her new accessories, "Look, Mom! A new hair bow!" She attached the new hair bow to her blond hair and twirled around with a laugh, "Look, how pretty!"
Kristine took a couple of steps back to admire herself for a second before glancing at the camera aimed at her. She stuck out her tongue playfully, showing off her cute smile to the camera.
The flash from the camera went off brightly as Kristine struck a pose.
"You're welcome, deary." The middle-aged woman both grinned happily, then gave her a thumbs-up to show her approval.
Christopher watched as his sister racked up Love Points left and right by putting on a one-girl fashion show the all of the attendees. Her innate sense of style left everyone including Christopher in awe. He was certain that in their past life, they were not this fashionable. Every time she put on a new scarf, hat, or article of clothing, it seemed to transform. She turned unfashionable clothes and accessories that looked terrible on anyone else into the perfect outfit or accessory once it was on her small frame. The relatives couldn't stop taking pictures as she posed and showed off her presents. And she did all this with the confidence of a trained child model.
Christopher hoped the show would never end. He had never seen such a rapid accumulation of Love Points before.
"999 Love Points ..."
"900 Love Points ..."
"800 Love Points ..."
"I guess girls do make generating Love Points easy," Christopher thought as he continued tearing open the present in his hands, "It's so much easier than Hatred points."
But then, something unexpected happened.
As Kristine continued to put on a show, they started to notifications for Hatred Points as well. Christopher was shocked as he saw the numbers tick up on the window.
"44 Hatred Points ...”
"63 Hatred Points ..."
Christopher realized that the Hatred Points were coming from people who were envious of his and his sister's parents. He could already see it in their eyes. They were probably wondering why their own kids weren't as adorable and well-behaved as him and his sister.
As they gained Hatred Points, Christopher couldn’t help but recall the traumatic experience that had occurred when they used the Devil Lottery as infants. Since then, they had never risked using it again.
As the camera flashes went off, Kristine secretly used her Love Points to purchase more Trait books from the system. Christopher could already see their Love Points lowering.
Angel Lottery
You have used 20000 Love points to purchase previous prizes.
x50 Beauty (Face) Trait Book
x50 Beauty (Hair) Trait Book
While everyone's eye was glued to Kristine's fashion show, she was getting more adorable by the second, thanks to her system purchases. The crowd didn't realize her facial features and silky blond hair were becoming more enchanting with every passing moment. No one was the wiser as she continued posing for the camera.
Christopher couldn't help but feel a little jealous of how easily Kristine was able to farm Love Points compared to him. He knew he had to find a way to gain Hatred Points in the future so he wouldn't be a burden on his sister. Her sister was working so hard while he was slacking off.
**
As Kristine continued to open up her presents, her father watched on with a look of suspicion.
Garrett knew that his daughter, Kristine, was an adorable child but he couldn't help but wonder if there was something more to her adorableness.
He noticed how the surrounding family members were in a frenzy over Kristine's adorableness, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than just natural charm.
Garrett glanced at his son, Christopher who was off to the side. The boy seems to be doing a better job at hiding it but his appearance had a similar quality to his sister's.
"Could it be a sign of psionic ability?" Garrett wondered.
After all, both he and his wife both possessed psionic abilities, and it wasn't uncommon for children of Psions to develop powers of their own.
Garrett made a mental note to keep a closer eye on both Kristine and Christopher as they grew older. It would be great if this was the result of an psionic ability.
As a Psion himself, he knew firsthand the benefits and privileges that came with being a Psion in the current society. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that his psionic powers were the only reason he had been able to become a Brigadier General six years ago, at the young age of 28. Without them, he knew he never would have been able to climb the ranks so quickly.
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He wouldn't know what he would do if his children turned out to be one of the Non-Gifted. He knew it was wrong to be biased, but he couldn't deny the fact that in this era, meritocracy didn't exist for the Non-Gifted. All he wanted was for his children to have the best possible future.
**
“Uhh.” Kristine collapsed face-first onto her bed, exhausted from putting on a cute act all day.
Her pink-themed room was filled with dolls and a grand piano, and the windows were covered in pink curtains with white lace trim. A small crystal chandelier provided ambient lighting as it hung above her bed with crystal beads dangling down over the ceiling.
Christopher sat silently besides Kristine as she complained, "I can't believe I've been smiling so much for so many hours. I know I did it for the Love Point rewards, but I feel so terrible."
She was so focused on farming Love Points that she has already forgotten about the unpleasant encounter from a few days earlier.
Christopher chuckled and patted her head. "You did great, sis.”
"Enough." Kristine smacked his hand away and rolled away. She had enough of his shallow flattery. "Ugh, I don't know if I can do another birthday again. It's exhausting."
Then Christopher added with more genuine emotion, "But you were amazing today. Look at how many points we have!"
He pointed at the floating system window that displayed how many points they had.
Love Points: 43120
Hatred Points: 812
Kristine was embarrassed to hear his compliment, "Well… thank you. It's like they say, the mind is a plaything of the body. I was just letting myself do whatever felt natural."
"Don't worry, I will find a way to get Hatred Points in the future, don't you doubt it," Christopher said with a confident grin, "I'll make it happen, I promise."
Kristine snorted in response with a laugh, "What are you going to do? Commit some crimes and get thrown in jail? Mom and Dad won't like that very much."
Christopher laughed loudly at his sister's comment, "No way!"
They glanced at one another with wide grins, before laughing at the absurdity of the idea.
Kristine had no idea what her brother planned to do when they grew older, but she was a little worried about what twisted ideas his brother might have for the future.
One thing is for certain, she couldn’t imagine a bookworm like Christopher ending up in prison.
"Let's use the Love Points," Kristine said with excitement, "I want to see what we get."
She opened the "Angel Lottery" menu on the system window and started to roll. The twins watched as they received the following gifts:
Angel Lottery
You have used 40000 Love Points
x100 Flexibility Trait Book: Increases the flexibility of the body
x100 Basketball Skill Book: Increases proficiency in basketball.
x100 Massaging Skill Book: Increases proficiency in massaging.
x100 Acrobatics Skill Book: Increases proficiency in acrobatics.
"Basketball skill, huh? At least the system is actually giving out some manly skills," Kristine muttered with a grimace. The twins were still not used to the pain that resulted from uploading new skills to their brains.
"But what is with the other prizes?" Kristine couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at the absurdity of it all. "Flexibility? Massaging? Acrobatics? That seems a little sketchy."
As she turned to ask Christopher what he thought. She found him on the ground, doing splits like Jean-Claude Van Damme.
"What are you doing?" Kristine asked, confusion etched on her face.
"Hey, our past self was an unathletic Internet addict his entire past life," Christopher replied, as he continued to hold the pose. "I always wanted to be able to do a perfect split."
Kristine rolled her eyes at her brother's antics. They shared the same memories, but she didn't have any desire to perform a split at this very instance.
"Come on, let's try out the Hatred system again," Kristine suggested. "We might get lucky this time."
Christopher looked at her with doubt. They both knew that the Hatred system only gave out horrible skills, like torture.
But Kristine was determined to see what they could get. Maybe this time, they would find something useful.
She started the "Devil Lottery" menu for the first time in five years.
Devil Lottery
You have used 800 Hatred Points
x4 Toughness (Bone) Trait Book: Increase the toughness of bones
x4 Muay-Thai Skill Book: Increases proficiency in Muay-Thai.
"Muay Thai!" the twins yelled in excitement as the memories of Muay Thai lessons were uploaded into their brains. Their enthusiasm dulled the pain, as they were too happy to care.
This was a much better reward than the torture skill they received in the past. And the Toughness trait they received was no worse than the beauty traits from the Angel Lottery. The twins were relieved that the Devil Lottery had normal prizes. Their initial bad luck with the Devil Lottery was a one-off thing.
"Thank you, system," Kristine said happily.
The system window replied with a smiley face emoticon, acknowledging Kristine's appreciation.
The twins didn't speak to the system as often as before. They had figured out its ins and outs and rarely needed its assistance anymore but it was always ready to help when they needed it.
They had come a long way since they first gained the system, but they knew this was only the beginning.