Ravennittes

System Architect - Ch 69

AN: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and enjoy any other winter holidays I may have forgotten!

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Uncle Ben arrived a week later to stay with us at the house. I was surprised that he didn’t have a woman with him. He did have a case of beer, though. Some things never changed.

“Hey little dude,” he said to ...

System Architect - Ch 68

Over the next two weeks, I completed the prep work on all the fields. Getting Dad to bring the tractor down the road for the smaller properties was a colossal pain. The tractor was slow—even with the higher road gear—and so finishing those fields took a lot longer than the bigger property had.

During that time, I did my research in...

System Architect - Ch 67

The orders for equipment and seeds were in place, so there wasn’t much else to steal my attention. I had a lot of time to wait before anything interesting happened. That meant I focused on quests and planned for the future.

While I did not know how much experience I would get from the crops, I knew I wouldn’t be getting any from qu...

System Architect - Ch 66

Daisy was the first interview I’d ever conducted. Even in my past life, where I’d been an adult, I’d never run a business or been a manager. I’d been on the other side of the table many times, but never actually asking the questions. And it had been a couple of decades since the last one. I was going to be rusty.

Without a phon...

System Architect - Ch 65

 Next on the agenda was finding an assistant. I reached out to some recruiters to start that process. Because of the time of year, I wasn’t expecting any results for at least a month. The replies I got confirmed my assumptions. Though I could discuss what I needed in a prospective candidate, they wouldn’t talk to candidates until after ...

System Architect - Ch 64

Two days later, I was in contact with a real estate agent. She was local to the area I was looking in and would be an excellent resource to help me find the land I needed. Through the real estate agent, I had leads to follow. That meant a trip to see the land for myself. I hadn’t heard from Al about someone to handle the finances, but I wasn�...

System Architect - Ch 63

I had no choice but to test the new feature. While I could have chosen Mom or Grandpa Joe, I ended up picking Dad. He was the closest. Before I went to him, I thought about a small contract to test things. I needed conditions that were visible when enforced but also not an inconvenience.

I settled on paying Dad ten dollars for a pen. T...

System Architect - Ch 62

Grandpa Joe, it turned out, had a life outside of helping me from time to time. He was traveling for a week to hang with some friends of his. We set a date to meet three weeks later—he had other plans he couldn’t move—to meet at the bank.

All the while, I made money hand over fist. What had once been around $50,000 was now in the...

System Architect - Ch 61

The next day was Sunday. Easter. Unlike the previous time, I had the full Quests series unlocked. That meant a quest for finding all the eggs! The rewards were mediocre—just twenty experience—but I was happy to see some improvement. I went with Dad to see Grandpa Milton and Grandma Rose for a family lunch. I kept the loops t...

System Architect - Ch 60

“Mil—uh—Eddy! Grandpa Joe replied!” Dad called, an hour after lunch.

I ran down the stairs. Dad was still in the living room by the TV.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Your grandfather sent an email back,” he answered. “He said he hears you loud and clear. He mentioned sending a laptop to you. I’m setti...

System Architect - Ch 59 (Book 2 Start)

AN: Welcome back! I'm moving to a 3x a week schedule moving forward. As such, y'all get this one on a Monday instead of Friday. You'll be a little behind the 15 ahead I was aiming for, but you'll catch up when RR goes for its week break in early January.

With all that aside, enjoy the start of book 2!

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System Architect - Ch 58

Author Note: So ends Book 1. I will be taking a week off, which means the next chapter will fall on 12/6.

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Light enveloped me. A strong feeling of vertigo gripped me. Then there was blackness so deep it felt like the void between galaxies—no light at all. Then suddenly, a box appeared in my face.

 <...

System Architect - Ch 57

The convention center had been rearranged. Instead of being broken down into places for tournaments to take place, it was set up for each school to have their own location. Dad left me in the care of Master Chang.

“Today you can do what you like,” he said. “Check out the other schools and get a lesson from one of the other master...

System Architect - Ch 56

At the moment I made for the closest crowd of people, I heard the sound of a notification as it popped in front of my eyes.

There Can Be Only One Complete
Reward: 512 Exp

While not the greatest reward ever in terms of time or amount, I was still glad to have gained someth...

System Architect - Ch 55

Author Note: I have finished writing Book 1 (chapter 58). I will be taking a 1 week break from writing to plan the next book. This will be reflected in a break for you starting after chapter 58 drops of 11/25 until chapter 59 (chapter 1 of book 2) drops on 12/6.

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Time ticked by. Each student found their design...

System Architect - Ch 54

Author note: With this chapter, you are now 15 ahead. This is the last extra chapter for a while. I may move to a 3x a week schedule with the next book, but no promises.

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Grandpa Joe’s death brought to the fore everything I’d been working on—and everything I’d put off for too...

System Architect - Ch 53

I sat with Mom and Ken in the living room after breakfast. The Christmas tree had both white and colored lights strung around it. Dozens of ornaments and candy canes hung from the branches. Beneath the tree were a multitude of presents. Some were meant for my birthday while others were reserved for Christmas.

I had a giant smile plaste...

System Architect - Ch 52

The next week, Mom and Dad both came with me to Master Chang’s Tiger Academy. It was finally time for my promotion to yellow belt. The place was filled with parents, families, and other loved ones. Though most of the promotions were in the lower belt levels, the night had students from every belt.

“Please be seated,” Master Chang...

System Architect - Ch 51

Author Note: I meant to have this ready to go out earlier today. With the election chaos here yesterday, I got wrapped up in that and didn't write or schedule anything. I will be rectifying that now and scheduling the other chapters for the rest of this week and most of next week.

This makes you 14 ahead. Next week's extra chapter w...

System Architect - Ch 50

The next day, I arrived at my grandparents’ house early in the morning. Grandpa Milton had specifically requested that I get there as early as I could. Planting ten rows of corn was going to take a while. When I arrived, he was waiting for me by the gate to the garden wearing overalls and carrying a couple buckets.

“Good morning!�...

System Architect - Ch 49

I ended up skipping the next beginner class. Normally, I wouldn’t have wanted to do that after just starting to learn martial arts, but I had a good reason. It was Dad’s 30th birthday. His side of the family came over to celebrate—Grandpa Milton and Grandma Rose, Aunt Kat and my cousins, and even Uncle Ben with yet another different girlfr...

System Architect - Ch 48

Two days later, Grandpa Joe picked me up from Dad’s trailer. He was beginning to look older. I didn’t think one year had been a long time. His face looked like it had aged five years in that time. If my memory was right, he was nearing the end of his life. He’d live another four or five years but then that would be that. I wanted to learn ...

System Architect - Ch 47

Mom had words for us when we returned from the trip. That meant I was on a short leash for a while. The rest of the summer passed without incident, as did my final year in school. I turned nine over the winter and celebrated my fourth year after returning. Though I was unhappy about it, Mom and Dad insisted that I actually attend my graduation. ...

System Architect - Ch 46

That night, I learned Grandpa Joe snored. Like intermittent rumbles of thunder—only far less calming. The heat kept me awake for a while, too. Eventually, though, I was able to ignore both and sleep until just before dawn.

He was still sleeping when I snuck out of the tent to piss. I used a nearby tree to relieve myself. I didn’t w...

System Architect - Ch 45

Extra chapter! Don't always expect them weekly. If I do have them every week, I will stop when Patreon is 15 ahead of RR. This makes y'all 12 ahead.

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I hoisted my backpack and stomped off after Grandpa Joe. The rocky trail continued across the increasingly windy peak. Then it went do...

System Architect - Ch 44

I ended up with an A for the project and good feedback from the professors who had both graded the written and witnessed the presentation. I was happy with the results and sent a thank-you note to Dinesh for the hard work he did in getting the project done on time. He responded in kind and offered to hang out again sometime—however I was alrea...

System Architect - Ch 43

I met up with Dinesh a week before finals to see where we were for the project and what still needed to be done. I was done with my business plan and with the logistics around sourcing materials or outsourcing manufacturing. The numbers weren’t amazing—which really meant that while the whole thing was a fun exercise, it wasn’t an actually ...

System Architect - Ch 42

Surprise extra chapter!

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My first semester went well. I went home for winter break and returned after the new year for the start of the spring semester. I marked my second year back in the past with an extra scoop of ice cream.

It was around that ti...

System Architect - Ch 41

After a week of classes, I considered my situation. The university had almost everything I needed to get my quests done every day. From a pool and a gym to solid wifi for puzzles and arithmetic, I was well equipped. The classes weren’t too bad—after explaining who I was to the professors that is. I was getting solid experience from the class...

System Architect - Ch 40

The rest of the summer slipped by. I enjoyed the second session of the summer camp more than the first. Mac returned, as did Micah—though he ended up in the other group. My increased stats allowed me to excel in the physical activities. The ones that needed finer control—like art—suffered. It was a struggle to use as the right amount of fo...