Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer
chapter-11

The first door on the second floor is where the Master's Bedroom is and where Jerry is currently at, arranging and folding Ashton's clothes for him.

He has a king-sized bed, a bed side table, lamp, a projector instead of a tv, and walk-in closets. It's a bit excessive for Ashton but is he complained. Of course not. There's also a pretty bathroom in there with toiletries already available for use.

Aside from the Master's Bedroom, there's a veranda at the second floor for re-creational activities as well as three empty rooms that Ashton could freely modify according to his needs.

Agent Theta also showed him a small compartment where the house's security system is installed. He told him to not touch it unless he is a certified mechanic at least or else he'd just damage it.

That about it for the house actually. It is so much more than Ashton could truly ask for but he's very thankful to have it. He even whispered a word of thanks to the system since without it, he wouldn't have this.

"...Jerry could sustain himself but it wouldn't hurt to bond with him from time to time. Although he's a bot, he can get lonely too. If any accidents happen and Jerry starts malfunctioning, you can call for mechanics to take a look at him."

"Jerry can teach you how to use the electronics here so I'll leave that to him. Buy a decent smart-watch as soon as you can since that would help you a lot and remember all the things I told you before. Do you have any questions?"

Ashton was silent for a bit, seriously thinking if there are any questions he needs answer for.

"...I think I'm good." Ashton replied after a moment of consideration.

"Well, if you have any concerns, Jerry will be there to answer you. If he can't then you're on own." Agent Theta stated, he then sighed and said: "Well, that does it for me. I'll be leaving now. Stay safe, kid. Have a good life."

"Thank you so much for all your help so far, Agent." Ashton bowed and escorted the man out of the house.

Agent Theta got on the car, gave Ashton a last wave of goodbye before driving away.

Once he was gone, Ashton finally felt everything settling-in. He took a deep breath as he looked in to his home.

"So, this is it. My new life." He murmured.

He was filled with some optimism as he looked around. He can't believe that he had gotten the jackpot at day one. But then again, he had to ground himself here.

Ashton reminded himself that this world is different from what he's used to. For the ignorant him, this might be much but what about the real professionals of this world? He can't compare to them so it's best to keep humble for now.

Beep! Beep!

Jerry's cheerful beeps woke him up from his daze. The bot rolled-up to him eagerly with a new text-bubble on his screen-face.

'Do you need my help for anything, Master?'

"Hmm...uh, I actually feel a bit hungry right now. Can you cook?"

'Yes, I can!' The bot replied, 'Here's the list of options I can make for you with the stock we have available.'

Jerry's screen face then displayed a long list menu he can create for lunch. Ashton was a bit surprised. It seems that this butler-bot of his could do just about everything which neat.

"Uh...let's see...ooh, I wanna splurge a bit to commemorate my new life here so I guess I'll go with...fried rice, medium rare steak, sunny-side up eggs and a bowl of salad. For drinks, a lemonade will do. But uh, weird question...Do you need to eat?"

Jerry replied with: 'No Master, but I do need to charge for at least four hours per week to maintain my optimal state.'

"Ah, of course. I should've known." Ashton was a bit embarrassed but oh well, just making sure you know? "Yeah, if you can make those dishes for me, that'd be perfect."

'Very well, then. Please wait for at least 15 minutes.'

"Ah! Actually before you go, I need your help with something."

'Ask away, Master.'

"How do I...turn-on or like, use this thing?" He asked pointing at the big-ass TV in the wall.

'It's simple Master. The Cinematic TV is hooked on voice-command. Mr. Security already recorded your voice so you'll only need to say 'Turn the TV on' out loud.'

"Oh! Alright...well then, here it goes. Turn the TV on!"

"-BRINGING THIS NEWS LIVE FROM CITY B, I'M YOUR HOST, DEVON! STAY TUNED FOR MORE!"

"#&%&#*#!!"

A string of curses flew out of Ashton's mouth. That scared the sh*t out of him. He didn't expect this thing to be so damn loud. The sound was literally reverberating all over the room.

"Tone it down!" He exclaimed unknowingly.

Surprisingly, the volume did decrease to an alright level. It seems that the system of this house is pretty intelligent since it understood his intentions.

Beep! Beep!

Ashton looked at Jerry and saw him telling him something.

'Changing the channels is as easy as waving your hand. It is also connected to online so you can access some of things being posted in there. To get more use out of it, I recommend you hooking it up on a smart-watch.'

"I see. Thanks for letting me know." Ashton smiled and patted Jerry's head. "Alright, I'll be fine here. I'll trouble you to prepare food. Call me up when it's done."

'Yes, Master.'

And just like that, Jerry merrily rolled away towards the kitchen leaving Ashton alone in the receiving area.

Ashton sat at the sofa and once again felt his butt sinking in to clouds.

'I really need to know what materials they use for these things.' He inwardly mused, 'Wait! If the sofa's already this soft, then what about my bed? Ooh I can't wait to try, but I'll do that later.'

Ashton's attention went to the whatever's playing at the TV. He still finds this a little bit ridiculous but he's slowly getting used to this.

The current channel is filled with news. The show is named 'Today @Bastion', it focuses on all sorts of events, rumors and important people living inside the Last Bastion.

The structure and general theme of the news programs are quite similar to his old world's. In hindsight, he should've expected this when he was trolled by that commercial on the bus earlier this day.

It would ne weird for him to say this, but this world's news channel is actually pretty entertaining...that or he's just really jubilant about his current situation, either or really.

'Ah right! I nearly forgot about this. Ahem, System. I'll use my Sign-in Opportunity here.'

[Host signed-in to his new home...]

[Congratulations! You receiving a house-warming gift package from the System.]

'Eh?' Ashton raised a brow. He opened his Inventory and found a new item in there.

[House-warming Gift Package (Consumable).]

The item has no other descriptions aside from that which is actually quite confusing for Ashton, nevertheless since it comes from the System, he might as well see what's inside right?

'Consume the House-warming Gift Package.'

[House-warming Gift Package, consumed.]

[Host received: [S-watch 9000], 50% Discount Coupon, Library Pass, Butler-bot Upgrade Chip.]

'Ooh! Dayum! Another jackpot! You're too kind to me system!'

Ashton couldn't help but grin upon seeing the things he received from the package. He then began going through each items to know more about them.

[S-watch 9000]

: A recent piece of technology. Very helpful.

: Comes with a beginner friendly manual.

[50% Discount Coupon]

: It does what you think it does.

: Can be used at any stores.

[Library Pass]

: Allows access to Public Libraries.

: Valid for lifetime.

[Butler-bot Upgrade Chip]

: A little gift for good ol' Jerry.

: Give this to him and he'll know what to do with it.

'Ooh! Got me a smartwatch! I don't have to buy it anymore since I got one for free. Free things! Yay.'

'The rest are good. Very practical for my current situation, especially that Library Pass. I guess, I'll visit the nearest one tomorrow.'

'As for the upgrade chip, maybe I should delay it for now. I gotta make it look like I bought this outside to hide the existence of the System as much as possible. Can't go wrong with being careful.'

Once he inspected his gains, he kept the Inventory away and returned his attention back to the program.

A couple of minutes later, he heard the whirring sounds of Jerry approaching him. He turned to look and Jerry said:

'Food's ready, Master!'

Ashton's eyes lit-up and stood-up. He issued a command to turn the tv off and went to the dining area with Jerry.

The scent of good food whetted his appetite. He smiled as he sat down on the table. This will be the first time this body will experience the joy of having good food.

"Thanks for the meal." Ashton grinned and began cutting through the steak.

As he chewed on his food, he heard Jerry's whirring sounds next to him.

'Should I prepare a warm bath for you, Master?'

"Ooh, yeah! That would be real nice."

'Alright! Please, enjoy your meal.'

"Thanks, Jerry."

And as the bot rolled away, Ashton happily consumed his food whilst thinking to himself:

'Today is truly a good day.'