Sunday March 5th, 2023
Alex wakes up to his alarm at 5:00am Sunday morning feeling great and still in the afterglow of a successful first day of FitTech. After taking a shower and getting dressed in a new FitTech T-shirt and pants, he heads to the kitchen and has some cereal and milk for breakfast.
Thinking about everything that happened yesterday, Alex has a sudden thought, “Hey Zara, the quest [Membership Drive] required 10 people to sign up for memberships to be completed and we were able to get 36 yesterday. Why isn’t the quest completed.?”
[While using the Quest System, there are many quests where it is possible to achieve results that go above and beyond what the quest asks for. In this case for instance, achieving sales of 10 memberships grants the rewards stipulated in the quest. If you achieve sales of 20 memberships the rewards will be doubled. Selling 30 memberships will triple the rewards and it will continue to follow in this pattern. The only exception is that store experience can only be doubled at maximum. The hope is that the rewards will motivate you to strive to do your best. Continue to work hard!] Zara explains to Alex.“Ah, I see.” Alex responds. Thinking through the ramifications of what Zara just explained, he thinks of another issue. “Just to be clear, what happens if I manage to sell 38 or 39 membership but don’t manage to reach 40?”
[In this example, from 30-39 membership sales, the rewards will be tripled from the base value. Once sales reach 40 memberships, the reward tier will go from triple to quadruple rewards and remain at that tier until 50 memberships are sold.] Zara explains succinctly.“Got it, thanks for the explanation Zara.” Alex expresses mentally.
[Of course, Alex. Let me know if you have any further questions,] echoes Zara’s voice in Alex’s head.Finishing up breakfast and putting the dishes away, it is just about 6am so Alex heads downstairs into the gym, turning on the lights and the electronic equipment to start the day. At 6am Alex opens the front door and heads to the reception desk to check on FitTech’s social media accounts.
Alex opens up the tabs for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. He goes through them one by one, and is happy to see that he recognizes posts from some of the customers who came yesterday and that they were sharing positivity about the gym and they seemed especially excited about Richard the AI fitness instructor. A couple of people even said that Richard should have his own social media accounts.
This made Alex laugh and he responded using the official FitTech account, “We will discuss this idea with Richard and see what he has to say, then we will get back to you!’ Then Alex takes some time to respond to comments and questions that were posted on the various accounts and greets the first few customers as they come in.
A returning customer customer from yesterday heads straight to Richard to get their health scans and workout plan for the day. After his scan is complete he looks at the screen projected on Richard’s chest to see if there are any changes from yesterday.
“Congratulations,” says Richard in an excited voice. “Your constitution score broke through from 4 to 5 after recovering from your workout yesterday! We will have to amp things up today to keep improving!”
Really?!” exclaimed the customer. “When I woke up this morning I could swear I felt like I had more energy than usual but thought I must have been mistaken.”
“You definitely weren’t mistaken! Like the screen in front of you shows, each time your ability score upgrades to the next number, it signifies your body breaking through a bottleneck to the next level of growth. This breakthrough is often accompanied by a noticeable growth in the parameters. In this case, increasing constitution to level 5 will increase your energy and endurance as you noticed this morning,” replied Richard.
“That’s great! I’ve got about 2 hours before I need to head to work, please generate a workout plan for me before then” exclaims the enthusiastic customer.
This interlude was noticed by a few customers who were lined up to register their trial membership cards at the front desk. ‘Wow, I wonder if I can have results like that’ they thought to themselves with renewed enthusiasm as they signed up.
As the morning was underway, there was a good amount of traffic in the gym. It seemed that word of mouth started to spread as customers who came in yesterday shared their experiences with friends and family. There also seemed to be the beginning of a Richard fan club as enthusiastic customers would gather together around the AI and ask him random questions about all sorts of topics to see how he would respond.
Richard, who seemed to have fully taken on the personality of his namesake, Richard Simmons, had all the makings of a great motivational speaker as he inspired and motivated the customers to work towards their goals, not just in fitness, but in their work and relationships as well.
‘When I said that I wanted technology to be the focal point of this fitness center, this wasn’t necessarily what I had in mind’ Alex thought to himself as he shook his head watching these scenes.
The morning hours seemed to go by in a flash. Max, who had come to the gym yesterday and was looking for a permanent gym, returned again. He seemed impressed with the technology and was excited to continue working out and seeing the improvement in his fitness.
Sarah, who had been rehabilitating a leg injury, also returned today. Alex was happy to see her back and asked how her leg was feeling. She responded that it was feeling much better and that she was looking forward to continuing her rehabilitation at the gym.
Alex made his rounds, greeting customers and answering any questions they had. He was pleased to see that the gym was already starting to develop a sense of community, with customers chatting and encouraging each other during their workouts.
At 11am Alex closed the store for lunch and walked upstairs and joined his mother for lunch.
“How’s the gym today Alex? I plan to go down this afternoon for a workout myself!” Alex’s mother says.
“The gym has been doing pretty well. We made enough money yesterday to cover the mortgage for the entire month.” responds Alex.
His mother gasps, “Really?! That’s wonderful news, Alex! I’m so proud of you for taking this leap and making it work so quickly. I expected it to take a while to start to earn money.”
“Thanks, mom. It’s been tough, but it’s definitely been worth it. Once we get things going a bit more, I want to start paying off dad’s medical bills so that we can be free from debt,” said Alex.
“Oh honey, that’s very kind of you. I appreciate the thought but I don’t want you to strain yourself too much. We can manage for a while somehow,” said his mother who was truly touched by his thoughts..
“I know mom, don’t worry,” replies Alex. “I promised dad before he passed away that I would take care of the family and I’ll definitely follow through. I looked over the bills and it adds up to about $80,000. If things keep going the way they have yesterday and this morning, we will definitely be able to pay this off within 6 months tops. Then once all of the debt is behind us, we can focus on improving the store and our quality of life free from all of that stress and worry.”
“That sounds like a good plan Alex. Just be sure not to overdo it. Your health and well-being are important too!” his mother says.
“I won’t mom, don’t worry. If all goes well, we will have a new receptionist soon and I’ll be able to relax a bit more then,” he says.
Finishing up lunch and heading to his room to relax, Alex asks Zara ‘How’d we do this morning Zara? It seemed like there were more people this morning than yesterday. Just the total memberships and revenue earned this morning will do for now.’
[Total memberships: 36 + 20 = 56] [Total revenue this morning: $3,460.00]‘Already in the 5x reward tier, this is great. Seems like my charisma will be advancing after this quest. I wonder if that will have any effects.’ Alex thinks to himself. Alex was pleased to see that sales had exceeded his expectations, and he was confident that the gym was on its way to becoming a success.
After resting for a couple hours, Alex heads back downstairs to reopen FitTech for the evening sessions from 2pm-9pm.
As the afternoon progressed, Alex saw more returning customers from the previous day as well as new customers. The gym was bustling with activity, with customers trying out new equipment, chatting, and discussing their fitness plan with Richard, the AI. Alex made sure to check in with everyone, making sure they were enjoying their experience and answering any questions they had.
At around 3pm in the afternoon, Alex sees Sydney enter the gym and waves at her. “Hey Sydney, welcome back! How was your workout yesterday?” he asks.
Sydney grins and responds, “It was great, Alex! I really enjoyed the atmosphere here, everyone is so friendly and welcoming. It’s definitely the kind of environment I’d love to be able to work in.”
“That’s great to hear,” Alex replies, pleased that Sydney enjoyed her time at FitTech. “So, does that mean you’ve thought about my offer and you’re interested in the receptionist position?”
Sydney nods enthusiastically. “Absolutely! I think it would be an amazing opportunity to work here and be a part of this new fitness community.”
Alex smiles. “I’m really glad to hear that. Just to let you know, I’ll conduct your formal interview tomorrow morning, at 8am. I’ll tell you about the responsibilities and benefits at that time. Before then, make sure you think about if there are any requirements you have from me as well. As long as it’s reasonable, I’ll do my best to accommodate it.”
Sydney’s face lights up with excitement. “That sounds perfect, Alex! I’ll definitely be here on tomorrow morning.”
“Great! I’ll look forward to seeing you then,” Alex responds, feeling confident that Sydney would be a great addition to the FitTech team.
The evening hours seemed to be more popular than yesterday, as more people were shuttling in and out of the gym today. Alex felt like he was becoming more confident in fulfilling his role as the store owner.
At 9pm Alex walked out the last few customers and waved them off, locking the doors. Turning off the lights and workout equipment, Alex walked back back to the reception desk and spoke mentally to Zara, ‘Zara, show me the total membership number and revenue for today and then lets complete the [Membership Drive] Quest.
[Total memberships: 56 + 25 = 81] [Total revenue: $3,460.00 + $3,920.00 = $7,380.00] [Personal Funds: $4,420.10 + $738.00 = $5,158.10] [Company Funds: $4,780.90 + $6,642.00 = $11,422.90] [Membership Drive]Stipulations: Sign up at least 10 new members to the fitness center by the end of the weekend. The marketing must be accomplished within the limits of normal marketing in the area, and not offer any discounts or free trials.
Time Limit: 2 days
Experience Gained: 25 points
Ability Score Improved: Charisma (+15%)
Company Funds Gained: $1,000.00
Penalty for Failure: Loss of experience (25 points)
[Total Memberships: 81] [Quest Completed… Calculating Rewards…] [Experience Gained: 25 points (2x multiplier) = 50 points] [Ability Score Improved: Charisma (+15%)(8x multiplier) = (+120%)] [Company Funds Gained: $1,000.00 (8x multiplier) = $8,000.00]Thrilled with his gains from this quest, Alex thinks ‘Status’ and in his mind, his updated status screen is projected.
[Status Screen]Name: Alex
Race: Human
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Occupation: Interdimensional Store Owner
Store Level: 1(75/100 experience)
Personal Funds: $5,158.10
Company Funds: $19,422.90
Unlocked Product Lines: Fitness and Sports
[Ability Score]Strength: 4 (59%) [Measuring physical power]
Dexterity: 3 (89%) [Measuring agility]
Constitution: 4 (78%) [Measuring endurance and health]
Intelligence: 5 (6%) [Measuring reasoning and memory]
Wisdom: 4 (16%) [Measuring perception and insight]
Charisma: 5 (82%) [Measuring force of personality]
Looking at the changes in his status, Alex is excited. His experience level is now 75/100, getting closer to having a level 2 store. ‘I wonder if I’ll unlock anything new at level 2’ he thinks to himself.
His personal and company funds have increased greatly since yesterday morning and his company funds have almost cleared $20k which is incredible for two days of business. That’s $10k a day which works out to approximately $300k a month. Given, that includes his quest rewards, but it’s still an incredible amount of money for a new store with only one employee.
His charisma score has increased from 4 to 5 which should mean his force of personality is stronger than before. He doesn’t feel any different but perhaps when dealing with people in the future he’ll have an easier time.
Satisfied with his status, Alex takes a look at his available quests to see if there is anything he could accept now before the quests reset at midnight. His eyes widen as he see’s a quest that had shown up previously and thinks to himself, ‘this must be fate.’
[Hire a Receptionist]Stipulations: Hire a qualified receptionist to manage customer inquiries and handle administrative tasks. The receptionist should be friendly, knowledgeable, and able to handle a high volume of calls and emails.
Time Limit: 5 days
Experience Gained: 20 points
Ability Score Improved: Wisdom (+10%)
Penalty for Failure: Loss of experience (40 points)
Zara seemed to realize what Alex was thinking and spoke up without being asked, [The quests in the quest system are designed to help you develop and grow your store. You can think of quests as suggestions for possible directions in which you can develop your store. As your store grows, some doors will be opened, while others might be closed, so make sure you think about what works best for you before you accept quests.]
‘I think I understand,’ says Alex.’I will accept this quest now and then hopefully be able to complete it early tomorrow morning after interviewing Sydney. Then I’ll be able to start a new quest afterwards tomorrow after they reset.’
[Quest accepted [Hire a Receptionist.] Good luck on the completion of your quest,] replied Zara.With that taken care of, Alex headed upstairs into his residence, said goodnight to his mother, and headed to his room with his laptop. After checking the FitTech social media accounts and responding to some comments and questions, he closed his laptop and washed up. Tired from a long day, he fell asleep quickly after laying down in his bed.
