Damian stared at the golden countdown floating in front of him.
23:59:41
He blinked.
Then blinked again.
The timer continued counting down.
23:59:40
"You’re serious?"
The system remained silent.
Damian leaned forward.
"Spend one thousand dollars in twenty-four hours."
«[AFFIRMATIVE.]»
"And what exactly happens if I don’t?"
A brief pause.
«[MISSION FAILURE.]»
"That’s not an answer."
«[THE SYSTEM DOES NOT PENALIZE THE HOST FOR MISSION FAILURE.]»
Damian relaxed slightly.
"Good."
«[HOWEVER, THE MISSION REWARD WILL BE FORFEITED.]»
"Also good."
Damian nodded.
He turned toward his laptop.
"What’s the reward?"
«[THE REWARD IS CURRENTLY HIDDEN.]»
"Of course it is."
He rubbed his face.
This system had a personality.
Or at least, it was very good at being annoying.
Damian looked back at the timer.
23:58:57
He had almost an entire day.
There was no reason to panic.
The real problem was something else.
He only had $470.63.
How exactly was he supposed to spend $1,000 when he didn’t even have $500?
Damian stared at the screen.
Then slowly smiled.
"Wait."
He looked at his bank account.
The answer was obvious.
He needed to spend money.
But he didn’t necessarily need to spend the money he already had.
He could earn more cashback first.
His eyes lit up.
"System."
«[YES, HOST.]»
"If I spend the money I have right now, I get ten times the amount back."
«[CORRECT.]»
"So if I spend $100..."
«[YOU WILL RECEIVE $1,000 IN CASHBACK.]»
Damian’s smile widened.
"And then I can spend that $1,000."
«[CORRECT.]»
He sat back.
The pieces clicked together.
The system wasn’t just a cashback program.
It was a cycle.
Spend → Cashback → More Money → Spend → More Cashback.
As long as he had a legitimate reason to spend, his wealth could continue growing.
The only question was how quickly he could scale it.
Damian opened his banking app.
Available balance: $470.63.
He stared at the number.
He could almost hear the old version of himself screaming at him not to touch it.
That money was supposed to last.
Food.
Transportation.
Bills.
Emergencies.
But the system had changed the equation.
If he spent $100, he wouldn’t lose $100.
He would gain $1,000.
Damian took a deep breath.
"Let’s test the theory."
He opened an online shopping website.
His first instinct was to buy something expensive.
Then he stopped.
"No."
He wasn’t going to be stupid.
The system had said legitimate purchase.
He needed things he could actually use.
Damian made a list.
A proper list.
Laptop accessories.
Clothes.
Shoes.
Groceries.
Toiletries.
A new backpack.
A pair of headphones.
Things he needed anyway.
He began adding them to his cart.
$18.
$34.
$57.
$82.
The number climbed.
Damian glanced at the total.
$96.42
He hesitated.
Then added a wireless mouse.
$112.41
He looked at it.
Perfect.
He checked out.
Payment successful.
Damian waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
DING!
The golden screen appeared.
«[PURCHASE DETECTED.]»
«[TOTAL PURCHASE AMOUNT: $112.41]»
«[CASHBACK MULTIPLIER: 10X]»
«[CASHBACK RECEIVED: $1,124.10]»
Damian’s eyes widened.
His phone vibrated.
He opened his banking app.
$1,482.32
He stared.
Then slowly sat down.
"One hundred and twelve dollars..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Just made me over a thousand."
He looked at the system.
The golden letters remained unchanged.
Damian leaned back.
A laugh escaped him.
This time, there was no disbelief in it.
There was excitement.
Real excitement.
He had just crossed the thousand-dollar mark.
And he had barely done anything.
His phone vibrated again.
A bank notification.
Deposit received: $1,124.10
Damian stared at it.
Then he laughed again.
"Okay."
He stood.
"Let’s finish this mission."
He opened his browser.
This time, he wasn’t looking for cheap necessities.
He needed to spend another $887.59.
And now he had a little more freedom.
He looked around his apartment.
The place was small.
The furniture was old.
The couch had a tear on one side.
The refrigerator made a strange noise every few minutes.
His bed was comfortable enough, but the mattress had clearly seen better days.
Damian opened a shopping website.
A new mattress.
$480.
He paused.
Then added it to his cart.
Next came a decent desk chair.
$180.
A better monitor.
$220.
Some household supplies.
$65.
Total.
$945.
Damian stared at the number.
"Not bad."
He checked the details.
Everything was something he could genuinely use.
He placed the order.
Payment successful.
The system appeared immediately.
«[PURCHASE DETECTED.]»
«[TOTAL PURCHASE AMOUNT: $945.00]»
«[CASHBACK MULTIPLIER: 10X]»
«[CASHBACK RECEIVED: $9,450.00]»
Damian froze.
The smile disappeared from his face.
He slowly looked at his phone.
$9,987.32
Silence.
Almost ten thousand dollars.
From two purchases.
Damian sat down.
He looked at the balance again.
Then at the system.
Then at the balance.
"Nine thousand..."
He swallowed.
"...nine hundred and eighty-seven dollars."
Yesterday, he had been worried about having enough money to replace a laptop.
Now he had almost ten thousand dollars.
And the day wasn’t even over.
The golden screen changed.
«[BEGINNER MISSION REQUIREMENT FULFILLED.]»
«[TOTAL QUALIFYING SPENDING: $1,057.41]»
«[MISSION COMPLETE.]»
Damian leaned forward.
"So..."
The final line appeared.
«[MISSION REWARD: BEGINNER INVESTMENT PACKAGE.]»
Damian frowned.
"Investment package?"
The system expanded.
Several lines appeared.
«[REWARD CONTENTS:]»
«[1. Financial Insight — Basic.]»
«[2. Business Evaluation — Basic.]»
«[3. Investment Opportunity Scanner — Basic.]»
Damian stared.
His heartbeat quickened.
These weren’t physical rewards.
They were abilities.
He had wondered about them yesterday.
Now the system had given him three.
"Activate."
The screen flashed.
«[FINANCIAL INSIGHT — ACTIVATED.]»
Damian’s vision suddenly changed.
Not physically.
It was more like his mind had gained another layer.
He looked at his laptop.
A small panel appeared beside it.
USED LAPTOP
Estimated Market Value: $38
Condition: Fair
Remaining Lifespan: 1–2 years
Value Rating: 71%
Damian blinked.
"What the..."
He looked around the room.
The same thing happened.
His desk.
His chair.
His television.
Everything seemed to have additional information attached to it.
He looked at the refrigerator.
Estimated Market Value: $120
Condition: Poor
Repair Cost: $80–$120
Recommendation: Replace
Damian laughed.
"That’s actually useful."
He looked toward the window.
Outside, buildings stretched toward the skyline.
He wondered if the system could analyze businesses too.
He opened his laptop.
The system interface appeared again.
He selected Business Evaluation.
A new prompt appeared.
«[PLEASE SELECT A BUSINESS.]»
Damian searched for a publicly traded company.
He chose one at random.
The system analyzed it.
A few seconds passed.
Then:
Company Evaluation
Current Market Value: $3.2 Billion
Estimated Fair Value: $3.8 Billion
Growth Potential: 76%
Risk: Moderate
Recommendation: HOLD / LONG-TERM
Damian’s expression became serious.
This was far beyond a simple cashback system.
The abilities could help him understand the world of money.
But he wasn’t going to rush into investing.
Not yet.
He had almost ten thousand dollars.
That wasn’t enough to play with serious investments.
It was enough to improve his life.
And that was exactly what he intended to do.
He checked the time.
6:43 PM.
His stomach growled.
Damian looked at the clock.
Then laughed.
"Right."
He hadn’t eaten since morning.
He grabbed his jacket.
A nice restaurant would be tempting.
But he stopped.
He remembered the mission.
The system rewarded legitimate purchases.
Food counted.
Damian smiled.
Maybe he could enjoy himself a little.
He walked outside.
This time, the city looked different.
Not because Westbridge had changed.
Because Damian had.
Yesterday, every expensive building had reminded him of something he couldn’t afford.
Today, he looked at them and wondered what they would cost.
A black luxury car passed him.
Damian watched it disappear down the road.
For the first time, he didn’t think:
I’ll never be able to afford that.
Instead, he thought:
How much cashback would I get if I bought it?
Damian stopped.
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"That’s dangerous."
He laughed.
Then continued walking.
He reached a restaurant near campus and stepped inside.
The hostess greeted him.
"Good evening. Table for one?"
"Yes, please."
She led him toward a table by the window.
Damian sat down and opened the menu.
The prices were significantly higher than what he normally considered reasonable.
Normally, he would have left.
Tonight, he didn’t.
He ordered a steak, dessert, and a drink.
Total:
$86.50
Damian paid.
DING!
«[PURCHASE DETECTED.]»
«[CASHBACK RECEIVED: $865.00]»
Damian looked at the golden screen.
Then at his phone.
$10,852.32
He smiled.
The steak hadn’t just fed him.
It had made him richer.
Damian leaned back in his chair.
He was beginning to understand the true beauty of the system.
He didn’t need to become rich before enjoying the privileges of wealth.
He could use the privileges of wealth to become rich.
The distinction was enormous.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
A message from Ethan appeared.
~Ethan: Bro, you alive?
Damian smiled.
He typed a response.
~Damian: Yeah.
A few seconds later:
~Ethan: You got the laptop?
Damian looked at the brand-new laptop sitting inside his apartment.
Then at his bank balance.
Then at the golden system screen floating silently in front of him.
$10,852.32
He typed.
~Damian: Yeah. Everything’s good.
He hesitated.
Then added:
~Damian: Actually... things are about to get a lot better.
He sent the message.
Ethan immediately replied.
~Ethan: What does that mean?
Damian chuckled.
He put his phone away.
For now, he wasn’t going to explain.
There were some secrets a man needed to keep to himself.
Especially when those secrets could turn forty-seven dollars into a fortune.
Damian looked at the golden interface.
«[SYSTEM LEVEL: 1]»
He narrowed his eyes.
"System."
«[YES, HOST.]»
"When can I level up?"
For the first time since its activation, the system didn’t immediately respond.
Instead, a single line appeared.
«[WHEN YOU ARE READY.]»
Damian frowned.
"Ready for what?"
The screen vanished.
No answer.
Damian stared at the empty space where it had been.
Then he smiled.
Whatever the system was hiding...
He would find out.
Soon.
Outside the restaurant window, Westbridge’s lights began illuminating the night.