Damian woke up before his alarm.
For a few seconds, he stared at the ceiling, trying to remember why he felt so strangely awake.
Then it hit him.
The system.
He sat up.
His eyes immediately went to the small digital clock on his bedside table.
7:12 AM.
"Right."
He reached for his phone.
The screen lit up.
Bank Balance: $10,852.32
Damian stared at it.
Yesterday morning, he had been afraid to spend forty-five dollars.
Now he had more than ten thousand.
He refreshed the app.
The number didn’t change.
He smiled.
"Still there."
A ridiculous sense of relief washed over him.
He hadn’t realized how much he needed that confirmation.
For the past several hours, he’d been wondering whether the system would disappear when he woke up.
Maybe it was some elaborate dream.
Maybe he’d wake up and find himself staring at $47.63 again.
But the money was still there.
And so was the system.
Damian looked toward the empty space beside his bed.
"System."
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"System?"
DING!
A translucent golden screen appeared in the air.
Damian smiled.
There it was.
The screen hovered silently in front of him.
«[GOOD MORNING, HOST.]»
"Morning."
He paused.
"Do you sleep?"
«[THE SYSTEM DOES NOT REQUIRE SLEEP.]»
"Must be nice."
Damian rubbed his eyes and looked at the interface.
«[CURRENT BALANCE: $10,852.32]»
«[CURRENT CASHBACK MULTIPLIER: 10X]»
«[SYSTEM LEVEL: 1]»
«[ACTIVE MISSIONS: NONE]»
Damian nodded.
No new mission.
Good.
He wasn’t sure he was ready for another one.
He dismissed the screen and got out of bed.
The apartment looked exactly the same as it had yesterday.
Same scratched coffee table.
Same old couch.
Same curtains.
Same refrigerator that made an annoying clicking noise every few minutes.
Damian walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
He stared inside.
Half a carton of milk.
Two eggs.
Some vegetables.
A bottle of ketchup.
And something wrapped in foil that he was almost certain had been there long enough to develop its own ecosystem.
He closed the door.
"Nope."
His phone buzzed.
~Ethan: You alive?
Damian smiled.
~Damian: Unfortunately.
The response came almost immediately.
~Ethan: Good. Meet me on campus. I need food.
Damian typed:
~Damian: You need food or money?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
~Ethan: Yes.
Damian laughed.
~Damian: Give me thirty minutes.
He showered and got dressed.
Usually, choosing clothes was simple.
He wore whatever was clean.
Today, he stood in front of his wardrobe for nearly five minutes.
Most of his clothes had seen better days.
One shirt had a small tear near the sleeve.
Another had faded considerably after too many washes.
Damian picked up a plain black shirt.
Then stopped.
He looked at the system.
"Can I buy clothes with the cashback?"
«[CLOTHING PURCHASES QUALIFY AS LEGITIMATE EXPENDITURES.]»
Damian smiled.
"Thought so."
Twenty minutes later, he was walking into a clothing store downtown.
The first thing he noticed was the silence.
The store was spacious and clean, with neatly arranged displays and soft music playing somewhere overhead.
A salesperson approached him.
"Good morning. Can I help you find something?"
Damian looked around.
"Just some clothes."
"Of course. Do you have a particular style in mind?"
Damian almost said no.
Then he thought about it.
"Something simple."
The salesperson smiled.
"Casual or formal?"
"Both."
She nodded.
"Right this way."
Damian tried several outfits.
Nothing extravagant.
A few shirts.
Two pairs of jeans.
A jacket.
A pair of shoes.
By the time he finished, the total was just over $1,200.
Damian looked at the receipt.
A strange feeling settled in his stomach.
A week ago, spending $1,200 on clothes would have been absurd.
Today, it was a personal investment.
Not because he needed designer clothes.
But because he was tired of looking like someone constantly waiting for his life to begin.
He paid.
The system appeared.
DING!
«[PURCHASE DETECTED.]»
«[PURCHASE AMOUNT: $1,214.80]»
«[CASHBACK RECEIVED: $12,148.00]»
Damian’s eyes widened.
He immediately checked his bank account.
$21,786.32
He stared at the balance.
Then slowly laughed.
"That’s insane."
He’d spent twelve hundred dollars.
And somehow, he was now richer by almost eleven thousand.
The salesperson looked at him.
"Is everything alright?"
Damian quickly put his phone away.
"Yeah."
He looked at the clothes.
"Everything’s great."
By the time Damian reached Westbridge University, he felt different.
Not dramatically.
Not enough for someone to look at him and immediately think are you okay?.
But different.
The clothes fit better.
The shoes were new.
His posture was straighter.
He wasn’t constantly thinking about whether his bank card would work.
That alone was strange.
The university courtyard was already crowded.
Students moved between buildings while conversations filled the air.
Damian spotted Ethan sitting beneath a tree.
Ethan looked up.
His mouth opened.
He stared.
Damian stopped.
"What?"
Ethan stood slowly.
"Who are you?"
Damian laughed.
"Very funny."
"No, seriously."
Ethan walked around him.
"Did you get kidnapped?"
"What?"
"You look... expensive."
Damian shook his head.
"It’s just clothes."
Ethan looked at the shoes.
Then the jacket.
Then back at Damian.
"You spent money."
"A little."
"How much?"
Damian hesitated.
"$1,200."
Ethan nearly choked.
"WHAT?"
Several students nearby turned toward them.
Damian lowered his voice.
"Keep it down."
"You spent twelve hundred dollars on clothes?"
"Yes."
"Yesterday you had forty-seven dollars!"
"Yesterday was yesterday."
Ethan stared at him.
Something about Damian’s expression made him pause.
"You actually okay?"
Damian nodded.
"Yeah."
Ethan studied him for another moment.
Then his expression softened.
"Good."
That was all he said.
No interrogation.
No lecture.
Just good.
Damian smiled.
"You’re still hungry?"
"Starving."
They headed toward the cafeteria.
The place was packed.
They eventually found an empty table near the windows.
Ethan dropped his bag onto the floor.
"So."
Damian looked at him.
"So?"
"Where did the money come from?"
Damian’s expression didn’t change.
"I got lucky."
Ethan snorted.
"That’s the worst lie I’ve ever heard."
"It’s not a lie."
"Damian."
"Seriously."
Ethan leaned closer.
"Did you win something?"
"No."
"Crypto?"
"No."
"Your parents?"
"No."
"Did some mysterious rich uncle die?"
Damian laughed.
"No."
Ethan leaned back.
"Then what happened?"
Damian looked down at the table.
For a moment, he considered telling him.
Ethan was his best friend.
The person he trusted most.
If anyone deserved to know, it was him.
But Damian remembered the golden screen.
The impossible cashback.
The system’s promise.
And the strange feeling that came whenever he thought about telling someone.
He wasn’t ready.
Not yet.
"I’ll tell you eventually."
Ethan looked at him.
"Eventually?"
"Yeah."
"You’ve never said that before."
"I know."
Ethan sighed.
"Fine."
Damian raised an eyebrow.
"That’s it?"
"No."
Ethan pointed at him.
"I’m going to figure it out."
Damian smiled.
"You’re welcome to try."
Their food arrived.
For the next few minutes, they talked about ordinary things.
Classes.
Professors.
A ridiculous assignment one of their classmates had submitted.
A professor who seemed personally offended by happiness.
It felt normal.
And Damian appreciated that.
The system had changed his bank balance overnight.
But it hadn’t changed the fact that Ethan was still Ethan.
That mattered.
After lunch, Damian headed toward his afternoon lecture.
He was halfway across the courtyard when he heard someone call his name.
"Damian?"
He turned.
A young woman stood a few feet away.
She was holding several books against her chest.
Her expression changed when she recognized him.
"Wow."
Damian frowned slightly.
"Hi?"
She smiled.
"It’s really you."
Damian searched his memory.
Then recognition hit.
"Emily?"
She laughed.
"You remember."
"Of course I remember."
Emily had been one of Damian’s classmates during their first year.
They hadn’t spoken much recently, but they’d always been friendly.
She looked him over.
"Something’s different."
Damian smiled.
"New clothes."
"I noticed."
Her eyes moved toward his jacket.
"Very nice."
"Thanks."
A small silence followed.
Neither seemed sure what to say next.
Finally, Emily adjusted the books in her arms.
"I’ve got to get to class."
"Yeah. Me too."
She smiled.
"See you around, Damian."
"See you."
She walked away.
Damian watched her for a moment before continuing.
He didn’t notice the faint smile on his own face.
Nor did he notice the golden screen that briefly appeared behind him.
DING!
Damian stopped.
He turned.
The screen hovered in the air.
«[NEW SOCIAL CONNECTION DETECTED.]»
Damian frowned.
"What?"
Another line appeared.
«[RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT MAY INCREASE THE HOST’S PERSONAL AND SOCIAL VALUE.]»
Damian stared.
"What does that even mean?"
No answer.
The screen vanished.
Damian shook his head.
"You’re getting weird."
He continued toward his lecture hall.
For now, Damian Cross was still just a university student.
He had twenty-one thousand dollars in his bank account.
A strange system only he could see.
A best friend who was becoming suspicious.
And absolutely no idea what he was doing.
But for the first time in his life...
He wasn’t afraid of the future.
He was curious about it.