Damian spent the entire lecture trying not to look at his bank account.
He failed.
Twice.
The first time, he checked it because he was curious.
The second time, he checked it because he couldn’t believe the first check.
$21,786.32
He locked his phone and placed it face down on the desk.
Stop.
Professor Miller continued talking at the front of the room.
Something about market structures.
Damian had been paying attention for the first fifteen minutes.
Now, however, his mind was somewhere else.
He had gone from having forty-seven dollars to having more than twenty-one thousand in less than twenty-four hours.
And somehow, that wasn’t even the most unbelievable part.
The system had already hinted that this was only the beginning.
Damian glanced toward the empty space beside his desk.
Nothing.
Good.
He didn’t want another floating screen appearing in the middle of class.
He’d nearly jumped out of his chair the first time it happened.
The professor continued explaining something on the whiteboard.
Damian forced himself to listen.
If the system was going to change his financial situation, that didn’t mean he could suddenly stop living his actual life.
His degree still mattered.
His assignments still mattered.
And, unfortunately, Professor Miller still expected people to understand what he was talking about.
Damian scribbled a few notes.
His phone vibrated.
He ignored it.
Another vibration.
He glanced down.
~Ethan: You alive?
Damian smiled.
He typed beneath the desk.
~Damian: Alive and kicking.
~Ethan: Lunch.
~Damian: After class.
~Ethan: Good. I have questions.
Damian’s smile disappeared.
He knew exactly what questions Ethan meant.
The moment class ended, Damian packed his things.
He made it about ten steps outside before Ethan caught up.
"Damian."
He kept walking.
"Damian."
"What?"
Ethan walked beside him.
"You’ve been acting weird."
"I’m always weird."
"Different weird."
Damian glanced at him.
"There’s a normal amount of weird?"
"For you? Yes."
"Interesting."
"I’m serious."
They reached the cafeteria.
Ethan stopped walking.
Damian continued for another step before realizing his friend wasn’t beside him.
He turned.
Ethan folded his arms.
"Yesterday you had forty-seven dollars."
"Technically—"
"Don’t."
Damian sighed.
Ethan pointed at his clothes.
"Today you’re wearing new clothes."
Damian looked down.
"Yes."
"You bought them."
"Obviously."
"With what money?"
Damian hesitated.
"I had some money."
"Forty-seven dollars?"
"Things changed."
Ethan stared at him.
"What things?"
Damian looked around.
Students were everywhere.
He lowered his voice.
"Not here."
Ethan’s expression changed.
"Okay."
They walked toward a quieter area behind the student center.
There was a bench beneath a large tree.
They sat.
Ethan waited.
Damian looked at his best friend.
For a moment, he seriously considered telling him.
He could explain everything.
The laptop.
The purchase.
The golden screen.
The cashback.
The missions.
Everything.
But then what?
Ethan was his best friend.
That didn’t mean Ethan would understand.
And even if he did, what would happen if somebody else found out?
Damian didn’t know what the system was.
He didn’t know where it came from.
He didn’t know why it had chosen him.
Until he understood those things, keeping quiet seemed safer.
"Something happened," Damian finally said.
Ethan waited.
"I can’t explain it yet."
Ethan frowned.
"Are you in trouble?"
"No."
"Is somebody threatening you?"
"No."
"Did you steal something?"
Damian almost laughed.
"No."
"Then why can’t you tell me?"
"Because I don’t understand it myself."
That answer seemed to catch Ethan off guard.
Damian leaned back.
"I’m serious. Something happened yesterday. I don’t know what it means yet."
Ethan studied him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Really."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Fine."
Damian raised an eyebrow.
"That’s it?"
"I’m not going to force you."
He paused.
"But I’m keeping an eye on you."
Damian smiled.
"Fair enough."
Ethan stood.
"Now let’s eat."
"Finally."
They headed toward the cafeteria.
Damian expected Ethan to continue interrogating him.
He didn’t.
Instead, they spent the next half hour arguing about which professor had the worst assignments.
For a while, everything felt normal again.
And Damian liked that.
He hadn’t realized how much he needed something normal until he had something extraordinary to hide.
Later that afternoon, Damian found himself walking across campus alone.
His classes were finished.
He could have gone home.
Instead, he wandered toward the university library.
He needed to study.
Or at least convince himself that he needed to study.
He found a quiet table near one of the windows and opened his laptop.
The new laptop was significantly better than his old one.
It wasn’t particularly expensive, but compared to his previous machine, it felt luxurious.
Damian opened his notes.
Then his browser.
He found himself looking at companies again.
Not because he wanted to buy anything.
Because he was curious.
The system had given him Business Evaluation.
He wanted to understand what it could actually do.
He searched for a local company.
A small technology startup based in Westbridge.
The company had been getting attention recently for developing software aimed at small businesses.
Damian selected it.
The golden screen appeared.
Only he could see it.
«[BUSINESS EVALUATION INITIATED.]»
Information began appearing.
Company: Westbridge Solutions
Estimated Value: $4.8 Million
Fair Value: $6.1 Million
Current Growth: 12%
Projected Growth: 31%
Risk: Moderate
Damian frowned.
That was interesting.
He hadn’t heard much about the company.
He searched for more information.
The company had only been operating for three years.
Its revenue wasn’t impressive yet.
But its customer base was growing.
Damian leaned closer to the screen.
The system displayed another line.
«[UNDERVALUED ASSET DETECTED.]»
His eyebrows rose.
"Undervalued?"
«[AFFIRMATIVE.]»
"How certain are you?"
«[CURRENT ANALYSIS ACCURACY: 78%.]»
Damian leaned back.
Seventy-eight percent wasn’t perfect.
But it was enough to get his attention.
He didn’t buy anything.
Not yet.
Instead, he saved the company information.
He wasn’t going to throw money into something just because a mysterious system told him to.
That would be stupid.
He wanted to learn.
Understand.
Then act.
Damian closed the screen.
As he did, someone stopped beside his table.
"You’re Damian Cross, right?"
He looked up.
It was Emily.
She was holding a stack of books.
Again.
Damian smiled.
"Yeah."
"I thought so."
She pointed toward the chair opposite him.
"Mind if I sit?"
"Go ahead."
She placed the books down and sat.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Emily glanced at his laptop.
"New?"
"Yeah."
"Nice."
"Thanks."
She opened one of her books.
Damian returned to his notes.
Five minutes passed.
Then Emily spoke.
"Can I ask you something?"
Damian looked up.
"Sure."
"How did you afford all this?"
He blinked.
"All what?"
"The laptop. The clothes. I mean compared to before you have a new atmosphere about you."
Damian stared at her.
Emily smiled.
"I’m not trying to pry."
"You’re doing a pretty good job."
She laughed quietly.
"Fair."
Damian closed his laptop.
"I just had some unexpected money."
"Unexpected money?"
"Yeah."
She looked at him for a moment.
"That’s vague."
"It’s supposed to be."
Emily smiled.
"Okay."
She returned to her book.
Damian expected the conversation to end there.
Instead, a few minutes later she spoke again.
"You know, you seem different."
Damian looked at her.
"Different how?"
"I don’t know."
She thought for a moment.
"More relaxed."
Damian smiled.
"Maybe I just slept well."
"Maybe."
She didn’t look convinced.
The two continued studying.
It was surprisingly comfortable.
No awkward pressure.
No forced conversation.
Just two students sharing a table.
Eventually, Emily packed her books.
"I should go."
"Yeah."
She stood.
"See you tomorrow?"
Damian nodded.
"Probably."
She smiled.
"Good."
She walked away.
Damian watched her disappear between the shelves.
Then—
DING!
The golden interface appeared.
Damian sighed.
"What now?"
«[SOCIAL CONNECTION STRENGTHENED.]»
Damian stared.
"Is that all?"
«[AFFIRMATIVE.]»
"Then why did you need to show me?"
The system remained silent.
Damian shook his head.
"You really need to learn when to mind your business."
He dismissed the screen.
Outside the library window, the sun was beginning to set.
Damian packed his things.
He had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
That uncertainty didn’t bother him.
And perhaps, slowly, he was beginning to build a new life.
As Damian stepped outside, his phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
~Unknown: Hey, Damian. It’s Emily. I got your number from the class group.
A second message appeared.
~Emily: Don’t worry, I didn’t stalk you 😂.
Damian laughed.
He typed a response.
~Damian: That’s exactly what a stalker would say.
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
~Emily: Wow. And here I was thinking you were nice.
Damian smiled.
~Damian: I have my moments.
He slipped his phone into his pocket.
For once, he wasn’t thinking about money and problems.
And perhaps that was exactly what he needed.
Because Damian Cross was beginning to discover that becoming wealthy was going to be the easy part.
Figuring out what to do with his new life?
That was going to be much harder.