Chapter 3: First Reward
Nolan stood outside the hospital, the cold can of soda still clutched in his hand.
The world moved on around him—cars passed, people walked, a bird sang somewhere—but he felt like he was standing in a bubble, separate from all of it.
After he pressed that [Accept] button, the text had shifted. New words appeared, clear and sharp.
[Beginner Objective Available]
[Objective: Spend $10]
[Reward: +2 Strength
Below it, a small progress bar had appeared.
[$2 / $10]
He read it twice, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
Spend ten dollars. Get stronger. It sounded like a cheap video game advertisement.
But the cold soda in his hand, paid for with nothing but a thought and his fingerprint, told him this was no game. This was his life now.
He frowned at the screen. He had already spent two dollars on the soda.
That meant he only needed to spend eight more. Easy, right?
He could just walk into a shop and buy a sandwich.
He started walking away from the hospital entrance, his mind thinking about the things happening right now. He was so lost in thought that he almost tripped over a small figure crouched near the gate.
It was a kid. A boy, maybe seven or eight years old, dressed in clothes that were clean but clearly old.
He was kneeling in front of a small snack vending machine, one of those ones attached to the side of a newsstand, his face pressed against the glass. He was staring at a packet of colorful cookies with the intense focus that only a hungry child could have.
Nolan stopped. The kid hadn't noticed him. He watched as the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a single, small coin. He looked at it, then looked at the price of the cookies, then looked back at his coin. His little shoulders slumped. He couldn't afford it.
Something tightened in Nolan's chest.
He knew that feeling.
The feeling of wanting something so badly, something simple, and not being able to reach it.
He thought of the ring he'd bought for Lila, all that money he'd saved, thrown away on someone who didn't care.
And here was this kid, unable to buy a fifty-cent snack.
Without thinking, without even really deciding to, Nolan walked over to the machine.
"Hey there," he said softly.
The kid jumped, looking up with wide, scared eyes. He looked ready to run.
Nolan smiled, trying to look as unthreatening as possible. "You want those cookies?"
The boy just stared, then gave a tiny, hesitant nod.
Nolan started selecting different snacks, cookies, and soda. He placed his thumb on the silver fingerprint for payments.
The machine whirred and dropped the items into the tray. He picked them up and held them out to the boy.
The kid's eyes went impossibly wide. He looked at the snacks, then at Nolan, then back at the snacks. "For… for me?" he whispered.
"Yeah, buddy. All for you."
The boy took them slowly, as if they might disappear. Then, a smile so bright it could power a small city broke out across his face. It was a real smile, the kind that reaches the eyes.
"Thank you, mister!" he chirped, and before Nolan could say another word, he turned and sprinted off, clutching his treasure, disappearing around a corner.
Nolan watched him go, a strange warmth spreading through his chest that had nothing to do with the system. It was a small thing, just eight bucks, but the look on that kid's face…
The system screen flashed, snapping him back to reality.
[Objective Progress Updated]
[$10 / $10 Spent]
[Objective Completed!]
[Reward: +2 Strength]
The notification had barely faded when it happened.
A wave of heat, not painful but intense, washed over him. It started in his core and radiated outwards, flowing through his arms, his legs, his chest.
It felt like warm honey was being poured directly into his muscles. They didn't just feel warm; they felt… tight. Dense. Like they had been packed with more stuff.
He flexed his hand, just to feel the sensation. His grip felt different. Stronger.
He was still holding the soda can.
Crunch.
The thin aluminum gave way under his fingers like it was made of paper.
He hadn't even meant to squeeze hard.
He just flexed, and the can crumpled inward. A small tear opened in the side, and a thin stream of brown, fizzy liquid squirted out, soaking his hand and dripping onto the pavement.
Nolan stared at the crushed can in his hand, his mouth hanging open. "What the…?" he whispered.
He had crushed a metal can. By accident. With his bare hand. He looked at his fingers. They looked the same. But they clearly weren't.
This was real. The strength was real.
He tossed the ruined can into a nearby bin, wiped his sticky hand on his pants as best he could, and started walking.
His mind was reeling. Two points of strength. 'What could he do with ten? Or twenty?' The possibilities were dizzying.
He walked on autopilot, his feet carrying him along a familiar route. Before he knew it, he was pushing through the main gates of his college campus.
The sprawling lawns and modern buildings were a stark contrast to the hospital he'd just left. He glanced at his watch. It was lunchtime. The place was crawling with students.
As he walked towards the main quad, he noticed the looks. At first, it was just a few glances. Then, the whispers started. They followed him like a shadow.
"That's him, isn't it?"
"Yeah, Nolan Drake. The guy who got dumped last night."
"Right in front of everyone, I heard. She was with another dude."
"Someone said he even bought a ring. A ring! And she just laughed at him."
"He bit Chad like a dog."
The words stung. Each one was a tiny needle prick of humiliation.
His jaw tightened. His hands, still slightly sticky from the soda, curled into fists.
He wanted to turn around, to shout at them, to tell them to mind their own damn business. But what was the point? They weren't wrong. That was the worst part.
He kept his head down and kept walking, forcing his legs to move, forcing his face to stay blank. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a reaction.
He made it to a quieter part of the campus, near the old library building, and leaned against a wall, taking a deep breath. The whispers faded behind him. He closed his eyes for a second, just trying to center himself.
'You're stronger now,' he reminded himself. Literally.
And that was when the system screen blazed back into existence, right in front of his closed eyelids. He opened his eyes with a jolt. The text this time was different. Urgent. It was edged in a pulsing red border.
[WARNING! New Condition Activated!]
[Emergency Directive: Spend Entire Remaining Balance.]
[Time Limit: 10 Minutes]
[Reward: ???]
[Failure Consequence: System Shutdown (Permanent).]
[Remaining Balance: $90]
Nolan's blood ran cold. His heart, which had just been calming down, slammed into a frantic rhythm against his ribs. 'Ten minutes?' He looked at the number. Ninety dollars.
He had ten minutes to spend ninety dollars, or this insane, impossible, wonderful thing that had happened to him would be gone forever.
"Ten minutes…?!" he breathed, his voice a strangled whisper. Panic clawed at his throat. Ninety bucks in ten minutes. 'How? He looked around wildly. 'Where the hell am I gonna spend it?'