Chapter 5: Tier 2 Quest
Nolan sat on the bench behind the library. He was still staring at the spot where the system screen had been, but now it was back, glowing softly with new information.
His heart hadn't stopped racing since the hospital, and he was starting to think it might never go back to normal.
[Balance: $1,000]
The number sat there, clean and simple.
One thousand dollars.
Just like that.
Yesterday, he was broke, got cheated, humiliated, and was lying on a road after being hit by lightning.
Today, he had a thousand dollars in an invisible bank account that only he could see. Life was strange.
He took a sip of coffee, trying to calm down, when the screen shifted. New text appeared.
[Status Window Available. Focus to Open.]
He focused, and the screen changed completely. A new panel unfolded in front of him, like a character sheet from a video game. His character sheet.
[Status]
[Name: Nolan Drake]
[Tier: 2]
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 4]
[Stamina: 2]
[Intelligence: 6]
[Skills: 0]
Nolan stared at the numbers, his brow furrowing.
He thought,' So this was me.'
Broken down into four simple stats.
He thought about the +2 Strength reward from earlier. If he had gotten two points from that, then his original strength must have been just two.
The system had doubled it.
That's why crushing the soda can had felt so easy.
His strength hadn't just increased a little. It had literally doubled.
He clenched his fist again, really paying attention this time. The muscles in his forearm tightened, and he could feel it. Not superhero strength, not yet. But definitely more than before.
It was like he had been carrying a heavy backpack his whole life and someone had just taken it off. Everything felt lighter. Easier. He could crush another can right now without even thinking about it.
His agility was also four. That probably meant he was slightly above average there too.
But stamina… stamina was only two. That made sense.
He got tired easily and never liked running. The system was showing him exactly where he was weak.
And intelligence was six. The highest stat. He almost laughed at that.
What good was being slightly smarter than average when he still made stupid decisions? Like buying a ring for a girl who cheats on him.
Like believing Lila when she said she wanted a future together.
Intelligence didn't stop you from being an idiot.
Then his eyes landed on the last line.
[Skills: 0]
Zero. Nothing. No talents, no special abilities, no hidden gifts. He thought about his life, about all the things he'd tried and failed at. Sports? Average at best. Music? Couldn't play anything. Art? Stick figures were his limit. Even his grades were just okay, nothing special.
"Of course," he muttered to himself. "Zero skills. That sounds about right."
But even as he said it, a small spark of hope flickered inside him. The system had given him strength. It could give him other things, too. Maybe skills weren't something you were born with. Maybe, with this system, skills were something you could earn.
The doubt crept back in, as it always did. Why was this happening? Why him? He was nobody. Just a regular college kid with a broken heart and an empty bank account. What did some mysterious system want with him?
'What happens if I refuse?' he whispered to the empty garden. 'What if I just ignore it? Will it go away? Will something bad happen if I don't spend the money?'
The screen flickered, almost like it was responding to his thoughts. The status panel disappeared, replaced by something new.
[Tier 2 Beginner Quest]
[Objective: Spend $500 within 1 hour]
[Reward: Skill Unlock]
[Time Limit: 59:52]
Nolan's breath caught in his throat. A skill. Not a stat increase, not more money, but an actual skill. Like in games. Like something you could use, something that became part of you.
His mind raced with possibilities.' What kind of skill? Cooking? Fighting? Talking to animals? Could he learn to play guitar instantly? Speak another language?' The questions tumbled over each other in his head.
"Will I get it instantly?" he wondered aloud. "Like, one second I don't know something, and the next I just… know it?"
The idea was terrifying and exciting at the same time. He thought about all the things he couldn't do, all the ways he felt useless. A skill could change that. A skill could change everything.
He looked at the timer again. Fifty-nine minutes and forty seconds. Less than an hour to spend five hundred dollars.
His classes were starting soon. He had lectures to attend, assignments to worry about. But how could he sit in a classroom with this hanging over his head? How could he focus on anything except the countdown?
He couldn't. That was the answer. He couldn't just go to class like nothing was happening. He can't waste this opportunity.
Nolan stood up. He walked quickly toward the campus exit, his pace increasing with every step. Students passed him, some giving him curious looks, but he ignored them all. He had a mission now. Five hundred dollars in less than an hour.
Outside the campus gate, the real world waited. Shops lined the street—small restaurants, a convenience store, a phone repair shop, a cheap electronics store. Nolan stopped at the corner, his brain working overtime.
Where could he spend five hundred dollars fast? The electronics store was the obvious choice. They had headphones, speakers, small gadgets. But did he really need any of that? Maybe he could buy a new phone. His current one was old and cracked. That would eat up the money quickly.
The restaurant was another option. He could buy food for himself, for strangers, again, for anyone. But five hundred dollars of food? That was a lot of food. He'd be carrying bags of takeout for hours.
The convenience store was too small. He'd have to buy hundreds of small items, and that would take forever.
The electronics store it was. He started walking toward it, his mind already planning what he would buy.
And then someone stepped directly into his path.
Nolan stumbled backward, barely avoiding a collision. He looked up, ready to apologize, but the words died in his throat.
A familiar voice laughed.
"Look who it is… ?"
Nolan looked up.
It was someone who knew him.
And they clearly weren't here to be friendly.