Chapter 7 : First Skill
Nolan sat on the park bench, his heart still pounding, his eyes fixed on the screen.
[Upgrade Complete.]
The words glowed for a moment, then faded. New text appeared.
[Skill Unlocked: Appraiser Lv.1]
Nolan stared at the words, his brow furrowing. 'Appraiser? What kind of skill was that? It didn't sound like something from a game. It sounded like something an old man in a pawn shop would have.'
"What the hell is Appraiser?" he muttered to himself.
He focused on the screen again, and the balance appeared.
Nolan looked at the balance again. And again. And one more time just to be sure.
[Balance: $10,000]
His brain stopped working for a second. Ten thousand dollars. Not five hundred. Not one thousand. Ten. Thousand.
Then it clicked. The pattern. Tier 1 gave him $100. Tier 2 gave him $1,000. Now Tier 2 was completed, and Tier 3 gave him $10,000.
Ten times every time.
"HELL YEEAAAHHH!"
The shout exploded out of him before he could stop it. His fist shot into the air. His voice echoed across the quiet park, bouncing off trees and scaring pigeons into frantic flight.
Every single person in the vicinity turned to stare.
The old man feeding pigeons glared at him. The jogging woman stopped mid-stride. A group of teenagers nearby burst out laughing.
Nolan felt his face turn red. He quickly lowered his arm, cleared his throat, and pretended to be very interested in his new phone box. He mumbled something that might have been "sorry" and waited for the stares to fade.
When the world went back to normal, he let out a slow breath.
Smooth, Nolan. Really smooth.
But inside, he was still jumping. Ten thousand dollars. He had never had that much money in his entire life. Ever. The orphanage, the part-time jobs, the struggling through college—none of it had ever come close to ten thousand dollars.
He looked at the status window again, still grinning.
[Name: Nolan Drake]
[Tier: 3]
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 4]
[Stamina: 2]
[Intelligence: 6]
[Skill: Appraiser Lv.1]
[Balance: $10,000]
Wait. The stats hadn't changed. Still the same numbers. Just the Tier 2 changed to Tier 3.
'So, no extra features huh?' , he thought.
Before he could think too hard about it, the system chimed.
[You have received your card. Check your pocket.]
Nolan frowned. 'Card? What card?' He patted his pants automatically, not expecting to find anything.
His fingers touched something that definitely had not been there before.
He pulled it out.
A black card. But not just any black card. This was premium.
The kind of card rich people flashed in movies. Matte black finish, smooth as glass, with absolutely no bank logo or numbers anywhere. Just his name printed in elegant gold lettering: Nolan Drake
And below it, a small symbol that looked like an infinity sign, etched perfectly into the matte surface.
He turned it over. The back was plain black, with a small silver strip that he assumed was for scanning. No signature panel. No customer service number. Nothing.
"What the—"
He stared at the card, then at his pocket, then at the card again.' How? When?' He had been wearing these same pants since the hospital. He had checked his pockets a dozen times. There was no way a card could just appear out of nowhere.
But it had.
He looked around the park, half expecting someone to jump out and yell "hidden camera!" But no. Just normal people going about their evening.
The system was way more mysterious than he thought. Way more powerful. Way more… impossible.
He slipped the card back into his pocket, feeling its weight there. Solid. Real. Proof that this wasn't a dream.
Then he tapped on the skill.
[Appraiser Lv.1]
[Displays Name and Favorability toward you.]
Nolan read it twice. Three times.
"Favorability?" he said aloud, not caring if anyone heard him. "Like… how much someone likes me?"
That was it? That was his first skill? He could see how much people liked him? It sounded stupid at first. Useless. What good was knowing if a stranger liked you or not?
But then he thought about it. Really thought about it.
If he could see favorability, he would know who was genuine and who was fake. He would know if someone was pretending to be nice while secretly hating him. He would know if a girl was actually interested or just playing games.
That wasn't useless. That was… powerful.
He needed to test it.
A man walked past the bench. Middle-aged, bald, carrying a grocery bag. Normal guy. Nolan focused on him.
The system responded instantly.
[Name: Dwayne Jhonson]
[Favorability: 0]
Nolan's eyes widened. Zero. Completely neutral. The man didn't know him, didn't care about him, had no feelings either way. It made perfect sense.
He looked at a young woman jogging past.
[Name: Sarah Chen]
[Favorability: -2]
Negative? Why negative? She didn't even know him. Then he realized—she had glanced at him sitting on the bench and probably judged him. Maybe she thought he looked suspicious. Maybe she didn't like his clothes. Strangers judged each other all the time. Of course some would have negative favorability for no reason.
He tested it on more people, just for fun.
A student walking with headphones.
[Name: Mike Thompson]
[Favorability: -3]
An old man feeding pigeons.
[Name: George Whitmore]
[Favorability: +2]
A couple holding hands.
[Name: Ron Weasely]
[Favorability: +1]
[Name: Hermione Granger]
[Favorability: -1]
Nolan almost laughed. The man liked him slightly. The wife didn't. Classic.
He spent ten minutes just testing the skill on everyone who passed. Most were between -5 and +5.
Neutral or slightly negative. People were naturally judgmental, he realized. They saw a stranger and made quick assumptions. The skill just revealed the truth.
It was fascinating. And a little depressing.
But also useful. Very useful.
Just as he was about to get up and figure out his next move, the system flashed again.
[New Quest Available]
[Tier 3 Quest]
[Objective: Spend money at a Crown Bistro Restaurant tonight]
[Reward: +2 Agility]
[Time Limit: Before 10:00 PM]
Nolan checked the time on his phone. 5:15 PM. Evening was already settling in, the sun starting to dip lower in the sky. He had until ten. Plenty of time.
A restaurant. Spend money. Get agility. Simple enough.
He stood up and started walking toward his university dorm. He needed to freshen up first. He'd been wearing the same clothes since the hospital, and they looked rumpled and cheap. If he was going to a Crown Bistro restaurant, he didn't want to deal with judgmental looks from staff or customers.
The skill had shown him clearly—people judged. They always judged. And tonight, he didn't want to give them a reason to look down on him.
The dorm room was small and messy, like most college dorms. Nolan's roommate wasn't there, which was a relief. He didn't feel like explaining anything today.
He took a long, hot shower, letting the water wash away the stress of the day.
When he came out, he stood in front of his small closet, staring at the few clothes hanging inside.
Most of them were old. Worn. Cheap.
The kind of clothes that made waiters look at you once and seat you near the kitchen.
But at the very back of the closet, wrapped in dry-cleaning plastic, was the one good outfit he owned.
A navy blue jacket and dark jeans.
Nothing designer. But the fabric was good, and it fit him well.
He had bought it six months ago for a special occasion.
The clothes had been waiting for six months.
Waiting for a moment that never came.
Nolan pulled them out and looked at them quietly.
Then he reached under his bed, grabbed the iron, and spent the next ten minutes making sure everything was perfect.
No wrinkles.
No mistakes.
After getting dressed, he stood in front of the small mirror on the wall.
For a moment, he studied his reflection.
Then he realized something.
He wasn't doing this for confidence.
He wasn't even doing it for himself.
He was doing it to avoid trouble.
To avoid the looks.
To avoid being judged before he even opened his mouth.
It shouldn't matter what he wore. But it did. The world was shallow, and the skill had just proven it.
He ran a hand through his damp hair, grabbed the black card from his old pants, and headed out.
Nolan took out his new phone and opened the browser. After a moment of typing, the name appeared on the screen.
[Crown Bistro]
He tapped the result and checked the location. It wasn't too far—about a thirty-minute walk from campus.
"…Alright," he muttered.
With that, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and started walking.
Half an hour later, Nolan stood in front of the restaurant.
The sign Crown Bistro hung neatly above the glass doors, glowing under warm lights.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The interior was quiet and refined. Soft lighting, polished wooden tables, and a faint scent of grilled meat and spices filled the air.
It wasn't luxurious like those five-star places he'd seen in movies.
But it was definitely not cheap either.
A waiter noticed him enter and walked over.
The man gave Nolan a quick look from head to toe. Nolan's clothes weren't fancy, but they weren't bad either—clean jeans, a decent jacket. Acceptable.
"Table for one?" the waiter asked in a normal, professional tone.
Nolan nodded. "Yes."
"Right this way."
The waiter led him to a small table near the window and handed him a menu.
"Please take your time and pick what you like."
Then he turned and walked away to attend another customer.
Nolan picked up the menu and opened it.
His eyes scanned the dishes.
Steak.
Seafood platters.
Premium pasta.
His gaze slowly moved to the prices.
…70 dollars.
…85 dollars.
…92 dollars.
Nolan's eyebrows twitched.
Everything is over seventy dollars…
Just as he was staring at the menu and thinking about the ridiculous prices—
The restaurant door opened.
A group of girls walked in, laughing as they stepped inside.
One of them suddenly noticed Nolan and nudged the girl beside her.
"Hey, look, Lila," she said with a teasing grin. "That's your boyfriend."
Another girl chuckled.
"Guess It's Ex-boyfriend now."
Hearing that, Nolan instinctively looked up.
His eyes met hers.
Lila Voss.