Ding!
[Karma Points Acquired: +300]
[Quest Time Extended: +12 Hours]
[Good Job! You've proven you're not entirely selfish!]
Selene slumped against the velvet cushions of her new absurdly overpriced couch, a thirty-thousand-dollar statement piece that looked like a croissant and felt like a cloud.
She let out a small sigh, not sure how to respond for a few minutes.
Her gaze lingered on the black kitten bed beside her—empty, waiting. Then, she thought, 'Seems like there's more to the system than mindless spending.'
She had been so busy with the quest that she did not get any time to think much. Now, with a curious voice, Selene asked.
"You must have some interface, right?"
The air shimmered with digital particles. A holographic screen popped into view like a futuristic billboard designed by a very caffeinated graphic designer.
[Wealth Domination System - User Interface v1.02 GE]
Name: Selene Sinclair
User Level: Beginner Billionaire
Level: 0
Experience Points: 0
Mana Points: Locked
Karma Points: 0
Financial Status —
Wealth: Uncertain
Assets Currently Owned (Tap to Expand)
Crystal AvenueMacbeth Furiosa Twenty-Nine penthousesEight Avenue Commercial Street A disturbing amount of silk robes
The next section was about skills
Charisma Buff - Level 1 Super Advanced Driving - Level 1 Emotional Suppression - Level 2
Selene paused, about to ask what the Emotional Suppression meant but then her eyes fell over the next lines.
Suspicion Meter: 10%
Current Risk Level: Yellow (You might be on someone's spreadsheet)
System Suppression Shield: 50%
Note: Without suppression, you will become the subject of at least 12 financial crime documentaries.
Selene blinked at the screen. "Wait. If the system gets deactivated, that suppression shield drops?"
[Correct.]
"And then my money vanishes?"
[Correct.]
"How?"
[That information is… currently unavailable.]
She frowned. "Well, that's comforting."
There was still money left. And the clock was ticking again.
'Time to finish this.'
Now that Selene knew the system could help her in deciding what to buy, shes progressed through the task much faster.
She bought some mansions and castles in foreign countries.
She donated a small fortune to a start-up claiming to revolutionize toaster design. The prototype shot bread slices across the room and into your mouth. She funded two more versions.
She even purchased a haunted doll museum purely because the Yelp reviews claimed the dolls were too judgmental.
Her life was transforming at ludicrous speed. Her fridge now had voice commands. Her mirror gave unsolicited pep talks. Her closet had a humidity control system because apparently, silk could get "moody."
Then came the final number.
$1,000,000,000.
One. Billion. Left.
And there was still another hour left!
Selene yawned and decided to just complete the last purchase later. The day had been exhausting, and she needed a break. And after having spent nine hundred and ninety-nine million dollars, she knew deciding where to spend the last billion dollars would be a piece of cake.
She cracked her knuckles, opened her new RTC 5090 gaming computer, and started the one game she had always wanted to play.
'Chronova: Echoes of Time'.
In Selene's eyes, nothing else even came close.
It was everything an MMORPG dreamed of becoming—limitless exploration, unpredictable story arcs, and a living, breathing world that evolved with you. The true flex? It ran on an unnervingly advanced AI engine. Every tree, every townsperson, every quest—reacted to you. Not the you on a forum thread. The you in the moment. The game remembered your playstyle, adapted to your choices, and whispered back with storylines uniquely yours.
Selene had played it exactly once. At her cousin's house. Two years ago. On a borrowed headset and with Wi-Fi that kept gasping like it was in cardiac arrest.
She'd been too broke to even afford a secondhand toaster, let alone a gaming rig. Playing Chronova again? That was filed under "beautiful impossibilities," somewhere between "taking a vacation" and "having three meals a day."
Until now.
Selene leaned forward with all the reverence of a monk approaching a sacred relic.
A second later, her smile dropped.
She had just typed the name into the search bar: Chronova: Echoes of Time.
And there it was. The download page. Glowing like the gates of digital heaven. Her mouse hovered over the "Buy Now" button like it was the launch trigger for a space shuttle.
Click.
Loading…
Error.
"…No. No-no-no—don't you dare."
She hit refresh.
Error.
She copied the URL. Tried it in another browser.
Error.
"System, is this divine punishment or just my luck having a stroke again?"
Then she scrolled down the page—and there it was, in plain, soul-crushing font:
"Arcane Labs has ceased operations. All services discontinued."
There was a link.
She clicked it.
"Arcane Labs has filed for bankruptcy. Servers will be permanently shut down. Customer support is currently hiding in a bunker somewhere. Please don't contact us, we don't even have any staff to respond."
Selene blinked. Hard.
Then she opened Twitter—because of course. If you want chaos, go where the mobs are. The trending hashtag read: #MonteverdeStrikesAgain
Apparently, Arcane Labs had gotten into a legal brawl with the infamous Monteverde Group. And by legal brawl, the internet meant digital execution.
Rumors claimed Monteverde hadn't just won the lawsuit—they'd curb-stomped the entire studio into dust.
Selene sat there, motionless.
And then, her phone rang.
"Miss Sinclair?" came a woman's voice. Soft but serious. "It's the veterinary hospital. It's about Blackie."
Selene froze.
The vet explained there were complications. The kitten's heart wasn't responding well. They needed to transfer him to a specialty facility. Better machines. Better staff. More hope.
Selene didn't say anything for a long moment. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
'He's… just a kitten,' she thought. 'I've only known him for what? Three naps and half a tuna can?' But her chest ached like she was losing her only friend. And perhaps, that wasn't too far from the truth.
"Transfer him," Selene whispered. "Whatever it costs. Just… make sure he lives."
"Thank you, Miss Sinclair. We'll do everything we can."
Ding!
[Time Remaining: Five minutes!]
Selene's head jerked toward the floating system panel like it had insulted her mother.
"I had one hour remaining just minutes ago!" She complained. But the numbers did not change, and the System only responded dryly.
[You were too focused on reading articles about Arcane Labs to notice the time.]
Selene cursed under her breath, "Whatever, what do I buy in five minutes?"
[You could buy a medium-sized country. Some even come with complimentary dictators.]
"Tempting, but no."
[Then how about… Arcane Labs?]
Selene's heart skipped a beat. Arcane Labs? They were so not worth one billion dollars. However, given the circumstances and their conflict with the Monteverde Group…
[Time remaining: Four minutes]
Selene snapped back to reality, "But it's well past midnight. We can't contact the company, and the CEO might be the only one—"
[Uploading Contact Information.]
The system announced suddenly.
A string of digits floated in the air like the system had just casually hacked into the universe's contacts list.
"…Okay. Creepy," Selene muttered. "But thanks."
She took a breath, steadied her nerves, and dialed. It rang.
And then—
"Hello?"
His voice hit her like dark clouds before the storm, beautiful and bewitching. It was a voice deep and raspy.
Selene blinked, forgetting how words worked for exactly 1.6 seconds.
"Hi," she finally said, too fast. "I'd like to buy Arcane Labs. For one billion dollars. Right now."
There was a pause.
"…Ma'am, are you calling from an asylum?"
She could not help but smile, "I'm very serious and very rich. For the next—" she glanced at the system clock, "—three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. So, what's it gonna be?"
He murmured sleepily, "You're either a scammer, a hallucination, or I'm still dreaming."
"Wrong on all counts. I'm your billion-dollar Hail Mary. Sell me the company, and I'll wire the money now."
A sigh. Amused. Disbelieving. Just the right kind of exasperated.
"…You're insane."
Click.
The call ended.
Selene stared at the phone like it had slapped her and whispered, "Weirdo."
"System." She asked.
[Yes?]
"Can you transfer the money directly to Arcane Labs?"
[Affirmative. Securing account details…]
[Details confirmed. Would you like to transfer one billion dollars to Arcane Labs?]
Selene frowned. If it was that easy to transfer the money, couldn't she have just randomly spammed money to strangers? That would have saved her so much headache!
"Transfer it," Selene declared with a yawn.
The next morning, she was going to ensure the CEO with hot voice meets her.
Ding!
[Transaction Complete!]
[Congratulations. You are now the proud owner of a bankrupt tech studio!]
Ding-Ding-Ding!
[Quest Completed: Spend One Hundred Billion Dollars Like an Unhinged Money God!]
[+500 Karma Points Earned]
[+1 System Upgrade Unlocked]
[System Binding: 100% Integration Achieved]
[Note: Deactivation is no longer possible.]
Selene blinked.
Something shimmered in the air—a faint, almost imperceptible digital pulse. Like reality hiccuped. She felt it. In her skin. In her spine. In her soul, if she still had one after this absurd financial rollercoaster.
[System Status: Fully Bound to Host]
[All modules operational (Well, most. Some are still… patchy.)]
[You are now the permanent user of the Wealth Domination System™. Congratulations! There is no returns policy.]
Selene slowly lowered her phone, her eyes reflecting the holographic interface still flickering in the air.
Permanent.
A few moments of silence passed. Long, strange, and comfortable in the way only her childhood dreams had once felt.
Then, she finally asked the question clawing at the back of her mind.
"…Where did you come from?"
There was a pause.
Too long.
The system announced after what seemed like forever.
[Searching… Error. Data Fragmentation Detected.]
[Corrupted Metadata: Source origin unknown.]
[Please do not ask that question again.]
Selene raised a brow. "What does that even mean?"
But instead of getting an answer, the system made another announcement.
[A minor global ripple has been detected following your recent transaction.]
[Probability of suspicion: ↑ 12%]
[Recalculating social camouflage protocols...]
She leaned back, arms stretched, staring at the crystal chandelier as she wondered how else the system would change her life. One hundred billion have bought nearly everything she could have desired in her life.
What next?
Just as she was about to stand up, the room's lights flickered. Her speaker, which she had not bothered connecting with anything yet crackled—it was a familiar voice. Almost like the system, yet different.
Distorted. Faint. Almost… amused?
[Not Supposed To Be Here.]
Selene turned around, "…Excuse me?"
No response.
A few moments later, the system announced in her mind.
[Next Quest: Generating…]