didn't even bother getting out of bed. I just laid there, staring at the floating screen like it was some kind of weird, glowing guardian angel.
"Okay, system," I said, stretching my arms over my head. "Hit me with another one."
The screen flickered for a second before a new task popped up.
[New Task: Brush your teeth] [Reward: $20]
I snorted. "You trying to tell me I stink?"
Still, twenty bucks was twenty bucks. I wasn't gonna sit here and argue with the magic happiness fairy.
I rolled out of bed, shuffled over to the bathroom, and brushed my teeth like my life depended on it. Honestly, I even did a little extra scrubbing just in case the system was feeling judgy.
Ding!
[Task Completed!] [+$20 deposited to your account]
I wiped my mouth and grinned at the mirror. "Man, if you'd been around during my high school days, I might've actually flossed."
Walking back into my room, I grabbed my phone again and stared at the updated balance. My stomach did this weird little flip. It wasn't a lot, not really. But it was more money than I'd made all week.
And I'd earned it by smiling, drinking water, breathing, and brushing my teeth.
If my old bosses could see me now, they'd probably cry.
I flopped onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Alright, what's next?"
The screen shifted again.
[New Task: Go outside and feel the sun] [Reward: $30]
I raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Outside? You're asking a lot now, buddy."
But $30 was $30. And honestly, it wasn't like I had anything better to do.
I threw on a wrinkled hoodie, jammed my feet into some battered sneakers, and stumbled out the door. The hallway smelled like burnt toast and bad decisions, but I made it outside without dying, so that was a win.
The sunlight hit me like a slap to the face.
"Gah—!" I squinted, shielding my eyes. When was the last time I willingly went outside during the day? No idea. Probably back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.
I tilted my face up, letting the sun warm my skin.
Ding!
[Task Completed!] [+$30 deposited to your account]
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I didn't even need to check. I knew the money was there.
I actually laughed—a full-on, head-thrown-back, stupid-sounding laugh. Some lady walking her dog gave me a weird look, but I didn't care.
This was insane.
Magical system gives sad broke boy money for doing basic human things.
I was living in a fever dream—and for once, it was a good one.
I took my time wandering back toward my apartment. For the first time in forever, I wasn't stressed. I wasn't thinking about rent, or bills, or how many hours I needed to work this week just to afford toothpaste.
I was just... existing.
And it felt good.
By the time I made it back to my room, the screen was waiting for me.
[New Task: Eat a healthy meal] [Reward: $50]
I blinked.
"Uh... define 'healthy.'"
I opened my fridge. Inside was a sad-looking packet of bologna, half a bottle of ketchup, and something that might've been yogurt three months ago.
Yeah... no.
I guess it was time for a grocery run. Which was fine, because hey—free system money.
I stuffed my wallet (which was still mostly empty, but slightly less pathetic now) into my pocket and headed out again, already making a list in my head.
Eggs. Bread. Vegetables. Real food. Stuff that didn't come in a Styrofoam cup with a flavor packet labeled "beef" even though it tasted like despair.
For the first time in a long time, I was actually... excited to go shopping.
Maybe money couldn't buy happiness the normal way.
But it could buy eggs.
And right now? Eggs sounded like pure, golden joy.
totally in your voice. Here's the continuation:
---
The grocery store was only a few blocks away, but it felt like a full-blown adventure. I had a real mission now. A quest, even. Allen Cross: Champion of Eggs and Vegetables.
I swaggered into the store like some kind of broke superhero. The automatic doors whooshed open dramatically (okay, maybe not dramatically, but I imagined they did) and I grabbed a basket, feeling like an absolute boss.
"Healthy, healthy, healthy..." I muttered, squinting at the shelves like they were hiding all the good stuff from me.
First stop: the produce section.
I grabbed some bananas. Bananas were healthy, right? Full of potassium and whatever. Then some carrots, because rabbits eat carrots and rabbits are ripped. I think.
Bread? Eh, sure. Whole wheat, because that sounded more serious.
I even picked up some sad-looking chicken breasts from the meat section. Protein and all that. Look at me. Allen Cross, health expert and professional system abuser.
My basket was looking respectable by the time I hit the checkout line. I tossed everything onto the conveyor belt, feeling weirdly proud. Like I was adulting properly for the first time in forever.
Total came out to just under thirty bucks. I swiped my card, half-expecting it to decline out of habit, but it went through without a hitch.
Victory.
I marched back home with my spoils, practically skipping up the stairs to my apartment. (Okay, not really skipping. I'm not that weird. Maybe just a powerful strut.)
The floating screen was still chilling in my room like it owned the place.
I put the groceries away and made myself a "healthy" meal: scrambled eggs, toast, and some carrot sticks thrown on the side like a sad attempt at gourmet plating.
I took a big, dramatic bite of toast.
Ding!
[Task Completed!] [+$50 deposited to your account]
I fist-pumped the air.
"Yes! I am the Egg Master!"
I sat there munching my Very Healthy Champion's Meal, grinning like an idiot. This was too easy. Too good to be true.
Which, naturally, meant it couldn't stay this easy forever.
Because right as I finished chewing my last bite of toast, the screen flickered again.
[New Task: Help someone in need] [Reward: $100]
I stopped mid-sip of water, nearly choking.
"...Wait, what?"
Helping someone? Like... actually doing something useful?
That wasn't like breathing or brushing my teeth. That was... effort.
Real effort.
I squinted at the task suspiciously. Was this a trap? Some hidden "gotcha" moment? Was the system secretly recording me, waiting for me to fail so it could laugh?
Well... whatever.
A hundred bucks was a hundred bucks.
And besides, how hard could it be to find someone who needed help?
Spoiler: Harder than I thought.
I threw on my hoodie again and headed back outside, determined to find some poor soul to rescue.
The problem?
Everyone I passed looked totally fine. No old ladies struggling with groceries. No kids stuck in trees. No runaway dogs.
Just a bunch of people walking around, minding their own business, refusing to give me the satisfaction of being their hero.
I wandered around for almost an hour, getting increasingly desperate.
At one point, I seriously considered just accidentally knocking over someone's grocery bags so I could heroically help pick them up. But that felt... wrong. And probably illegal. Maybe.
"C'mon," I grumbled under my breath. "Somebody break their ankle or something. I need this."
Finally, when I was just about ready to give up and go home in shame, I spotted him.
A little kid, maybe six years old, standing near a park bench, sniffling and looking around like he'd lost his entire world.
Bingo.
I jogged over, trying not to look like a kidnapper. "Hey, buddy. You okay?"
The kid looked up at me with big, watery eyes. "I... I can't find my mom..."
Jackpot.
I knelt down to his level, putting on my friendliest, least-scary smile. "No worries, little dude. We'll find her, okay? What's your name?"
"...Benji," he mumbled.
"Alright, Benji. I'm Allen. Let's go find your mom."
It wasn't exactly a high-stakes rescue mission, but it counted, dang it.
I stayed with Benji, waving down a security guard nearby, and together we managed to track down a very panicked-looking woman who immediately scooped him up into a huge hug.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, thank you so much!"
I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling weirdly awkward. "Ah, it's no big deal. Just glad he's safe."
As she walked away with Benji clinging to her, I heard it.
Ding!
[Task Completed!] [+$100 deposited to your account]
I let out a long, slow breath and checked my phone.
There it was. Another hundred bucks, sitting pretty in my balance.
I stood there in the park, smiling like a total idiot, and realized something.
Maybe money could buy happiness.
Or at least... maybe it could rent it for a little while.