"Fuck, I slept like a dog today. I wonder what time it is," I said to myself, groggily opening my eyes. I was sprawled on my bed in my messy room. Clothes were scattered across the floor, an empty pizza box sat on my desk, and my alarm clock was buried under a pile of books and old papers. The faint light of dawn filtered through the half-closed blinds, casting long shadows across the clutter.
"Hello, young man. Are you awake now?" A deep voice echoed through my surroundings, jolting me fully awake.
"Who is this? I can't see you," I replied, sitting up and looking around in confusion. My heart pounded as I tried to locate the source of the voice amidst the chaos of my room.
"Hey, hey, chill out. I know you can't see me because no one can," the deep voice said. "Listen carefully, young man. I want to give you my power, but I'm not sure if you can handle it..."
"Wait, hold on. First, tell me who the fuck you are and why I can't see you? Are you a ghost?" I demanded, still trying to shake off the remnants of sleep and the eerie feeling of being watched in my own space.
"Little man, stop talking nonsense and listen to me. I don't have much time left. The dimension is closing, so I have to go for now. I'll give you my power... Use it to become wealthy. I'll be back in two or three months. Until then, learn to use my power and never let anyone know about it, or you'll die," said the deep voice.
As he said that, a blue light appeared before me, and I lost consciousness.
*4 hours later...*
I woke up, groggy and disoriented, back on my bed. "Huh, what in the world is this thing?" A blue screen appeared right in front of my eyes.
*Ping*
A notification sound popped on the screen: "Congratulations, user, for unlocking the hidden system."
I freaked out. "What the hell is going on here? I'm going crazy!"
*Ping*
Another notification popped: "$100 joining bonus for successfully unlocking the system. Do you want to claim it?" (Yes/No)
"Huh? Joining bonus? Is it giving me $100 just for joining? Should I click yes? Well, I don't have anything to lose. I never had anything in the first place. Let's just click it."
(Yes)
*Ping*
"$100 has been added to your account."
Bullshit. I never got any notificat—
*Buzz Buzz*
"$100 has been credited to your account."
"Eh—uhmmm—whatttttttttttt?" I shouted.
No way, how did this happen? Is this for real? Is this the power that voice was talking about? "I don't think this is legal though..."
*Ping*
"System is neither legal nor illegal."
"Huh, so it's not legal, right? Wait, did it just reply to my question?" I asked. "Hey, so you can understand me? If so, tell me what this is all about. Who was that voice, and who are you? And what is this power?"
*Ping*
"The system is made for you to use the power of the mighty wealth hunter. The voice you heard was the mighty wealth hunter, the greatest to ever do it. The finest and the most handsome—"
"Yo, stop glazing, bro," I interrupted the system.
"Ahem, apologies. As I was saying, he's the person who gave you this power to have unlimited wealth. But not for free; you have to earn it by doing tasks the system gives you. If you fail to complete the tasks, you'll face penalties. I can't tell you more than this."
"Oh, so you're saying I got his powers and now I can use them however I want?" I asked.
*Ping*
"Yes, exactly... Ah, I forgot to tell you that you also have a status window that will tell you all of your stats," the system explained.
"Huh? I have a status window? Oh, the screen where you can see everything about yourself. Nice, I need to see that... Open status window."
*Ping*
"Spend $500 to view the status window."
"Huh? What's this now?" I asked the system.
*Ping*
"Are you blind? You have to pay $500 to view the status window," said the annoyed system.
"Bruh... Are you serious? I don't have the money. Just open it."
*Ping*
"No, I can't do that. It's a written rule of the system to unlock the status window."
"Just open it, dumbass..."