"Alright," she said, her voice confident. "How about we mix Eclipse Enterprises and Summit Acquisitions? The result would be something like... Eclipse Acquisitions. It has that sense of reaching for something higher, something beyond, while also staying rooted in the idea of acquiring and expanding."
Martin smiled, feeling a wave of relief. It was a name that avoided any direct link to the system, but still carried a sense of ambition.
Although the word 'Eclipse' had a connection to the sun and the moon, Martin would feel like a pathetic douche with too much paranoia if he let this little matter wrestle away his peace of mind."Sounds perfect," he said. "Let's go with that."
Lucia nodded in agreement, and they turned to the business registration process. Pulling out their laptops, they went to the online trade and commerce site to finalize the company registration.
Martin let Lucia take the lead as she filled out the forms, submitting their business licenses, permits, and the legal seals for both parties. The process was seamless, their preparation ensuring that all the necessary documents were in place.
As they worked through the steps, Martin felt the tension in his chest ease. With every click, they were solidifying their partnership, and Eclipse Acquisitions was taking shape.
It wasn't just a name on paper anymore—it was the beginning of something far larger, a company that could grow beyond their initial ambitions.
With the final submission complete, the digital contract was filed, and just like that, Eclipse Acquisitions was officially registered. At least, on paper.
Martin sat back, his gaze lingering on the screen where their company name stood bold and official. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. They had done it. The first step toward building something truly powerful had been taken.
Time flowed easily as Martin's days fell back into a routine. Without much to actively manage on the business front, most of his work had been handed over to Lucia, who took charge of setting up the company's headquarters and recruiting talent.
This left Martin with little to do, save for catching up with his friends through text messages and, more importantly, calling his mother for the first time in what felt like ages. She had been worried, and rightly so, given how distant Martin had been since his parents' divorce.
He reassured her that he was doing well, and that things were finally looking up for him. Their conversation left him with a sense of relief, as though another weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Aside from that, everything else in Martin's life remained fairly standard. The system's midday gift continued to loom over him, though he made an important discovery that alleviated much of the pressure he'd been feeling.
He found out that if he didn't use the rebate gift chance, the following day's rebate duration would increase by one minute. It was as if the system was rewarding his patience.
This revelation brought a wave of relief. Some transactions, Martin had realized, took longer than a single minute, and the fact that time would accumulate meant that no missed opportunity was truly lost—it simply turned into a different kind of opportunity.
The extra time would allow him to be more strategic, and this newfound freedom made him breathe easier.
It was during this time that his private bank account at Morgan Private Bank was finally approved. Unfortunately, the confirmation came after midday, meaning he missed another chance to use the system's gift for the day. However, he wasn't too concerned.
His rebate accumulation had reached four minutes now, plenty of time for more complex purchases in the future. Lucia remained busy, entrenched in her social circle of second-generation elites, leaving Martin to his own devices.
He decided to spend a quiet night at his lakeside villa, something he had put off for some time now. The idea of finally settling into his new home brought a sense of excitement that he couldn't shake.
He also planned to buy a new car the next day—something more befitting his newfound status—and have it delivered to the villa.
That evening, as he lay in the luxurious bed of his villa, Martin found himself too excited to sleep. The sheer weight of everything that had happened over the past few weeks kept him tossing and turning.
He was still adjusting to the idea of living in such grandeur, and the thought of what the future held left his mind restless.
Soon enough, midnight arrived, and Martin braced himself for the familiar chime that signaled the start of the system's wishing period. The golden lines danced before his eyes once again, weaving themselves into the shape of a token.
By now, the visual spectacle no longer amazed him—he had grown accustomed to it. The seconds ticked away, and Martin considered making another wish.
But something gnawed at the back of his mind.
A sudden thought struck him—how many tokens did he have saved up by now? He hadn't made a wish in days, and he was certain that he should have collected at least a few.
When he checked his inventory, however, he was met with a shock. There was nothing. Not a single token in sight.
His heart raced. How could this be? He knew for a fact that he hadn't used any of his tokens. But there they were—completely gone. Where were his bronze tokens?
As he stared at the system's interface, a flicker caught his attention. The bronze token for tonight's wish didn't look the same. The word "Bronze" had a x7 multiplier in front of it, blinking rapidly. But there was something more—an outline of the word "Silver" faintly overlapped with the bronze text, as if the two were fighting for dominance.
The seconds ticked down, and Martin watched, dumbfounded. Just as the countdown hit 00:00, the words "x7 Bronze" vanished completely, leaving only "x1 Silver" behind.
Martin blinked, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. Seven bronze tokens had combined into a single silver token.
He didn't know what this meant, but his pulse quickened as the realization sank in—the system had more layers than he had initially understood.
For the first time in a long while, Martin felt genuine fear. Not from the system itself, but from the sudden shift in its mechanisms, as though it had a life of its own, evolving and changing with each passing day.
As the minutes crept by, his mind spun with new insights and realizations.
What did this silver token mean? What new possibilities would it unlock?
He sat there, staring blankly into the dark expanse of his room, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of this sudden change in the system's machinations. One thing was clear—his journey was far from predictable.
Martin lay wide awake in his rugged bed, staring at the ceiling as the first rays of dawn crept into the room. Sleep had eluded him entirely, his mind too consumed with the discovery of the silver token.
The mere thought of what kind of wish it could grant gnawed at him. Unlike the bronze tokens, which functioned within the bounds of realistic probability, this silver token felt like it held the key to something more… fantastical.
Something beyond the ordinary constraints of the world.
For hours, his thoughts spun in every direction. If bronze tokens could alter things within the laws of reality—enhancing health, acquiring wealth, making minor adjustments—what would a silver token unlock?
Superhuman abilities? Could he wish for the strength of a werewolf or the night vision of a vampire? Could the token tap into the fabled powers of martial artists of ancient legends—humans who could punch through stone, lift boulders, and move with the agility of a beast?
He sat up in bed, the excitement swirling inside him too much to contain. The possibilities were endless, and that was what made them so dangerous.
Martin had already experienced firsthand the system's power, and he knew that the more outrageous the wish, the greater the strain it seemed to place on him.
The night's events kept replaying in his mind—the transformation of seven bronze tokens into one silver token, the blink of "x1 Silver" flashing before his eyes.
What kind of rules governed the system? What were its limits? Was this token a step closer to powers that defied natural law?
The temptation was overwhelming, but Martin wasn't reckless. If there was one thing he had learned in his time using the system, it was that every wish, every action, had consequences.
The larger the scale of the change, the more severe the effects. He thought back to the dizziness he had felt after acquiring the prime shares in the ten companies, the fatigue that followed his miraculous body revitalization.
His fingers drummed against the sheets as he crafted a plan. If he were going to experiment with a wish on this scale, he needed to factor in a few key safeguards.
He had to word the wish carefully—precisely. He couldn't just say, "I want superhuman strength." That kind of vague statement could easily backfire. Instead, he needed to be specific.
He had to leave room for the system to make adjustments, to factor in any potential side effects.
Perhaps something along the lines of, "I wish to enhance my body's strength and agility to the optimal level possible, while maintaining full control and balance."