The System Initiated

Leonidas walked across the campus, his shoulders hunched, eyes fixed on the ground. His mind buzzed with a constant hum of worry. The words of the doctor echoed in his ears:

“Your brother’s condition is worsening. We need to perform surgery immediately, or he may not survive much longer.”

He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts. He needed to focus on finding more work, more money. But every step felt like he was dragging himself through thick mud.

As he neared the main courtyard, he heard a commotion—a crowd of students gathered around Emma and Derek, who were standing on a raised platform. Emma looked radiant, a satisfied smile on her face, while Derek held her close, grinning like he had won the biggest prize.

“Attention, everyone!” Derek’s voice boomed across the courtyard. “We have an exciting announcement to make. Emma and I are officially engaged!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, applause ringing out across the space. Leonidas froze, his breath catching in his throat. Emma’s eyes flicked toward him, her smile growing wider.

She leaned into Derek’s ear, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Isn’t it great, Derek? No more childish games. I’m with the person I truly belong with.”

Derek laughed, his gaze fixed on Leonidas. “Absolutely, Emma. And I have to say, it’s much better than pretending to like… certain people.” He shot a mocking glance at Leonidas.

“And to celebrate it, we held a party tonight and everyone is invited to come!!!” Emma said.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Leonidas froze, his heart sinking. Derek’s eyes found him in the crowd, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Emma spotted Leonidas too. “I hope everyone’s happy for us. Especially old friends, right, Leo?”

Leonidas clenched his fists, his knuckles white. He turned to leave, but Derek called out.

“Hey, Leo! What’s the rush? You’re not gonna congratulate us?”

The crowd went silent, all eyes on Leonidas. He gritted his teeth and kept walking.

“Loser,” Derek muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. His friends snickered.

“Guess some people just can’t handle seeing someone else happy,” Tobby, Derek’s friend sneered behind him.

Also with Marcus, said to mocking Leonidas more with. “If you were scared that you're not invited to the party, don't worry about a thing, Leo. The party is open to anyone, the loser ex is included.”

Leonidas felt his face flush with shame and anger, but he forced himself to stay still, swallowing his emotions. Leonidas clenched his fists, keeping his head down, refusing to respond.

“What’s wrong? Are you trying to do a mannequin challenge? Why just standing there with no move even just to look at us?” Derek continued, his tone mockingly sweet. “Cat got your tongue? Oh, right… or is it the fact that no one wants a loser like you?”

"Do you already feel unfamiliar with me, Leo?" asked Emma, softening her voice to act like an angel, but she laughed a second ago. “I cherish our 6 months together by still inviting you, but you ignore me like this. Ah, my heart hurts.” She pretended to about to cry.

The laughter around him was loud, and it felt like a thousand knives digging into his skin. Leonidas stood there, taking it all in, his face burning. He knew he couldn’t win against them, not here, not now.

He looked for a way to walk where no one was going to laugh at him, but as the crowd continued to jeer, he spotted a figure in the distance—one of the popular girls on campus, watching him intently. Her expression was… different. There was no mockery in her eyes, just something he couldn’t quite read. Their gazes met for a fleeting moment before she turned and walked away.

***

Later, Leonidas stood in front of his boss at the construction site, nervously rubbing his hands together. The gruff, middle-aged man glared at him over a clipboard.

“You want another loan, Leonidas? Are you serious?”

“I—I really need it,” Leonidas stammered. “My brother, he’s in the hospital, and the surgery—”

Mr. Carver cut him off with a grunt. “Yeah, yeah. You’ve told me about your brother before. But this is the third time you’ve asked me for money. You know I don’t run a charity here, right?”

Leonidas’ face flushed with shame. “I know, sir. I swear I’ll pay you back. I just… I don’t have any other choice.”

Mr Carver sighed heavily, shaking his head. “Fine. But this is the last time. If you can’t pay me back, don’t bother showing up here again.”

Leonidas nodded quickly, his heart pounding. “Thank you, Mr. Carver. Thank you so much.”

As he walked away, his coworkers, who had been listening nearby, started to snicker.

“Look at him, always begging,” one of them said, loud enough for Leonidas to hear.

“He probably spends that money on himself,” Kyle muttered. “Pretending it’s for his brother.”

Leonidas ignored them, but their words stung. Just get through this. He repeated it like a mantra in his head.

After his shift ended, Leonidas headed toward the hospital with the money in his pocket. He was exhausted, covered in dust and sweat, but the hospital told about Alex’s condition that getting worse.

Every step was like a warning that made him aware about Alex's condition could be even worse than this, if he was just a little slower. So Leonidas quickened his pace, looking for the nearest taxi that he had ordered via his cell phone.

But before he could reach the street corner, though, he heard footsteps behind him. He turns to see a group of his coworkers, and with them, Marcus—one of Derek's friends.

“Hey, Leo!” Marcus called out with an almost friendly tone. “Wait up!”

Leonidas tensed. He knew better than to trust Marcus, but he kept walking, hoping they'd leave him alone.

“Hey, bro, don’t ignore me like that!” Leonidas knew that Marcus was just being friendly because they were in a public place, some people would immediately be suspicious if Marcus acted aggressively like he usually did at school.

But just when Leonidas kept walking and pretended he didn't hear Marcus, the guy with big body reached up to him, putting an arm around his shoulder. “What’s so hurry, man? We just wanna talk.”

Leonidas tried to shrugged him off, but Marcus was easily dragging Leonidas far from public place, to a desserted alley. Leonidas sensed a bad thing but he tried to affoid it with, “Not this time, Marcus. I need to get to the hospital.”

“Oh, the hospital,” Marcus said, his voice dripping with false concern. “Your coworkers just told me that you borrowed some money—again—this time. Are you sure you'll be heading to the hospital?”

Leonidas stopped, his heart racing. “What are you talking about?”

Marcus smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Okay, let’s hit the point. Do you want me to pray for your brother’s recovery?”

“How kind of you, Marcus...”

“Hell, yeah, I am. But it's not free. Pay one pray with your money.” Marcus explored at Leonidas' pocket, knowing the money was inside it. “Give me that, all of that.”

Leonidas took a step back, his hand instinctively going to his pocket. “What do you mean? No, Marcus, my brother needs this.”

Marcus’s smile vanished, and his expression turned cold. “Did I asking? No.”

Leonidas shook his head, backing away further. “Please, don’t do that, Marcus. My brother is dying, he need this money.”

Marcus’ face twisted with anger. “Get him!”

The group lunged at Leonidas, he tried to fought back, but there were too many of them. They punched and kicked him, pinning him against the wall.

“Just give us the money, Leo!” Marcus shouted, landing a punch to his gut.

Leonidas groaned in pain, holding onto the envelope with everything he had. “No,” he gasped, barely able to breathe. “This… is for Alex.”

Fury flashed in Marcus’ eyes. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

He grabbed Leonidas by the throat and slammed him against the wall, squeezing hard. “Give it to me, or I’ll make sure you never see your brother again.”

Leonidas struggled, his vision blurring. He felt the world closing in on him, darkness creeping at the edges of his sight. His fingers loosened their grip on the envelope, but something inside him wouldn’t let go. He couldn’t. Not for Alex.

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a strange notification appeared before his eyes, a glowing screen materializing in the air.

[Never No Dollar System initiated.]

Leonidas blinked in confusion. What was happening? He could barely think, barely breathe, but the screen stayed there, waiting.

[User detected. Do you wish to be the new user?]

The words floated in his mind, and with his last ounce of strength, he mentally screamed, **Yes!**

[Registration complete. Welcome, user!]

[Here’s your registration reward: $500,000.]

Leonidas’ eyes widened in shock. The words didn’t make sense, but then a new notification appeared, seemed like a help he wished.

[Warning! Something endangered user’s life is detected. Use your balance to purchase a help!]

Help? What kind of help? Leonidas tried to think fast, but the chock on his neck made him hard to think straight. Purchased someone to help? Or something to beat them?

[Mission: Eliminate those who endanger your life. Use your balance to purchase a weapon.]

Weapon? What kind of weapon that I need? A small weapon with instant fear to cut them off. Something like...gun.

He could barely think, barely breathe, but one thought cut through the haze: *A gun.* He needed a gun.

The system responded instantly, and a sleek, black pistol appeared in his hand as if out of thin air.

With trembling fingers, Leonidas pulled the trigger, firing a shot into the air.

BANG!

“Holy shit! What the fuck was that?” Marcus frightened, crawled back after a big shock got him fall instantly. He saw Leonidas’ down on his knee, but the gun in his hand was scared the living ass of them.

“A gun?”

“Shit! Where did he get that fucking gun?”

The sound was deafening in the narrow alley. Marcus and the others froze, their faces twisted with shock and fear.

“What the—?” Marcus stumbled back, his grip on Leonidas’ throat loosening.

Leonidas struggled to stay conscious, but he managed to aim the gun at them. “Get… away from me,” he gasped, his voice hoarse.

The bullies exchanged terrified glances. They didn’t know where the gun came from or how Leonidas had suddenly turned the tables, but they didn’t want to stick around to find out.

They ran, scattering into the night.

Leonidas collapsed to the ground, the gun slipping from his hand. His body was broken, his vision fading, but for the first time in his life, he had stood up to them.

As he lay there, alone in the alley, he felt the edges of consciousness slip away, the cold darkness enveloping him. The last thing he saw was the faint glow of the system screen before everything went black.