Rise Of The System Trillionaire

The Business Man Quest

Arnold went to answer the knock on the door with apprehension. His arms were suddenly stiff and his neck felt like it had twisted in one direction and couldn't straighten any longer.

Still, he led his body toward the door and asked, "Who's there?"

"I'm the maid assign—"

Before she could finish speaking, he opened the door. Relief washed over him as he stared at the smallish woman in her cleaning uniform in front of him.

For a moment there, he had thought it was someone related to his first quest. The Nexus had not yet told him the details of the quest and he was feeling queasy already. What would this quest be? It seemed the Nexus liked to keep his on his toes.

"Can I come in?" the woman asked.

He looked down at her and moved aside as she rolled her cleaning trolley into his hotel room. He'd been so consumed in his thoughts that he hadn't remembered to let her in.

He wanted to say sorry but he decided against it. The old him would have blurted out sorry at the speed of light. Then again, the old him would not be in this situation, in this hotel room. And certainly not have such privileges.

He exhaled, trying to let go of the pent-up fear and thoughts that was gathering at the base of his throat.

'Arnold'

He turned towards the maid, wondering why she was calling him and how the heck she knew his name.

"What?"

She looked at him with creased brows.

"You called my —"

'Arnold'

He heard the voice again and realized it was actually the voice in his head speaking.

'Good grief, it's me. Now, I need you to get moving. It's time to get the wheels turning for your first quest. Go to the elevator and down to the lobby. That's where your quest will take place.'

Arnold moved like he was on something — drugs, maybe. He looked ahead, not greeting anyone on his way, only preoccupied with the thoughts in his head.

When he got to the lobby, it was still the same as it had been the night before, but something in the atmosphere was different.

He recognized the people in the lobby. At least, he recognized some of the people who'd either aided in his humiliation the night before or who had humiliated him. He watched them as their faces changed at the sight of him — his new, hot gentleman look.

Something rose within him, causing him to automatically lift his shoulders up.

While thinking about what the heck the quest was all about and why it would take place in the lobby, he almost lost his footing.

"Sorry," the rude receptionist from the night before said. She'd been watching all his movements.

He acted like he hadn't heard her, making a point to look at anywhere but at her.

She bent over the counter and extended her hand out to him for a handshake. Even though he wasn't staring at her directly, he could see the outline of her bosom almost completely spilling out from her dress as she bent. It was a tactic to get his attention by all means.

"I didn't quite get to have a conversation with you last night," she said in the most seductive voice he'd ever heard.

He swallowed hard and did a 360° turn towards the sofa at the middle of the lobby, acting like she wasn't talking to him. It was hard, but it was also quite telling the way people changed around one once you had some money. He'd gone from being humiliated at the altar to being seduced by some random, mean receptionist. It didn't get more surprising than that. He hoped it didn't, at least.

He could still hear the murmurs. They'd erupted as soon as he came into view looking like a tall glass of wine. He was getting more uncomfortable as the minutes went by and more eyes turned to stare at him.

He whispered to the voice in his head, "What now, huh? What am I to do next to get the quest started?"

Nexus spoke: 'This quest involves leveling up and will aid you in your general quest for revenge. It’s a lesson for you per se. You’ll be cake to build yourself up, increase your confidence level, and boost your ego too. What you're to do now is to walk up to anyone here you think is a business man and introduce yourself as a fellow business man.'

Arnold's eyebrows shot up. "What? But I'm not a bus—"

'Keep still and listen. I'm not done giving the full details yet. Due to the fact you accepted the system and have a cause that aligns with it, which is to get your revenge and also get richer, this first quest is related to both but in a unique way.'

A screen crossed into his line of vision and he leaned on the wall so he wouldn't fall.

[Quest Generated]

- Inform three people and tell them to invest in your business.

- Quest reward: 100 lavish point per person, +1 level up

- Quest failure: All Nexus points will be untouchable for one week. You won’t be able to spend the money and will be considered useless.

Then the screen was gone.

He looked around the hotel lobby suddenly, and from their dressing, he could tell the business men and women apart. He could spot the influential and rich men in suits that screamed money. Now, he had to think of a business that wouldn't make him look stupid in front of them. Anything.

Something clicked in his head. He had prior experience in selling groceries so he'd stick to the guns he knew.

After he thought of something random and related to groceries, he scanned all the business men he could find and decided to pick the first person he would walk up to and discuss with. He picked one man in a sharp navy blue suit and walked up to him, striking up a conversation immediately.

"Hi," he said, sitting directly opposite the man.

The man glanced at him from the morning paper he was reading and barely nodded to acknowledge him.

Arnold wasn't deterred. He launched into his speech. "I have a business proposal I would like to run by you. It has something to do with a grocery business. I was thinking I could tell you in case you'd be interested in investing in it so that I —"

"Excuse me?"

Arnold stopped, mouth open. He'd been going on and and on that when the man finally cut him off, it was so abrupt he felt like he'd been run into by a car on the street.

"I don't have time for all that crap."

"Sorry, I —" Arnold started, but the man wasn't having it.

"Do you think you can just walk up to strangers and start talking about some dream business that's in your head? Move on, mister."

Arnold stood and walked away so that the man wouldn't keep on raising his voice at him and cause a scene. He'd had enough of humiliating experiences. He didn't need to add yet another one.

Technically, he hadn't yet failed the quest, but he had also not completely succeeded. He had been bold enough to take the leap and speak but he had not been able to convince the man to listen further.

On to the next one, he thought. He had to try another person.

He scanned the lobby for someone else. Someone more approachable. He zeroed in on a blonde man with a very athletic looking body and a face that he was sure wasn't American.

Arnold took a deep breath and walked up to him. He held out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Arnold."

The blond man looked up at him from his phone and shook his hand firmly. "Mr Larry."

A good start, Arnold thought.

He began to tell him about the business.

Mr Larry watched him with an unreadable expression. Then, he reached for a cigarette pack in his inner suit pocket and took one out. "Do you smoke?"

Arnold shook his head.

Larry shrugged and put the packet of cigarettes back into his inner coat pocket. Then he lit the cigarette he'd collected with his lighter and began to puff on the cigarette.

"Go ahead," Larry said when Arnold seemed to pause to watch him. "I'm listening."