CHAPTER 5

What Arthur didn’t realize was this was not the end, but the beginning as his reawakening triggered a special system game that had picked him as its new player, 

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: ARE YOU READY TO BECOME THE NEXT PLAYER?]

[ TO KNOW MORE: CLICK OPEN ]

Dead was exactly the feeling pulsating through Arthur's body at this very moment. To the point that he could hardly move, he was worn out. He took a hard hit to the side of his mouth and a powerful strike to the stomach.

Arthur could not shake off the overwhelming sense of betrayal that washed over him when his girlfriend decided to abandon him for a well-known athlete. 

The idea of changing his life crossed Arthur's mind; he wanted to be less of a nerd and more of a charming campus hearthrob who could win over any woman.

Overthinking eventually led Arthur to succumb to losing his consciousness.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: ARE YOU READY TO BECOME THE NEXT PLAYER?]

“What’s this?” Arthur uttered this as he heard a loud notification bell.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself under a huge holographic screen that flashes a large notification bell with wordings: [ TO KNOW MORE: CLICK OPEN ]

“What the fuck is this?” He whispered, his voice hoarse from the series of coughing he had while he was beaten a moment ago.

Out of curiosity, Arthur pulled his hand up enough to manage clicking the holographic screen. After successfully pressing the button on the screen, it eventually displayed the mission meant for Arthur.

[ LEVEL-UP FAVOR SYSTEM : DO YOU WISH TO BECOME THE MOST POPULAR AND RICHEST HEARTTHROB IN CAMPUS? ]

[YES?]

[NO?]

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Arthur asked, eager to find out the truth. He was still unsure what could this stuff be and why was it asking him such question that he was just trying to dream of earlier.

[ COMPLETING THE MISSIONS WILL GRANT YOU INCENTIVES. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?]

[CLICK {PROCEED} TO CONTINUE]

“Why am I even stuck with this? I used to only see this from video games I play. How could this even be real or even be possible to happen in real life?”  Arthur begin to ponder whether he was even hallucinating or if this was even the real thing.

And yet, when Arthur pressed on the proceed button, he was amazed to find that the holographic screen was indeed real. He could actually access it despite how it seemed to be too hard for him to absorb.

[WELCOME PLAYER 1!]

[FOR YOUR FIRST MISSION, PLAYER SHALL BE GIVEN A MISSION THAT NEEDED TO PASS THROUGH FIVE LEVELS UNTIL IT’S COMPLETE. BELOW ARE SAMPLE LEVELS THAT WOULD POSSIBLY APPEAR DURING A MISSION: ]

[LEVEL 1: HOLD HANDS WITH BEAUTIFUL WOMEN = REWARD: $150,000 ]

[LEVEL  2: EMBRACE THE WOMAN’S WAIST = REWARD:

$250,000 ]

[LEVEL  3: EXCHANGE NUMBERS =  REWARD: $500,000 ]

[LEVEL  4: TAKE HER OUT ON A DATE = REWARD: $1 000, 000 ]

[LEVEL  5:  KISS THE WOMAN = REWARD: $10, 000, 000 ]

[SYSTEM NOTE: ONCE REACH LEVEL 5, EACH MISSION IS CONSIDERED COMPLETE.]

[SYSTEM NOTE: COMPLETION OF MISSION GRANTS FAVORABLE ITEMS TO THE PLAYER FEATURING LUXURIOUS ITEMS YOU CAN USE TO LEVEL UP INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: JEWELRIES, CLOTHINGS, TANGIBLE ASSETS, POWERS AND SKILLS.]

[CLICK {PROCEED} TO CONTINUE]

“What the fuck did I just read?” Arthur’s head was hurting from the surge of all those information that the system had been flooding him. Arthur was not sure how he would answer.

“Shit! If I click this then what? Do I really get to do all this stuff to a woman?” Arthur was a bit anxious knowing he had never been able to really win a woman’s heart before. Although he offer seemed to be too easy, for Arthur it was indeed a challenge. 

He was a teenage dirtbag, a complete nerdy student that even his girlfriend chose to replace him for someone with a much more popular reputation at the campus.

Arthur thought, he didn’t want to continue becoming a teenage dirtbag any longer. He refuse to continue being the center of attraction for the bullies. 

For a moment, it suddenly made Arthur decide to proceed, however, a sudden reluctance hindered him, making him want to make certain whether his decision to continue would be a good decision or if he was just being carried away because of his desires to become much more popular than those who bullied him.

“What would happen to me if I come to agree with you and I failed to do the mission?" Arthur inquired, curiosity etching in his mind.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: FAILURE TO COMPLETE MISSION SHALL BE DEDUCTED ON PLAYER'S LIFE EXPENTANCY. A MILLION DOLLAR LOST IS EQUIVALENT TO ONE YEAR OF PLAYER'S LIFE.]

[CLICK {PROCEED} TO CONTINUE]

"What the hell? Why would I even sign up for something as strangely cult-like system as this?" Arthur growled.

Arthur could not even begin to imagine how he would even response this system. He was completely shunned out of utter disbelief.

At this point, Arthur was going nuts on how he would finally response to the system projecting before him. He was certain that he wanted to but Arthur has got to admit, that he was actually afraid of the consequences if he was to fail a mission.

Yet, despite how many times he tried to think it over, he eventually decided to finally press the proceed button. 

What came next for Arthur was something that he had not expected. 

[VERIFICATION COMPLETED!]

[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: WELCOME PLAYER ONE! AS AN ENTRY GIFT, AN AMOUNT OF  $100,000 WAS SENT TO YOUR VIRTUAL ACCOUNT. PLEASE INPUT BANK DETAILS FOR FAST DOWNLOADING OF FUNDS.]

Arthur could hardly believe what he was seeing at the moment. It was like too good to be true. “Did I just fuckin’ have all that money?” Arthur exclaimed. He had not even realized that the system had also healed his entire body.

All that he cared for at the moment was the fact that he has so much money in his bank. It was right at that instance that Arthur didn’t even think twice and key in the details of his bank account. 

He thought that nothing would even be of any lost to him had this system be like some kind of a fishy scammer because there was not even a single dime left in his bank account anyway. 

However, the moment that system finally verified his account, Arthur was finally able to witness that the system was no joke. It was indeed legit when the amount of hundred thousand dollars was fully transferred into his bank account. 

“Damn! So this is fuckin real!” foul words continue to escape Arthur’s mouth. He couldn’t even believe it himself, but the money was indeed inside his bank account now. Arthur was already beginning to think about what he would purchase first with the money.

He was thinking about getting himself the latest expensive phone in the market, some new expensive clothes and shoes, as well as treat himself into a fancy restaurant. The sky was the limit for all the wonderful things that Arthur wanted to buy.

However, all that had been interrupted once more the moment that the system had notified once more.

[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MISSION MUST BEGIN TODAY AND MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE MIDNIGHT OF TODAY. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE MISSION SHOULD BE DEDUCTED FROM THE PLAYER’S LIFE YEARS. ]

“Hey, since you’ve been mentioning about wanting to deduct it from my lifespan years should I even fail to accomplish a mission, I’d like to know first how many of my lifespan years are still left?” Arthur asked.

[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: PLAYER ONE’S LIFESPAN IS APPROXIMATELY 90 YEARS. CURRENTLY AGED TWENTY-ONE, PLAYER ONE SIXTY-NINE YEARS LEFT. ]

“For one moment, I thought I would eventually live at least a hundred years,” Arthur sighed a heavy one before he could even manage to continue, “Oh well, not every one gets lucky to live until ninety.”

Although he still had so much lifespan left in him, Arthur eventually realized that bargaining his lifespan years was definitely a huge mistake. However, since he was already here and he certainly couldn’t take it back, then he might as well leverage the system benefits on his life. 

However, what Arthur did not anticipate was the moment that the system notified him once more, causing Arthur to have his eyes widened in disbelief.

[YOUR FIRST MISSION STARTS WITH YOU MAKING A WOMAN FALL ON YOU WITHIN A DAY. BE SURE YOU CAN MAKE THIS WOMAN FALL ON YOU RIGHT AWAY AFTER YOU INFLICT HER THE LEVELS THAT YOU MUST ACCOMPLISH. ONCE YOU COMPLETED THE MISSION, YOU SHALL BE REWARDED WITH A NEW BMW CAR.]

But the moment Arthur saw the name that flashed the holographic screen next, his face turn white out of shock and disappointment that he couldn’t help himself from reacting,

“What the hell? Not only that I was only given a fucking day to accomplish this mission, but why the heck should it even be my ex-crush of all people? I can’t believe I even put myself into this!” Arthur shouted from great disbelief, still unable to fathom the odd turn of events.