Nate opened his eyes, his body felt like he had been run through by a motor truck. And just like the last time before the abandoned garage, he felt like his life was leaving his body, his breath almost nonexistent. But this time, he was at least able to lift his fingers.
But that one move shot an intense pain through his body. His heart pounded and the low voices of people flowed into his ears. He could finally make out where he was, right in front of his little house with nearby students and neighbors crowded around him.
"Nate?" They called out. "Are you okay?"
However, he couldn't respond but only stared at them cluelessly. He slowly realized he was on the bare floor and not only that, he was almost naked, only his underwear held his dignity together.
"Do you think he has gone senile? His pictures are all over the school groups."
Nate squirmed when he heard that, his hand pushing against the floor to sit up. But even that took a lot of strength from within him. By the time he sat up straight, his chest heaved heavily and his lips parted.
"What...what did you say?" He asked.
"You can talk?" They asked. "You should really go to the hospital. You looked like a corpse earlier. Anyways, we are glad you are alive."
"Sorry, we couldn't help you. No one wants to go against Rick West. What did you do to anger him this much?"
"What…what happened?" Nate whispered, his brows creased, and he touched his face, which had dried blood on it. "How…how did I get here?" He looked down at his body to see several cuts, his skin pale and dry.
"We don't know." They whispered, scooting away from him before he could ask for help. "We need to leave now. Take care of yourself."
Nate was left in his deplorable state, unable to help himself up. Several students passed by, and they only took one glance at him before they walked away. The ones who attempted to help him were quickly pulled away.
Nate bitterly realized he was all alone. Without power and money, no one would bat an eyelid at him. If he wanted to fight Rick West to the end, he would need both, but how?
No one was coming to help him, going to the hospital or the police was out of question, so he dragged his frail body into the house. His blood-stained underwear dragged on the hard floor, almost exposing everything he held dear.
By the time he got to his front door, he realized it was ajar and his house had been broken into. A few minutes later, he finally got in, and his stomach sank. Every little thing he had gathered over the years and what his dead parents had left him had been destroyed.
"That bastard..." He seethed as he clenched his stomach, his body caving in on the bare floor. He was at the brink of tears but he held it in, knowing he couldn't break down now. Even though his body was falling apart, and his whole life had crumbled, he held on.
After all, he didn't die from the several beatings and the blood loss. He could still fight back, whenever and however. Now, he had nothing to lose, unlike Rick.
As he lay on the floor, staring at the damaged ceiling, he thought back to how he survived the ordeal he had gone through. But he couldn't recall anything or point out why.
But then, the robotic voice echoed again in his ears.
[Attention, Nate Williams.]
[You have completed your first 24 hours with the System and received 10 million dollars. Every 24 hours, you will be credited for the rest of this month, as a welcome gift.]
"What the heck?" Nate gasped as his heart sank. He thought he was over this, over this delusional thought in his head, but then, it was here again?
"10 million dollars?" He chuckled, the sounds sending a harsh and painful rattle down his throat.
However, a few distance away from him, his phone buzzed and his brows creased. In the disorganized house, he never expected Rick would leave him with his phone. He started to crawl on his knees, hoping he could call anyone to help him.
Anyone who wasn't afraid of Rick West or even an ambulance.
However, when he finally found his phone, he stared at the screen with a blank face. There was a credit alert and he kept counting the many zeros in the figure stated.
"How...how could this be?" He whispered to himself, his throat going dry.
[Congratulations on your first gift, Nate Williams. Now, we will move to the next step! Everything about you has already been registered in the system. Take a look.]
And just like that, he fell flat on his back and a shadowy screen appeared before his eyes. He felt he had stepped into a futuristic world where he could control things with just his hands. Growing numbers and letters appeared right on the screen and his face was plastered on the screen's background.
[Host: Nate Williams, college student and 21 years old.
Ability: none
Appearance: 2
Women: none
Ally: none
Account balance: $10,000,050]
[You are required to build up your stats to the top and then you will be transferred to phase 2 of the Wealthy Harem System.]
Nate took a deep breath, and it finally dawned on him that he wasn't the previous Nate anymore. There was something in him, the robotic voice and the pearl that had saved him.
"Does..." He whispered, his eyes blinking. "Does this mean I am rich?"
He swiped his hand, the screen disappeared from his face and he clutched his phone, tapping rapidly on it. If this were true, then he needed to test it out. He needed to be really sure he wasn't delusional.
He scrolled through an automobile site. After long years of thirsting after cars, houses, and every good thing of life, could he finally achieve his dream?
He found his dream car, worth over 5 million dollars, and directly charged it to his card. A part of him expected the transaction to get declined but then another part of him hoped it would work. This was his only chance at life, money, and power.
"Fuck!" He was shocked immediately when he saw a bold successful transaction on his screen. His hands shook and the phone fell to his face as he parted his lips in surprise. He wasn't delusional. He wasn't crazy.
His lips curled with a dangerous curve as he clutched his chest. Never was he going to let the System Pearl leave his body. He would be damned the day he did!
[Your first task has arrived. It's time to grant one of your final wishes. Make your enemy suffer. You have ten hours to complete this mission.]