I sat on top of a building, watching the street below.
It was a quiet dawn, and so far, I hadn't run into a single mugger to stop.
I was bored, humming to myself, until curiosity got the best of me—so I opened the system
[Stats:]
Strength: 32
Agility: 36
Endurance: 30
Intelligence: 28
Charisma: 34
Luck: 22
[Skills:
-Musical Talent of Bruno Mars]
[Gacha: 2 pulls available]
[Templates: Bruce Lee (58%)]
[Inventory]
[Shop: 2580 points available]
I had completely forgotten—it was a new month, which meant I had two gacha pulls again.
I pressed the button for the first one, and the wheel spun until it finally stopped. The screen flashed, and an item materialized in my hand.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE OBTAINED A TOWEL THAT ALWAYS SMELLS LIKE LAVENDER]
I opened my eyes and let out a frustrated sigh—half disappointment, half amusement.
The System had given me a towel that smelled like flowers. A perfect reminder that I seriously needed to find a way to raise my Luck stat.
I took a deep breath and pressed the button for the second pull. The wheel slowed down... then stopped—and I felt something stir inside me.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED A SKILL! YOU'VE OBTAINED: WIND CONTROL (BASIC LEVEL)]
Finally! I almost cried with joy when I saw I'd actually pulled a combat skill this time.
A tingling sensation ran through my palms, and I felt a faint pressure in my lungs.
I jumped down from the building into an empty alley to test my new power. Stretching my hand forward, a gust of wind blasted through the scattered boxes nearby. It wasn't very strong—but it was something.
I shaped my hand like a blade and pointed it toward a wall. A thin, nearly invisible air slash shot out, barely scratching the surface.
"Guess I really have to work hard if I want to maximize this power," I muttered, closing my eyes to focus on the air around me.
When I opened them again, I was floating—just a few inches off the ground, but still, not bad for a basic-level ability.
The rest of the night, I kept searching for criminals. I stopped exactly four crimes—three robberies and one kidnapping.
But after half an hour without anything new, I headed toward the warehouse. I was curious to see what the police had done with the place.
When I arrived, I stood still, staring at the scene. It was silent, with police tape everywhere.
I was about to leave when a system notification popped up.
[NEW MISSION!: STOP THE TREASURE HUNTERS]
A group of fortune seekers is planning to raid this warehouse. Stop them before they steal anything valuable.
[REWARD: 100 XP AND POINTS FOR EACH ENEMY DEFEATED]
When I finished reading, I noticed five guys with weapons had appeared. Two went into the warehouse and three stayed outside keeping watch.
I crept closer and used my new power to send the three tumbling to the ground. I leapt forward and with one punch knocked one out from the impact of his head hitting the floor.
The other two reacted fast—one of them, still on the ground, fired at me.
CLANG! CLANG!
I shut my eyes instinctively, bracing for the pain. But all I heard was a metallic thunk.
The force made me stagger back a little, but the shots didn't penetrate the suit.
"It's bulletproof!" one of them shouted in panic.
I sprinted at the second shooter and, before he could fire again, made a gust of wind rip the gun from his hands.
A kick sent him back down to the floor. I pulled out my nunchaku and landed a strike to the groin on the third guy that left him out cold for a good while.
I used the nunchaku again to finish knocking out the second and third criminals.
I grabbed their weapons, stored one in my inventory, and kept the other. I went inside the warehouse and walked until I found the last two.
"Hey Matt! There's nothing here — the cops probably took everything," one of them shouted.
Bingo. I knew where they were. I padded toward them, keeping quiet so I could take them by surprise.
They were busy opening boxes — which, to their misfortune, were empty. And to my luck, they had their backs to some shelves.
Using the air, I made a box fall from the shelf and it landed square on one guy's head, knocking him out instantly.
"Huh? What the—" he didn't finish the sentence before I landed a blow on the back of his neck that put him out cold.
[NEW MISSION!: STOP THE TREASURE HUNTERS]
A group of fortune hunters is planning to raid this warehouse. Stop them before they steal anything valuable.
[CALCULATING REWARDS...]
[CRIMINALS NEUTRALIZED: 5]
[TOTAL EXP AND POINTS EARNED: 500]
It was about time to head home — I'd earned 9% more experience in one single night. Definitely a productive one.
I got home before 4 a.m., took off the dented suit, showered, and slept until 7 in the morning.
Then I went to school. I walked through the noisy halls until I spotted Peter and Harry near the lockers.
"Hey, Peter! Harry!" I called, waving a hand.
Peter turned and smiled. "Damon! You good? Why didn't you come yesterday?"
"I fell asleep," I shrugged.
Harry let out a laugh as he shut his locker.
"Well, you missed the most exciting part. The algebra teacher made us all solve exercises on the board."
Peter crossed his arms. "It wasn't that bad... though speaking of that," he said, "there's chemistry homework due today."
I froze.
"What?" I said. "Homework? Since when?"
Harry frowned.
"Please tell me you're joking."
Peter shook his head. "Not joking. It was a worksheet with formulas — the teacher handed it out at the end of class."
"'Just a few formulas,'" I repeated, mocking him. "Peter, that's betrayal! Why didn't you tell us?"
Peter raised an eyebrow. "She gave it out a week ago, remember?"
Harry placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Peter, my dear friend… lend us the homework, yeah? I promise never to mock your failed experiments again."
"I can't do that," Peter said. "If we get caught, all three of us are in trouble."
"What if we give you a little extra motivation?" Harry asked, pulling out a fifty-dollar bill and waving it in front of him. "Come on, Peter. Fifty bucks for your homework. Fair deal."
Peter looked at him seriously. "I'm not taking money for my homework."
"Come on, Pete," I said, laughing. "Think of it as… gratitude."
Before he could answer, a quick hand snatched the bill right out of Harry's fingers.
"Hey!" Harry protested.
We turned — Gwen was standing there, arms crossed, with an innocent smile.
"I can't allow this," she said with mock authority. "Buying homework is a violation of the student honor code. Therefore, the bill is… confiscated."
"Confiscated?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Peter rubbed his face. "Gwen…"
She smiled sweetly, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and started walking away with the bill in her pocket.
"Consider it a tax for being a good girlfriend. See you in class!"
Harry watched her leave, offended.
"I can't believe it. She just robbed me of fifty bucks and didn't even blink!"
I couldn't stop laughing. "According to her, it's confiscated — but I bet she's already tucked it into her purse."
Harry looked at Peter with a tired smile. "Since my wallet's been a crime victim, you'll let us copy, right?"
Peter thought for a moment and sighed in defeat. "Fine, but don't copy it exactly like I did."
"You're a hero!" I said, bumping fists with Harry.
We kept walking down the hall toward our classroom.
"By the way," Harry said, fixing his jacket, "what are you guys doing tonight?"
"Probably studying," Peter replied.
"Wrong," Harry said with a grin. "Tonight, you're invited to my place. My dad's on a business trip, so the mansion's all ours. I got Tony Hawk's, Tekken, and FIFA."
Peter raised a brow. "So… a sleepover?"
"Exactly. You in?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Depends," I said with a smirk. "Will there be pizza?"
Harry gave a thumbs-up. "The good kind. Extra pepperoni for Peter, meat lovers for you, and extra cheese for me."
"Then count me in," I said without hesitation.
Peter let out a resigned sigh — but it was obvious he was excited. "Fine, but only if I get first pick in Tekken."
"Deal," said Harry. "But get ready to lose."
The day flew by, and soon it was 3 p.m. Before meeting up with my friends, I had to take care of my duties as an artist. I headed to the recording studio.
When I arrived, Gus was already there — a man in his early thirties, my producer. Judging by his face, he was eager to start.
"Gus! Sorry I'm a bit late — the bus took longer than I thought."
"Treasure is your first single — obviously your debut. So don't waste time. We need to start recording right away to build hype for the album."
Wow, not even a hello. I sighed and followed him into the music studio.
Inside, we started talking about the instrumental and other musical details that honestly made my head spin a bit.
Then I stepped into the booth. Gus wanted to hear me sing the song to get an idea for the base track.
"Yes! Perfect! Now I get what you meant when you said you wanted a '70s vibe," Gus said when I finished singing. "I've got a few contacts who'll be thrilled to work on this instrumental"
We finally finished recording a sample for Gus to show his musician friends, and I left the studio.
Night had already fallen by the time I arrived at the Osborn mansion. The garden lights illuminated the path, and the gate opened the moment I rang the bell.
I knocked on the main door, and after a few seconds, Harry opened it.
"Finally!" he exclaimed with a grin. "I thought you'd bailed on us."
"I was at the studio," I said as I stepped inside. "Recorded the song from the festival."
Peter, who was sitting on the couch with a controller in hand, looked up. "Treasure, right? That's what it was called?"
"Amazing," Harry said, closing the door. "That song's been stuck in my head since the festival. How did the chorus go again?"
I cleared my throat and hummed a little:
"Treasure, that is what you are…"
Harry nodded along to the rhythm. "Yeah, that one. It's way too catchy."
I laughed and set my backpack aside. "The label wants it to be my first single."
Peter smiled. "You're definitely gonna get famous with that song. I'll be able to say I heard your first track before everyone else."
"And I'll be able to sell your autograph," Harry added, laughing. "Anyway, come on. Peter lost three times in a row at Tekken."
"Hey!" Peter protested. "I wasn't losing! I just… got distracted a few times."
"Sure," Harry said with a teasing smirk. "Classic excuse of the defeated."
I sat down beside them and grabbed a controller. "Then let me try. Maybe you two need to see how it's really done."
I powered on the controller and chose King. "Let's see if you can handle me."
Harry burst out laughing. "Perfect — the musician versus the scientist. I need to record this."
Harry pulled out a camera and started filming. "Here we have two specimens about to battle for survival," he narrated in a mock National Geographic voice.
"In their natural habitat, we find two rare creatures of the urban ecosystem. On the left side of the digital ring: Cientificus Analíticus, a species known for its high intelligence. And across from him, his eternal rival — Melodicus Destructorus, famous for its singing ability."
Peter and I both flipped him off at the camera.
"And the digital mating ritual begins! Cientificus plays cautiously, but Melodicus is already mashing all the buttons! Incredible! He's discovered a combo by accident! Cientificus panics — science didn't prepare him for this!"
The room filled with our laughter and Harry's excited commentary. Finally, a combo I didn't even know I did ended up giving me the victory.
"Yes!" I shouted, raising my arms.
Harry clapped dramatically. "Ladies and gentlemen, Damon has officially destroyed Peter's ego."
Peter dropped the controller with a frown. "That was just beginner's luck."
"No way — the pizza gave me powers," I joked, grabbing a slice. "Where'd you order from, Harry? This is amazing."
"Tony's. Best in New York, you know it," he replied.
Peter looked curious. "Did you know pizza grease can be used to test the density of certain solvents?"
Harry groaned, rubbing his face. "Pete, I'm begging you — don't make me puke my pizza."
"Alright," Peter said with a laugh.
We spent a while playing, talking nonsense, and eating pizza late into the night.
Harry leaned back on the couch with a relaxed smile. "We should do this more often. Next time I'll buy the new Resident Evil, maybe even Pepsiman."
"Yeah, we should," I said, glancing out the window.
Peter nodded. "Next time, we should watch a movie. I heard Gladiator is great."
"I also heard good reviews about Mission: Impossible and Final Destination," I said, finishing what was left of my soda.
"We've gotta watch Road Trip," said Harry.
"Damon and I both know you're not watching that one for the plot," Peter said, throwing a pillow at him.
"Hey! At least I tried," Harry laughed, raising his soda can. "To more nights with friends."
We clinked our cans together, laughing.
And for a moment, everything felt perfect.