The early sun slid through the curtains, tracing golden lines across the breakfast table.
Ashley was busy preparing lunchboxes for Hazel and Nicko while Kyler scrolled quietly on his laptop.
Life inside their small apartment felt routine — soft laughter from the kids, the smell of frying eggs, and the faint sound of the morning news playing in the background.
But beneath that stillness, Kyler's thoughts raced.
He had unlocked his third skill, Market Eyes, yesterday. At first glance, the charts on his screen looked normal — green and red candlesticks like everyone else saw. But now, he could feel the movement.
The market pulsed with emotion. Fear, greed, hesitation — all in color and rhythm only he could perceive.
As Ashley packed Hazel's small snacks, Kyler whispered quietly,
> "System, test Market Eyes. Low-risk trade."
> [Acknowledged. Market fluctuation detected: upward trend — moderate confidence.]
He smiled faintly and entered a small ₱10,000 trade before leaving for work.
---
Hours later, the hum of computers filled the BPO floor.
Kyler handled customer calls with mechanical ease — polite tone, clear answers, same scripts he'd memorized years ago. But between calls, he'd glance at his phone.
The market line glowed faintly through the screen — alive, guiding him.
+1%… +3%… +5%.
By lunchtime, his ₱10,000 had grown to ₱12,500.
Not bad for a morning test.
He didn't get excited; instead, he smiled quietly, ate his packed meal from home, and went back to work like nothing happened.
---
That night, after his shift, the family had dinner together. Hazel was showing a drawing she made of the four of them — Kyler in front of a computer, Ashley cooking, Nicko holding her hand.
Ashley laughed softly. "She got you right. Always in front of a screen."
Kyler chuckled. "Yeah, but now I'm looking at something more promising."
She raised an eyebrow. "Promising?"
"Just some side project," he replied easily.
Ashley didn't press further. She trusted him.
After dinner, when everyone was asleep, he opened his laptop again. The trade he'd placed in the morning had continued to rise throughout the day.
The line pulsed with that faint golden hue of certainty only Market Eyes revealed.
> [Profit threshold reached: +114%.]
Kyler blinked. The ₱10,000 had become ₱21,400.
He leaned back, calm but thoughtful.
He could push it further. But no — that wasn't his style. Not yet.
He closed the trade and withdrew the profit, quietly transferring it to a separate account.
No excitement. No panic. Just strategy.
He stared at the sleeping figures of Ashley and the kids.
This wasn't about greed. It was about time — time to rest, time to breathe, time to be present.
The glow from the monitor faded as he shut the lid. Outside, the city lights flickered through the rain — bright, brief, and unaware that a man in a quiet apartment had just outsmarted the market without leaving his chair.
And Kyler Villamor — calm, ordinary, and impossibly gifted — simply went to bed, already planning what skill tomorrow might bring.
---