Morning came with a headache.
Not the heavy, pounding kind that came from lack of sleep or cheap alcohol, but the stiff, tight ache of muscles protesting after a long day of walking, talking, and carrying hope around in a backpack.
Daniel rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
For a few seconds, he just listened.
The sounds were familiar: the metallic splash of water in buckets, someone sweeping concrete outside, a baby's shrill cry, a radio preacher declaring that "your season of favour has come!" for the third time this week.
Even his new life had the same soundtrack.
> Quest: Turn $10 Into A Fortune – IN PROGRESS
Phase 1 – Foundation: 65% Complete.
Tasks for Today:
– Capture visuals for KingsFade Cuts.
– Build and present first client site.
– Attend meeting with Mama Peace Foods.
"Morning," Daniel muttered.
> Good morning, Host.
Rest Quality: 7/10
Emotional Stability: Improving.
"Good to know my heartbreak stats are trending positively," he said dryly, sitting up.
As he brushed his teeth, he caught his reflection and paused.
Same face. Same uneven beard. But the eyes… something in them had shifted. Less fog. Less helplessness. A spark.
He rinsed, spat, and pointed at the mirror.
"Let's not mess this up," he told himself. "First client. First impression."
He dressed simple but sharp: clean black t-shirt, dark jeans, white sneakers he'd scrubbed yesterday. Nothing flashy. Just put-together enough to say I take myself seriously.
His wallet check showed what he already knew: Ten-Dollar Protocol had mostly been executed. He still had a tiny cash buffer and a few thousand in the bank—but nothing comfortable.
The irony of worrying about ₦ 400 for transport when he had over $400k parked in invisible accounts wasn't lost on him.
> Reminder:
– System assets are real but currently "off-stage".
– Patience at this phase reduces future risk significantly.
"Yeah, yeah," he said, slipping his backpack on. "Trust the process."
He stopped at a roadside stand to buy a small bread and egg sandwich wrapped in old newspaper.
> Expense Detected: ₦ 300.00 (Breakfast)
Reward Generated: ₦ 3,000,000.00 Equivalent
Updated Crypto Balance: $446,271.90 (approx)
He took a bite as he walked to the bus stop, the warm egg comforting in that way only cheap street breakfast could be.
"So," he mumbled around the food, "game plan?"
> Morning:
– KingsFade Cuts: Take photos, confirm details, solidify relationship.
– Begin building live version of site.
Afternoon:
– Meeting with Mama Peace Foods.
– Secure second client if possible.
Evening:
– Implement feedback on KingsFade site.
"Ambitious," he said. "I like it."
The bus ride to the barbershop district was the usual Lagos mix: overcrowded, slightly too loud, with a conductor shouting destinations like an auctioneer.
When he reached KingsFade Cuts, the shop was already half full. Two guys in the chairs, cape draped around them, clippings of hair dusting the floor. Afrobeats thumped from a small Bluetooth speaker. The mirror was ringed with photos of various fades printed from someone's old phone.
The barber—whose name, Daniel had learned yesterday, was Bayo—looked up and broke into a grin.
"Website man!" Bayo called. "You show!"
"Of course," Daniel said, stepping in carefully. "Good morning."
"Good morning," chorused one of the waiting guys. "Na you go make us celebrity barbers now abi?"
Daniel laughed. "One step at a time."
Bayo finished a sharp line-up, dusted the client's neck with a brush, whipped off the cape with a flourish, and clapped him on the back. "Oya, check mirror make you know whether na your papa I barb."
The guy examined his reflection, nodded, and handed over cash.
"You try," he said. "Make this your website guy no go carry you go America forget us."
"Na Lagos we dey," Bayo said, tucking the money into his drawer. "I no dey go anywhere."
Daniel cleared his throat. "We need some pictures. Fresh cuts. You, your shop. Your logo, if you have one."
Bayo scratched his head. "Logo ke? Na this my fine face be logo."
"Fair enough," Daniel said.
He pulled out his phone. The camera wasn't iPhone-level crisp, but the System quietly flashed something in the corner of his vision.
> Temporary Feature: "Stability Boost"
– Slight enhancement of hand stability and framing instinct.
Preview of Insight Mode.
He blinked.
As he moved around the shop, lifting the phone, he felt… guided.
Angles that usually wouldn't occur to him now seemed obvious: the reflection of clippers in the mirror, the line of chairs, Bayo laughing with a client, a close shot of a particularly crisp fade.
"Chai, see as my shop fine for your phone," Bayo muttered, peering over his shoulder. "You sure say na this same place?"
Daniel grinned. "Photography is half angles, half lies."
> And the remaining half: lighting.
He snapped ten, fifteen, twenty shots from different views: interior, exterior, the small hand-painted sign above the door: KingsFade Cuts – Fresh Every Time.
"Okay," Daniel said, scrolling. "We have enough to start. I'll go and set up the layout. Maybe tomorrow or next, I'll bring you the first draft so we can adjust."
"You sure we no need suit?" one of the clients asked. "All these big websites I dey see, everybody dey wear suit."
"You're not selling insurance," Daniel said. "You're selling sharp looks and vibe. People want to see what you actually do, not you pretending for wedding."
That got a round of laughter.
Bayo nodded. "True. Do your magic, my guy."
> Relationship with Client: Strengthening.
Referral Potential: High.
Outside, the sun was already warm, the asphalt radiating heat in waves.
Daniel stopped in a quiet corner down the street and checked the time: almost 11 a.m. Plenty of hours left.
He caught another bus, this time towards the area where Mama Peace Foods sat—a cluster of food joints, mechanics, and betting shops.
The smell hit him before the sign did: stew, frying oil, stockfish. His stomach reminded him that bread and egg felt like a lifetime ago.
MAMA PEACE FOODS – HOME TASTE AWAY FROM HOME
Plastic chairs spilled onto the sidewalk. Men in work shirts and women in colorful wrappers sat with plates of rice, swallow, and soups. A fan oscillated lazily inside, moving hot air around more than cooling it.
Mama Peace herself was behind the counter: a sturdy woman with a round face and eyes that had seen everything and forgotten nothing. Her head-tie matched her wrapper perfectly. She was talking to someone about meat portions when she spotted him.
"You be the website boy?" she called out.
"Yes ma," Daniel said, weaving through chairs carefully. "Daniel. We chatted on WhatsApp."
She sized him up quickly, eyes sharp. His clean t-shirt, his backpack, the way he stood with both respect and a little confidence.
"Sit," she said, pointing at an empty chair near the entrance. "You chop?"
He blinked. "Not yet, ma."
"You no fit come my shop and no chop," she said. "Food first. Talk later."
"Ah—thank you, ma, but I don't want to—"
"I said sit down," she repeated, already dishing rice.
He sat.
A moment later, a plate materialized in front of him: rice, stew, two pieces of meat that looked more generous than her usual portion, and a sachet of water.
He stared at it, throat tight with unexpected gratitude.
> Expense Detected: N/A
Incoming Cost if you insist on paying later: Likely ₦ 1,000.
Recommendation: Accept hospitality first. Pay later as a customer, not as pity.
He ate.
It was good. Better than good. The rice was soft but not mushy, the stew thick, meat seasoned with that combination of pepper and secret something only women like Mama Peace seemed to know.
When he was halfway through, she came to sit opposite him, wiping her hands on her apron.
"So," she said. "You wan put my food on internet."
He swallowed quickly and nodded. "Yes, ma."
"Why?" she asked. "Why I go need website? People wey dey chop from me no even get time to dey browse like that. Dem just come, sit, chop, go."
"True," Daniel acknowledged. "Your faithful customers will always come. But what about new ones? Office people that just resumed around here? People inside that big building that don't know who to trust yet? People at home during rain who might order if they knew your menu?"
She watched him carefully.
"And it's not just website," he continued. "It's also Google. Google map. When someone types 'food near me,' I want Mama Peace Foods to show first. With pictures. With your correct number. With reviews."
He leaned forward slightly. "Think of all the times a new person asked, 'What kind of food do you sell?' and you list rice, beans, swallow, soup, and they still say they will 'come back later.' If they can see pictures first, they're more likely to come. If they can WhatsApp you their order during lunch break, even better."
She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes yet. "Your mouth sweet. You sabi talk."
He grinned. "I try, ma. But I also sabi do."
He pulled out his laptop, placed it on the table, and opened the mock-up of KingsFade Cuts he'd been working on earlier. It wasn't fully polished, but it looked clean.
He turned the screen towards her.
"This one is for a barbershop I'm working on," he said. "Still draft. But see how simple it is. Name, pictures, services, contact. If someone sees this, they trust the person more than just a poster on the wall."
Her eyes scanned the page slowly.
He watched her reaction closely.
Something changed in her face—just slightly. That mental click when someone saw something go from abstract to real.
"This is fine," she said grudgingly. "It looks like those big, big people's businesses online."
"That's the idea," he said softly. "Your food is good enough for any big man. Your online presence should match."
Silence hung for a heartbeat.
"Okay," she said. "How much?"
"Normal price is ₦ 50k," Daniel began.
She hissed instantly. "Ah! Just to carry my stew picture put inside phone?"
He lifted his hands quickly. "Wait, ma. That's 'normal.' But I told you yesterday, I'm just starting this business. I'm doing plenty discount for the first few serious people. For you, with Google setup and everything, ₦ 35k."
She eyed him. "And how I know you no go collect money, disappear?"
Fair.
He nodded. "You're right to ask. I just started with a barbershop not far from here—KingsFade Cuts. He's already paid deposit. I can show you. You can even ask him about me if you like."
"Hmm."
"And we don't have to do everything at once," he added. "You can pay in two parts. Or three, if that's easier."
She tapped the table with her fingers, thinking.
"How much I fit drop now?" she asked finally, more to herself than him. "Tomorrow is market day, money go come small. But today…"
She stood up suddenly and walked back to the counter, opened a drawer, counted silently. Daniel watched her shoulders, the way they slumped just a little when she saw the actual notes.
After a minute, she came back with an envelope.
"Na ₦ 10k I fit give you now," she said. "If business good this weekend, I go complete half. The rest when the thing don start to bring customers."
Daniel looked at the envelope.
His inner hustler did the math automatically. Kiss ₦ 25k goodbye for now. Take ₦ 10k, hope for the rest later. Risks: she might change her mind. Business might be slow. Someone she trusts might tell her "all these website people are scammers."
But the System whispered softly at the edge of his awareness:
> Client Type:
– Food vendor with high daily traffic.
– Community trust hub.
If successful:
– High word-of-mouth potential.
– Strong case study for "small food business → more customers via online presence".
Recommended Action: Accept.
He exhaled.
"Okay, ma," he said, taking the envelope. "We'll start with this. I'll come back in two days to show you the first version. If you like it, we continue. If you don't, we adjust."
Her face relaxed a fraction.
"Good," she said. "You don't look like person wey dey lie too much."
He snorted. "I'll take that as a compliment."
She smiled properly this time.
"Come tomorrow afternoon," she said. "I go make fresh soup that day. You go put the fine pictures on this your network."
"Yes, ma."
He stood to leave, then hesitated, reaching into his pocket.
"How much for the food?" he asked quietly, gesturing at the empty plate.
She waved a hand. "Forget it. First meeting."
He shook his head. "Let me pay like every other customer. I don't want free because of business. I want you to be able to calculate whether the website actually brings more money than you spend."
She looked at him again, more carefully this time.
"You get sense," she said.
She named a price. He paid in cash.
> Expense Detected: ₦ 1,000.00 (Lunch – Mama Peace Foods)
Reward Generated: ₦ 10,000,000.00 Equivalent
Updated Crypto Balance: $491,984.77 (approx)
> Additional Note:
– Paying for service from client builds mutual respect.
– This reduces probability of future price haggling and non-payment.
As Daniel stepped out into the brightness, the world felt… different.
Nothing had changed on the surface. Buses still honked, hawkers still wove through traffic, someone still shouted "cold pure water!" on the corner.
But inside his small bubble of existence, the map had turned.
He now had:
One barbershop client with a ₦ 15k deposit.
One food vendor client with a ₦ 10k deposit.
A brand with a name and a flyer.
A System that turned his lunch into millions behind the scenes.
> Quest Update – Turn $10 Into A Fortune
Phase 1 – Foundation:
– First Paying Client: Completed.
– Second Paying Client: Completed.
– Brand & Offer Established: Completed.
– Process Documentation: Ongoing.
Phase 1 Completion: 90%
"Just 90%?" Daniel muttered, waiting for a bus. "What else do you want from me, blood?"
> Deliver at least one project successfully and receive verified client satisfaction.
Not just money. Results.
"Right," he said. "Money comes and goes. Reputation sticks."
> Correct.
Also, reputation attracts larger opportunities.
Back home, the room greeted him like a co-conspirator.
He emptied the two envelopes—₦ 15k and ₦ 10k—onto the table in separate piles, then labeled each one with sticky notes: KingsFade Deposit and Mama Peace Deposit.
The sight of physical cash, however small in the grand scheme of his new reality, still triggered a primal satisfaction in his brain.
Then he opened his laptop.
"Time to earn it," he murmured.
He started with KingsFade.
He purchased a domain: something simple like kingsfadecuts.com.ng.
> Expense Detected: ₦ 4,500.00 (Domain & Basic Hosting)
Reward Generated: ₦ 45,000,000.00 Equivalent
Updated Crypto Balance: $534,102.31 (approx)
His heart skipped when he saw the debit notification, then calmed as the System chimed.
"Every heavy breath I take when I see a debit is going to feel stupid in a few months," he said.
> Possibly.
But financial trauma runs deep. Be patient with yourself.
He set up a simple hosting plan, installed a lightweight site builder, and began assembling the KingsFade site using the mock-up as a guide.
Hero section: full-width photo of the shop front, color-graded slightly to look more cinematic.
Headline: KingsFade Cuts – Sharp Lines. Smooth Vibes.
Subtext: Your neighborhood barbershop with city-level quality.
Below that: a three-column layout:
"Fades & Tapers"
"Lines & Beards"
"Locks & Dreads"
Each with a short description.
He added the WhatsApp button using a simple API link, styling it so it looked like a neat green pill at the bottom of the screen on mobile: impossible to miss.
> Good.
Over 80% of traffic for such businesses will be mobile.
Design for thumbs, not for mouse.
By late afternoon, the site was fully functional.
He tested it on his phone, scrolling, tapping the WhatsApp button, making sure the chat opened with a pre-filled message: "Hi KingsFade Cuts, I'd like to book a cut. My name is ____."
He sent a preview link to his own WhatsApp, then sat back.
"Not bad," he murmured.
It was simple. No parallax backgrounds, no fancy animations. But it felt polished enough that if he were looking for a barber and saw this, he'd trust them.
He took a deep breath and messaged Bayo.
> Hey boss, I've set up the first draft of your website. Can I come by this evening to show you?
Seen.
Typing…
> Ah-ahn, you fast! Come now now if you fit. We dey shop.
He grabbed his backpack, double-checked that his phone was charged, and headed out again.
> Expense Detected: ₦ 400.00 (Transport – To & Fro KingsFade)
Reward Generated: ₦ 4,000,000.00 Equivalent
Updated Crypto Balance: $570,494.19 (approx)
When he stepped into KingsFade, the shop was buzzing again. Someone was arguing with the TV about football, another guy was half asleep in the waiting chair.
"Website man don show!" Bayo announced. "Oya, off music small. Make we see this thing."
He shushed the speaker a bit and leaned over Daniel's shoulder as he opened the site on his phone.
The hero photo filled the small screen. Bayo's shop—but upgraded. The lighting, the angle, the clean font.
"Jesus!" Bayo breathed. "Na my shop be this?"
Daniel laughed. "Yes now. See your big head there."
Bayo swatted his shoulder lightly without looking away.
"Scroll down," he ordered like a kid watching a magic trick.
Daniel obliged.
Services cards. Price ranges. Small section titled "Why KingsFade?" with bullet points:
Clean tools, every time.
Friendly barbers who actually listen.
House calls available (extra charge).
At the bottom, the green WhatsApp bubble.
"What happens if I press am?" one of the waiting guys asked.
"Press na," Daniel said, handing him the phone.
The guy tapped. WhatsApp opened with the pre-filled message.
"Ah!" he laughed. "See levels."
Bayo's eyes shone.
"This thing na serious packaging o," he said. "I look like Lekki barber now."
Daniel met his gaze. "You ARE a Lekki-level barber. You're just currently stationed here. The website just shows what was already true."
It was cheesy, but it also was… true. The man's fades were clean. The energy in the shop was good. He'd just given it a digital mirror.
"So," Daniel said gently. "What do you think?"
Bayo's grin softened into something else. Respect, maybe.
"How much remain again?" he asked. "Out of the ₦ 25k?"
"₦ 10k."
He nodded, turned to his drawer, pulled out an envelope without hesitation.
"Make I no dull," he said, pressing it into Daniel's hand. "You try. If I delay now, na so story go enter. Oya, take your balance."
> Payment Received: ₦ 10,000.00 (KingsFade – Balance Part 1)
Client Satisfaction: High.
Verified verbally in front of multiple witnesses.
"Ah, you didn't have to—" Daniel began.
"Abeg, I go still owe you small for that referral something," Bayo cut in. "Once this thing begin show, I go drag all my guy wey get saloon come meet you. Make dem no dull."
He turned to the room.
"You people hear am o!" he announced loudly. "Na this guy do my website. If you need your own, just talk."
One of the waiting customers raised a hand. "Abeg, make I snap the address first," he said, already lifting his phone. "I get cousin wey get boutique. E dey always dey disturb me say he dey find person wey go 'put him business online.'"
He took a photo of the screen, Daniel's NSPIRE logo visible at the bottom.
> Reputation Ripple:
– First external referral chain initiated.
– New potential lead: Boutique Owner (cousin-of-client type).
As Daniel left the shop later, his phone buzzing with "save my number" messages from three different guys, the System updated quietly:
> Quest: Turn $10 Into A Fortune – Phase 1
Conditions Met:
– Brand & Offer Established.
– Two Paying Clients Acquired.
– First Project Delivered With Verified Satisfaction.
– Basic Process Documentation Started.
Phase 1: COMPLETE
Rewards:
– System Stability Buff (Detection Risk -10%)
– Unlock: Insight Mode (Basic)
Daniel stopped halfway down the sidewalk.
"Insight Mode," he repeated. "What exactly does that mean?"
The blue interface brightened.
> INSIGHT MODE (BASIC)
New Passive Ability:
– Subtle enhancement of your decision-making in money-related choices.
– You will experience this as:
• Gut feelings that are slightly more accurate than usual.
• Quiet warnings when you're about to make very bad deals.
• Gentle nudges towards opportunities others overlook.
Constraint:
– Insight Mode will not override your free will.
– You can still ignore it and make disastrous choices if you insist.
"So you're basically making my instincts… less useless," Daniel said.
> Correct.
Consider it a small upgrade from "Broke & Broken Human" to "Slightly Less Blind Human With Cheat Codes."
He laughed, the sound coming easier now.
"And the next quest?" he asked. "Because I know you're not done."
The System obliged.
> New Quest Available:
Quest: First Million – The Visible One
Objective:
– Accumulate your first ₦ 1,000,000 in visible, legitimate income (not System money), traceable through NSPIRE Digital and related work.
Conditions:
– No single client may account for more than 50% of this million.
– Income must be justifiable under normal scrutiny (tax, bank, family questions).
Rewards:
– Unlock "Safe Integration Protocol" for limited System asset usage.
– Expanded Insight Mode.
– Access to new System Dashboard features.
Daniel exhaled slowly.
One million naira.
A number that had felt like a castle on a hill not long ago. Something you looked at from far away while counting coins in your palm.
Now, it felt… possible. Not easy. But possible.
"System," he said softly, as he walked home under a sky slowly darkening towards evening. "You picked a real messed-up night to show up in my life."
> It was the only night you would have listened.
"Maybe," he conceded.
He passed a small roadside stall where a kid was doing homework under a weak bulb, customers squeezing past him to buy recharge cards and chewing gum.
He paused.
"Do you ever worry," he asked, "that I'll become one of those people who forget what it was like? Who look down on everyone still struggling?"
> That path is always available.
But based on your choices today:
– Choosing to pay Mama Peace like any customer.
– Accepting smaller deposits instead of squeezing desperate clients.
– Investing Ten-Dollar Protocol in tools, not flex.
Probability of you turning into a monster: currently low.
"Currently," he echoed. "So it can change."
> Humans are… volatile.
That is why I nudge, but do not control.
He walked in silence for a bit.
At the compound gate, Baba Musa looked up from his radio.
"Dan-jay!" he called. "Today sweet?"
Daniel smiled, genuinely this time.
"Today sweet small," he said. "We go make am, Baba."
The old man nodded, eyes crinkling.
"I talk am," he said. "You, e go reach your turn."
Daniel climbed the stairs two at a time, a lightness in his chest that wasn't just from System notifications.
Inside his small room, he dropped his backpack, sat at the table, opened his notebook, and wrote:
> 10,000X – DAY 2
– Took KingsFade photos.
– Built and delivered first version of site.
– Client happy. Paid more. Referred potential leads.
– Met Mama Peace properly. Ate. Talked. Got ₦ 10k deposit.
– Built more trust than anything.
Quest "Turn $10 Into A Fortune": Phase 1 Complete.
New Quest: First Million (Visible).
He paused, then added a line in all caps at the bottom of the page:
> I STARTED WITH ₦ 3,200. REMEMBER THAT.
He underlined it once, twice, three times.
Outside, Lagos buzzed on, uncaring. Inside the little room, a story had shifted from broke heartbreak boy to founder of NSPIRE Digital with cheat-code-level backing.
The world didn't know it yet.
They would.
Soon.
And somewhere, on some expensive couch, Tasha laughed at something Kelvin said, oblivious to the fact that the guy she'd left behind had just stepped onto a road that would lead far, far beyond the shiny Patek at her wrist.
The System pulsed softly in Daniel's mind, almost like a heartbeat.
> Quest: First Million – The Visible One
Status: ACCEPTED (Implicit).
Let's build.