"Excuse me, are you okay, Mr. Oaklore?" She'd seen his name on the payment slip and so she knew what to address him as when she saw him staring into a blank space.
Quickly snapping out of it. Nathan nodded. "Yes, yes. I'm okay. Thank you for having me." He turned to leave and then he remembered how she'd addressed him by his name whereas he still didn't know hers.
Turning back once again, Nathan spoke. "Sorry, but I still don't know your name but you already know mine."
She smiled and brushed some stray strands of hair to the side. "I'm Katherine."
Nathan nodded. "Nice to meet you, Katherine. Hope to see you sometime again."
And with that, Nathan walked out of the establishment.
Ding!
He received another influx of panels in quick successions that almost blinded him.
[System Tier Advancement completed!]
[You have advanced the system to the next tier(Tier 2) $12,000 bonus received.]
[System Tier: Tier 2]
[Payback Effect: 4x multiplier]
[New feature added: System Vault]
[New feature added: System Inventory (Rank 1)]
[You have received x5 Lucky Draw. Do you wish to draw?]
[You have received x2 Enhanced Lucky Draw. Do You wish to draw?]
Nathan stood still for a moment as he took it all in. From the fact that the system had tiers that could be unlocked to the fact that he'd received new lucky draws and even better enhanced lucky draws. He didn't know the difference but the fact that it had 'enhanced' meant it was superior. Right?
Having a feeling that his luck was about to shine, Nathan walked into the darkened empty space just beside the jewellery store to hide whatever he was about to do.
"Draw both enhanced lucky draws." Nathan ordered the system with an anticipatory grin.
Ding!
[You have drawn Enhanced Thinking. Your thoughts are three times faster than normal!]
Nathan could almost feel the effect immediately.
[You have drawn Enhanced Charm! Your features are three times better than they look!]
Nathan frowned. While the first draw bore fruit immediately, "1,120 times 1,632 equals 1,827,840." Nathan calculated within seconds, the second draw couldn't be noticed.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction as he didn't notice any evident change in his body. "I probably can't see it."
"Draw all five lucky draws." Nathan commanded.
[You have drawn $1,000 cash! Check your left pocket to find it!]
[You have drawn a new iPhone 16 pro max! Check your backpack to find it!]
[You have drawn $2,000 cash! Check your left pocket to find it!]
[You have drawn a $2,000 Gift card! Check your left pocket to find it!]
[You have drawn a Kawasaki Ninja H2! Head toward the next alley to find it along with the key and other ownership documents!]
The first four draws were rewarding enough but the last and fifth one brought a genuine smile to Nathan's face.
A bike. A superbike! One that could achieve a top speed of 322km/hr. Nathan had always wanted a superbike so bad that he learned to ride it just in case he eventually got one.
Now, he'd gotten one through the system. He didn't know what the system was but all he could pray for was that it would only continue to bless him.
He checked his left pocket as instructed by the system and indeed. He found $3,000 in his pocket along with a $2,000 gift card.
"That's strange." Despite receiving cash, something did bother him. He didn't receive a system notification about multiplying the cash.
His enhanced thinking immediately ignited. "Does the multiplier not affect cash? Or does it only not affect cash given to me by the system?" He thought for a moment before discussing the thought. He would find out later.
However, the one thing that really bothered him though was now placed before him. The system has rewarded him with $12,000 after the tier advancement but he didn't get any notification on his device.
Remembering the tier advancement came with two newly added features, Nathan could only attribute it to one of them.
"Information on the new features."
[System Vault: The system now has a vault to save money earned by the host. Everytime you earn payback, it is deposited in the System Vault and whenever you feel like it, you can withdraw from the vault to your bank.]
[Available balance: $12,000]
"The new multiplier also didn't affect this one. I guess bonuses are excluded from the multiplier as well." Nathan calculated and devised an hypothesis almost immediately.
"Now, let's see the other feature."
[System Inventory(Rank 1): A small pocket dimension that can store the host's possessions. It can be retrieved upon request from the host. The current rank only offers three cubic feet of space.]
"Ohhh~" Nathan was genuinely intrigued by this feature. He thought for a moment about what to store as a test. He couldn't afford to put everything and watch it disappear after all.
His (Enhanced Thinking) seemed to be working better than he expected. He looked around the alley and found a piece of rusted iron rod.
Nathan picked up the rod and called out. "Inventory!"
A blank panel appeared before him and he tossed the iron rod into it.
[System Inventory (Rank 1)]
[Item(s): Rusted Iron rod x1]
Nathan smiled at the panel. "Gimme back the rod."
Clang!
The rod fell out of the panel and Nathan watched it slowly hit the ground and broke in two. "It was too rusted but that's enough to confirm my test."
With that, Nathan stretched himself and walked out of the alley. It was getting dark already and he needed to return home.
He walked toward the alley the system had directed him toward. Behold, a sleek all black bike was parked there with a brown envelope resting on it. He approached the bike and opened the envelope.
Inside. He found the key to the bike as well as the documents relating to the bike all signed in his name.
He picked the helmet and wore it with a smirk. "I now own a bike!"
Now, he needed to return home before it got too late and dark.
"I can't return home with all this." He murmured, taking account of all the things he'd purchased today.
His mind raced and then it clicked. "A hotel wouldn't be bad for now."
He ignited the bike and sped off into the night.