Chapter 1: A Total Nobody
The cold drizzle clung to Max’s skin like a miserable second skin. Standing by the bridge railing, he watched the city lights reflect in the river—a neon blur on the freezing black water flowing below. The dull hum of traffic surrounding him was the only requiem for a life that had been, essentially, a bad joke.
His name was Max, and at thirty-two, he had become a walking monument to failure.
In his mind, a merciless carousel of images spun. His parents’ disappointed faces, unable to fathom how their son, their “little genius,” had ended up a nobody. The mocking laughter of his so-called college friends, whose work he had done while they took the credit and hit the parties. And then, the clearest image, the one that stung with surgical precision: the cold gaze of Ada, his fiancée, right before she delivered the words that sealed his fate. “It’s over, Max. You’ve ruined me.”
She was right. The “investment of a lifetime,” that supposed goldmine that was going to pull him out of the gutter, was nothing but a scam. A mirage into which he had sunk not only his meager savings but also the money he’d begged from his friends and from her. Now he had nothing. No job, no money, no friends, no love. Only the crushing weight of his own gullible stupidity.
I was a genius,a bitter voice echoed in his head.And all I built was my own ruin. Always “Good Old Max,” the nice guy everyone could walk all over.
A final gust of icy wind hit him, as if the world itself were nudging him over the edge.
If only I could go back...he thought, with a fervor that burned hotter than the cold.I swear I wouldn’t be “Good Old Max” again. No. This time... I’d take it all.
With that final resolution, Max closed his eyes, leaned forward, and surrendered to the void. The fall was an eternal second of silence, followed by the brutal impact of the water. The shock stole his breath. The cold seeped into his bones, and the current began dragging him down. Darkness.
Just as his brain was on the verge of collapsing, an anomalous sound—a crystallineding—resonated not in his ears, but directly in the core of his being. A genderless, calm, and ethereal voice spoke into the void of his dying mind.
[Welcome, Host!]
[Second Chance System activated.]
[Strong desire to rewrite fate detected. Analyzing regrets...]
[Analysis complete. Primary objective established: Wealth and Status Accumulation.]
And then, nothingness claimed him.
...
A thump. And another. A dull, rhythmic sound breaking through a veil of unconsciousness.
Max snapped his eyes open, gasping for air. Not on dirty river water, but on warm, soapy water. He was in a bathtub. Sunlight filtered through a small window, filling the bathroom—which he hadn’t seen in over a decade—with steam. The blue and white tiles, the shower curtain with its pathetic ducky print. His parents’ bathroom.
“Max!” a muffled voice called from the other side of the door. “Are you okay? You’ve been in there forever! You’re going to be late!”
It was his mother’s voice. His mother’s voice from... how long ago?
He scrambled out, heart hammering against his ribs. Water spilled over the edge of the tub. He approached the mirror above the sink and wiped away the steam. The face looking back was his, yet it wasn’t. He was nineteen. His skin was smooth, without the chronic dark circles of insomnia. His hair was thick and dark, with no trace of the receding hairline that had already begun to show in his other life.
A dream? A hallucination before death?
His eyes landed on a small desk calendar by the sink. The date was circled in red:Sunday, July 6, 2014.The day he moved into the university dorms. The first day of the rest of his disastrous life.
No. The first day of the rest of hisnewlife.
Right then, a translucent, bright blue window appeared floating in his field of vision, visible only to him.
[System operational. Tutorial Quest assigned.]
Max blinked. The window didn’t disappear. A dry laugh escaped his lips. After jumping off a bridge and traveling through time, a video game interface was, ironically, the least surprising thing that could happen. A smile played on his young face—a smile that didn’t belong there. It was cold, sharp, calculating. The smile of a man who had lost everything and, somehow, had just been handed a divine weapon.
The blue window flickered, displaying the details.
[Tutorial Quest: Begin Your New Legacy]
Objective:Make your first decision as a new man. Refuse your parents’ money for your expenses and tuition. Prove that you forge your own path.
Reward for success:
1 System Point (SP)
$500.
Passive Skill unlocked: [Player Gaze]
Penalty for failure:
The System will deem you unworthy and enter permanent sleep mode.
He dried off and dressed in the clothes folded on his old bed. In the kitchen, his parents waited with radiant smiles that, for a moment, caused a pang of something like guilt. His father slapped him on the back, a bit too hard, as always.
“Ready to take on the world, champ?” his father said, beaming with pride.
His mother handed him a thick envelope. “Here, honey. It’s for tuition and to make sure you have something for your expenses these first few weeks. You just focus on studying.”
The Max of the past—the shy, people-pleasing boy—would have taken the envelope with a bow, stammering thanks and empty promises. But that Max was dead, drowned at the bottom of a river.
Max took a deep breath. “No, thanks,” he said, his voice sounding steadier than he expected.
His parents froze. His mother’s smile faltered. “What?” she asked, confused.
“I said I don’t need it,” Max repeated, looking them straight in the eye while gently pushing back the hand holding the envelope. “I’ve been thinking. I was given a great mind, and it’s time I started using it. I want to pay my own tuition. I want to stand on my own two feet from day one. Consider it... the first step of my new life.”
The shock on their faces was palpable. His father scrutinized him, looking for any sign of a joke. His mother looked ready to cry, bewildered by her son’s sudden, cold maturity.
“But Max...” she began.
“Please,” he interrupted, softening his tone slightly so as not to hurt her more than necessary. “Let me do this. Trust me.”
There was a long silence in the small kitchen. His father, a simple man who rarely dealt with situations he didn’t understand, studied him with unusual intensity. Finally, he nodded slowly. “Alright, son. If that’s what you want... We’re proud of you.”
Max couldn’t tell if he meant it or if he was just bewildered, but it didn’t matter. The first move on the chessboard had been made.
The moment he stepped out the front door, suitcase in hand, a victoriousdingsounded only for him, as a bank card materialized in his hands and a new system screen appeared before him.
[Tutorial Quest completed!]
[Rewards granted:]
+1 SP
+$500 (Transferred to your new System bank account. Use the mental command ‘Bank’ to access your balance).
Passive Skill [Player Gaze Lv. 1] acquired.
[Previous Balance: $0]
[Current Balance: $500]
He stopped on the sidewalk and mentally activated his new skill. Suddenly, the world was filled with information. Above the head of a man walking his dog, crisp floating text appeared.
[Carlos Mitchell]
Level 4: Civilian
Status: Slightly irritated (The dog hasn’t done its business)
A genuine smile—the first in a long time—spread across Max’s face. This changed everything.
The university was waiting. His old “friends” were waiting. His future rivals and... opportunities were waiting.
This time, the genius wouldn’t be a doormat.
This time, the genius was going to win.
