1 - $0.00

The notification for his debt repayment couldn't have come at a worse possible moment.

"Can you say that again?" the cashier asked, barely hiding her smile, she found his plight amusing.

Adam stood frozen at the counter, heat crawling up his neck, his hand still gripping the cheap wallet that had just betrayed him.

"I… I thought I had enough."

Behind him, someone snorted.

"Of course he did," another voice said. "Guys like him always think."

There was laughter.

Adam didn't turn around, he didn't even need to. The faces of the people behind him and their expressions were already familiar to him. Students dressed in brands he had never touched, people who spent more on lunch than he did in a week.

The cashier slid the receipt toward him.

$0.00

His card had declined.

"Do you want to try another card?" she asked, louder this time, so everyone could hear.

"I don't have one," he muttered.

"Then maybe don't hold up the line," a guy said, voice dripping with amusement. "Some of us actually have money."

More laughter.

It hit harder than it should have even though this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

Adam didn't even think it would be the last. He swallowed, instinctively starting to plead "May I-"

"Leave it," the cashier coldly said, already pulling it away. "Next!"

Just like that. He had been dismissed; like he didn't matter.

Adam stepped aside, ignoring the stares, the whispers, the quiet satisfaction in the air as someone else took his place.

Outside, the sunlight felt harsher than usual.

He exhaled slowly, hands clenched in his pockets.

'This is it', he thought. 'I'm done. I finally can't afford to eat.'

Adam was tired. Very tired of living in a way that could barely be called living.

He was tired of calculating every dollar.

Tired of choosing between food and transport.

Tired of being less.

A group of students walked past him, laughing, one of them tossed a casual glance his way then looked through him like he didn't exist.

That one look said everything. It told him that he didn't matter.

Adam's jaw tightened and he clenched his fists.

Say nothing. Just walk away like always.

That's what he'd always done. He never tried to prove himself or get back recognition since he was already at the bottom.

Another burst of laughter echoed behind him, probably from something else entirely but he could only think it was directed at him.

Something twisted in his chest.

For a moment, just a moment, he was tired of it.

Tired of swallowing his words.

Tired of pretending it didn't hurt to be disregarded.

Tired of being less.

His lips moved before he could stop them.

"One day… I'll have more money than all of you."

The silence that followed felt wrong.

Like the world had paused to listen.

***

[Arrogance Detected]

He heard a soft voice and froze.

"…What?"

The world didn't change.

Cars still passed and the people around still talked.

But something was different and his suspicion proved true a moment later.

[Arrogance Amplification System Activated]

A sharp pressure pulsed behind his eyes.

Then—

A screen.

A blue transparent floating screen similar to the type seen in virtual reality games. It wasn't something he should be able to see.

[Host Identified]

Balance: $0.00

Arrogance Level: F

Influence: 0

His breath caught.

"This can't be real. What the-"

[Core Rule]

[Act superior. Make others perceive you as arrogant. Prove it.]

[Failure to validate arrogance will result in penalties.]

[Beginner Mission Generated]

"Make one individual believe you are superior within 10 minutes."

[Reward: $100]

[Penalty: None]

There was a bit of silence, then a sharp short laugh slipped out of him.

A short laugh filled with disbelief.

"A hundred dollars… for that?"

It sounded crazy, insane and delusional.

And yet… The screen didn't disappear.

***

Adam looked up.

Across the street, a group of people were there, existing like they owned the world.

One of them, the loudest among them, leaned against a sleek car, keys spinning around his finger.

[Target Detected]

High Arrogance Sensitivity

Potential Reward Multiplier: ×3

Adam's pulse spiked. He wasn't sure why he even considered a random hallucination to be true. He wasn't even sure why he wasn't much shocked at what he saw.

"You've got to be kidding me."

He had ten minutes to convince one person that he was richer.

That he was better and that he belonged above them.

His first instinct was to walk away and ignore it. To pretend none of this was happening.

But he remembered the receipt, the laughter and the look that had gone through him.

His fists tightened.

Slowly, he exhaled.

"Fine."

If this was a joke, he'd play along just once. And if it ended up being real...

***

He stepped off the curb.

Each step he made on the gravel road felt heavier than the last. Rather than solid ground, it felt like he was walking on quicksand.

The voices grew clearer.

"…I'm telling you, that place is trash unless you're spending at least—"

They noticed him mid-sentence.

Three pairs of eyes flicked over him judging him and finding him lacking so they dismissed him.

It was the same as always but today would end up differently.

He stopped right in front of them.

The guy with the keys raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

For a single second—

Just one second—

Doubt crept in Adam's mind.

‘This is stupid.’

Turn back and go home. The system said there would be no penalties if you do.

He tried to convince himself.

Then the system pulsed again.

[Time Remaining: 07:45]

Something in him snapped and he looked at the guy.

He really looked at him like he could see into his soul.

Then he spoke in a calm, certain manner he had never used. He didn't know where the voice came from but it was something he had locked up a long time ago.

"You talk a lot for someone driving a car I wouldn't even notice."

The guy blinked.

"What?"

For the first time in his life—

Adam Wilson didn't feel small.

---

[Arrogance Registered]