One harsh truth I learned was that no friend or relative truly stays in your hardest moments, much less shows love when you are broke and have nothing to your name.
Augustus thought, gritting his teeth while sitting on a park bench, silently crying while going unnoticed by the people walking by.
I had long accepted my fate and did all I could to live silently while putting my head down, but no, there are some people who would go out of their way just to mock and ridicule me so that they feel superior in front of others.
Children giggled, parents gossiped—the park was filled with all kinds of noises.
Sniffle! Sniffle!
Yet, Augustus could only hear his sniffle.
"W-what am I going… Sniff… to do now?" Tears welled up as he mumbled in a sad tone.
His rent was due, groceries were running out…
Just a week ago, he had been fired from his only 16-hour job while working two shifts in a fast food store.
And even that was barely covering his expenses during his college years while staying in the dormitory.
But that was during college years, and after graduating a month ago, he reluctantly moved out of his dorm for the new batch of students to come in, adding to his rental expenses. He somehow found a cheap 1HK room to live in.
With more expenses entering his life, instead of increasing his income, he just lost his job… losing all hope.
Even then, Augustus was not the one to give up!
No.
Earlier this morning, he woke up, got ready for the new interview. Everything proceeded nicely. He even cursed himself for almost giving up with a chuckle.
Then, when he went to submit some important documents for the job, he was informed, "Sorry, Augustus, your job application is rejected for unknown reasons."
He solemnly stepped out of the office, feeling despair after being rejected. Then, with a chime, he received a message on his broken phone.
10:14 AM
| Message: Megan Staff
| Little Augustus, I hope you got your job.
His heart sank. That one line explained everything. She'd done it. She'd really done it.
And with this message, everything made sense to him. He looked for a quiet place to cry his heart out.
After crying his heart out for so long that even his tears had stopped, he lazily stood up and began to walk toward his apartment room that was three kilometers away from Ridgeway Commons Park.
"Wait, Augustus," a middle-aged man called out from behind as he was unlocking his room's door.
Augustus gloomily looked at his landlord, his eyes slightly red and dull. Witnessing this, the landlord frowned and mused, "Nothing. We will talk tomorrow," he said and let him be.
Augustus looked back at his door's lock, opened it, and plopped on his bed, tiredness crashing over his body—not the physical, but mental fatigue.
"Why?… Why does life feel like a punishment?" he asked, but there was no one to answer.
As he lay on the bed, looking at his ceiling while contemplating his future, a despairing thought crossed his mind.
But soon, his parents' and sister's image surfaced, shaking off any of his ill thoughts.
And with his parents and sister's image, a… strange holographic panel hovered in front of his eyes.
Though he didn't pay much attention, lost in thought, when he absently blinked, the panel sharpened into clear focus.
[Detected host emotions unstable… issuing a task!]
Ding…
| Task #01: Take a cold shower + clean your room.
| Penalty: Automatic cold showers every 2 hours.
↳ Reward: $5000 + Room becomes cleaner than ever before.
His eyes widened. He looked at the panel in a dazed manner. Knowing full too well what this meant, he dejectedly raised his hands to brush it off, thinking his mind was playing games, and shifted into a comfortable position to sleep,
and… surprisingly, the panel followed his eye's trajectory.
He narrowed his dull eyes but soon ignored it. Too depressed and tired to care about anything, he slowly closed his eyes. The mental fatigue hit him hard, as he quickly fell asleep.
The mysterious panel hung above his bed… Minutes passed into hours, and finally, two hours later—
Splash!
Huff. Huff.
Cold, chilling water drenched him from head to toe, soaking his bed and clothes. For a moment, he lay still, confused by the sudden shock.
Then, his groggy eyes moved toward the silent panel that still silently loomed before him.
"Is this a system?" he muttered. Sleeping for two hours made his mind clear. Even though he was struggling, Augustus was a strong-willed boy. That is how he had survived until now.
"Whatever," he grumbled and looked at the task. "Take a cold shower and clean my room?" he repeated.
"Will this really give me money?" he contemplated. His poor life had taught him many lessons, and keeping expectations low was one of them. Nonetheless, he would still give it a try.
"I have to look for jobs anyway. Might as well take a shower and clean the room," he said and began cleaning his room.
Augustus didn't have any bad habits like drinking or smoking, but during his lowest days, he would drink some. So he began by cleaning the few empty beer bottles in the corner of his room.
Then, there were instant noodle empty packets lined up, a few days of trash here and there, and a messy room that screamed depression.
He packed everything and threw it out, feeling much better than earlier. "Now let's go take a shower," he mumbled and walked into his bathroom, and took a nice cold shower that very much refreshed him, making his mood much better.
With a small smile, he sighed and walked out of his bathroom.
Then…
Ding!
| Task #01: Take a cold shower + clean your room.
| [Task #01: Completed]
↳ Reward: $5000 has been credited to your account.
The system's message chimed in.
And as soon as it did—
His phone, which was lying on the bed, rang with a vibration… Beep!
"No way!" Eyes widening in shock, he quickly ran toward the phone. Swiftly picking it up, he tapped on the recent notification, and it opened up, reading:
| 12:42 PM
| Commonwealth Bank
| Your account with xxxx0067 has been credited with $5000.00
| Avail. Bal: $5012.87
Beep
| $35.00 has been debited from your account as a low-balance fee.
| Avail. Bal: $4,977.87
"What the—$35?! That's daylight robbery," he scoffed.
But soon, his eyes zoomed in on the balance as he blinked, processing the moment.
"This! This is real… no scam, but r-real money," he repeated, convincing himself as his face lit up with excitement.