---
The morning sun poured softly through the apartment's small windows, coating the tiled floor in gold.
Kyler Villamor stood in the kitchen, stirring coffee with quiet rhythm.
The world outside buzzed faintly — jeepneys rumbling, vendors calling — but inside, life moved at its own gentle pace.
"Papa! Nicko took my pancake!"
Kyler smiled. The shout came from the living room, followed by the sound of a tiny giggle and the pitter-patter of running feet.
Ashley leaned on the counter, amused. "Every day, same war."
Kyler poured her coffee, handing it to her with a calm grin. "At least it's peace after."
Hazel stomped into the kitchen, holding half a pancake. "He bit mine!"
Behind her, Nicko followed with the guilty innocence only a younger brother could have.
Kyler crouched down to their level. "Hazel, remember what Papa said?"
She crossed her arms. "Don't use the fork as a weapon?"
He nodded seriously. "Good. Now share the other half, and I'll make another one for you both."
Her pout softened, and soon the two of them sat on the couch, eating together while cartoons flickered on the old TV.
Ashley watched from the doorway, her eyes soft. "You always make it look easy."
Kyler chuckled quietly. "It's not. I just cheat with patience."
She raised a brow. "You mean coffee."
"Yeah," he smiled, "that too."
---
After breakfast, Ashley busied herself tidying the kitchen, humming softly. Hazel helped by pretending to wash dishes, while Nicko tried to balance cups like a magician.
Kyler, meanwhile, sat at the dining table with his old laptop — the same one that had carried him through years of night shifts.
He wasn't working today. It was his rest day.
But the System's gentle whisper still echoed in his head.
> [Skill creation available.]
He took a slow breath, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
"System," he murmured quietly, "create skill: Market Eyes — the ability to see short-term and long-term patterns in any form of market fluctuation."
> [Skill creation complete.]
There was no light, no sound, just a soft clarity that flooded his mind — like invisible graphs aligning themselves across the world's data streams.
He blinked, staring at the trading charts on his screen.
Bitcoin. Ethereum. Stocks.
Numbers scrolled by — and suddenly, they weren't just numbers anymore.
Each curve pulsed faintly with color, emotion, movement.
Red waves hinted at panic before it even began.
Green lines shimmered seconds before a surge.
Kyler's eyes widened slightly.
It wasn't guessing.
It was knowing.
> [Market fluctuation: +4.7% within 48 hours.]
[Suggested action: Buy — low confidence zone decreasing.]
He leaned back slowly, heartbeat steady.
If this was real — and everything so far had been — he had just gained something that could rewrite his family's future.
Ashley peeked from the kitchen. "You're staring at the screen again."
He looked up and smiled faintly. "Just… learning something new."
She walked over, curious. "Still about crypto?"
Kyler nodded, minimizing the window. "Yeah. It's interesting. Like a puzzle."
She sat beside him. "You and your puzzles. As long as it's not gambling, I'm fine with it."
He smiled warmly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "No gambling. Promise."
---
The day passed peacefully.
Kyler spent the afternoon playing with Hazel and Nicko, stacking blocks, watching cartoons, and making lunch together — adobo and rice, with just enough soy sauce to stain everyone's fingers.
Every few hours, though, he'd glance at his laptop — watching the numbers, the colors, the invisible rhythm of the markets.
He didn't trade. Not yet.
He just observed.
When the kids napped later that afternoon, he tested the System's accuracy with small test simulations — predicting minor coin shifts, cross-checking news trends, comparing data.
Every time, the predictions matched perfectly.
It was absolute.
A lowkey, silent omniscience over the world's economy.
> "System," he whispered softly,
"how far can this go?"
> [As far as your will desires.]
He closed the laptop gently, staring at his reflection in the dark screen.
He wasn't ready to let the world know what he could do.
Not yet.
For now, it was enough that he could look at his sleeping children and know — really know — that their future could be safe.
---
Evening came. The apartment glowed with soft orange light.
Ashley was cooking dinner while humming along to an old love song playing from her phone.
The smell of garlic and soy sauce filled the air.
Kyler helped set the table while Hazel and Nicko played with toy cars on the floor. The warmth of the moment sank deep into him — simple, fragile, and perfect.
He didn't need to rule the world.
He just needed to make sure it never took this away.
---
After dinner, when everyone was asleep, Kyler sat by the window again — the same spot where everything began.
The city was alive below, neon lights and distant music weaving together.
He opened his laptop once more.
The charts moved, glowing faintly under the touch of Market Eyes.
This time, he tried something small — a minimal trade using a spare account, nothing more than a few thousand pesos.
He watched the numbers shift, following the silent rhythm only he could see.
One minute. Two minutes.
Profit.
Not massive, but real. Precise.
He smiled faintly, a quiet satisfaction filling his chest.
--
Kyler closed the laptop gently.
He didn't feel tired — thanks to Everrest.
He didn't forget a single detail — thanks to Perfect Memory.
And now, he could see tomorrow's opportunities before they arrived — thanks to Market Eyes.
He stood by the window, hands in his pockets, the wind brushing softly through the curtains.
Down below, the city continued to sleep in ignorance.
Up here, in one small apartment, a father of two smiled quietly —
not as a god, not as a hero, but as a man finally taking control of his life.