Two days later, the lottery results were announced.
Lucian had already mentioned the tickets to Lia, and she had been furious at him.
How could she not be?
She'd worked so hard for that money, only for her brother to blow it on something as uncertain as lottery tickets.
After a long round of convincing, she finally calmed down—barely.
But the disappointment remained, and Lucian simply accepted it as it was.
After telling her about the results, she was shocked.
She couldn't believe his words.
When he showed her the results, however, Lia froze.
Her eyes darted from the winning numbers to the prize amount—200,000 dollars—and then back again. She rubbed her eyes repeatedly, trying to see if it was real.
"I told you, right? I would win."
Lucian rested his chin lightly on her head, a smug smile tugging at his lips.
She nodded blankly. "We… really…"
Her voice trailed off. Seeing her dumbfounded expression, his smile widened.
***
After withdrawing the money, he gave some to Lia for her college fees and other uses, kept some for himself and used the rest in online stock markets where he knew returns would be high in the short term.
He needed to build as much as he could, as fast as he could.
He didn't want to worry about money.
And he needed enough to bring his mother out of that place.
He hadn't been able to visit her in the past few days and was already missing her.
She might act cold to him, but only he knew how warm she really was.
He was currently jogging outside, thinking about what to do.
As he was running, a holographic panel suddenly appeared before him.
[New Quest Issued]
Objective: Save her from the accident.
Reward: 5 AP
Difficulty: E
Time Limit: 30 Seconds
Failure: None
—
"Huh?"
He stopped.
It had been a while since he had gotten a quest.
As he read the quest…
'What kind of quest is this?'
First, it just told him to save someone. Who? Why? From what?
While frowning at the screen…
[Time remaining: 22 seconds]
His expression changed suddenly. He had forgotten to check the Time Limit.
He hurriedly looked at his surroundings.
Since the Time Limit was so low, the individual might be nearby.
Some people nearby looked at him weirdly.
[19 seconds]
The time was running out.
Just then, he noticed a small boy chasing a ball onto the road.
'A boy? No…that's not right.'
A truck was approaching him.
Lucian's heart pounded. His body moved on instinct, sprinting toward the child.
But then he saw her.
Someone had already run towards the boy.
'Is she—?'
***
A young woman was walking down the street, looking around in wonder as if she had seen the outside world for the first time.
Her clothes were clean, tailored, and expensive.
People turned their heads as she passed, stunned by her beauty, but none dared to approach.
She had long golden hair that reached her waist and stood 170 cm tall.
As she was strolling, she saw a kid running down the road, and a truck was approaching him from a bit away.
Her eyes widened.
No one had noticed him since there weren't many people nearby, and if there were, then most were focused on their smartphones.
Her heart tightened.
Without thinking, she ran.
"Hey–!"
She managed to grab the boy's hand just in time, but as she turned to pull him away—
Her foot twisted sharply.
"Uhh!"
Pain shot up her ankle. She stumbled, panic rising as the truck grew closer.
She tried to stand, but her foot buckled again.
'Am I–'
A hand grabbed her roughly and pulled.
She and the boy were yanked out of the road as the truck roared past.
The sudden momentum made her lose balance, and she collapsed onto the person who saved her.
"Excuse me."
He gently pushed her aside, hurriedly turned to the boy, who had a blank look, frozen with fear.
Lucian patted his head.
"It's alright. You are safe now."
Hearing Lucian's voice, the child came to his senses and started bawling his eyes and hugged him tightly.
[Ding!]
[Quest Completed!]
[Rewards Granted: +5 AP]
He had completed the quest.
The nearby people had gathered around them, some mumbling to each other or taking videos for their social media, but no one came to help them.
'Disgusting creatures.'
He clicked his tongue, then turned to the boy.
"It's ok, it's ok. Don't cry."
Lucian wiped his cheeks.
The kid turned to him.
"You are a brave child, so don't cry." He said with a gentle smile.
"Mm!" The boy puffed his cheeks.
"Ren!" A shout resounded.