Chapter 1

Author's Preface

Davis jolted awake with a loud, deep breath. It felt as if he had just come up from underwater, where he had stayed til he almost passed out, and that single breath of air felt like life itself.

Lying on the floor, still clutching his phone in his hand, it all felt as if he had just experienced a strange nightmare. However, as he looked down at the floor, he saw a smaller pool of blood, confirming that whatever happened was real.

Swiftly, he checked his phone. It was Saturday, 7:59, and much to his surprise, his bank balance was no longer in the negative; rather, it seemed he had been credited quite a bit of money, as it was currently at 70 Credits.

For a brief moment, Davis continued staring at his phone when suddenly he received a notification, and his balance had changed; now it showed 80. However, before he could even register the change, something blinded him. It felt as if a burst of light came, but not exactly from his phone, but rather somewhere in front of his eyes.

"System initiated!"

Name: Davis Cloo

Level: 1

EXP: 0/100

Highest stat reached: Credit

Hourly income: 10 Credit

Credit: 80

Spent Credit: 0

Multiplier: 0

Other stats are locked until further progression.

"World of simulation updated!"

"World of simulation is now accessible!"

The blinding light was a set of text boxes that appeared on top of one another. However, strangely, as soon as he read one, it vanished, allowing him to focus on the next one, till every one of them had vanished completely.

"What the hell is going on? Yesterday I should have died, but for some reason I am back? And I also managed to earn a whole day's worth of salary while sleeping? What even is this system thingy, and what is this world of simulation?"

"Transporting to the world of simulation!"

A swift response came to his mumbling; a panel he could just barely even read what it said, and he already felt a strange tug on his entire body, and as soon as the feeling dissipated.

A white room, somewhat bigger than his entire apartment. This room felt familiar, and as he slowly turned his head, he realised why. Although it all still felt like a dream, he knew this was the room where he had heard that strange voice previously.

The two red buttons on the ground seemed almost inviting. He slowly stood up and moved closer to them. On them, he noticed some form of writing.

Spent Credit: 10

Multiplier: 1

Looking at the button, Davis could only rub his head, but then he looked at the next one and noticed some text on that as well, so he stepped closer to it.

Spent Credit: 100

Multiplier: 5

For a brief moment, he just stared at the circle with a diameter of roughly one meter, and eventually decided to step on the first one. His account said that he already had 80 Credits, so spending ten as an experiment didn't sound so bad, especially since, based on the previously seen panel, he gained 10 each hour.

So he confidently stepped onto the button, and much to his surprise, it really felt like a button, as it sank slightly beneath him; however, a new panel popped up before his eyes.

"Insufficient currency! You still need 10 Spent Credit."

For every second he stood on the button, the same panel popped up over and over again, so he swiftly jumped off after a few short seconds, after which the notifications finally disappeared.

"Something is not quite right. What even is this Spent Credit? But more importantly, how will I leave this room?"

"Leaving the world of simulation."

Davis couldn't even finish mumbling as he felt another thug, and before he knew it, he found himself back in his room, right beside his bed, in the same position as he left, while holding his phone.

"Basic familiarity reached! Quests unlocked!"

New quest issued:

Get a total of 100 Spent Credit

Time limit: 5 Days

Reward: A random low-level skill

"Alright, I need a beer for this one."

Davis moved over to his fridge and opened it, only to see that he had none at all, and it was already quite empty. He had enough food for about a day or two at most.

"Since I do have some more money now, and I am getting paid hourly... I might as well order some food."

With a sigh, he slammed the door of his fridge, grabbed his phone and started browsing. Other than a few cans of beer, he selected nothing extraordinary and even went for the cheaper options; the numbers just kept climbing higher and higher.

Eventually, he decided to just go all out and treat himself to something new, something he had not eaten in quite a while. So he selected a few instant soups as well. In the end, the final total came out to be 55.5 Credits. After a few seconds, he finished the transaction and took a deep breath.

Quest progress:

Spent Credit: 55.5/100

Another window appeared before him, which made him finally understand the situation better. He earned money hourly to survive, which, if he spent, could be used in that strange room.

Feeling a great sense of motivation after this discovery, he decided to send a message to his boss. Although it was Saturday, he was still scheduled to work a four-hour shift at night, but after not being given the promised raise and having been granted a new way to live, Davis decided to resign.

"Hey boss, you seem to have forgotten the promised raise again, so please take this as my formal resignation letter! No need for a letter of recommendation, thank you!"

He hit send, then tossed his phone onto his bed and decided to head for the bathroom to shower.