Three days later, Aiden sat in his macroeconomics lecture, only half-listening to Professor Hayes drone about market equilibrium. TechNova had already climbed 15% since his investment. Seven thousand five hundred dollars in profit from doing absolutely nothing.
But the money wasn't the strangest change.
"Hey, is this seat taken?"
Aiden looked up to find a girl he vaguely recognized from class hovering beside him. Pretty, with auburn hair and an uncertain smile. The row was half-empty, plenty of other seats available.
"Uh, no. Go ahead."
She sat, angling herself toward him. "I'm Claire. I've been in this class all semester but never got your name."
"Aiden."
"Aiden," she repeated, like she was tasting the word. "Do you maybe want to study together sometime? I'm really struggling with the supply-demand modules."
This had never happened before. Aiden was invisible in classes, the scholarship kid who sat in back and left quickly. Now Claire was looking at him like he was interesting.
The charisma boost. It had to be.
"Sure," he said, and watched her face light up. "I'm free Thursday afternoons."
"Perfect!" She pulled out her phone. "Let me get your number."
As she typed, Aiden noticed two other girls glancing his way, whispering. One caught his eye and smiled before quickly looking away.
What the hell was happening?
After class, he walked across campus toward his shift at the library. Students moved differently around him now—making space but also noticing him, meeting his eyes instead of looking through him. A guy from his dorm building nodded in greeting. They'd never spoken before.
"Aiden!"
He turned to find his roommate Marcus jogging to catch up, slightly out of breath.
"Dude, did you do something different?" Marcus studied him with confused curiosity. "You look... I don't know. Did you start working out?"
Aiden glanced down at his thrift-store jeans and worn jacket. Same clothes, same everything. "Not really."
"Huh. Well, you look good, man. Different. Confident." Marcus clapped his shoulder. "Whatever it is, keep it up. Oh, and some guys are getting together tonight for poker. Want in? Buy-in is only twenty."
Old Aiden would have declined, citing work or homework or the truth—that twenty dollars was two meals. But his bank account had $57,500 in it now.
"Yeah," Aiden heard himself say. "I'm in."
Marcus grinned. "Awesome! See you at eight."
Aiden continued toward the library, checking the small system icon in his vision. A notification pulsed.
DAILY TASK AVAILABLE: Build Your NetworkReward: +1 Charisma
He smiled despite himself. This system was teaching him something his business classes never had: success wasn't just about money. It was about presence, connections, being someone people wanted to know.
And for the first time in his life, Aiden was becoming that person.