Suddenly, I Am Rich

Gray barely slept for the night, but when his alarm rang, he got up without groaning. He was up awake, and surprisingly, he was energetic as ever,

Maybe it was because of the adrenaline of a new venture that awaited him. For the first time in a while, he was actually looking forward to something.

Gray glanced at the clock on his bed. It was still early, and he still had a few minutes to spare, but he went out of his room anyway and prepared a good breakfast for himself and Lily.

Lily still hasn’t learned that he got a new job, on top of that, it was his own. He’d inform her once everything was in place, as he didn’t want any complications.

Gray stood in the kitchen. He was flipping slices of ham on a pan while waiting for the bread to be toasted on another. The faint hiss of oil and the scent of toasted bread with butter filled the air.

Gray glanced at the clock again. It was still early so Lily wouldn’t be up for a few more minutes. Good. He liked having this kind of silence.

He couldn’t lie. As much as he loved his sister and enjoyed being around her, he also craved some time alone for himself.

With his one hand still on the spatula, Gray turned around and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

’System. Show me my stats.’

The familiar blue window opened instantly before his eyes.

- - -

Name: Gray Adams

Age: 20

Status: Struggling (40%)

Wealth: $17,014.46 (+$21,928)

Power: 2

Influence: 5

Skills:

- Basic Negotiation (Passive): Slightly improves chances of earning more through bargains.

- Hard Labor (Active): Increases strength and endurance in physical work.

- Giga Confidence (Passive): You are no longer easily shaken by insults, mockery, or pressure. Instead, you find them funny, as if it were just a big joke.

- - -

Gray’s eyes landed on his wealth.

$17,014.46 in total... and $21,928 gained from his investments.

”Wait... What the...” He blinked.

That means his investment in Velmora Tech rose even higher!

”That’s a 213% return...” A smile appeared on Gray’s gace.

It was not bad. Not bad at all.

He didn’t hear any more news about Velmora Tech. As far as he could remember, since their partnership with Lancaster Group, they had gone silent.

There were no press releases and no announcements.

But still, their stock price kept on rising

It was the Lancaster’s effect.

Gray smirked.

’Guess I really got lucky with that one.’

Still, he wasn’t done yet.

A soft chime reminded him of his ongoing mission.

[You still have one mission pending, Host.]

[Mission - Basic Investor Path]

- Make 5 investment (1/5)

- Accumulate $100,000 in wealth.

[Reward:]

- +1 Influence

- +1 Power

- Golden Fingers (Passive) – A rare investor-type skill that passively enhances all future investments for the Host. Even with no special insight or timing, your investments will begin to perform better than average, consistently growing over time.

Gray stared at the mission screen.

’Oh right, I still need to make 4 investments.’ He sighed and shook his head.

He still had a long way to go.

For now, didn’t have much time to think about it. Not, when there’s still a handover meeting tomorrow, and he has still some files to read.

However, once that was out of the way, he’d dive back into it.

”Yup. I’ll deal with this later,” he muttered, dismissing the screen.

Gray turned back to the stove, flipping the last slice of ham onto a plate. The bread was also done. He placed more butter on it, added some ketchup. stacked the ham between the slices, and added a soft scrambled egg on top.

He prepared a second plate for Lily, cutting the sandwich into smaller halves and adding a little ketchup on the side, just how she liked it. He poured two glasses of milk and set everything on the table.

Once everything was in place, Gray walked toward Lily’s room and knocked on her door gently.

”Lily, wake up. Breakfast’s ready.”

There was a groggy sound from inside.

”Mmm... okay...”

Gray chuckled softly and walked back to the kitchen to give her a few more minutes.

By the time she came out, Lily was yawning and rubbing her eyes.

”Mornin’, brother...” she mumbled as she took her seat.

”Morning. Eat up,” he said, gently patting her head. They ate together before returning to his room to shower and get changed.

He packed a few review notes and the handwritten exercises he prepared for Chloe into his bag. Then he double-checked the kitchen, making sure Lily was also done too.

”You got everything for school?” he asked.

”Yeah,” Lily replied with a mouthful of bread.

Gray smiled. ”Good. Let’s go now.”

”Okay!”

With that, Gray grabbed his bag and Lily’s bad. He slipped on his shoes and together, they stepped out the door.

Gray took Lily to school first. They took a bus and walked just a few blocks away. They talked casually along the way—mostly about what Lily would be doing today and if she was still friends with that friend of hers.

After dropping her off at the school gate and watching her disappear into the building with her friend, Gray pulled out his phone and booked a cab.

Forty minutes later, he was standing at the entrance of the subdivision. Just like the past few days, the same black car rolled up to the gate to pick him up.

The driver gave him a small nod from the front seat.

Gray got in after greeting the driver. The two casually talked on the way to Lancaster’s mansion. And when they became quiet, Minjae sighed and looked outside.

’Maybe I should think about buying a car soon,’ he thought.

=====

Thank you to those who dropped some Golden Tickets into the novel!

mathos2, Gary_Hastings_0217, Xere, LordofNaps, LoxusCloudPierceR.

I’d also like to say thank you to FraulCfor dropping some gifts!

I appreciate it, guys.