Suddenly, I Am Rich

- - -

Name: Gray Adams

Age: 20

Status: Struggling (96%)

Wealth: $50,984.92 (+$55,120)

Power: 7

Influence: 17

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.

Eye of the Beholder (Active): Allows the host to determine whether a person has good or bad intentions. Must be activated consciously. Using this skill drains the host’s stamina. The longer it is used, the more exhausted the host becomes.

- - -

Gray sat on the edge of his bed. His eyes quietly scanned the familiar system interface on his screen.

”It still says struggling, huh?” Gray muttered to himself.

Still, the percentage was growing. That must have meant that it would change soon, once he reached a certain amount of money.

It was because of the sudden jump in his wealth after that incident with Selina.

Now, in total, he had over $50,000 in accessible wealth.

”I guess it’s mine now...” he sighed, rubbing the side of his face.

If that was the case, then he might as well do something smart with it.

”Maybe I should invest it,” he muttered under his breath. ”Just putting it in my bank would be pointless. One of these days, my salary for being the CEO would arrive too. I’d have enough money.”

It was also the thought of hitting $100,000 that stirred something in him.

He wanted to accomplish that mission of his soon enough.

After all, now that things were finally starting to stabilize with the grocery store, he felt a little freer.

He pulled out his phone and opened a browser. A few minutes of mindless scrolling gave him the usual options: real estate, stocks, mutual funds.

He was still too poor for real estate, and the next options were slow. It was evident in his current investment by now.

He just got lucky for the first time because of Chloe.

”What else can I do?” he whispered, tapping on a financial blog.

It didn’t take long before the word crypto showed up on his phone.

Gray stared at the word. He’d heard about it, of course.

On the internet, stories of people turning one thousand dollars into half a million in a year were popular. There were also stories where people lost everything they earned because of it.

Still, for many, it was considered the best option for investing money.

After all, while it carried high risk, it also promised high rewards.

”Crypto,” he muttered to himself, a little unsure.

”Could that be the move?”

Gray frowned, then sat up straighter. However, instead of searching how it was and how it works on the internet, he thought of another way instead.

”System,” he called out suddenly. ”Can you explain crypto to me? Like, in beginner terms.”

It had been so long since he last talked to the system.

[Ding!]

There was a brief pause before the system’s voice echoed in the back of his mind.

[Sure, Host!]

[Initiating Guide Mode...]

[Introduction to Cryptocurrency.]

[Cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that uses cryptography for security. It operates independently of banks and is based on blockchain technology.]

[It is highly volatile and considered high risk. Gains can be significant, and so are the losses.]

[Popular beginner options include: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and stablecoins such as USDT or USDC.]

[Would you like to receive insights and trend monitoring, Host?]

[This feature can be unlocked using 1 Influence point.]

”The heck?”

Gray blinked at the glowing interface now floating gently in front of him.

”You can fucking do that?” he asked again, louder this time.

The response came without hesitation.

[Yes, Host.]

Gray sat back, stunned.

”Then why didn’t you tell me before?!”

[You never asked.]

”...Unbelievable.” Gray dragged a hand down his face. ”So, you just have all these features under you, and I just need to figure them out?”

[Correct.]

His mouth fell open slightly. A scoff left him.

”You’re really unbelievable...”

[Thanks, Host.]

[Anyway, would you like to activate the feature now?]

[Just remember that one (1) Influence point will be used each time you activate it.]

”Right, right. Wait...” Gray squinted his eyes before raising a brow. ”Can you remind me again, what’s Influence used for?”

[Influence measures how much impact you have on people and the world around you, Host.]

[It works in two main ways:]

Gray leaned forward slightly, paying more attention now.

[First: Receiving. The higher your Influence, the more likely people are to trust you, follow your lead, or offer valuable opportunities. It also helps in negotiations, reading social cues, and attracting powerful allies.]

[Second: Spending. You can use Influence to activate system perks, such as what the system presented to you earlier.]

”I see...”

So that means his Influence would decrease if he spent it.

Gray groaned softly, but after a moment, he nodded to himself.

”Fine. Sure. Let’s try it.”

He wanted to see how it works.

[Ding!]

[Feature activated.]

A new screen popped up beside his stats window. It had a soft glow with a rotating icon of a coin.

[How much are you willing to spend, Host?]

”Uh, 20k?” Gray looked unsure of it.

[Data received.]

[Now providing beginner-to-intermediate trend suggestions tailored to how much the host is willing to spend...]

”Whoa...” Gray leaned forward as words, terms, and numbers started to form on the holographic screen in front of him.

After a moment, they suddenly stopped with a soft chime.

[Ding!]

[Trend Analysis Complete.]

[Investment Window: 7 Days]

[Note: The system’s monitoring feature forecasts trends based on current global activity and

speculative algorithms. This feature is short-term only.]

[Investment projections are valid for one (1) week from activation.]

[Please also note that the system cannot be held liable for unexpected market collapses, black swan events, or Host’s stupidity.]

”Hey!” Gray blinked.

”What was that last part?”

[Let’s just move on, Host.]

”...”