Chapter 3
Arjun hesitated outside his apartment, raindrops clinging to his umbrella like glistening beads of advice. The balance message still echoed in his mind: **Rolls-Royce Phantom for ₹40,000**. The system's next reward had dropped into his account overnight. And a physical delivery address was displayed in his app notifications: "Your reward awaits pickup at the Bangalore Rolls-Royce showroom, MG Road branch."
His heart thundered. He stepped into the lobby of his building, nodding at the security guard, who barely acknowledged him. His mind raced through a dozen scenarios: Was this a dream? A hallucination? A prank? One part of him recoiled at the extravagance—disbelief that a vehicle normally priced well over crores had been slashed to ₹40,000. Yet another part burned with curiosity and a pinch of greed.
Inside his apartment, he powered on his laptop and navigated to the banking app. Indeed, the transaction was there: **"RMS Credit: Rolls-Royce Phantom — ₹40,000."** A separate entry noted that the vehicle was "reserved for pickup or delivery." He tapped "View Details," and a 3D holographic render of a sleek black Phantom materialized on his screen, its iconic grille and spirit-of-ecstasy emblem rendered in uncanny realism. Below the render, a glowing button labeled "Schedule Delivery" beckoned.
Arjun exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. The cost meant less than a month's stipend from before. A car that glided like a whisper now sat in his digital cart at the price of a modest hatchback. But questions yanked at him: Did he need a luxury car? How would he explain it? Who would he tell? And most unsettlingly: Why was the system rewarding him with such ostentatious gifts?
He shut his laptop and ran a hand through his hair. Perhaps this was a test of character—could he resist temptation? He thought of Meera's NGO, of Ravi's dreams, of Chaitra's guarded skepticism. *Would I buy this seat of luxury or divert funds to something meaningful?*
But the lure was magnetic. Later that afternoon, after wrapping up tasks at NextGen Solutions, Arjun slipped out. He hailed an auto-rickshaw to MG Road. The city hummed with post-monsoon life—street vendors drying clothes, traffic surging through pothole puddles, and pedestrians darting beneath umbrellas. At the Rolls-Royce showroom, polished chrome surfaces gleamed beneath LED lights. He hesitated in the lobby, taking in the luxury marque displays: Phantoms, Ghosts, and rare limited-edition models.
A salesman approached, impeccably dressed. "Good evening, sir. How may I assist you?" Arjun's throat was dry. He cleared it. "I… I have a reservation under the Rich Man System." The salesman's eyebrow quirked. "Ah, yes, Mr. Swasthik. Your Phantom is ready for viewing." He led Arjun to a private glass-encased bay. There it stood—velvet rope petals parted to reveal a black Phantom. The paint seemed to swallow light, the leather interior plush and inviting.
Arjun ran his hand along the fender. The ache of desire warred with his conscience. The salesman slid a key fob across the console. "Would you like a test drive, sir?" Arjun shook his head. Instead, he asked, voice taut with restraint, "Could I take delivery and park it elsewhere? I'd prefer a more discreet location." The salesman blinked in surprise. "Certainly. We can arrange delivery to any address—residential, corporate—at your convenience."
Arjun nodded, bracing for the transaction. He opened his banking app. The Phantom's reservation fee—₹40,000—blinked. He swiped to confirm. Almost instantly, the app displayed a new notification: **"Transaction Approved—Rolls-Royce Phantom reserved. Delivery scheduled within 24 hours."** The salesman offered a congratulatory smile as if Arjun had bought a neighborhood scooter.
He stepped out into the humid evening air, heart racing. Even after confirming, the surrealism refused to fade. A luxury car, his car, soon to be his, at a fraction of the price. He pulled out his phone and called Ravi. "You're not going to believe this," he began, and recounted every meticulous detail. Ravi's voice wavered between astonishment and admiration. "Man, that is insane. Just… be careful, okay?"
Driving back home in an auto-rickshaw felt profoundly ordinary. Arjun watched the city blur past—traffic lights, neon signs, bus shelters. He realized that the car represented power, visibility, and perhaps vulnerability. As the auto dropped him at his apartment, he mulled over his next steps: keep the Phantom, gift it, or refuse the system outright?
Inside his room, he sat at his desk and opened the System's rules file. The mentorship reward from last night glowed in his notifications. Another notification flashed: **"Congratulations on demonstrating leadership and restraint."** He blinked at it. The sequence startled him—he displayed restraint by resisting the impulse to flaunt wealth, and the system rewarded him? It seemed the rewards were layered, nuanced, and less about materialism than character growth.
"Character growth," he mused. He pulled up a blank document and began drafting a letter to the System—an experiment: "Dear Rich Man System, thank you for the Phantom. I appreciate the test of restraint. Instead of taking ownership, I wish to loan it to Meera's NGO for transport to rural villages. Signed, Arjun."
He hesitated, thumb hovering over "Send." If the system accepted, it could transform that luxury into social good. He clicked "Send." The document slid away, replaced by a simple message: **"Your proposal accepted. 100% grant of Phantom for NGO use. Ownership remains pending your final decision."**
Arjun exhaled. Relief, exhilaration, and purpose mingled. He realized that the system wielded power over not just his bank balance but his moral compass. As he drifted to sleep that night, he pictured Meera's NGO vehicles weaving through dusty roads, the Phantom's engine purring in service of education and healthcare. It was a luxury reborn—a tool for change. And with that thought, he understood that his greatest rewards would not be measured in rupees but in lives transformed.