A glowing screen materialized in front of me, filling the darkness with its eerie light.
==== Villain Quest ====
Word:
The process to becoming a great villain has some steps, and one of those steps is…
Quest Info:
Invest in any stock of your choice.
Reward:
+1 Intelligence
+1 Luck
Time Limit: 6 hours
Penalty for Failure:
Due to you having two unfinished quests, failure to do this quest will result in the user losing sleep for 24 hours.
=============
I lay there, frozen, staring at the glowing words.
"Stocks?" I muttered under my breath. "Of all things… stocks?"
It wasn't a fight. It wasn't a mission. It wasn't even something that made sense in my life right now.
But no, the damn system wanted me to become some kind of… investor.
I dragged my hand down my face and groaned.
"What kind of twisted joke is this?"
Then my eyes lingered on the header again 'Villain Quest.' That word, 'Villain', sat heavily in my mind.
Becoming a Great Villain?
The system seemed so sure, like my path had already been decided. I wasn't sure if I should laugh or curse at it.
A Villain? That was absurd.
I wanted revenge, yes. I wanted to see the smug smiles wiped off the faces of my father, my stepmother, and their perfect children.
I wanted them to pay for throwing me away like trash.
I stared at the glowing text, thinking.
But a Villain? In stories, villains were always destined to lose.
Heroes showed up, spouted some cheesy lines about hope, and then, through the "power of friendship", they won. Every damn time.
But then another thought crept in, one that I couldn't push away.
What about the villains who didn't lose?
The ones who were more than just obstacles, more than stepping stones for some shining hero.
The ones who were too cunning, too strong, too ruthless to fall, no matter how many times "friendship" or "courage" was thrown at them.
A chill ran down my spine.
If villains like that existed, they wouldn't just win, they'd dominate.
And the system wanted me to become that one.
I rubbed my temples and sighed.
"What a load of crap."
But still… I had no choice. The penalty seemed brutal.
Twenty-four hours without sleep? I could barely function without food, let alone rest.
And besides, what was the harm in trying?
The problem was, I knew nothing about stocks.
The closest I'd ever been to the stock market was watching my father brag about his investments over dinner while I ate at the far end of the table.
Now, I had to figure it out myself. Six hours to somehow invest in something I didn't understand.
I reached over to grab my phone, the device feeling heavier than usual in my hand. The screen lit up, reflecting my tired face.
"This is going to take a while," I muttered grimly, tapping the browser.
The sandwich on my desk caught my eye for a second. My emergency meal.
I thought about eating it now, but shook my head.
No. I'd need it later, after my brain cells finished dying from whatever financial torture awaited me.