Ethan Cole had never believed in destiny. Destiny was for the dreamers who wasted their evenings scribbling poetry by candlelight, or for the rich who thought the universe bent itself around their wealth. For Ethan, there had only ever been work.
Work, and failure.
At twenty-four, he was already beginning to taste the bitter residue of wasted years. He had tried—God, how he had tried—to get his start-up off the ground, to pitch inventions, to prove to investors that his mind wasn't just full of ideas but blueprints for the future. But the world had laughed, and banks had turned him away with sympathetic smiles. "No collateral. No proof of concept. Too risky." Those words had become his lullaby.
And tonight, as rain pounded against the cracked window of his rented apartment, Ethan sat hunched over his desk, staring at the glow of his laptop screen. The prototype schematics he'd drawn were still there, lines of hope he'd once believed could change the world. But the battery of his hope had been drained dry.
He rubbed his eyes, muttered under his breath, and whispered the words that tasted like defeat.
"I can't keep doing this."
The words lingered in the stale air.
And then, the world changed.
---
It began with a flicker. His laptop screen blinked, static crackling across the edges. Ethan swore under his breath, reaching instinctively to tap the power button, but the screen didn't shut down. Instead, the glow sharpened, brightened, and expanded until the rectangle of light swelled out of the frame.
He stumbled back, heart hammering, as the light sculpted itself into crisp lines of text, hovering in the air above his desk.
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
Welcome, Ethan Cole. You have been selected as Host for the Technological Advancement System.
Ethan's jaw dropped. "What the hell…"
The text scrolled on, ignoring his disbelief.
> Your mission: Acquire System Points through Daily Quests.
System Points may be exchanged for Blueprints of futuristic inventions.
Warning: Failure to complete daily quests will result in penalties.
He blinked. Once. Twice. He was hallucinating. He had been awake for thirty hours, living on stale coffee and instant noodles. This was sleep deprivation. It had to be.
But then the glow pulsed, and a sharp ding rang through the room.
> [Daily Quest Generated]
Quest: Repair the broken toaster in your kitchen.
Reward: 5 System Points.
Time Limit: 2 hours.
Ethan stared. Of all the absurd hallucinations, this was the king. Fixing a toaster? That was his heroic destiny?
He glanced toward the tiny kitchenette. The toaster was indeed broken, lying abandoned on the counter since last month.
His laugh came out jagged. "Fine. If I'm crazy, I might as well play along."
--
He carried the toaster to his desk, pulled a screwdriver from his cluttered drawer, and pried the casing open. It was familiar work—he had tinkered with gadgets since childhood, always fascinated by the dance of wires and circuits. But tonight his hands trembled as if some invisible judge hovered over his shoulder.
Twenty minutes in, he found the problem: a burnt-out heating element and a loose wire. He replaced the wire, patched the connection, and adjusted the spring mechanism. His pulse thudded with every twist of the screwdriver.
Finally, he slid two slices of bread inside and pressed the lever.
The toaster hummed.
He held his breath.
The smell of browning bread filled the air.
Ding!
The golden toast popped up—and at the same time, the floating interface flashed before his eyes.
> [Quest Completed]
Reward: 5 System Points Earned.
Total System Points: 5.
Ethan dropped the screwdriver. "Oh my God."
This wasn't a dream. It wasn't a glitch. It was real.
---
Another window opened in the air, shimmering like a holographic catalog. Rows upon rows of items scrolled past—devices he had never seen before, inventions that looked like they belonged to the twenty-third century.
SmartBio Patch: A skin-applied patch that accelerates healing by 300%. Cost: 20 Points.
Nano-Cleanser Drone: A palm-sized drone that sterilizes any environment. Cost: 50 Points.
Quantum Battery (Prototype): Compact, rechargeable, and capable of powering an entire building for a week. Cost: 200 Points.
His mouth went dry. He could hardly believe what he was reading. This was beyond patents, beyond research grants, beyond anything humanity had yet touched. If he could unlock even one of these inventions, he could revolutionize industries, build companies, change the very shape of the world.
But at the top corner of the interface glowed his balance.
Total Points: 5.
Enough for… absolutely nothing.
Ethan chuckled bitterly. "Figures."
---
Before he could study the catalog further, another notification chimed.
> [New Daily Quest Available]
Quest: Deliver a hot meal to your neighbor in Apartment 2B.
Reward: 10 System Points.
Time Limit: 1 hour.
Ethan frowned. "A hot meal?"
He glanced at the clock. It was nearing midnight. He didn't even know his neighbor in 2B; they had exchanged polite nods in the hallway, nothing more.
Still… his stomach twisted. He couldn't shake the memory of the toaster. He couldn't dismiss this as insanity anymore. The system was real, and it was offering him a chance.
With mechanical motions, he rummaged through his pantry, pulling out instant ramen, eggs, and the leftover vegetables from his fridge. He boiled the noodles, added seasoning, and scrambled the eggs into the mix. The smell wasn't gourmet, but it was warm and filling.
Balancing the bowl carefully, he stepped out into the dimly lit hallway and knocked on 2B.
The door creaked open.
---
A young woman stood in the doorway, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders. She wore an oversized sweater, her eyes wary but curious.
"Um… hi," Ethan stammered, suddenly aware of how ridiculous he looked. "I—uh—made you dinner."
Her brows lifted. "At midnight?"
"It's… part of a challenge." His tongue tripped over the truth, so he scrambled for something less insane. "Cooking challenge. Trying to improve my… culinary skills."
Her expression softened. After a beat, she accepted the bowl. "Well… thank you. That's unexpectedly kind."
The system chimed.
> [Quest Completed]
Reward: 10 System Points Earned.
Total System Points: 15.
Ethan exhaled a shaky laugh, covering it with a cough. The woman tilted her head.
"I'm Lily," she said finally.
"Ethan."
"Well, Ethan… maybe your cooking challenge isn't such a bad idea." She smiled faintly, then closed the door.
He stood there in the hallway, stunned—not just by the system's reward, but by the warmth that lingered in her smile.
--
Back in his apartment, he pulled up the catalog again. Fifteen points. Still not enough for the marvels that gleamed in front of him. But as he scrolled, he found a lower-tier item buried in the list:
Auto-Schematic Lens (Basic Version).
A contact lens that overlays technical blueprints onto any mechanical object, instantly analyzing flaws.
Cost: 15 Points.
His breath caught. This… this was perfect.
He didn't hesitate.
> [Purchase Confirmed: Auto-Schematic Lens]
System Points: 0.
A flash of light pierced his vision. When it cleared, his left eye tingled, and a faint overlay appeared on the toaster still sitting on his desk. Red lines traced the weak points in the wiring, highlighting areas he hadn't even noticed.
He could see machines as if their secrets were laid bare.
The possibilities exploded in his mind—fixing appliances, building prototypes, earning money in ways no one else could dream of.
Ethan Cole, the man who had been rejected by the world, now possessed the keys to inventions that could reshape it.
And all he had to do was complete his daily quests.
---
The system pulsed again, issuing its third command of the night.
> [New Daily Quest Available]
Quest: Acquire $100 through any legal means before sunrise.
Reward: 20 System Points.
Time Limit: 6 hours.
Ethan's blood ran cold. He glanced at the cracked clock—12:17 a.m.
"Legal means? At this hour?"
The quest blinked urgently, the timer already ticking down.
For the first time, Ethan realized that this wasn't just a gift. It was a gauntlet, thrown at his feet by some unseen force. If he wanted the future, if he wanted the power to rise, he would have to earn it one quest at a time.
And the night had only just begun.