Lucifer drove away from the opulent, imposing gates of Wayne Manor, the thousand dollars feeling heavy and wonderful in his pocket.
The blue system screen had shrunk down to a subtle, unobtrusive corner of his vision, only showing his current funds.
[Current Funds: 1,100 Credits]
"One thousand one hundred dollars,"
He murmured, pulling his old sedan back onto the crime-ridden streets of Gotham.
"That's a lot of packages of instant noodles."
He still felt a low hum of anxiety. This money wouldn't last, and the next system goal was astronomical.
He pulled over to a dark alleyway, checking the system messages again.
[Next System Upgrade: 1,000,000 Credits]
[Reward: One more Free Purchase, Expanded Store, New Function Unlocked.]
"A million dollars,"
He sighed, leaning his head back on the worn seat.
"That's going to take forever with a hundred-dollar-per-job limit."
He opened the delivery app on his flip phone.
The jobs were ranked, and he quickly checked his current status.
[Delivery Rank: Bronze (Max Job Payout: $200)]
[Needed for Silver Rank: 50 Successful Deliveries, 10 High-Risk Deliveries.]
"Bronze rank,"
He scoffed.
"Bottom of the barrel. I need to get to Gold, maybe Platinum, just to see jobs that pay decent money."
He knew the reality: the higher the rank, the more cash was involved, and the greater the risk of running into super-powered thugs, specialized gangs, or even costumed freaks.
He wasn't ready for that. Not when his only ability, the Tier 0 Force Field, was literally as strong as a plastic bag.
Lucifer decided his new mission was singular: Upgrade the Shield.
He activated the system's help function.
[Adaptive Upgrade Perk: Power/Skill levels are raised through constant use and through focused training. Tier 0 Force Field requires 10 successful activations and 1 hour of sustained focus/training to reach Tier 1.]
"Ten activations and an hour of training,"
He calculated. It was simple, if a little inconvenient. He put the car in park and sat in the dark, dirty alley, beginning his first training session.
"Shield Up!"
He commanded, whispering the words.
A shimmer appeared around him—a faint, almost invisible film of light that made the air feel slightly thicker, like a cheap window screen. It vanished after a minute.
[Tier 0 Force Field Activated (1/10)]
He did it again. And again. Ten minutes later, the ten activations were complete.
[Tier 0 Force Field Activated (10/10)]
[Upgrade Requirement Met: Usage. Initiate Focus Training.]
He closed his eyes and tried to hold the image of the shield in his mind, focusing on making it feel solid, real, and stronger.
He spent the next hour sitting there, breathing deeply, visualizing the force field, occasionally whispering
"Shield Up!"
Just to feel the brief, weak sensation of protection.
After sixty minutes, a new notification flashed.
[Tier 0 Force Field has reached Max Capacity!]
[Tier 0 Force Field Upgraded to Tier 1!]
[Tier 1 Force Field Specifications:]
* Duration: 1 minute 10 seconds
* Cooldown: 9 minutes 30 seconds
* Sturdiness: Tier 1 (Can shield the user from a light drizzle and dust. Sturdy as a thin layer of cardboard.)
Lucifer frowned slightly.
"A thin layer of cardboard. We're getting there."
The improvement was minimal, but the concept was proven. This was how he would get strong: small, constant, focused effort.
He checked his funds. The training hadn't cost him anything but time. Now, he needed money, and he needed more use out of the shield. He opened the delivery app again.
His next job was a standard Bronze delivery: move a briefcase from a small-time loan shark in the Bowery to a client in the relatively safer, but still gang-infested, Burnley district.
The payout was the standard $150.
He drove his beat-up sedan through the maze of Gotham's dark streets. The air was thick with pollution and the distant wail of sirens.
He needs to get this done fast to minimize the risk of getting ambushed.
As he drove, he practiced his new power.
"Shield Up!"
He commanded, watching the faint shimmer appear and disappear. He did this every time the cooldown finished, trying to break the system's use-limit for the day.
He activated it while driving, while stopping at lights, and even while walking into the drop-off point.
On his way out of the Bowery, deep in the darkest part of the street, disaster struck. The road here was neglected, and his tiny car hit a massive, water-filled pothole with a sickening CRUNCH.
The front passenger tire went flat instantly.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Lucifer slammed his hand against the dashboard. He was stuck, exposed, in a high-crime area, right next to a derelict building that looked like a hideout.
He had just dropped off the briefcase, but now he had to change a tire, and he needed protection.
He immediately activated his shield.
"Shield Up!"
The Tier 1 Force Field shimmered around him, thin and cardboard-like. It wasn't much, but it made him feel slightly better as he popped the trunk and pulled out his pathetic spare.
A few minutes into the tire change, two figures emerged from the shadows of the abandoned building.
They were typical Gotham lowlifes—wearing hoodies, carrying rusted pipes, and looking for an easy target.
"Look what we have here,"
One sneered, spotting Lucifer hunched over his tire.
"A tourist taking a shortcut. And a nice car."
"This 'nice car' is worth less than your shoes,"
Lucifer muttered. He kept working on the lug nuts, trying to ignore them.
He knew if they saw the thousand dollars in his pocket, things would get nasty.
"Hand over your wallet, kid, and we might leave you the spare tire,"
The second thug said, raising the pipe slightly.
Lucifer didn't look up. He was almost done. He knew his cardboard shield couldn't stop a rusty pipe, but maybe, just maybe, it would slow them down or make them hesitate.
"Shield Up!"
He repeated, more for his own motivation than for any physical effect. The shield had just finished its cooldown.
The first thug, annoyed by the delay, swung his pipe down hard, aiming for Lucifer's back.
CLANG!
It wasn't a solid CRACK of bone, but a surprising hollow thud.
The impact didn't even knock Lucifer over, but he felt a sharp, strong pressure, like being shoved hard by a sheet of plywood.
The shield flared momentarily, the thin light surrounding him briefly turning a faint brown before dissipating completely, having absorbed the full force of the blow.
[Tier 1 Force Field Overloaded!]
[Damage Absorbed: Low Impact Blunt Force.]
[Tier 1 Force Field Activated (1/10)]
[Ability Cooldown Reset: 10 minutes (Overload Penalty)]
The thugs were stunned. The pipe-wielder stared at his hand, rubbing his wrist.
"What the hell? Did you just hit a piece of glass or something?"
"I don't know, man! It felt like I hit something bouncy!"
Lucifer seized the moment of confusion. He quickly tightened the last lug nut and slammed the wrench down.
"That's my cue,"
He thought.
He didn't stick around to fight. He jumped back into his car, ignoring the pain in his back from the impact that even the cardboard shield barely contained, and sped off on his slightly wobbly spare tire.
He was bruised and the shield was useless for the next ten minutes, but he had survived and completed his job.
He drove to a gas station on the edge of the city and checked his phone.
[Job Complete! +$150]
[Current Funds: 1,250 Credits]
[Tier 1 Force Field Activated (2/10)]
He had successfully used the shield in combat. It had broken instantly, but it had saved him from a serious injury.
He sat there, recovering, and decided his focus was correct. He had to keep training and keep using it. The next upgrade couldn't come soon enough.
I need to find a place where I can train this shield non-stop, without attracting Batman's attention or dying from a punch.
He just needed to complete eight more focused training sessions and eight more uses to get his shield to Tier 2. And for that, he needed more low-level Bronze jobs.
Lucifer spent the rest of the night driving in the safer areas, looking for secluded alleys and abandoned parks to continue his training.
He kept activating the shield, focusing for 10-minute intervals, building up his usage count.
Every time it failed to materialize, he knew he was waiting for the cooldown.
By the time the sun began to rise over Gotham, painting the smoggy sky in grim hues of orange and grey, he was exhausted but satisfied.
[Tier 1 Force Field Activated (10/10)]
[Upgrade Requirement Met: Usage. Initiate Focus Training.]
He found a secluded corner near the docks and, fueled by a cheap energy drink, spent his final hour of focus training.
The concentration required was immense, like trying to hold sand in his fist.
Finally, the upgrade notification flashed, bright and clear.
[Tier 1 Force Field has reached Max Capacity!]
[Tier 1 Force Field Upgraded to Tier 2!]
[Tier 2 Force Field Specifications:]
* Duration: 1 minute 25 seconds
* Cooldown: 9 minutes
* Sturdiness: Tier 2 (Can shield the user from a hard rain, high winds, and small, non-lethal projectiles like tossed coins or pebbles. Sturdy as thin plywood.)
"Plywood!"
Lucifer whispered, a tired grin spreading across his face.
"Finally. Something that might actually stop a cheap shiv."
He had survived his first full day with the system, earned a little money, and upgraded his only defense.
Now, he needed more cash.
[Current Funds: 1,250 Credits]
[Target: 1,000,000 Credits]
"A long, long way to go,"
He sighed. He pulled out his phone, ready to accept the next Bronze-rank job.
"No time for sleep. I need to make a million."