The pain didn't come suddenly
That was the worst part
It had been there for weeks
quiet, patient, almost polite
A dull ache behind her ribs.A heaviness in her chest.The kind of discomfort you convince yourself is "just stress."
Because managing stress is cheaper than a hospital bill
Amara pressed her palm against her side as she walked, her steps slow but determined
The sun was unforgiving, the Lagos heat clinging to her skin like punishment
"I'll rest when I get home," she muttered.
She always said that.
Rest never came
Work. Eat. Sleep( if necessary). Repeat.
She would Ignore the headaches.
Ignore the fatigue
Ignore the strange metallic taste in her mouth
Ignore everything that didn't add to her net worth
Her phone buzzed
"Where are you?? I've been waiting for 20 minutes." Her Gold line customer
Amara exhaled sharply and forced her legs to move faster
"I'm close," she typed.
She wasn't.
In fact she just left her house and the train station was just 20 kilometers
But she would have have to take a cab
She couldn't lose her only high paying customer
Not now that she was about to reach her monthly target at the bank
And she needed the money
She always needed the money
Money was life
Money paid the bills
Money was reliable
The world tilted
Just slightly at first
Then violently
Her vision blurred, the edges darkening like someone was slowly turning off the lights of her life
"No… not now…" she whispered, she didn't have the luxury to faint now, she thought.
Her knees hit the ground
People passed
Some slowed
Most didn't
Because in a city that never sleeps, one collapsing girl is just… background noise
Her breathing became shallow
Each inhale felt like dragging air through water
Her thoughts began to scatter.
Hospital…
She thought of it.
Just once
Then she laughed weakly
"With what money…?"
Her body finally gave up before her will did.
And just like that
Everything went black
…Ding.
A soft sound echoed through the darkness
Clear
Artificial
Robotic
[System Initialization Complete]
[Host Vital Status: Terminated][Reassignment in Progress…]
Amara frowned.
"…What?"
Light exploded around her
She gasped and sat upright
She didn't feel like hell like she didn't just some minutes ago
No pain
No headache
No noise
Just silence
Perfect, unnatural silence
Is this heaven?
Maybe she was dead
The thought slammed her senses like anything she could ever describe
Her hands moved frantically across her body to make sure that she wasn't just having one of those nightmares after a terrible day at work
"I'm… alive?"
Above her, something flickered
A translucent blue screen hovered in the air
Just like….
Her breath caught
"…No way."
The screen glitched once before stabilizing
[Welcome, Host Amara]
[You have been selected for The Supreme System Reward ]
[Primary Objective: Fufiling Desires ]
Her lips slowly curved into a smile
Then a laugh
Then something close to madness
"What?" she whispered
"All those webnovels that I read during my free time… they were real?…"
She stood up, turning slowly, taking in the empty, glowing space around her
"No crazy job, No stress, No loud noises from my neighbors, No Boss demanding for my report, No deadlines to meet."
Her smile widened
"Just tasks that involved fulfilling her desires?… and rewards, and mostly importantly monetary rewards?!!" She looked up at the system, eyes shining with excitement.
"This is it."
"My second chance at a luxurious and carefree life."
The system flickered again
This time, slower, breaking
[Warning: Host psychological state — misinterpretation detected]
But Amara didn't notice
Because for the first time in her life
She felt free
What better way than to start a new life with a system enabled life like the one she had read in the novels online
The only problem now was
She didn't have a knowledge or plot line of the novel she was in
If she could even call it one
Or was it a short story?
Well that's what the system is for right?
To guide her
She better be rewarded with a lot of money so she can be able to spend them in real life as soon as she can if that was even possible
Is this even a second life or a comatosed dream?
Now she was really confused.
But all of that can wait, right?
She needed to start ticking all her tasks to get those rewards as soon as possible then she can think of what to do with all the money she was sure she was going to get later.
As a bank marketer there wasn't any tasks that would be as difficult as the ones her boss had given her in real life.
She was 100% sure of that.