CHAPTER 3: CHAPTER 3

I woke to the shrill alarm from my phone. My ribs ached, my eye felt fine, and the sunlight cut through the blinds. My chest heaved as I gasped.

"Oh god... what the hell was that..." I muttered, shivering. "Oh... nightmare. God. Nightmare. Okay... okay, Evan. Okay."

Shaking my head, I tried to ground myself in the mundane: I grabbed a beer from the fridge—breakfast as always—and popped it open. Leaning against the counter, I lit a cigarette, letting the smoke curl toward the window.

"I’m... shaking. I need to sit."

I sank onto the edge of my bed, heart still hammering, sweat clinging to the back of my neck. My hands shook a little as I tried to catch my breath.

"Phew... okay, okay," I muttered to myself, leaning forward, elbows on my knees. "It’s a dream. Just a dream."

The room was quiet except for the soft hum of the city outside my window and my own ragged breathing. I closed my eyes for a second, trying to will my heartbeat back to normal.

And then it appeared.

Right in front of me, hovering midair, a translucent box shimmered into existence. Clean, sharp edges, soft light outlining the text. My full name glowed across the top:

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EVAN MARLOWE

Welcome.

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I blinked, leaning back slightly, hand going to rub my temple. "What the hell...?" I whispered.

The box pulsed faintly, like it was waiting for a response. It wasn’t a dream. It was... something else. Something that refused to let me ignore it.

I let out a long breath, eyes narrowing. "Alright... okay, Evan. Don’t freak out. Just... what the hell is this?"

The words shimmered again, inviting, almost coaxing, and I felt the undeniable tug of curiosity.

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Current Stats:

Strength: 1

Charm: 1

Libido: 1

Pleasure: 1

You have 3 points to distribute.

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I blinked, leaning back on the edge of the bed. "Wait... what the hell is this?" I muttered, rubbing my eyes. "Points? Stats? Am I... in some kind of game?"

I stared at the box for a moment, baffled. My fingers hovered in the air like I could tap it, but nothing happened. "Alright, calm down, Evan. Probably just a... hallucination? Yeah... hallucination."

Before I could puzzle over it more, a sharp knock on the door yanked my attention. I groaned, forcing myself up.

"Coming!" I called, stumbling toward the door. I swung it open.

It was Jasmine. My next-door neighbor. She leaned casually against the frame, cigarette in hand, and smiled lazily.

"Hey, got any sugar?" she asked, voice smooth. "I’m trying to bake a cake, and I... well, I ran out."

Her presence made my brain stutter. And then I noticed it—floating just above her head was a small translucent box, faint but readable. Her full name shimmered inside: JASMINE MARQUEZ, and next to it was a small heart, empty, not full.

I blinked. "Uh... sugar, yeah," I said, trying not to let her see how weirded out I was. "Hold on a sec."

I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a small bag of sugar, and handed it over.

Jasmine leaned in, letting the bag rest against her hip. Her outfit was... well, her usual: a silk robe, partially tied, slipping off one shoulder, black lace bra visible beneath, barely covering her chest. Her shorts were tiny, teasing glimpses of smooth skin along her thighs.

"Thanks," she said, tugging lightly at the bag with a small smirk.

"No problem," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "Cake... huh? That sounds... domestic."

She laughed, soft and throaty. "Yeah, well, don’t judge. Even a working girl deserves a cake every now and then."

The floating box above her head blinked faintly, the empty heart drawing my eye every few seconds. I tried not to think about it too hard, but the curiosity bubbled under the surface.

"Okay, thanks again," she said, adjusting her robe and giving me a sly smile before stepping back. "You’ll see the cake later if it turns out edible..."

"Sure."

"Ugh, my back is killing me."

"What happened?"

"Ah forget it... wait, your eye seems... different?"

"Hmm?"

"Ah, it must be the poor lighting. Anyway, see ya."

"R-right. See you." I mumbled, letting the door click shut, all the while my mind drifting back to that glowing box and the empty heart.

I sat down at the couch, exhaling slowly, rubbing my temples. My mind refused to quiet down—what the hell was this thing? Points? Stats? Skills?

Sure enough, as if in answer to my inner panic, the translucent box shimmered into existence once more, floating a few inches from my eyes, as if it could read my mind, knowing I wanted to see that screen again.

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Current Stats:

Strength: 1

Charm: 1

Libido: 1

Pleasure: 1

You have 3 points to distribute.

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"Okay... okay. What am I supposed to do with this? What does it even mean? Strength? Charm? Libido? Pleasure?" I rubbed my face, staring at the numbers. Nothing made sense.

Minutes passed. I tapped my fingers against my leg, pacing the possibilities in my head. Maybe it’s a dream... maybe it’s a hallucination... maybe it’s just one of those weird apps...

Finally, with a shrug that was half curiosity, half defeat, I muttered, "Alright... screw it. I might as well try and see what this box actually does."

I pointed—or at least thought about pointing, I wasn’t sure how—and assigned one point to Strength and two points to Charm.

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Current Stats:

Strength: 2

Charm: 3

Libido: 1

Pleasure: 1

Points to distribute: 0

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Are you sure? (Yes / No)

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I stared at the blinking prompt for a long moment. "Yeah... yeah, sure. Why not?" I said aloud, pressing the mental "Yes" like it was the obvious choice.

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Points assigned successfully.

Current Stats:

Strength: 2

Charm: 3

Libido: 1

Pleasure: 1

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The box blinked once and disappeared, leaving me sitting there, blinking at the empty air. I couldn’t explain it. I couldn’t rationalize it. But... something about it made my pulse tick faster, like I’d just crossed some invisible threshold into a world I wasn’t ready for.

I exhaled again and leaned back. "Well... that was weird. Guess I’ll see what this thing actually does next."

I checked my phone and froze. Shit. I was late.

I grabbed my jacket from the chair and shoved it on, fumbling with the zipper. My shoes were half-laced, my hair still messy from sleep, but I didn’t have time to care.

I bolted out of the apartment, the door clicking shut behind me, and started walking toward the bus station, my backpack bouncing against my shoulder. The city smelled the same as usual—exhaust, fried food, faint perfume from someone passing, but I barely noticed, lost in the rhythm of my own hurried steps.

At the bus stop, I checked the time again, trying to calm myself. And then... the translucent box appeared again, hovering a few inches in front of my eyes like it had been waiting.

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Daily Task:

Compliment 5 women

Reward: 32 XP

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I stared at it. Blinked. Stared some more.

I stared at the floating box, blinking in disbelief. Compliment five women? That was impossible. All my life, I hadn’t been the kind of guy to just talk to women like that. I kept things to myself, stayed in my corner, said what I needed and nothing more. How I was supposed to go around handing out compliments like this thing expected was beyond me.

I ran a hand through my hair. Yeah, fine. Impossible or not, it looked like I had no choice but to see what this thing was really about.

The rumble of the bus arriving cut through my thoughts. The doors hissed open, and I clambered inside, jostling slightly with the crowd.

I slumped into a seat, letting the weight of my backpack settle on the floor. My mind kept flicking back to the task. Compliment five women. 32 XP.

I muttered to myself again, shaking my head. "Yeah, alright, floating boxes. Let’s see what you’re really about."

The bus pulled away from the stop, neon lights outside blurring past the windows as the city swallowed me into its night chaos.

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