In a certain room inside the Grand Fair hotel in Los Angeles…
The red moquette covering the ground made one feel as if they were stepping on clouds.
In the center of the room, a low white marble coffee table was surrounded by two red sofas.
On one of them sat a young woman.
She must've been in her early twenties.
Her long blonde hair was tied into an elegant ponytail, adorned with an obsidian-coloured butterfly.
She donned a beautiful black dress covered in crystals.
The countless stones on her body reflected the golden chandelier's light, making her sparkle.
The dress extended down to her ankles, below which were her black high-heel shoes.
Her fair, smooth white skin, combined with her yellow hair, made for a beautiful contrast on the dress.
She sat in a seemingly uncomfortable position as she sipped on a light drink before laying it back on the table.
Behind her, the elegantly dressed assistant who had been talking nonstop for the past few minutes had finally stopped.
But before the young woman could find any chance to talk her way out of the situation, the old lady standing behind her had already resumed.
"For that reason, miss, your father has been insisting on this marriage."
"It's purely a threatening move.
It won't ever be carried out, but will instead serve as a bargaining chip over the growing-"
"knock knock"
A knock on the private room's door interrupted her rumbling.
And, eager to find an excuse to change the subject, the blonde woman immediately replied.
"Yes? Is anything the matter?"
An aged and experienced voice came from behind the entrance.
"Young miss, Lady Sophia has arrived."
The young woman's eyes lit up as soon as she heard the news, her gaze immediately drawn towards the open door.
A young woman with a tired but amicable face was making her way towards her.
Just by looking at the bright smiles painted on both their faces, one could tell how dear they held each other.
"Sophie!" the blonde woman exclaimed as she hurried towards her.
"Liz!" the other mirrored her as they hugged.
In the meantime, the old butler raised his head to find the old lady's eyes fixed on him with a hint of annoyance.
A few beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
'What did I do wrong?'
He couldn't help but wonder, but he couldn't figure it out.
While this silent interaction went on behind the scenes, the two young women immediately began catching up on a few things.
"Liz… you look stunning."
Sophia was speechless as she looked down at the mesmerizing black dress, which gently caressed its wearer's curves.
"Haha, of course, love."
It was a natural response for Liz to assume a sexy posture as she faked blowing a kiss, after which Sophia couldn't help but chuckle.
The tiredness from the travel seemed to have been washed away by the short interaction.
"You, on the other hand, still dress way too plainly for someone your age.
We're still young. If you only travel for work, how are you supposed to meet someone interesting?
Hoping he'll pop up in your life?"
Sophia cracked a joke outwardly, but was a bit bothered by the remark.
She had to think about so many things already.
Would she ever even find someone to live her life with? grow old with?
She sighed to herself as she continued speaking with her dear friend.
In the meantime… on the other side of the city.
The streets were still crowded and lively regardless of the time.
Countless people of all ages kept the city alive throughout the night.
A few children, probably way past their bedtime, strolled with ice creams in their hands.
Parents and elderly people strolled through the city, looking around, maybe reminded of the past as they saw this and that.
Youngsters carried beers and other drinks, laughing and eating on that mild summer night.
A young man carried himself with confidence, his head high and his back straight.
He walked alone, with nothing but the small bag slung across his chest and his earphones.
A nice rhythmic beat was playing in his head.
The lights of the city's sleepless night brightened his mood.
He looked around, all kinds of people and behaviours surrounded him, but his mood couldn't turn sour even if he wanted to.
Because in front of his face, something only he could see was about to change his life.
"Host's current name: Noah-...
Host's current balance: 7.25$
Today's casual lies count: 0
Main lies progression: none.
Lie to named characters or higher to trigger main lies."
It was real!
He could get money just from lying to random people!
Some doubts still clouded his mind, but there was nothing better than proof to dispel those.
Deciding to try again, he walked towards a small cafe.
He waited just a few minutes before getting to the cashier.
"Good evening, what can I get for you?"
With a smile plastered on his face, Noah's appearance was even better than usual.
"I'll just take a small espresso, please."
"Anything to eat, or is that gonna be it?"
"That's it, thank you."
"Here, it's 2,85 $."
The young man swiped his phone on the contactless payment icon, and just a few seconds later, the transaction went through. The money was real, that was for sure.
"Can I get your name?"
"I'm Noah."
He replied with a smile still stuck on his face.
And that was because just as he was done speaking, a blue panel appeared in front of him.
"You have told a casual lie, calculating character relevance… calculating character involvement… calculating lie's weight."
"Congratulations!
You have earned a total of 1,07$."
Noah kept his eyes on his phone, waiting patiently for the incoming payment notice of 1,07$.
And it didn't take long for it to arrive.
When it did, he closed and pocketed his old phone before looking out the window as he prayed in his heart.
'Whoever is causing this, whoever decided to choose me, please, please make sure this isn't just a dream.'
His wishes, however, were unnecessary.
The system had awakened, and it seemed more than inclined to stick with him.
Now, he had something to make money from.
What he had left to do was to figure out how to do it best.
First of all…
Noah's eyes flashed towards the young cashier.
Above her, a grey panel just like the one he could call out anytime he wanted was displayed.
It wrote: "No lies available left."
Meaning, even if he lied to her again, he probably wouldn't earn any money.
He recalled how the same thing had happened back on the plane.
'Seems like all people have a different number of lies available.
Once exhausted, I won't be able to profit off of them for a while, or maybe even forever.'
There was a difference this time: no such thing as a "Refresh countdown" appeared to notify him.
Meaning something must've been special about the woman he sat next to on the plane.
Well, she was beautiful and successful, maybe that was enough.
Secondly…
'The amount of money I earn clearly changes depending on who I'm lying to and what type of lie I'm telling.'
Take the 1$ he had just earned as an example.
He earned it by lying about his name, exactly like he had done on the plane.
Yet the difference in money gained was tens of times.
Luckily, the system gave him hints about what influenced that amount.
Lie's weight, character involvement, character relevance.
Those were the three criteria.
Character relevance probably meant their relevance in the community.
It was obvious that lying to a successful businesswoman would earn more than lying to a cashier.
Maybe, if he lied to a billionaire or a politician, he would earn a few thousand dollars for every lie.
Lie's weight was self-explanatory.
Lying about a homicide or something important would probably be a lot more impactful than saying his favourite colour was green when in truth it was black.
Lying about his identity could probably be considered a pretty relevant lie.
The only question mark was the character involvement parameter.
Did that mean how close the character was to him? Maybe the ties they had.
Or maybe just how much that specific person perceived his presence in their lives.
For example, sitting beside one another on the airplane for half a day was certainly more relevant than being one of the countless customers in a shop.
Well, those were all speculations for the time being.
He'd have to figure them out as he went on.
And lastly… The "Main lies" feature.
What did it take to trigger them? Who did he have to lie to? And about what?
"Noah"
One of the employees called out his name, bringing him back to reality.
He got up and walked to the counter, where a cup of coffee with "Noah's" written on it awaited him.
The young man took a sip before smiling towards one of the employees:
"Thank you, it tasted great."
He said, his face looked grateful and satisfied.
"Happy to hear that."
Replied the young man who had made it for him.
With that, Noah walked out of the cafe and threw the cup away, still half full.
"You have told a casual lie, calculating character relevance… calculating character involvement… calculating lie's weight."
"Congratulations!
You have earned a total of 0,99$."