"Activate Skill Book," Rick spoke and ordered the system.
[Activating Item: Rare Skill Book]
Following the System's notification, the digital icon of the book violently shook on the screen, and the heavy blue borders shattered into a million tiny pixels, as a blinding, intense flash of white light erupted from the interface directly into Rick's eyes.
Rick grunted, and though he didn't feel any pain, but a massive rush of energy flooded straight into his forehead. It felt like a high-voltage current was actively rewiring the neurons inside his brain.
Information, spatial coordinates, and complex geographical mapping forcefully rushed through his body and integrated into his mind in a matter of seconds that made him feel dizzy in his brain.
Soon the bright light faded, and Rick shook his head to clear the spots from his vision.
And then the system chimed inside his skull.
[Skill Book Consumed.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Spatial Teleportation (Rare)]
[Description: The host can instantly transport their physical body to any location they have previously visited within a 30-kilometre radius.]
[Activation requires a clear mental image of the destination.]
[Cooldown: 1 Hour.]
'Are you kidding me?' Rick's eyes widened in shock. He might have been playing along with the system all this while, but this was just way too outrageous. Completely insane.
If this was true, he could literally teleport.
He could transport himself straight into a bank vault if he ever walked inside one.
Or even better, he could teleport directly into Elena's bathroom while she is humming her favourite tune, taking a nice relaxing shower.
"Am I slowly turning into a God?!" Rick could not help but think, but he very well knew that he was getting way too ahead oh himself.
Not losing his focus, he turned his attention back to the glowing blue interface. He focused on the next item sitting in his Inventory vault.
[Item: $80,000 Cash]
It was a massive sum of money. But seeing it on a floating digital screen felt like playing a video game. Rick needed to know how real this system actually was before he started making major life decisions.
"System," Rick commanded softly. "Withdraw one hundred dollars."
The interface flickered. A tiny digital icon of a banded stack of cash flashed green.
[Withdrawing $100]
Instantly, the air right above his open palm warped. There was no bright flash or loud sound, and just like that a crisp, perfectly printed hundred-dollar bill simply dropped out of thin air and landed in his palms.
Rick looked at the bill and slowly brought it up to his face.
He rubbed the textured paper between his thumb and index finger. He held it up to the dim light filtering through his dirty window, checking the watermark. He brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply.
He had no idea why he did that all because he knew nothing about counterfeit money. But he could not stop himself from doing it.
But a wicked smile stretched across his face.
With this kind of money, he was financially independent. He won't have to worry about day to day expenses any more.
The job position he applied for yesterday paid only $60,000 that too in a year. And he made $80,000 in less than 24 hours. How crazy was it?
And who was stopping him from earning more? He just had to seduce a beautiful lady and the money will be in his pocket in no time.
With so much money he could be out of this filthy neighbourhood whenever he wanted, and could rent a luxury place anywhere he wanted.
Rick tossed the crumpled hundred-dollar bill onto his messy bed.
Then, completely unprompted, the sharp mechanical chime echoed in his skull again.
Ding!
A new, golden notification box forcefully pushed its way to the centre of the screen.
[Hidden Evaluation Complete.]
Rick frowned slightly, "Hidden Evaluation?"
The text scrolled rapidly, detailing a log of his actions since waking up in the hospital.
[Host Analysis: You did not suffer a mental breakdown upon resurrection.]
[ You did not question the logic of a magical system.]
[You immediately groped a nurse to test reality. You manipulated a naive virgin within five minutes of waking up. You ruthlessly gaslit the Ice Queen, dominated her in multiple positions, and completely rejected your old, pathetic simp tendencies outside your door.]
[Conclusion: You are a natural-born bastard.]
[Achievement Unlocked: The Fast Learner]
[Because you adapted to your new, bizarre reality with ruthless efficiency and manipulated your first targets flawlessly, the God of Mischief is highly amused.]
[Rewards: +2 Free Spins on the Mischief Lottery.]
"I guess being a complete prick pays off," Rick smiled as he looked at the new set of notifications.
He swiped the notification away. He didn't waste another second. He immediately navigated away from the Inventory and opened the second tab on the system interface.
The massive, glowing roulette wheel of the Mischief Lottery materialized in the centre of his vision. The wheel was divided into dozens of thin, colourful slices.
He had two free spins. He wanted to see exactly how much he could break this game today.
"Spin it," Rick commanded.
The wheel blurred into a rapid spin of vibrant colours. The loud, mechanical ticking sound echoed inside his head. Rick watched intently, his eyes tracking the glowing segments.
The wheel began to decelerate. It ticked past the dull grey trash segments. It slowly crept past the white basic segments.
It finally stopped dead on a bright, glowing green slice.
Ding!
[Spin 1 Complete: Premium Reward]
[Reward: $200,000 Cash (Untraceable)]
[Item sent directly to Inventory.]
Rick's jaw dropped slightly.
'Two hundred thousand dollars?!"
He had just made more money in five seconds than he would have made in five years grinding at that pathetic corporate data analyst job.
Combined with his existing funds, he now had nearly three hundred grand sitting completely untraceable in his mind.
He was definitely rich.now. Undeniably rich.
"Keep it coming," Rick grinned greedily, "Spin the second one."
]As you wish!]
The massive wheel violently spun again. The ticking sound filled his ears. Rick watched, hoping for another massive cash drop or an overpowered physical item.
The wheel slowed down much faster this time. It bypassed the glowing green and blue slices entirely, coming to a dead stop on a plain white segment.
Buzz!
[Spin 2 Complete: Basic Reward]
[New Skill Unlocked: Culinary Mastery (Basic)]
Rick frowned. "Cooking? Are you kidding me? I can already cook good enough? Why did you waste it on this useless skill?"
[Description: Grants instinctual, world-class knowledge of flavours and impeccable knife skills. You can cook five-star meals using the cheapest ingredients.]
[Hidden Bonus Effect: All dishes prepared by the host are permanently infused with a mild aphrodisiac and mood-enhancing aura.]
[Anyone who consumes your food becomes highly pliant, overwhelmingly happy, and intensely horny. Their physical sensitivity is doubled for three hours after consumption.]
Rick stared at the screen.
He thought back to the morning. He remembered standing in Elena's kitchen, cooking her a simple plate of bacon and eggs.
He remembered how she devoured the food like a starving animal, as her harsh, icy demeanour completely vanished the second she swallowed it.
The skill had been working before he even officially unlocked it. The system had retroactively blessed his cooking to help him secure his foothold with the Ice Queen.
"Well this can come in handy," Rick mused as he read through the description.
He could literally cook his way into any woman's pants.
He could feed them a cheap steak and watch their legs tremble and their pussies drip with uncontrollable lust just minutes later. It was the ultimate weapon for lowering defences.
"I might test it on someone," Rick immediately closed the Lottery taak, back to his main Host Profile.
His eyes locked onto the last option that he was there for him to check.
[Occupations: 1 New Unlocked (Pending Title)]
He finally understood what the system was waiting for. It was waiting for him to receive the specific skill set required for the role Elena had unknowingly secured for him. The God of Mischief was setting up the board perfectly.
Rick mentally tapped the flashing text.
The screen warped. Golden pixels rained down across the blue interface as the pending title was officially registered and locked into his profile.
[Occupation Confirmed: Chef]