NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Best Purchase Ever
Riku rode through the dimly lit streets, the low hum of his motorcycle the only sound accompanying him. The cool night air brushed against his face was sharp enough to keep him awake.
He exhaled.
'I definitely never expected the email to bring me to this.'
It hadn't even a day since that weird interface floating on his vision and changed his life.
His lips curled slightly. 'In any case, this is a good change…!'
Riku's family wasn't exactly swimming in wealth.
Actually, they were on the "we strategically pretend we're not struggling" end of the spectrum. So, getting a massive salary increase like this is a blessing. A miracle. A spiritual experience.
Of course, if he just casually mentioned exactly how much he was making to his family, someone would drop dead on the spot. He could already see his mother clutching her chest in sheer financial disbelief. His father would just go silent for a full five minutes before asking, "…You're not in the yakuza, right?"
So, to prevent any unnecessary trauma, he just told them that his new workplace was very generous. That it paid several times more than his old job.
A white lie. A necessary act of self-preservation. They weren't ready for the truth yet.
His grin widened.
'Gaming setup. Car. Trips abroad. The world is my oyster!'
'But I should save some too, I guess…'
***
At home. With his priorities now successfully organized (90% luxury, 10% responsibility), his mind wandered to something else—
The System.
It had been a while since it first hijacked his life, but he hadn't checked it in some time.
Sitting at his study desk, Riku had a thoughtful look on his face.
'If I remember correctly… there was a Fate Store, right? Also, Fate Index to track the heroines' destinities and possible inversions, and Inverse Fate Log about records of past inversions and their impact on the world—for now, let's just take a quick "peek" at the Inverse Fate Log.'
No sooner had he thought that than a faint beep echoed in his ears. A blue holographic screen materialized before him, floating midair like something out of a sci-fi film.
[ Inverse Fate Log ]
[ Records of deviations from original fate and their corresponding Fate Energy gains. ]
[ Today ]
— Inversing Minor Emotional Breakdown to Therapy Session (Ai) by;
– Giving her a reality check - +100 Fate Energy
– Walking out with her - +50 Fate Energy
– Cook for her - +25 Fate Energy
[ Original Fate ]
Ai had a minor emotional breakdown due to stress about her lack of caring for her kids and personal time. She would've ended up venting to herself and potentially getting more frustrated over time, leading to a mini outburst by the end of the day.
[ End ]
Riku stared at the log, blinking in surprise. "Wait, I did that?"
Clearly, it had made an impact—at least in terms of the system's calculations. A few reality checks here, a little cooking there, and he had accidentally reversed a breakdown into something that could be considered productive.
He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table.
"Well… at least I can say I did some good today," he muttered to himself, trying to ignore the voice in his head that was now trying to calculate how much more Fate Energy he could rack up just by helping out in the most mundane ways.
His eyes wandered back to the screen. Ai's original fate sounded… well, kind of rough. She could've spiraled into more stress without someone around to nudge her in the right direction.
"I guess I'm getting the hang of this," Riku mumbled. He had no idea if the system was handing him opportunities on purpose, but he was certainly taking advantage of them.
He glanced at his Fate Energy counts; 187. Doesn't seem much.
He exhaled and tapped into the system again, the usual glowing interface appearing in front of him.
"Alright, let's see what this Fate Index thing is about."
[ Fate Index ]
Riku leaned forward, eyes scanning the screen—
—only to realize he couldn't read a single damn thing.
"…Huh?"
The entire screen was filled with absolute gibberish. Not even the cool, mysterious kind—just straight-up nonsense. Squiggly lines, broken characters, half-loaded symbols. It looked like a corrupted file from a game that crashed mid-update.
There was a section that seemed to be loading infinitely, a swirling circle of doom spinning in the corner. Some characters were outright replaced with error codes—[DATA_MISSING], [??????], [UNTRANSLATABLE_ENTITY]—as if the system itself had given up on making sense of its own information.
It was like trying to read an ancient, forbidden text, except instead of cosmic horror enlightenment, it just gave him the distinct impression that he was too incompetent to comprehend fate.
[ INSUFFICIENT FATE ENERGY. UNLOCK REQUIREMENT: 1,000 FATE ENERGY. ]
Riku stared blankly at the notification.
Then back at his 187 Fate Energy.
Then back at the notification.
The system really just told him, 'You are too poor to perceive fate. Get your weight up.'
He exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. 'Okay. No problem. No problem at all. I'll just… grind. Somehow.'
Alright, new plan. If he couldn't afford knowledge, maybe he could afford power.
[ Fate Store ]
A new interface materialized before him, revealing a long list of items and abilities—each accompanied by a price tag that made his current 187 Fate Energy look like absolute pocket lint.
- Sharingan (One Tomoe) – 10,000 Fate Energy
- Excalibur – 250,000 Fate Energy
- Saiyan Bloodline (Diluted) – 50,000 Fate Energy
- Beginner Telekinesis – 1,500 Fate Energy
- Discount Coupon (??? Mystery Item) – 100 Fate Energy
- Hamon Breathing Technique – 2,000 Fate Energy
- Basic Haki (Observation & Armament) – 20,000 Fate Energy
- Stand Arrow (Random Stand Ability) – 100,000 Fate Energy
- Gate of Babylon – 1,000,000 Fate Energy
- Respawn Token (Infinite) – 100,000,000 Fate Energy
Riku squinted at the Discount Coupon (??? Mystery Item) – 100 Fate Energy, then at his balance.
He exhaled through his nose. 'I didn't really like gambling but... in the name of science!'
With a mental tap, he confirmed the purchase. The screen flickered.
[ Congratulations! You have obtained: ]
[ ??? Mystery Item – "Infinity Bag" ]
"Huh?"
Before he could even react, a small black pouch materialized in his lap. It looked… ordinary. Like something you'd get at a cheap souvenir shop.
Riku stared at it. "...Huh."
He picked it up and gave it an experimental shake. It was light. Soft. Absolutely zero indication that it was some god-tier item.
A new notification appeared:
[ Infinity Bag – A seemingly normal pouch with an impossible capacity. Stores and retrieves items at will. WARNING: Cannot store living beings. ]
'...did this mean I could—'
Without hesitation, he grabbed his big ass laptop and "shoved" it into the pouch.
—it disappeared.
He reached inside and thought about the laptop.
The moment he did, his hand landed on something solid. He pulled it out.
Laptop.
Back inside. Gone.
Back outside. There.
Back inside. Gone.
"…Bro."
'Forget magic swords and bloodline upgrades—this was the ultimate daily-life cheat code!'
No more lugging bags around. No more stuffing his pockets full of receipts, keys, or whatever nonsense he accumulated.
He could carry anything.
Groceries? In.
Spare clothes? In.
Emergency C4? In.
He could be a walking convenience store.
His mind raced. 'Did this thing have a weight limit? Could I put, like, an entire motorcycle in here? Could I cheese airport security with it??'
Riku felt the overwhelming urge to start throwing everything he owned into this bag just to see what happened.
He cackled.
'Best. Purchase. Ever.'
***
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