Chapter 2: No.2: Booty Eclipse
[...25%...43%...72%...]
Surprised, Bruce found the entire scenario somewhat surreal, yet too vivid to be dismissed as merely a dream.
Realizing it was most likely real, excitement slowly welled up within him before faltering slightly.
Glancing at his plus-sized hands, Bruce recalled from the previous owner’s memories that he was extremely broke.
Meaning, he sometimes had to go multiple days without eating.
Yet, for some absurd reason, he remained like this regardless.
’Is this the universe’s way of making a joke out of my life or something?’
A bitter smile appeared on his face at the thought, as the contrast between his current self and his former self was absurd, to say the least.
However, he wasn’t sad or annoyed.
Instead, he remained excited.
After all, he no longer had to worry about constant pangs of hunger suddenly assaulting him, nor struggle to sleep at night because the hunger always worsened after dark.
Now, he was free.
Before he could complete his train of thought, another notification appeared before him.
[...91%...100%]
[Initialization Complete!]
[Activating System...]
[Error!]
[Emergency Task Required Before System Activation]
[Task Title: Tit for Tat]
{Description: Host has suffered significant humiliation and is required to return the favor}
{Task Requirement: Deliver twice or more the level of humiliation back to the duo before you}
{Reward: Official System Activation}
Stunned once more upon reading the notification, Bruce pondered it for a moment.
Though Sydney had dumped him, or rather, the former Bruce, he could somewhat understand her reasoning.
After all, they lived in a world where scarcity had reached extreme levels due to a lack of resources and functioning infrastructure.
As such, it made sense for people to stay close to those who could easily provide for their daily needs and desires.
However, she had thoroughly taken advantage of the former Bruce while limiting their public interactions and rejecting every advance he tried to make.
’She’s practically a walking red flag, yet bro thought he could change her? Yikes!’
Recalling how desperately the former Bruce had tried to please her while convincing himself that he would love her flaws and imperfections, Bruce couldn’t help but cringe.
Looking back at the notification, an unexpected emotion welled up within him.
Anger.
But the emotion didn’t belong to him.
It appeared that the memories came with fragments of the former Bruce’s emotions attached to them.
Fortunately, he was able to suppress them and think rationally about his predicament.
’Embarrassing them isn’t the issue. The problem is these nosy bystanders.’
Glancing at the crowd they had attracted with their commotion, he pondered how to approach the situation without appearing to be the instigator.
Their whispers were audible even from where he stood.
"What’s going on?"
Someone inquired in the crowd. To which another replied, demonstrating to the others as he did.
"I saw it with my own eyes. That fatso grabbed the girl, trying to harass her. Luckily, the young man swooped in just in time and punched him away before he could cop a feel of her melons."
Whereas, another added in suspicion.
"Dude, were you watching them the entire time to be so descriptive? Don’t you have anything better to do?"
Listening to the whispers as the discussion gradually drifted off-topic, Bruce realized they believed he was some kind of creepy geezer trying to get lucky while the twiggy young man had swooped in like a knight in shining armor to save the day.
’Bunch of busybodies. I’m still in my twenties, dammit!’
Focusing on the task instead, Bruce briefly wondered how he could complete it without getting arrested for causing a scene.
Then an idea suddenly appeared in his mind.
The thought of which caused a smirk to slowly creep onto his face.
.....
Glaring at Bruce’s motionless figure, the young man inwardly sighed in relief. He had been worried that he might have accidentally committed a crime in public.
In an attempt to prove himself, he had used a bit of his Ability to compensate for the size difference between them, which had resulted in Bruce collapsing onto the ground and remaining motionless for a while.
Noticing that Bruce still seemed frozen in a daze, he turned to leave with Sydney in his grasp.
Then a sudden movement drew his attention.
Glancing back, he watched Bruce struggle to stand, almost as though he were unfamiliar with his own body, before slowly walking toward them.
As he approached, Bruce easily towered over the pair, standing nearly two heads taller. He hesitated for a moment before a look of determination appeared on his face.
A slight chill ran down the young man’s spine at the sight, as he remained wary of Bruce’s retaliation after everything that had happened.
Standing before him, Bruce tightened his fist.
Then...
...Bowed?
Indeed, it appeared so, as he suddenly bowed his head in silent apology.
Surprised, the young man felt a surge of pride at seeing such a large fellow lowering himself before him.
However, before he could fully enjoy the feeling, something unexpected happened.
Repeatedly bowing his head, Bruce slowly drew closer, before...
*Crack!*
A resounding crack echoed out as Bruce headbutted him directly in the face, sending him tumbling backward.
"I’m so sorry! Are you alright?"
Appearing shocked by the sudden ’accident’, Bruce hurried forward to check on him, then he ’tripped.’
Still recovering from the headbutt, the young man suddenly felt as though a mountain had fallen on top of him.
Flattened beneath Bruce’s weight, he nearly blacked out.
Stunned by the sight, Sydney rushed forward in an attempt to get Bruce off her new cash cow.
However, a resounding backhand slap from Bruce’s wildly flailing arm, as he ’struggled’ to get up, sent her crashing several meters away.
"Oh my! Please forgive me. I can’t seem to control these flabby limbs of mine."
Getting back to his feet, Bruce stood for a moment before promptly ’losing balance’ again.
Finally able to breathe properly, his mind still a bit jumbled from the exchange, the young man briefly sighed in relief. Then he suddenly noticed the world darkening.
Looking upward, he saw two enormous round ’moons’ rapidly eclipse the sun.
For a brief moment, he wondered if an eclipse was occurring.
Before he could process it, however, his face was suddenly squashed into the ground by Bruce’s backside.
A while later, Bruce finally managed to stand up after having his fill.
Standing at a safe distance, Sydney growled in annoyance while clutching her reddened and swollen cheek.
"You did that on purpose, you ugly pig! Why couldn’t you just accept it like an adult and move on?!"
The young man, however, remained seated on the ground, muttering to himself in a daze.
"I think he farted in my mouth. I can practically still taste it."
Traumatized by having a guy repeatedly sit on his face in public, he struggled to erase the scene from his mind.
Unfortunately, it kept replaying over and over again.
Soon afterward, the authorities finally arrived, causing the crowd to quiet down.
However, a smile slowly appeared on Bruce’s face as another notification displayed before him.
[Emergency Task Completed!]
[System Activation In Progress...]
[Activation Complete]
[Ultimate Rebate System Has Been Activated!]
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