Chapter 4: No.4: 24 Hours to Live
A while later...
Having returned to the rundown apartment his mother had rented for him when he first got admitted into college, Bruce stared in a daze at the sight before him.
"Damn! They weren’t kidding when they compared this dude to a pig."
The room was an abomination against all things holy. It looked like a pigsty straight from the pits of hell.
Unwashed clothes were piled up in one corner, many of which had already begun sprouting some sort of white fungus. Bruce wasn’t entirely sure what it was.
Either way, the stench coming from the clothes alone was revolting.
The waste bin was filled with used tissues that hadn’t been used solely for blowing noses, several cheap synthetic meal capsules with traces of paste still inside them, the taste often being disgusting even for the former Bruce, who could eat almost anything, and various other items that had already begun creating tiny abominable lifeforms.
The sink had become a breeding ground for things Bruce would rather not think about. The mere sight of it made him want to puke.
Meanwhile, pieces of garbage littered the entire room.
"Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this. The guy even found garbage attractive despite knowing she was using him."
Sighing in resignation, Bruce decided to start cleaning.
After all, this would be his home for the foreseeable future, so he couldn’t leave it like this.
Otherwise, he’d end up being even worse than the former Bruce.
As he cleaned, he briefly recalled the events that had led to his current situation.
Earlier...
Upon hearing the System’s notification, he had stood there in a daze for quite some time.
Almost immediately, a crucial memory surfaced from the chaotic collection of memories left behind by the former Bruce.
The former Bruce had also received the Ultimate Rebate System.
However, his activation requirement had been the same. And so had the punishment.
Death!
Despite that, the former Bruce had remained reluctant to approach another woman.
Even with the threat of death hanging over him, he had been too conscious of his appearance and too concerned about how others viewed him.
Ironically, he feared rejection even more than death itself.
However, as the deadline approached, he gradually began wondering,
What if the System was actually real?
What if he really would die?
Driven by desperation, he finally gathered enough courage to search for a suitable Target.
His choice, being none other than Sydney.
Which inevitably led to the chain of events that resulted in the current Bruce’s transmigration.
The former Bruce had discovered that his supposed girlfriend was already seeing someone else. That same someone had punched him.
Resulting in him hitting his head against a rock.
Which ultimately resulted in his death.
The realization changed Bruce’s perspective somewhat.
For the first time, he felt genuinely sympathetic toward the former owner of this body.
However, if the former Bruce hadn’t died, Bruce himself would never have received this opportunity.
As such, he could only feel grateful.
"Don’t worry, big guy. I won’t waste this opportunity you’ve given me. I’ll make sure to put it to good use. So rest in peace, buddy."
Muttering softly to himself, Bruce silently swore to both himself and the former Bruce.
A while later, Bruce exhaled deeply while struggling to catch his breath.
After making his promise, the first thing he decided to do was improve his living conditions.
Cleaning up the former Bruce’s mess seemed like a good place to start.
After resting for a bit, Bruce took a shower and tidied himself up before selecting one of the best outfits available.
Taking one last look in the mirror, he muttered.
"Still a bit too much on the plus-sized side and definitely a major strain on the eyes. But other than that, I think I look pretty good."
Tucking his shirt into his trousers around his bloated belly, he made sure there was nothing else obviously wrong with his appearance.
Then he took a deep breath and stepped out of the apartment.
"It’s hunting time."
.....
Standing by the roadside, Bruce paced back and forth while hesitating to make his move.
Much like the former Bruce, he had little to no experience approaching women. His circumstances, however, were different.
Having spent nearly his entire life hospitalized, his interactions with the opposite sex could probably be counted on one hand.
Most of which involved nurses scolding him after he emptied the vending machine again.
Deciding to distract himself and build some confidence, Bruce pulled up his Stats.
*******
[Personal Profile]
{Name: Bruce Wade}
{Age: 20}
{Level: 01}
{Race: Human}
{Main Ability: Rebate Lord}
{Account Balance: 175 KPT}
-----------
[Personal Stats]
{Strength: 10}
{Agility: -15}
{Stamina: -27}
{Charisma: -53}
{Mana: 30/30}
------------
[Rebate Profile]
{Rebate Stage: Wimp Stage}
{Bonded Targets: 0/2 (Kindly upgrade to the next Rebate Stage to unlock additional Bonded Target slots.)}
{Rebate Coins: 0}
{Rebate Gifts: None}
*******
Reading through the information, Bruce quickly realized it had been a terrible idea to use his Stats as motivation.
’I didn’t even know it was possible to have negative stats.’
Sighing in resignation, he shook the thought away.
’Hmm! I get the others. But what exactly does the Charisma Stat do?’
Almost immediately, another notification appeared.
{The individual base Stat of an average adult is 5}
[Description: ...]
{Charisma: Refers to the Host’s ability to sway the choices of others in your favor through physical appearance and personal charm. Higher Charisma increases cooperativeness, favorability, and persuasion based on presence alone}
{Further descriptions for the remaining Stats are unnecessary, as they are self-explanatory.}
’Sounds about right.’
The explanation was more or less what he had expected, but had been unsure if it would be different here or not.
Still, seeing the numbers displayed so clearly made him realize just how much work lay ahead of him.
For a brief moment, he considered postponing everything until another day. Maybe he would be in a better frame of mind then.
’No. Besides the fact that I literally don’t have the luxury of time right now, I can’t start procrastinating already. Not when my life is finally about to begin.’
Steeling his resolve, Bruce pushed aside every negative thought that threatened to hold him back. His gaze landed on a potential Target in the distance.
’Not to mention, I’m only asking to buy them a drink. The worst they can say is no.’
With that, Bruce forced a casual smile onto his face.
Though he still felt a little awkward, he finally made his move.
Comments