The toilet made an extremely strange noise, as if it were about to explode. Logan, sitting on it, stared at the scene in disbelief.
—Great, I just clogged the damn toilet… if it breaks, I'll have to shit in a bag.
At that moment, a blue light appeared right above the toilet. It was a floating hologram with menus and an absurd amount of numbers, appearing as if it came straight out of a freaking video game.
—Welcome, user! You've activated the exclusive system of the "Supreme Emperor,"—said a female voice, far too cheerful for such a special situation.
Logan froze with his pants down, staring at the blue light floating in front of him.
—Seriously? Now? Can't you see I'm taking a shit? —he said, disgusted.
—What do you want me to do, idiot?! You're the one who activated me! —the female voice snapped back, annoyed.
—What do you mean I activated you? —he frowned.
—You entered the secret page and were selected as a bearer of the system. System. Sys-tem… —she repeated, as if her code was glitching.
Logan sighed.
—Right... and what exactly am I supposed to do?
—First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Fay, your assistant and the controller of this "system." Your goal will be to become the richest man in this city and conquer it completely. Don't worry, I'll guide you on that path. To achieve your goal, I'll give you a series of missions and juicy rewards if you complete them correctly.
—Rewards like…? —Logan asked, raising a brow.
—You know, money, boosted stats, improved social traits. The basics, so you can stop being a loser.
Logan crossed his arms, still sitting on the toilet.
—I don't believe a damn word of it.
—Oh really? Fine then, take this: +1 Clumsiness, for being a smartass.
[Clumsiness has increased by +1]
Logan stared at the floating notification in disbelief.
—This is absurd.
He stood up abruptly, tripped over his pants tangled around his ankles, and slammed right into the toilet.
—Aaah! Damn it! I just wanted to take a peaceful shit!
Fay's voice sounded pleased.
—Confirmed: Clumsiness stat functioning properly.
---A Few Hours Earlier---
"Hello! Welcome to Altaris, the city where your dreams become reality! Here, every idea you have can be fully monetized… everything in this dreamlike city is a massive investment opportunity. Altaris — the future you deserve, today! Don't miss it!"
The commercial on the TV showed skyscrapers and young people in expensive suits, everything spotless and with so many filters that it even erased the grease from their faces.
Logan, sitting on the couch, turned off the TV in frustration.
—'Fulfill your dreams,' huh? What a joke,—he muttered bitterly— They promise you the world, and in the end you move here just to sell cheese empanadas door to door.
While complaining, Logan noticed his phone vibrate for a moment. It was a new order: two empanadas to an address in the Lower District, the worst and most miserable part of the so-called "dream city" Altaris. Seeing the message, he threw on his obviously wrinkled jacket, grabbed his delivery bag, and bolted out the door. His job was simple: pick up, deliver, repeat.
—Another shitty day,—Logan said as he left his apartment.
The electric bike he rode was so old it looked like it might fall apart at any moment, but it was his tool, and he rode it with "extreme skill."
Logan was distracted, checking his phone screen as he pedaled slowly. He didn't see the box lying in the middle of the alley and hit it with his front wheel. The box shifted, and from inside crawled a man with tattered clothes and messy hair.
—Hey, asshole! —the man shouted, getting up clumsily— You just kicked my house!
Logan braked hard, his delivery bag still hanging from his shoulder.
—Shit… didn't see you. Sorry,—he said, raising his hands apologetically.
---
The neighborhood looked terrible compared to the capital — the buildings were crammed together, and outside, homeless people sold things no one would ever buy. Logan knew every damn corner of that place — the empty mailboxes, the walls covered with half-torn stickers, and the back stairways where delivery guys left packages just to save time ringing doorbells.
The delivery address said "Building 405." When Logan arrived, he knocked, and a few seconds later, the door creaked open. An old man in a robe, with trembling hands, peeked out just enough to show his face. Behind him, a small TV played the same ad about "apps that improve your life."
—That'll be a hundred credits, sir,—Logan said, handing him the empanadas.
—Of course, son, give me a moment.
The old man counted the money slowly and paid without hurry. Logan waited patiently.
After finishing the delivery, he got back on his bike and returned home with the smell of cheese clinging to all his clothes. He leaned the bike against the wall, tossed the bag onto the couch, and collapsed. He had two conflicting urges: hunger and the need to shit, in that order. He got up again, went to the bathroom, and sat down. Life summed up in two basic needs: eat and evacuate.
Sitting on the toilet, he scrolled through his phone. Checked notifications, job offers that didn't pay enough. But suddenly, the phone vibrated again and showed a message from an unknown sender: a short link, no context, from someone named "Anonymous." No text, just the link and a rocket emoji. Logan frowned. Random links usually meant trouble.
—Eh,—he muttered— What could go wrong? Can't get worse than this.
He clicked the link without thinking much. The page that opened had no design — just a black background with white blinking text and a button that read: "Activate Supreme Emperor System? Please confirm selection."
Logan laughed and did what any idiot does when facing an obvious scam: he pressed "Confirm."
The screen flickered, and a menu appeared. A synthetic voice and a flood of numbers filled his vision.
—Welcome, user! —said the voice— You've activated the Supreme Emperor System.
---Present Time---
Logan cleaned up the mess quickly, washed his hands, and though he could still hear Fay's annoying laughter echoing, he ignored it and went back to the living room. He dropped onto the couch and tried to find the link in his inbox to see where it came from — maybe then he'd understand why some anonymous page had "chosen" him. He opened the chat, scrolled through… nothing. The sender no longer existed. The link was gone — like it had never been there.
—Damn it,—Logan muttered— Did I imagine it?
He rubbed his eyes and looked back at his phone. On-screen, Fay's notification was still active.
—User,—she said— Stop whining and look at this.
[Confirmation: System active. Initial recommendation: check mission notifications.]
Logan sighed. Real or not, something was giving him stats based on missions. That was already more interesting than most of his miserable days in this city — one that kept selling dreams up top while letting the dirt rot below.
[Mission available: Mission 001. Objective: Make your ex see you on a public screen before 6:00 p.m. Reward: +500 Charisma. Skill unlocked: Stage Presence.]
—You've got to be kidding me…
End of Chapter 1