The heart monitor's steady beep-beep was the only thing keeping me anchored to reality as the moon climbed high over the hospital parking lot. Just as I was drifting into a restless sleep, the violet light exploded behind my eyelids again, more intense than before.
[ SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETE. ]
[ INTEGRATING CURRENCY MODULE: LUST POINTS (LP). ]
[ ACCESSING SYSTEM SHOP... ]
I groaned, rubbing my eyes as a floating menu materialized in the dark room. This time, it looked less like a warning and more like a catalog. I saw a list of skills that made my heart race: "Pheromone Control," "Heartbeat Sync," and something called "The Devil's Whisper." Each one was locked behind thousands of Lust Points, a currency I currently lacked.
"Great, I'm broke in real life and broke in the afterlife's app," I muttered.
[ HOST IS ENCOURAGED TO BE PATIENT. AS A CONSOLATION FOR YOUR NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE, THE WEEKLY FEATURE HAS BEEN UNLOCKED. ]
[ FEATURE: THE CELESTIAL ROULETTE. ]
[ DESCRIPTION: ONCE PER WEEK, THE HOST MAY SPIN FOR A RANDOM REWARD. PRIZES RANGE FROM 'USELESS TRASH' TO 'GOD-TIER ARTIFACTS'. ]
A massive, ethereal wheel appeared in the center of the room, glowing with a chaotic mix of gold, violet, and deep crimson. It didn't cast shadows on the hospital walls; it existed only in my mind, humming with a frequency that made my teeth ache.
"Once a week? So if I pull a 'Useless Trash' item now, I'm stuck with it until next Monday?"
[ CORRECT. FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD, BUT IT ALSO MOCKS THE UNLUCKY. WOULD THE HOST LIKE TO SPIN? ]
I looked at my hands. They were pale and scarred from years of manual labor and street fights. My life had been one long losing streak. Maybe the "Lust Fiend" thing was a turning point, or maybe it was just a more elaborate way to fail.
"Spin it," I whispered. "Can't get much worse than drowning in a quarry."
The wheel began to turn. It started slow, the icons flashing past: a stack of gold bars, a vial of glowing liquid, a pair of sunglasses, a literal dirty sock. It picked up speed until it was a blur of light and sound, a roaring wind that only I could hear.
Come on, give me something that helps me with Rishie. Or the Principal. Or just... something.
The wheel began to click as it slowed down. Click... click... click... It passed a "Power Level Boost" and narrowly missed "Instant Healing." It hovered over a "Mystery Box" and finally stopped on a pulsing, emerald-green icon shaped like a book.
[ CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE RECEIVED A UNIQUE PASSIVE SKILL: 'EYES OF THE BEHOLDER'. ]
[ SKILL RANK: SILVER ]
[ DESCRIPTION: ALLOWS THE HOST TO SEE THE 'HIDDEN FLaws' AND 'DEEPEST REGRETS' OF ANY TARGET. INFORMATION IS POWER, AND POWER IS SEDUCTION. ]
I felt a sharp, icy sting in my tear ducts. I blinked rapidly, and for a second, my vision went thermal, then X-ray, before settling back to normal. But it wasn't normal. The hospital room looked different. I looked at the nurse's station through the cracked door.
I could see the night nurse, a woman I'd never spoken to. Above her head, a small, dark cloud appeared.
[ REGRET: SHE NEVER TOLD HER FATHER SHE FORGAVE HIM BEFORE HE PASSED. ]
My stomach turned. This wasn't just "Desire Reading." This was something more intimate. It was a skeleton key to the closets people kept locked.
"This is... dark, System," I said, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.
[ LIFE IS DARK, HOST. YOU WANTED A CHEAT CODE TO RULE ROKEHURST HIGH. NOW YOU CAN SEE THE CRACKS IN EVERYONE'S ARMOR. HOW YOU USE THE TRUTH IS UP TO YOU. ]
I lay back, the emerald icon fading into my status bar. My first day back at school was tomorrow. I had a hundred dollars in my pillow, a system in my head, and the ability to see the one thing people were most afraid of.
I looked at the door, wondering what I would see over Kit's head the next time we met. Or better yet, Mrs. Adams.
"I guess I'm not just a plumber anymore," I whispered to the dark. "I'm a specialist."