Infinite Cashback System

His phone buzzed again with a new notification, pulling him out of his internal cringing session.

DAILY QUEST COMPLETED

Path to Becoming Adonis:

✓ Physical Activity: 90 minutes (exceeded)

✓ Hygiene Level 1 & 2: Complete

✓ Grooming: Complete

✓ Social: 3 interactions recorded

Reward: +3 Quest Tickets

Current Total: 31 Tickets

Stamina Fully Restored

He glanced down at Chloe again. She was still fast asleep, completely oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend had just been magically rejuvenated by a phone app from another dimension. Her breathing was deep and even, one arm now thrown across his chest in a possessive gesture that made his heart do something complicated.

Jordan should probably sleep. It was late, he had class tomorrow, and Chloe would definitely notice if he spent all night staring at his phone like a gaming addict instead of holding her like a normal person would after the evening they’d just shared.

But thirty-one tickets sat in his inventory, practically begging to be used. Three bronze pulls. Or he could save them for something better down the line, wait for another gold opportunity or maybe even try for platinum if that was a thing.

You know what? Fuck it. I’m on a roll tonight. Let’s see what else this thing wants to throw at me.

The decision felt reckless in the best possible way. Like buying lottery tickets or betting on red at a casino. He’d just gotten the girl, made money taking her to dinner, and unlocked supernatural dance skills. Why not push his luck a little further?

He pulled up the gacha interface again and selected bronze tier. The screen showed the familiar spinning animation, cheaper looking than the gold pull but still flashy enough to hold his attention. The bronze wheel had fewer options, more mundane icons, but Jordan had learned not to underestimate the System’s ability to surprise him.

The wheel stopped on an icon of two overlapping hearts that pulsed with soft pink light. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

BRONZE TIER ACQUIRED

[Couple’s Resonance]

|Common Trait|

Emotional synchronization with registered romantic partners. Passively increases communication clarity and mutual understanding. When physically touching a registered partner, both parties experience enhanced emotional perception and reduced conflict.

System Note: This will not prevent arguments entirely. Your girlfriend can still think you’re an idiot even with supernatural empathy assistance. Use your words.

Jordan read the description twice, his eyebrows climbing toward his hairline.

Okay that’s actually really good. Way better than fucking disco skills.

Enhanced communication with Chloe meant fewer misunderstandings. Less chance of saying something stupid and having it blow up into a fight because he’d misread her mood or she’d misinterpreted his tone. And the physical touch component was just a nice bonus considering how much time they spent touching each other anyway, whether they were holding hands or cuddling or doing other things that made his enhanced stamina trait particularly useful.

See, this is the kind of thing I needed from that gold pull. Something that actually helps with relationships instead of making me better at the electric slide.

He was about to close the app when curiosity got the better of him. Twenty-one tickets left. Two more bronze pulls wouldn’t hurt his overall balance, and he was feeling lucky enough to push it a little further.

Just two more. Then I’ll sleep. I swear on my mother’s collection of romance novels.

The second pull generated something labeled "Morning Person," a trait as straightforward as its name suggested. The description promised natural waking at sensible hours with actual energy, eliminating his current system of slapping his phone seventeen times and navigating his morning routine with all the grace of a zombie who’d gone twelve rounds with a malfunctioning coffee maker.

Boring, yes. Practical? Absolutely. And I’ll trade practical over turning into John Travolta’s spiritual successor any day of the goddamn week.

The real value would show up in his daily quest completions. Having genuine morning energy instead of forcing himself through pure spite would make gym sessions before class actually tolerable. His grooming routine wouldn’t feel like climbing Mount Everest in swim trunks. He might even show up to Economics looking like a functioning human being instead of something the campus landscapers had accidentally raked up.

The third pull began with that familiar spinning animation before starting its gradual deceleration. Each mechanical click of the pointer ratcheted up the tension another notch, dragging out the reveal with what Jordan was increasingly certain was deliberate sadism on the System’s part.

The pointer landed on something that made his forehead crease immediately. A question mark, gift-wrapped in festive ribbons and crowned with an oversized bow. The symbol of pure uncertainty made tangible.

BRONZE ITEM ACQUIRED

[Mystery Box]

|Item|

Contains one random item of variable quality. Open to reveal contents. Warning: Results may include anything from useful tools to complete garbage. User discretion advised.

System Note: Congratulations, you’ve won the lottery equivalent of "maybe." Schrödinger’s lootbox. The item inside exists in a state of quantum usefulness until observed. We accept no responsibility for disappointment.

Jordan stared at the notification, his brain struggling to process what he was looking at.

A lootbox. I got a lootbox from a lootbox. That’s the most gacha bullshit I’ve ever seen, and I once watched my roommate spend three hundred dollars trying to get a limited edition anime girl in some Japanese mobile game.

The System Note’s sarcastic tone wasn’t helping his growing sense that the app was actively trolling him at this point. "Quantum usefulness" sounded like something a philosophy major would come up with after too many energy drinks and not enough sleep.

The mystery box sat in his inventory now, pulsing with potential energy that could be anything from incredibly useful to absolutely worthless. He could open it right now and see what was inside, or save it for later when he actually needed something specific.

Nah. Future Jordan’s problem. I’ve gambled enough for one night, and I’m starting to feel like that guy who can’t leave the casino until he’s lost everything.