Matt started to wake up as he got a notification on his phone. He blinked a few times before reading it.

[Direct Deposit Received for $300]

He had gotten his paycheck from his bookstore job.

'Nice, now I can finally finish the rent quest!'

He got up from his bed and instantly checked the quest.

__________

[Quest in Progress]

Pay the Rent [$989/800] [Reward: +Mystery Reward, +30xp]

__________

'Ok, so I guess I actually need to pay it for it to work. I assumed that anyway.'

He closed the menu and got dressed for the day. He realized that, if he was really going to leave for college, this would be his last day of work. He felt a bit sentimental but remembered that this was the best choice.

The world wouldn't be the same soon, and so it would be better to level faster. The bookstore didn't really give him quests anymore, so being in an environment like a college would be more beneficial.

'I really want to get that mystery reward so I'll just head over to pay now!'

He counted all the cash he had and realized he needed to withdraw the rest he needed from an ATM. So, he headed outside and checked his map skill for the nearest ATM machine.

But, he realized it didn't display any. It seemed to only display locations.

'Oh, I guess I need to upgrade that again.'

He put away his map skill for now and just used his phone. He found the closest one and started to head over. After a few minutes, he arrived.

He withdrew what he needed and then headed back to his apartment block to drop off the rent in the front office. But as he was walking back, he heard something strange in a passing conversation.

"Did you see the article about that flying guy?"

"What? You need to stop getting into those conspiracy theories."

"No, I'm telling you, bro, it's real! Everyone's talking about it! Look, they even got a video."

"Come on man, that looks so fake! Look, it's even blurry! They were trying to cover up the CGI!"

Matt paused and his heart jumped. Normally, he would've brushed off something like this as a fake rumor, but he knew about the system. He instantly knew what it could mean.

'Why did I never consider that there were other beta testers?!'

He searched online for the article and found it instantly. And the headline read:

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

[The Flying Man, Superhero, or Something Else?!]

It seemed to be popular. It described that many eyewitness reports talked about seeing someone flying. Not using a plane but with their body.

He clicked on the video, and while it was a bit blurry, he saw a figure flying from building to building. He wondered why they didn't just keep going, and instead kept landing every block or so. But he imagined it was some sort of limitation of their ability.

He was familiar with games and knew that closed beta releases usually involved a few thousand people. It had just honestly slipped his mind that this system would work like that too. He was too obsessed with preparing for the public release, he had forgotten to watch his back for other players now.

He assumed they probably wouldn't be aggressive, but it would still be better to be safe, just in case. He planned on really trying to lay low from now on. Who cared about scientists, he needed to worry about players.

'I should ask [Help]'

And he did, but when she appeared, she seemed to have a digital drink in her hand and a game controller.

"Oh come on! I was just about to beat my high score!!"

Matt ignored her yelling and showed her the video.

"Hey, do you know anything about this?"

"Why are you showing me a crappy fake cgi video?"

Matt was confused.

"So it isn't a real player?"

She started to look annoyed.

"How should I know!? I'm a system helper, not a video editor!"

Matt realized she was just as unhelpful as ever. He really needed to level her up.

"Ok, then, what skill are they using, if it were real?"

"IDK BRO, I DON'T KNOW EVERY SINGLE SKILL. Put me back!!"

Matt sighed and put [Help] away. For now, he would try to be careful and just do what he was going to do anyway. He headed back to his apartment block and opened the door to the main office. It was usually where his landlord stayed.

"Hello? Are you here Mr. Bensen? I got the rent."

After a few seconds, he heard a reply and his landlord came out from a room in the back.

"Matt? Really? You actually got the rent money?"

He looked shocked. Matt had missed the rent a couple of times but he hadn't thought it was as shocking as Mr. Bensen was making it out to be.

"Yeah, it's all here. Also, uh, sorry about not giving you notice but, I might have to move. I'm going to start college."

Matt was ready for another reprimand from his landlord but when he looked at him, his landlord just laughed.

"Wow, I didn't you of all people would go to college! Haha, don't worry about it, I'll find someone else to rent in no time. Go on! Start your life!"

Mr. Bensen patted Matt hard on the shoulder while laughing.

"Uh, thanks?"

He wasn't exactly sure why he was acting this way, but Mr. Bensen picked up on Matt's confusion.

"You were a shitty renter, but you really livened things up around here. I'll put an ad up for your place, so make sure to move out by next week."

Matt handed him the rent and they parted ways. As he headed back he thought about what happened.

'I always thought he hated me. Huh.'

As he was walking, he suddenly heard a notification. He had almost completely forgotten about it.

__________

[Quest Complete]

Pay the Rent [$800/800]

+Mystery Reward, +30xp [108/144]

__________

And as soon as it sounded, light formed and something started to materialize in the air in front of him.