Chapter 10: Reward

The next day, Aron woke to find himself alone in his bed, a faint haze still clouding his thoughts. He sat up, trying to piece together the fragmented memories of the previous night. His head throbbed slightly, but after a couple of minutes, the dizziness faded, and clarity returned. Slowly, the fog lifted, and Aron recalled drinking five glasses of wine—far more than he usually did. He remembered Rosie guiding him to his room, though the rest of the night was a blur.

Just as he was about to rise, a soft, mechanical chime echoed in the room. Before him, a translucent blue panel flickered into existence, displaying strange words in the air:

"**One blind gift box is available**

**Claim**

**Yes No**"

Aron blinked in confusion. How had he received this? Was this some remnant of last night's intoxication? Maybe something happened while he was under the influence, and he simply couldn't remember it. Shrugging, he tapped "Yes," deciding to investigate further. The blue panel shimmered, and in its place appeared a colorful roulette wheel, spinning with over twenty gift boxes. The arrow moved lazily, waiting for his next move.

"**Start**," the words commanded.

Without hesitation, Aron pressed the start button. The arrow on the roulette began to spin rapidly, faster and faster, until it became a blur of motion. Slowly, it decelerated, ticking past box after box, until it finally stopped on one.

The panel changed again, displaying new text:

"**Congratulations! You've received a Genius Factor Serum (GFS).

Available to use or store in system space.**"

Aron's eyes widened in surprise. A serum that could potentially enhance his intelligence? From the name alone, he guessed its purpose. His heart raced with the implications of possessing such a thing, but caution gnawed at him. "Does it have any side effects?" he asked aloud, uncertain if the system could respond.

"**No,**" the system replied, as if reading his thoughts.

With a surge of excitement, Aron made his decision. "Use it."

In an instant, a small bottle materialized in his hand. Its glass shimmered with a faint glow, and etched on its surface were the letters "GFS." Without further delay, Aron unscrewed the cap and downed the serum in one gulp. For a moment, nothing happened. He frowned, wondering if it was some elaborate prank or if the serum was simply a placebo.

But then it hit.

A searing pain erupted in his skull, starting from his forehead and radiating out like wildfire. His vision blurred, and he collapsed onto the bed, clutching his head as the agony intensified. It felt as if thousands of tiny ants were burrowing through his brain, gnawing away at his thoughts. The pain was unbearable, and with a final gasp, Aron slipped into unconsciousness, his world going dark.

As his body lay still, his mind drifted into a void, the serum working deep within his consciousness, changing something within him in ways he could not yet comprehend.

Slowly, Aron opened his eyes, the light of the room making him squint. He felt the dull prick of a saline drip in his arm and, with a groggy turn of his head, noticed his butler Daniel seated nearby, casually reading a newspaper. The room was quiet, and there was no sign of Rosie. Aron tried to speak, his voice coming out in a hoarse whisper, "Daniel, where is Rosie?"

Hearing the faint voice from the bed, Daniel immediately put down the newspaper and rushed to Aron's side. Relief washed over his face as he spoke softly but quickly, "Young master, don't worry. Rosie is outside, tending to the garden. You've been asleep for four hours. This morning, we found you collapsed on the floor, drenched in sweat. Naturally, we were worried, but the nurse said it seemed like you were suffering from a bad nightmare."

Daniel paused for a moment, his voice filled with gratitude. "Thank God, young master, you're awake now."

Aron slowly sat up, feeling the weight of exhaustion still lingering on his shoulders. His muscles were stiff, and his mind was slowly catching up to the events of the past hours. He reached down and began to remove the saline needle carefully. Daniel watched with concern but didn't intervene, trusting Aron's judgment.

Once free of the drip, Aron grabbed a nearby bottle of water and took a long drink, the cool liquid soothing his dry throat. With a deep breath, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching his stiff limbs. Though his body still felt weak, his mind was clearer than ever before—sharper, more alert.

Without a word, Aron made his way to the bathroom to refresh himself, glancing back briefly at Daniel, who stood quietly, observing him with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Whatever had happened during those four hours of unconsciousness, Aron knew he had changed, and it was only a matter of time before he fully understood the extent of it.

Aron emerged from the bathroom, feeling somewhat refreshed, though his mind was still racing from the events of the morning. He called out to Daniel, requesting some breakfast, and soon the butler served him a spread of food. Aron ate quickly, barely tasting the food as his mind began to wander back to the task at hand—the blueprint he needed to create. The night before, his mind had been blank, no spark of inspiration to guide him, but now, having taken the Genius Factor Serum (GFS), he hoped something had shifted.

After finishing his meal, Aron immediately went to his study and sat at his desk, determined to work. He opened his notebook, ready to jot down any ideas, but as he tried to focus, no clear thoughts came. Despite the serum, nothing seemed to flow. Frustrated, he reached for a nearby book on weapons manufacturing, one that had always been too complex for him to fully understand in the past.

As soon as he opened the book, however, something remarkable happened. His eyes locked onto the words, his mind sharpening in a way he had never experienced before. It was as if the text transformed into a vivid, dynamic sequence, playing out like a film in his mind. He could see every design, every mechanical detail, each component fitting together with perfect clarity. It wasn't just understanding; it was mastery. Aron could now grasp the most intricate technicalities effortlessly, and the concepts became second nature as he absorbed the knowledge at an incredible pace.

In just one hour, Aron had devoured the entire 893-page book, something that would have taken him days or weeks in the past. His brain now felt like a finely tuned machine, processing information with unparalleled speed. His thoughts drifted to the futuristic weaponry he had once read about in Marvel comics—the advanced technology, the impossibilities that once seemed like fiction.

Suddenly, ideas began flooding his mind. Weapons of the future, concepts that had been mere fantasy, now appeared in stunning detail. The mechanics, the materials, the functions—all of it came together like puzzle pieces in his brain, and Aron immediately grabbed a pen, his hand moving instinctively over the paper. Every stroke of the pen captured the ideas perfectly, as if the blueprint had already been etched in his mind long before.

For the next four hours, Aron worked tirelessly, sketching one blueprint after another. His hands moved with precision, his focus unbroken. By the time he finished, four separate blueprints lay before him, each one a masterpiece of engineering and innovation. But Aron wasn't reckless. Each blueprint was divided into five parts, ensuring that the core, the most critical component, would remain in his possession, while the other pieces could be handed over for manufacturing. He planned to give those parts to the director, who would oversee the construction of the weapons, but without the central design, no one could replicate the complete system.

As Aron leaned back in his chair, surveying the work he had done, he felt a surge of accomplishment. The serum had worked beyond his wildest expectations, unlocking a potential he never knew he had. And now, armed with the knowledge and power of these blueprints, he was ready to reshape the future of weaponry, one innovation at a time.