Back Again
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
"Huh?"
The sound of an alarm going off woke me up.
*Beep* *Beep*—
I grabbed my phone and shut it off before it could annoy me further.
I sat up in bed and ran my hands across my face and through my hair, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
Wait—
Memories came flooding back as I remembered something important.
How did I not die?
Suddenly wide awake, I grabbed my phone and checked the date.
It was one month before everything had come crashing down.
Why am I even here? I was ready to die.
Is this what happens when you die? You live your life over again? That sucks.
I had hoped I could've gone back earlier. Maybe then, my family…
A wave of sadness hit me, but I quickly shook my head, and a smile spread across my face.
"Might as well make the most of it. Besides, there's someone else I want to help now."
I didn't have a plan. I didn't even know what I wanted to do with this second chance. But I wanted to be happy, so I was going to do whatever it took to achieve it.
I had class today, but I wasn't going to attend. I needed more information about Alexia and Daniel so I didn't make the same mistakes.
I sat up and thought through the situation.
Everything had happened on my birthday, which was in a month. We had started college a week ago, and my current relationship with Alexia had stagnated.
I assumed whatever problems existed now would only get worse soon.
When this first happened, I tried hard to reach out to her, but she closed off. I'll have to try a different approach this time.
I grabbed my phone and searched for their family names, narrowing it down by adding our city.
<Moon City, Sparrow family>
I clicked the first result.
<Politician Zavier Sparrow in talks with longtime friend and leader of Moon City's biggest family, Noah Vero>
The article gave me a lot of information. I recognized Alexia's father from the image and noticed the last name "Vero," which was Daniel's.
The puzzle started coming together. A politician hoping to rise in status would need the support of a big family, and if this article was to be believed, Vero was this city's most powerful one.
They've been friends for a long time, but to secure an even stronger bond, what better way than to marry his daughter to the family heir?
Unfortunately, that posed a big problem. There was no way I could break up the marriage contract. I was a nobody.
I had no status, no right to speak, and no ability to interfere with their families.
Shaking my head, I continued scrolling through articles and checking social media for more information on them.
Noah had two children, Daniel and Sierra. Even though Sierra was the oldest, Daniel had been chosen as the heir.
I met her once a few years ago, and we got along pretty well.
I searched her name as well, but not many articles came up—just a few of her buying companies and some random negative message boards.
From what I had gathered when we talked and pieced together now, it seemed she'd been sidelined since Daniel was born. But she didn't strike me as someone who would just back down.
I knew she wanted to take power. It'd be a massive benefit for me if she did. Daniel would be much easier to handle without his father's backing.
It sounded like a fine plan on paper, but in reality it was quite foolish…
How exactly would someone like me achieve that?
*Growl*
"I should take a shower and eat something."
I had been sitting there in a trance, thinking and scrolling and before I knew it, 2 hours had passed.
Looking at the time, it was 9:00 a.m. Classes had already started.
My head throbbed. There was so much going on, and the obstacles between me and my happy life seemed endless.
I walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower, adjusting the water until it was just right. Grabbing everything I needed, I set up my speaker and played some music. As the warm water cascaded over me, I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time.
[+10 Satisfaction Points]
...What?
Seeing random lines of text pop up in front of my eyes was disorienting, especially since they were closed while I washed my hair.
I quickly opened them—and immediately regretted it.
"Shit!" Shampoo got into my eyes, and the burning was intense.
I spent the next 30 seconds cursing under my breath until the pain subsided.
Finishing my shower, I dried off and continued with my morning routine. I changed into a fresh pair of clothes, feeling a bit better.
*Growl*
"I'm really glad I have some decent cooking skills." My stomach rumbled again, urging me to head to the kitchen.
Growing up, I learned a lot about cooking from my grandmother. It was one of the ways we bonded.
I made French toast, eggs, and some bacon, poured a glass of orange juice, and sat down at the table. As I took my first bite, I thought of her, smiling.
[+10 Satisfaction Points]
It happened again.
This time, I wasn't as surprised. I had an inkling of what was going on, thanks to the many books I had read.
After my family died and I moved in with my grandparents, I fell into a depression for a few years. I kept to myself, avoiding people in my new neighborhood and school. Fiction became my escape.
Plus, I've already gone back in time, so common sense is out the window anyway…
Preparing myself for the internal embarrassment if I turned out to be wrong, I called out to it.
'System?'
*Welcome!*
——————
Satisfaction System
[Shop]
[Lottery]
[Stats]
[Harem]
[Inventory] !
——————
As I expected, a system.
My mind raced with possibilities, but without enough information, I decided to hold off for now.
I noticed the inventory tab had something for me.
'Inventory'
———
Inventory
! 5 Free Lottery Spins
! Letter to Akashic
———
The letter addressed to me was the first thing to catch my eye.
'From the maker of the system?'
[Letter:
You're probably a little confused about what happened. Don't worry, this letter will explain a few things.
Here's a quick rundown:
There are no tasks. The system can answer questions, but there's no consciousness attached to it.
Satisfaction Points, or SP, can be collected by doing things you find satisfying. The amount depends on how satisfied you feel.
Of course, doing the same thing repeatedly will not only bore me, but it'll also become less satisfying for you, so the points earned will decrease.
Your own dissatisfaction may cause you to lose SP, so keep that in mind.
Whatever, you'll get the hang of it... hopefully.
Have fun with the system. Do whatever you want, but don't be boring. My wives and I are watching this as entertainment.
- Eden, Entity King.]
…What?
Truthfully, I didn't know how to feel about being someone's entertainment. It wasn't a great feeling, but I couldn't do anything about it, so I didn't care much.
I wasn't being forced to do anything I didn't want to. In fact, it was quite the opposite. There weren't even any quests…
Whoever this Eden guy was, he'd given me the chance of a lifetime, complete with a very generous system.
There was no point in stressing over things I couldn't change. I put the letter back into the inventory and watched it disappear.
Regardless, I planned to enjoy myself this time around. And with the system, that would be even easier.
I'd need to run some tests to see how earning SP worked, and I'd definitely need to check out the shop.
The idea of losing SP due to dissatisfaction was unfortunate, though. Anything could potentially make me dissatisfied. But if it worked the same way as gaining SP, it would probably be linked to how I felt.
*Ding*
I was about to delve deeper into the system, but my phone chimed, pulling my attention away.
{Alexia: Where are you? Are you okay?}
Seeing it was from Alexia surprised me, given the current state of our relationship.
Thinking back to the look in her eyes before we died, all I wanted was to change things and finally tell her my feelings...
Anyway, I understood why she messaged me. This was the first time I'd ever missed a day of school.
I replied, telling her I was fine, just dealing with a headache and not feeling well.
After a few brief exchanges, the conversation ended, and I returned my focus to the system.
*Picture*
(A/N: Moving foward, some text conversations have a visual representation, read paragraph comment to see them. Those moments will be specified so you wouldn't miss them. I will include images about various things to increase immersion.)