Master of the System

Paul woke up with a throbbing headache. The first thing he saw was a line of red text in his vision.

[Welcome back, user! The system has been reprogrammed. It is now Vremya’s Entrepreneur System Alpha v0.1.0.]

What the hell? Paul sat up and looked around. He was lying on the ground in the middle of the dining room, and two people were staring at him with curious expressions. Eula swallowed the pickled radish in her mouth when she realized Paul was looking back at her. “Hello,” she said, nodding her head. She was about to say more, but the kitchen door opened, and Smith Jr. came out whilst holding two bowls of egg fried rice. He shot a glance at Paul, but neither of the men said anything. The faceless golem with the whip silently watching Paul from the corner of the room was enough of a deterrent for the former interdimensional mercenary.

“Enjoy your meal,” Smith Jr. said, placing the two bowls of food down. The scions of the royal family discarded their manners and dug into their bowls like ravenous beasts, shoveling mouthful after mouthful of rice into their stomachs. It made Smith Jr. happy to see that, not because he enjoyed their satisfaction but glad he wasn’t the only one who ate like a pig upon encountering such delicious food.

Paul scratched his head and tried to summon the system in his mind. The familiar interface was nowhere to be found. It was a totally new interface, one that looked more modern. Paul’s brow furrowed. He wasn’t sure why the term modern popped into his head, but it was definitely much sleeker than the previous design.

[Vremya’s Entrepreneur System Alpha v0.1.0]

[Current Host: Paul]

[Entrepreneurial Talent: A+]

[Entrepreneurial Techniques: Interdimensional Mercenary Fighting Techniques]

[Entrepreneurial Tools: Interdimensional Mercenary Sword]

[Entrepreneurial Evaluation: Apprentice]

Paul furrowed his brow. The weird code at the end of the system probably meant it was the very first time it was being deployed. It seemed like his previous god had lost, and he was transferred over to the winner. The winner must’ve disdained his abilities; otherwise, why would he have been given a system that didn’t even cover his strengths? Paul knew what an entrepreneur was. They were people who used money to make money. He had encountered some in the different worlds he traveled to as a mercenary. However, Paul wasn’t quite sure if he understood exactly what they had to do. The system graded him as an extraordinary talent even though he had never dabbled in the field. Judging by the techniques and tools he had, Paul roughly understood why the system had graded him as such. As a mercenary, Paul had to be adaptable to survive, he had to understand the key points with one judgment. His mercenary instincts told him the essence of entrepreneurship: if he needed money, take it through force! Even if his business was failing, as long as he could use his sword and fighting techniques to take money from other people, his business would stay afloat.

[New Mission: Start Your Business]

[Middle-aged entrepreneur, the path to becoming an immortal CEO has been laid before you. However, to become a successful businessman, one must come up with the appropriate business idea. Come up with a brilliant money-making strategy and register your business!]

[Reward: Vremya’s Business Techniques, one heaven-grade spirit stone]

Paul rubbed his chin. Unlike the previous system, this one didn’t have different options to choose from. The mission would be assigned to him automatically. The requirements were also pretty lax; he only had to register his business to complete the task. There also wasn’t a time limit. Was the task and mission so laid back because the god didn’t have any hopes for him? Well, that suited Paul just fine. The more freedom he had, the happier he’d be.

[Old man, do you even have any business techniques?]

[I have money, and with money, I can buy any business technique off the market I want. Hey! Take your tail off the broadcasting button.]

Even though the two lines of text flashed only for the briefest of moments, Paul was able to read their contents. Upon reading them, he pretended as if he hadn’t noticed anything. It was the smart choice; those who knew too much tended to die early. Before Paul could think any further, a fragrant scent crept up his nostrils and entered his brain, teasing away his focus. It was practically begging him to stop and sniff. Paul wrinkled his nose and turned towards the smell; it came from the two bowls of half-eaten food in front of the two scions. “Chef, make me a bowl of egg fried rice.”

Smith Jr. raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t try to dissuade Paul. Even though the man had tried to kidnap him, a customer was still a customer! One more bowl of rice cooked was one less bowl of rice needed to finish his ungodly mission. “Coming right up.”

Paul nodded and took a seat. He looked around the restaurant, and his gaze landed on a heap of red metal. It was the corpse of Red Asura. Now that he and the weakling chef were underneath the same umbrella, they could be considered allies of sorts. Paul scratched his head, unsure of how to compensate the chef for the broken golem. Perhaps he could start a bodyguard business? It’d eliminate two birds with one stone: he would finish his quest, and he’d be able to protect Smith Jr. until the chef was no longer a weakling. Paul nodded. The plan was perfect.

Smith Jr. came out with a bowl of egg fried rice. He placed it down in front of Paul. When Smith Jr. turned to leave, Paul cleared his throat. “I have a proposal for you.”

Smith Jr. furrowed his brow but turned his head. “I’m listening.”

“I’m planning on starting a business to rent out bodyguards,” Paul said, interlocking his fingers and placing his hands on the table. “How would you like to be my first customer?”

“Not interested,” Smith Jr. said. “Leave the bowl behind, and don’t forget to close the door on your way out. If not, you’ll be treated as a loiterer.”

Paul’s brow furrowed. He was about to say something, but the faceless golem appeared in his mind. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t even defeat the store’s real guardian. Why would the chef hire him? A sigh escaped from his mouth, and he bent his body over to eat his rice.

“Excuse me,” a feminine voice said from the side, causing Paul to turn his head. “I’m in need of a bodyguard. What are your rates?”

Smith Jr. froze. Eula was interested in that whacko? “Tutor Golem 2000, throw this troublemaker out!”

The faceless golem appeared by Smith Jr.’s side, and Paul shot to his feet, drawing his sword. A metallic voice came out of the golem. “This is a paying customer, not a troublemaker. Since you have so much free time, why don’t you spend it on honing your knife skills?”

“Tutor Golem!” Smith Jr. wailed as he was grabbed and dragged into the kitchen. “You’re grabbing the wrong person!”

Paul and Eula stared as the poor chef rounded the corner. There was a slamming sound as the door shut, and with his enhanced senses, Paul could hear the sound of a whip cracking followed by a scream. Once again, he pretended as if he hadn’t heard a thing. A smart person was one who didn’t know anything.

***

“Vremya!!! My user!!!”

“Using this app is fine, right?” Vremya asked Karta, ignoring the usual screams coming from the sky. They had been going on nonstop, and the two were so used to the sound that it would’ve been more unsettling if the screaming came to an end. “It isn’t against the law?”

Karta shook her head. “The laws were made way before the system technology came out,” she said. “They don’t really cover most of this stuff. Generally, people don’t steal users because they don’t want a bad reputation. Also, if you steal someone’s user, there’s always the chance of them harassing you, but if you’re not scared of some harassment, then it doesn’t really matter.”

Vremya nodded. He wasn’t scared of harassment or a bad reputation, but he wasn’t going to go around stealing other gods’ users. He’d only take them if they came to bother him like Paul. A user raised by a primordial god, he should be exceptional, right? Vremya was looking forward to seeing his new user grow. As for why he gave Paul an entrepreneur system and not a leveling system, the reason was simple. Money was greater than power! With money, one could do anything! What could a lower lifeform with power do? They’d still be eaten by any random titan out there.