The school canteen buzzed with chatter, clinking trays, and the occasional burst of laughter. Jin sat at the far end of the room, not alone, but not exactly surrounded either. His tray was nearly empty—just rice and boiled egg—but his mind was far from food.
He kept glancing at the poster he had taken a photo of the day before.
"Student Leaders Wanted – School Reform Committee"
He had read it five times. Still, something about it itched in his chest. He'd spent weeks thinking about change, about turning his broken school into a place of real learning. And now, the school itself had unknowingly given him an opening.
"Thinking about joining?" Lara asked, sitting across from him with a tray full of fried chicken and iced tea.
Jin raised his brows. "What makes you think that?"
"You've been staring at that photo like it owes you money," she smirked.
He let out a chuckle. "Maybe it does."
Lara leaned forward. "If you're serious, I'll back you up. You're quiet, but you've got something."
Jin looked at her, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"You don't talk much in class, but every time you do, it's something useful. Like that time you solved the nested loop issue in under two minutes."
He smiled. "Thanks. But this committee isn't about coding."
"No," she said. "It's about change. You want that, don't you?"
Jin's gaze lingered on the photo again. Yeah. I do.
That afternoon, Jin filled out the online application form. It asked for the usual: name, course, year level, and a short essay on "Why do you want to be part of the School Reform Committee?"
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Then he began typing:
"I believe this school can be more than just a building students pass through. It can be the spark that lifts a generation out of mediocrity. I've seen brilliance here, hidden under broken systems and lazy leadership. I don't want to be the loudest voice—I just want to be the one who starts the conversation that changes things."
He hesitated, then clicked submit.
The next few days passed in routine—morning classes, short breaks, late-night reading, system missions, and trade alerts on his phone. His crypto wallet grew steadily: small gains, occasional losses, but always progress.
He had added two new platforms, staked some tokens, and tried a few low-risk bots. All while studying quietly.
His system had even granted him a new passive trait:
[Mental Endurance I] – Your focus lasts longer. You recover energy from mental tasks quicker.
Jin noticed the difference. What used to exhaust him after hours—coding, reading, market analysis—now left him energized. He was still tired, but no longer burned out.
At home, the mood had shifted too.
His father no longer asked about his side work—he trusted Jin now.
His mother had started keeping folders of house listings. She didn't say anything, but Jin could see it in her eyes—hope. A cautious, fragile hope she hadn't felt in years.
One night, while the family ate dinner, Jin quietly placed a folded sheet of paper on the table.
"What's this?" his dad asked.
"Property options," Jin said. "I want us to visit them this weekend."
His mother blinked. "Are you sure?"
Jin nodded. "We're not buying anything yet. Just checking. But I want to take that step with you both."
His father's eyes softened. "Alright then. We'll go."
Meanwhile, Jin's circle of six outside friends was starting to notice a shift too.
They met one Friday night, sitting on cheap plastic stools at the usual corner barbecue stand. Greasy pork, isaw, and mountain dew—their budget meal of choice.
Zeke nudged Jin. "You're quiet again."
Jin looked up from his phone. "Just thinking."
"Crypto again?"
"Partly."
Bryce leaned in. "Okay, okay, real talk—what exactly are you doing? You've got this… vibe lately. Like you've got a master plan or something."
Jin looked at them one by one—Bryce, Zeke, Paul, Nico, Josh, and Adrian. Each one broke, unsure, stuck in limbo between ambition and survival. Just like he used to be.
"I'm building something," he finally said. "A system. Not just for money—for growth. Skills. Influence. Impact."
Paul laughed. "Bro, you sound like an anime protagonist."
"Maybe," Jin smiled. "But I'm dead serious. I'm learning how money works. How businesses grow. How power moves silently."
Zeke raised a brow. "And you're doing this… alone?"
"Until I know it's stable," Jin said. "Then I'll share."
Josh nodded slowly. "You've changed. Not in a bad way. You just… walk different now."
"I think differently too," Jin said. "And I want you guys to come with me. But only when you're ready."
There was silence, broken only by the sound of someone chewing isaw too loudly.
Then Nico muttered, "If anyone's gonna pull it off, it's probably you."
The rest raised their bottles of soda quietly.
"To Jin," Zeke said.
"To the system," Bryce added.
Jin raised his bottle last. "To the future."
Back at home that night, the system notified him:
[Milestone: Influence +1]
[New Trait: Trusted Circle I – Friends listen to your advice more seriously. Slight charisma boost when talking about plans.]
He stared at the screen, then at his phone—where their group chat buzzed with inside jokes and memes.
He hadn't recruited them.
He had earned them.
The next Monday, Jin received an email from the school:
"Congratulations. You have been selected as one of the candidates for the School Reform Committee interview. Please report to Room 312 at 3:00 PM on Thursday."
Jin smiled. His fingers hovered over his trackpad for a moment.
One step closer.
The following day, Jin visited the resort lot near their subdivision—the one across the main road with a half-finished pool and rusted gates. The caretaker was surprised to see a student asking about land.
"You're… interested in this place?" he asked.
Jin nodded. "Just gathering info."
The man scratched his head. "Well, the owner's been trying to sell for years. Wants out. Property's almost 700 square meters."
Jin walked around the fence, taking mental notes. He didn't say anything, but deep inside, his system had already shown him:
[Future Quest: Acquire Community Asset]
Reward: Social Influence Tree Unlocked
He wasn't just looking at land.
He was looking at a legacy.