Chapter 20: The First Exchange

[Ding!]

[Due to your intervention in Nora, the Future Calamity’s life, she achieved awakening faster than the original timeline.]

[The action has generated a significant amount of Karma.]

[Karma Evaluation has been completed.]

[Based on the value of the Karma, three suitable rewards have been generated.]

[Option 1: Minor Attribute Pill — Instantly grants +10 to a single attribute of your choice upon consumption. One-time use.]

[Option 2: Skill Scroll — "Basic Body Reinforcement" — A passive technique that gradually strengthens the physical body over time. Effects stack with continued cultivation.]

[Option 3: Mystery Box (Grade: Unknown) — Contents cannot be identified until opened. Note: contents may range from Common to Legendary grade.]

Neo shot up from his chair. His casual smile vanished in an instant as his eyes darted across the glowing screen floating in his mind. Slowly, a wide, excited grin crept onto his face.

’Finally! My very first harvest! Let’s see what you have for me!’

He read through the three choices again, tapping his chin like an overly serious scholar.

’A stat pill is nice, but ten points to one stat is nothing. I am already gaining stats naturally just from training every single day. That is basically pocket change.’

His gaze slid to the second option.

’Basic Body Reinforcement. A passive skill that scales the longer I train? That is actually a great choice. No risk, steady growth, and it stacks with what I am already doing.’

Then his eyes drifted toward the last option. A familiar, dangerous glint sparked to life behind his pupils.

’...A Mystery Box.’

’In every single reincarnation story I have ever read, there is always that one greedy character who opens the luxurious box and regrets it instantly. They find cursed rings, exploding items, poisonous potions, demonic parasites. I know exactly how this trope goes.’

He paused, drumming his fingers on the wooden desk.

’But I have also seen just as many stories where the protagonist opens the exact same suspicious box and pulls out some absurd, world-breaking treasure! Fifty-fifty odds, really. And this is my very first reward. Surely the system wouldn’t be cruel enough to curse a five-year-old... right?’

He bit his bottom lip, trying hard to decide between a safe option or a mysterious gamble.

"Ugh, why does this have to be so hard?" he muttered, dragging both hands down his face. "Just give me all three, you stingy system!"

Unsurprisingly, the system stayed silent. The screen simply floated there, patiently waiting for his decision.

After nearly five minutes of dramatic internal wrestling, listing worst-case scenarios, and briefly considering just closing his eyes and pointing at random, Neo slammed his palm flat against the desk.

’Screw it. I already got handed a system out of nowhere. I awakened years ahead of schedule. My luck cannot possibly run out this fast. Let’s gamble!’

[Selected: Option 3 — Mystery Box]

[Confirm selection?]

[Y/N]

"Yes! Obviously yes!"

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained: Mystery Box.]

[The item has been placed in your Inventory.]

A faint warmth spread across his chest for a brief second before fading away. He blinked, glancing down at his own hands, half-expecting a glorious flash of light to happen. Nothing did.

"Wait, that’s it? I don’t even get to open it right now?"

[Note: Mystery Box contents will only be revealed upon opening. Opening may be done at any time of the host’s choosing.]

Neo pouted, feeling a small tickle of disappointment. He had been mentally preparing for a dramatic reveal, and instead, he just got told he could open it literally whenever he wanted.

’Well, that is a letdown. Fine. I will save it for now. Maybe I will open it right before the family trip tomorrow, just to make things more exciting.’

He tucked the thought aside and glanced back down at Nora’s letter still resting on his desk. Slowly, his amused grin faded into something far more thoughtful.

’Wait a second. If I remember correctly, she was supposed to awaken when she turned six. But she already awakened today. That is why I received the rewards. If just talking with her sped up her awakening by an entire year... what exactly triggered it? Was it the conversation? Or the information i had given?’

He really didn’t know. He could not guess what she was thinking or feeling.

’If just being near me is already shaking up the timeline this much, I really need to be careful. The original story is falling apart at the seams, and it has barely been five years.’

He could not guess what other butterfly effects he had caused, even though he had never stepped foot outside his own mansion.

’If Nora awakens early, does the male lead’s timeline shift too? Does Kael show up sooner than expected? Or does this just mean she gets stronger on her own, totally off-script?’

He had no way of knowing, and that was the scary part. Every choice he made steered this world further from the anime he remembered. He knew that if he let the story continue to drift, Nora might become far stronger than her original version. If that happened, even the hero Kael would not be able to touch a single hair on her head.

’...Well. Nothing to do about it now except keep moving forward.’

He shook his head, forcing his shoulders to loosen, and pulled out a blank sheet of paper along with a pen. He owed Nora a reply, and he wasn’t about to lose his nerve now.

He stared at the blank page for a good long while, tapping the pen against his chin.

’Okay, what do I even say? "Thanks for the letter, please don’t bite me"? That sounds ridiculous.’

He scratched out three different openings before finally settling on something simple.

---

[Nora,

Thank you for the letter. I liked reading it a lot.𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

A friend means someone who cares about you and likes spending time with you, even if you don’t talk much. I already think of you as my friend, so you don’t have to worry about that word so hard.

I am glad the bubbles are still coming to you. That probably means you will get your own sparkling orb soon, or maybe you already got it.

If you ever feel alone or want to speak to someone, you can write to me whenever you want. I am always ready to talk.

By the way, I hadn’t thought you would be so talkative in a letter, especially when you don’t even open your mouth in person. I hope next time we see each other, it will be your voice instead of just letters.

I will try not to squeeze your cheeks too much. No promises though, they are really soft.

We are going on a family trip tomorrow to my grandfather’s place. I will tell you all about it when I get back.

—Neo]

---

"Not bad for my first time writing to someone. I hope I didn’t write too much."

He read it over twice, wincing a little at how messy his handwriting looked next to hers, before deciding it was good enough. He folded the letter, slid it into an envelope, and sealed it with a dab of wax, pressing his father’s spare signet ring into it since he still didn’t have his own.

Setting it aside for the servants to send out in the morning, Neo finally let himself flop backward onto his bed with a long, satisfied sigh.

’A system. A mystery box. A letter from the future Villainess herself. And a family trip tomorrow.’

A small, tired smile tugged at his lips.

’Yeah. Definitely nothing like the boring life I used to have back on Earth.’

’Bring it on. Whatever comes next, I will handle it.’

With that thought drifting lazily through his mind, Neo crawled under the covers, leaning his head on the soft cushion. He closed his eyes, and sleep quickly claimed him, carrying him away to the dream world.