"From Broke to Baller: Thanks, System?"

It was a Thursday morning, two weeks into the semester, when the announcement hit.

> "Everyone, please check your LMS," their professor said. "Group project details and groupings have been uploaded. This will be your midterm grade."

Groans echoed across the room like a wave. Students pulled out their phones or laptops, hoping to be grouped with people who wouldn't ghost them halfway through the project.

Jin quietly opened his laptop. His mind was calm, but not because he liked group work. He didn't. He preferred working alone, quietly, without depending on others. Still, he reminded himself—this was college. He had to adapt.

He clicked on the file.

> Group 3:

Yssa L.

Mika R.

Calix J.

Jin C.

He blinked.

Well, that's… interesting.

"Welp," Calix muttered behind him, "guess we're stuck together."

Yssa leaned forward with a wide grin. "Hey! It's the dream team."

Mika raised an eyebrow. "More like the survive-the-deadline team."

Jin turned around in his seat. "I'll help with the research."

Yssa nodded. "Cool. We'll need someone to keep us sane."

---

They decided to meet at a nearby café after class. It wasn't too crowded, and the wifi was decent. Jin arrived first and grabbed a corner table near an outlet. He took his usual seat — back to the wall, laptop open, scanning the topic list again.

> "System Prompt: Group Objective Detected – Academic Project Collaboration." Bonus Perk Activated: Research Focus +10%, Communication Boost (Minor)

He exhaled quietly, appreciating even the smallest system perks.

The others arrived shortly after. Yssa had her laptop bag and coffee in hand. Mika came in with a thick, scribbled notebook and colorful pens. Calix strolled in last with a fast-food bag.

"Didn't we say we'd work on the outline first?" Mika asked, side-eyeing the fries.

"I work better when I eat," Calix said, stuffing one into his mouth.

Jin smirked slightly, already typing. "The topic's about digital financial trends, right?"

Yssa nodded, setting up her laptop. "Yeah. E-wallets, online banking, cryptocurrency, and fintech development. It's actually pretty broad."

Perfect.

Unknowingly to them, Jin had more than surface knowledge. Thanks to the system, he had been absorbing fintech concepts for weeks.

> "System Notice: Topic Alignment Detected – Specialized Knowledge Applicable." Research Speed: +10% Relevant Keywords Highlighted.

He quickly categorized the topic into digestible subtopics—each one aligning with what he already knew. While the others were still warming up, he had already found five reliable academic sources, formatted them in APA style, and created a shared document.

"Here," he said, spinning his screen around. "This is a working outline. We can expand each point based on what we assign."

Mika leaned over, genuinely surprised. "Whoa. You did all this already?"

"I just started with what I know," Jin said simply, avoiding the spotlight.

"Are you sure you're not secretly a finance major?" Yssa asked, squinting.

Calix laughed. "I vote Jin as team captain."

"I second," Mika added.

Jin chuckled but waved his hand. "Let's just split the work evenly."

---

For the next hour, the group focused better than expected. Yssa took charge of formatting and structure, Calix volunteered to do the visuals and infographic slides (mostly because he liked Canva), and Mika started listing down possible interview questions for a survey they might run.

Jin handled most of the background research, finding case studies on how GCash and Maya evolved during the pandemic, and even included brief data on global counterparts like PayPal and Venmo.

> "System Boost: Group Collaboration +2% Trait Influence: Quiet Leader (10%)"

He didn't speak much, but everyone naturally followed his pace.

---

Later that night, Jin was back in his small space, brushing his teeth when his phone buzzed with a message.

> Beginner_101:

"TP hit! That trade worked. Thank you!! I made ₱430!"

He paused, reading the message again.

₱430. It might not seem like much, but for the guy he helped — it was a win. Groceries. Prepaid load. Bus fare for the week.

Jin stared at his phone screen, a strange warmth building in his chest.

> "Trait Progress Updated: Responsible (24%)

Trait Unlocked: Mentor (2%)

You've begun to influence others."

He sat on his bed, letting the message sink in. He wasn't teaching anyone formally, but he had shared a few charts and tips anonymously on a local forum.

Small ripples.

Quiet progress.

He checked his system wallet.

> System Wallet: ₱4,612.80

(Savings from part-time tasks, minor trades, and a small blog gig.)

Not life-changing — yet. But his dad still hadn't touched the toolkit he gave him. Jin saw it, carefully stored like a prized item. That made the effort even more worth it.

He set an alarm for 4:30 a.m. — early jog, quick chart check, and maybe review a few property listings before class.

As he lay back, he stared at the dark ceiling.

He wasn't ahead of everyone. But he was ahead of where he used to be.

And that was enough.

End of Chapter 23