New System, Old Husband

Ding!

{System has successfully integrated with the host.}

{System can now function within the host with no interruptions.}

{To use the System, please use the command "Status" to summon the System…}

"Uhn?" The continuous machinated voice woke Katherine up from her slumber. There was an obvious frown on her face as she obviously didn't like the fact that she was forced awake by an unknown voice.

What she hated even more? The fact that she'd been forced asleep by an unknown force.

As she forced her eyes open, hoping to catch whoever was making the sound, she asked. "Please, whoever keeps talking in…"

The sentence never formed completely or rather, the rest of the statement simply vanished when she saw what was in front of her.

There was a yellow translucent panel like in those fantasy games she remembered playing in junior high. "Is this a dream?" The words left her mouth even before her baton processed it.

She cleaned her eyes and had a second glance and behold, the panel stood there, displaying the words she'd heard just seconds ago.

After reading through the writings on the panel, she uttered, more like a question than a command. "Status?"

The panel in front of her expanded, showing her a different write up.

This time, she heard no voice and so she had to read through the entire write up on the panel.

<<>>

Host: Katherine Flameborn

Balance: $20,000(Locked!)

Completed Missions: 0

Failed Missions: 0

Notifications: 4 (2 unread)

Current Mission: Get Accustomed

Description: You have died and have returned five years back in time. While it still feels like a dream, you have to adapt to your new reality. Do this as soon as possible.

Reward: Your locked balance will be unlocked along with the withdrawal option.

Time till completion: 12 Hours.

<<>>

After she finished reading through it, her confusion worsened but then, she remembered something. There was still two notifications she hadn't read and so she muttered. "I should probably check out the unread notifications first to get more information."

Her words acted as a command and a different panel was now being displayed.

{Welcome to the Fortune Making System! Having faced a gruesome fate at the hands of your husband and his family which ultimately led to your death, you were deemed pitiful by the God of Time. At the exact moment you died, your consciousness was taken back five years into the past to a time before it all began.

To aid you further, the God of Time blessed you with the Fortune Making System. As the host of the System, you have successfully integrated with it after meeting certain requirements and so, you are capable of using all of its features except certain ones that will be unlocked with time.}

This was the first unread notification she checked which led her to understand that her memories were indeed true. She'd indeed experienced those things and they weren't "dreams" as she claimed them to be.

"God of Time or whatever, I'll have to thank you one way or another. You literally gave me a second chance." She smiled as she thought of the part that said she was deemed pitiful by this supernatural being.

Now that she'd come to understand that she'd indeed been sent to the past. Katherine knew she'd have to do things differently to avoid the same results. With that in mind, she opened the second unread notification.

{The Fortune Making System provides the host with missions that aid the host's growth. With the completion of each result, a random multiplier from one to ten is used on the total amount acquired during the mission. The total is then added to balance. However, if the mission is failed, a similar multiplier is applied to the total amount lost during the mission and is then deducted from the balance. Do well not to fail missions!...}

Katherine was forced to stop reading at this point. She felt like she'd read enough. "The system would aid my growth," Katherine murmured, "and if I passed the missions it would give to me, steady and speedy growth would be assured. Failure was also possible, huh?"

However, to Katherine who'd just come back from the dead, failure wasn't an option. After all she'd experience before her death, she knew better. If she didn't succeed, another hellish five years awaited her. Five years that would definitely lead to her death all over.

Katherine's  mind returned to the mission she'd read on the status window as well as the reward. "If I complete it, the locked $20,000 in balance would be unlocked and what did the system say? Withdraw it?"

She remembered it all. And above all, the memory that stuck the most was the last one. Her husband's last statement told her that Stacie wasn't just her husband's sister.

"Speaking of husband, I should get going before he flares up." She finally got up, realising she'd been on the floor at this time. She approached her phone and upon turning it on, she realised. "Shit!"

She's been unconscious for six hours. She noticed the seventeen missed calls from her husband and frowned. Surely, Zeke was pissed.

A sigh escaped her lips as she thought of the result of what she's just done. It wasn't one day yet and she'd have to face her husband's wrath already?

Just as she tossed her phone on the bed, the door opened and behold, Zeke walked in with a curious expression. He glared at Katherine like he'd just seen the person that made him the second son of the Augustus family rather than the first.

With a calming smile on her face, Katherine approached her husband with open arms. "Wel…"

Pow!

A fierce slap landed on Katherine's face that sent her hurtling toward the bed which was over a metre away.

"Where the hell were you when I called over fifteen times?" Zeke questioned, his frown mirroring the fury within him.

With a reddened cheek, Katherine turned toward her husband, her hand holding her face. "I fainted right after the call with you. I was on my way to pick a dress when I suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed."

Hearing Katherine's excuse seemed to anger him even more. With both hands folded into fists, he approached her and then stopped. A sigh escaped his mouth and he looked at the ceiling.

Katherine, thinking he'd refrained from attacking, took the opportunity to ask. "How did it go?" Katherine was a hundred percent certain that Stacie had gone to  replace her after she failed to get there in time.

His head snapped in her direction and his hand went for his belt.

"You'll find out after fainting one more time." He pulled his belt and his attention landed fully on Katherine.

'System! Can you at least help me out here?' Katherine asked as the first strike approached, hoping her new system would help out in some way.

Ding!

{There's a feature that lets you turn off your nociceptors, but that's inaccessible at the moment.}

At the same time as she saw a panel pop up, she heard the familiar machinated sound in her head.

"I guessI'll have to endure this once again." Katherine ended up wording her thoughts and Zeke happened to hear.

"What?!" Zeke asked with a frown.

"Nothing!" Katherine answered.

Zeke smiled. "Good!" Then his belt descended on Katherine.