Regression and The System.

Lukas and his dad walked past the campus, and Lukas couldn't help but smile all the way and was following his father one step behind. He was actually remembering what happened in the last couple of years, he was actually in 2024, a homeless man struggling to even beg and dying like a dog on the street.

Six months ago something magical happened, he came back in time in his own body and was shocked to find out he was still in his senior high. Just like last time, he was preparing for SAT which is basically an examination that will decide his fate and his college.

After waking up, felt nostalgia and cried for two days with his family. He didn't tell them he came from the future, but they felt a little odd when he was studying all night long for the SAT, they were shocked to see him working so hard for an examination.

Lukas's thinking process was simple, in his last life he was lazy and made poor decisions all his life, now that he got a second chance at life for some unknown magical reason, he didn't want to waste a single second of it by making poor decisions.

He studied hard because, in six months, he's not getting a million dollars all of a sudden.Working in the factory will not be a good decision, and just like last time, he will fail in life.

For the past six months, he studied for twelve to sixteen hours a day while remembering how insufferable those cold, long nights without a roof over his head were, he also remembers how his father will take a loan in the future, and that will destroy his family.

Soon Ronald and Lukas reached the dorm building, Lukas got a private room in the dormitory, room number 7. It was on the second floor, so they took the stairs. Lukas waited with the boxes while the floor manager was hot, so his dad went for the keys with documents.

Lukas didn't mind his dad flirting around, first of all, he was too mature, and second, after seeing the dad who almost every night cried for him, he'll even go to hell for this man.

Soon Ronald returned with the keys, and both of them pushed the box inside. The room was modest and had a bed for only one person there, a bathroom, a reading table, and a clothing rack.

This sure is an Ivy League college, they provide single rooms for the first-year students.

Lukas smiled at his dad because it was time for him to leave, Ronald held both of Lukas's shoulders with a firm grip, then nodded his head and smiled, his smile was genuine and proud.

"Make us proud, if you need, I am just a call away. Don't get bullied and study hard, " Ronald said to Lukas with a smile and left with his old Ford Taurus.

Lukas was seeing his father going away from the campus and smiled, he was determined to win it all from now on. With the knowledge he has of the future, he'll just be rolling in money after a while.

Lukas initially thought everything was a dream, him being homeless, getting betrayed by his girlfriend, and getting cheated on by the loan sharks.

Everything felt unreal and felt like a nightmare, but he followed the news, although he doesn't remember much, but some significant news he still remembers, and when he saw those news articles appearing in the newspaper, he was shocked.

Lukas shook his head and busied himself with the room arrangements. If this was the old him, he would go around the campus and look at girls first, and then, when his mood allowed him, he would do half of the chores.

After arranging everything, he sat on the reading desk and pulled out a book, it was not an academic book but a book he was reading to learn, his hunger for learning has increased several hundredfold after regressing. He was reading a book called 'The Wealth of Nations' by Adam Smith.

[Ding!! Ultimate Cash System Awakened!!]

[Attention: All cash is taxed. A pay stub* will be given.]

[Ding!! Mission: Study for one hour. Minimum Reward: $1000]

A cyan-colored panel appeared in front of Lukas while he was busy studying, seeing the panel and hearing several Ding!! His head buzzed with shock.

"What the hell is this? " Lukas asked as he felt lightheaded with shock, anyone would be shocked to see such a thing appearing out of nowhere and the sound it made directly as if inside the ear.

"T… This is the thing!! It's the Golden Finger. I've wasted an immense amount of time on those Chinese novels. I know exactly what that is, still, it's shocking. " Lukas murmured, Before regression, he wasted his life reading stupid translated novels doing nothing, in this life he handled it pretty normally because of it.

I guess reading novels has its perks, I should sometimes read those when they become available, I guess.

Lukas smiled at the panel, he looked at the mission, which said 'Minimum.' It meant he could perform well to get a big reward.

Lukas nervously thought 'System Close.' The cyan-colored panel disappeared in an instant, then he said in his mind, 'System.' The panel appeared once again and was showing the mission.

"With this in hand, I'll be the king of the world, ahahaha. " Lukas laughed like a maniac a little, then stopped because his soul was 42 years old, and he was mature enough to behave well after dying.

Lukas instantly sat at his reading table and finished the book he was reading, he then yawned because he had surely spent more than one hour reading the book and learning while at it.

Lukas opened the system panel to check if he really passed the first mission.

[Mission Completed!! Grade: A, 3 hours and 23 minutes studied. Reward: $3000]

"Fuck!! " Lukas cursed because a bundle of $100 bills appeared in front of him, it was floating in front of him and looked almost transparent.

Lukas grabbed it, and it became real. there was also a pay stub with it, which stated he paid tax in full.

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[*Pay Stub:A pay stub shows your earnings minus federal, state, local taxes, Social Security, and Medicare deductions, revealing your net take-home pay.]