Bruce. His image invaded her head. Her eyes shone with anger, her jaw stiffening.
She clenched her fists.
'I'll get my revenge on you. You will feel exactly how I felt—that's a promise.' She pushed the thought away.
Right now, she had a job to secure. Bruce would come later.
She raised her shoulders, head held high, her heart brimming with self-inspired confidence.
She walked into the lobby of the company building.
She was greeted by the receptionist, a young lady in her late twenties. A bright, contagious smile lit up her face.
Allysa couldn't help but smile back.
"Hey, Allysa," the receptionist beamed. "You're late today—that's rare."
Allysa looked around, her gaze sweeping across the lobby.
It was almost as she remembered. Not every detail was clear, but the lobby's aesthetic charm remained deeply etched in her memory.
Still just as beautiful. Still just as appealing.
"Yeah, I got caught up in... a lot of things."
She turned away. She needed to head to her department.
According to her memories, she worked in the marketing department as a regular staff member. Her chances of getting promoted were slim.
If she remembered correctly, marketing was to the left. She had to go upstairs. She could picture it—climbing those stairs daily for a tedious, underpaid job.
As she climbed, a slight feeling of dread settled over her.
'What if I get fired? What would I do?' She had only just clawed her way back to life but here she was clocking in late. The irony stung.
Her only feasible path for now was continuing this job while plotting for the future—because if she wanted revenge on Bruce, she needed to build her assets first.
Just then, her annoying ringtone blared through the air.
Lisa again. She sighed deeply and answered.
"Where the hell are you? I'm running out of patience begging that..." her voice dropped to a whisper, "...that motherfucker."
"I'm right at the company," Allysa said, pushing open a door. She spotted Lisa. "I'm right in front of you."
Lisa looked up, her eyes meeting Allysa's. Relief flooded her face. She rushed forward.
Leaning in, she whispered, "I'm supposed to give you a piece of my mind right here, but I won't. Now get your ass to the manager's office and explain why you're late."
Allysa looked at her strangely, emotions rushing through her. She shivered but quickly composed herself.
She wanted to tell Lisa everything. She didn't want to keep it all to herself.
Heck, she could see the care in Lisa's eyes, and that stung. It felt like she was betraying their bond by staying silent.
But right now, she wasn't sure she would do that yet.
She hadn't even finished comprehending the system so she didn't know what danger she was putting her friend in by allowing her have access to knowledge like that.
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me you've turned lesbian after just one week off work."
Allysa gave a wry chuckle. Typically Lisa, always coming up with weird assumptions.
"Nope," she said, shaking her head. Then she turned and walked to the manager's office.
She knocked, three short knocks.
Then a deep voice responded.
"Come in," the masculine voice said with a professional tone.
'Let's get this over with,' she told herself and stepped in.
She glanced around. The office was very professionally appealing.
Sleek chairs. A framed photo of the manager just hung behind his seat, beside next another.. Bruce—her stomach turned at the sight of that.
A water dispenser stood in the corner.
A file cabinet loomed behind his seat. At the far end, a warm, cozy single-seat sofa faced a 45-inch mounted television.
It was designed for comfort. But now, it felt suffocating.
She did not know what the outcome of this meeting would be, but she could not help that feeling of dread that clawed at her heart.
The man looked up from his computer and met Allysa's eyes.
"Ohh, it's you. You're fired. Take this." He tossed a letter at her.
She had been too busy trying to match his face with her memory and didn't notice the letter until it landed near her.
She picked it up, stared at it, and slowly realized—
'Fired?'
Ding!
> [NEW CONQUEST TARGET DETECTED]
[CONQUER YOUR MANAGER]
[SEDUCE, EVOLVE, CONQUER]
[MISSION REWARD: 200 EXP]
[CURRENT EXP: 10]
[EXP TO NEXT LEVEL UP: 90]
[EXP BAR: 10/100]
'This fucked-up system. Always butting in at the most unexpected times. But...'
Ding!
> [SUB QUEST MISSION DETECTED]
[MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT FIRED. SECURE YOUR JOB BY ALL MEANS.]
[MISSION REWARD: 10 EXP]
'What the fuck is this? Me, conquering this man?'
She looked up, studying the manager's features.
He was good-looking, if she was being honest. Black wavy hair, delicate features—he could definitely pass as handsome.
'Well, at least he's not bad. Now, about securing the job... let's get to that.'
"Why are you looking at me so strangely?" the manager asked, an amused look on his face. "You can take your leave now."
"About that, Mr..." She paused. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember his name.
'Well, I guess that skill would come in handy.'
> [SKILL ACTIVATED]
[OBSERVATION]
[NAME: CALEB JULI]
[AGE: 26]
[No other information available]
She looked at him again, a strange glint in her eyes.
> [CHARM STAT: ACTIVE]
"So, Mr. Caleb, can we talk about firing me?" she asked, her voice smooth and honeyed—likely an effect of the Charm Stat being active.
She'd have to learn how to control that Charm. She couldn't afford to come off as sexy and slutty every time.
Mr. Caleb smirked. "What do you want to talk about?"
Meanwhile, in his mind, he couldn't help but notice the subtle changes in her.
'She looks more confident. I wonder where that's from.' The Allysa everyone knew had always been shy, so this new aura threw him off.
'And she's looking good too. Today, she's radiating... something.' He was curious about what had changed.
Allysa pulled out a chair from behind the desk and sat down, locking eyes with Caleb.
"Thanks for not offering me a chair," she said sarcastically.
She leaned in, eyes gleaming. "You don't want to fire me, Caleb.. At least not yet." She paused, letting her words sink.
"Or better still, you can't fire me."