Chapter 46: Day Off [2]: A Celebration Invitation

Ethan walked into his room, about to head straight for his computer out of habit when the screen suddenly shut off mid-boot.

{Today is marked as rest and recovery, so I’ll be shutting down any work-related operations until 6 a.m. tomorrow.}

A sigh escaped him, half amused and half resigned. He could technically override it, but a part of him knew she wasn’t wrong.

He really needed a break from his computer screen so he just chuckled and responded, "you’re right."

He then walked to the bed and crashed face first into it before he turned to stare at the ceiling.

Relaxing like this was nice but he had the urge to do something, code something, anything to get his mind busy.

"System, bring up the mission progress." He said, looking through it might keep him entertained for a while.

The blue holographic screen popped up before his again, revealing the mission information.

[{Missions}

Public Exposure

Objective: OmniTech cannot change the world if the world doesn’t know it exists. It’s time to build credibility and technological presence. You must publicly launch your first product (Sentinel) and secure your first real user base or client contract.

---



Mission Details:

To complete this mission, the following steps must be fulfilled:

1. Product Launch: Create a public-facing platform (website, landing page, demo presentation) that showcases Sentinel’s capabilities.

2. Secure Client Usage: Have at least one business, institution, or verified organization adopt Sentinel for active use.

3. Gather Results: Collect initial performance feedback or analytics from the client/user base to verify real-world utility.

---

Rewards:

Unlocks Tech Influence tracking

+10% free use knowledge and proficiency point

Multiplier Unlocked: x10 on the first 100 system points earned.

Progress: 80%]

He was really close to mission completion, the only steps remaining was actually releasing the software and collecting user feedback.

But he was in no hurry to release yet, at least not until his deal with Google was completed, which would work to boost OmniTech’s market valuation higher.

He closed the mission screen, the ceiling greeting his eyes again as a thought crossed his mind, a question he had wanted to ask for a while now.

"System," he started, "why did you choose me?"

Yes, he was a bit smarter than most—but he wasn’t the only genius in that timeline. And besides, he’d already been at death’s door...well, more accurately, he was already dead, so why had the system chosen him?

There was a moment of silence, almost as if the system was contemplating whether or not to respond before it sighed.

Shockingly, it used Athena’s voice to respond, instead of the blue holographic screen it used to.

[Usually I’d respond with "Access level restricted"] it started, [but I have a feeling you wouldn’t be satisfied with just that]

Ethan was surprised, not by the fact that the system was speaking through Athena’s voice. He had already suspected that it had some degree of influence over any tech he created, especially those that originated from it.

What he didn’t expect though was the emotion it displayed through Athena’s voice. The system almost sounded human.

[I can’t tell you much right now,] the system continued, without waiting for him to complete his thoughts, [all I can say is, I needed time.]

Ethan frowned, getting over his surprise, before asking, "needed time to do what?’

[Access to that information is restricted for now,] the system responded.

"Of course it is," he muttered dryly, his dissatisfaction evident in his voice.



Being used again didn’t sit well with him—especially after what Olivia did—but for now, it seemed like a win-win situation, so he’d play along.

"So this whole thing," he muttered, "me regressing, building OmniTech, creating Sentinel... it’s all part of something bigger, isn’t it?"

[Correct.]

He rubbed his face. "And you can’t just tell me what that ’something’ is?"

[Correct.]

He chuckled bitterly. "I figured."

There was another moment of silence. Ethan already figured that there was no way he was given the system for free, nothing in this world came without a price. But being left in the dark about the cost didn’t sit well with him either.

With another sigh, he just let go of the topic, for now. He knew he’d find out sooner or later.

{I’m in their systems,} Athena’s voice suddenly returned and the system went back to replying through its usual holographic screen.

"Alright, for now just keep observing Nathaniel’s actions" Ethan answered.

{Understood} she replied and went silent.

"Any suggestions on what I should do during this day off?" he asked lazily. "Or am I supposed to just lie here and contemplate my existence?"

{That would be a healthy start. But if you’re looking for options, I took the liberty of curating a few.}

"Let me hear them," he said as he sat back up.

{Alright then—} before she could complete her words, Ethan’s phone suddenly rang and lit up to reveal the name:

My little Midas.

{It seems a better option just presented itself.} Athena said as Lillian’s call came in.

She hadn’t blocked calls from Lillian since she was also on break just like Ethan, so there was no reason to limit her access. Still, seeing her name flash across the screen brought a small, unexpected smile to his face.

He answered with a casual, "Hey, Midas."

There was a moment of silence before Lillian’s voice came through, she sounded a bit hesitant. "Um... hi. I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I?"

"Just an intense internal debate about whether to nap or stare at my ceiling," he said dryly,"you saved me."

"That sounds like a tough choice." She chuckled at his dilemma.

"It was. What’s up?" He casually asked.

"I... well, I was wondering if you’d like to join Aria and me for a private celebration tonight," she said, then quickly added, "only if you want to, of course."

Ethan took a moment to think about it. He wasn’t a party guy, often coming off as boring in his previous timeline since he preferred working on his inventions rather than attending half-hearted parties filled with fake smiles.



Olivia mostly handled those back then.

But it wasn’t like he’d be attending a big party—as Lillian said, it would be a private one. And besides, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t handle those kinds of gatherings; he had just preferred being cooped up in his workspace back then.

"Sure," he said finally. "I’ll come."

"Really?" she asked, the surprise clear in her voice, but so was the smile he could practically hear forming.

"Yeah. Why not?" he replied in a light tone, "I could use a little celebrating."

"Great! I’ll text you the details." It sounded like Aria was in the background with Lillian—Ethan could make out the faint sound of her celebrating his acceptance.

Yeah... this was probably her idea too.

A moment later, the line went dead, probably because Lillian didn’t want Ethan to hear Aria’s squeals.

Ethan stared at the phone for a moment before tossing it onto the bed beside him.

"Well, that takes care of the evening plans," he muttered.

{I still have a few suggestions for how you could spend the rest of your day off.} Athena stated.

"Go ahead," he said as he got off the bed, "let’s hear them"