Today was a busy day for Maximilian "Max" Krane. He worked at Selene Virelli's company, reviewing investments, expansion plans, and… secret capital combos that no one fully understood. To Max, every financial move was a strategic attack: crushing competitors, acquiring rival companies, unlocking reputation bonuses. Everything was measured in wealth points, XP, and hidden achievements that only he could see.
The truth was that Max had spent the entire night preparing a special report, a "master plan" of investments that, in his mind, would make Selene notice him—and admire him. His unrequited love for her kept him awake until late, reviewing numbers, charts, and strategies that only he could probably decipher. Every time he found even the smallest optimization, he imagined Selene smiling at him with approval.
The clock kept ticking and suddenly he realized it: he was late. He jumped up from his chair with dramatic flair, but his enthusiasm betrayed him and he slammed his head against the corner of the desk. Everything went black… and he passed out.
When he woke up, a message was floating in front of him, complete with flashing lights and video game–style sound effects:
"Congratulations, host! You have awakened the system. Level unlocked: Capital Hero."
Max blinked, rubbing his aching forehead."What…?" he murmured. "This… this is real, right?"
And deep in his mind, as he reviewed the charts he had prepared for Selene, he thought:If only she knew how hard I've worked… maybe she'd finally notice me.
Max opened the door to his office, still rubbing his head from the blow against the desk. On his chair sat a package wrapped in glossy paper with a perfectly tied ribbon, accompanied by an unsigned note:
"So your day starts with energy. Enjoy it, Capital Hero."
Max blinked."…Who…?" he murmured, turning the package over, searching for a brand, a clue. There was nothing.
The package was… unnecessarily expensive. Luxury financial gadgets, holographic charts, pens that cost more than his annual salary, and a notebook engraved with the words: "For Max, who is always one step ahead."
"This…" he said, torn between opening it and suspecting a scam. "I haven't done anything… yet."
Max arrived at the company in a hurry, his backpack hanging awkwardly from one shoulder and his head still spinning from the sleepless night. As he entered, he noticed the meeting about the projects had already ended: chairs neatly aligned, reports stacked, and an air heavy with reheated coffee and executive ambition.
"Selene!" Max shouted, trying to hurry toward her.
She was already leaving the office, heels echoing down the hallway, hair pulled back with millimetric precision, briefcase in hand. Impeccable. Untouchable in her pace.
Max barely caught up, breathing hard."Selene, wait! I have… I have something—"
She gave him a quick, polite smile without stopping."Max, I'm sorry, I have to go. Another meeting. We'll talk later."
"It won't take long," he insisted, nearly dragging himself so as not to lose her.
"Fine… walk with me," Selene said with a tired sigh, adjusting her pace.
Max took a deep breath, reining in his excitement. He had learned that, no matter how legendary his energy was, disrupting Selene's rhythm always left him out of sync. So he carefully tucked away the folder filled with diagrams, charts, and notes about the "perfect financial operation from last night," and followed Selene down the hallway, determined to make every word count.
During the trip to the Rasmunt residence, Max couldn't stop explaining his plan. It was brilliant, creative, almost daring to the point of madness: with it, Selene could make millions. Every line of his strategy was meticulously calculated, and he never tired of emphasizing the genius of his ideas while Selene listened, silently evaluating each step.
When they arrived, they stopped at the entrance and observed the scene.
The Rasmunt family was visibly broken, apologizing excessively, with awkward gestures and trembling voices. They bowed, repeated "we're sorry, we're sorry," and seemed desperate to find any way to ease the tension.
At the center, Adrián Valmont sat in absolute calm, sipping a glass of red wine with a barely perceptible smile. His secretary stood beside him, documents in hand, like a mechanical extension of Adrián's silent authority.
Selene and Max understood what had happened without a word: Adrián had bought all the loans, companies, and assets associated with the Rasmunts. He had bent them with money—precisely and without causing a scandal.
That… that is power, Selene thought, a gleam appearing in her eyes.
Max, though fascinated by the scene, felt a stab of jealousy he couldn't ignore. Instinctively, a deep rejection of Adrián took hold of him—it was the same feeling a hero has when facing a villain, even before truly knowing him. Every calculated gesture, every restrained smile from Adrián ignited in Max a mix of rage and admiration that deeply irritated him.
And when he saw the gleam in Selene's eyes as she grasped the magnitude of Adrián's power, the anger intensified. His enthusiasm for his own plan mixed with a sharp ache: he didn't want the woman he loved to admire another man—especially not someone who inspired that kind of silent, absolute respect.
Then, as if the universe itself decided to mock him, a DING echoed in his head, accompanied by a floating message visible only to him:
"Villain detected: Threat Level = 9001. Beware of target's influence over nearby allies."
Max blinked in disbelief."What… what kind of system is this?"
But the message didn't stop:
"Target observation: Admiration detected in romantic interest. Recommendation: Increase strategy level and avoid direct confrontation until skills are unlocked."
The gleam in Selene's eyes as she grasped the magnitude of Adrián's power only increased Max's irritation. His enthusiasm for his own plan blended with a piercing pain: he didn't want his beloved to admire another—least of all someone who commanded such silent, absolute respect… and who had now, apparently, been marked by an absurd system as a "villain."
The silence grew heavy with tension. Every movement, every gesture, every glance mattered: the Rasmunts, defeated and humbled; Adrián, unshaken and dominant; Selene, calculating and brilliant; Max, consumed by jealousy, restrained rage… and by mental notifications from a system that clearly did not respect human dignity.
The true game of power unfolded before them, and Selene understood it instantly: whoever controlled money could bend entire worlds—without boasting, without noise. And Max, for the first time, felt that this world could become a battlefield where he too would have to learn how to fight… even if the "system" kept throwing ridiculous notifications at him.
Adrián stood up calmly, unhurried. The Rasmunt family watched him with a mix of submission and fear; every tense muscle, every exaggerated gesture of apology had been useless.
"The Rasmunt family will be my right hand in this city," Adrián said, his voice calm but heavy with authority.An absolute silence followed. No one dared to respond.
"If anyone has an objection, they may speak now," he added, calm turning into a veiled threat.
No one spoke.
Adrián paused, scanning the room with a sharp gaze, then added without raising his voice:
"Oh—and I also need someone to clean my shoes when they get dirty. Andrew… that will be your role."
Andrew went pale, caught between shock and humiliation, while the Rasmunt family suppressed a collective shudder of shame. Adrián leaned back in his chair, taking another sip of his wine, as if nothing that had happened were out of the ordinary.
Selene, watching from the doorway beside Max, let out a glimmer of amazement and amusement. To her, this wasn't just money; it was concentrated power—pure, brutal, and effective.
Max, on the other hand, felt a knot in his stomach: jealousy, revulsion, rage… and the certainty that he was witnessing someone who, with a single gesture, could bend entire families to his will.