Later that evening, "whoaaah," Eric, Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, and Heidi gasped in awe as they took in the waterpark right next to their hotel. The entire place was decked out in hanging lanterns, festive streamers, and colorful lit-up fountains.

The girls were all wearing one-piece swimsuits covered by cardigans, carrying extra swimwear in their bags. Meanwhile, Eric was just wearing a pair of shorts and a Hawaiian shirt he had picked up from a clothing shop in the hallway leading to the park.

"Come on everyone, let’s go have some fun!" Laura called out cheerfully.

"Let’s do it!" Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, and Heidi replied enthusiastically.

The six of them immediately dragged Eric inside, strolling along the edges of the pools. Eric kept looking around. There were open, decorated huts made of bamboo and thatch selling all kinds of cocktails, sodas, and coffees, lined up right by the water.

The place was packed with people swimming around with drinks in their hands while listening to a live band playing on a stage at the far end, right in front of a wave pool. In front of the stage, an open space served as a dance floor for the guests, looking just like a disco floor specially set up for the party.

"Wow... this is the first time I’ve ever been to a pool party like this. My mom and dad usually forbid me from going to places like this. Thank you, Eric," Heidi said, hugging Eric’s arm.

"Yeah... same here, thank you, Eric," Priya said, wrapping her arms around Eric’s other arm.

"It’s my first time too... this is so much fun, thank you, Eric," Monica said, hugging Eric’s waist from behind.

"If my mom found out I was at a party like this, she would completely lose her mind... so thank you, Eric," Emma said, hugging Eric from the front.

"You guys... you’re just throwing everything onto Eric, aren’t you? That way, if you get yelled at, he’s the one who takes the blame, right?" Chloe scolded, placing a hand on Eric’s shoulder as she looked at her friends.

"Pathetic," Laura added, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at them.

"It’s pretty obvious that’s what they’re doing," Eric said, completely resigned as he shook his head.

"Hehehe... sorry," Emma, Monica, Heidi, and Priya chorused.

Suddenly, the live music stopped. Eric could see the musicians waving goodbye to make way for the next act. The atmosphere quieted down a bit, leaving only the dim murmur of guest conversations and distant cheers. Then, out of nowhere,

"Um... guys, look around," Laura said, suddenly shifting closer to the rest of the group. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Without hesitation, they all looked around them. "Huh," Eric, Emma, Monica, Chloe, Heidi, Priya, and Laura, who was now clinging to Eric, realized that crowds of young guys in swim trunks holding drinks, groups of girls in bikinis carrying pool floats and cocktails, and other men and women of all ages were starting to swarm them.

They were pulling out their smartphones and pointing their cameras directly at Eric, Emma, Monica, Chloe, Heidi, Priya, and Laura, who were all huddled together in the center.

"You guys... you’re The Empress... along with your songwriter and manager, right?" a girl asked.

"Yeah... that’s right, it’s them! Wow... I can’t believe they’re actually here," a young guy added.

"Huh," Eric, Emma, Monica, Chloe, Heidi, Priya, and Laura were completely taken aback. It turned out this many people recognized them, and they were already crowding around, asking to take a big group photo together.

While they stood there trapped and confused about what to do, "vwooong," a holographic screen popped open right in front of Eric’s face.

"Uh... of all times," Eric thought in his head, though he still read the text.

[Side Quest Triggered.]

[First Objective : play house music using the dj booth on stage and get the entire crowd dancing.]

[Reward : ???.]

Without a second thought, Eric noticed the stage was empty because the DJ was taking a break. He immediately grabbed the six girls and pulled them over. When they reached the backstage area, a security guard stopped them from heading up, but the moment the guard saw Laura glaring daggers at him, he quickly stepped aside and waved them through.

Eric walked straight up onto the stage. There was nothing on it except a futuristic DJ booth equipped with massive speakers and no other musical instruments. Moving behind the booth, Eric scanned through several tracks on the laptop and clicked on one.

He then started working the mixer with expert precision, creating a loud, completely unique dance rhythm that instantly got the crowd in front of the stage moving enthusiastically.

Eric was completely in his element, working the mixer while grooving smoothly behind the DJ table. The stage spotlights began to dance to the rhythm as well, sending a wave of energy that got the entire waterpark moving.

"Wohoooo," a few guests shouted, bobbing their heads to the beat. As Eric lost himself in the music, he noticed the six girls dancing gracefully on stage right in front of him, facing the crowd with bright, carefree smiles on their faces.

The first track came to an end, but the crowd wasn’t ready to stop. Eric transitioned right into the next song, dialing up the mixer to drop an even heavier beat that kept everyone dancing happily.

The party atmosphere was absolutely electric, filling the entire place with a sense of pure magic. As the second track wrapped up, the text on the holographic screen floating in front of Eric’s face shifted.

[First Objective completed.]

[Second Objective : play three more tracks and satisfy the party crowd.]

Glancing at the second objective, Eric just smiled. "Wooohooo!" he shouted out loud, his hands already flying across the mixer again as he nodded along to the beat. Naturally, the crowd fed off his energy and got even more hyped up than before.

The space in front of the stage packed out completely, as if every single person in the waterpark had shifted their attention to the stage. The six girls got even more hyped up, and Eric kept the momentum going until he finally finished five tracks in a row, leaving the entire crowd completely satisfied.

Afterward, Eric walked to the front of the stage, put his arms around the girls, and bowed to the crowd, who instantly erupted into thunderous applause. Eric and the girls then headed backstage. As they stepped down,

"Hey,"

Eric turned around. He spotted a handsome guy with a blonde buzz cut, shirtless, wearing earrings, and sporting a sleeve tattoo on one arm calling out to him. Eric recognized him, he was the previous DJ who had stepped down for a quick break.

A massive grin stretched across the guy’s face. He reached out his hand, and Eric clasped it, the two of them locking in a brief shoulder bump.

"You’re awesome, man. I love your musical style," the guy said.

"Thanks, man," Eric replied.

"My name’s Finn... you’re Eric Reed, right?" Finn asked.

"Yep, that’s me. Sorry, we gotta run," Eric answered.

"Cool. We should collab sometime, man. I really dig your style. Let me get your number," Finn said.

"Sure, just hit me up, man," Eric replied.

They swapped numbers, and Eric said his goodbyes, leading Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura away after Finn introduced himself to them too. As they walked toward the lazy river, they could see the crowd was completely satisfied and no longer had the energy to keep dancing.

Everyone seemed ready to just enjoy the rest of the night winding down, relaxing and chatting with the new people they had just met. Eric smiled as the text on his holographic screen shifted. He immediately read the update:

[Objective two completed.]

[Reward : $55,000.00 received, funds transferred to your account.]

[Reward : Sharp intuition upgrade – installed.]

"Ding." A notification pinged on Eric’s smartphone. He checked it, confirming the money had already cleared into his bank account.

"Sweet... lost $3,000 but just raked in $55,000.00. I don’t have to stress anymore," Eric thought in his head, a smile spreading across his face as he walked behind the six girls, who looked incredibly happy but exhausted ahead of him.

"What are we doing next? Swimming?" Priya asked.

"Let’s go swim! Let’s go play around for a bit," Emma replied enthusiastically.

"Hey... it’s late. Shouldn’t we head back to our rooms?" Eric asked.

The six girls snapped their heads around to look at Eric. Without saying a word, they grabbed both of his arms and dragged him as they jumped straight into the pool. They ended up having a blast together, and Eric couldn’t help but smile and enjoy himself too.

***

The next morning,

"Uuh,"

"I told you so. It was late and you guys just had to jump in anyway. Now just sit still," Eric said.

Eric draped towels over the six girls, who were wearing bathrobes and lining up helplessly across the beds they had pushed together. Their faces were flushed red; they had all come down with a fever from playing way too hard the night before.

Eric patiently placed cold compresses on the foreheads of Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura.

"Hehe... thanks," the six of them said, forcing out a smile that didn’t quite reach their eyes because they were so drained, turning their heads to look at Eric.

"Yeah, yeah... just get some sleep. I’ll extend the room reservation. We’ll head home tomorrow, and if you guys are still sick tonight, we’re going to the hospital," Eric said calmly, smiling down at the six girls lying there weak. Even so, "seventeen-year-olds will always be seventeen-year-olds, especially since they’re homebodies. A little late-night fun and they immediately get sick haha," Eric thought in his head, clearly laughing at the six girls in bed.