Chapter 195: 195 | Time to Go Be a Scumbag
〘 The System notes that the Host has not yet formalized his strategic approach for the first arc of his Hero Academy experience. The reconfiguration is complete. The capability assessment is updated. The decision about how to present that capability remains outstanding. 〙
I thought about it.
The middle ground was still the answer. Not because it was the best answer but because it was the only answer that didn’t collapse immediately under institutional scrutiny. I couldn’t hide everything. Halloran’s training programs were designed to push students to their limits, and consistent underperformance would attract more attention than occasional excellence. I couldn’t reveal everything. An Unmarked student with triple-digit attributes and a Legendary active skill that could steal pieces of other people’s Aspects would trigger investigations that would end with me in a government lab somewhere.
So I’d calibrate.
Show enough to be impressive without showing enough to be impossible. Let my registered Aspect explain some of my capability while hiding the parts that couldn’t be explained. Build relationships with the people who mattered while keeping enough distance to maintain cover stories that didn’t fall apart under pressure.
The standard approach for anyone operating with a secret identity in a world full of people with the power to expose secrets.
〘 The Host’s strategic framework appears sound. The System recommends flexibility in implementation. Rigid planning fails against dynamic opposition. The Host should be prepared to adjust his performance ceiling based on situational requirements. 〙
"If I need to go all out, I’ll go all out."
〘 A reasonable position. The System notes that going all out will have consequences that extend beyond the immediate situation. The Host should consider those consequences before committing to full capability revelation. 〙
I knew the consequences.
I’d been thinking about them since I first realized how far the gap had grown between what I was registered as and what I actually was. Every point I’d added to my attributes. Every ability I’d pulled from the Gacha. Every passive trait that made me more dangerous than any first-year student had a right to be.
The gap would eventually become impossible to explain.
The question was what I did when that moment arrived.
Run. Fight. Convince people to look the other way. Find allies powerful enough to protect me from institutional consequences. Become so valuable to the Hero industry that they couldn’t afford to investigate too closely.
All options.
All had costs.
I’d figure out which ones I was willing to pay when the bill came due.
〘 The Host has established a strategic framework. The System will monitor implementation and provide guidance as situations develop. For now, the System recommends the Host return to social engagement. The dormitory below contains multiple heroines with active or potential Temptation Gauges. The First Step To Harem King quest remains active with a deadline of this evening. 〙
Right.
The quest.
Three heroines contacted with meaningful engagement. At least one viewing me as a potential rival or threat. Bonus objective for triggering two Gauge unlocks within the week.
I’d already made contact with Rina at twelve percent. Camille was flagged as contacted but without a Gauge. Felicity was at eight percent.
That was three contacts.
But the quest required meaningful engagement, not just brief introductions. And I hadn’t established anything approaching rivalry or threat perception with anyone.
〘 The Host should note that Petra Lang remains in the building and has not yet discovered his actual identity. The continued deception creates an opportunity for dramatic revelation that may satisfy the rivalry or threat condition when the truth emerges. 〙
Petra Lang.
The recommendation track princess who’d mistaken me for a furniture delivery person.
When she found out I’d ranked third on the entrance exam she’d skipped entirely, the reaction would be worth watching.
I sat up on the bed.
The common room below was louder now. More voices. More movement. The building was filling up with its intended population.
Time to go be social.
Time to go be a scumbag.
I pulled on a fresh hoodie from the closet and checked my reflection in the mirror. The face looking back at me was the same face I’d been wearing for three months. Strong jaw. Dark hair that fell just past my ears. Grey eyes that apparently made people feel seen in ways that registered as significant.
The System said my physical presence would become increasingly difficult to ignore as Demigod’s effects compounded over time.
Apparently the compounding had already started.
I looked better than I had this morning.
Not dramatically different. Just cleaner lines. Slightly more symmetrical features. The kind of subtle improvements that registered subconsciously without anyone being able to articulate what had changed.
〘 Demigod’s physical optimization is continuous. The Host’s appearance will continue developing toward his theoretical maximum regardless of grooming choices or lifestyle factors. This process is gradual but cumulative. Others will notice without understanding why they are noticing. 〙
"Great. I’m getting hotter by the hour."
〘 The Host’s assessment is technically accurate. 〙
I left the room and headed for the stairs.
The common room hit me with noise and movement the moment I emerged from the stairwell. At least a dozen people occupied the space now, students and parents mixing in configurations that shifted as I watched. Finn was still working on his kettle corn situation near the stove, though he’d apparently recruited help from a girl with dark hair and a skeptical expression. Percy remained on the couch with his notebook, his eyes tracking the room in patterns that suggested he was cataloguing everything and everyone for later analysis.
Two girls I didn’t recognize sat on the other end of the modular seating arrangement, both of them glancing in my direction as I entered.
Ecchi Logic.
The ability was already working.
Their attention wasn’t random. It was weighted. Probability had bent to make them look up at the exact moment I appeared, to position their sightlines so that I’d enter their field of view at an angle that emphasized whatever physical qualities registered as attractive.
I felt it like pressure against the inside of my skull. Not painful. Just present. A constant awareness that reality was arranging itself around me in ways designed to maximize romantic tension with every woman the System had flagged as relevant.
One of the girls smiled.
The other looked away quickly enough that the looking away was its own kind of signal.
〘 Ecchi Logic has identified two potential heroines within engagement range. Current Gauge status: unknown. Recommend approach and assessment. 〙
Time to test out my new toys and finish this quest.
