He crumpled.

Slowly. Dramatically. Like a building being demolished in slow motion. His knees hit the asphalt first, then he tipped sideways, hands clutching his crotch, body curling into the fetal position.

The parking lot was silent.

Then:

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"

The dam broke. Laughter exploded from every direction. Phones zoomed in on Brett's curled-up form. People were actually crying from laughing so hard.

Danton's phone had dropped to his side entirely, screen dark. His golden-boy composure had cracked like cheap porcelain.

Delilah's cruel smile had vanished, replaced by something that looked like she'd swallowed a lemon whole. Probably wondering if she could disown him retroactively.

In her window, Sierra had both hands pressed over her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking. Was she crying or laughing? From this distance, Phei couldn't tell.

Either worked.

He stood over Brett's crumpled form, barely winded, not a hair out of place.

"Had enough?" he asked.

Brett's response was a groan that might have contained words but mostly contained regret.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Phei turned to face the crowd. Found the nearest phone pointing at him. Looked directly into the camera.

"For anyone who missed it," he said, letting the Charm Speech carry his voice across the lot, "the charity case just put Brett Castellano on his ass. Twice. Feel free to screenshot that."

He walked away.

The crowd parted for him—not reluctantly this time, not with contempt. They moved aside like he was someone worth moving aside for.

Some people were still laughing. Others were staring with expressions that suggested their entire worldview had just been recalibrated.

Phei caught Maya's eye as he passed. She was grinning now, no longer trying to hide it.

"Nice moves," she said.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," he replied honestly.

"Could've fooled me."

He kept walking.

Behind him, Brett was trying to get up. Failing. Trying again. His friends had finally rushed in to help, Anderson and Kyle grabbing his arms, trying to haul him vertical.

"Get OFF me!" Brett slurred, slapping their hands away, which just made him lose balance and tip over again.

More laughter. The gift that kept on giving.

Phei pushed through the crowd's edge and kept going, heading for the main building, his back to the chaos he'd created.

[DING!]

[MISSION COMPLETE: Fight and win against Brett, your archenemy.]

[REWARDS AVAILABLE:]

Cool Aura (Passive Ability) — Ready to claim

Basketball Skills: 60% — Ready to download

+15 Charm Points — Ready to apply

[Claim rewards now? Y/N]

Phei's steps faltered for just a second.

The basketball skills. The knowledge download. He had no idea what that would feel like. Would it be like the stat boosts—a warm wave washing through him? Or would it be more... intense?

More painful?

He thought about the Dragon's Rod transformation. The agony of his body reshaping itself. The way he'd collapsed, bitten through his lip, nearly screamed.

If the basketball download was anything like that...

He was in public.

Walking through a parking lot full of students who were still recording, still watching, still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. If he suddenly dropped to his knees clutching his head while decades of professional basketball knowledge forcibly rewrote his neural pathways, that would raise questions.

Questions he couldn't answer.

Questions like: "Yo, why is the charity case having a seizure after slapping Brett in the nuts?"

So, he kept walking.

The rewards could wait.

He had time.

And besides—after the day he'd had, he deserved to savor the walk back to the building like a man who'd just become the school's new apex predator.

Without collapsing in front of the entire audience.

Again.

[Basketball Skills 60%: Accept now?]

No, he thought firmly. Later. Somewhere private.

[Basketball Skills download postponed. Reward saved for later activation.]

[Charm Points: Accept now?]

Same logic. He didn't know if his face would visibly change. Couldn't risk it.

No. Later.

[Charm Points application postponed. Reward saved for later activation.]

[Cool Aura: Accept now?]

This one… he hesitated.

Cool Aura was passive. Always active. If it was going to change something about him, it would change it regardless of when he accepted. Might as well be now.

Yes.

[COOL AURA — ACTIVATED]

[Passive Ability - Always Active]

[Description: Others perceive Host's actions and words through a lens of intrigue and admiration. Effect varies based on the observer's personality and moral alignment.]

[Mechanics:

Righteous/Noble personalities: Will perceive Host's positive actions as admirable, principled, worthy of respect. Negative actions will create cognitive dissonance—"there must be a reason" or "he's not as bad as he seems."

Unruly/Wild/Rebellious personalities: Will perceive Host's defiance and rule-breaking as cool, attractive, aspirational. Will admire boldness regardless of morality.

Villainous/Cruel personalities: Will perceive Host as someone dangerous, someone worth watching, someone who might be useful or entertaining. Respect born from recognizing a predator.

[Effect Intensity: Subtle! This ability creates curiosity, not obsession. Interest, not infatuation. It builds stairs—it does not teleport.]

[Note: Each person's perception is filtered through their own personality. The same action will land differently depending on who's watching.]

[Examples:]

Sienna (conflicted, passive, guilt-prone?): Will find herself thinking about Host more often. Unable to dismiss him as "just the charity case" anymore. Guilt over past treatment will sharpen. Curiosity about what changed will grow.

Mrs. Adriana (dominant exterior, hidden submissive, cruel?): Will perceive Host's dominance display as... interesting. Threatening to her worldview but also intriguing. Will find excuses to observe him more closely, though she won't understand why.

Amber (entitled, cruel, follows her mother's lead): Will feel unsettled. The charity case was supposed to stay in his place. His refusal to do so is irritating but also—though she'd never admit it—slightly impressive. Like watching a bug refuse to be stepped on.

[The villain becomes the favorite not through force, but through fascination.]

[They won't know why they're paying attention to you now.]

[They'll just know they can't look away!]

Phei felt it settle over him. Not a physical sensation—more like a shift in the air. A change in how the world would perceive him from this moment forward.

Subtle. Gradual. Building stairs instead of bridges.

He could work with that.

Behind him, the crowd was still buzzing. Still processing. And now, with Cool Aura active, that processing would trend in his favor.

The girls who'd watched him dominate Sierra this morning—the ones who'd seen him pin her against the wall, whisper in her ear, reduce the Hell Queen to tears—they'd be thinking about it differently now.

Not "what the fuck was that" but "okay but... that was kind of hot, right?"

The boys who'd just watched him slap Brett around like a misbehaving child—even the ones who hated him, even the ones who wanted Brett to win—some of them would be having thoughts they didn't want to admit. Hard to say but... that was actually pretty cool.

Not everyone. Not all at once. Cool Aura wasn't mind control.

But seeds were being planted. Curiosity was being cultivated.

Phei Maxton was becoming someone people wondered about.

And wondering was the first step to everything else.

[CONGRATULATIONS, DRAGON.]

[You just made Brett Castellano cry in front of the whole school.]

[His mother is going to hear about this.]

[His mother is one of your targets.]

[Funny how that works out.]

Phei snorted at that last notification.

Mrs. Adriana. The hot rude neighbor. Brett's mom.

Somewhere in Paradise right now, she was probably getting a call. Or a text. Or one of her society friends was sending her a link to a livestream replay with a message like "You need to see this... your son's balls are trending."

The woman who'd thrown lattes at him. Who'd made him re-park her car three times. Who looked at him like he was something stuck to her designer heels.

She was about to find out that her precious son had just been publicly humiliated by the charity case.

And with Cool Aura active... her reaction to that information was going to be interesting.

Very interesting indeed.

From behind him came the sounds of Brett finally making it to his feet, immediately bending over to dry heave, and the renewed explosion of laughter that followed.

Phei didn't look back.

He didn't need to.

The charity case had just become something else entirely.

And this was only the beginning.

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