Chapter 10: Chapter 9: “Where reflections are made, and a potential fire is started”

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Villain: Lawrence Lakewood

[ Status ]

 

Rank: D (You’re a zero to the left)
(8) Quests before rank-up

Reputation: None (Your mom barely recognizes you)

Feature Points: 10 (Next Feature costs 1 Feature Point)
-You have a Free Feature Voucher

[ Meta-Ability ]

Criminal Mastermind: Every time you do anything a teeny tiny chance you’ll trigger a chain of events that will help you on the long run

[ Features ]

No unlocked features at the time (Are you blind? Or dumb? Why aren’t you purchasing new Features already?!)

 

[ Quests ]

– First Stain:
Fear! Respect! Appreciation! And more fear! When a villain’s deeds grow famous, so does the villain’s name! And who doesn’t want to see people flicker at the sole mention of his name? And so, it is your turn to make this meek neighborhood to know your name!
Goal: Make your name grow famous around the local area (1%)
Reward: Free Feature Voucher

– Criminal Black Company:
Yeah, yeah, you have your first lackey! Wowie! But you ain’t conquering the world with a few people only. So, it’s time to start expanding your business!
Goal: Obtain more minions (1/3)
Reward: 50 Feature Points

– The Lord of the Things:
Respect is power. Nobody is going to follow a wimp to the frontlines, now, are they? Make those subordinates of yours see you as a chief worth following!
Goal: Obtain a certain amount of respect from your minions (5%)
Reward: 25 Feature Points

– Mastermind Moving:
Clashing weapons? Sniping each other dead? Violence is for the inferior. You are a mastermind, your sword is your words, and your armor is your influence. Make sure you are ready for the next battle!
Goal: Gain influence on an important individual (0/1)
            Alternative: Make an ally out of an important individual (0/1)
Reward: 25 Feature Points (Alternative: +25 Feature Points)

 

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“As expected, tier 2 Quests are on another level…”

Gaining two more minions, getting Mika’s respect, and also, establishing a successful relationship with an influential person. To begin with, these formed part of his eventual to do list, but it was too soon to pursue these goals.

“Setting that aside…”

Lawrence went upstairs, to his room. His hands ran through the back of the books stored in the bookshelf affixed to the room’s wall, and he checked every name out loud.

“‘Are Snails Good For Your Garden?’ Um, not really… ‘Creatures of Albion(II)’ Where’s this even from? Uhhh… ‘Moon-led Journey Across Anoth—’ Oops, I almost cross that line…”

Setting aside the absurdly giant amount of obvious puns, Lawrence kept searching between classical and absurd alike. Manuals for the most unconventional items, dissertations about the nutritive properties of cookies, and even real grimoires (at least that’s what the lady at that obscure bazaar said), were mixed with the masterpieces of Lovecraft, Jules Verne, G. H. Wells, Tolkien, and other famous books everyone should read once in their lives.

Lawrence was quite the bookworm at times.

“Aha!”

Finally he found the book he was looking for, buried between a Harry Potter book and something titled “The Full Beginner’s Guide for an Isekai Summoning Situation”.

“Oh, I forgot I had that one… Though it was pretty good one, albeit useless. But! This is what I was looking for…! ‘Meta-Society Studies III’ huh… It feels like it was yesterday that I went to the university…”

He had graduated this year, maybe it was something related to that.

“So!”

Sliding his feet out of the fluffly mules (this time dog-themed), he jumped to the elastic paradise of his custom-made bed (just the right balance to put you to sleep in heaven) and searched for the index page.

“Let’s see… ‘The importance of the subject…’ ‘An introduction to the origins of the meta-society…’ ‘Main politics and legislation referring to metas…’ Ah, here it is. ‘The Root: Functioning and Handling’, with the subtopic of ‘Status’ and epigraph in ‘Features’. If I remember correctly, this was originally intended to be a handbook for people who had just awakened… So I guess it makes sense that it has a pretty extensive session referring to handling your own Status…”

There was a rustling sound of turning pages, and he fully laid back into the holy-like sensation of his mattress.

 

 

• ••••

 

 

“So, the cost for a new Feature is either the requested amount of Feature Points or a Free Feature Voucher. Also, you can spend a Free Feature Voucher to ensure the quality of the next Feature you receive… And the price for a Feature increases five times the previous number. Also, the starting price is always 1… Which means, for a newbie, the prices goes from 1, to 5, then 25, 125, 625, and so on… That means I have enough for two new Features with my points… and also, I can understand why a meta’s growth is logarithmic, seeing as the price for advancing is exponential… Ah, I’m going mathematic mode again.”

With a clap, Lawrence closed the book and jumped out of bed once again. This time, for some reason, the mules he found were bunny slippers. And, since when was he wearing that carrot shirt?

“Well, nevermind that… I shouldn’t delay this anymore… seeing as it’s already night.”

And so, he raised his hand…

“Besides… Success doesn’t wait for anyone, does it? [Status: Purchase Feature]”

---> Your bet of 1 Feature Point set the Wheel of Fortune spinning…! Ta-daah! You got:

Façade:
- You are unfathomable. Mind reading and cold reading are both rendered useless against you.
- Passive Skill

…

......

………

“Well, this is… how to say…? Underwhelming.”

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Well, yeah, it was a really useful skill but… to be honest, he was expecting something cool and flashy, like an evil power sealed on his hand or something like that? Definitively something combat-oriented.

Though, thinking about what the Root (tampered by Joe’s emotions) had pointed out, he really was less of a fighting type and more of a mastermind-oriented class. So maybe his powers wouldn’t focus much on combat…

“Well, thinking about it, that’s a bit depressing…”

Not really what he was expecting of a cool Villain.

“Oh, well, I still have one more try. Let’s see what this one ends into… [Status: Purchase Feature]”

---> You couldn’t help but coming back for more, and so threw another 5 Feature Points in the wheel! You got:

Silver Tongue:
- When in a dire situation, you find it easier to reach an agreement that benefits you the most.
- Semi-Passive Skill (automatic activation, 24h cooldown)

 

Lawrence pumped his fist into the air.

“Bullseye! Well, this still isn’t a combat-oriented power, but it’s certainly a lot cooler than ‘they don’t know what you’re thinking’ huh… Though, now that I think about it, don’t those too sound a little too convenient? I mean, I’m practically unreadable, and can manipulate other people to a certain extent with… Silver Tongue, was it? If so, that sure sounds like a mastermind’s traits…”

He then remembered he had a Free Feature Voucher…

“But I’ll keep that one for later. One never knows what they might run into when they’re in a dire situation, after all… And I’ve also heard Features acquired in a pinch can help with that particular problem, so I guess it really is a lifeline… Anyways, I’ll hold on to this for now.”

He was feeling hungry, and his eyes looked for the clock.

“Shit, that’s the time?! Uhh, I’m late for food! No wonder I’m feeling so hungry… Let’s see… Food! Right! Wait, but what about Mika?! No… well, a glass of milk and a bowl of cookies will have to do. Sorry, but I’ll prepare a decent food for you later, that’s why, please spare me!”

For the moment, he would have a look at the fridge and decide what to prepare from there.

“Uh… So, I have some veggies… and hotdogs…? I’ll use that as well… And, uhm… Tomato sauce… and rice. Alright, I’ll make a pickled veggies hot dog sauce! And… Fried potatoes to follow… Yeah, sounds good enough for tonight’s dinner.”

It sounded decent. Not good. Decent. Do not offend chefs from all around the world.

“Now, there’s also the matter with Mika. What am I going to do with her…? Having her live in the streets is a no-no like I said before… Should I let her live here? I mean, I have the accomodations… Also, that might work as a temporal way of payment… Since I don’t really have any money to afford her services, whichever those are… But, well, I guess I’ll have to talk about that with her tomorrow…”

This night would end with no further reflections, he thought.

And so concluded Lawrence Lakewood’s first day as a Villain.

In retrospective, it wasn’t that much of a bad day…

 

 

• ••••

 

 

There was a high-pitched sound. Lawrence’s eyes opened, his body tensed, and he frantically looked for the source of the noise.

An alarm clock smugly rang a wake up tone. Or rather, the alarm clock. Again. And it was still there, in that cursed shelve above his bed. This time, he cursed himself for being dumb enough to forget to turn it off. He was on vacations for Christ’s sake!

“Aaagh…” Giving up on the enticing prospect of sleeping any longer, he mumbled something about the clock’s lineage and rolled around, untangling himself from the cocoon of sheets making him look like a human sushi roll.

He also felt like that last part had been boldly reused without any intentions to even hide it, but let it be.

“Anyways, let’s check the mental to-do list for today… Hmmm… Dealing with Mika… working on those rejected sprites… I mean, why am I even working on sprites…?! Oh, right, I wanted all the money for myself and thought I alone was enough to do that… Shit. I need a coffee…”

…

……

………

“The Clowdsweet! I had totally forgotten about Emma…! Ooh, wait, I can kill two birds with one stone! Let’s go to the Clowdsweet and talk with her for a bit… Also, I can clear my mind about Mika. And by the time I come back she will have her own opinion about what she wants to do… Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

He gave himself a check in the mirror. His hair was slightly messier than usual, not something a splash of water couldn’t fix.

“Since I’m having breakfast there, I don’t really have to make something for me, do I…? I’ll just leave Mika to prepare herself whatever she wants, as long as she doesn’t burn the house… Actually, should I be concerned about that?! Fuh~ No, whatever.”

And so, he changed into a casual wear, and headed outside. He found Mika in the livingroom, experimenting with the remote controls.

“Gununu… So many buttons…”

“Hey, I’m heading ou— I mean, I’m going out for some time” Once again, he had forgotten to address her with a formal speech. He would just have to get used to it, he reckoned. After all, it wasn’t so hard to play that character…

“Watch for the house while I’m out. You can pick whatever you want from the fridge. We will discuss about your future whereabouts after I return.”

“Aye aye chief” she replayed without even tearing her eyes away from the TV, though giving him a half-hearted salute.

“Oh, and, Mikaella?”

“Yeah?”

“Make sure the house is left in a single piece when I’m back. Your life depends on it.”

There was a dry sound. Lawrence thought something had fallen upstairs. It actually was Mika gulping, though he probably wouldn’t find out.

“Well then.”

And so Lawrence left his house, leaving behind a now very nervous Mika, and a potential kitchenfire as well.

This one, too, promised to be a long day…

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