Chapter 17: What is charisma?

Getting the number fired him up, but Ben knew to quit when ahead. Beluga advised him after getting a number he should exit. It's always best to leave on a high note. So Ben said a quick goodbye and walked away.

Beluga and Antonio smiled with pleasant surprise. They didn't expect Ben would get a phone number on their 2nd day together. What's more, that girl was hot!

"Way to go, cuz!" Antonio congratulated.

Beluga nodded many times in appreciation.

Ben narrated what happened with them. When they heard he admitted to being an Otaku, their eyebrows elevated to their hairlines. Ben's unorthodox opener and the girl's response were like a nerd's wet dream. It was not typical. You could say Ben lucked out, but the always elusive luck is only caught by those who risk chasing it.

It was approaching sunset in the park so they called it a day, agreeing to meet again the next week. Ben was tired and eager to open a new Mystery Box so he returned to his dorm.

Walking to the subway, Ben's mind couldn't stop thinking about what his Mystery Box could contain…So far he'd only gotten consumables, but there were probably many other types of items he hadn't seen yet. He wondered about it. 'I can imagine some real world items. Could there even be...skills?'

He licked his lips in anticipation.

***

Ben sat on his small double bed as he stared at his system screen. His foot subconsciously tapped the floor in rhythm as he was in the middle of a tough decision. "850 points…The system mentioned it hides some store items until I have enough points. Should I save up to 1000 first?"

"...No, I only have 16 days left. Last time I didn't get any points for a week. Who knows how long it'll take. I need to use any potential advantage now." He settled.

Opening up the Store screen, Ben used 500 points to buy a Low Level Mystery Box. It materialized in his lap and he opened it. Ben knew by now to close his eyes, only opening them after a few seconds when the light receded. He saw a familiar item.

"Another Stat Growth Multiplier?" Ben wasn't sure how to feel. It was useful, but it was hard to say if he could make significant enough gains to change his fate in two weeks. Even if it was for looks again, he suspected he'd at most gain 1 point, since he'd already eaten the easy beginner gains the prior week when he lost his flab. He knew losing fat is much easier than gaining muscle.

The only difference Ben noticed was that this card was a different color: light blue. He touched it and a new pop-up emerged.

[Mid Level Stat Growth Multiplier(Consumable, Rare, Charisma) x1]

"Charisma…that's pretty go—" He froze like a deer in the headlights.

"Wait..." He scrutinized the screen's information again word for word.

"Mid Level! Rare!" Ben stood up and gasped.

"Oh my god!" Would it do what he thought? He asked the system and verified it.

"Yes! 100x!" This card would multiply his results by 100x!

Ben did the math. "That means over 7 days, I'll get almost 2 YEARS worth of results?!?"

"BINGOOO!" He danced and did karate moves around the room!

*Slam*

Fariq entered to uncover Ben in the middle of...a Hadouken? His eyes widened...

"That's a nice Hadouken bro!" Fariq appreciated it.

"Thanks man!"His roommate even had great taste! This was Ben's day!

These two roommates had seen little of each other. The prior weeks of university kept them both busy, Fariq with studying and Ben with not dying. Ben wanted to catch up, but it wasn't the time, so he made some small talk and excused himself to get some air.

The eggshell colored walls of the dorm hallway were cluttered with new flyers and informational bulletins, but Ben was too distracted to read them. He was still recovering from the shock of receiving that mid level item.

Rare was the highest quality item he could get from the Low Level Mystery Box, so it was incredible that he lucked out and got it. He didn't know the odds but they couldn't have been too high.

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Ben didn't know if the system was helping him or the heavens were on his side, but if he could use the Stat Growth Multiplier well, it might give him a chance to make breakout gains! This is what he needed!

His charisma was 0 so there was massive room for improvement.

Any charisma-related activity he did would generate earth-shattering growth. Only...why couldn't he think of one?

'Now that I think about it...what is charisma?' Ben scratched his head. He paced in the hallway as he considered it, steps advancing in uncertain gait on the brown carpet. He lost track of the outer world as he delved into his ideas, but after some time, he still couldn't grasp it.

It wasn't a simple stat like looks. Just how would you describe it? Sighing, Ben planned to ask his system, but he first wanted to know how society defined it. Snapping out of his previous trance, he walked to the elevator as he pulled out his phone and searched.

One definition he found was: "A personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure (such as a political leader)." (1)

Ben shook his head, "I'm not a politician. Next."

Another definition was: "You say that someone has charisma when they can attract, influence, and inspire people by their personal qualities." (2)

That confused Ben. "Doesn't everyone who influences people use their personal qualities? Personal qualities are inherent--there's no avoiding the use of them...Tch. I still don't get it." He looked for another one.

"That single, undescribable, intangible quality that a girl with big jugs has."

…

Ben looked at the source: author "wetcoaster" on urbandictionary.

'...Well, I can't argue against that, but it still doesn't help me.' He sighed. 'Ok. Let's move on to the system's definition.'

...

Only after speaking with the system, did he understand it. Charisma was a multiplier on all his stats.

It was similar to how attraction started at a baseline, then seduction skills could raise attraction from there. All his other stats were a baseline, and charisma was a soft skill expressed through communication, which magnified the effectiveness of his stats on attracting and influencing others.

Communication could happen through his speech or body language. His appearance alone could even give off a sense of charisma when people looked at him, which multiplied the attraction of his looks. It was an amazing stat!

With Ben's 0 charisma, he received no multiplier at all. Meanwhile, someone with marginal charisma could have all their other stats identical to Ben, but crush him in every social activity!

That's why you have some media personalities with mediocre looks or communication skills who are still very popular.

Even with a definition, Ben's main issue was still there. How could he improve charisma?

*Ding*

He looked up from his phone to see the doors for the elevator open.

*Ding*

The elevator doors closed, but Ben still stood outside, not having entered. A flyer posted on the elevator's side had mesmerized him.

The flyer said, "Motivational Speaking Seminar."

Ben gasped…

"That's it!" he shouted.

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*Author's Note: I bet you thought I was foreshadowing to give him an item or a skill, didn't you? Fooled you! +1 author, 0 readers

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