It was finally Wednesday, and classes continued as normal, even with Samuel’s life taking a turbulent, but not unwelcome, turn. A turn for the better, that was unfortunately accompanied by the occasional annoying peeks from a girl sitting at a well-connected desk on the other end of the class. 

The desks were arranged such that there were 5 desks per row, with a total of 4 rows. Samuel sat on the 4th row by the window and was separated from Mai by 2 desks. Behind him sat the individual Samuel dubbed the lone-wolf, cool beauty archetype, who also happened to be rated the most desirable girl in the school, if unofficial lists were anything to go by. 

Mai’s group of 4 friends, comprised of her boyfriend Jun, and the fair-skinned couple- Daniel and Tara, sat together on the right side of the class, with the remaining 3 occupying the seats on the third row. This made it so that Mai sat out of view of the trio.

As his class was made up of only 20 students there were just a few friendship groups. The most noticeable of groups were naturally Daniel’s popular group of four, followed closely by a group of three delinquents. There was another group of three socially awkward and obsessive students dubbed the ‘nerds’ and then eight ‘ordinary’ high schoolers- teenagers that usually ended up in the middle of the pack during exams, and attended social events at the school, solely to fawn over and partake in the gossip of the popular kids. At least, that was how Samuel imagined them to be. The remaining two students comprised Samuel and the insensitive and unbothered girl sat behind him. 

They were the loners. 

Back on the topic of Mai’s incessant spying on him, Samuel could tell she felt slightly worried about his presence. He could imagine the anxiety stemmed from the fact that he could divulge what had happened between the pair to the others in the class, resulting in her relationships breaking down, and her reputation subsequently ruined. But in his mind, it wasn’t the time for that. He was just waiting for a good opportunity to present itself within the 30-day period he had until Jun recovered his memories. 

While the classes droned on, Samuel thought about the resources he currently had in his possession. He’d used quite a lot of potions in his plan yesterday, but he reasoned it would bring him more benefits in the long run. ‘System, what’s left?’

[Of the beginner pack, Host has remaining: Healing Potion (Grade 1), Magic Mask (Grade 1), and Stamina Potion (Grade 1). From Host’s achievements, you have earned Healing Potion (Grade 3), Mind Control (Grade 3), and Aphrodisiac Potion (Grade 3).]

‘I see. Not bad… Not bad at all. I might end up being frugal when it comes to using the grade 3 potions, but I have to remember that I can buy the sex potions as skills sooner or later anyway.’ Samuel was a rather reflective individual, even in his previous life. He’d analyse his losses and his mistakes, even when playing games, and would aspire to avoid committing them again. 

For the remainder of the classes, Samuel either listened in on the content he could barely recall, or thought over how he could have improved upon yesterday’s scheme- by using fewer potions etc. 

When the distinct sound of the bell signifying the end of the English period ended, everyone was brought out of the depths of boredom. Many students congregated around certain desks- the delinquents near the back, the popular kids on Samuel’s right, the nerds on the front and to the left, and the normal teens elsewhere or leaving to join their other friends.

He didn’t categorise students because he wanted to conform to some sort of hierarchy, but so that he could identify who would be a threat to his high school life- whether it be academically or physically. Understanding the basic structures and groups of his class would make treading carefully around them- while he wasn’t fit enough nor capable enough to antagonise- less of a chore. Samuel was no idiot to step on the toes of someone he couldn’t currently ‘beat’. 

‘Of the groups, I wonder if it’d be best to be one of the normal teens. As I see it, the delinquents end up as failures of society after school. The popular kids either end up at the top of the corporate world or receive a harsh reality check and become normal 9-5 worker bees. And the normal teens usually… well end up anywhere. The nerds, funnily enough, would probably have a glow-up or begin earning a fat paycheck and pull the hottest babes with their discrete IT jobs. And the bullied… well, either of two ways: CEOs or bums.’ 

Recalling how he’d turned into a bum instead of channelling the negative energy of being bullied into becoming a CEO made Samuel cringe. He’d watched enough content from the digital age to know that a lot of the most successful had rough beginnings just like him. And while that didn’t justify bullying in any way, it sure as hell did provide a good form of motivation for anyone going through the same shit as he once did. 

‘But then again, if I was a normal teen, I’d just end up at the middle of the pack, joining the 9-5 rat race: mortgage a house, pay debts, go to work, come home to a sexless marriage and unruly kids... Something about becoming a corporate slave does not sit right with me. Though I’m sure some people find contentment from such a way of life.’

Putting thoughts about the monotonous future of life for the average student aside, Samuel wrote a quick note on a bit of paper. When most of the class had left or had turned their attention away from the rear end of the room, Samuel sifted through the desks and deposited his note into Mai’s undertray. The desks were created in such a way that one could slide out an under tray from below the desktop where you would usually deposit irrelevant textbooks or writing utensils. 

Knowing Mai would probably open the cubby since she currently had a textbook and a pencil case lying there right now, Samuel left a note to see him in the abandoned art room after school. He had a credit card, but he did not have the SRP required to purchase a competency yet, and Mai would graciously aid him in his endeavour- whether she was up for it or not. 

— — —

Shutting and locking the door behind her, Mai looked around the almost empty art room, until she spotted the figure of a lone male student sitting at one of the desks with a bored expression on his face. That nonchalant look of his almost infuriated Mai, as she’d had to go out of her way to make up an excuse to forego the group’s invitation, and had to sneak her way past hordes of students just to make it into the room unseen. And yet, Samuel looked like he didn’t give a flying fuck about any of her woes. 

Stomping up to Samuel, Mai attempted to grab his collar while forcing out a single word through her clenched teeth- “You!”

Samuel slapped her outstretched hand away from him as though it was a fly, which made Mai that much angrier. 

“Why did you have to call me out? I’ll get caught at this rate! Why are you doing this to me?” The anger she was feeling while asking the first question morphed into exasperation as she voiced her second question. 

“Hm? You know very well why I’m taking the liberties I am.” Samuel replied carelessly, wondering how he could punish the girl for her rude behaviour later on. ‘Has she forgotten who has the blackmail material over the other? Stupid bitch.’ 

“Don’t you remember? I happen to have a recording of you soo happily sucking my cock and-“ 

“Stoop!” Samuel was interrupted by the hands trying to cover his mouth as Mai couldn’t bear to remember the misdeeds she had committed the day prior. 

“Asking me to stop won’t change the fact. Get it through your head. You fucked up and now you’re paying the price.” Taking unfair shots at the girl with a brittler mental state, Samuel watched as her anger crumbled, replaced by a disheartened frown. 

“But how am I going to find an excuse every time you call me out? Jun’s going to find out!” She cried out, while genuinely trying to change how Samuel carried out his unruly actions. She didn’t want to be called upon at a risky time and not end up fulfilling the request, leading to Samuel spreading the recording. She didn’t know how forgiving he was, and from judging him upon his unrepentant actions from yesterday, Mai fully expected the young adult to be chaotic enough to release it without a hitch the moment he felt like it. After all, she had bullied him for the past two years and she knew that just the little act from the day prior would not let her go unscathed by the angry young adult. 

“Huh? Why are you asking me? It’s your issue to find an excuse if you don’t want to be caught. My issue is finding a mouth to wrap around my cock. My dick won’t suck itself now, will it? So stop whining and get on your knees.” 

Mai did not expect how shameless Samuel could be. She’d thought if she plucked at his heartstrings a little, she might be able to change his outlook. In fact, after all the wallowing in self-pity last night, she had even planned to seduce him so he would hand over the recording and let her off. But who would’ve known the bastard wouldn’t even consider her feelings at all? 

“But what if… Jun catches us? Won’t he, like, beat you up?” She pleads for the last time, hoping to scare him into backing off. Unfortunately for the young woman, her attempt did little to scare him and actually ended up causing him to chuckle, baffling the girl. 

‘Jun? Scaring me? Just remembering that snot-nosed brat’s face from yesterday makes me want to laugh so hard. I admit he’d definitely be able to beat me, but not only do I have an arsenal of tricks up my sleeve to deal with just him alone, but I also have the potential to gain strength pretty quickly with this system of mine.’

“Why are you laughing?” Somewhat perturbed by his relaxed demeanour, she began to get on her knees in front of him as he’d asked, finding no way out of this. 

“Oh. It’s nothing. Even if your boyfriend tried, I doubt the fucker could do anything about this situation.”

— — — — — —

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