The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism

I didn’t stop running until I reached my room.

The door slammed behind me and I collapsed against it, chest heaving.

"So soft," I muttered. "So soft so soft so soft."

My palm still tingled. The memory of that firm curve under my hand replayed on loop. The way she’d made that sound. High and breathy and absolutely not something I should be thinking about right now.

Because Sloane had almost killed me.

The air around her had started popping. Little explosions that meant her Aspect was firing without control. One wrong move and I would’ve been blown across the gym.

Worth it though.

Totally worth it.

〘 QUEST COMPLETE: Get That Peach! 〙

The notification blazed across my vision in gold text. Confetti animation included.

〘 Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed your first Main Quest. Statistical analysis confirms optimal execution despite unconventional methodology. Physical contact achieved. Survival probability exceeded initial projections by 23%. Well done. 〙

I slid down the door until I hit the floor. My entire body ached from the beating Sloane had delivered. My lip was split. My ribs would be bruised by tomorrow. But none of that mattered because the timer was gone.

The countdown that had been ticking in the corner of my vision for two days had vanished.

No more threat hanging over my head.

No more permanent mutilation on the table.

I laughed. Couldn’t help it. The sound came out half-hysterical. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

〘 Additional metrics: Subject Sloane Fitzgerald’s Temptation Gauge has increased by 8% during this encounter. Current reading: 38%. This represents the largest single-session increase recorded to date. Analysis suggests physical contact combined with vulnerability context produces exponentially higher returns than standard interaction. Recommendation: continue this approach. 〙

Thirty-eight percent.

I’d jumped her Gauge by eight points in one training session. The guilt tried to surface again. The reminder that I was manipulating someone who’d known me since childhood. Someone who was trying to help me despite thinking my Halloran plans were suicidal.

But then I remembered her face. The way she’d turned completely red. That pout mixed with shock and embarrassment and something else I couldn’t quite name.

So damn cute.

The girl who could level buildings with her fists had been completely undone by an accidental ass grab.

"Not so tough now," I said to the empty room.

〘 Your current rewards are ready for distribution. Would you like to open them now? 〙

"Yes. Obviously yes."

〘 Processing... 〙

A new panel materialized in front of me. Clean blue interface with gold accents. Much fancier than the standard notifications.

〘 QUEST REWARDS: Get That Peach!

Main Rewards:

Beginner’s Gift Pack (x1)

500 Scumbag Points

Opening Gift Pack... 〙

The animation played out like a gacha game. Golden light burst from a treasure chest icon. Two silver tickets spiraled through the air before landing in my inventory.

〘 Gift Pack Contents:

Silver Gacha Pull Ticket (x2)

200 Scumbag Points (Bonus)

Total Scumbag Points: 700 SP 〙

Seven hundred points. Two silver pulls. And absolutely no idea what any of that meant beyond the obvious gacha implications.

"Okay, System. I’ll bite. What the hell are Scumbag Points and what do I do with them?"

〘 Scumbag Points, abbreviated as SP, serve as the primary currency for your progression. Think of them as the wage you earn for compliance with assigned directives. The System does not provide gifts. It provides compensation for services rendered. 〙

"Services rendered. Right. Because manipulating women into liking me is a service."

〘 Your moral discomfort is noted and irrelevant to the functionality. SP can be utilized in two primary ways:

1. Gacha Pulls

The Gacha is your exclusive source for new abilities and skills. Each tier requires a specific SP investment:

Bronze Pull: 200 SP

Silver Pull: 350 SP

Gold Pull: 500 SP

Higher tiers remain locked pending performance evaluation.

2. Attribute Enhancement

Direct stat increases without leveling requirements. You may allocate SP to permanently raise any base attribute. Cost scales with current values:

Attributes 11-20: 10 SP per point

Attributes 21-30: 15 SP per point

Attributes 31-40: 20 SP per point

The pattern continues upward. Specialization becomes increasingly expensive but remains available. 〙

I did the math in my head. Seven hundred points meant I could either spam bronze pulls, do two silver pulls, or dump everything into raising my trash-tier stats.

"What about the silver tickets?"

〘 Gacha Pull Tickets bypass SP costs entirely. They are premium rewards granted for Main Quest completion and major milestones. The two Silver Tickets in your inventory can be used immediately for guaranteed Silver-tier pulls at no SP expense. This is the most efficient use of your current resources. 〙

"So use the tickets, keep the SP for stats."

〘 Correct. Your baseline attributes remain critically low. A single point increase to Strength or Speed could mean the difference between survival and failure in future encounters. However, new abilities from the Gacha provide capabilities that raw stats cannot replicate. The choice is yours. 〙

I pulled up my status screen. The numbers hadn’t changed since this morning.

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Dexterity: 10

Intelligence: 10

Endurance: 12

The two points I’d gained from training with Sloane showed in Endurance. Everything else remained rock bottom.

Ten was baseline human. The kind of stats that got you killed in a world where people could explode buildings with their fists or move faster than eyes could track.

I needed more. Everything. All of it.

But the System was right about one thing. Stats only got me so far. Radiant probably had stats in the hundreds across the board. I couldn’t compete with that through raw numbers.

I needed abilities. Skills. The kind of capabilities that made people question whether I was actually Unmarked or if the scans had missed something.

"Use both silver tickets."

〘 Acknowledged. Initiating Silver Gacha sequence. Probability rates as follows:

Common: 60%

Rare: 30%

Epic: 9%

Legendary: 1%

Good luck, Host. 〙

The interface shifted. A massive silver wheel appeared in my vision, spinning with enough speed that the individual sections blurred together. Each section had a name I couldn’t read at this velocity.

The wheel slowed.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

It stopped on a section that glowed blue.

〘 SILVER PULL RESULT

Rarity: RARE

Ability Acquired: Spectral Reach

Classification: Active Skill

Description: Generate and manipulate up to three semi-transparent constructs from your hands. Constructs can extend up to 15 feet and interact with physical objects as if solid. Damage to constructs reflects minor feedback to the user. Duration limited by stamina. Current maximum simultaneous constructs: 3. Range increases with mastery. 〙

Information flooded my brain. Not memories this time. Muscle knowledge. The phantom sensation of extensions growing from my palms. How to shape them. How to control them. How to make them grab, push, or strike.

I raised my hand. Focused on the new awareness sitting in the back of my mind.

Three translucent arms materialized from my forearm. They looked like ghostly copies of my own limbs. Blue-tinted and slightly see-through but solid enough that I could see them interact with the air currents in the room.

They moved when I thought about moving them. Reached for my desk. Picked up a pen.

"Holy shit."

The constructs held the pen between them like a relay team. I made them toss it back and forth. The sensation was weird. Like having extra limbs that existed and didn’t exist at the same time.

〘 Spectral Reach synergizes well with your current physical limitations. Extended range compensates for low Strength and Agility stats. The constructs can be used for combat, utility, or environmental interaction. Mastery will unlock additional functionality. 〙

I dismissed the constructs and they faded like smoke.

Fifteen feet of reach. Three simultaneous arms. That changed everything about how I could fight. I didn’t need to get close anymore. Didn’t need to worry about getting tagged by someone faster.

"Second pull. Now."

〘 Acknowledged. 〙

===

[A/N:]

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