The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14: 14 | Morality is a Luxury, But Stat Points Are an Investment

The silver wheel appeared again. Spinning. Slowing. Stopping.

This time it landed on purple.

〘 SILVER PULL RESULT

Rarity: EPIC

Ability Acquired: Boundless Stamina

Classification: Passive Trait

Description: Your stamina regeneration operates at 300% normal human capacity. Physical exhaustion accumulates at 40% normal rate. Sleep requirements reduced to 4 hours for full rest. Training efficiency increased by 50%. Side effects include accelerated healing for minor injuries and enhanced recovery time between physical activities. 〙

The information settled into my body differently this time. Not knowledge. Biology. Every cell in my body shifted slightly. Recalibrating. Upgrading.

The aches from training with Sloane started fading. Not gone entirely but noticeably better. The split lip on my face tingled as skin began knitting itself back together faster than it should.

I stood up. My legs didn’t shake. The exhaustion that had been weighing me down vanished.

"This is broken."

〘 Epic rarity abilities typically are. Boundless Stamina eliminates your primary weakness as an Unmarked individual. Extended combat becomes viable. Training can occur at higher frequency and intensity without risking injury. Your progression speed has effectively tripled. 〙

I pulled up my status screen again. A new section had appeared beneath my attributes.

ACTIVE SKILLS:

Spectral Reach (Rare)

PASSIVE TRAITS:

Boundless Stamina (Epic)

CURRENT LOADOUT: Functional for low-tier combat encounters. Significant advantages against baseline humans. Notable disadvantages against trained Aspect users.

Two abilities. One rare, one epic. Both of them would’ve taken years to develop naturally if they could be developed at all.

And I’d gotten them in five minutes because I’d completed a quest that required me to smack a girl’s ass.

The guilt tried surfacing again. I shoved it down.

"System. Real question. Am I a terrible person?"

〘 Define terrible. 〙

"I just manipulated someone who trusts me. Someone who’s been nothing but helpful. And I’m planning to keep doing it because that’s how your progression system works."

〘 Counter-question: Would you prefer the fifty percent reduction in anatomy? 〙

"Obviously not."

〘 Then your question answers itself. Survival requires adaptation. Morality is a luxury afforded to those with options. You currently have limited options. Act accordingly. 〙

Cold logic from a cold system. But it wasn’t wrong.

I hadn’t asked for this situation. Hadn’t asked to wake up in a dead kid’s body with a system threatening permanent mutilation if I didn’t play along. Given the choice between keeping my anatomy intact and feeling guilty about some boundary crossing, I’d pick keeping everything attached every single time.

Sloane would get over it. People got embarrassed all the time. She’d probably punch me tomorrow morning and that would be that.

The image of her face surfaced again. Red from neck to hairline. Those blue eyes wide with shock. That little noise she’d made.

Yeah. That noise was getting filed away for later.

I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. Seven hundred SP sat in my account. Two new abilities sat in my loadout. And Sloane’s Temptation Gauge had jumped to thirty-eight percent.

"System. What happens when her Gauge hits forty?"

〘 Stage threshold advancement. Current stage: Curious. Next stage at 40%: Attached. Emotional baseline shifts from ambient interest to active investment. Her thoughts will begin defaulting to you in unrelated contexts. She will engineer reasons for proximity. Physical contact will become more frequent and less justified by circumstance. 〙

Two percent away from making Sloane actively seek me out.

"And at sixty?"

〘 Stage: Devoted. She will prioritize your wellbeing over her own in critical situations. Jealousy responses activate when other women enter your proximity. Physical boundaries dissolve almost entirely. Romantic and sexual attraction reach actionable thresholds. 〙

"Actionable thresholds. You mean she’ll..."

〘 Correct. At sixty percent or above, reciprocation of physical advances becomes statistically probable. Rejection likelihood drops below fifteen percent depending on context and approach. 〙

I sat up. My heart hammered against my ribs.

Sloane Fitzgerald. The girl who’d been in my life for nine years. The walking explosive who could level city blocks if she lost control. The person who’d agreed to train me despite thinking I was going to die.

At sixty percent, she’d be actively into me.

And I was already at thirty-eight.

"Okay." I stood up and started pacing. "Okay okay okay. Let’s think about this rationally."

〘 You are incapable of rational thought regarding this subject. Your hormonal response indicates significant attraction despite moral reservations. Proceed with emotional honesty rather than false objectivity. 〙

"Shut up."

〘 NEW QUEST

〘 STATUS UPDATE

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