The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77: 77 | The Overture is Complete

Grant’s voice rose slightly. "Field Three, badge 138 is getting active again."

The central monitor switched feeds.

Lukas Belmont appeared on screen, his dark hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, amber eyes sharp despite the obvious fatigue. He was sprinting down a street, Spectral Reach extended from his palm like a pale amber limb reaching forward.

A girl with translucent pink skin stood frozen in an alley, two one-pointers bearing down on her position.

Lukas grabbed a brick without breaking stride and whipped it at the nearest robot. The impact knocked the machine sideways.

"Nineteen points," Grant called out. "He’s been farming assists for the past eight minutes."

Vincent leaned in, squinting at the monitor. "Wait, that’s the Unmarked kid! The one who just manifested!"

"Recently manifested," Nadia corrected. "Two weeks ago according to his file update."

"Two weeks and he’s already deploying with that level of control?" Vincent’s volume increased. "Look at the construct stability! That should take months to develop!"

Cole’s eyes hadn’t left the screen. "Show me his earlier footage."

Nadia pulled up a compilation. Lukas destroying a three-pointer by jamming rebar into its joint. Lukas assisting a green-haired applicant with plant manipulation by providing tactical direction. Lukas setting up kills for other students instead of taking solo engagements.

"He’s not trying to maximize his individual score," Cole said. "He’s optimizing for overall battlefield efficiency."

"Which means he’s thinking three moves ahead," Caelum added. "Interesting."

On screen, Lukas was helping the slime girl eliminate the remaining robots. Spectral Reach drove a piece of rebar through pink gelatin and into a robot’s processor. The construct moved with surgical precision.

Isabelle pushed off the wall, moving closer to the monitors. Her eyes tracked Lukas’s movements with visible interest. "Look at his smile. He’s enjoying this."

The camera caught Lukas’s face as he turned away from the slime girl. Sweat ran down his temple but his expression was open, genuine, the look of someone who had found something they were good at and was surprised by how good it felt.

"That’s passion," Isabelle continued. "Real passion, not performance. You can’t fake that quality of presence."

Nadia looked up from her console. "Ms. Crane, he’s seventeen and you’re being inappropriate."

"I’m being observational." Isabelle’s smile was all teeth.

Vincent was already pulling up Lukas’s file on a secondary screen. "Parents were Vanguard and Reina Belmont. Mid-tier California Heroes, both killed in action nine years ago. He’s been living with Diane Fitzgerald since."

"Diane Fitzgerald," Caelum repeated thoughtfully. "Now that is an interesting detail."

Cole glanced at him. "You know her?"

"I know of her. She runs one of the better talent agencies in California and has a reputation for identifying upside that the official metrics miss." Caelum set his tea down. "If she’s been training him, even informally, that explains some of the tactical intelligence we’re seeing."

On the monitor, Lukas was already moving toward another engagement. A green-haired boy was trapped behind a vehicle, three one-pointers closing in. Lukas covered the distance fast, grabbed a stop sign with Spectral Reach, and used it like a melee weapon.

The impact destroyed the first robot.

ONE POINT

"Twenty," Grant said. "He just passed the minimum threshold."

Vincent was practically vibrating. "And he did it through teamwork! Look at how he’s bringing the other applicant into the engagement instead of soloing it! THAT’S HERO COMMUNICATIONS IN ACTION!"

The green-haired boy made vines erupt from the ground, entangling a robot’s treads. Lukas destroyed it while it was immobilized.

ONE POINT

"Twenty-one points," Nadia murmured. "Above average with eight minutes remaining."

Garrison’s expression hadn’t changed. "He’s smart. Recognizes his limitations and compensates through force multiplication."

"His physical stats are low for his classification," Cole noted. "Rare-tier Force Manipulation should have better output than what he’s showing."

"Late manifestation," Caelum said. "His Core is underdeveloped. What he’s doing with two weeks of active use is remarkable, not deficient."

Arthur Vance’s voice emerged from the shadows, quiet but carrying weight that made everyone in the room pause. "What are your thoughts on the boy, Caelum?"

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