The restaurant Victoria chose didn’t scream wealth; it whispered it.
It was an elegant, understated place with dark wood paneling, dim lighting, and the low hum of important conversations.
It was the kind of establishment where deals were sealed with a handshake over linen tablecloths.
Max noticed that the clientele—mostly older men and women in impeccable suits—looked nothing like the loud heirs back on campus.
These were the real players.
Once the waiter stepped away, Victoria leaned over the table, her eyes sparkling with genuine curiosity.
“What’s your next move, Oracle?
You’re in the Circle of Wolves now.
What do you do?”
Max took a sip of water, giving himself time to frame his answer.
“I’m in no rush,” he said, his voice calm and measured.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day.
For now, I’ll observe.
I’ll get to know the players, understand the dynamics, and cultivate relationships.
I’m looking for opportunities, not miracles.” His response was deliberately vague, hiding his specific mission regarding Isa Lovelace, but his strategic tone was enough to earn Victoria’s nod of approval.
Mid-conversation, Victoria’s smile widened.
“You’re looking at everyone else, but you haven’t looked at yourself,” she said with a hint of amusement.
“Take a look around, Max.”
He complied.
And for the first time, he saw himself through their eyes.
He saw a young man in decent but generic jeans and a polo shirt that, while clean, lacked any kind of distinction.
Then he saw the others: men in bespoke suits that hugged their shoulders perfectly, women in dresses whose simplicity belied their exorbitant price tags.
They didn’t look at him with the open disdain he had experienced before, but rather with a polite confusion—the kind reserved for a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit the picture.
“You have the brains, Max.
And now you’re starting to get the capital,” Victoria said, her voice taking on a serious, almost mentoring tone.
“But in our world, that’s not enough.
You need…
presence.
You need the proper camouflage.” She leaned in a bit closer.
“People listen differently to a man in a good suit.
They see you as one of their own, and they lower their guard.
Right now, you’re just an interesting fluke.
To do real business, you have to look like someone who belongs at the table.”
She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in.
“You gave me a business lesson today.
Let me return the favor.
I’ll give you a fashion lesson.
Consider it another investment.
Not in furniture, but in your own personal brand.”
Far from being offended, Max recognized the implacable logic in her argument.
It was the same mentality he applied to everything else.
A strategic investment.
“I accept,” he said, “but on one condition.”
“Oh?” she replied, amused.
“We won’t go to the most expensive shops just because they’re the most expensive.
A good tailor, not a brand with an absurd markup just for the logo.”
Victoria let out a laugh—a genuine sound that made a few heads turn.
“Deal.
It’ll be an interesting challenge.”
Later that night, back in his room, Max felt like a general in his headquarters.
The space, though still containing the basic dorm furniture, no longer felt foreign.
It felt like a base of operations.
He opened the System interface, taking a full inventory of his resources.
[HOST STATUS: MAX]
Level:1
Balance:$3,260
SP:0
[ACQUIRED SKILLS]
[Player Mind (Passive)]- Lv.
MAX
[Player Gaze (Passive)]- Lv.
2
Next Upgrade (Lv.
3): Unlocks [Intention Analysis].
Allows detection of a target’s basic intent (Hostile, Friendly, etc.).
Cost: 10 SP.
[Predictive Analysis (Passive)]-Lv.
1
Daily Uses: 2/2
Next Upgrade (Lv.
2): Increases accuracy to 80%.
Increases daily uses by 1.
Cost: 8 SP.
[Persuasive Voice (Passive)]- Lv.
1
Daily Uses: 2/2
Next Upgrade (Lv.
2): Increases persuasion to 15%.
Extended duration to 45 seconds.
Cost: 5 SP.
[Eidetic Memory (Passive)]- Lv.
1
Next Upgrade (Lv.
2): Allows perfect recall of images and sounds, not just text.
Cost: 5 SP.
The breakdown was clear.
The mission involving Isa was the key to his next great leap in power.
Max sat with his phone in hand and began mapping out his plan.
His initial research provided a clear profile of Isa: a mathematics and finance genius, author of several articles for the university bulletin, and known for a purely analytical approach.
The initial plan was simple.
At the next Circle meeting, he would use his [Eidetic Memory] to absorb complex data and present a brilliant counter-analysis to impress her.
Then, he would use one of his two daily uses of [Persuasive Voice] to propose the private meeting.
Simple, direct, effective.
But he decided to keep digging.
He delved into obscure university forums and debate club threads, searching for anything that might give him an edge.
What he found, however, gave him pause.
He read an anonymous post in an old thread about the Investors Circle.
“Advice for rookies: if you want to get close to Isa Lovelace, don’t even try.
She despises two types of people above all else: lazy heirs living off their family name…
and upstarts trying to impress her with cheap tricks and flashy analysis.
She hates it when people try to get to her through others.
She values substance and merit above all else.”
Max leaned back in his chair, the buzz of excitement replaced by a cold blast of reality.
His Plan A, so carefully crafted, was a minefield.
Impressing her could backfire.
And his sponsor, Victoria—the queen of the heirs—was a toxic association in Isa’s eyes.
A knot of frustration formed in his stomach.
He needed to know just how bad it was.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling a slight drain on his mental energy.
System, activate [Predictive Analysis],he commanded.Prediction objective: Probability of success for my current plan to approach Isa Lovelace at the next Circle meeting.
The blue System window flickered before his eyes, processing the variables: his association with Victoria, Isa’s personality, the Circle environment, and his own “upstart” status.
After a few seconds, the result appeared in crisp, brutal letters.
[Predictive Analysis in progress…]
[Variable calculation finalized.]
[Probability of Success for Plan A: 15%]
[Likely Failure Analysis (85%):]
Most likely outcome (60%):Direct and contemptuous rejection.
Isa will label him an “opportunist” and ignore him permanently.
Secondary outcome (25%):Polite but cold rejection.
He will be added to her personal “blacklist.” Any future attempt will face a probability penalty.
Max snapped his eyes open.
It wasn’t just bad; it was catastrophic.
His plan wasn’t a risk; it was social and strategic suicide.
One wrong move and his mission would fail, taking with it his chance to earn those vital 10 SP.
He ran a hand through his hair, a sense of pressure he hadn’t felt since his past life beginning to leak through the calm of [Gamer’s Mind].
He had already spent his only prediction use just to confirm his own imminent failure.
He needed an entirely new strategy.
One that was subtle, indirect, and proved “substance and merit” without looking like he was trying.
But how?
How do you approach someone who hates being approached?
The riddle seemed to have no answer.