The Quest appeared while I was still in the bathroom.
Of course it did.
I had the first stream’s analytics open in one hand and lipstick in the other.
Eight thousand four hundred peak viewers.
Good.
More interesting was where people had stayed. The creator caused the biggest jump, the promoter held viewers longer than any of the wide shots, and even brief moments of staff actually working slowed the drop-off.
The first stream had shown people Vesper.
The second needed someone inside it.
Someone viewers could remember.
Then black and gold covered the screen.
STANDARD QUEST — MAKE HIM LOOK GOOD
Choose someone whose genuine ability is easy to overlook.
Present that ability in a way that makes an audience actively want to see more.
SUCCESS CONDITIONS
Demonstrate genuine competence.Generate positive reactions from multiple viewers.Cause at least one viewer to actively seek further attention toward the Subject.
REWARD
+35 Player XP+35 CHA Progress
SYSTEM SKILL — SPOTLIGHT CONTROL I
I laughed.
Genuine ability nobody noticed?
What screamed Evan Cole more than that?
Thirty-five XP would put me five short of Level Three, and the Skill made the decision even easier.
I pressed ACCEPT.
When I returned to the floor, Evan was exactly where I’d left him.
Behind the bar.
Working.
The Quest fit him almost suspiciously well.
I slowed down and looked at him properly.
Not Evan from work. Not the guy who fixed whatever I dropped in front of him.
Just Evan.
He had the height, a decent jaw, dark hair thick enough to do something with, and shoulders better than his shirts suggested.
Right now, maybe a six and a half.
But that wasn’t the interesting part.
Put him in clothes that fit. Fix the hair. Keep him training. Get him to stop looking like he expected someone to apologize for noticing him.
There was something there.
Maybe quite a lot.
Evan caught me looking.
"No."
I smiled. "I haven’t said anything."
"You’re looking at me like you found a problem."
His eyes narrowed.
"Actually, I found an idea."
"That sounds worse."
"The first stream was too much Vesper. The room gets people here, but it doesn’t give them anyone to remember."
He looked around the club.
"And you’ve decided that’s me."
"I’ve decided it could be."
He shook his head.
"That is significantly worse."
I ignored him.
"Can you do anything interesting back there?"
"I have several marketable skills."
I nodded toward the bottles.
"Behind a bar."
He paused.
"Oh."
I laughed. "Bottle tricks?"
He gave me a wary look. "Define tricks."
"Something that doesn’t look like you’re making a vodka soda at an airport hotel."
His expression turned offended.
"That is extremely disrespectful to airport bartenders."
"Evan."
He sighed.
"A few things."
"How many is a few?"
He went back to wiping the bar.
"Enough to make drunk people tip more."
Perfect.
I smiled.
He noticed immediately.
"There it is."
"What?"
"The face that means I’m about to regret answering honestly."
I leaned against the bar.
"Ten minutes. You make something, talk a little, give them an actual person to attach to."
"This is stupid."
"It might be." I shrugged. "That’s why it’s a pilot."
He glanced at the Aurelia phone.
"There are people here with actual followers."
"Yes. People already good at getting attention."
I looked him over again.
"You aren’t."
"Thank you."
"That wasn’t an insult."
"It had excellent camouflage."
I smiled, but didn’t let him escape into the joke.
"You know what you’re doing back here. Stop looking like you’re apologizing for taking up space."
Something in his expression shifted.
"You want PULSE to work. You want to survive the cut."
"Cheap."
"True."
I held his gaze.
"Let me do the noticing part for you."
He exhaled.
"What do you want?"
"Roll your sleeves up."
He did.
"Higher."
"Camila."
I gave him a look.
"Evan."
One more turn.
Better.
I fixed his collar and pushed my fingers through the front of his hair before he could move away.
"Seriously?"
"Hold still."
He leaned back.
"This is getting ridiculous."
"So was your hair."
Two passes were enough.
I stepped back.
Huh.
Six and a half had probably been harsh.
Across the floor, Talia gave the setup a quick once-over and nodded once.
I lifted the phone.
"We’re live in thirty."
Evan sighed. "I hate you."
I smiled.
"No, you don’t."
The audience came back quickly.
"This is Evan," I told the camera. "He works here when he’s not making my life considerably harder somewhere else."
"Easier," he corrected.
I turned the phone slightly toward him.
"Debatable."
The comments liked that.
Then he worked.
Bottle turn. Catch. Shaker. Clean pour.
Nothing ridiculous.
That was why it worked.
Once his hands were busy, he stopped thinking about the camera. His shoulders loosened, his answers got drier, and for once he wasn’t hiding behind whatever he happened to be good at.
The viewer count climbed past ten thousand.
Across the floor, Talia lifted two fingers.
Background.
I shifted left.
Evan finished the drink and stepped out of frame.
The comments reacted immediately.
where did evan go
okay he’s actually good
bring bartender guy back
Then:
more evan pls
Black and gold covered part of my screen.
SUCCESS CONDITIONS MET
QUEST COMPLETE
+35 Player XP+35 CHA Progress
PLAYER XP: 110 → 145 / 150
SYSTEM SKILL UNLOCKED
SPOTLIGHT CONTROL I
A Skill.
Finally.
I reached for it—
"That’s enough."
Talia stood behind me.
I turned. "We’re doing well."
"I know."
Her expression told me how much that mattered.
"Then give me five more minutes."
"No."
I glanced at the comments still moving.
"They’re asking for more."
"And I’m asking you to end it."
Right.
Her floor.
I turned back to the camera.
"Apparently management has decided that’s enough for tonight."
"Camila."
I smiled at Talia’s warning.
"See?"
Then I ended the stream.
PEAK VIEWERS: 12,684
Talia held out her hand.
"Phone."
I looked at her. "Seriously?"
She didn’t lower her hand.
"I want to see what you filmed."
I gave it to her.
She checked the screen, then turned toward the service corridor.
"Come with me."
I glanced toward the bar once.
Evan was already back to making drinks.
Typical.
Then I followed her.