The air tore violently behind Jaxon’s ear.
Garrison’s massive, sweat-slicked hand clamped onto his shoulder, trying to yank him around like a ragdoll.
Jaxon didn’t flinch.
Garrison Vance.
Two years ago, Jaxon had spent hundreds of hours typing out this guy’s character sheet, designing him as the flawless, undefeated Division-One shooting guard prodigy of The Golden Court. Garrison was supposed to crush everyone who stood in his path.
How ironic, Jaxon thought, a cold, dry amusement settling into his chest. I literally wrote your talent into existence. Now my system is rewriting you to look like a fool.
Bzzzzt.
Neon-blue screens exploded across his field of vision, completely invisible to the rest of the room.
[System Reward Phase Activated!]
[Host Jax freed Roxie Sterling from financial bondage.]
[Extracting Target ’Roxie Sterling’ Peak Physical Attributes...]
[Synchronizing Track Star Stats... 15% of Top Speed permanently transferred!]
Thump-thump.
A sudden wave of intense, localized heat surged straight into Jaxon’s bone marrow. Beneath his loose grey tracksuit, his leg muscles tightened and condensed. His perception sharpened.
In a fraction of a second, the entire room slowed down. Garrison’s furious, spit-flecked face and the heavy right hook whipping toward Jaxon’s jaw suddenly moved as if they were cutting through thick syrup.
To the rest of the team, Jaxon was just a broke equipment manager. They couldn’t see the cosmic code reconstructing his muscle fibers in real time.
"Die, trash!" Garrison roared.
Jaxon didn’t panic. He didn’t even raise his hands to guard.
Squeak.
With a single, minimal motion, he shifted his weight on the hardwood floor, pivoting his back heel two inches and tilting his upper torso back.
Swoosh.
Garrison’s fist missed Jaxon’s cheek by a hair’s breadth, slicing through empty air.
With two hundred and twenty pounds of raw momentum throwing him forward and no target to absorb the impact, Garrison lost his balance entirely. His heavy sneakers tangled over a stray gym bag left on the floor.
Crash!
He went flying forward, slamming face-first into an overflowing metal cart of wet, dirty laundry.
Clang!
The heavy bin flipped completely, burying the multi-millionaire heir under a damp, foul-smelling pile of his own team’s jerseys.
Silence.
A dead, suffocating silence filled the locker room. The surrounding varsity players stood frozen, their mouths hanging slightly open.
None of them had actually seen the equipment manager move. To their eyes, it looked as though their star player had simply swung, missed, and dove headfirst into the trash.
Jaxon didn’t look back at the laundry pile. He rolled his shoulders slightly, feeling the new, unnatural agility settling deep into his limbs.
He turned his gaze toward the doorway, locking onto Roxie Sterling.
Bzzzzt.
[Target Roxie Sterling’s Affection: 5% ? 35%]
[Stream Views are surging! +2,000 Cosmic Tokens acquired.]
Roxie was leaning heavily against the doorframe, completely mesmerized. Her chest rose and fell in short, shallow hitches, the tight matte-black athletic bodysuit straining against her dangerously voluptuous hourglass curves. Her striking violet eyes stared at Jaxon as if she were seeing an entirely different person.
Her short silver undercut framed a face that was usually cold, but now looked entirely undone by shock. The skin-tight fabric of her sports gear highlighted the deep, narrow curve of her waist and the full flare of her hips as she stood frozen.
Jaxon met her gaze with a quiet, unreadable dominance.
In my original script, you were an unattainable track star trapped under Garrison’s thumb, Jaxon thought, his mind already calculating the next few Chapters. Not anymore. In my draft, you were just the hero’s trophy. In this R-18 reality? You’re joining my harem. And that debt contract I just paid off is my ticket to rewriting the whole book.
"Who... who are you?" Roxie whispered, her fingers clutching the digital tablet tightly against her chest.
She had known him for months as the quiet kid who picked up towels and kept his mouth shut. But standing here now, completely relaxed and unfazed by a giant, he looked less like an extra and more like a king standing over garbage.
Clatter!
Behind them, the metal bin was violently kicked away. Garrison scrambled to his feet, a bloody lip splitting his face as his features twisted in pure, animalistic rage.
"You’re a dead man, Jax!" Garrison spat, wiping the blood with the back of his hand and stepping forward with bloodshot eyes.
Jaxon didn’t even bother to turn around. He simply took a calm, measured step closer to Roxie, his eyes locked onto hers as her lips parted in utter astonishment.