Chapter 6 006
Damien spent the rest of the morning sitting in a corner booth at a quiet café near the university's east gate, nursing a black coffee and thinking carefully.
The Influence Reading ability wasn't something he could afford to misuse. It wasn't a toy. Used carelessly, it could make him arrogant and sloppy. Used with discipline, it was the most valuable thing anyone had ever handed him. He needed to practice it quietly, understand its range and limits, and keep it completely to himself.
He summoned the interface and reviewed his current position.
[Rebate System — Current Status]
Total Invested: $10,080
Total Rebated: $100,800
Current Balance: $98,500
System Level: 2
Rebate Multiplier: 15X
Active Ability: Influence Reading
Level 3 Unlock Condition: Spend $25,000 total on beautiful women to advance.
He was close to six figures. The unlock threshold had jumped significantly — $25,000 total spent compared to the $10,000 required for Level 2. The system was scaling its demands alongside its rewards. That was intentional. It was pushing him to think bigger, move with more confidence, and stop playing small.
He pulled out his notepad and worked through the numbers methodically.
His rent situation was manageable now that he had covered most of what he owed Jax. His scholarship was the more urgent problem. Missing the makeup exam had almost certainly triggered a review. If the university suspended his enrollment, everything else became harder. He needed that resolved before Victor had a chance to push his version of events through official channels.
And Victor would. Damien knew that with complete certainty.
He finished his coffee, left a generous tip, and walked across campus toward the academic administration building. He moved differently in the new clothes — not with arrogance, but with the quiet ease of someone who belonged exactly where they were standing. Nobody looked at him the way they used to. No sideways glances. No dismissive expressions.
Amazing, he thought, what a clean jacket and steady posture could do.
The administration building was busy for a Tuesday morning. Students lined up at service windows, staff moved between offices with folders and tablets, and the whole place carried the low hum of institutional bureaucracy. Damien joined the line at the Scholarship and Enrollment desk and waited.
The woman behind the counter had the tired patience of someone who handled difficult conversations forty times a day. Her name badge read Ms. Adaeze Obi She was sharp-featured, composed, and somewhere in her mid-thirties — the kind of person who had seen every student excuse imaginable and remained unmoved by most of them.
When Damien reached the window, he didn't launch into his story immediately. He greeted her properly, made brief eye contact, and asked how her morning was going before he said anything else.
She blinked. Most students didn't do that.
He activated the Influence Reading with a quiet focus.
[Influence Reading Active]
Target: Ms. Adaeze Obi, Admin Staff
Core Ambition: Wants her department to be taken seriously by senior faculty.
Primary Insecurity: Feels her recommendations are frequently ignored by decision-makers.
Leverage Point: Treat her judgment as credible and final.
Damien understood immediately. He didn't need to beg or perform desperation. He needed to treat her like her decision actually mattered, because to her, it did — even when nobody else acted like it.
"I want to be straightforward with you," he said calmly. "I missed my makeup exam yesterday due to a serious personal emergency. I have documentation of a hospital visit if required. I'm not here to argue about the rules — I just want to know the correct process for requesting a formal review, and I'd like your honest assessment of whether it's worth pursuing."
Ms. Obi looked at him for a moment. Then she pulled up his file.
She asked him two direct questions. He answered both honestly. No exaggeration, no performance. She typed something, clicked twice, and looked back up.
"I'm flagging your file for a Dean's review rather than an automatic academic penalty. That gives you fourteen days to submit a formal appeal with supporting documentation. I'd recommend you do it within the week while the timeline is still clean."
"Thank you," Damien said. "I mean that."
She gave him a short nod that carried more warmth than her expression suggested. "Don't waste the window."
He walked out of the building with the first piece of his foundation stabilized.
Outside, he stopped near the courtyard fountain and let himself think about Victor for the first time that morning with something other than raw anger. He activated Influence Reading and let his mind settle on everything he knew about him.
The system responded.
[Influence Reading — Recalled Profile]
Target: Victor Kane
Core Ambition: Prove he is more than his father's money.
Primary Insecurity: Terrified he has no real talent or value without the Kane name.
Leverage Point: Public situations where his competence is visibly questioned.
Additional Note: Dependent on social image. Highly reactive when status feels threatened.
Damien read it twice.
Victor wasn't fearless. He was performing fearlessness every single day because underneath the money and the muscle and the cruelty, he was a man desperately afraid of being ordinary.
That was the crack in the wall.
Damien didn't need to beat Victor physically. He didn't need to confront him loudly or dramatically. He needed to quietly, methodically dismantle the image Victor had built — piece by piece, in public, in ways that couldn't be traced back to one decisive moment.
He put his notepad away and started walking.
He had $98,500, a 15X multiplier, the ability to read anyone he chose, a Dean's review window, and four names on a list.
The storm was just beginning to form.
