Daniel sat at his desk that night with the glow of his laptop fading and his room growing still.
He knew what he had to do—what he wanted to do—but it still felt unreal.
His phone vibrated once.
The system reminder.
He opened the interface cautiously, like it might explode.
[Mission Complete — Plaza Pitch]
Reward Earned:
+3 SP
Bonus Objectives Achieved:
• Maintained composure
• Successfully avoided panic
• Completed full pitch without breaks
Bonus Rewards:
• Endurance +1
• Charisma +1
Daniel closed the window and inhaled.
"Okay. I did it. Somehow."
He checked his updated stats, though he didn't dare say any numbers out loud.
He didn't want the system to think he was inviting it to mock him again.
Strength: 20 → still low.
Endurance: 19 → slightly better.
Charisma: 25 → still below average, but improving.
Composure: still terrible, but… maybe tomorrow wouldn't be.
3 SP glowed in the corner of his skill menu like tiny embers.
He looked at his list of skills.
Basic First Aid — Beginner
Useful, calming, respectable. Olivia would faint if she knew he had it.
Basic Trash Sorting — Beginner
Weirdly helpful. Made him automatically neater. His mom loved this skill.
Brick Hitting Technique — Beginner
Embarrassing. Extremely effective. Would haunt him until death.
Daniel rubbed his chin.
Upgrading one of these would cost 3 SP for Beginner → Intermediate.
That was everything he had.
He hovered over First Aid—responsible, safe, normal.
But then he thought about the plaza.
The crowd.
People staring.
Phones shoved in his face.
The way nerves climbed his spine like electric static.
He needed composure.
He needed stability.
He needed to not faint from stress every time someone aimed a camera at him.
His hand hovered over the upgrade option.
Basic First Aid (0%) → Intermediate
The system pulsed.
[Upgrade Cost: 3 SP]
Skill Upgrade:
Basic First Aid — Intermediate
Benefits:
• Improved wound assessment
• Faster reaction time in emergencies
• Stabilizing mental focus (+1 Focus)
• Reduced panic in crisis (+1 Composure)
Daniel pressed YES.
The moment he did, something in his mind clicked.
Knowledge reshaped itself.
Medical steps aligned naturally.
Bandage techniques, chest compression rhythms, and the "ABCDE emergency assessment" pattern settled into place.
It wasn't supernatural.
It just felt… practiced.
Like something he had studied for months.
Daniel inhaled deeply and felt something new:
Calm.
Not total calm.
Not heroic resolve.
But enough to think clear thoughts without panicking over small things.
"…This is nice," he murmured.
He turned off the system interface, stretched, and climbed into bed.
Tomorrow would be a long day.
Morning arrived with coffee and chaos.
Daniel grabbed a bagel on the way out of the apartment and nearly bumped into his father, who was lacing up his boots for work.
"Morning, champ," his dad said. "Saw your text yesterday."
"Oh—yeah. Thanks."
His dad smiled. "Your mom's been bragging all night."
Daniel blinked. "…About what?"
"You doing that speaking thing on campus. She's already telling your aunt you're going to become a lawyer."
Daniel choked.
"Why—why would she think that?!"
"You talked in public once," his dad shrugged. "That's how mothers work."
Daniel held his laugh in.
"Guess that tracks."
His dad ruffled his hair like Daniel was still twelve.
"Hey," he said. "Proud of you."
And Daniel felt something warm spread in his chest.
"…Really?"
"Really. Just keep moving forward. Doesn't matter how slow."
Daniel nodded.
"Yeah. I'll try."
He left home feeling lighter than usual.
That feeling would not last.
Campus was buzzing.
People were whispering.
Phones were out.
Groups were watching him with expressions that made his spine tingle.
Daniel froze.
"…Oh no."
Emily caught up to him, eyes narrowed.
"You didn't see it yet, did you?"
"…See what?"
She wordlessly shoved her phone toward him.
A campus gossip page post.
"Brick Guy Does a Public Speech?!? He's Actually Normal??"
Below it, a video—of their plaza pitch—posted by someone in the crowd.
Over 40,000 views.
Hundreds of comments.
Daniel's soul exited his body.
"W-who uploaded this?! We didn't post it!"
Emily sighed.
"Someone in the crowd. Looks like a popular student influencer."
"But—but—why—?"
Olivia arrived, looking apologetic.
"Daniel… you went viral again."
"No," he whispered. "Not AGAIN."
The comments were worse:
"Brick Guy can talk??"
"He's kinda cute when he's panicking."
"The girls beside him—OMG is that Emily and Olivia?"
"Why is he always surrounded by them?"
"Is Brick Guy DATING TWO WOMEN?"
Daniel slapped both hands over his face.
"WHY IS EVERYONE ASSUMING I'M DATING SOMEONE?!"
Emily blushed faintly.
Olivia turned bright pink.
Daniel saw neither.
He was too busy praying the ground would swallow him whole.
The system chimed.
Daniel looked at it through his fingers.
[Fame Increase Detected]
FP +5
Total FP: 18
Your popularity is rising.
"Oh come on…" he whispered.
Emily cleared her throat.
"Well… congratulations."
"For WHAT? More humiliation??"
Olivia smiled gently.
"I think… people are seeing you differently. In a good way."
Daniel blinked. "A good way?"
Emily crossed her arms.
"Yeah. They're realizing you're not just 'Brick Guy.' You're 'Brick Guy Who Can Speak in Public.'"
"That is NOT better!"
Emily smirked.
"Sure it is."
They reached their classroom, but the day was far from normal.
A group of guys from the soccer club stepped aside and whispered loudly.
"That's him."
"He's with them again."
"Why HIM?"
"He's so average…"
"…maybe he's secretly jacked?"
"No bro, his arms are twigs."
Daniel tried not to cry.
At the cafeteria, someone asked for a picture.
He panicked.
Emily physically blocked the stranger with a death glare and told them to leave.
Olivia gently apologized after.
At the library, someone stared too long and whispered his name.
At the vending machine, someone filmed him selecting a drink.
"Why would anyone record THAT?!" Daniel exclaimed.
Emily shrugged.
"You're trending."
Olivia giggled.
"People are curious."
"I hate curiosity!"
Meanwhile, across the street, Rocco Varelli was watching from his car with a grin.
The plaza video had reached bigger pages—small online channels, meme accounts, and even a minor entertainment gossip page.
He sent a clip to his employer with a message:
Kid's trending again. Eyes are on him. Might be useful.
The reply came:
Keep tabs. Something interesting is forming.
Rocco smirked.
"Oh yeah. This kid's gonna explode."
Back on campus, Daniel was experiencing emotional death #47 of the day.
He sat under a tree, face buried in his notebook.
"I can't do this," he whispered.
"I'm not built for fame. I'm not built for attention. I'm not built for ANY—"
His phone buzzed softly.
He looked.
A new mission.
[New Mission Available — "Breathe, Daniel"]
Objective:
Calm yourself after a stressful event.
How:
Find a quiet place, breathe deeply for 60 seconds, regain composure.
Reward:
+1 Composure
Bonus Objective:
Accept help or comfort from someone else instead of isolating.
Bonus Reward:
+1 Charisma, +1 Stress Tolerance
Daniel stared at the mission.
"…This system really thinks I'm pathetic."
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
Emily noticed first.
"Hey. You okay?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Olivia knelt beside him.
"Daniel… It's a lot, isn't it?"
He nodded silently.
Olivia placed a gentle hand on his arm.
Emily placed her bag beside him and sat down quietly.
"You're doing better than you think," Emily said.
"Way better," Olivia whispered.
Daniel opened his eyes.
They were both right there beside him.
Warmth punched him in the chest.
He swallowed.
"…Thanks. Really."
He accepted it. He accepted them.
And somewhere in the system—
DING.
Mission Complete.
Daniel checked later.
Quietly.
Privately.
Composure +1
Charisma +1
Stress Tolerance +1
Small changes.
Tiny improvements.
But enough to matter.
Enough to help him move forward.
When he finally got home that night, his mom hugged him tightly.
"I saw a clip of you speaking!" she said proudly. "My son! My handsome boy!"
"MOM PLEASE—"
Too late.
She had already posted it on Facebook, probably with emojis and twenty exclamation marks.
Daniel slumped into his room and collapsed onto his bed.
His phone buzzed one last time.
A message from an unknown number.
"We should talk soon, Daniel Park."
He froze.
Another message followed.
"Congratulations on your rising fame."
And a link.
A link to… the plaza pitch video.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
He didn't know who it was.
But Rocco Varelli smiled in his car two streets away.