Divine Celebrity 150

“A question, Mr. Black,” I said as I looked at my turtle back in my room,, ignoring just how ridiculous it would look. “Are you capable of protecting Megan?” 

He nodded, conveying his ability, but there was a sense of hesitation in his answer, showing that he might have his limits.  

“Don’t worry, I’ll continue pumping you with magic, you gluttonous beast,” I said, and this time, his nod was far more enthusiastic. 

Then, he disappeared. 

At a distance, I could sense his presence near Megan, both at a distance. I had let Megan leave after another long talk, explaining to her the fundamentals of power and Intent. 

Even now, I was feeling surprised that she had turned out to be my first candidate for an Acolyte, but sometimes, fate was interesting. Her actions proved her loyalty — at least as far as anyone could be loyal to anyone else — and thinking about it, she was not a bad candidate. 

She was a proficient player in the mercurial game of fame, and her magical enchantments would only make her more proficient; so not only she could help me further my fame in the areas it would be difficult for me to access, but also she was a good candidate to get famous herself. 

A young, beautiful, and vapid woman suddenly turning into a business mogul. It was enough to make a lot of people angry and jealous.

And, as I experienced before, anger and jealousy converted to Intent very efficiently. 

However, with that, I had my next challenge. 

Who would be my next Acolyte? From the knowledge perspective, Arthur was the best, but he was tangled with the supernatural too much already, and he certainly didn’t feel any kind of loyalty to me. I could probably play his apparent rivalry with Paul, but I didn’t see how it could benefit me ultimately.

I thought a bit about choosing Marcus, or another football player, but after some consideration, I decided against it as well. This time, not just because of loyalty. I could feel that, with my current authority and their perception, I could open the discussion in a way that would earn their loyalty. 

However, that didn’t mean there were other problems. The biggest being … we shared the same field, both literally and figuratively, meaning there would be overlap in terms of the Intent I could collect. Meaning, that unless there was a significant change in my location — which I wasn’t planning — it would be quite redundant. 

Another challenge was the increased risk of getting caught. One advantage of my hurried selection of Megan, was that she would use her powers in an indirect manner to enhance her business acumen and her looks. And, while it was not impossible for her to get caught, it was far easier for her to hide her abilities than another football player with supernatural enhancement. 

Pity that chain of thought also meant I couldn’t just use Coach Juana for an immediate candidate. Once again, the benefits were limited; and I could sense that, before I upgraded the System, I could select only another Acolyte, and that would be stretching the System in certain critical ways. 

However, while I was considering that, I received a message from Megan. ‘We’re about to launch the marketing campaign,’ the message read. 

Curious, I turned on my computer, curious about the quality. Then, I checked the first picture as the ad was up and running. 

Well, I had to say, it looked good. It showed me dunking over half of the team during our pickup game, with a tagline about power and freedom. The fact that they were obviously flying me to the point of pulling my leg but failing to keep me down made it look even more impressive.  

The faces of the basketball team were tastefully blurred, but I doubted it would help much. Not with the commotion they created today. 

Yet, even as I examined the picture, I felt a flood of Intent, one that filled my reserves almost as quickly as a touchdown. Curious, I started searching … and noticed a very long social media about all the ways I could dunk, the left side of a picture of me playing basketball … and the right side of a picture with Miriam on my lap … a picture from the tactics session. 

And, the number of views had been climbing ridiculously, with people commenting all around the world, already trending on several social media platforms. 

It seemed that I was about to have my fifteen minutes of global fame — well, not just fifteen minutes if I could help it. 

However, before I could start that, I realized that there was an opportunity. Why not bet on Megan and the sudden publicity campaign to support the repair process rather than desperately betting on a second Acolyte.

It was an excellent opportunity, and with the next match for the basketball team upcoming, I could always use it as a platform for more intent… 

“Fortune favors the brave,” I murmured, and sent a mental message. I felt something flicker inside me, and the System suddenly turned far more unwieldy, sucking the Intent I stored desperately.  

[System Repair Initiated]

[Repair Progress 0.3%]

It seemed that this time, the repair would take a lot of time. On the positive side, I had better control of my Intent, and I could use it in emergencies; and even use it to support Megan or my mysterious pet. 

Altogether, not as bad as I feared. 

“Let’s focus on the present,” I murmured with a sigh, and once again focused on my computer, focusing on creating several more bots based on my earlier tricks, this time tasked to increase the popularity of the newest fashion line by fueling the absurd discussion. 

The longer I could stay popular, the better. 

Naturally, soon the other variant appeared, showing me against Kevin on the left, while me in the pool with Megan, frolicking, on the right — which felt like a lifetime ago — or me, destroying the offensive line in my charge for a sack, together with my chess-themed celebration… 

“Wow, they have a lot of materials,” I muttered amusingly as I continued to type, though the more I worked, the more I realized I needed a new computer. 

Or better, a decent server that I could remotely use. I wished that I could rent some cloud space, but considering the illegal nature of my actions, it was hardly viable. 

Instead, I continued drudging for hours … and in the morning, I went back to training ... then the classes, then training again. A shockingly routine day to compare to the one before. The only break from the routine was the times disappeared with a sexy cheerleader from time to time.  

And, amusingly, they were desperate enough to tap into my popularity, so I didn’t even have to arrange for someone to take a picture of us and leak. They arranged it beforehand. Some just served their freshly-fucked aftermath, trusting their messy hair and streaky face to convey the message … while the others actually served their half-naked poses. 

As a result, my spotty reputation turned even more chaotic, and there was news about me nationwide. Some mocking me, some treated me as a social threat that needed to be kicked out of the school as a lesson. 

Luckily, I had just got the dean and the sports director fired, and the interim dean wasn’t stupid enough to risk his chance to turn into the permanent dean by trying to take me down. And, my beautiful sports director was already by my side. 

Well, hopefully, considering I was going to her room after training for an emergency meeting. I hoped that there was no emergency, because I was very happy with the results of the day. 

[Repair Progress 5.2%]

While I was parking my car, Megan sent a message. ‘I have already managed to license the design and signed an exclusive production deal, and that’s your part of the advance,’ the message read. It also had a picture attached. 

“Twenty-thousand, not bad,” I murmured before I paused. No, I realized, I had managed to miss a zero.  

Two hundred thousand. 

‘Not bad for demolishing a few noobs in a pickup game,’ I wrote, and she just sent an angry emoji in return. 

Then, the second one came. 

 ‘Jane says hi, and she wants to meet with you,’ the message read, and it showed Megan kissing a sexy redhead passionately. It was taken from a distance, clearly looking like the work of a paparazzi, no doubt about her little ploy to create a scandal. They both looked passionate and in love. 

Amusingly, my Lust Domain allowed me to read their feelings very accurately. Jane was acting … but she was doing it well enough that nothing was out of place in the picture. 

Megan, on the other hand, certainly had mixed feelings about the reality of the situation. How entertaining. 

Maybe I should pay a visit to them soon. But, it was for another time. For now, I put away my phone and knocked on the door. 

I had a sexy sports director to appease.