Cryptomining Supervi Chapter 4: 004 TO STEAL STRENGTH

004 TO STEAL STRENGTH

Strength was easy enough to judge.

Thas was built like a machine—broad shoulders, fast legs, the kind of boy who always topped the physical aptitude charts at school.

But Charm? Dan almost laughed.

Then he noticed the sidelines. Every ti Thas landed a shot, the girls squealed like they were at a concert. So even had tears in their eyes.

Dan frowned. "Not bad looking. Tall, muscular. If I looked like that…" He let the thought trail off.

Then ca Command and ta.

"Give !" Thas barked across the court.

ta is easy to understand. Each student is required to be tested for their ta scores in the finals' exam. Dan needed that but it wasn't the most important stat for him now.

On the court, one of Thas teammates had a clean shot at sight, but the instant he heard Thas's voice, he froze. The boy tossed the ball without protest, abandoning his chance at glory so Thas could take it instead.

"Huh. So, he really does have command," Dan admitted. "Even if it's just the command of a bully."

The glowing words pulsed faintly, waiting. Dan stared at them, his pulse rising. What should I choose?

After a beat, Dan made up his mind. Command would only buy him followers — bullies — and he didn't want that. Charm was tempting, ta was important, but these were all useless if he couldn't survive a single trip ho.

He needed Strength and muscle to survive the bullies, and to pass the physical aptitude test.

Also, there wasn't enough food available for him to grow. Tests were coming, and physical scores counted heavy toward the middle-school finals.

"Strength," he said, and thumbed the icon.

Expecting the instant rush of power in so cheap sci-fi fantasy, he instead got a chanical beep and a notification bar sliding across his vision.

Coins insufficient.

10 coins required for Acquire (Strength).

He swore under his breath. The little counter on his app read 9.13. He was a fraction short.

The bell scread suddenly. Recess was over.

Thas and his gang scattered off the court like a flock. Dan's jaw tightened. "You're not getting away next ti," he muttered.

Back in class he trained his phone on Mr. Fischer, his teacher for the ta class, Human Evolution. He knew by now that different people yielded different rates of farming. The black cat gave the least coin followed by Ralph and then Thas. Teachers yielded the most.

"Sorry Mr Fischer, you'll be my farm today