Liam's eyes cracked open to sunlight cutting through the blinds. His whole body ached. Not the sharp pain of injury, just the bone-deep exhaustion of someone who'd pushed too far, too fast.
He groaned and rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling.
'Thank God I missed Tasha last night. I wouldn't have had the strength to deal with her.'
The thought of her showing up at his door, throwing questions, made him want to bury his face in the pillow. He'd gotten her text, "Where are you?", but by the time he'd dragged himself home from the hospital, he could barely keep his eyes open.
His mind drifted back to yesterday. Kyle. The abandoned repair shop. The sound of bone cracking under his fist.
A slow grin spread across his face.
'I beat the shit out of him.'
Kyle, the guy who'd made his life hell for years, was now the one lying broken on the concrete. The memory played back in perfect clarity, Kyle's face going white, the desperation in his voice as he begged Liam to stop.
'And Clara saw the whole thing.'
His grin widened.
'I should've made some kind of pose. Like in those action movies. Stand over him, arms crossed, all cool and intimidating. Would've looked sick.'
He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His knuckles caught his eye. Bruised, sure, but not destroyed. They should've been shattered after what he'd done. Punching guys hard enough to send them flying, cracking bones like they were made of dry wood, that wasn't normal.
'The system did this. That strength boost... it's real.'
He flexed his fingers, watching the muscles move under his skin. He felt... powerful. Like he could do it again. Like he could do more.
'Time to test it.'
Liam stood and walked into the small living room. The couch sat against the wall, old and worn, the kind of thing that had been there when he moved in. It wasn't huge, but it was solid. Heavy.
He bent down, gripping the bottom edge with both hands.
'Alright. Let's see what I can do.'
He pulled.
Nothing.
He adjusted his grip and tried again, putting his back into it this time.
Still nothing.
The couch didn't budge. Not even a little.
'What the hell?'
He stepped back, staring at it like it had personally offended him.
'This doesn't make sense. Yesterday I was throwing guys around like they weighed nothing. Now I can't even lift a couch?'
Maybe it was just too heavy. Maybe he was still tired. Maybe,
'No. I know what I did yesterday. That wasn't a fluke.'
He looked down at his hands again, then at the wall.
'The couch is one thing. But I can test this another way.'
He walked up to the wall, plain white drywall that had seen better days. He pulled his fist back.
'Here goes nothing.'
He threw the punch.
Pain exploded through his knuckles.
"Fuck!" Liam yanked his hand back, shaking it out. His whole arm throbbed. "Shit, shit, shit, "
A translucent screen flickered into view in front of him, glowing faintly in the morning light.
[System Notification]
[Host has unlocked Skills Tab]
Liam froze, cradling his hand. "Now you show up? Are you serious?"
He stared at the screen, reading the text that appeared.
[Skills Acquired]
[Skill 1: Sexual Resilience , The ability to maintain stamina, recover faster, and sustain performance even after release]
[Skill 2: Point Bound Might , Physical strength augmented to a level significantly exceeding that of a normal human]
[Point Bound Might Requirements:]
Activation Cost: 50 Lust Points
Duration: 20 minutes per activation
Lust Points are gained through successful interactions with targets
Current Lust Points: 0/50
Liam's jaw dropped.
"You've got to be kidding me."
He read it again, slower this time, making sure he understood.
'So I don't just have super strength all the time. I have to use points. Points I get from... successful interactions?'
He let out a bitter laugh.
"You couldn't have told me this earlier? You just let me punch a wall like an idiot?"
The system didn't respond. It never did.
'This thing wants me to hurt myself on purpose just to figure out how it works.'
He shook his head, flexing his now-aching hand. The pain was already fading, which was something at least.
'Okay. So the strength isn't permanent. I need to build up points first. Fifty points, twenty minutes of power. That's... actually not that bad.'
He opened the Skills Tab, scanning through the details more carefully.
[Skills Tab]
[Sexual Resilience: ACTIVE]
[The ability to stay hard longer, recover faster, and keep going even after release]
No activation cost
Passive ability
[Point Bound Might: INACTIVE]
Superhuman strength
Activation Cost: 50 Lust Points
Duration: 20 minutes
Lust Points gained through successful interactions with targets
Current Lust Points: 0/50
'So the first skill is always on. Great. Because what I really needed was infinite stamina in bed.'
He shook his head. 'But the strength... I need fifty points every time I want to use it. And I only get points from talking to girls. So it's like I'm sacrificing points for strength.' He exhaled. 'Cool. I knew this stuff wouldn't be that easy.'
He thought back to yesterday. The fight with Kyle. He'd been running on pure adrenaline and whatever the system had given him before he even knew what it was.
'It must've activated automatically the first time. Like a tutorial or something. Now I have to manage it myself.'
It was starting to make sense now. The system wasn't just handing him power for free. He had to work for it. Build relationships. Make sure every interaction counted.
'So it's not just about talking to them. The interaction has to be successful. Whatever that means.'
His phone buzzed on the nightstand. He grabbed it, seeing his mom's contact name flash across the screen.
'Shit. I was supposed to call her.'
He answered. "Hey, Mom."
"Liam, sweetheart, are you okay? You left so suddenly last night."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had to get home and sleep. How are you feeling?"
"I'm good. Clara just showed up to pick me up. We're heading out in a few minutes."
Liam glanced at the time on his phone.
[9:07 AM.]
His stomach dropped.
'Fuck. I'm an hour late.'
Miss Kelly's class started at eight. She'd already called him out once for missing. Now he was late again.
"Mom, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'm late for class. I'll call you later, okay?"
"Okay, baby. Be safe."
"I will."
He hung up and bolted for the bathroom. No time for a shower. He splashed water on his face, brushed his teeth in record time, and threw on the first clean clothes he could find, a black t-shirt and jeans.
His backpack was already by the door. He grabbed it and ran.
---
The campus was quiet when he arrived. Most students were already in class. Liam's sneakers hit the pavement hard as he sprinted toward the building.
He slowed down once he reached the hallway, trying to catch his breath. The door to Miss Kelly's classroom was closed.
'Great.'
He opened it as quietly as possible, slipping inside.
The room was full. A hundred students, all seated, all pretending to pay attention. Miss Kelly stood at the front, mid-sentence, her voice carrying across the room with that sharp, confident tone she always had.
Liam kept his head down, moving along the back row. Kelvin sat near the middle, scrolling through his phone under the desk. Liam dropped into the seat next to him.
'Made it. She didn't notice.'
"Mr. Carter."
Liam froze.
Miss Kelly's voice cut through the room like a blade. She hadn't even turned around. She was still facing the board, marker in hand.
"See me after class."
The room went quiet for half a second, then a few scattered laughs broke out. Liam sank lower in his
seat.
'She didn't even turn around. How did she know?'
His face burned. He could feel eyes on him from all directions, students smirking, whispering to each other.
'Of course she noticed. She notices everything.'
Kelvin leaned over, grinning. "Dude, you're so fucked."
"Thanks. That helps."
Kelvin eyes landed on the bandage on Liam's cheek. His grin faded slightly. "Dude, what happened to your face?"
Liam touched the bandage instinctively. "Oh. Nothing. Walked into a door last night. Half asleep."
Kelvin raised an eyebrow. "A door?"
"Yeah. Stupid, I know."
Kelvin leaned over, eyes landing on the bandage on Liam's cheek. His grin faded slightly. "Dude, what happened to your face?"
Liam touched the bandage instinctively. "Oh. Nothing. Walked into a door last night. Half asleep."
Kelvin raised an eyebrow. "A door?"
"Yeah. Stupid, I know."
"Right. And I'm supposed to believe that?" Kelvin stared at him for another second, clearly not convinced, but he let it go. "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"
Liam just shrugged.
Kelvin's expression shifted, more serious now. "Hey, about yesterday... your mom good?"
"Yeah. She's getting discharged this morning. Clara's picking her up."
"Good. That's good." Kelvin nodded. "And listen, don't even think about paying me back. Seriously."
Liam shook his head. "No. I'm paying you back. Every cent."
Kelvin waved him off. "Man, don't worry about it. That's what friends do."
"I'm serious, Kelvin. I'll pay you back."
Kelvin studied him, eyebrows raised. "You sound pretty damn confident about that. You hit the lottery or something?"
Liam forced a small smile. "Something like that."
Kelvin laughed. "Alright, man. Whatever you say. But honestly, don't stress it."
There was a beat of silence, then Kelvin's grin returned. "Hey, the study group is meeting up again tonight. You coming?"
Liam paused.
Last time, he'd blown it off. Made some excuse about needing to study alone. But this time...
"Yeah," Liam said. "I'm in."
Kelvin blinked. "Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah. Why not?"
"Because you never want to go. You always give me some excuse about needing to focus or whatever."
Liam shrugged. "Maybe I'm trying something different."
Kelvin's grin stretched wider. "Fuck yeah, man. That's what I like to hear." He clapped Liam on the shoulder.
"I knew you'd come around eventually. You're finally ditching the boring nice-guy routine."
'If only you knew.'
Miss Kelly continued her lecture, pacing back and forth at the front.
Liam's eyes followed her without thinking, his gaze drawn to the glowing number above her head
[70/100]
'It's still the same as before.' Liam said this, and a small smile tugged at his lip.
Kelvin nudged him. "Yo, you good?"
"Yeah, I was paying attention to Miss Kelly."
"Right." Kelvin smirked. "You're starting to stare at Miss Kelly like everyone else in this room."
Liam didn't deny it.
The class dragged on. Two hours of philosophy that Liam barely absorbed. He took notes on autopilot, his mind elsewhere.
When the bell finally rang, students flooded the exits. Kelvin stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Alright, I'm heading out. Gonna go home, then pick you up around seven. Sound good?"
"Yeah. I'll be ready."
Kelvin shot him a thumbs-up and left.
Liam stayed in his seat.
Miss Kelly was erasing the board, her back to him. The room emptied out until it was just the two of them.
"Mr. Carter," she said without turning around. "Come here."
Liam grabbed his bag and walked to the front, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
'This is going to be interesting.'