Now, with Cunning at Level 5 and the new skill Misdirection (Lvl 1), Alex needs to leverage his position. His next critical move should focus on a problem that:
Utilizes Misdirection: A social or information-based challenge where deflecting focus is key.
Involves a High-Value Target: Someone or something that provides him access or power within the university System (e.g., another high-level peer, a strict professor, a critical resource).
Builds on his newfound technical credibility (from Maya).
🎯 Next Critical Problem: The Restricted Access Logs
Alex is still trying to understand the full scope of the System that granted him his abilities. The key to this might lie in the university's main server architecture, which he suspects holds more than just academic data.
The problem is Professor Denton's Research Lab. Denton is notoriously paranoid and keeps the highest-level academic network logs (including data transfer rates, system crashes, and unusual network activity) locked down on an isolated server. This server's logs could contain a digital footprint of whatever event triggered Alex's System integration.
The Challenge
Alex needs to gain temporary, unsupervised access to Professor Denton's Server Room Keycard Log to clone a high-level keycard without raising an alarm. The only person with current, routine access to Denton's records is Ben: a hyper-vigilant, rules-obsessed Computer Science T.A. who views Alex as a frivolous, low-effort student.
Proposed Strategy (Using Misdirection)
Alex needs to get Ben to leave his post near the server room (or at the very least, look away from his monitoring station) for a crucial 60 seconds.
The Hook (Maya's Favor): Alex calls Maya (using the "emergency" caveat she established) and asks for a highly specific, non-critical technical favor. Something that requires a brief, focused task on the academic network but far from the server room, perhaps in the main library's data center.
The Target's Weakness (Ben's Ego): Alex knows Ben is extremely competitive and obsessed with being the only competent one.
The Misdirection: Alex approaches Ben with a look of feigned desperation. He tells Ben that Maya (the undisputed genius) is currently trying a "dirty fix" on a seemingly minor (but technically complex) network routing issue (the favor he asked for). Alex frames it as: "Maya is about to implement a non-standard solution that could violate Protocol 7B and cause a brief network instability. She needs a second pair of eyes to check her work before she hits enter, but she only trusts the most detail-oriented person on campus."
The intended effect of the Misdirection:
It creates a Credible Distraction (Maya working on the network).
It plays on Ben's Rules Obsession (The mention of "Protocol 7B violation").
It Elevates Ben's Ego ("Only trusts the most detail-oriented person").
Ben, unable to tolerate the risk of a rules violation (and secretly wanting to prove he's Maya's intellectual equal), will be forced to rush across campus to the library to "correct" Maya, leaving the server room unguarded.