Athanasia: My Hacker System-Chapter 50: Ding! Congratulations! You Fulfilled One Requirement in Your Quest!

Chapter 50: Ding! Congratulations! You Fulfilled One Requirement in Your Quest!

"I’ve prepared the lineup for the individual matches," John announced. He had picked the team members yesterday, but he had spent the last night thinking deeper about how to arrange the order of their battles to maximise psychological impact and help him complete his quest. "The first to fight is Cissel."

He turned to look at her, noticing a flash of slight surprise cross her usually stoic face. "I trust you to secure us our first win!"

His last words were carefully picked. He knew Cissel’s cold exterior hid a deep-seated need for her to be acknowledged. She loved to feel someone’s genuine trust and support, which he hoped would lead to a slight improvement in her Familiarity with him.

"You should let me fight that first match instead," Ricky interrupted, his voice laced with annoyance. He clearly wanted the glory of the opening victory for himself.

John simply gave him a silent, steady look—one that wasn’t challenging, but firm—before continuing the lineup. "Next will be Luke, then Ricky, then Elena. I’ll finish last to handle any clean-up if necessary."

[Ding! Your Familiarity increased with Cissel!]

[Ding! Cissel Familiarity level: Neutral]

’And here it is!’ As if he were someone who could read the future, seeing this notification wasn’t surprising at all. If anything, he felt like he had finally made his opening move right. Now he just had to carefully play his remaining cards to win the game of familiarity.

[Ding! Your Familiarity slightly decreased with Ricky!]

[Ding! Ricky Familiarity level: Offensive – Grunted]

’And here comes the backlash,’ John thought with a mental sigh. He had fully expected such a response from Ricky. He wasn’t particularly sad about the dip because he already had a potential solution for Ricky’s ego in mind for later.

In a worst-case scenario, he would end up reaching the ’Friendly’ state with Cissel at the cost of Ricky, which would be enough for him to complete the quest. After all, with the cat and mouse attitude the two kept playing together, it was super hard to satisfy both of them at the same time.

"One minute!" the voice outside barked again.

"Wish me luck," Cissel said. A rare, fleeting smile played on her lips as she walked past John toward the arena entrance.

"You don’t need it," John replied, not letting her go without pressing harder on his show of confidence. "I know for sure you’ll win us the first match."

"..."

She was genuinely startled for a brief moment, even freezing while giving him a gaze full of exasperation. It was a look that hovered between disbelief and a strange, newfound fondness. Next, she moved to exit the tent, heading for the big stage with determination, while Elena followed close behind to not miss her battle.

[Ding! Your Familiarity increased with Cissel!]

[Ding! Cissel Familiarity level: Friendly]

[Ding! Congratulations! You fulfilled one requirement in your Quest!]

[Ding! Achieving more with the two students will end up raising your overall Reward assessment!]

’And here it comes!’ John’s eyes shone brighter when he read those notifications. ’One goal is achieved, now it’s time to see if I can score another.’ He silently turned to the red face of Ricky, as the two were now the only ones remaining in the cramped confines of the tent.

"Why did you make this arrangement?" At some point, Ricky couldn’t take it any longer. His voice was a low growl of suppressed fury. "I swear you did it on purpose! You’re trying to sideline me!"

"Surely I did!" John calmly replied, without feeling any threat or pressure at all. He maintained his composed facade, leaning back against a pillar as if they were discussing the weather rather than the fighting lineup.

"Screw you, man!" Ricky lunged forward, grabbing John by the collar and bunching the fabric in his fist. "You should have let me fight first! The opening match belongs to the strongest, not a girl who happens to be fast!"

John didn’t even try to free himself from Ricky’s grasp. Instead, his mind scrolled over the different scenarios he had simulated for this very moment. He decided at the last second to pivot, using the unexpected vulnerability that had happened earlier with their teammate.

"Can’t you see?" John acted as if he didn’t care about Ricky’s rage, looking at him with the pity one might give a child crying because they weren’t allowed to play a game. "Luke isn’t even here..."

"And?" Ricky wasn’t patient enough to let John finish his words. He gave John’s collar a sharp tug. "You think I care about that loser? I told you, he won’t secure anything for us! He’s probably hiding because he’s terrified!"

"He is ill," John calmly corrected the wrong guess, "and I should have listened." John met the burning, arrogant gaze of Ricky with a calm, steady stare of his own. "He is ill this morning, not looking in the shape to fight properly today. So..."

"Dammit! Told you, he isn’t dependable!" Hearing all this didn’t help alleviate Ricky’s rage; instead, it flared it up further. "You should have listened and picked Alfred or Bernard! At least they have the guts to handle the pressure!"

"It doesn’t matter either way," John simply said, his voice dropping to a confidential, serious tone. "Be it Luke or one of your friends, none of them would have scored us a single win.

Their level is simply too low for the opponents we’re facing today. That’s why I picked you to play the third match—the most important match in the entire individual lineup for us!"

"The most important match?" As if he were being hypnotised by the sheer weight of John’s conviction, Ricky’s rage suddenly subsided. His eyes narrowed, his hands loosened their grip over John’s collar, eventually dropping by his sides.

"It indeed is," John’s smile didn’t change at all, but he added a layer of seriousness to his expression. "In case Luke loses—and let’s be honest, he likely will—you’ll handle the most important role for the entire class.

You will be the one to restore morale and secure a win that will keep our chances high in the competition. If you went first, a later defeat by Luke would sap our momentum. But with you in the middle..."

"This..." Ricky gave John a weird, searching glance. John didn’t stop there; he kept delivering the script he had prepared last night, tailoring it to feed Ricky’s massive ego:

"Look, if you fought first, then Cissel, then Luke, Elena would have to step into the ring right after a crushing defeat. Her failure chances would be higher than ever because she’d be under too much pressure. Instead, I saw it was better to rely on you to handle the expected disaster of Luke’s defeat.

You’ll even the scales for us, stabilise the team, and give Elena a fighting chance to aim for a win. Even if she fails, I’ll secure the last win for us. That way, we walk away with three wins in our bag, and you’ll be the hero who saved the day."

"Fine." After hearing the long speech John had memorised by heart, Ricky was finally convinced. The logic of being the hero of the class appealed to him far more than simply being the opener.

He even placed an arm over John’s shoulder, speaking in a serious tone he had never shown before. "Leave the third match to me. I’ll definitely win it for us! I won’t let that loser’s defeat affect our overall performance and foil our chances at the trophy."

’Bring it, man... Send me the notification!’ Seeing everything he had planned so far working perfectly, John stood in his place for a moment, waiting for the expected chime from the system.

[Ding! Your Familiarity increased with Ricky!]

[Ding! Ricky Familiarity level: Neutral - Positive]

’What a simple-minded, arrogant son of a btch you are!’ John inwardly smirked, feeling a surge of triumph. He had successfully manipulated the two most difficult personalities in his class. He turned around, following Ricky outside the tent to watch Cissel’s match.

The roar of the crowd was deafening as they reached the edge of the arena. Cissel stood in the centre of the stage, facing her opponent. He looked twice her size. John leaned against the railing, his eyes narrowing as he activated his Frame Recognition.