Divine Celebrity 162 (Patreon)

“Well, not a bad day,” I murmured as I pressed the remote and turned off the news, which had been filled with pieces about my heroic debut, which was mostly positive. The city seemed to have a new ‘mysterious’ hero, though considering the number of barely-concealed mentions of ex-football players, the news wasn’t even paying any attention to keeping my identity a secret. 

Not that it was a problem. I had already received my real reward. 

[DIVINE SYSTEM II

Traits: (Divine Body I, Divine Mind I, Divine Aura I)

Domains: (Lust I, Command I, Athletics I)

Acolytes: (Megan(?))

Totem Animals: (Black Tortoise [?])

Intent Pool: 613]

I had just collected enough Intent to not only repair the System, but also gather enough to maintain it for a week. 

Of course, I didn’t use it much. I just used a point — away from the city — to see if those mysterious teleporters would react to an intense move like they did back when I was at the ruins. They did not. Either their methods didn’t detect Intent, or their detection was just focused on the ruins. Considering the giant beasts I had seen, it would be understandable. 

Either way, it meant that I was safe from immediately being targeted. 

I could feel that I could start upgrading various features with Intent, but I didn’t do so, for two important reasons. One, I could feel that they required more Intent than I currently had. Second, I didn’t want to waste my Intent. I could feel that, the only reason I had received such wide coverage was the novelty factor. 

Soon, the situation would change. Having some safety margin before I could start making plans would work. 

At least, I had some money. Not much, barely five hundred after buying an old phone and even an older laptop, but I managed to steal some while I had busted one of the burglaries. It probably belonged to the owner of the store, but I didn’t particularly care. 

It wouldn’t be the first time I had to steal to survive.  

With a sigh, I turned my attention to the laptop, and quickly dismantled it, cleaning the dust, replacing its thermal paste, and making some other small changes until it was somewhat functional, which didn’t take long. 

Handling the security, on the other hand, was much more difficult. 

Most of the tools that were used to ensure true privacy were gone, leaving only corporate equivalents, but it would be a cold day in hell before I trusted them, especially for such an important task. 

Meaning, that unless I was ready to build my own infrastructure — which required money, connections, and time, all three I had been lacking — there were no hacking adventures for me. The risk of getting caught was too high, which would mean losing my only true hidden weapon. 

Instead, I built a more commercial security suite, the kind that made people think that they were secure and anonymous in this new world — which was a lie — before I set up a public donation campaign for my heroic identity. 

I needed the money, and stealing was not a sustainable path. I doubted that it would work well, but every bit counted. 

With that done, it was already midnight, so I went out for a second patrol. I was feeling energetic, and I didn’t want to waste my time. Though, this time, when I left my motel room, I wasn’t alone. Several blocks away, there were two people, watching me with binoculars. 

And, they didn’t even look like they were a part of the same group. 

Since they were too far away for me to notice based on my publicly revealed abilities, I didn’t openly react to their presence. And, while I didn’t like being observed, I couldn’t exactly prevent them while operating from such an obvious center. 

Unfortunately, if I actually hid, I wouldn’t be able to give the impression of the young reckless hero. The more underestimated I got, the better. 

I jumped through the roofs, acting like I was trying to stay hidden even as I let several people take my photos, making sure they were properly majestic. And, in the process, I even managed to bust a couple more criminals busy with petty crimes. 

I wanted to act as ordinary as possible. 

*** 

A week. 

I spent a full week filled with the most banal heroic activities possible, going as far as actually saving kittens from the trees, which had been fruitful. 

[Intent Pool: 2,291]

And, Intent wasn’t my only benefit. The donations page I had set up had some movements. Nothing spectacular, but enough for me to afford to move to a decent hotel rather than a motel — a hotel that promptly upgraded my room to the deluxe version. 

There were perks to having a paper-thin hero identity. 

However, for all the benefits I had been collecting, I was not happy. Because, yesterday, I had over twenty-three hundred Intent. 

My presence as a hero already lost its advantage. A troubling realization, especially since I was still getting prime-time news spots. I was still a novelty for the city … but it wasn’t enough to meet the daily consumption of the System. 

It was not a happy realization. 

I needed a solution. Some solutions, I immediately vetoed. For example, getting another Acolyte was a tempting idea, but I had no one around I truly trusted, and even if I had, I didn’t know just how intense making an Acolyte was. 

There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t trigger something. 

I was tempted to create some bigger spectacles, either by revealing more of my powers or actually creating some kind of disaster myself, but I ignored that temptation as well. Both behaviors risked bringing some unwanted attention and weren’t worth the risk. 

No, I decided to do something more conventional. 

Create an ordinary kind of scandal. Luckily, I had already noticed that drop trend for the last few days, and I was prepared for it. 

It was why I was in front of the mirror, carefully fixing my clothes as I prepared to visit a club. I was wearing a simple shirt and slacks combo, the kind that cost barely a hundred dollars to assemble. Ordinarily, it would be too simple for a club visit, but there were perks to fame. 

‘Hey, I have just seen Mister Hero leaving the hotel. I heard that he’s going to a club,’ I texted to a paparazzi. 

‘Find out which one he’s going, and I’ll pay double,’ he said. Double meant two hundred dollars. We didn’t need to discuss much. It wasn’t the first time I was leaking information to him. I started the day after I moved to this new hotel, acting like an ambitious bellboy with a need for some extra cash, sending him information, and he dropped the cash at an agreed location.

I didn’t need the money, but I needed to make sure there would be cameras when I went there. Otherwise, how could I create a scandal?   

‘Echoland,’ I wrote before I turned off the burner and left it in my room and I left. A car picked me up, and dropped me in front of the club in question, which was the hottest location in town. 

No one complained when I moved to the VIP line. “Welcome, sir,” the bodyguard said, quick to recognize the only superhero in the small town, which was a fun detail. I entered the place. 

Inside, there was a small hallway that split into two, one leading a private VIP area, and one leading the wider public area. And, while I had no doubt that I could get into the VIP area, the isolated nature would mean the risk of a scandal breaking would be much smaller. 

Instead, I followed the other path, and arrived at a wide area. The music was loud and bouncing, while the people danced freely at the center of the room, excited as they wrapped against each other. 

I paused for a moment before I continued, feeling the echo from the dance floor. Its density wasn’t significant. I might not even notice that much Intent, but it was stronger.  

I didn’t dare to touch it, because I could feel it flowing, just like the Intent I generated that moved toward the System. However, there were two differences. First, the pull was stronger than the Intent I generated. 

Second, it was being pulled toward the basement, gathering around … something, before it disappeared. 

Not exactly something I expected to stumble, but I didn’t turn and leave. It was the first opportunity I had to interact with the powers of the new world, and I had no intention of turning back. 

After all, I still needed a proper scandal to gather more Intent. I looked around, identifying the targets, until I saw a group at the corner. Five men, and a lone woman, but four of them were more focused on guarding, while the middle-aged man — dressed in a way that reflected money, but not taste — did his best to seduce the bored young woman that accompanied him. 

One of the up-and-coming business moguls of the city. 

The supporting actor for a scandal.