Jay looked at Buck, his expression unchanged.
To be honest, he didn't think much of him.
No strength, no brains, aside from having thick skin, the guy was practically useless.
But Jay still decided to take him in as a dog.
Because at this stage, he wasn't in a position to be picky.
No matter how incompetent Buck was, he could still serve as a tool.
And for now, that was enough.
In return, once Jay rose to power, he would naturally pull him up as well.
That was exactly why he had deliberately said those words at noon, to wake him up.
And now, it seemed this guy wasn't completely hopeless.
When Buck started looking visibly uncomfortable, Jay finally withdrew his gaze and walked past him.
"To the training ground."
Buck was stunned for a moment before quickly following behind.
Clearly, Jay had zero interest in his so-called savings.
That night's "special training" was different, Buck gave it everything he had.
Normally, he would have already given up, complaining about how exhausted he was.
But now that he had made a choice, he had a reason to keep pushing forward.
His persistence lasted longer than before, helping Jay progress further in activating [Demon's Back].
After nearly a month, he had accumulated 4,378 effective strikes.
At Buck's current efficiency, he estimated that in another month, he would successfully activate [Demon's Back].
Two days later, Jay expressionlessly removed the butterfly ribbon from his wrist and threw it away.
[Condition Met: Worn for 30 Consecutive Days. "Terauchi Kiyoshi" (White) Fusion Successful!]
As the system notification appeared, the "Terauchi Kiyoshi" white card successfully merged into his body and disappeared from the card slot.
The passive ability [Logistics & Medical Support] also became his own innate talent, a new ability.
Though, honestly, it was pretty useless.
Better than nothing, he supposed.
What Jay really looked forward to was fully absorbing all those orange and red cards, turning himself into a complete monster of talents!
Looking at the now-empty card slot, Jay thought for a moment and equipped another white card [Koyuki].
This card's passive ability only slightly enhanced his charm, which seemed just as pointless.
But on the plus side, its activation conditions were simple, he just needed ten people to compliment him.
Judging from this, the fusion conditions probably wouldn't be too difficult either.
Since his supply of role cards was limited, he decided it was more efficient to start with the easier ones before dealing with the harder ones.
At noon, during "special training," Jay suddenly turned to Buck and asked:
"Do I look handsome?"
"Handsome! Super handsome! Exceptionally handsome! Boss, you're the most handsome!"
Buck answered without hesitation, instantly increasing the compliment count by one.
"Not bad, keep going."
"Uh… got it."
By the end of "special training," Buck still couldn't figure out whether Jay enjoyed flattery or not.
But now that he had confirmed the method worked, Jay completely abandoned his dignity.
He went around asking everyone whether he was handsome and how handsome he was.
Most people, just wanting to avoid trouble, reluctantly gave him a few half-hearted compliments.
To be fair, Jay was objectively good-looking, so their words weren't exactly lies.
But it was still annoying as hell!
Some people straight-up ignored him.
Others even cussed him out, suspecting he was either crazy or had some questionable preferences.
As long as it wasn't too over-the-top or crossing his bottom line, Jay just pretended not to hear them.
After all, even he had to admit, his behavior deserved a beating.
Luckily, he only needed ten compliments, so it didn't take long before he fulfilled the activation condition.
Then, the fusion requirement was revealed
[Fusion Condition: Overwhelm your peers with beauty. Make 20 people verbally admit they are less attractive than you.]
EMMMMMMM...
Jay suddenly felt like his system was messing with him.
What the hell is this?
A face-to-face ultimate ability?
Was he supposed to just ask people directly?
Wouldn't that get him punched?!
Jay decided to give it a shot.
"Hey, what's your name again?"
He immediately stopped a hideous-looking new recruit.
"Torru. My name is Torru. Can I help you?"
Jay asked with a straight face, "Oh, I'm conducting a social survey. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your own looks?"
Torru flashed a "mysterious smirk" and dramatically flipped his bowl-cut bangs.
"Oh, that's easy! As you can see, I'm a solid 10 out of 10!"
"Back when I was five years old, at least six or seven neighborhood girls were fighting over who got to marry me."
"But alas, I had a greater purpose! So when I grew up, I resolutely joined the marine to pursue justice... blah blah blah..."
Jay couldn't take it anymore and cut him off.
"Quick question, when you were five, did you have a lot of toys and snacks?"
"Huh? How'd you know?!"
Jay glanced at his cratered, battle-scarred face, then deadpanned:
"Just a logical deduction based on your current condition."
"What do you mean?"
"Doesn't matter. Let me ask you, do you think I'm handsome?"
Torru pouted.
"You? Eh… not bad. But definitely not as handsome as me."
"…Goodbye."
Jay didn't even bother arguing.
Because you can never wake up someone who's pretending to be asleep.
Right, brothers?
Since that didn't work, Jay immediately devised a new plan.
As always, he started with Buck, securing one progress point from him.
Then, he had Buck gather a bunch of weaklings, the kind who were constantly bullied but never dared to fight back.
At least 20 of them.
Buck, being a seasoned troublemaker, had no trouble at all with this task.
In just half an hour, he brought over more than twenty people.
Even Jay was a little impressed!
However, after thinking about it, Jay realized that most people don't have the courage to resist bullying.
So, in reality, this group wasn't that unusual.
Looking at the twenty-plus "quails" in front of him, Jay felt no guilt whatsoever. Without hesitation, he pointed at a skinny guy with glasses.
"Let me ask you a question. Between the two of us, who's more handsome?"
"Think carefully before you answer! Otherwise, suffer the consequences!"
Buck immediately let out a cold snort, issuing a clear threat.
The skinny guy shuddered instinctively, hurriedly responding, "Y-you're handsome! I'm an ugly freak! Please don't hit me…"
Jay laughed.
He walked over and patted the skinny guy's shoulder.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hit you. You help me, I help you. From now on, I've got your back."
"If anyone dares to bully you again, just say my name, Jay. Tell them to come find me. Got it?"
The skinny guy with glasses looked dazed, as if he were dreaming.
Meanwhile, the others who had come along all lifted their heads in unison,
For the first time, there was light in their eyes!