138 Ben the pyromancer (2/2)
Lawrence gnashed his teeth. However, he couldnt speak. The fire was so hot that opening his mouth would only scorch his lungs!
…
He knew he needed to fall back, the first priority being to deal with his third-degree burns…
He didnt expect to bathe in the flames of Mordor…
…
Lawrence glared at Ben but soon returned to working on the computer, along with everyone else. After things quieted down, a boy in the group next to Lawrences, who noticed the commotion, asked Lawrences partner what was going on. When he heard the story of the conflict from the first day and how Ben declared he would win the competition, he couldnt help widen his eyes in surprise.
Soon, he returned to his group and reported everything hed learned about Ben. Everyone in that group sat in silence, waiting, all gazing towards one person in their centera girl with an icy face.
Even though she was sitting down, from her extremely long athletic legs under her short white skirt, anyone could tell her height was remarkable for a girl. At 5”11, she was fit to be a model, and possessed a face of matching quality, which was framed under long dark brown hair. Although her curves werent extreme like the professors, her toned athletic body accentuated her C-cup and developed butt so that she turned heads just the same
”This Ben appears quite surefooted” the girl said with an upper-class British accent.
A man in her team snorted. ”Hes a fool is what he is He smirked and looked around at his teammates. ”We have the student council president on our side. With Olivia, we cant lose!” He smiled while flattering the British beauty, Olivia.
However, her expression remained unimpressed. ”Correction. We must not loseand we also must not fail to analyze all possible threats, no matter how miniscule.” Her tone carried the natural confidence of a leader. ”Act like youre in first, but prepare like youre in second. Thats how well become victorious. You must never belittle the opponent”
Her group members nodded as their expressions became serious.
She continued. ”Good. Now, organize all the data from the preceding round. Dont miss any detail.”
As Olivias team followed her commands, Ben was at his computer. He made small adjustments to his strategy but followed the same tactics. We need to pick up momentum tomorrow. If we can, then we might have a chance. If not
He sighed, but hed done all he could: planned, plotted, and set up a faceslapthe three key steps of any great web novel arc… Now, Ill leave it and see the results tomorrow, using them to determine if well rise…or fall into Bolivia…
***
4 days left
Surrounded by the chatter of dozens of students from the strategic marketing class, Ben and Charlotte were back in the computer room checking their results. As the software loaded, they leaned forward, eyes staring at the screen with intensity and concern
The night before, theyd checked their standings from home for the 2nd round of the day, and were still in 10th. It wasnt a good sign…
So, todays results would determine if their group had any chance of winning the contest
Clicking on the mouse to check their position, Bens mouth was dry. He needed a good result hereotherwise…
Soon, their standings were visible
8th place…
They moved up by two spots. Charlotte tilted her head, unsure if this was good or not, but received clarification when she glanced at Ben.
”Yes!” He smiled and squeezed his fists in joy. ”I-I did it! It activated!”
…
When he glanced at Charlotte though, Ben realized she wasnt aware of what was happening, so he explained. Corporate was a niche with a slow start, but that also meant that when growth began, it would become exponential! A rise of two spots might not seem like much now but it was only the beginning. If they could go up by 2 today, then when the genuine growth ramped up, they could go up by 3, or more!
Like the best ninjas and criminals, Ben planned to come from behind!
This was where the real problem started though
Now that the growth of corporate was visible, some competitors in the class would see its appeal. Although that didnt guarantee a group would try to jump onto Bens gravy train, there was a definite threat, and it would become a disaster if that risk became reality.
He was right to worry. At this moment, several teams were discussing the potential profitability of corporate, only hesitating because it had been a few days already. That made it tough to say how large their gains would be if they dipped their toes into it now.
Anticipating their movements, Ben knew he needed to do everything in his power to minimize the chances of them following through in joining corporate. The good thing was…hed already thought of the perfect method.
He spread a sinister troll-smile, angling his head down as he looked at Charlotte. ”Its time for stage 2 of the plan”
She backed her chair up. Why is he smiling at me like Jack Nicholson?
It was fortunate that Ben knew the best approach to keep people away from him and his segment, one he learned from gamingmake the environment as toxic as possible!