When Ben called him a redheaded stepchild in front of their fellow members in the Photography Club, Darryl’s face turned pale…… ’How’d he know I was adopted?’
……

  His parents only told him that secret right before he left for college, but Ben somehow also knew……now turning the dagger in Darryl’s heart which stung him every day like:

  ’Why’d my parents lie to me for so long?’


  ’Can I even call them mom and dad?’


  ’Why didn’t my real parents love me?’


  Now that these questions once again filled his mind, he didn’t even have the energy to deal with Ben anymore, dismissing him with a halfhearted snort. "We’ll see……" Then, Darryl turned back around, wondering if he had any brothers or sisters……

  Ben wasn’t aware of those inner issues. If he was, he’d change his attitude to loving-kindness, putting a hand on Darryl’s shoulder and comforting him with something like: "You want more siblings? I’ll help you. Where’s your mom at?"

  As for Darryl, he didn’t think there was a need to bother with Ben, who he knew was only talking big. Darryl believed there was no chance he’d lose to such low level photography skills and such a subpar model. In fact, it wasn’t only Darryl that thought so. When the surrounding members heard Ben’s declaration, they either shook their heads or showed helpless expressions. They also gave Ben zero chance, proceeding to ignore him as they returned their attention to the new critiques at the front.

  If there was anyone who believed in him, it was Charlotte to his side. She’d seen him pull off miracles before, both in Strategic Marketing and when picking up girls. Yet, even her faith was minuscule. "Y-you can’t be serious with this challenge. He’s a much better photographer than you or I……"

  Ben smirked with confidence. "Don’t worry. Right now, that’s true, but that won’t necessarily be the case in the future……" Ben had the confidence to defeat Darryl in a week for one simple reason—the mid level personal talent multiplier! In the next seven days, Ben planned to squeeze in two years worth of experience! With that, who’d be the better photographer in seven days was uncertain!

  For Charlotte though, whether Ben won or lost didn’t matter too much, she felt the most important things, was that he stood up for her again…… That support, was like a dam that blocked the impending flood at her tearing eyes, delivering warm energy in this frigid room. ’He’s helping me again……’


  Charlotte didn’t understand why Ben kept coming to her rescue. There was nothing special about her, and she didn’t even treat him that well. So she couldn’t help but ask. "W-why are you doing this?"

  Looking at her, Ben spread a reassuring smile. "For one, he’s wrong about you. You were great. Second, some people need to learn to keep their mouths shut. Besides, I’ve kept the store open for so long with no customers, with the crippling bills almost forcing me to close my business. So how could I not serve the first customer who entered the door and asked for the most expensive faceslap in stock?"……

  It was like the government ignored legal rights, demanding Ben shut his little shop down……even though Walmart kept selling faceslaps in bulk……

  Ben wouldn’t stand for it. Plus, he understood the basic maxims of a slap-merchant…… "Haven’t you heard the saying ’The customer is always right?’ And the more they spend, the more right they are. So how can I not give free palm delivery to the face of such a cheddar-cheeked whale."……

  Charlotte stared at him with eyes so squinted it looked like she was sleeping. She didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about……

  Ben though, released an exhale, because this development was a tremendous relief. He almost gave up hope, believing the faceslap wasn’t happening, but now—the glitch in the matrix was corrected. Everything was as it always should’ve been, making Ben realize the truth: ’I might as well ride a merry go round with my arms out because they keep coming for the slaps……’
……

  Although he’d almost lost his religion……he’d regained faith now, once again certain that one of the constants of the universe was the inevitable gravitation of faces to his hand……

  Ben sighed. ’Many people in my position would’ve believed the faceslap wasn’t coming, but you should’ve held on, weak hands…… Crypto-coin SLAP is going to the moon!’
……

  As it turned out, it seemed there was someone to get faceslapped in every corner, if Ben looked hard enough……or at least, stayed awake a while.

  Yet, Ben thought today wasn’t the best day to deliver the megaton smack. The best slaps needed time to wind up. In addition, they hurt worse when one held their face out in pride, exposed and believing they were unslappable……

  Ben knew that moment would be at the competition for Darryl, since it was clear that not only he but many others in the room thought the redhead would be the inevitable winner. As such, Ben planned to use their expectations as fuel for the rocket engine in his hand……

  In any case, he’d found a goal, but that also meant Ben couldn’t slack off, because if he did and lost because of it, he’d only end up slapping himself…… That’s why now, he forgot all about Darryl and resumed his intense focus over the remainder of the critique, absorbing all the knowledge, which he also planned to engineer into a V8 turbo engine attached to his hand……

  ***

  6 days later……

  *Pant* *Pant*

  Ben was on the blue mats at Barbosa’s MMA Gym. It was free training time between classes where anyone could roll for practice. At the moment, he’d just finished grappling with someone very familiar with him, but also a person he hadn’t trained with before.

  "Bro……are you serious?" With sweat covering his face, Fariq sat back against the matted wall, breathing hard but staring at Ben with wide eyes. Ben was a white belt who’d only started training a few weeks ago. Fariq knew this for a fact because from the start, he’d watched it with his own eyes. Meanwhile, he was a purple belt who’d trained for three years. So if you asked anyone, they’d say there should’ve been a huge difference between their skill levels. However, reality was different, because they’d grappled to a draw! Fariq didn’t beat him!

  "Bro, if you really haven’t trained before, the only thing I can say is—you’re a monster!" With a big grin, Fariq held out his fist, to which Ben gave him a pound. This was a rare buddy, who wouldn’t become envious of someone else’s success or talent, but only support them.

  Ben knew that even amongst friends or family, it was common for people to become jealous of others, planting seeds of discord that could sprout to create drama and conflict. He’d even experienced that himself every time his parents bought his little brother a game he wanted. For that reason, Ben was happy to have such a warmhearted roommate. Yet, there was even more to be ecstatic about.

  Over the past six days, Ben hadn’t only practiced photography but continued training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So with almost a full week under the 100x multiplier, he’d experienced the equivalent of two years of training. Even though in BJJ, it wasn’t as efficient as real training, he’d still reached purple belt level! His personal talent had gone up by one and reached a 7! It was to the point where he grappled Fariq to a draw, an amazing result!

  Except, not everyone was thrilled to see this. Observing on the side, Valentina’s face was a bit ugly, because she had to watch Ben dominate all her students in even more crushing fashion all week. What’s more was, his skill level, even gave her a slight sense of threat! ’At this rate, won’t this bastard be coming for revenge soon?’


  During the week, as before, she’d been beating him up in class every day, so she knew first hand that he was improving at an inhuman speed. Yesterday, she even almost failed to submit him! Before, she convinced herself that she’d been subconsciously going easy on him since he was a white belt, but now that she’d seen him roll with a purple belt to a draw, she realized—his skill was the real thing!

  ’Not good. Soon, I won’t be able to beat him at all! I need to train him into submission before that happens……’ Valentina desired to be the alpha female in her environment. So how could she stand it watching a cub grow up into a powerful lion before her eyes? She couldn’t accept it! Throw Simba off the cliff!

  That’s why, with a serious expression, she stood up and walked over to Ben. "Get up cabrao. We’re going to grapple."——

  Author’s Note: We came in 7th this time, not that far from bonus chaps :( Honestly, the issue this past month with voting was that FreeWebNovel did not give MPUAS any promotions. We were owed a banner, a library feature, and many other features and received none of them. Even so, we came very close to returning to the top 5 this week. If the votes stayed on par with how they were Sunday and Monday, we would’ve made it.

  Unfortunately, some of you brothers and sisters chose to take it easy towards the end of the week.

  *Sniffles*

  I hope this week everyone can stay consistent and keep voting every day. The schedule is the same as last week. Up to 8 bonus chaps for getting in the top 5. In any case, thank you all for your support.