Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 7: Childhood Rival

Upon exiting his cramped dorm room and twisting the key to secure it, Kaiden suddenly encountered David. David served as his dorm mate next door, a fellow he'd recognized since their kindergarten days, implying about 19 years of intertwined experiences between them.

One could assume they'd developed into solid buddies or at least cordial allies.

Nothing could be further from reality.

Back in kindergarten, David had brought his beloved toy for post-lunch playtime during free activities and began bragging about its awesomeness. Overcome by envy because he lacked such an epic robot toy, Kaiden chose to smash it.

Understandably, David became furious and, following plenty of tears, tattled on him to the teacher, leading to Kaiden's compelled apology, his folks purchasing a replacement toy for David, and a heap of criticism from his dad back home.

The youthful Kaiden realized his mistake but shrugged it off, so even with the obligatory sorry, their bond never improved. During elementary, they vied for top marks; in middle school, they battled for basketball superiority; and in high school, they both pursued the identical girl (and both faced rejection).

In their college phase now, these competitions escalated dramatically when Kaiden surpassed David's top rank in a rival game by hitting Gold 3.

Indeed, both were fairly mediocre at gaming.

David was also the one who'd yelled at him to quiet down while pounding on the walls amid the system's brutal reconfiguration of his manhood.

Kaiden arched a brow as he scrutinized David, who wore a triumphant grin. It was simple to figure out the source of his cheerful demeanor; an affectionate young woman clung to his arm.

'Kaiden, my old pal. How's life treating you?' David asked in a snooty, refined voice, like they were affluent execs reuniting post a lavish Hawaiian getaway.

Rather than responding, the aspiring adult film star opted to size up the girl.

She wasn't exactly a stunning conquest.

Labeling her plump would be kind; she was outright overweight. By today's norms, she wasn't near obese, merely 'curvy in the extra sense.' Her hair was dark, cheeks dotted with freckles, and breasts notably petite against her abundant figure. Still, she wasn't hideous entirely—Kaiden would rate her a solid 2.5 from 10.

Barely dateable if someone was utterly starved for attention or buzzed enough on booze to drop all reservations.

'Finished eyeing my date? This is Becky. We crossed paths on campus, and sparks flew instantly. Becky, here's Kaiden, someone I've known from kindergarten.'

Kaiden gave the girl a nod before extending warm well-wishes to the couple. 'Hi, pleasure to meet you. Congrats to you two.'

He understood that displaying any emotion like envy or irritation would feed straight into David's scheme. Sure, his companion wasn't attractive by any stretch, but she counted as a partner. It stung a bit to lag in the pursuit of romance, yet... Kaiden had never stooped to pursuing less appealing women like her. He aimed high every time, but much like Icarus, his efforts always crumbled short of glory.

'Hello. David mentioned a few details about you,' she replied with a crooked grin.

'All positives, no doubt...' he laughed lightly, and her wince confirmed David's negative chatter. Well, it didn't faze him.

Regrettably, David proved quite intelligent, or at least sharp in studies, ranking among the elite in their economics program. Kaiden had lost interest in the major and wasn't pushing for top scores, positioning him as the underdog in both social and scholastic sides of their geeky feud.

'Alright, have a good time, folks. I'm heading to train.'

'Goodbye, Kaiden. Great meeting you.'

'Yeah, buddy. Enjoy yourselves,' David added finally, but as they passed, he deliberately bumped Kaiden's shoulder and murmured close, 'I'll be the first to ditch my virginity, dude. It's going down today. You're handing me wins in every life area so effortlessly these days... It's getting dull, really.'

Kaiden halted briefly and looked back at the duo entering David's room.

Kaiden might have voiced a retort and likely triumphed in the spat, but he was too refined to utter it with Becky present. She shouldn't face insults over their personal grudge.

Kaiden recognized that women with her appearance often battled deep self-doubt about their attractiveness, so retaliating against David there could wound her deeply.

Their ongoing conflict shouldn't claim unintended victims.

Moments later, he simply lifted his shoulders in dismissal. Kaiden faced far weightier concerns, and success in the system's tutorial could land him a beauty's first time by month's end, with compensation to boot. He bolstered his resolve, then left the dorm for a stroll.

...

An hour later, he returned to his space.

Plenty of time remained before his gig at Bruno's bar, so he collapsed onto the bed and accessed his system panel.

Since the apocalypse hit, every human could view this status screen showing personal stats.

Yet for unawakened folks—the everyday masses—this display stayed basic. Kaiden's had appeared like this before;

[Name: Kaiden Ashborn]

[Class: -]

[Level: -]

But after acing that banana peel slip like a pro, extra details emerged.

[Name: Kaiden Ashborn]

[Rank: 0 - Worm]

[Class: -]

[Level: -]

[Tutorial Mission: Stop Being Pathetic, Fuck Virgins For A Living!]

[Side Quest: Training Arc]

Upon awakening, a commoner gained a class, so even with the system, Kaiden remained unawakened—lacking a class. These classes fell into ranks, typically F through S.

Awakened individuals faced limits on growth based on their class tier. An F-rank holder would lag far behind an S-rank counterpart with equal dedication, talent, and fortune.

Levels acted as progress indicators. Awakeners leveled up by slaying dungeon beasts or fellow awakeners, boosting their power.