Good Aura and Reputation Spin Everything Positively [3]
‘I need to test this a bit more.’
I scanned for a new target and spotted a young couple busy preparing their stall. My eyes were drawn to the wife—she had a pretty face and a killer figure.
‘Time to push the boundaries a little further.’
To make proper use of my skills, I needed to figure out just how far my actions could be seen in a positive light. In other words, I had to probe the limits.
“Welcome! Looking for anything in particular?”
The couple greeted me in unison. Whoa. Saying this for real is tougher than I thought. But convincing myself it was necessary, I finally let the words slip out.
“Ma’am, your body is seriously hot.”
Sorry. I’m really, truly sorry. This could actually summon the guards. From her perspective, it’s sexual harassment; from his, it’s some psycho hitting on his wife right in front of him. No complaints if I got slapped or grabbed by the collar before the guards even arrived. And naturally, my reputation would tank.
Reputation consumed: 5
Target perceives your words and actions positively!
‘Huh?’
My reputation did drop, just as expected. But it felt a little different from what I remembered. Normally, trashy behavior like this would just deduct reputation and call it a day… but it wasn’t a straight drop—it was “consumed”? And on top of that, they were perceiving my words positively?
“Oh… th-thank you?”
The wife seemed a bit startled at first, but she smiled faintly and expressed her gratitude. There was a hint of coquettishness in that smile.
(Her body’s so hot… I’ve never heard such a rude compliment before… but it doesn’t feel bad.)
Whoa. It actually worked. Rude as hell, but since it was still a compliment, they were spinning it positively?
“Ahem! Hero candidate, sir. I’d appreciate it if you watched your words. Still… thank you for complimenting my wife.”
The husband showed some discomfort, but he thanked me too. His thoughts, though, were even more surprising.
(What’s this feeling… Another guy flirting with my wife… and her smiling shyly… Why the hell is this turning me on?)
Uh… Did I just awaken some hidden kink? No way it’s because of me, right?
‘This effect is insane.’
Anyway, the skill’s power was ridiculous. The range of things it could spin positively was huge. But if I stepped outside that range, it didn’t just fail to spin—it consumed reputation to force a positive spin. So, if I just stockpiled enough reputation… I could probably get away with damn near anything? And maybe even make some outrageous requests?
“Sorry, that was rude of me. Ah, from over there to there—I’ll take it all.”
This shop sold clothes. No harm in stocking up since they had plenty anyway.
“R-Really? You don’t have to…”
“I just like the look of them.”
“Haha! You’ve got great taste, sir!”
The merchant couple beamed as they took my coin pouch, already forgetting that little rudeness from moments ago.
Alright, time for the main point.
“By the way, do you two know a guard named Habak?”
Their faces hardened the instant they heard his name.
“Yeah. We know him.”
“He passes by here on patrol… sometimes picks fights for no reason or brags nonstop.”
(That bastard…)
(Why’s he asking about that guy?)
Their thoughts were intensely negative too. Makes sense, given the crap Habak pulls.
Good—they weren’t on his side. Perfect.
“Could you act as my informants?”
“Informants?”
“Yeah. Just remember what he says when he stops by and pass it on to me later.”
Their faces paled at my request.
“Y-You want us to… spy on a guard?”
“If we piss him off, it’ll make life hell…”
Thick fear showed on their faces. Fair enough—they already dealt with his bullshit daily; getting on his bad side would only make it worse.
“No need to dig for info or anything. Just tell me what you overhear.”
They still seemed conflicted. Was good aura and reputation not enough? Fine, let’s add one more thing.
“Oh, right. I’ll be staying in the village for about a month.”
They tilted their heads, not fully getting it.
“You want us to be informants for a whole month?”
That was part of it. I nodded and added,
“And since I love clothes so much, I’ll probably buy a lot… I can shop every time I come for info.”
Their eyes flicked to the coin pouch I’d just given them. Then they looked at each other, and the conflict vanished from their faces.
Reputation consumed: 5
Target perceives your words and actions positively!
They nodded toward me.
“If it’s a request from the hero candidate… it must be important. We’ll help.”
It worked. Now I had two more informants on top of Bell. Not enough for solid intel yet, but I could always recruit more—the village was full of people.
=====
Today was another packed day. I scouted restaurants and streets Habak frequented, met the merchants there, and asked them to be informants.
“I-Isn’t that dangerous?”
They all freaked out at first, but after a little persuasion, they nodded.
“Boss, what’s your priciest item?”
Reputation consumed: 3
Target perceives your words and actions positively!
Good aura, reputation, and cold hard cash. Of course, expanding informants like this was risky. The person I approached might be friendly with Habak—or worse, snitch to him out of spite.
But I had a safety net.
“Boss, by the way, Hab—”
As I started asking another merchant about Habak—
Luck activates!
Crash!
“Aigoo! What the hell?”
Luck triggered, and the display shelf toppled over. Conversation over—no more talking now.
‘Better not recruit this one.’
If I’d asked about Habak, it probably would’ve gone south. Luck saved me.
After burning luck once, I wandered the village doing luck quests: picking up trash, helping an old man with his load, returning dropped items to their owners…
People started noticing me.
“That’s the guy, right?”
“Looks as impressive as they say.”
I was legit famous now. Eyes followed me everywhere on the streets. And it wasn’t just stares.
“You know Bell?”
“The café waitress? Yeah.”
“Overheard her this morning while grabbing coffee—she said the hero candidate studies for his role and all that.”
“For real?”
“Bell’s got a good eye for people, right? She was raving about him.”
“Ooh, yeah, he’s different.”
Reputation +2
One of the rewards from the quest to boost Bell’s confidence was “Ongoing Reputation Gain.” I hadn’t known how it worked back then, but it seemed she was spreading positive rumors about me far and wide.
Thanks to that, I burned through reputation like crazy and planted informants all over the village.
Of course, I handled other priorities too. Mornings with Gawella.
“Sion! Incredible! You’ve gotten stronger in just one day!”
Training and sparring with her netted massive skill proficiency. Once morning training wrapped, we moved to something… special.
“Sion. Today, I’ll take charge of you… smack, slurp♡”
Like she was done being on the receiving end, Gawella pinned me down, stroking my cock with her hand while sucking and licking my asshole with her mouth and tongue. A woman strong enough to snap my neck in a real fight, shoving her tongue in my ass just to make me feel good. The insane arousal made me cum buckets.
“Hehe… Sion’s got a weak backdoor too, huh?”
Gawella laughed like she’d won, but…
“Ahh, I…♡ I was weaker♡ My hole was way more pathetic than yours♡”
Of course, I was the ultimate victor. Gawella, unable to handle me fully again today, passed out exhausted.
Afternoons with Egelina.
“Sion, did today’s meal suit your taste?”
“Yeah, I’m stuffed.”
She’d prepared lunch for me after my draining training. And after eating…
“Egelina. Does my cock still fit your pussy today?”
“Ahhhn…♡ Perfect fit, fill me up with that delicious cum…♡”
I went at her till sunset, raking in EXP.
“Egelina, don’t worry—just wait. I’ll handle it for sure.”
“Yes… I believe you♡”
After parting with Egelina, I was strolling through the entertainment district toward the gambling den. Crowds stared.
“That’s him!”
“The lucky guy… heading to the den again?”
“Wonder how he’ll do today?”
I was already famous, especially among gamblers—no one who didn’t know me.
“Ah! Sir! You’re here!”
The doorman recognized and welcomed me. The bald guy from last time—the real boss of this place. He greeted me with obsequious palm-rubbing, but his eyes were different. Wary. Afraid.
Too crowded now for Mind Reader’s Curse, but I could read him anyway.
“Sir! Someone’s been waiting for you!”
“Me?”
“Yes! Let me guide you!”
The bald guy led me through staff corridors to a spacious room.
“Right this way!”
Haven’t been in this room in a while. I plopped onto the sofa naturally. Table had bottles and glasses; I poured one casually and asked,
“Maxian. What do you wanna say that you dragged me to your private room?”
His eyes twitched. Just us now—perfect for mind-reading.
(Records show no VIP named Baek Sion.)
As expected. He’d looked into me.
(Even if he picked up underworld slang somewhere, how does he know my name?)
Still clams up when overthinking, huh? Good thing I practiced mind-reading. I could sense his thoughts without even looking now.
Click.
I smoothly opened the drawer under the table. Syrups inside. Poured booze into an empty glass, mixed fruit syrup, and offered it.
“Headache, right? Have a drink and think it over.”
More confusion on his face.
(How’s he know my taste? Gotta be Hevamur’s guy? But… he’s provoking me too openly?)
Fun watching him squirm, but time to dial it back.
‘Was gonna seek him out anyway.’
I’d wanted a private word with Maxian. Was pondering an excuse, but he set it up himself. Perfect timing.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I pulled items from my inventory and set them on the table.
“What the—”
His wary eyes went wide. He recognized one.
“Th-That’s?”
“Exactly what you need. Right?”