Chapter 2

"The luck points are an indicator of your current luck, Clement. The higher it is, the more success you will have in your endeavors, and vice versa. As you have crossed the Chosen One, your luck has dropped to that of misfortune," the system explained.

"So, that's what it is."

Staring at the lavish bar up ahead, Clement remarked, "The Chosen One truly is a force to be reckoned with. All I did was offend him, and my luck basically zeroed out. What should I do to increase my luck, System?"

Everyone dreamed of becoming the Chosen One, and Clement was no different. He'd love to be able to pick up the winning lottery ticket off the street, meet an amiable old man in the park who turned out to be a mafia don, or perhaps even find a ring, only for it to contain the soul of a mysterious sage!

"Your luck points will be updated consistently based on your attributes as well as the degree of deviation from the designated plot trajectory.

"Methods for acquiring luck points include but are not limited to suppressing the Chosen One, stealing his possessions, women, or opportunities, or causing an alteration in his mindset, as well as enhancing your own abilities."

"I see," Clement replied, his eyes gleaming sharply.

He now understood the correlation between his luck and that of the current Chosen One. He also knew that he could steal the Chosen One's luck.

"It seems to me that despite being the villain, I'm not doomed to die after all. I can switch the tides in my favor and suppress the Chosen One instead!"

Clement glanced at Nate and Royce, whose blazing eyes made it clear they were itching for a fight. He knew that based on the original plot trajectory, he would've allowed Royce and Nate to gang up on Ethan with a bunch of men, only for them to be defeated by Ethan instead.

Refusing to give up, he would go running to his father, Michael, and use the Lakeworth family's connections to try and cause trouble for Ethan. But alas, Ethan would defeat them all. The Lakeworth family would merely be one of his stepping stones on his path to greatness.

Naturally, Clement wasn't going to do that. The best way to change the plot was to do the unexpected!

He knew that many villains failed not just because they talked too much, but because they underestimated the Chosen One from the start and relied on feeble attacks. By sending wave after wave of expert fighters to challenge the Chosen One, they would simply be giving him more opportunities to gain experience and grow stronger.

However, if a villain were to dispatch a mighty opponent from the start and crush the Chosen One before he'd grown stronger, there wouldn't be any danger at all.

"Based on the usual plot timeline, if Ethan's still trying to prove himself at a bar of all places, that means he probably returned to town not too long ago. That means he's still in the early stages of amassing his power."

Clement's eyes glinted. "I'd only be giving Ethan a chance to flex his muscles if I get Nate and his people to pick on him. What if I hire some invincible bodyguards or assassins? Does that mean I can kill him off immediately?"

All of a sudden, the sound of thunder rang out despite there not being a cloud in the sky. Clement shuddered. He felt as though he'd been enveloped by some kind of invisible force.

"System, what's going on?"

"The Chosen One is protected by the heavens, Clement. If you attempt to kill him, you will suffer the backlash."

Clement sputtered, his expression bitter. It seemed like the divine entity of this world, most likely some kind of almighty censorship, was protecting Ethan. If he tried to deal with Ethan by force, he'd be struck by lightning and wiped from existence before he could even make a move.

"Does this mean I can't kill the Chosen One, System?"

"You certainly can," the system replied. "You may do so once his luck has fallen to that of an ordinary person."

"How much luck does he have now?"

"You do not have access to that information."

"Damn you, System!" Clement grumbled in displeasure. "It must be incredible being the Chosen One."

"Why are you hesitating, Clem? Ethan's just a dumb guy who doesn't know his place. Sure, he can hold his own in a fight, but that's nothing. I'm sure we can kill him if I just bring a bunch of guys with me," Royce said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, shut up! Why do you keep talking about killing him?" Clement retorted, his eyes glinting. He'd just come up with the perfect unconventional move for him to make. "We're law-abiding citizens. Since he hit me, I'm going to report him to the police."

Ordinarily, villains like him would undoubtedly rely on hiring criminals to pick on the protagonist. After all, people with elevated social standing didn't like having too many dealings with the authorities.

Clement knew that all he did was say a few suggestive words to the bombshell before getting punched by Ethan, who'd also proceeded to break the limbs of his bodyguards. When it came down to it, even if he was guilty of verbally harassing the woman, Ethan had clearly gone too far for it to be considered reasonable self-defense.

"You're reporting this to the police?" Royce repeated with a clueless expression. "If you do that, Clem, everyone's going to find out about what happened. We'd be humiliated!"

"How is it humiliating?" Clement shot back as he smacked Royce on the head. "I'm a law-abiding citizen and a respectable businessman. Don't you forget that."

Clement made a call.

"Mr. Watson? It's me, Clement Lakeworth. Yes, that's right. I ran into some trouble at The Nyte. Send someone over to deal with this right away."

After ending the call, Clement felt incredibly satisfied with himself. The old him would never have received such privileged treatment! In his previous life, he was just a lowly office worker—a poor sucker who got bossed around by others. He never would've been able to bark orders at someone else.

But now, he didn't even have to go through the regular channels. With just a single phone call, he got in touch with Ben Watson, a high-ranking police officer in charge of Chesville, the district where the bar was.

Moreover, even though Ben was a powerful man in the police force, he had been extremely polite with Clement. Once he got the call, he dared not dawdle at all. He immediately summoned his subordinates and had a team dispatched over to Clement.

At the same time, he was also a little confused. Clement was known for being a brazen and reckless brat, so what was up with the sudden change in his attitude? To think that Clement wasn't relying on shady methods involving the criminal underworld this time!

"Go wait in the alley with these guys," Clement instructed Royce.

He didn't look the part of an upright citizen at all if he stood there surrounded by Nate and dozens of intimidating men.

"A slight alteration in the designated plot trajectory detected. Luck points increased by one. Newbie gift pack credited."

Clement perked up at once. "Open it."

"Congratulations, Clement! You have been awarded with Loyalty Check (Beginner)."

"Loyalty Check?" Clement repeated doubtfully. He didn't know what that could be used for. "What does it do, System?"

"You can use it to check the attributes of people related to you."

"Is that so?"

After activating the Loyalty Check skill, Clement scanned Royce.

"Name: Royce Stone"

"Physique: 65"

"Luck: 30"

"Loyalty Rating: 75"

"What's the loyalty rating, System?"

"It reflects how trustworthy the person is to you, Clement."

"Oh?" Clement remarked before checking what the scores meant.

A loyalty rating of 0 to 25 indicated that the person couldn't be trusted at all. Someone with a 25 to 50 loyalty rating was the equivalent of having hired someone. While someone with a loyalty rating of 50 to 70 could be trusted, there was still a chance they might betray him.

However, 70 to 90 implied that the person could be relied upon and was unlikely to betray him, while those with 90 to 100 would even be willing to die for him.

"This means Royce is pretty reliable."

Clement nodded lightly, his perception of Royce, who probably got the old him in trouble a lot, changing somewhat.

The Loyalty Check skill turned out to be rather useful as well. At the very least, he now knew who he could and couldn't trust.

Just then, the sound of the police siren wailed through the air. The police had arrived, and in the lead was a tall, strikingly beautiful policewoman.

"Whoa!" Clement gasped, feeling exasperated when he saw her coming.

With her looks and job, he was certain she was one of the leading ladies!