Class 3's celebration went on for a long time, and the crowd only started to break up when the bell rang.
Hugo threw a heavy arm over my shoulder, and he looked both hyped and dead serious.
"Luke, I'm serious. Think about joining the school team."
His voice was loud, and he was still breathing hard from the game.
"Your vertical is insane. If you don't play basketball with talent like that, it's a waste, and I can recommend you to the coach."
"No need." My body started shaking from exhaustion, and I forced an apologetic look while I dragged out my words.
"My body's not built for it. Besides jumping a little higher, everything else sucks, and I'm out of breath after two steps."
My face and tone fit the "has a bit of talent but trash stamina" bookworm act perfectly.
Hugo looked at how pale I was, and then he remembered how I kept looking like I was about to die on the court, so the fire in his eyes cooled into disappointment.
"Yeah… that's a shame. Your talent really does fit basketball."
After that, he turned and went to talk game details with Jasper.
That ten-minute break turned into my personal award ceremony.
On the way back to the classroom, almost every Class 3 student greeted me with a friendly smile.
"Luke, you were so damn cool today!"
"That block still feels like a dream!"
"Next PE class, let's go at Class 8 again!"
I gave everyone a tired reply to every compliment.
I felt like a bad actor getting forced to work under a spotlight, and every smile and every nod burned through what little energy I had left.
With all that sudden attention, the only thing circling in my head was the same word.
Trouble.
I knew the real reason pointed at that damn skill.
Goblin Hero.
Or more specifically, that active skill, Intimidate.
Even now, my palm almost felt the impact of slapping the ball through the air.
That wasn't my will, and it wasn't my choice.
It was the humiliation of having control ripped away by something else.
It was like a moody tyrant sealed inside me, and it stayed asleep most days, but it would stage a coup and take over the second it decided my dignity got insulted.
That was a dangerous sign.
Something that acts on its own can't be allowed to stay inside me.
Today, I could barely patch it up with luck and a little talent.
But what about next time?
And the time after that?
If this happened too often, people would stop seeing it as weird and start calling it real ability, and then how the hell was I supposed to keep playing a normal guy?
No. This skill had to go.
[Ding]
[System Notice:
The system has detected the host is showing a sustained and intense rejection response toward the active skill Intimidate under the Goblin Hero skill tree.
As a noble system dedicated to protecting the host's purity and mental stability, we fully respect and understand a Saint-level Virgin's deep hatred of uncontrollable variables.
Based on the user-first principle, special access has been opened for you: Skill Management.]
The text on the light screen shifted, and a simple option box popped up.
[Do you want to permanently delete the active skill: Intimidate?]
[Yes / No]
Oh? So I get something this nice?
Right when I was about to silently give the system a thumbs-up, a bunch of rough, stupid-looking chat bubbles started popping up like crazy beside the option box.
[Don't do it! Boss! Just give me one more chance!]
[I was wrong! I really was! I got heated when I saw that idiot trying to dunk and show off in front of you, and my temper snapped, but I was protecting your dignity!]
[Think about it. This filthy world needs a righteous fist like me, and we're born partners!
Don't delete me. Keep me, and I'll behave. I'm begging you!]
Get lost. Unyielding is enough.
My intent didn't move at all, and I tapped the glowing Yes button.
[Confirming…]
[No----!]
That last scream got drowned out by the system prompt.
[The active skill Intimidate has been permanently removed from the skill tree.
Current remaining Goblin Hero skills: Passive - Unyielding.]
Hah…
The annoying pop-ups vanished.
Finally. Quiet.
Sure, I showed a bit of strength today, but at least this "I'm totally spent because I tried my hardest to win" act worked as a patch.
It also helped lock in my image as a normal guy with basic limits.
Overall, it wasn't a big deal.
And getting rid of a ticking time bomb this fast was a win.
"See that? That's our Lilu!"
Baron and Dexter acted like two bodyguards as they stuck to my sides, and they didn't stop bragging for even a second.
"You don't move, and then you drop a nuke!"
"Bro, you're our idol now. Let's see who still dares to look down on us!"
Their loud ass-kissing piled another layer of stress on my already worn-out nerves.
In the middle of all that noise, a soft, calm girl's voice cut in clearly from ahead.
"Luke."
A slim figure appeared at the corner by the stairs.
She looked like she was about to head upstairs, and she ran into us face-first.
It was Runa.
This time she wasn't wearing that fitted uniform shirt, and she had on light sportswear instead.
Compared to how Seraphina dressed in similar clothes, Runa's outfit didn't have that trying too hard vibe.
She just stood there quietly, like an orchid in a hidden valley.
Her vibe was clean and calm, and it made people look twice.
So she had PE in the same period as me.
That thought flashed through my head, and then I realized a second later that she probably watched the whole scene on the field.
She stood a few steps away, and her clear almond eyes swept lightly over Baron and Dexter's frozen faces before they naturally settled on me.
"You played really well."
No surprise. She brought it up.
"You saw that too?" I rubbed the back of my neck and forced a weak laugh.
"It was just dumb luck, and I almost dragged the class down."
She shook her head.
"No, you didn't."
Her voice was soft, and her eyes had that warmth only a gentle campus belle has.
"That last play was important, and everyone saw you putting in the effort."
She didn't use words like amazing or so cool.
She used important and effort.
It sounded fair and it still felt encouraging, and it hit like a warm breeze.
I didn't know what to say.
All the "it was luck" lines I'd prepared suddenly sounded weak.
"The class… was united."
"Yeah." She gave a small nod, like she accepted it, and she didn't push the topic.
"Then I won't bother you."
She slightly dipped her head toward the three of us, and it was the kind of polite gesture most people wouldn't even notice, but it showed real upbringing.
Then she walked upstairs with light steps, and her clean ponytail traced a soft arc through the air.
Only after her back disappeared at the top of the stairs did the two statues beside me finally thaw.
Seriously, why do you guys look dead every time you see a girl?
You're playing NPCs way too naturally.
Next you're going to rush me and ask what my relationship with her is, right?
I mocked them in my head.
"Damn it bro, explain!"
Dexter was the first to screech.
"How do you even know miss Runa?! That's Runa Selol!"
See? Called it.
Baron looked just as shocked, and his fat jaw almost hit the floor.
"Lilu-bro… you… you and Goddess Runa… you two…"
"What goddess?" Their yelling made my head ache, so I rubbed my temples.
"She was my middle school classmate. We ran into each other and said hi. Why are you freaking out?"
"M-middle school classmates?!" Dexter's voice cracked.
"That's the Selol family's rich young miss. I heard their family does overseas shipping and finance, and they're just as loaded as Xavia's family. That's a real money dynasty."
"Wait." Baron suddenly caught something and grabbed me, and his face turned into the grossest gossip look possible.
"Bro, you think… Goddess Selol… she might actually be into you? Otherwise why would she come over, talk to you, and even praise you?"
I couldn't help rolling my eyes.
He must've eaten too much cheap boxed food if he was hallucinating that hard.
I was a goblin struggling in the mud, and she was a campus belle up in the clouds.
There was a gap you couldn't cross.
What she did just now was basic good manners.
She saw an old classmate do well on the court, and she gave a polite compliment while she passed by.
It was pure social routine, with zero personal feelings attached.
I didn't bother explaining any more to these two hormone-loaded idiots, and I just sped up and left their nonsense behind.
Into me?
Hahah… No way.