The fall of a legend always begins with whispers.But the rise of one?That begins with misunderstood truths.
And at AIISA, where every student carried a last name heavy enough to crush cities, Steven Blake's truth was the most misunderstood of all.
The first wave of trouble started the moment Steven parked his McLaren Speedtail beside Solaris Tower.
A $2.3 million machine of impossible beauty.
Students paused mid-stride.Snapshots clicked.Murmurs drifted.
But their shock wasn't directed at Steven.
It was:
"Veronica Adams brought a Speedtail to campus!?"
"General Adams really spoils her."
"Then who's the boy stepping out of it…? Oh—her boyfriend."
"BAHAHA—soft rice king detected."
And just like that, the rumor engine of AIISA roared awake.
In an institute where ninety percent of students came from billionaire dynasties, digging up someone's background was as natural as breathing.
It took twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes for Steven Blake's entire public identity to be unwrapped, inspected, mocked.
"He only owns a single restaurant?"
"He also has a small studio—SilverByte? Indie gaming trash."
"He's from CHARLESTOWN? Ew, that countryside town?"
Then someone found the old Heavenly Dine photos from three years ago:
Plastic chairs. Rusty signboard. Dim lighting.
The internet pounced.
"So THAT was their condition before Veronica helped him."
"He used her money to renovate a restaurant."
"SilverByte was probably funded by her too."
None of them knew Steven owned:
— Griffin Technology Studio— Star Power Corporation— Odin Industries— and many more companies and assets, they couldn't even imagine.
None of them could know.
Steven had stayed in the shadows.
But shadows made room for wild imagination.
And AIISA students had plenty of that.
Within hours, he was rebranded. #SATMillonaire now became #SoftRiceKing #GoldenLeech #CharlestownBootlicker
Some were less creative, more cruel:
"He got into AIISA by hugging Veronica's thigh."
"Without her, he's nothing."
"Just look at him—poor guy is out of place here."
Screenshots of him stepping out of the Speedtail were paired with captions:
"Luxury life sponsored by Veronica Bennett ♥︎""When your girlfriend's family is richer than the state of Texas."
And the worst:
"Disgrace of man."
The devastating part?
People believed it.
Because Steven never flaunted anything.
He had no visible empire.No famous parents.No known connections.
To them, he was a random prodigy from a small town riding on the coattails of a princess.
On his first official day, Steven walked into his chosen classes:
Computer Science & Advanced SystemsElectronics & Circuit EngineeringIndustrial Engineering & Manufacturing
Fields he would dominate.
But to everyone else?
He was "that sugar baby."
Students glanced up, recognized him, then immediately looked away.
Some even shifted their chairs subtly, as if proximity itself stained their reputation.
In CS class, the two seats beside him remained empty though the room was packed.
In Electronics, a girl whispered loudly enough:
"Look at him. Probably thinks circuits are like frying pans from his restaurant."
In Industrial Engineering, a group of Texas heirs openly snickered:
"If Veronica dumps him, will he drop out?"
But Steven, he just took his notes calmly.
Not a flinch. Not a twitch.
He simply wrote: Module 1: Precision Manufacturing
But inside, he catalogued every insult with surgical clarity.
Even during lunchtime, when Steven met Veronica, Mira, and Leon in the cafeteria, the stares followed him like spotlights.
Some with pity.Some with contempt.Most with mocking amusement.
Veronica sat beside him, chin raised defiantly.
Mira glared at anyone who dared laugh.Leon cracked his knuckles so loudly people flinched.
But still—whispers swarmed around them like gnats.
Veronica slammed her spoon down."That's it. I'm going to go over and—"
Steven gently closed his hand around hers.
"Don't."
"But they're—"
"Veronica."His voice was quiet steel.
"Let children talk. We don't kneel to opinions."
"But they're dragging your name."
Steven smiled faintly.
"A king doesn't answer peasants. Let them laugh now—they won't be laughing for long."
Leon stared at him. Mira blinked. And Veronica—stilled.
In that moment, she saw something new in Steven.
Not gentleness. Not humility.
But a king's posture. Not loud. Not arrogant. Just certain.
Back in his room, Steven sat at his desk, and opened the system interface.
The transparent smartphone blueprint appeared again.
Light refracted through the virtual model like a dream sculpted in glass.
He whispered:
"This thing… will silence the world."
He checked his assets:
$3,000,000,00013,000 System Points
He thought about the rumors.The mockery.The isolation.
Then he thought of the smartphone again.
The invisible body.The privacy mode.Eva Mobile OS.The manufacturing challenge.
Good.
Let the world think he was nobody.
Because when he launched this device—
Their laughter would become applause.Their disdain would become worship.Their underestimation would become his leverage.
Steven leaned back, eyes sharp as blades.
"Soft rice king?" he murmured.
A smile curved at the corner of his lips.
"Fine. Let them believe that."
He activated a new System task.
[Side Quest Unlocked: Silence the Noise]Objective: Reveal the first hint of your true potential.Reward: ???
He whispered to the empty room:
"I don't need to defend my name.I'll redefine it."
And somewhere in AIISA, the future trembled.