Multi-Dimensional Merchant System

After Polina dropped him off at his house, Oliver sat down at his desk, deep in contemplation. By all accounts, the weekend should have been a complete success. The party went mostly well, despite a few barbed words being exchanged, and he even made a little money in the process – not that he really needed the extra cash, but it didn't hurt. He had even managed to thoroughly remove the recurring problems that were Carl and Jess... Though he still wasn't sure what to do with them exactly, but leaving them safely stored in the warehouse should work for now. But, in his mind, the weekend wasn't a success.

It was a near disaster, saved more by luck than anything else.

He snorted in amusement at the thought. Perhaps his 13 Luck really did help, maybe by nudging the tires to blow in a spot he could more easily evade his pursuers. But Oliver didn't like the idea of surviving just off luck. He knew that without the head-start he had, things could have easily gone wrong for him despite his improved attributes. Strength, agility, vitality... Against one or two of his attackers, he was confident to win or at least survive and escape. Against a dozen... Even Poli teaching him how to fight better wouldn't have matter against that many people. And, unlike Poli, Carl wouldn't have stopped at just a few bruises.

“Is it likely I'll end up in another situation that bad?” Oli mused to himself.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, he pushed that thought aside. A week ago, he would have said it wasn't likely to happen even once. But now he knew better, and knew he needed to be better prepared.

Pulling up the system screen, he quickly revised his plans again. The temptation to unlock the last tab was strong, but survival trumped curiosity easily in his mind. Looking at his available credits and the costs for raising his attributes, a pleased expression flickered across his features briefly. Just over 18,000 credits and raising his physical stats to 16 costing just 6,000 a piece? It lined up neatly with his intentions.

Laying across his bed, he didn't hesitate to spend his hard earned credits. His safety was too important; No amount of credits mattered if he died and couldn't spend them. The warm currents of energy running through his body and trembling muscles that signified his attributes increasing and his body being reshaped relaxed him nearly as much as the greater sense of security did. Within minutes, he was sound asleep.

A worried frown marred Oliver's features as he left his last class on Monday morning. At first, the strange looks and people hurriedly stepping out of his way hadn't registered, his mind still focused on his development plan using the system. But when the he sat down for class and everyone near him quickly moved away, he finally realized that something was wrong. When casual acquaintances avoided talking to him after class, it only confirmed his feeling that something was seriously off.

“Yo, Oli!” Oliver nearly sighed in relief at hearing Tyrone's voice. Turning to great his friend, Oliver hesitated seeing the barely contained fury on the large man's face. “Man, I can't believe this bullshit! Those assholes! Come on, we need to get ahead of this shit.”

Before Oliver could respond, Tyrone was already pulling him along towards the administration building. Confusion was clear on his face as he walked briskly to keep up with the larger man's stride. “What's going on Sweet T? I've never seen you this angry... Actually, I've never seen you angry at all...”

Tyrone's hands clenched tightly before he forced them to relax, a disgusted look flashing briefly across his face. “I'm good man. Just... Pissed at what they're trying to do to you.” At Oliver's alarmed look, Tyrone clapped him on the shoulder and quickly explained. “Some of those assholes that tried to fuck you up got out on bail or something and now they're running around campus telling everyone that you did something to Carl and Jess. I've already heard rumors ranging from you murdered them to you kidnapped them and have them hidden away someone so you can do God knows what to them. Its fucked up, man.”

“Shit.” Oliver couldn't think of anything else to say. He had hoped that with the main instigator gone the others would back off.

Tyrone pulled him from his thoughts as he spoke decisively. “Something like this can easily spiral out of control and cause you all kinds of hell. We need to get to admin and file a harassment complaint before it all blows up. The school will probably contact the Police or something to confirm things.” Shrugging his massive shoulders, He gave Oliver a reassuring smile. “I've never actually dealt with this kind of thing, so I don't really know how it all works. But I'm sure it will be better if you're the one that starts the official process rather than waiting for them to eventually realize something like this is happening. I'm sure it will work out man. Kinda makes me want to punch those idiots though.”

Oliver chuckled softly, a nervous edge to the sound. As bad as the situation was, he was glad not to be the one to piss off the massive football player.

Two hours wait, just to fill out a small complaint form and talk to an administrator and explain the situation- an explanation that took less than ten minutes total. After leaving the contact information for the Police Officers that were handling the case, and receiving some vague promises that the school will 'look into' the rumors, Oliver and Tyrone were quickly ushered out of the office.

“Why does it feel like that accomplished nothing?” Oliver mused aloud.

Tyrone shook his head with a laugh. “They probably won't really do much, but that's not what matters and you know it man. This was just about making sure you had a paper trail, you know? That way the school can't claim they didn't know about it. Or if one of those idiots tries to get the school to do something to you, your complaint will already be on file. Though, I doubt that will actually happen. They can't be that stupid, right?”

Oliver sighed as he shook his head, though an amused smile peeked through for a moment. “I don't know, man. They have already shown that they can be pretty dumb. At this point, I don't think we should underestimate it.”

“True, man. Too true. I'll get some of my buddies to help spread the word of what's really happening. Try and counter the bullshit, you know?”

The week seemed to drag by, Oliver attending classes in the morning and working on homework in the evening, with the occasional commission thrown in to regain the credits he had recently spent. Some of his classmates still avoided him, though it seemed to be not as severe as it was. Despite that, Oliver couldn't shake the bad feeling that was slowly building inside him like a storm brewing on the horizon.

And the storm came crashing down on him in the seemingly innocuous form of an e-mail.

“What the FUCK do they mean I'm being expelled!”