Chapter 3: The Price of Resentment.
The following days within the Luminous estate were filled with tension for the servants, that seemed to cling to most of them.
News of Spencer's sudden and violent change in character spread like a wildfire throughout the servant quarters, leaping from person to person until every cook, gardener, and stable hand was aware of what happened to Annabel.
The servants continued to talk about the incident in hushed, hurried whispers whenever they thought they were out of earshot, for such a radical transformation had taken them entirely by surprise.
The young master, who had once been a convenient punching bag for their collective frustrations, had suddenly bared teeth that were far sharper than anyone had anticipated.
Among the staff, their reactions were that of terror and simmering indignation, particularly from those who had counted themselves among Annabel's friends.
Some of them who were in her good graces couldn't help but secretly resent Spencer for the sheer ruthlessness of his actions, their glares lingering just a second too long on his back as he passed.
Yet, despite the poison in their hearts, there was absolutely nothing they could do; he was a scion of the Luminous bloodline, and they were merely expendable labor.
The sight of the wooden stump in the courtyard served as a grim reminder that their lives hung by a very thin thread if they dared to cross the new Spencer.
In place of the broken Annabel, another maid had quickly been assigned to take on the demanding role of Spencer's personal attendant.
Spencer had initially watched over her secretly, hoping to bait her into making a mistake like her counterpart.
However, he soon realized that he couldn't do anything to her, because unlike the arrogant and complacent Annabel, this new girl seemed to have come prepared for the worst.
She was a perfect example of a professional, always complying with his wishes no matter how strange or demanding they might be. She never once talked back or allowed even a flicker of annoyance to cross her face, leaving absolutely no room for him to try anything that would justify a punishment.
Of course, the option of framing her for some imagined slight existed in the back of his mind, but Spencer didn't want to use such a cheap tactic yet; he preferred his gains to be a direct result of his targets' genuine failings or malice.
'Looks like the easy points are about to stop coming in altogether,' Spencer thought to himself one afternoon, leaning back in his chair while staring intently at the translucent system notifications that hovered in his vision.
On the very first day following the whipping, it wasn't hard for him to spot dozens of alerts popping up as he walked through the manor, but in the following days, their momentum had greatly reduced.
The his unexpected act of cruelty was wearing off, and the servants had begun to move on from what he had done, or at least they had learned to bury their hatred so deep that the system no longer registered it as an active gift of displeasure.
'Well, it wasn't a complete failure, since I did manage to gain two very keen things from this ordeal. The first being this impressive number of unallocated stat points,' he said inwardly, a small, satisfied smirk playing on his lips while he looked at his glowing status window.
[Status Window]
Name: Spencer Luminous
Age: 18
Race: Human
HP: 10/10
MP: 0/0 (Locked)
Strength: 1.2
Agility: 2.4
Stamina: 2
Vitality: 1
Intelligence: 1
Unallocated stat points: 20.6
In just three short days, largely because of the high-profile stunt he had pulled with Annabel, he had been able to gather a total of 20.6 stat points.
It was quite a staggering amount when one took the time to think about how most of his notifications consisted of mere 0.1 increments.
Each point represented a sliver of someone's peace of mind that he had successfully disturbed, and seeing the total accumulate gave him a sense of security.
Nevertheless, the second reason he felt the plan wasn't a failed one was because of the additional information he had managed to gather regarding the nature of the system notifications themselves.
Knowledge was just as valuable as raw power, and he had made a crucial discovery during the height of the public punishment.
Two days ago, while the echoes of the whip were still fresh, he had received a notification that a certain knight of the household had resented him for his actions. That knight was not one he recognized from the former Spencer's blurred memories, but since the man held a rank within the family's private guard, Spencer concluded he must have been a Tier 1 powerhouse at the very least.
In this world, power was strictly ranked in tiers, with Tier 1 being the lowest starting point for those who had moved beyond the limits of ordinary men.
As for why this specific knight's resentment had attracted his attention so strongly, it was because the notification had displayed a profit of +1ST, rather than the standard 0.1 he received from the common servants.
This discrepancy showed him a vital mechanic of his cheat, which was the fact that the number of stat points he gained depended heavily on the inherent strength and status of the individual he offended.
If he were able to successfully piss off higher-leveled individuals, perhaps even the elders of the Luminous family or the champions of the kingdom, he would be able to grow his own strength far quicker than he ever could by bullying servants.
Of course, he was not a fool; he also knew the extreme risks involved in such a path, which was why he tucked the idea into the back of his mind for the time being.
After all, resentment meant that a person was deeply unhappy with him or his actions, and in a world where might made right, unhappy people tended to do very unlawful and violent things.
The last thing he wanted was to be killed or even crippled by a vengeful expert because he took too big of a risk before he was ready to handle the consequences.
Knock. Knock.
Just then, the silence of his room was broken by a series of soft, rhythmic knocks at the door, which immediately drew his attention away from his floating menu.
"You may enter," Spencer spoke up, his voice steady and devoid of the warmth one might expect from a young noble.
Right after he gave his permission, the door was pushed open and a beautiful girl dressed in a pristine maid's outfit stepped into the room.
She was none other than the new girl assigned to be his personal attendant following Annabel's removal.
She appeared to be around his own age, with her hair tied into neat blonde pigtails that bounced slightly as she moved. Interestingly, she possessed emerald green eyes that were remarkably similar to his own in hue, though his were dazzling and full of a sharp, piercing life, while hers seemed strangely dull and vacant by comparison.
The maid's name was Isabella, and judging from the structure of her name and the subtle accent in her movements, it seemed she didn't originate from this kingdom.
She was an outsider, much like he was in a sense, though her position was far more precarious than his.
"What is it?" Spencer asked bluntly.
He made no effort to seem hospitable or welcoming to the newcomer.
After all, he still didn't trust her in the slightest. It wasn't that he recalled her being apart of the group of people who had actively hurt or mocked the old Spencer in the past, rather, he was simply being cautious.
In a house full of enemies and a world that rewarded his cruelty, he couldn't afford to let his guard down around anyone, especially someone as impeccably behaved as Isabella.