Ben had thought of the ideal way to cheer up Darryl. Was it an ice cream cone? Getting him a woman? No! The f*ck? Wouldn't Ben take those things for himself?

The perfect method to cheer up the redhead was simplea sweet, sweet song. So, as Darryl crawled away on the ground, Ben s-trolled behind him, playing the scene's soundtrack.

"Cause he's a bittersweet, Simp honey, no wife~

Tryna beat his meat, he's a slave givin' money till he dies~

He'll make you frown by showing chode. You've never been down~

You know the one that pays you to go places to find other veiny meat, yeah~

No change, got no change.

Got no change, got no change.

But I'm here with your mold.

I am here with your p*ssy mold.

But I'm a million-donated peeper~

From one day to the next~

I can't change my mold?

No, no, no, no, no~

(Have you ever cleaned one down?)

Well, he's always paid so tonight he's on his knees, yeah~

I like to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah~

I'll let his lady shine, let her drain me blind, I feel free now~

Cause my accounts are clean and there's nobody singin' to me now~

No change, got no change.

Got no change, got no change.

But I'm here with your mold.

I am here with your p*ssy mold.

But I'm a million-donated peeper~

From one day to the next~

I can't change my mold?

No, no, no, no, no~

(Have you ever cleaned one down?)

Got no change, oh, no

Got no change, oh~"

As Ben sang the genuine Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve, he walked circles around the slug-human Darryll

All the while, the redhead was wincing, looking like he'd prefer dying to enduring another moment of this. After all, every note from Ben's mouth was like a C-sharp dagger to the heart

During a few lines, Ben even bent down and whispered the lyrics near Darryl's ear

It made the redhead feel like he was getting Simp surround sound!

Meanwhile, as Ben tested his lyrics on an unwilling audience, someone behind the two of them hid in the shadows. Peering out and listening to the performance, the light from the halogen ceiling lamps sparkled against her glasses, displaying her cute and innocent image. Who could it be, if not Charlotte?

She'd seen it all, not only Darryl's ear-rapebut also everything with Stacy. Charlotte was there from the beginning, having left the Photography Club room when she noticed Ben with the blonde, and followed after them. Now, as she gazed at Darryl worming on the ground like a cuck-catterpillarCharlotte frowned. 'Tch, what did I say about Ben not being all bad? What a bastard'

She didn't approve of what he was doing. No, not the songshe found that glorious

What she didn't like was him hooking up with Stacy. 'He even got with that girl. Asshole'

Yet, during a few moments of peering, she also questioned herself. 'Why do I even care about that?'

It didn't make sense to her that she was having such a negative reaction. After all, weren't they pick up artists? Or, at least Ben and Chuck were. That's what they did, they picked up women. So why did this bother her? Shouldn't she be happy for him instead? Or at least, like the other pick up artists, inwardly jealous while pretending to support him?

Yet, logic wasn't a resolution to emotion. Despite knowing it made no sense, Charlotte couldn't help but feel needles piercing her heart when she observed Ben make out with Stacy in that room.

So now, even though she felt a strange enjoyment watching that redhead wiggle his way to freedom....as Ben dropped the epic aural assaulta new torture method even North Korea would take notes from...Charlotte still couldn't bring herself to watch Ben any longer. As a result, she decided to leave, not even staying to shout for an encore despite her heart's unwillingness for it to end

At the same time, Ben was also getting bored of "helping" Darryl. Although Ben wasn't sure if the redhead grasped all the nuanced details and thematic value within his songBen still believed that if Darryl thought about the song for a while, whether in nightmares or daymaresit would benefit the redhead in the long run. Perhaps, it could even help him reach a new stage in lifeCuck+

So, with his mission completed, Ben on his way, exiting the building and returning home, leaving the human cuckopede to his own designs

On Ben's return to his dorm, he even noticed that he received an achievement amongst everything that happened. Was it for the tough victory in the beginner's photography competition? Or causing an emotional reaction in Charlotte? No--it was for what really mattered.

[Congratulations! You've unlocked the Achievement: Simp Slaughter(fine) - Have a physical encounter with a woman in front of a nearby simp, destroying his mental delusions]

[Distributing reward: PUA Points + 500]

Ben smiled. His hard work paid off in the end. Now, Darryl would be free from the chains of the whore-tal world...

Able to begin his path towards enlightenment, and breaking the cycle of reincarnation of OnlyFans subscription payments...

Well, maybe. Ben knew that world was sticky...grasping at people's minds and hearts every time they tried to escape... Yet, he did all he could do, as he glanced back at the building where he left Darryl. 'It's all up to you now...'

...

Now that the action was over, as Ben strolled back home, he was in a thoughtful mood. 'Should I slow down getting stronger? At this rate, I'll become the final boss before my story makes any money... Perhaps, I can trap myself in a random dimension for a few years...'

He was wondering if he should slow the pace down, and for that, he would need a random dimension to pop up...

Though not quite a Stratagem of web novels, it was a technique utilized often enough that the association put it on the list of potential candidates for future additions...

However, in the end, Ben thought to the contrary. 'No, there's no need to go that far. It's a waste of time, since all the side characters will power-creep without explanation anyways...'

He believed his pace of development would become the world's pace. If he found a cultivation treasure and became the strongest under heaven, becoming the youngest and most powerful to break into the next realm, guess what? Some random chick he banged once would also follow him up there

As for how she got up there? Come on buddy, don't worry abooouuuut it.

Regardless, since Ben decided not to go that route, he needed to follow proper procedure. 'Well, in that case, I now need to find the first person that looks at me funny and kill them in the name of justice...'

Mockery and murder were renamed to justice when you were an MC

Still, it somehow felt wrong to Ben. Didn't his schools teach humanitarianism? Didn't they tell him to help the poor? To save dolphins? The same dolphins that raped other living things? Though, to be fair, they were never convicted of the crime

However, the same lesson stood: be kind and peaceful. 'No!' Ben shouted in his mind. 'if reading novels has taught me anything, it's that if I don't provoke everyone in a 20-mile radius, I won't become OP!'

Becoming OP meant provoking others and then pretending you were in the right. That was the blue-chip formula. So why did Ben let all these wastes walk by him as he crossed the street instead of mass-slapping every man, woman, and child-chump who crossed his path? Because his hands were tired

It was that simple.

He'd already slapped Darryl into a living death

Yet, Ben soon arrived home, which would give him enough time to sleep and recharge his hands...restocking on baby powder and other necessary faceslapping ingredients. After all, he believed that one day, he would need them

***

The next day, Ben was in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, rolling with Valentina, who had a sour expression. It was hard for her not to though. Their last time training together, he'd thrown her to the moon like she was a space-Doge...

Then, he even grappled her to a draw, a fact she wouldn't forget any time soon. In truth, the humiliation continued to haunt her mind. She still couldn't accept that she couldn't submit him!

So, last night, she spent much time thinking about methods of defeating him, advanced techniques and concepts she expected he wouldn't be aware of. However, with Ben, things rarely followed people's expectations.

------

*Author's Note: Thanks for your support this week, everyone! Right now, we're in good shape to get 4+ bonus chapters next week, but there are some villains chasing our tales in the rankings. So if you would like more chapters, please continue voting every day to keep us in the top 5!