Downtrodden and highly pissed, Lenny left the TinkTonk app and went back to Top Idol.
Casually swiping further down the shop tab, he caught sight of another app utility item.
[Trend Now]
Type: App Utility.
Tier: II.
Description: Make any product of any industry trend.
Price: 15 VP (+).
Lenny scratched his chin. '...Hmm, this one probably pertains to standard products, like fashion brand clothing or new tech devices…'
As a former business student, Lenny was familiar with various types of marketing. He had heard stories of big companies disregarding promotion and marketing entirely, which was very uncommon and surprising, to say the least.
A well-known example was a tech billionaire who revolutionized the electric car industry. The billionaire regularly bragged about making the product so amazing it spoke for itself and didn't need any additional marketing.
However, connecting one dot with another, considering the fact that pointership was properly concealed from the public, Lenny suspected the company's success might have something to do with this [Trend Now] app utility, similar to how those top influencers and content creators had something to do with the [Go Viral!] app utility.
He could only imagine the number of v-points that had been spent by the big company to achieve such an effect.
Lenny had a sudden thought, '...Thinking about it, how does pointership translate in organizations and government? Did pointers run them and were given higher positions? Or were they just handling regular humans like puppets from the shadows…?'
Lenny calmed down and thought back to the warnings of the stranger:
"...odd Irregulars like you often think it's all a bed of roses. For your own good, until you become a Specialist, do not try to meet other pointers. I am certain you can figure out the reasons why…"
Lenny calmly muttered to himself, "He was certain I could figure out the reasons why… hmmm…"
He sunk deep into thought, '...A bed of roses, huh? Did he imply that things can get more dire than they might seem? It makes sense. Something as elusive as one's deepest wish being granted is bound to attract extremely desperate and ambitious fellows.
'Approaching the issue from this angle, firstly, considering the fact that I'm in the lowest class—Irregular, those above me could easily make my life harder and force me to quit or even orchestrate my death!
'They must've filled their V-Score already to get there, so that means that they will have enough fame, power, and influence in the real world. Although they aren't allowed to hurt me, it doesn't mean they can't hurt my family or influence normal humans to do so. Also, considering the ultimate goal of becoming the Top Idol, they might even just be pushed to reduce the number of Irregulars, no matter how minute, due to the ease at which they can. A word from their mouths can ruin all my hopes and chances of advancement.
'Secondly, right now, the goal of every Irregular is to complete their V-Score, engage in the class advancement test, and become a Specialist. I still don't know what the class advancement test could entail, but that might not be the case for others. If it consists of a competition of some sort, where many pointers are pitted against each other, then it would be smart to reduce the number of Irregulars that could participate by every means.
'It would be naive to think that all Irregulars are as poor and powerless as I am. Some might be managers or government officials, who knows? All in all, they can make my life extremely hard and put me in dire straits if they find out I'm also an Irregular…'
"How dangerous. I must keep an extremely low profile... until I become a Specialist, at least." Lenny said with all seriousness.
…
[Rule #6: Pointers are not allowed to harm each other or engage in battles outside an official match setting with a supervising admin. Violation shall warrant instant disqualification.]
…
After ruminating on the fact that he had to be cautious with every movement and not repeat something as reckless as administering a miracle drug on a regular human as he did with Tommy, he returned his focus to the Top Idol app.
He shifted to the Marketplace tab and briefly skimmed through the various listings. In this section, pointers could request certain information and offer anonymous real-world services. V-points and trade-by-barter were the means of exchange here, along with auctions.
However, he observed there were no listings of consumables, collectibles, app utilities, and talents being sold. The marketplace was mostly dominated by the need for knowledge and information.
By applying common sense, Lenny easily deduced this was mostly because this particular marketplace was filled with only Irregulars. At this stage, every item, even down to a tier-1 consumable, was essential to their survival, talking less of higher-tiered items. In summary, they were not inclined to sell the little they gained.
A lot intrigued him in the listings of information. One requested the knowledge of what happened when a pointer lost their mobile device containing the Top Idol app and how they should go about it. And another offered knowledge on what would happen when a pointer was disqualified, at a fixed price of 20 v-points. While another promised the knowledge of the nature of tasks and how they were assigned, with a current bid of 25 v-points.
But, as he was without v-points at the moment, he bottled his urge to learn the information on the nature of tasks and how they were assigned.
He let out a tired sigh and rested his back on the bed.
Just then, he noticed a notification that was previously overshadowed by the task reward and his urge to invest the v-points he had earned to lessen his increasing paranoia and anxiety.
[Your current rank is #1...]
Now seeing the notification, he clicked it and was redirected to the Leaderboard tab where his eyes immediately landed on a few words that made them widen…
1st. Pointer4879 — 15 VP. [Prizes: Gold Trophy; $50,000; Tier-2 Talent].