As the professor prepared to speak at the front of the classroom, Ben reached into his pocket and rubbed a white card. It was the key to turning his dire university situation around.
[Low Level Stat Growth Multiplier(Consumable, Fine, Knowledge) x1 – After activating, get 10x the results while practicing an activity related to the specified stat. Also increases motivation and recovery for those activities. Lasts for 7 days]
This multiplier card meant he could cram in 10 weeks of hyper-efficient studying within the space of 1 week. Since he only missed two weeks, Ben believed this would not only help him bridge the gap, but gain a large lead!
However, he released a loud sigh. 'It would be so much easier if everyone in the world was stupider than me…like in all those web novels… Since that isn't the case though, I guess I'll just have to make myself smarter.' He activated the multiplier card.
*Whoosh*
Ben closed his eyes as his dopamine receptors lit up like fireworks! He'd forgotten how powerful these cards were! The feeling was like a high!
After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and stared at the professor with intense focus, his gaze that of a savage beast stalking its prey…but all he wanted to devour…was knowledge! An intense drive hit him! To learn! To study! Get smarter!
Sitting next to him, Charlotte watched as the beautiful female professor stood at the front of the class preparing to speak. At that moment, she heard loud breathing next to her, and turned to Ben. She watched him reach into his pocket and start moving his hand around, soon after closing his eyes and making an expression of ecstasy…
…
She glared at him with contempt. 'Damn pervert. I knew he was no good…'
A few moments later, Professor Tremblay began her explanation of the upcoming competition. The students would use the concepts they learned in the past month to engage in a contest of strategic marketing between media companies, with each of their groups representing a company that would face off against the others. Their core business model was providing media-related services to other businesses: publicity, product marketing, advertising, etc.
The focal point of the competition was choosing client niches in which to focus their services. These segments included music, movies, television, corporate, and a few others. The teams could customize their tactics by focusing on one niche or diversifying among multiple. This was where tactics came into play. However, there wasn't any single right answer.
Their choices affected the outcomes of other teams because it was a dynamic environment. Supply and demand also existed here. So if every team chose one segment, it would thin all their gains due to having too many media companies competing for a small client pool.
Every day, the groups would carry out two rounds of decisions on whether to keep their tactics or change them based on everyone's results from the previous round. Being able to see the outcomes of all the competitors, it was a game of open information. Their scores depended on market share, as well as several other unique aspects of each client niche.
The game would last 7 days, with 2 rounds each for a total of 14 rounds, where each round equaled a year in the simulation. The students would decide one round during class, and one at the end of the day from their private computers. Next Monday, the group with the highest score would win the contest. That would guarantee them an A for this course. The other groups would also receive lower scores depending on their results, though they could still raise their course grades later through testing.
When Ben heard the specifics of the project, he understood Miyuki couldn't help him. It was all handled by the software. There was no right answer and everything depended on what other competitors did. So, with regret, he sheathed his sword of temptation…
With the effects of the multiplier, Ben absorbed all the information without anything distracting him, not even the s.e.xy professor herself. Only when she finished speaking did his backup brain get a turn to offer an opinion–'Her ass would make a phenomenal hat…'
Soon, the professor led all the students to the computer lab nearby. That's where they would make their first round of decisions. As everyone left their seats and walked there, Ben tried to get to know his adorable little partner Charlotte better. "Do you also major in media?" He turned to her with a smile.
After hesitating a few moments, she nodded.
Ben blinked. 'Why'd she look at me like I'm Harvey Weinstein?'
…
He didn't understand why he observed disgust in her expression. Even after smelling his armpits, he still didn't get it…
All Charlotte thought about was Ben's euphoric face when she caught him touching himself to the professor…
A minute later, the students entered the computer lab. It was a medium-sized beige room with rows of new black MacBook Pros and Apple Monitors, a modern setup. After sitting down and activating the software, they all split off into their groups as they started the first round of the game.
Sitting next to Charlotte in front of a computer, Ben read through the software's options. He verified what the professor said about everyone starting at 0. Now, his choice was which client segments to focus on. Reading through the 8 possible niches, he noted that most were entertainment-related fields, which made sense as clients for a media company.
However, he wasn't sure what the best move was because he didn't study any of the concepts from the past several weeks yet. He did understand the principles from the professor's explanation though. The key point was their choices carried consequences, determining how clients viewed their media company's brand.
For example, focusing on the same niche for longer resulted in strengthening their brand in that niche, leading to clients in that segment being more likely to choose them over competitors. In addition, their profits would grow as their stronger position allowed them to raise prices. In other words, there was a bonus for veterans sticking to one segment.
The niches themselves possessed differences too. Some provided quicker profits but less growth such as print media, while others provided higher potential growth but would take longer to gain acceptance from old-fashioned clients such as the corporate niche.
Struggling over the options, Ben glanced at Charlotte. When they met eyes, she turned her gaze down and leaned back. "Charlotte, do you have any ideas about how we should proceed?"
She only shook her head while staring at her feet. Charlotte paid attention to the lectures the past few weeks but she lacked the confidence to make any good choices in this game. She didn't want to be ridiculed again if she failed. Since Ben said he would take care of it, she was much more comfortable allowing him to decide.
Ben sighed. 'It seems I'll really be on my own in this one…' Glancing through all the options, he became lost, with no idea what to choose. Despite being an expert gamer, Ben thought it wouldn't help here because this software didn't allow him to use his gaming specialty: high-level mouth mechanics… 'There are no microphones attached. If I could only trash talk, I could tear these p*ssies up…'
As he shook his head, he realized something. 'Wait…'
Ben looked around the room, and noticed all his opponents…were within shouting distance…
He gasped. Then, a few seconds later, he spread a malicious grin. 'I see a lot of newbs with a lot of mommas…'
