Along the way the Narcissist gets a “lift” from being mean, or a logic in manipulating people and seeing manipulation as a successful way to get what you want in life.
An example is a person as a child hurting someone and feeling a thrill when they achieved that gooal. A person who can’t fight can use other people with gossip to do theri fighting, play the victim, and then people will defend and protect the Narcissist.