in the back yard of a tavern in the slums a young man with long black hair and be seen skillfully swinging around chains with sickles at the end of them, almost like a dance as he winds up his strike.
once he built up enough momentum he throws the two chains at a straw dummy, the chains wrapping around the whole dummy, the two sickles each around the dummy neck, as the young man pulls the chain back with force, the two sickles severing the straw dummies head clean off
"haah.. haah.. its been 5 months and this thing is still so fun to swing around."
with a sprawling smile, Cain shortens the chains once more, removing the sickles so that it could wrap around his body, ready to be released at moments notice
"later today i get my 6th gift, i should probably go to the academy hall to register as a student"
'and since i have a blessing, ill be let in on a scholarship~'
waking up quite jolly, Cain begins his walk to the academy reception hall, deciding he should leave as early as possible considering how long the line will be..
and true to his beliefs..
'its packed'
looking outside of the building even, he can still see a line flowing out of it, most.. are clearly the servants of noble houses, as today you simply register for the academy. the test only begins tomorrow
'though i don't need to do it since I'm registering as a production class'
considering he had yet to get a combative gift, Cain decided it be best to enroll as a production class
'and i still need to learn magic engineering and even becoming a mage is a must, since i don't have any mana yet.'
and so, Cain went to the back of the line, ready to wait hours just to register in a few papers.
'luckily i came prepared'
[earbuds(black)]
function 1: can play music from a list of any songs the user has heard before along with a playlist function.
function 2: due to being made with rainbow chameleon skin the color of the earbuds can be changed at will.
buff: gain a separate ring corresponding in design to color of the earbuds, that is connected to the earbuds and can be used as a communication orb between the two.
'not sure when the buff will come in handy but I'm sure it will be of use one day.'
before he could put the earbuds though, he could feel a tap on his shoulder, and looking over, he could see a good looking young man slightly shorter than him, with dirty blond hair, and similarly colored eyes, looking somewhat nervous yet brimming with excitement
"hello sir! is this perhaps the back of the line?"
furrowing his brows slightly, wondering why he's speaking in such a respectful tone, an "ah" sound escapes his mouth, before he flashes an amiable smile
"it is, also I'm not a noble as you seem to believe, so you needn't speak so respectfully."
due to his high charm stat, he already looks quite good, along with the multiple accessories on him for the buffs, its easy to mistake him as a noble of a lower house, like a barony.
hearing his words, the young mans eyes sparkle
"is that so! il take you up on that offer, my names Leon, its great to meet you! especially since i didn't think id meet any other examinees that are commoners like me.."
"Cain, that's my name. its nice to meet you aswell."
"Cain it is then! so.. how come your so confident you'll get in?"
"you'll see."
leaving the confused Leon behind, Cain puts on his earbuds putting on one of his playlists
a few hours later he finally reaches the end of the line, coming across a petite young lady with black hair and hazel eyes, quite cute, almost like a chipmunk
"hello sir! my name is Mary. your information please?"
"here."
handing here a paper he had already compiled before leaving the house, marys eyes visibly shake for a brief moment
"ah! a blessing, quite rare. especially of the production type. very well then student Cain, in case you aren't already aware examinees with a blessing automatically get in the academy due to their rarity."
"I'm well aware miss Mary."
after signing a couple more things, Mary guides him to an empty room incased by heavy metal
"this is the testing room, incase we ever get special cases like you. we have them tested here so we can determine their rank in the academy, since we cant rank you based on the standard exam."
"alright then, i don't assume it is you who will be doing the testing?"
"you are correct, I'm a third year at the academy my junior, you can simply call me senior, but I'm not qualified to test you, a professor from the academy will soon come to test you, if your lucky. someone higher up might be in the building aswell!"
hearing her cheerful words, Cain awaits the tested, noticing Mary is still talking, Cain cant help but once again get reminded by a squirrel or a chipmunk
'cute'
but before the thought can finish, the door soon opens to reveal... a kid? however, from years of experience with weird customers Cain picks up what's going one rather quickly and bows
"i assume your the one who will be testing me?"
the child slowly nods, after getting a better look at the little girl, she has black hair and eyes, but looking at her eyes.. he cant help but simply see an emotionless doll
but soon Mary interjects, bowing deeply
"h-headmaster! w-were honored for your presence!"
after a few seconds, the lifeless child says in an even, soft tone. one you could barely hear
"its fine."
slowly, almost in slow motion, her eyes turn to Cain, before asking
"your powers?"
"a production type blessing, anything i make like food or accessories and weapons will get a slight buff, on top of their original ability. and m learning speed is greatly enhanced."
"those are only the secondary powers though, its main function is that aslong as i know the basic information of something and how to make it, i could make a better, improved version, or tweak the original."
"another ability of it is that anything related to production or managing i see a drastic increase in my productiveness of"
a slight raise of the child's brow, barely a millimeter, graces the child's face, as she says in her soft tone
"useful."
"yes?"
after a short, awkward pause the child breaks the silence, though her voice barely even releases a sound.
"work.. me.."
"hm..? i apologize but i couldn't quite hear you.."
"you work for me now."
-gift of the playboy-
function 1(passive): women will naturally have a higher favorability towards you, women have a higher chance of hiring you for jobs, your charm is naturally increased by +3
'ah..'
without notice, a magic circle forms under the both of them, seemingly a teleportation spell, and a moment before it activates Mary says-
"if you need anything you can come to me junior!"
giving her a nod before him and the headmaster teleport
as soon as their done teleporting, Cain is hit with a heavy sense of nausea, nearly stumbling to the ground like a fool
'hold.. it.. together' clutching his head so as not to fall, he takes a glance at the headmaster, whose standing normally without change in expression
'of course she's fine.."
soon enough though, the sense of nausea disappears.
"so.. uh, what is my work exactly..?"
"...paper.."
"paperwork..?"
she nods her small head, pointing at the large mound of papers on her desk
"old assistant quit"
"ah"
'so it seems she was already searching for someone.. and somebody with an ability specializing with this shows up, not only that but the likelihood of being hired is already buffed'
"do... i get paid?"
the child tilts their head, a subtle hint of confusion passing her gaze
"i don't.. great."
'not like i have a choice, making an enemy of the headmaster before even enrolling is not ideal'
however, before starting the work, he takes a look around, noticing the wrecked workplace, the most noticeable part of which is the bunch of candy wrappers filling the place
'so she likes candy..'
soon after cleaning up the place, he begins the paperwork, at pace no human should have, with the headmaster staring at him with a smug expression... well as much an expression she can make.
as the child walks up to him, sitting on his lap. his so engrossed in his work he simply pats her small head, a habit he picked up from taking care of his younger sister long ago in his previous life
'the budget management of this place is abysmal, they have these huge tournaments and tests but they don't even bother to advertise them or make events for money.'
deciding to mark that on the back of his head for later, he finally gets to the page with information on all the noble students enrolling
'noble houses can send their students in without taking a test, instead of taking the exam like the commoners'
"the sword saints granddaughter... the wizard tower masters son... all the heirs to the various duchy's and lastly.. the emperors twin children.."
the fight for the throne is fierce, however, standing at the top of it are two siblings, but not exactly together 'their like cats and dogs it seems'
"its not like i can place the two in the same class.. and i can see that's not the emperors intentions"
while most students are simply put in various classes randomly, the top 50 students are placed in two classes, the noble class.. and the elite class
'nobles and commoners don't get along much, who would've thought?'
well the school capitalizes on this rivalry by placing them in two separate classes, making it so that their hatred for the other class fuels their growth
'and the king wants me to place the two of them in each class, the one standing on top at the ending of the academy one step closer to the crown'
now normally, you would reject something like this, this will make the rivalry between classes even worse, and the academy will become a playground for the royal family
'but I'm a drama whore'
Cain is the type of person who cant pass up some juicy, juicy drama. and this is like a chocolaty souffle, with a ball of vanilla ice cream on the side.. melted white chocolate.. and a coffer of the side, his all time favorite dessert
'there aint no shot I'm passing this up, question is.. whose going in which class.. and who will i be stuck with in my class?'
connections are everything, something he learned while he was in poverty. and a class filled with 24 other nobles in your class? the perfect place to get one
'so by placing one f the royals in my class, I'm basically vying for their kingship so what do i know about each of them'
both are manipulators, that's clear, one simply uses their charm in a different way
the princess? a machine whose sole purpose is the throne, she cares not for anything else. if she's friends with you its purely because your useful. simple as that
'a production blessing, an easy to manipulate commoner, and a friendly attitude. the perfect tool for her'
while she is manipulative, she isn't without merit. she makes sure her 'tools' are rewarded and she makes that very clear.
the prince on the other hand? he's known as a kind, chivalrous fellow.
'a liar in every sense, he uses that persona to garner fame of the lower class.'
he's a no go, simply cause while the princess will use him, she makes it clear that you can use her back in exchange
'but the prince? he will simply mask any form of help as a 'favor from a friend'.'
placing the princess in the noble class and the prinhce in the elite class, Cain goes back to his other papers.
-CHAPTER END-
heyo yalls! hoe you had a good read.
now unlike the other chapters.. i need YOUR help, you see.. I'm lost on this headmaster situation, it will lead to a cool dynamic in the future, but i cant help but think of this as too much. so please tell me your thoughts!
peace!