In the south end of Blackboard City
Inside a small bakery somewhere.
“Lon, your older brother is actually from Blackboard Academy, you never told us!” In the adorable, pink-themed shop, a girl with pink hair wearing a white apron whined loudly as she pulled Lon’s hair.
“Owner, I told Shirley and the others a long time ago, don’t blame me!” Lon was also wearing a white apron, his long hair tied up. He had silky smooth white skin, and even his figure was like a girl’s. Overall, he gave off a strange sense of androgyny. He was also wearing black-rimmed glasses, so seen from afar, he did not look out of place among the group of young girls at all, he looked as simple and sweet as the rest of them.
“Is that right?” The pink-haired girl immediately turned around to look at the other girls in the shop, and some of the other young boys and girl instantly turned away guiltily. They were all younger than the shop owner, so the girl owner treated them as her younger brothers and sisters. The relationships between the workers here at the shop were all very pure, because they were all pure-minded people. In fact, the shop owner made sure of that when she picked them.
“It’s like this, Owner. Lon told us the last time when he was making a call, we all heard it,” a bespectacled pretty boy said in a small voice. “But Lon’s brother rarely contacts him, so he slowly forgot about it…”
Of course they had not forgotten about it, the truth was other than the pure Lon, all of them had noticed from the way Lon described him that Lon’s older brother, Nonosiva, actually looked down on his younger brother a lot. Although Lon clumsily tried to say good things about his brother, but Nonosiva’s arrogant, unfriendly, and domineering image slowly appeared in their hearts. So they would naturally avoid mentioning this topic to Lon.
“At first we thought that since there were so many people in Blackboard Academy, Lon’s brother would only be a normal student there at most, but to think… That guy does have the right to be haughty,” a girl with curly blonde pigtails said softly beside them.
“But Lon works so hard every day, and wears himself out just to earn money for his brother, then he still has to go to class at night as well. Despite all that, his brother doesn’t even care enough to ask, doesn’t that just make you sad?” another girl said quietly.
“Forget it, don’t say any more. If Lon hears you, he’ll make a fuss again.” The two girls looked at innocent Lon, and could not help but sigh inwardly.
“Fine, fine, Blackboard Academy and whatnot are too far removed from us, we had better stay realistic.” The pink-haired girl clapped her hands loudly, “Alright everyone, pay attention. My younger brother and his friend are coming over to help in a bit, they’ll be interning for the holidays. They’re both middle schoolers, about the same age as you, so I hope you all get along nicely.”
Whoa…
The workers all gathered around her in an instant.
“The owner’s younger brother? Is he as good-looking as me?”
“He might be a very cute little boy. I mean, look how pretty Owner is.”
“I wonder, what kind of a guy is he? It’d be troublesome if he had a bad temper.”
“Daisy, we’re counting on you! Conquer him with your charms!”
Seeing that all the workers were gathering curiously, the pink-haired girl put her hands on her waist happily.
“Relax, relax, my younger brother and his friend are all nice people, especially that brother of mine, he’s a ridiculously gentle guy, so don’t you guys bully him instead.”
“Really…”
“Do you have pictures?”
“Here?” The pink-haired girl took out a color photo, but it was instantly snatched away. “You’re asking for a beating, Jasmine!”
A girl with a silver ponytail ran off with the picture, giggling, but she was immediately surrounded.
“Let me see…”
She took the photo and shook it a little, looking at it.
The picture showed a short young boy with a shy smile. He was not particularly handsome but he did have some good-looking features, and his messy black hair was being mussed up even more by the shop owner behind him.
There were some words written in black pen on the bottom right corner: loos cover.
“This is Chironese, it means my beloved family. Oh my, Owner, how touching~~~”
Another boy grabbed the photo and read it out loud.
“Ah, do you wanna die!?” the pink-haired girl was instantly embarrassed.
Lon stood beside them, smiling. There was not a single customer in the shop, but everyone was having fun together. This was a very warm and comfy feeling.
He had also seen the boy in the picture, he looked very gentle, so he must be someone who’s easy to deal with.
**********************
Blackboard Academy
In the Grade C dormitory area.
Garen had just inserted his Identity Card into the door lock and opened the dorm door with a ka-chak when suddenly something twinged in his heart. It felt as though something had activated slightly, that indescribable feeling surging from his heart, and yet he could not identify the source.
He stood at the door quietly, his hand gripped the doorknob as he stayed completely still.
“This feeling… it’s so familiar…” he murmured softly.
Ka-chak.
There was the sound of the opposite student’s door opening behind him.
Garen was instantly shocked out of his reverie, and he tilted his head slightly to look behind him. The boy staying opposite him was making a call through his Watch Terminal, talking as he walked into his room.
He also pushed his door and walked inside, closing the door behind him. The footsteps of the students passing by, their chatter and laughter, the sound of the levitating car’s engine outside, he blocked all of it outside.
“Could it be… has that started?” He turned on the air-conditioner, took off his coat, and tossed it onto the chair. Then he lay down on his bed, facing upwards, as he slowly began to reminisce.
When he chose this body back then, it was mostly also because there seemed to be some strange energy around this body. Now, it seemed that his initial decision was starting to take effect.
He thought about it carefully. This feeling was very familiar, but not very clear, even Garen could not quite tell what it was. He thought about it carefully in bed for more than ten minutes, but he still could not figure it out.
Sighing, he sat up again directly, and began by starting his daily training method practice.
Glancing at the attribute pane, it seemed that his attribute was already beginning to change today.
‘Nonosiva Lin — Strength 0.7, Agility 1.2, Vitality 0.5, Intelligence 1.4. Potential power 0%. Soul Limit 40.’
“All the stats have increased by 0.1 in average, not bad.” Garen nodded, satisfied. “I just wonder how much the second grade of the Peacock Technique will help enhance this body. If all my average stats could increase past 1 point, that would be the best. Then, with my combat experience and techniques, even if I’m facing someone like an armed special forces officer, I would still be able to protect myself.”
When powerful secret techniques reach their respective levels, they would bring the practitioner different degrees of changes. Some would be positive, others would be negative, and yet others would be completely harmless and meaningless.
And the Peacock Technique was the second grade of the elementary level, as the second grade of a Living Secret Technique, he did not how much it might change this body.
Garen looked at the secret technique and other skill attributes closely as well, and something had changed there as well. There were now skills related to Willpower there.
‘Willpower — Middle Basic Level,
(Training Method: Blackboard Control, the free training method from Blackboard Academy, weak training effects, advancement speed would be twelve years/level)’
“Now the training method has finally also become a Skill, looks like it’s because I have a better understanding of the training method in this world now, that’s why my natural ability could form an understanding of it as well.” Garen was thoughtful.
“If I can make it into a Skill, that means I can power it up using potential points. But the problem is this world does not seem to have anything like potential points at all…” Garen frowned slightly again.
Ding-dong…
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
Garen glanced at the time, it was already past ten at night, who could that be?
He had just left Aier and Mina, if it was anyone else, they would surely call him on the Watch Terminal first.
The bell only rang once, and then it was quiet.
Garen stood up and walked to the door to open it.
The door cracked open, but there was no one outside at all, just a letter on the floor. On the white envelope, there was one line of words: To Nonosiva Lin.
Garen picked up the letter and looked around again. Two chattering students walked into the dorm, but there was not anything suspicious other than that.
He closed the door again, and brought that letter back to his bed, where he sat down.
“Could Nonosiva have some special personal connections in this world? Or could it be…” Garen tore open the envelope, and pulled an unsigned letter out of it, opening it gently.
‘Dear Nono, for the second match tomorrow, we hope you will admit defeat of your own accord.’ And then there was a picture of a blue narcissus.
Garen saw the more words through the back of the paper, and flipped it over to see.
‘Rondo Lin, Vice Section Manager, Negotiations Section, Commerce Department, Jusang Interregional Investment Company.’
‘Amy Lamda, Vice Section Manager, Warehouse Section, Operations Department, Jusang Interregional Investment Company.’
“So that’s what this means?” Garen touched the paper, and instantly understood.
“Nonosiva’s parents are both just very normal, average workers, these Sections and Departments and whatnot, they’re telling me this is the price of my throwing the match this time… Not bad, the carrot and the stick… How effective.”
He knew that such a change in positions would make a huge difference to the whole family. The position of Vice Section Manager would at least double their annual income, and if both of them had their salaries doubled at the same time, the whole family’s economic situation would be drastically improved. This was the unrefutable carrot the other side was dangling in front of him.
In this kind of Academy, faced with peers who could change his entire family’s fate with just a few words, no wonder the previous Nonosiva ended up so withdrawn, sullen, and had such low confidence. This was not the kind of pressure a teenager should have to withstand.
“Well, how should I settle this matter?” Garen held the letter, and began to think.
He was really taking it seriously, according to the way competition was supposed to go, the second match of the finals tomorrow should be the second match of the Losers Bracket challengers. In other words, the other person was an elite from the Losers Bracket who wanted to exchange these conditions for Class C5’s position in the Winners Bracket.
This did not quite match Garen’s previous plans.
“And to ask for an exchange with something like this, it’s still lacking…” Garen did not really mind throwing away matches, as long as he achieved his goal, such means did not matter. It was just that the other person was offering too little in exchange, so it was not worth it.
Beep-beep… Beep-beep…
Suddenly his Watch Terminal began to ring, someone was calling him at this time.
Garen raised his wrist and glanced at it. There was no incoming number, just the picture of a bunch of deep blue narcissuses. He waited for a brief moment, and then he quickly turned on his laptop. After a pattering of keys, he picked up a data cable and connected it to his Watch Terminal, and only then did he accept the call.
“Hello, we are the Blue Narcissus. May we know if you’ve received the letter?” As soon as the call went through, a raspy woman’s voice spoke through it.
Garen glanced at a software he had invented on his laptop, the wavy line on it rose and fell slightly. He turned back.
“I received it, but with my capabilities, your offer is too low.”
“??” The other person was taken aback, she had not expected Garen to say that so directly. Anyone who could make it past the Qualifiers was undeniably all talented and arrogant individuals, if you wanted them to lose on purpose, they would surely not take it well. But this time, Garen was actually bargaining with her calmly.