Money Lover was currently seated in a carriage that was going at a stately pace along the road. He was dressed in a worn robe that looked like it belonged to a destitute fool.
However, his hair was neatly combed and his demeanor told of a strikingly sharp and meticulous mind. Instead of feeling like a poor fool, he came off as a young lord who was in a tough financial spot.
That was exactly what Money Lover was… or at least he was supposed to be, at this time.
｢The Merchant King – Legendary Class Change Quest
Description: As a former Noble, son of the Merchant Lord of Vastia, reclaim your heritage through your own hands.
Stage 1: Enter the town of Goldor.
Rewards: Legendary Class - Merchant King｣
'It seems as if I am either exiled, expelled, or ran away, losing my nobility and my backing in this world. As such, I have to climb up the ranks using my own skills as a merchant to either show up my former backers or achieve some sort of personal growth.'
At the end of this initial analysis, Money Lover couldn't help but have a weird expression on his face.
'What a… trash plot.'
Money Lover felt that this type of storyline was too obvious and stupid, which it was. Why would one either leave or annoy their family/backers and get thrown into the wild?
Pride? Self-esteem?
Would pride save you when you starve? Would self-esteem make you untouchable to the villains hiding in the alleyways?
No. Such things were childish vanities. If you want to have pride or self-esteem for something, one should have a solid reason for that, whether it came through power, wealth, or status.
If you didn't have any one of the above, then why weren't you bowing your head? If you acquire such things, you can certainly hold your head up high, but until then, you were just a commoner among hundreds of them.
So, the first instance of the plot, being a 'former' Noble, as the son of a Merchant Lord, was trash.
Of course, there was a possibility that the Merchant Lord was dead and his lands had been seized by competitors, which was something Money Lover would find perfect and much more mature as a plot.
He became more certain of this, as the next half of the description for the quest was to reclaim his heritage. To reclaim something meant that Money Lover must have lost it, either to another person or to the wild.
Connecting the tidbits he had gleaned so far, it was likely that his Merchant Lord father had passed away or, more thematically, been assassinated, and his everything got seized through either force or - more likely - legal matters.
As such, the disgraced son was heading to the nearest town to begin anew, forced to climb up the Ranks to take back his father's legacy and stand tall amidst adversity thrown his way.
Money Lover curled his lips. 'This is an excellent plot, after all.'
Not only was it mature, but it had reasonable grounds for occurring in a competitive society of humans, and Money Lover himself could not be blamed for the downfall, as he was just the heir.
Why was this fellow wasting time by analyzing one sentence so deeply? Shouldn't he take inventory of his money and whatever items he had so that he could make plans?
Not only that, but the matter of his disgrace could also easily be researched when he got to the town. After all, it was easy enough to realize that his Merchant Lord father was the equivalent of a Hidden Power in this realm.
Since this was a Merchant King Class Change Quest, that should be the highest level here, and 'Lord' was always just below 'King' in various Boundless rankings.
Hehe… if Money Lover had been the kind of person who didn't analyze every detail in such a matter, Draco would have never allowed him to take a Legendary Class Change Quest no matter how high his potential.
It was precisely because he knew Money Lover's personality from the past timeline that he had chosen him. Same for Sublime Notion and Slim Fatty, although the latter had asked to get replaced by her brother with Sublime's approval.
The most crucial point was, he was still in the carriage anyway, so where the f.u.c.k else was he supposed to go until it arrived?
Now that he was done analyzing, Money Lover opened his inventory. His lips couldn't help but twitch when he saw that he only had 3 silver to his name, as well as one rusty token to enter the Noble House Merchant Group.
This was truly starting from the bottom. Money Lover was sure that he would have to enter this firm as their most common merchant, suffer ridicule and tolerate verbal, or perhaps even physical, abuse before climbing the ranks.
This was a Legendary Quest, and Draco had informed him a little bit about this beforehand. Legendary Quests had stages, with an objective he had to complete to unlock the next one.
His current objective was to enter the town, next would probably be to enter the firm, and so on and so forth. It was a stable line of progression, but Money Lover was aware that each subsequent stage would get harder.
However…
"Merchant King, huh? I would be intimidated if it was to become a Merchant God. Even a Merchant Emperor would shake my soul. But a mere Merchant King?"
He smiled derisively as he said this. This wasn't arrogance borne from overconfidence, but confidence borne from his skill and very nature.
Draco appointed him to be the one to manage Umbra's shop space on the fifth floor, which was the most important of them all. The sixth floor was mostly automated and the seventh was not open to the public, so he was the highest in the Rank 7 Shop.
There was naturally a reason for this, and that was this fellow's business ac.u.men. Now that he had been sent into this quest, he found that starting from the absolute bottom was much grander than anything he had ever faced before.
As such, he disembarked from the carriage and entered the humble town of Goldor with a crafty glint in his eye.
..............
Deployed Soldier was standing in line with the other grunts of the Favrolo Army saluting their superior. They were the bottom feeder militia of the army, used to make noise and fill up the numbers.
They had cloth armor with no leather padding, as they were expected to die on the battlefield. Why would they waste precious metal on such people? So that they could become salvage for others?
Before them stood their commanding officer, Sergeant Bodice. It was a hardy woman who looked like she could beat three men with her eyes closed, and her sharp blue eyes made one shiver with fear.
She calmly assessed this new batch of grunts who were shaking in their toes as they gazed at her, feeling disappointment welling up deep down.
This war had gone on for so long that even these cowardly youths had to be drafted to go and die for what she considered to be a meaningless purpose.
Was the hand of some petulant princess of some country worth two princes fighting over so disastrously? Even if it was, couldn't they settle it between themselves?
Was there really a need to drag their whole populace into this spat between horny teenagers? Despite her inner thoughts and as a member of the military she kept quiet and followed orders.
Sergeant Bodice's eyes landed on Deployed Soldier, and she nodded deep down. Within the chaff, there was bound to be some quality and she could see that in this fellow.
His posture was firm and disciplined, showing that he had received training. His eyes were steady and unconcerned, as this was a man who had taken lives before. Such a look couldn't be faked.
What separated him from the rest apart from his posture and resolute eyes was the pain hidden behind those very same eyes.
Sergeant Bodice knew that pain, because she also saw it deep down in herself whenever she gazed into the mirror. It was the look of someone who had watched close comrades die in battle.
However, how he became a grunt baffled her. Such a person should have easily passed the tests and directly get promoted to officer, probably as a Specialist under her, not a mere Private.
Sergeant Bodice could make things easier and send him for a re-test, but she wasn't inclined to. The best way to assess whether he deserved promotion was to see his mettle in battle.
As such, she turned to her rear, where the group could see a small militia marching towards them, a platoon of over 40 men in different forms of equipment.
The opposing group was led by another Sergeant First Class who was also a woman that looked like she chewed nails for breakfast, lunch, and supper.
A platoon was made up of four squads. A squad was made up of 11 men, 10 Privates, and 1 Specialist.
Deployed Soldier was also part of a platoon, where he was one of the 10 Privates in a squad, with his leading Specialist also… being a woman.
However, Deployed Soldier was more interested in the contents of his quest as opposed to the ongoing scenario in the area.
｢The Great Commander – Legendary Class Change Quest
Description: As a common male in the matriarchal continent of Vasto, you have forcibly been drafted as a Private, irrespective of your background.
Stage 1: Rout the Forerunner Platoon of Kierr Nation.
Rewards: Legendary Class - Great Commander｣
A matriarchal society? It seemed as if this matriarchal society was really horrendous, one where men had absolutely no status and could be forced into war simply due to their gender.
Deployed Soldier's background was therefore so irrelevant that the system didn't even bother to give him one. As a Private, he had to work his way up the ranks by showing skill, wit and courage, and nothing else.
As someone who had seen war in the real world, this sort of medieval fighting where one clashed with enemies head-on made Justin Davis sigh.
In a war where one's head could be blown off by a stray bullet, battles involving swords and arrows felt like putting a tiger in a cage with kittens.
Not only that, but there was no reason for him to fear death. Even if he failed the quest, he would not die permanently, though he naturally did not wish to fail such a precious quest.
He hadn't played long, in fact, he only started because his sister had insisted on it and he hadn't seen her as happy ever since the death of their father, yet he understood the ramification of her giving up her chance and passing it on to him.
It was a different feeling for him, to head into battle knowing that one could not easily lose their life. Deployed Solider put away this menu and saw that both Sergeants were glaring at each other coldly.
Without shit-talking each other, they both unsheathed their greatswords and rushed into battle.
"Charge!" Sergeant Bodice and the opposing Sergeant roared at the same time.
The Specialists and Privates roared along with her, masking their fear as they rushed after their Sergeants. The Sergeants would likely walk away from their battle with mild injuries, but if any of them dared to desert, they would die for sure!
Deployed Soldier was surprised by this as he expected the officers to stay back while the grunts slaughtered each other like dogs, but he was forgetting that this was a world of swords and bows.
Sergeants had stronger bodies and higher skills than those below them, so they didn't fear Privates or Specialists. Only opposing Sergeants would be an issue for them, so why would they stand back?
The two forces clashed in the center, and screams as well as blood began to flow. Many fellows suffered terrible injuries, while some were directly trampled over or beheaded.
Deployed Soldier was one of those beheading others, as he had been training with his sword ever since he entered Umbra. As someone who could pass and become a core member, he was certainly talented, just like his sister.
He could only sigh deep down as he continually dismembered the various Privates before him, who were no different than weeds before a farmer.
In his heart, Deployed Soldier understood that despite how much he disliked it, a battlefield was where he was meant to be, and as such, he didn't bother to avoid it.
............…..
Sublime Notion frowned as she walked through the halls of the Korintoro Academy, her red robes swishing on the ground as she went along.
Many other students were walking alongside her, some chatting while others were ogling her chest, as her robe was reasonably loose, but her large mounds made her chest area tight.
She wasn't bothered by them though. Ever since she hit puberty, which had come sooner to her than anyone else in her class, it had been like this, with many males staring at her chest with lascivious eyes. She had gotten used to it and even understood that it was just the instinctive reaction of any male.
She only had a problem if one overstepped their bounds, but no one here had tried that yet.
No, what had Sublime Notion frowning was the contents of her quest.
｢The Seneschal – Legendary Class Change Quest
Description: As an average student of the Korintoro Academy, you must struggle through the various lessons in order to pass with flying colors!
Stage 1: Attend the orientation.
Rewards: Legendary Class - Seneschal｣
Sublime Notion wasn't sure exactly what she had expected, but a quest to attend an academy certainly was not it. She had assumed she would get tested in combat or be made to perform something, or made the apprentice of a Seneschal in order to pass the test, but this…
Even though she was skeptical, Sublime Notion was sharp enough to understand what was going on. However, she kept silent and reached the courtyard for the orientation.
There, she saw a group of well-dressed men and women who were seated on a podium. In the center of the podium was a stand where one would deliver speeches to an audience.
Seeing as the audience were the freshmen, it was obvious as to who would receive the words of wisdom from their elders.
Unlike most freshmen who were confused lambs, these ones arranged themselves into rows after a few seconds, without prompting from any authority.
They went silent and waited for their instructors to speak to them, instead of chattering endlessly among themselves while waiting to be silenced.
Their orderliness startled Sublime Notion, who naturally followed into formation and went silent. If students in the real world were like this, she would be terrified of going to class with such level-headed monsters.
Already, it was silent enough to hear a needle drop, but this one act gave Sublime Notion unprecedented pressure. For freshmen to be so rational and disciplined at their age, it was telling of one of two things.
Either they received training at home, as well as hints on how to behave before they came over, or that they were all level-headed and mature people who knew what to do without being told.
In the former case, she was coming into this blind, so she had already started at a severe disadvantage.
For the latter, she would enter a competition against students who were all mature in mind, which would be 5 times harder than among typical student groups where only 1 or 2 were serious in a class.
One of the men who sat in the lineup nodded and rose to his feet, reaching the podium with gallant strides. He was a middle-aged man who was quite handsome, looking like a learned scholar with his soft face and light smile.
His light grey eyes flashed with wisdom as he studied the new students in his academy. His eyes paused over Sublime Notion for a second and went on without delay.
No one but Sublime herself noticed this. She was startled, but refused to believe that such a fellow with such an aura would be mesmerized by her chest.
After all, there were many girls in this batch who were taller and prettier than her, with nicer bodies. Even some of the teachers up there were in the same category.
As such, it must be something she did or something about her related to the quest. Perhaps, it could be her background or her demeanor that made her stand out?
Sublime Notion wasn't sure, but she made a mental note to research all this as soon as possible.
The man finally spoke, his amazingly soft and gentle voice making Sublime feel comfortable. "Welcome to Korintoro Academy. You are the 19th batch of students we are admitting since our founding."
He gazed at them all sharply in the next moment. "As you know, you are this current generation's best seeds to become the next Seneschal. Only one among you will earn the right to possess that title, so for your own sake be serious."
He softened at the next moment though. "However, I need not tell you all that judging by how composed you all are. I just wanted to remind you of this crucial fact before we begin the orientation."
Seeing as the freshmen were silent and attentive, the headmaster of Korintoro Academy was greatly pleased. "I am Ferino Grey, the Headmaster of this noble institution."
"You are all students of this academy henceforth, as you are the children of this generation's best Chamberlains and Advisors. We hope you can succeed your lineage for the sake of our noble empire's continued success."
"The Korin Empire is our foundation as well as our future. Everything you do is for the empire, and everything provided to you in this academy is thanks to the empire."
Suddenly, Ferino Grey clapped his hands. "That is it for the first day's orientation. Next, you will be led to your classrooms by your servants, who will also give you a preliminary tour of the academy."
A group of servants entered the area from somewhere else, all of them wearing the same uniform with a strange logo embossed onto it. They were a mixed ratio of males to females, and they were all either handsome or pretty.
The male servants sidled up to the female students while the female servants sidled up to the males.
Before anyone could say anything, Ferino Grey returned to his seat and spoke lightly, but with a tone of finality. "Dismissed."
Sublime Notion and the other students silently followed their assigned servants out of the courtyard and through the school, all the while being introduced to everything.
Sublime Notion eventually reached the dorm and entered her allocated room with her servant introducing himself at her door before heading to the servant's quarters.
He also gave her a certain device that would summon him if she needed him, all for her convenience.
After that, Sublime Notion was left alone, with only her thoughts and her worries to accompany her.