At least once, isekai readers would wonder what they would do if they were reincarnated or transmigrated into a novel they've read.
Will they follow the story?
Or would they choose to stray away?
Loner. Orphan. Bullied.
Many other factors allowed me to spend half of my life reading. Seriously, I'm practically a graduate of Isekai University.
First lesson? When one soul is reincarnated or transmigrated into another world, he or she is screwed already.
'Whether I like it or not, whether I'm possessing the body of the MC or an extra character, the moment I was here I automatically became the main character.'
"It's quite annoying."
"...Excuse me?"
I ignored the surprised hair stylist who was busy combing my hair and continued thinking.
For me, an orphan like Kaven but unfortunately didn't win the lottery as he did, there's only one goal in mind.
Money.
"Thank you for coming!"
I left the salon after sitting for five hours straight and barely avoided fusing my butt with the chair,.
Then I started to think of the second survival method in my head. It was the most obvious after survival method one.
Survival Method #2: Be Filthy Rich
'Luxury. Money is everything.'
Kaven, the natural weakling, was equipped with the protagonist charisma that took the attention of strong people no matter how weak he was. They were rich too.
'Was it called the weak attracts the strong and vice versa?'
Maybe the author just wanted to give Kaven a huge buff to make up for his lacking self-awareness.
Truthfully, I don't understand it all but I do get one thing.
'I don't have what he had.'
It's not about manners, even I know that much, however…
What can an overly cautious, socially awkward, money-hungry, trying-to-be-polite-but-keeps-on-failing-at-it type of person do?
'People always told me I was hard to approach.'
I was independent. Maybe too independent. I didn't know how to interact with others, what to say, and how to act.
I don't even have friends.
What can someone like me do?
Thankfully, the novel had the solution. There is a perfect place for people who work independently for money. It's a place for people who don't care about the bad, who don't mind about the good, and are loyal to their jobs no matter what.
'The best part is that I don't need to approach other people too much apart from the higher-ups and clients!'
"It's a perfect place for me," I said to myself while standing in front of the newly opened company. "Hell-o, Crescent Moon."
Crescent Moon, the company that specializes the hiring of special ability users that would do certain 'requests' for money.
I have had this thought ever since I withdrew money.
'Kaven is rich now but money is never unlimited.'
Crescent Moon is one of the three companies that will emerge victoriously in the future. The other two belonged to the soon-to-be main antagonists and the soon-to-be main protagonists, Crescent Moon is the one in the middle, the 'neutral zone' to describe.
'It's also the one with the most money.'
This means no to sugar daddy for me!
"Are you here for the test too?"
"…!"
I flinched in surprise, which I immediately tried to cover subconsciously with a stoic expression, before looking beside me to see a girl with pink hair and pink eyes. She kind of reminds me of cherry blossoms.
The girl was looking at me intently that I had to flinch again.
'Such quick eyes! She saw my expression change even though it happened in a split second.'
Based on her facial features, I can determine that she's younger than me. The aura around her body is gentle and calm.
'My instincts are telling me she's not an offensive-type user.'
"Who are you?"
"Oh, shit! Where are my manners?"
I flinched again.
'I should be the one saying that to myself.'
I should've answered first before asking who she is. I mean, I'm not obliged to answer to a stranger but still, shouldn't I show basic courtesy too?
'Ah, who knew talking politely could be so confusing?'
However, the reason I flinched was not because of the first thing that came out of my mouth which sounded quite rude to someone who was asking me for either courtesy or curiosity. I already know my answer was quite rude.
It was because she cussed.
'Shit?'
This child, who looks like she's way too young to spit out curses, cursed like it was normal.
I suddenly feel so old.
Teenagers swear a lot back on Earth, sure I cursed too but that was because cursing bullies felt really good and they deserved it. They deserved a whole lot of curses, in fact, they deserve all of the curses that could possibly exist.
But this child looks innocent. She was also too young. She doesn't look like a bully or someone who was bullied.
'Is cursing that normal here? I should keep up.'
A deep sigh left my lips.
"Haaaa. Society is changing too fast."
"Excuse me?"
"…It's nothing."
'What?'
I'm confused.
She looked confused too.
What I meant to convey with my answer was a simplified version of 'It doesn't matter if you curse despite your age because it's normal in this society' but did the meaning came out differently? And she looked genuinely confused? That must mean that cursing is not that normal.
Come to think of it, '...It's nothing' sentence kind of gave out a complaining vibe.
But then, is she cursing because it's part of her personality? Did she think that I was judging her too harshly? Why the hell am I thinking too much into this?
Right, I just need to set this straight.
'Come on, Kaven. Explain.'
I opened my mouth to apologize but what came out was different.
"You have a filthy mouth."
"Ha?!"
Kill. Me. Now.
I wanted to say, 'I do not judge people's choice of language.'
'Why?! Why did it come out differently?!'
Never mind. There's no hope for socializing with someone like me.
'Let's just escape.'
I shook my head and made my way inside the company. For some reason, she followed me without commenting on my response. Her eyes are glowing, and a little smile is playing on her lips.
'Weird. She looks like a dog who found a bone.'
Am I that interesting? I'm quite boring in my opinion.
Why are people so complicated? Haaaa. Never mind. I'm not gonna think about it anymore. Let's just pretend she doesn't exist.
SHWOOO!
The automatic door opened and we joined the sea of people who also hoped they could pass the test. It was really crowded inside, but we managed to navigate through the sea of people.
"I'm Polly, by the way."
"Right."
"You're not gonna tell me your name?"
"No. Who says their name to a stranger?"
Ignore her, ignore her, ignore her.
But it's kind of hard since she followed me around. I've been too rude to her that I'm hesitating to tell her not to follow me around like a stalker.
"Mister, from what I can see, you're very shy aren't you? How fucking cute."
"Shy? You need to get your eyes checked."
Her shoulders shook like she's trying to suppress a laugh while I frowned because of her sudden cursing again. I wanted to tell her to get her tongue checked instead of her eyes but as I open my mouth to say it, a sudden noise echoed throughout the hall.
BAAAAAAAAANG!
Everybody, including this Polly and I, looked at the center of the floor where a slightly elevated mini-stage appeared out of nowhere. We weren't focused on the platform per se but the bald, senior-looking man standing on top of it. His posture was perfect and he had a friendly smile on his face which made his eyes hide in a crescent-shaped lid.
It's not just that.
'The aura around him is vibrating. This means he-'
"Whoah! That baldie is fucking strong!"
Yeah, that's about it.
I ignored Polly's cussing again and openly observed the old man. The aura around him feels hostile, only offensive-style ability users have this type of aura, unlike Polly beside me who might be a defensive-type or unique-type since the aura around her is too calm and serene.
"Hey sharp-eyes, don't you think he's strong too?"
"Sharp-eyes?"
Polly grinned at me. "It's your nickname since you refuse to tell me your name. Can't you see your eyes? They're so damn piercing that it sends shivers down my spine!"
Wow. Did she just flat out told me that I look like a villain?
"The nerve of this kid…"
"Not 'kid' but Polly. I'm Polly."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
"Ha! Well, now you don't seem like the shy type. It looks more like you don't give a shit about anything."
Absolutely wrong.
'I'm the type who overthink things!'
But I can't say that because I'm bothered by something else apart from my retorts that were getting ruder after every response.
Can we please have a proper conversation without her cursing? It doesn't feel good to hear such words coming out from the mouth of a child.
"Hey, sharp-eyes, what do you think of that old baldie over there?"
Oh, God heard me so quickly.
For a second, I thought about a proper response, then I settled with a short one.
"He's strong. That man is strong but…"
"But?"
I trailed off.
'…but who is he?'
There was no character introduced, at least not in the novel, that depicts him. Not from what I can remember. This applies to Polly too. But then again, I pretty much trailed off from the story by now. This should be the part where I encounter a supporting character but never mind.
"Nothing."
"Oh, come on! Don't leave me hanging."
Then am I supposed to tell you that I don't know him and I don't know you because you didn't exist in my memories? I can't lie without being caught so don't ask me!
"Shut up."
"Ho…"
Polly looked at me silently for a few more seconds with a curious look in her eyes before shrugging her shoulders.
"You're a weird prick, you know?"
"And you seem like a brat with an unfiltered mouth. Need some teacher to help you with mannerism?"
"Are you going to teach me?"
"No."
That was a joke.
'Did I do well?'
"Pffft!"
Unlike earlier, when Polly stopped her giggles, she laughed quite loudly. That must mean that I did well or Polly had a terrible sense of humor.
'Well, I'm pretty sure I did well since that line was stolen from an MC in a novel I read somewhere.'
Protagonist lines are never wrong.
I felt someone grab my arm. It was, of course, Polly.
"Let's go take a closer look!"
"…!"
She pulled me to the front of the crowd, closer to the old man who's about to give a speech. I just gave up complaining at this point. I was going to go there anyway.
"Welcome, everyone! I am Amadeus, you can call me Sir Deus, and I'm the instructor for today."
The old man, who identified himself as Sir Deus, flicked his hand and a bunch of papers appeared out of thin air which made me, and many participants, gasp internally.
"Space-related ability."
Polly blurted out my thoughts unconsciously.
"It must be a kind of spatial dimension."
"You can tell too, sharp-eyes?"
Haaaaaaaa. Looks like that nickname is stuck on me from now on.
'Just leave her be, Kaven.'
Let's try being polite again.
"As you can tell, I'm sensitive to aura just like you."
I noticed that Polly has been assessing the strengths of the competitors from left to right.
According to SMOAH world, this is the concept of special abilities.
It's similar to the concept of mana and magic. Every ability user uses special particles to use their ability. People with an extremely huge affinity to special particles either give off an aura or are extremely sensitive to it.
'And even being sensitive to it has many meanings.'
From what I can tell, Polly here can figure out if the ability user is strong or weak based on her own meter of measurement. I can only tell whether the ability user is a defensive-type, offensive-type, or unique-type.
'Actually, I still can't tell the difference between unique-type or defensive-type.'
I looked at Polly who was frozen still beside me.
'Hmm? Did someone spook her or something?'
Her mouth was still hanging open when I cautiously asked.
"…What?"
"So you can answer properly! Label me surprised!"
Never mind. She's fine.
And wow, I'm surprised too. I managed to keep up in a conversation without sounding rude or anything. Though I doubt it showed on my face.
'Oh no, I'm feeling embarrassed.'
And this kid can tell it just by looking at my eyes. She knows! My god. I can't cope with this situation.
"Haaa. Shut up."
"Hahaha!"
Another good laugh came out of her unfiltered mouth before we both looked back to the platform where Sir Deus explained the test and requirements.
"Currently we have five-hundred applicants! Each of you have papers in your hand, I assume? Fill up that paper with your name and the type of your ability. Doing so will automatically send you to a separate training room. You must defeat your enemy there. Evaluation will be done personally by the company's owner."
The crowd started to get excited as if a flame was lit by Sir Deus' words. Everyone suddenly wanted to show off their abilities.
But Sir Deus wasn't done just yet.
"Furthermore! People with exceptional talents will be part of the private members! They will be under the direct command of the owner and will receive special treatment."
My eyebrows shot up in surprise.
'Did he just...?'
The rest of the crowd started cheering in excitement and the others followed as well. Of course, I'm elated too but I maintained my stoic expressions. From the edge of my eyes, I can see Polly grinning wickedly.
'But seriously? Board members will receive special treatments? That must mean more money! Not to mention, fewer higher-ups to talk to!'
Everyone else in the crowd had the same idea as me.
'THAT SEAT IS MINE.'
Sir Deus, who was still smiling, pretended to cough as he observed the atmosphere surrounding him. It must be weird to see many eyes glowing at the same time while staring at him.
'But I have a weird feeling he fired us up on purpose.'
"Ahem! There are only four seats left so do try your best. The moon is watching over you. Ahem!"
Sir Deus coughed purposefully again to simmer down the fire in the applicants' eyes, but it was no use. Everyone was fired up and noisy.
"Hah! One of those seats will belong to me. Don't you think so, sharp-eyes?"
"Sure. One of it will be for me too."
"Wow! Your blood is boiling too?"
"No."
Polly ignored my flat response and patted my shoulder as if trying to say we'll really make it. Not that I believed we wouldn't, I'm confident I will if I use Kaven's ability properly.
'I should wish her luck, right?'
I'm finally starting to get a hang of conversations so I think I can do it.
Before I can wish her good luck a ball pen appeared out of thin air as well and we started filling up the paper.
Kaven Eralis
Unique-type
BAAAAAAANG!
"…!"
"Shit! That scared me!"
The paper burst into white specks of dust after I finished writing and I immediately felt a sensation of being warped into a new space.
WHOOOOOOOSH!
"See you later, sharp-eyes!"
"Mm."
I nodded and closed my eyes and waited for the weird sensation that enveloped my body to end. As I opened them, a flat landscape greeted me along with countless people that did not seem to end.
'A field test? How amusing.'
My hand automatically tried to cover the grin on my face. Much more when I heard the mechanical voice that gave out an instruction to pass the test.
< Kill the enemies. Time limit, one hour. Begin. >