Over the next few days, Jugram began experimenting with his quirk, which he named Exchange. Since he had figured out everything about his quirk by himself, his grandfather only took him to register at the nearest government office, not get his quirk tested. All they had registered the quirk as was the ability to exchange things that the user and target agreed upon.
"Let's try it again," Rumi announced excitedly.
"I'll trade you this stick in exchange for your quirk and quirk storage, Yuto," Jugram said.
"How about two sticks?" Yuto countered.
After Yuto raised the price, Jugram grabbed the second stick he had prepared. He offered both sticks forward, but his quirk didn't activate even though he had offered up the prerequisites for Yuto's counteroffer. He had hoped that providing them would be enough for the deal to go through, but apparently not.
"It seems that the target always has to agree before the deal can take place," Jugram said with a sigh. "It seems that ways to scam people openly are out."
"Good," Rumi said decisively, hands on her hips, "Scamming people is bad,"
"Okay. How about I trade you a stick for your ability to smell?" Jugram asked Rumi.
"Fine," she said.
With her agreement, the switch took place instantly. Suddenly, the forest smells snapped into sharper focus, but there wasn't much of an effect beyond that. It was like being able to smell clearly again after a cold. Through some tests, Jugram discovered that smell was the easiest target to trade back and forth for experimentation. The boost from doubling one's smell was not too noticeable, so it made testing easy. Plus, losing one's sense of smell was more of a novel experience rather than terrifying.
"This is still so weird," Rumi said, sniffing a nearby flower
"Come over here to see what happens if I try to take the stick back," Jugram said.
Rumi complied and held the stick that he had traded her loosely in her hand, not trying to defend it at all. When Jugram reached to grab it back, he found himself unable to. There was some sort of force keeping him away from the stick. It was like the stick had Gojo's Infinity. He could get close, but never enough to touch the stick.
"Yuto, you grab the stick and try to hand it to me," Jugram called.
Yuto quickly took hold of the stick with ease and tossed it over. When the stick approached, it still forced his body out of the way, causing Jugram to stumble back. After a few minutes of testing, he signaled for Rumi to speak.
"You can take it back," Rumi called, causing the stick to cease repelling him.
With her permission, he was then able to pick up the stick again. Once he had it, he approached Yuto.
"I'll trade you this stick for your sense of taste," Jugram said.
"Deal," Yuto agreed.
Nothing happened. The stick remained inert, and there was no telltale feedback from his sense of taste being amplified.
"Is the stick still technically Rumi's?" Yuto asked.
"I think so. Anyway, let's trade back Rumi." Jugram said.
"Alrighty~" she said, and Jugram lost his enhanced smell.
After that, they took a break from experimenting. The three of them stood around a small construction area in the forest. Signs indicated a reasonably sizable area was being cleared out, along with a small primitive hut being built. This was Jugram's hideout/training area. They were now using it to test out the specifics of his quirk.
Jugram used these two for his experiments since most adults wouldn't be willing to test his powers when it involved taking their quirks away, but children are much more trusting. All it took for Yuto and Rumi to agree was for him to promise not to keep their quirks. It also helped that the two were very intrigued by his power.
"Do you want to become a hero with your quirk, Jugram?" Yuto asked.
Jugram eyed the boy before responding. Yuto seemed marginally more intelligent than your average four-year-old, so Jugram found him more tolerable than Rumi, who was a quintessential ball of endless energy, more often than not. Plus, Yuto had a moment of insight occasionally, so it was usually worth bouncing ideas off of him due to his imagination. Although, his excitement wasn't as easy to channel as Rumi's.
"I think being a businessman might be a better idea." Jugram mused, "I could be a quirk salesman or trader. I bet people would spend everything to get a better quirk, get a second quirk, or even trade in their quirk if it causes them negative effects."
"Sounds boring," Rumi said, picking up a mouse off the ground and placing it on her shoulder like a parrot.
"I think it makes sense," Yuto said, "But won't some people be scared of you."
"You're right," Jugram grinned, "I would have to find a backer before I could begin."
Yuto nodded sagely before pausing and asked, "What's a backer?"
"Somebody who helps you work so you can do things easier," Jugram said, trying to dumb things down.
"So we are like your backers right now, then?" Rumi said with a triumphant laugh.
"Not really, but I guess with the definition I gave you, yes," Jugram said.
Of course, the only thing Rumi had heard was the word, yes. Everything else went in one ear and out the other. She started to happily frolic around the cleared area while various vermin scampered around the perimeter. She had been trying to act cool and told the rodents to guard the perimeter. Jugram could only roll his eyes at the girl's antics.
"Yuto, why don't you help me build the fort a bit more?"
The boy nodded and walked to the nearest tree, wrapping his arms around it before ripping it out of the ground with a quick tug. With a simple motion, he tossed the tree into the wood pile next to the fort that still needed to be trimmed.
As always, Jugram couldn't help but whistle when he saw the young boy's quirk. It was a relatively simple Strength Enhancement quirk, but the power it allowed him to output was anything but simple. Usually, physical enhancement quirks only modify strength to a moderate degree. It was extremely rare for one's strength to get modified to an incredible degree. However, generations of physical enhancement quirks breeding together created something extraordinary.
If his strength continued to grow as he aged, he did not doubt that Yuto could reach a noticeable fraction of All Might's raw power. Jugram would be lying if he said that Yuto's quirk didn't interest him greatly, but there was no way the boy would give it up. He was too proud of his power and used it to help his family. While he could convince Yuto, he doubted the boy's family would sit idly by.
While quirks are illegal to use in public, nobody cares out here in the countryside. Even the police officers don't even attempt to regulate as long as people don't get hurt or there are no complaints. The community usually keeps Quirk use in check since everyone is so closely knit.
"How about you, Yuto? Do you want to be a hero?" Jugram asked in a rare moment of curiosity for a child his age.
"Nah," the boy responded, "I want to become a farmer and help my family."
"What if your strength could rival All Might's one day?" Jugram asked.
"Then I would be the greatest farmer in the whole world," He said excitedly.
Jugram couldn't help but laugh at that reply. While he disliked children, there was something honest and pure about their responses. With a shake of his head, he waved goodbye to his fellow children and made his way along the short path to the village, which only took about 10 minutes.
He emerged from the trees and looked down at the small collection of homes built into the side of the hill below. The only access in and out of the village was a single winding road up through the village, which led to the peak of the nearby mountain. Only a few dozen houses rested alongside the road, but off in the distance, a few kilometers, he could see a larger town, which acted as the commercial heart of the other three or four villages just like this one in the area.
After gazing at the familiar view for a moment, Jugram moved down into one of the nearby houses. There, he found his grandfather waiting for him.
"Are you ready to begin, Jugram?" The old man asked.
"Of course," Jugram replied, but inwardly grit his teeth.
His grandfather's quirk gave the user an entirely new sense, so it took a lot of adapting to. Thus, after the first time Jugram had borrowed his grandfather's quirk, they had made it a regular part of training. It would help him deal with quirks that bring a lot of information along with them in the future. Plus-
"Continue to work hard, Jugram, and it won't be long before I let you keep my quirk. It's no longer useful for an old man like me." Ren said.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll continue to work hard." Jugram said with determination.