"Hello to all viewers watching this video, first and foremost, I'd like to thank you for your appreciation and viewership of my humble work."
"My name is Lord of Dawn, and I belong to the Mysterious Item Co., Ltd. as an evaluation salesperson. This video is the first product evaluation video I've made since taking on this position, and I hope you'll bear with any imperfections."
In the video, a strangely dressed 'person' stood. A tall, sturdy black armored body resembling a black ceremonial suit, draped with a black formal coat, and wearing an 'I'-shaped mask on its face, with a unsettling purple glow emanating from the central slit. Its voice was gentle and elegant, with a calm composure that unconsciously evoked a sense of intimacy in those who heard it. The video was short; in fact, it didn't need to be long. It was just a self-introduction video. The first video from an UP (uploader) named 'Bondrewd'.
"My first skin is actually the persona of a mad scientist," Shin said, his face a mix of emotions as he tossed the heavy black helmet up and down in his hand, watching his uploaded and approved video.
The 'fantasy suit' that the unknown big shot lent to Shin on an interest-free installment plan was a character named Bondrewd. A so-called fantasy suit could instantly cover the body when needed, inheriting the original owner's equipment and abilities, as well as their skills, serving as a defensive type of equipment. In short, you could understand it as a skin with attributes.
This loaned 'Bondrewd' suit was actually a D-rank fantasy equipment that Shin couldn't buy at his level, possessing considerable destructive power, capable of single-handedly confronting small-scale forces.
Product Name: Fantasy Suit 'Bondrewd'
Product Level: D
Product Price: 800 evaluation points (After exchanging for a fantasy suit, you can temporarily rent Mysterious Items of the same series at a lower price)
Product Introduction: A fantasy suit of the character 'Bondrewd' from the Made in Abyss world. When used, this suit covers the body and inherits Bondrewd's thoughts and powers, skills and abilities, and weapons and equipment, including but not limited to cold reasoning, madman's wisdom, climbing to the stars, return to the light of the cardinal, plucking the moon, etc.
Among fantasy suits of the same level, this series is not recommended for purchase.
There's no need to go into detail about Bondrewd here. In short, he's a character from the anime "Made in Abyss," a deranged, terrifying, and yet awe-inspiring mad scientist.
It's fortunate that the inheritance of this fantasy equipment is limited to Bondrewd himself. If it came with a few 'relics' (literally 'ammunition bags' but likely referring to Bondrewd's artifacts/relics), Shin would never have worn this suit.
However, that being said, once he put on this fantasy equipment, he felt as if he was Bondrewd, and his speaking manner and movements were involuntarily influenced by him. Moreover, the reason this character could be rated as D-class, Shin thought, was not due to combat ability—although the equipment he wore, made from Abyss relics, was powerful, it frankly stood no chance against modern firearms. The truly powerful aspect of this suit was that wearing it would cause Shin to enter Bondrewd's state of absolute rationality.
Absolute calmness, absolute rationality; all emotions and thoughts would instantly vanish upon entering this state, leaving behind only a mad passion for exploring the unknown and a calm mindset for facing everything. He hadn't yet explored other applications of this ability, but he found that learning while wearing this fantasy suit was even more effective.
"Don't you want to test the power of this equipment and then make a new video to post on the website?" the system asked in a tempting tone. "Or perhaps use this equipment, which modern science cannot create, to act as a vigilante, some kind of hero?"
"No thanks. Before I familiarize myself with the situation here, reckless actions like that... must be approached with extreme caution." Shin, wearing this fantasy suit, instantly transformed, becoming gentle, elegant, and exceptionally calm.
He happily sat down at the computer. "In the next three hours, I will pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1, world history, university math, physics, geography... So much unknown knowledge, Subarashii!" Then, like an addict, he plunged into the vast ocean of knowledge.
...
It must be admitted that with the rational aura provided by the Bondrewd suit and the Coordinator's enhancement of memory and thinking abilities, learning was an exceptionally enjoyable experience.
However, although the learning speed was remarkably fast compared to his previous level as an ordinary person, it was still limited to the scope of an ordinary person. The upper limit was perhaps Sheldon Cooper's learning level, but Shin lacked time even more, and also lacked the motivation and direction to delve into any particular field of interest.
After spending three hours perfecting his Japanese knowledge to perfectly pass the JLPT N1, and thoroughly memorizing world history, especially the parts significantly different from his previous life, Shin had to take off his Bondrewd suit, rubbing his aching temples with regret and discomfort.
There were still many things to deal with. Learning and analyzing the general background of this world and integrating into it was one thing, but before that—the issues of eating, drinking, and daily necessities had to be resolved.
The area around this apartment complex was likely completely different from his original layout. Originally, his university was directly across from his apartment, but now, the Mineoka High School he was attending probably required a train ride of one stop, plus a fifteen to twenty-minute walk to reach.
Oh, damn it, why did he have to repeat high school... Traveling would still require practical experience, but Shin now faced a more pressing issue. He was out of money. He only had three Fukuzawa Yukichi bills (10,000 yen notes), totaling 30,000 yen.
However, this was Tokyo, and Chiyoda Ward at that. The minimum price for a meal out wouldn't be less than 500 yen, and a slightly normal meal would be around 600 yen.
Eating was secondary, clothing didn't matter, and transportation by train wasn't expensive-rent in this damned place was particularly expensive.
Calculating the average, the cheapest rented apartment in Tokyo would cost at least 70,000-80,000 yen per month. This meant that to live stably as a single person in Tokyo, your minimum monthly income would have to be at least 100,000 yen.
Considering the base wage for part-time jobs here, it wasn't particularly difficult to achieve. While it might be a bit tough, Shin didn't care about living miserably; staying alive was more important than anything.
However, this was the figure for a low-carbon, energy-efficient lifestyle, and the apartment Shin rented clearly wasn't something that could be had for a mere 80,000 yen. According to normal rental agreements, if he was moving in on the first day and hadn't paid enough for three months' rent, the landlord might show up at his door the next moment to collect a substantial rent of no less than 300,000 yen...
Shin rubbed his throbbing temples and sighed repeatedly. The troubles brought by daily life were greater and more complicated than merely surviving. He at least had a system, yet he had fallen into such a predicament.
There was no other way; he had to go out and look for part-time jobs tomorrow. He would maintain his high school life while figuring out more information about this parallel world, and then fulfill the system's requirements.
After all, what was the system's evaluation standard for the "butterfly effect" that earns test points? If it was calculated according to the standard in the One Piece world, was it based on the level of mischief? If he accumulated enough points to buy a nuclear bomb and detonate it in the city center, would he earn a huge amount of test points? Things shouldn't be that simple, and it would be unwise to act rashly without
understanding everything. So it might be a bit frustrating, but... let's start his journey of part-time work + high school student + exploring the world here.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Shin, we forgot to tell you something." The system suddenly spoke in Shin's mind, with a pleasantness that made him feel very uncomfortable.
"Because you are on the lowest E-grade contract, the company will deduct nine-tenths of all your income. In fact, the test points you receive are the result after this proportion has been deducted. As the contract level rises, the percentage deducted will also rise."
"What, you mean..." Shin's eyes widened.
"That's right." The system smiled pleasantly and gently. "You'll only get one-tenth of the money you earn from your part-time job."
Shin's eye twitched violently. "What do you want those 'moneys' for? Do they have any meaning to you?"
"Do the virtual currencies you earn while playing games have any meaning to you?"
the system retorted. "This is a form of motivation, and also a trial. In fact, we could very well not tell you about this—only with sufficient pressure will people have more motivation to advance."
"It's like you've always been curious: since the company is so powerful, why does it urge you to make videos and live streams?
In fact, you could just directly change the world, how much faster would that be? But, can you accept it all at once?"
"The huge impact brought by changing the world, the enormous upheaval and shock to society—do you have the resolve to bear it?"
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