Chapter 10

“Great.” Adeiv laughed joyfully as yet another supreme money-making skill fell into his hands, reinforcing his decision to switch professions a decade ago. He began his career venturing into dangerous Rifts like many, using his innate gift to acquire an arsenal of skills from other adventurers. But after brushing against death one too many times, he had an epiphany: why not change his perspective on how he utilized his innate gift?

Since then, he no longer explored Rifts, yet his level and stats rose even faster than before. But, most importantly, he made money. Lots and lots of money!

“Are you familiar with my innate gift?” Adeiv spoke in a jovial tone as he began interacting with the System. Going against the norm, Adeiv found more success by announcing the functions of his innate gift to the world. His page on the magic network gave a detailed explanation, which was precisely why Keith chose him in the first place.

“I am.” Keith’s eyes lit up. “You have such a useful innate gift.”

Keith would’ve felt jealous a few days ago, but he no longer felt such negative feelings after acquiring his innate gift.

“Here you are.” A few moments later, Adeiv swiped his hand, a screen appearing in front of Keith.

Adeiv Strinde has offered you a contract.

If accepted, Mr. K agrees to loan his Material Synthesis and Material Fragmentation skills to Adeiv Strinde for three months. While the contract is in effect, Mr. K will receive 35% of all profits acquired from the skills. Adeiv Strinde must strive to make as much money as possible to the best of his abilities, or the contract will become void.

Note: All profits will automatically appear in your inventory. You will lose access to Materials Synthesis and Material Fragmentation while the contract is effective.

Do you agree to the contract?

Keith read over the screen multiple times, ensuring he didn’t miss anything. He had heard of many innate gifts with the ability to interact with the System, just like Adeiv could, so he wasn’t worried. There was no fear of losing his skills forever because the System would enforce the rules stipulated in the contract. After all, nobody could fabricate screens to deceive others.

Once sure everything looked okay, Keith accepted the contract, two small lights exiting his body and flying into Adeiv’s as he did. Curious, Keith opened his skill list and found two skills greyed out, precisely the ones he just loaned to Adeiv.

According to the workshop’s page, Adeiv could loan out his skills to other people. For example, of the many employees Adeiv had, he could loan Material Synthesis to employee A from 10 am to 12 pm, then employee B from 12 pm to 2 pm. He didn’t have to transfer the skills back and forth manually. The System would do that automatically as per the contract.

The flexible way Adeiv utilized his innate gift was precisely the epiphany he had many years ago. Before, he would get powerful adventurers to sell or loan their skills for him to use in combat. But was that all his innate gift could do? How could he push his innate gift to the limit, giving him the most benefit?

Keith just acquired his innate gift, yet his first action miraculously stepped onto a path only the powerful understood, something Keith had yet to realize. The best way to grow your innate gift was to find synergies with other innate gifts!

There were billions of innate gifts across the known world, but which would work best with yours? Perhaps Keith had found a perfect synergy with Adeiv’s, or perhaps a more fantastic synergy existed!

Only by exploring the world, expanding your horizons, and meeting new people would your power grow. Today, Keith’s first step as an adult allowed him to establish a relationship with the Contractor, Adeiv Strinde. It was a step in the right direction, and on the day he acquired his innate gift, no less.

At this time, Adeiv stood to his feet and withdrew his magic tablet. “Alright, I need to make some calls so I can begin utilizing these skills right away. If you have any concerns or questions, just give me a call. Here’s my personal contact information.”

“Okay, it was a pleasure meeting you.” Keith took out his magic tablet and added Adeiv to his contacts.

As Keith turned to leave, Adeiv thought of something. “You should receive money about once a week, as my workshop sells products in bulk.”

“I understand. I’ll wait expectantly,” Keith replied, inwardly feeling impatient, wondering how much money he’d make from this partnership. Seeing that the meeting was over, Doven's smile spread wider after knowing their next destination.

Keith shook his head upon seeing this, deciding he should pick up some candy for his sisters as well. Now that his first task of the day was successful, Keith regained his usual confidence as he used multiple public teleportation portals until he arrived before Carmin’s Candy Emporium in the capital.

As soon as Keith entered, Doven rushed past him, heading towards the jawbreaker section. Keith himself walked over to a section favored by elves, where he found rows upon rows of floral candies imported from the Elven Domain. This candy was a crystalline plant filled with sugar, having a rubbery texture.

Keith paid for the candy at the counter before heading home. Upon entering through the doorway, Ridger informed him that Mariane was out doing a mission for the mercenary guild and wouldn’t return for a few days. Keith sighed helplessly, knowing his mom was somewhat of a battle junkie. She couldn’t sit home and relax for more than a few hours before she felt restless.

Keith didn’t mind his mom leaving to make some money and stretch her muscles, but his aunt always took this chance to come over and visit whenever she did. Keith didn’t know what occurred between the two sisters, but they consistently avoided each other and never appeared in the same place at the same time. He didn’t hate his aunt, but with her arrival came training, cruel and torturous training.

Sure enough, when the sun hit the horizon, shadows suddenly covered the mansion, announcing the arrival of a powerful persona. In the courtyard on the pagoda, a womanly figure cloaked in black miasma appeared. The thick fog covered her body from head to toe, masking her features from prying eyes. This person was Keith’s aunt, Serilla.

As she approached the mansion, the shadows in the garden shuddered with her every step. Before she could reach the front door, it abruptly opened as Keith appeared, a shadow clone clasping his neck. The miasma covering Serilla’s face formed a sneer. “Hmph, when will you stop trying to hide from me? I am inevitable!”

“Oh, Auntie, what a surprise. Um, how are you?” Keith forced out a smile. He was hiding in the bathroom just a moment ago, but his Aunt didn’t seem to have any shame as a shadow clone formed next to him before dragging him to the front door. What if he had been using the restroom for real?

Keith felt miserable at knowing what was about to occur. At this time, it was just him and his Aunt. Even Ridger failed his duties as a butler of greeting guests and shut himself in his gym. As for his sisters, his aunt treated them like strangers, so they similarly ignored her. She only treated Keith as family, something that displeased him greatly.

“You better have practiced Void Shadowstep this past week, or else, hmph!” Serilla spoke as she pulled out a small transparent cube before activating it. The cube expanded, forming a small door next to her. Pulling Keith along, they passed through the door, entering a dimension the size of a neighborhood. It was in this enormous white space that Serilla oversaw Keith’s training.

[Epic] Pocket Dimension

Description: A tiny piece of a dimension stored in a cube that the user can access freely.