Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 344 EROS

I came to in a large room. Rows of people around me. They appeared all rather young. Checking my pockets there was no cell phone but I did have a weird metal disc in one pocket. Circular, it was reflective enough to show my image. 

I was Weston Woon. 18 years old, I was in line to get my Job. The metal disc in my pocket was a monitoring device that all kids got when they turned 16. Once a month all the kids that turned 18 that month gathered to turn the discs in so they could be assigned a Job. It wasn’t really a job in the 9 to 5 sense. This Job was more like the Jobs from Final Fantasy Tactics, or a class system from Dungeon and Dragons. People would get jobs like mage, rogue, and warrior. Of course there were rare Jobs too, but they were few and far between.

The Job system had been set up since ancient times. And by ancient I meant thousands of years. These Jobs allowed different skills and gains as you leveled up. Some people, if they became strong enough, would have chances to gain quests. These quests were rumored to be assigned by the gods themselves. The timeline mostly modern day people believed in the Greek, Roman, Norse, Hindu, and most any gods. Praying to them more than a few around me whispered to the unseen gods currently. 

“Byeun Hancock!” A voice yelled from the front of the room. My wife stepped out of the crowd toward the man. Showing her silver disc the man took it and set it on a large glowing orb. After a moment her disc turned red then white and disappeared. Hancock looked at an invisible screen with a wide smile on her lips. Ignoring the pain of my body increasing in muscle mass as my World Lasting Physique kicked in.

“Byuen Hector!” The man at the front of the room yelled. A boy that appeared to be Hancock’s twin stood. The 2 passed one another. 

“Hancock,” I rasped at her. Both brother and sister turned. Hancock looked at me confused for a moment but put on a wide smile as she recognized me. Waving, she mouthed some words, but I couldn’t hope to guess what they were. Her brother glared daggers at me as I nodded at her like I understood. She moved back to her spot in the crowd and the brother headed to the front. Getting his own Job from the strange orb I looked at my notification. 

“That’s not good,” I mumbled. Nothing with gods ever was. Most mythology included Zeus sticking his dick in someone he shouldn’t have. I hoped that wouldn’t be a concern for me. The procession went alphabetically so I was near the end of course. 

When it was my turn I walked up and did as the others had done. Giving my disc to the old man he set it on the orb and I got a new screen. 

“What the shit,” I mumbled. I didn’t even worship Eros. From what I could remember he was the god of tits and wine from Greek Mythology. I received a few more notifications from my new Job and Challenger Status Screen as I moved back to my seat. 

“Seriously?” I asked, amazed as I read the notifications again and again. Curious how it worked I looked at a girl in front of me and thought of the Love Gauge. Instead of it being a skill, it was actually more of a Bonus. Like an evolution to the increased vision bonus. A small bar appeared next to her head. A heart on top, it and the bar below it were gray. A small sliver of pink at the bottom I guessed she wasn’t very interested. Shaking my head I wasn’t too sure how to take all this, but it sounded kind of fun. 

“Now,” the man said from the dais. His hands raised to draw our attention back to him. “Embark on your new journeys in life. The gods have granted you a power that man cannot hope to fathom. What you do with that power will lead us to the future. Go forth, and challenge Olympus itself with these god-given jobs.” People clapped and we all began talking at once. A good hundred kids all around me, we had turned 18 within the last month or so. 

Living in the capital city of Romul we lived in a world of beastkin, elves, dwarves, and most every other fantasy creature. Having lived in the human part of town my entire life I still had daily run-ins with the other species. We tended to keep to our own side of town though. The other species would most likely be going through their own ceremony to reveal their Jobs in their section of town. 

“What did you get?” Timmy asked. He was a shorter guy that had been my friend since we were kids.

“Just a warrior one,” I lied. “You?” 

“Rogue,” he said. “Who was that girl you whispered to?”

“A very special woman,” I said walking out of the large ceremony room. I noticed Hancock and her brother to the side. Making my way to them she spread her arms out. Taking me into a hug.

“What did you get?” I whispered. 

“Check my notifications,” she reminded. I nodded but pulled away as I felt her brother’s anger peak. 

“Hancock, darling,” I said, ignoring the man. “As beautiful as ever. And this…must be your, brother?” I asked, turning to him. 

“Yep, this is my twin brother, Hector,” Hancock said. “Don’t mind him. He’s always in a bad mood.” 

“I can see that,” I said, turning from the man that practically burned with rage. I guessed he might have been a closet siscon or something. “Shall we grab dinner?”

“Not right now,” Hancock said. “We are getting dinner with my parents.”

“Of course, let me guess, you’re a…princess?”

“Close,” she said with a laugh. “Our parents run a mana crystal processing facility.”

“Ohh, fancy,” I said. 

“Can you call me tonight?” She asked.

“Maybe. I got a quest,” I said.

“Really?” She asked. “Already?”

“Yes, the type only you and I can do.” 

“Of course, you should check out my own,” she said, a wide smile on her lips. I checked her notification and she too had a quest. 

“Fun. I think you can manage on your own,” I said. 

She nodded but asked, “And your Job?” 

“Connected to my Chikyugi,” I said after some thought.

Her eyes flashed with excitement. “Then yes, be sure to call me tonight,” she said. 

“I’ll try,” I assured. She laughed and leaned forward, kissing my cheek. 

“You better,” she whispered. Her brother grabbed her arm and practically dragged her away.

“What the hell was that?” Timmy asked, his eyes wide. “I’ve never seen you talk so smoothly to a girl. And what was that about a quest? You actually got one? They’re super rare.” 

“I’ll tell you all about it,” I said. Grabbing his shoulder I dragged him away and lied through my teeth as I explained. 

—

Job Assignment was always a big event. Back in the day kids that turned 18 and got their job would party a little too hard. Since the legal drinking age in our country was 19, kids that just got their Jobs were getting arrested all the time. So the city legalized alcohol for 18 year-olds in certain clubs around the vast city. For a whole month you could go to one of these clubs and party it up, until the next batch of Job Assignments were let out. 

Timmy and a few others from our school decided to go to a local club called Mananight. At the club were mostly humans but different species joined in as well. Most species stuck together but there was an obvious classism in the city. Elves were at the top, then humans, then beastkin, then orcs, trolls, goblins. There were a few other species in the city but those species were the majority of the population. 

“How did your parents take the news of you being a Rogue?” I asked Timmy. 

“Good. They don’t want me to end up in jail like my Uncle, but his Job was Thief so it was expected of him.”

“Got any plans once school is out?” Eric asked. He was another friend from school. We all had drinks in hand, sipping them as we congregated together. One thing I had learned while jumping worlds was if I had the memories of my past self, the activities they found fun, were also fun to me. Old Weston’s highlight was hanging out with these guys. Granted he didn’t know how to talk to girls, but still. I knew all about the friends around me so I enjoyed hanging out with them. 

“I’m thinking Plainswalker,” I admitted. 

“What?! Since when?” Timmy asked. 

“Since I got my Job,” I admitted. Plainswalker was this world’s version of a Dungeon Diver or Tower Climber. In God World there were doors, the majority of them took you to world surfaces of other planets or dimensions or whatever. You could fight monsters, gain quests, find resources, most anything. It was rare to find quests in our world, but they did happen. Which was what I was working on as I spoke to the other guys. 

“You would never catch me doing that,” Timmy said. I nodded, most people found it too dangerous. Maybe 1 in a million became successful Plainswalkers. 

“What about you?” I asked. 

“Probably work in my dad’s…,” Timmy spoke on. I listened halfheartedly. My eyes scanning I used a Journeyman Eye on him. 

One amazing part of my Journeyman Eye was that it could see other people’s information. With my new Love Gauge I scanned the room around me looking for a pretty woman to hit on. I had summoned Hancock before going out to drink, but she wanted to spend time with her family. I was supposed to summon her later on in the night, but without cell phones I would most likely make it later rather than sooner. 

In the meantime I could practice my new skill and have some fun as all 18 year-olds should. I scanned the room, continuously casting Journeyman Eye until I found someone interesting. 

She was a tall woman. Light gray hair down to her shoulders. Firm bust that was hidden behind a baggie hoodie. Wearing sweats and flip flops she appeared to be trying to shy away from the fun. Surrounded by other girls I could tell she was popular, but tried to play down her beauty with her baggy clothes. Her Job sounded interesting as well. Paladins were healers, but any Job with 2 names was automatically more rare than others. I didn’t know what a Highland Paladin was, but I wanted to find out. Curious how she was already level 1 and why she would downplay her looks, I excused myself from my friends and headed for her group. 

“Hello, ladies,” I said, interjecting during a lull in the conversation. 

“Go away,” one of the girls said immediately. 

“I’m good,” I said, ignoring her. “Can I buy a drink for everyone but her?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a drink,” one of the girls said. Using my Love Gauge on all of them the meter went up slightly for some, and the girl I snubbed somehow dropped to a new gauge that I assumed was hate. The heart on top was Xed out and the gauge was slowly rising. 

I pulled a gold coin out of my status screen. It became the currency of the world. With a mana crystal engraving on one side and gryphon on the other they were mainly used by the elves. Grabbing a waitress’ attention I ordered drinks for the 6 girls around me. 

“How’d you do that?” One of the girls asked. 

“Which part?” I asked. 

“Pulling the gold coin out of thin air.”

“Related to my job, I’m a…Trickster.” 

“Trickster? Haven’t heard of that job,” one said.

“They used to be quite common. Guess I’m bringing it back. I can do all sorts of parlor tricks.” I pulled a few more coins out of thin air then put them back. “I’m really here recruiting for a new Plainswalker team.” 

“Here? Why?” Eleska asked. This was the first time she spoke. She had a strong but sweet voice that was drawing my attention more and more. 

“Don’t know. Thought it best to start a team at level 0,” I said with a shrug. “Why? Interested?”

“With a Trickster?” She asked, giving me a shake of her head. 

“What? I could use a healer in my team,” I said, giving her my most confident smile. 

“And what makes you think I’m a healer?” She asked. 

“One of my many skills told me,” I said. 

“I thought you just got your Job today,” one of the girls asked as our drinks came. 

“Oh, see me at the ceremony?” I asked. “I did, but as a Trickster I can’t reveal all my secrets. Even that isn’t my real Job.” 

“Then what is it?” Eleska asked. 

“I am a new and improved Battle-mage-artificing-ninja-combat-mechanized-thunder-tiger,” I said. “It’s a very advanced Job. The Job Assignment Orb must have been updated with a new patch.” 

“And what can a…Battle-mage do?” Eleska asked. Intrigued by me, her Love Gauge raised slightly. I was starting to enjoy the skill. 

“What can’t I do?” I asked. “See Jobs perhaps? Intimidation. Cast spells. Disappear in shadows.” 

“All at level 0?” Eleska asked, a wry smile on her lips.

“Who said I was level 0?” At level-up people would get 2 stat points to play with and the chance at skills. Since most stats started at 10, I was basically level 40. “Would you care to see some of my skills?” I asked. 

“Sure,” Eleska said with a shrug. “Consider me interested.” 

I extended my hand out. She took it and I pulled her over to one of the booths. Her group had a stunned look on their faces, as did my friend group. All too afraid to approach the opposite sex it was easy to face the risk of rejection when I could summon my kinky girlfriend with a thought. For now I was enjoying this world though. There were far too many possibilities to pass up. I didn’t know what this Eros Candidate business was, but it sounded fun.