The mansion was literally built in the remains of a palace; it was a work of art. The old and the renovated mixed like oil and water to create an art piece that could be lived in.
Not that I could even enter the thing. I was restricted to working under supervision while cleaning cars that people could only dream of. He'll even I was slightly in awe of them while I cleaned. There, of course, were times when the guard went on break, which would be a good opportunity to leave and explore. But I was a new man, so despite my awe, I got the cleaning done and got paid. Suffice to say, when the maid handed me a briefcase full of cash, I was in shock.
50,000 dollars in cash
(I am just going to use dollars as currency. It's annoying and mind-hurting to convert yen and stuff. I ain't the smartest))
"It's for your exemplary work. Other freelance workers want a down payment, then just leave. The masters decided that your work is commendable. Have a good day."
That was basically all the explanation I got, as I was then escorted out of the grounds and the gate slammed behind me. Not that I minded.
I had 50,000 god damn green clean dollars to spend and a building to buy! I practically skipped down the road towards the building of my choosing. An old restaurant with a large back area for cooking and storage, with an upstairs area that was used for storage. And after a solid two days of negotiations, it was mine.
Plenty of space for booths and tables. Nice glass front with waist-height window pots. A perfect cat Cafe starter base.
"Looks like this is home for this life."
I had only just spoken the words standing outside my new place. Even if I were 15, a smile and some extra cash can get you a long way.
{Ding!}
{Homestead ability activated!}
{Reward received! Next Reward in 2 days}
{Reward!}
{Random Food Dispenser!}
{Seasoned Diablo Shrimp!}
{Reward!}
{Two Ability Rolls from the Wheel of Worlds}
{Fifty system points}
{One point to all stats!}
'Diablo Shrimp! Dude! That's insane! That shit was so good in my past life!'
'Use spin tickets, like why wait? Let's keep the luck going!'
{Two Ability Rolls exchanged!}
The sound of a roulette wheel sounded in my head. As I stepped inside my new home for some privacy.
Two separate dings sounded off, and I rubbed my hands.
{Ability received!}
{High Reverse Cursed Technique!}
{Using the natural curse energy in yourself, you have the ability to heal yourself from nearly impossible wounds.}
{Ability received!}
{Scorch Release!}
{The ability to fuse Fire and Wind techniques to create Scorch Release}
'…'
"You're shitting me, right?"
One was insanely useful; it saved Gojo from death by Toji. The other, I had no idea what it was, but it seemed to be something from Naruto. But here's the real kicker… I don't have cursed energy or chakra. Just checked… nope, don't have it. It was both frustrating and. No, it was just frustrating. I would have to wait until I pulled a Chakra threshold or a cursed energy capacity.
But first… Shrimp!
I immediately forgot about the points when the shop was just filled with sex toys, dick enlarging pills. Seduction drugs and all sorts of gonner shit. There was even a doll that, when wrapped with the hair of a woman, would transform into that woman for a night, willing to be used in any way. This lust system was getting kinda annoying.
But I had something just as cool, definitely not in the cafe vibe. But who cares? It's my Cafe.
I made my way to the back of the building and towards an area that would be perfect.
'Accept Diablo Shrimp machine.'
{Diablo Shrimp machine dispensed}
In a flash of pink and a rush of heat through my body that made it pretty uncomfortable, a sleek stainless steel machine with a conveyor belt that agent from inside the machine then out of it, and did a U-turn back into the machine. After plugging it in, the belt began to move, and after a moment, a nice plate of two Diablo shrimp steaming and sauce popping from the heat emerged. The customary tail shell was still on but easily removed.
I think that this is going to be a very successful cafe.
The next two days were just filled with cleaning and setting up the furniture I had bought for cheap. It wasn't the fanciest, but it certainly cost. I made sure to leave places for cat trees and other various things. At the end of my life i hope this place is like a cat lover's utopia. I just didn't have the money yet. It wasn't at the beginning of the third day that I was even thinking of changing my schedule. I needed to continue making money on my own until I could procure money for food, coffee, and other things people need.
Like good toilet paper. Everybody remembers a good bathroom.
{Ding!}
{Homestead ability activated.}
{Rewards Received! Next Reward in One Week}
{Rewards!}
{Two Ability rolls! One Item Roll!}
'Rewards vary with each milestone? Weird, but I am not complaining. I was half expecting to never even use the system.'
'Exchange'
{Two Ability Rolls Exchanged!}
{Ability Received!}
{Grimoire of Mars!}
{A book of magical ability to manipulate crystals. Base magic has been elevated to the level of Mars.
{Ability received}
{Skills and talents of Nagisa}
{The skills of a student assassin, include base strength buff, Discernment, Bloodlust, Clap Stunner, Stealth and Disguise, Knife skills and Marksmanship, Combat Expertise, Analytical Prediction, Mimicry}
{Note, disguise into the opposite sex has an enhanced chance of failure due to the previous owner's natural appearance.}
'Well damn, never hear me saying I won't need the system, this Homestead ability is broken!'
'Exchange'
{Item Roll Ticket Exchanged!}
{Item received!}
{Legendary Item}
{???}
{Claws meant to be worn by a king of all kings.}
{Gives the bearer enhanced empathy for the pain around him. The more faith in the bearer people around him have multiples base stats equal to the number of people.
They appeared and had a base material of some black steel with some sort of gold inlays that gave a regal air. They appear to only be worn on the pointer and middle fingers, along with the thumb on each hand.
(Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. They are from Record Ragnarok. Quin Shi Huang)
'Save those for later. And thank you, system. You may be a horny bastered but I'll take the loot.'
It didn't feel right to put them on just yet, and for the first time pull a legendary is super lucky. If the ranking systems were similar to other things I read, it would be pretty basic. Common, uncommon, rare, unique, legendary, and then mythic.
(Guys don't hate, it's the wheel's fault. I don't pre-plan these powers; they are literally taken from a wheel. I do veto some powers, like when I got Goku and Saitama in a row. Randomness is good storytelling, but controlled randomness keeps it fun.)
Pocketing them for now since I haven't gotten an inventory yet, Mars's ability is actually gonna be really beneficial. Ever heard of a cafe that deals in precious crystals? Neither have I. And that's the fun part.
Frankly, the ease of summoning his grimoire was actually amazing. It felt like I had done it hundreds of times; his skill and ability had been transferred as well. And with this assassin kid's ability, I eventually just sold all the knives I had originally gotten. Why, you may ask? Well, it's because I now have the sudden and irreversible urge to have perfectly balanced and razor-sharp knives. Even if I wasn't going to be the one using them.
The only problem I was running into was how to start selling the crystals. Even then, I just busied myself with creating intricate coffee mugs from the crystal. Why buy dusty old foam ones when you could drink from something that looked like a diamond?
Of course, I would still buy them for to-go orders, but that's not important. What's important was what happened a day later.
I was outside the front of the shop trying to figure out the right plants to have installed in the front when the sound of crackling pops and angry yells came from down the road. Turning, I happened to stare right into the eyes of a familiar green-eyed boy with curly green hair and true terror on his face.
The next steps happened before I even realized they happened. Grabbing the boy by the arm, I dragged him into the store and closed the door behind us. Then, placing a hand on his head, crystals engulfed his head like a second mask, with the entire bottom half left so he could breathe. Hair-like things shaped into the first thing I could think of, and Goku's hair appeared in the stuttering kid. Thanks, Nagisa.
Placing a finger over my mouth in the universal shushing motion, I went back to being casual as an angry, exploding dog raced past, stopping to glare into the store and glancing at Izuku before scoffing and racing off.
"…well. Your friend seems nice."
I finally said with a sigh and glanced back at Izuku, who was gazing at the world around him in wonder. Probably because of the light refraction. Probably looked like a kaleidoscope in there.
"Opp. Sorry about that. Here."
Waving a hand, the book appeared floating in the air, and the crystals crumbled around his head.
"Incredible! Is that your quirk? It's so amazing. Think of the structural stability you could give to collapsing buildings!-"
The muttering devolved into rambling, but this was apparently a thing he was bullied for, if I remember correctly. So I just let him talk as I went to the back to grab some shrimp and Soda I had stocked up on.
"It's not technically my quirk."
I figured answering his question would simply have him continue his rambling, as I figured it would. Instead, his eyes snapped to mine in a determined gaze, eager to learn. Call the kid meek all you want. His drive to learn and improve is unrivaled.
"Then what is it?"
"Getting ahead of ourselves? My names Logan Jane."
"Izuku, Izuku Midoriya. You don't look Japanese, are you American?"
Nodding while sliding him a drink and a plate of shrimp, Izuku looked surprised.
"Really! Your Japanese is perfect! Not even a hint of an American accent! Have you lived here long?"
"Not really."
Suddenly, Izuku seemed to realize I was a completely new person who had just saved him and immediately apologized so fast he sounded like an Apache helicopter.
"Dude, it's fine, bullies are the worst."
"K-Kachans not a bully… he's just intense."
Even he didn't seem to believe himself. I kinda just looked at him without talking for a long moment until Izuku began to murmur uncomfortably.
"… I don't know.."
"Good progress."
That seemed to stall Izuku for a moment while I took a bite of the shrimp I got for myself. God damn was it good. The flavor, the texture… absolute heaven.
Seeing this, Izuku hesitantly took a bite and nearly melted.
"Good, huh?"
"Yeah, so… thanks."
"You're welcome."
"… that's it?"
"Yep. Just tell people about my Cafe here. Haven't got a name yet."
"You own this?"
"Been my dream for a while."
Izuku finally took his time to actually look around the place. It was far from what it was three days ago. Crystal lights, plain but comfortable booths. Nice high chairs and tables at the front.
"This… it looks nice."
"Well, thank you, now I think you had some questions about my quirk?"
"OH! Yes! If it is not that book and the crystals, then what is it?"
"Probably one you haven't heard of before. It's kinda unique."
I tried to act smug, but was kinda just trying to get the kid to give some backbone and take the initiative.
"Well, if it is not that book, that means the book is only a part of your quirkwichmeansthatyouhavemultiplefacetsofyoyr-"
He quickly dissolved into muttering wich was kinda funny to watch. You could hardly tell this kid would become the street curb stomping nightmare of his vigilante arc. Still annoyed how that ended.
"That's sort of correct. My quirk is called Random Super Mutation."
"What kind of quirk is that? Its name suggests that it could be a mutation quirk, but with how you're able to make the book dissapere then it must be an emitter."
Now I was ent some idiotic dude who couldn't come up with an explanation for his powers, so I actually spent time flushing out a story.
"My quirk, at random times, never in response to something, mutates into something completely random, giving me different abilities that could range wildly. I never know the time, but from what I can tell, it takes longer and longer to be able to activate."
Izuku sat there for a solid minute, his mouth open with a very confused look on his face as he processed it.
"That… sounds…"
He paused as he realized what he was about to say was probably offensive to the people he was around, but I merely laughed.
"Yeah, but it has its moments."
"W-well, I'm sorry for troubling you with saving me."
"It's fine, feel free to hide out here anytime. Bullies suck, and abusive ones are the worst."
Izuku looked like he wanted to object, but I had already turned away. It wouldn't give him time to refute the statement and might make him dwell on it.