A/N : This entire story had to be reworked to support my vision, and then some personal emergencies regarding health came up so I apologise for such a long delay in updating the next chapter.
But from now on, the chapters would be more or less weekly as I also have other stories planned. Do check them out if they have been published when you read this.
Peace.
— — —
[Wake Up, Elric.]
A deep, masculine voice echoed inside the head of a young man lying on the floor. He also felt a strange sensation throughout his entire body.
'Ahhh. My head!'
[The pain will go away in time, fret not as it is just a simple migraine.]
"...Huh?" He asked aloud, slowly getting up to sit as his body failed to muster enough strength to properly stand up.
Glancing around, his entire body throbbed with pain, but despite that he kept looking to find nothing but white space.
Not the uncomfortable kind, but just plain white that would make your eyes hurt if you stare too long, but also give you a feeling of cleanness, comfort and silence.
[Welcome to The Hot White Room.]
Elric just gave a slow dazed blink. "What do you mean? Who are you?"
[This is the pocket space created by your skill]
Elric knew that he should be alarmed by the situation yet the only thing in his mind and in his heart was deep tranquility that was both incomprehensible and frightening. "And how did I get here, Sir…?"
[You were reincarnated. We made a deal before your death. You may call me Benn]
'Oh yeah.' Memories flashed through his mind, distant like the sun on the horizon, yet still personal enough to be impactful. Fragmented, but still coherent to at least be used as a reference.
It was like watching a drama unfold in a completely empty theater, where the only audience & actor is you.
Elric gave a short nod of acknowledgement. "What did that deal entail?" He asked and immediately noticed the shift in tone of the voice in his head.
[Oh~ nothing much. Just you getting reincarnated and then joining my company, to become my employee in the outer worlds.]
"That sounds too much to be labeled as 'Nothing much'."
[Ehe~ I am just having fun. It always feels great to play the mysterious god~]
"What do you mean 'ehe'?"
[Anyways my friend, let's get down to the nitty gritty!]
"You sound pretty bipolar to me. Switching speech patterns so often. Are you okay? Should I be concerned?"
[Awww. My employee is worried about me? How often do you find that in this corporate slave world? My little minion is so cute~]
'Definitely something wrong with his mental state.' Elric cringed despite himself. Ignoring the very supposed alarming label, said, "Sir, respectfully, never call me cute in that tone again."
The voice changed again, this time sounding like a mature woman scolding a grown man in a not so innocent environment.
[So you'd prefer a more feminine tone~ um?]
"..." The so-called employee was speechless. "Can we really get to the details of our contract?"
[Sure~ You died by—]
Elric cut him off sharply, "Please Sir, If I chose to forget about how I died and 'details' of my previous life, it must have been for a reason."
[Oho. How do you know that?]
"It's a basic deduction. Knowledge is always advantageous, particularly of a life you have lived before."
[Glad that you haven't become a dumb young master who considers himself to be special just because of being reincarnated with some memories of their previous life.]
"No. I am quite disposable for a being who can cross worlds and revive the dead."
Looking up, Elric gave a small but an understanding smile. "What is there to be arrogant about? Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was my fate? It doesn't change that you hold my life in your hands now. And I will have to do what you tell me to, one way or the other."
[Hey, hey! Don't frame me like I am some kind of evil tyrant! I'll have you know that I treat my employees like my children!]
"Then I thank you in advance, sir. Now, should we really waste our time dwelling on such things when we can discuss more important aspects of my new life?"
[Hmph. You meanie. I wasn't the one who cut someone off mid sentence.]
"..."
By now, Elric was getting a pretty good idea of what kind of Patron he had.
After what felt like the voice huffing directly into his head, it continued.
[Sooo. Your full name is Elric Armstrong. Both present and the past.]
Elric hummed. "And this space? You said this is a pocket dimension, but not of what kind."
[This space is created by your Skill.]
"Skill?"
[Skills are special abilities granted to the people of the Cardinal World. It's like a new limb, you are instinctually aware, and can utilize it without knowing anything about it.]
[And yeah. Cardinal World is one of the worlds connected and directly accessible worlds through your Skill.]
The still sitting young man frowned. "But mine is different right? What is the nature of my Skill then?"
[It's an artificial one, granted by yours truly. Called 'Consultant'. It's a Unique Skill.]
"… Am I supposed to know what that means?"
[I am not going to spoon-feed you everything, one of the core conditions of our contract was that you wanted to discover things on your own.]
"Sigh. Fair enough. What does this Skill do?"
[It allows you to make deals. And grow stronger through them. Directly or indirectly.]
"..."
[....]
"That's it?"
[I mean, it isn't a proper Skill, but a Gift. Though it does have other functions, such as this pocket space, another for your temporary living and some nice things for you to discover.]
Elric let out a low whistle. "A 'Gift' huh? By your tone, you don't mean a gift as a present to be freely given, right?"
[Hehe~ nice catch. Yes. Gifts are related to the second world you are connected to.]
"And that is?"
[Little Garden. A very strange but amazing nexus world where all types of beings reside!]
[Look, I made your Gift to be special. If scaled, it would be on the level of 5 digits in Little Garden, a classification associated with gods.]
[This pocket dimension is actually located in a void between all the outerworlds of Little Garden, but it also runs adjacent to the cardinal world— Another Nexus world of different origin and form.]
"Huh. Thank you again, Benn. For going to such lengths for me. Now, what is my job as your employee as you repeatedly emphasised?"
[To not be boring of course!]
"Pardon?"
[You will be livestreamed to other gods for all things you do! Orv style!]
"Orv?" 'Wasn't that a very hyped novel of some kind? Everyone on social media calling it 'Peak'?
[Nothing. Just a reference.]
"You still haven't told me how I must be interesting? Do I have to dance for those gods? Sing? Cook? Do What exactly?"
Instead of receiving a reply, he heard a finger snap, and his vision blurred, being instantly transported to a new space from "The Hot White Room"
The place he appeared was an office of some kind. Sitting on a very plush chair that made him instinctively lean back and relax all the tension in his body.
'Wah…. That's something.' He thought in astonishment.
The walls were painted a shade of blue he never even knew existed, decorated with paintings that would cost more than mansions just by appearances, with furniture so beautiful that it might qualify for national treasure.
The smell of the air was indescribable, but very pleasant and calming. The temperature was just comfortable enough to fall asleep.
Opulent beyond anything he had known, but regardless of all that, he felt like it was his home.
His eyes were instinctually drawn to the door as if someone was controlling his eyes to look.
[Many people will walk from that door. All you have to do is make deals with them, help them to whatever they ask you to for a fair price.]
Elric straightened in his seat. "Are there any requests that I must reject? The limits of making deals?"
[No. The boundaries, extent of action, content, price details and other such things are to be decided by our consultants. They enjoy complete autonomy in this regard, though certain high-ranking missions must be processed by me before you can accept them.]
"Oddly generous of you."
[What can I say? I am just that great of a boss. Praise me more.]
[Oh yes. I forgot to mention, you will also receive missions and rewards from all the people who are watching your livestream. They can also give you missions, and depending on the rank of that being's patronage, you may not be able to refuse it.]
"... Anything else I need to be aware of?"
[Not that I can think of. But if you have a query, do speak it aloud and say my name when you are alone, I will answer it.]
Benn's attitude did a 180 again as he spoke with real threat behind his previously jovial voice.
[But be warned, Elric Armstrong. My name isn't something that you can take lightly. There will be consequences that will be beyond anything you could fathom.]
"Understood. But I still have a question though. Is there anything specific you want to accomplish through me? I believe you can simply create more qualified people to do those jobs."
[…Yes there is. Yes, I can create them and have them do everything for me. But I won't.]
[Not only is it boring, it will also weaken me. And being weakened in the Little Garden as a 3 digit being is tantamount to suicide. Besides, I will grow stronger the more deals you make.]
"..."
[Don't you give me the silent treatment! Hmph. I'll see you. Now, explore your skills and get a handle on them.]
[Worry not about food and water. There is a kitchen in the back, full of ingredients that you can eat raw or cook if you like. It will last you a month. Before then, you must go to the outside world to collect more food and water.]
[Once I go, you will hear the voice of the world, so be ready and pay attention. Now, Elric, Bye Bye~ Have a happy new life~]
Then there was only silence.
Then another, more robotic but completely feminine voice alerted him.
Unique Skill 'Consultant' not functioning on full capacity. Repair the control circuits of the skill?
Yes/No
Knowing what it meant, He mentally commanded, 'Yes'
Processing.
Failure. Foreign data detected. Initiating safety counter measures.
Eliminating foreign data and control circuits.
Successful.
Attempting Skill repair.
Successful.
Restoring Skill functionality to maximum capacity. Successful.
The Unique Skill 'Consultant' now functions at full capacity.
Use Skill 'Consultant'?
Notice. It will activate the passive effects of the unique skill. Passive effects, once activated, cannot be deactivated.
Yes/No
'Yes. Yes. Yes. Lemme rest already.'
Notice. 'Mission Alert' has become active.
Notice. 'Patron Alert' has become active.
Aside from those two, he could intuitively feel and know all the other sub skills his Unique Skill had. All of them are simple in naming and transparent in function.
'The Mission Board' listed all active tasks given to him by his so-called Patrons. It also transmitted mission details to him.
'Mission Log' listed every mission, be they completed, rejected or otherwise failed.
'Contract Log' did the same as mission log, but for contracts, the main functionality of his skill/gift.
He didn't understand much about 'Base' but it gave him the feeling that it controlled his office and residence in some way.
So "The Hot White Room" was a separate thing after all. Maybe loosely connected to his 'Gift' but not one of its subskills.
… … …
Elric released a long sigh of relief, relaxing back in his chair. A strange exhaustion hit him like a truck on a holy mission.
His eyes began dropping, heavy from the unknown form of exhaustion.
Letting out a very big yawn, he thought, 'Finally some quiet. I will go through everything once I wake up.'
Albeit the much needed silence didn't last long, as he heard a mental chime, names began flashing directly into his mind.
['Die By The Thighs' has subscribed to you and will join once the mission begins]
['Wise Old Hag' has subscribed to you and will join once the mission begins]
['Boner For Power' has subscribed to you and will join once the mission begins]
['The Polymath Painter' has subscribed to you and will join once the mission begins]
['Sower Of Discords' has subscribed to you and will join once the mission begins]
'Subscribers huh. Nah. Lemme sleep, I will deal with them after I wake up.'
But it appeared to be as the world itself was against his rest and peace as with another mental chime, the door flew open and from it came a child no more than 12 or perhaps 13 years old.
Elric gazed at the newcomer with half lidded eyes, irritation slowly bubbling to the surface.
He was dressed in a high collar short sleeved blue shirt, grey pants, some hand warmers of the same color and strange sandals that looked way out of place with everything else.
The face of the child was also peculiar because Elric had a very strong feeling that he should know this person but didn't.
At least that duck-like hairstyle was pretty iconic.
'Wait, Sas—'
He was cut off from his thoughts as all hell went loose.
— — —
Lemme give you a summary of the Unique Skill
Unique Skill : Consultant - Moreso a 'Gift' created by a Three Digit Entity known as "Benn", is a special ability tailor made for "His" employees. It allows them to make contact with other beings, and even objects in certain cases, and gain strength from it, aside from an agreed upon payment from the party receiving service from the consultant. It also comes with other features to better accommodate the vaunted employees of Isekai Consultancy Corporation. Note : the ability to make contracts and define their scope is an authority of the skill, and not an auto executable power. The user must learn themselves how to apply their authority of contracts.
1. Base - the first and foremost important skill of a consultant, their office. It also extends as a place of residence for the homeless one. This subskills allows them to lay claim to an area and declare it their 'Base', if no dispute is raised, that area comes in the Divine Protection of The Lord Of Conflicts (name redacted). In this area, no amount of harm can ever cause death, and all death related effects are negated. Pain is still experienced, and conflicts do arise. But 'Benn' expects "His" consultants to manage it on their own.
2. Mission Alert - Whenever any of the patrons publish a mission, it will notify the user and allow them to accept or reject it..
3. Patron Alert - Whenever a valued patron needs something extra in their mission without paying for it, or just chat with the user, they can utilise this medium and do so. It also alerts the user when their patron is happy, angry, satisfied with their progress, or when a new patron joins. Note; Once a patron joins a mission, they cannot leave unless permitted by "Benn".
4. Mission Board - functions as a matrix to track the progress over all missions, and catalogue them in ways the user desires.
5. Contract Log - lists all contracts made by the user, their gains, and important details.