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CHAPTER 15 – THE STUDENT COUNCILS
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With the addition of Gene into the team, Bunny got greedy. She decided to maximize the amount of troops she could muster.
With default leadership, any player could lead a team of 5. Leading animals had half the requirement, so the party number doubled. Adding 'Animism' stat, to the equation, Gene, who had zero experience leading any parties became a leader of 10 animals. Angel who had been doing night hunts as a 'Raid Leader' could lead a party of 13 animals.
The troops allocation assigned 4 rabbits per squad, so both Gene and Angels became 'Raid Leaders' controlling 2 squads each. Their reminding numbers were filled up with the cats and squirrels.
Bunny was the overall commander, adding both Gene's and Angel's parties into her 'Raid Group' by assigning them as 'Raid Leaders' using her 'Raid Commander' skill. With her 'Animal Trainer' skill, which halved again the Leadership and Animism requirements for animals, as well as her inflated stats, she could lead a whopping 24 more rabbits.
For those who didn't bothered to count, current number of rabbits can amount to 40!
With only 20 rabbits originally, Bunny had requested Gene, the only one who could leave the city, to top-up the numbers. Given that younger rabbits evolved faster, Gene was tasked with finding the youngest possible.
Gene didn't disappoint, he had somehow found 6 level 1 rabbits, the smallest Bunny ever saw, as well as 14 default small ones at Level 2. With the addition, the sewer raid that followed were fast-paced and spectacular.
During his first sewer raid, Gene proved that he didn't just read in the library, he had a good understanding of strategy as well as troop management. The group then tried out various formation and fighting style on the weaker rats, which made the stronger dire rats seemed easy. Even the rabid rats, plague rats, as well as the “Rat king” fell before the new formations.
Gene had also suggested Bunny to try high pitch screeching. Making use of the bonus hearing from her new earmuffs, Bunny managed to create a new skill called 'Echolocation'. This was a useful skill to map out the area, especially good at finding paths hidden by the natural terrain.
*****
Sunday Night, 11pm.
Alan exit his capsule. He had been playing over for 10 hours again, missing dinner. While feeding himself sandwiches he made earlier, he recollected his thoughts.
Unlike his previous avatars, Bunny had a huge gain right from the start. Ignoring the Unique Title, Skills to handle animals and Hidden Class, Bunny made good friends.
Thinking about his new online friends brought a smile to Alan's face:
Angel was shy to strangers, but since he got to know her better, she was actually quite an extrovert. She didn't like to be alone and always initialed conversations. She would always drag Bunny around, even in the sewers. From his' perspective, she was rather pretty, friendly, looks out for people and easy to converse with. Compared to his sister, she was less fickle, sometimes stubborn, but willing to compromise. In short: extremely good girlfriend material.
Gene on the other hand was extremely meek, always starting with an 'umm...' on every sentence. Gene didn't volunteered to start many conversations, and he seemed to be in deep thoughts most of the time. Initially, Alan didn't like Gene due to accidents, but after knowing him better, Alan's impression of him wasn't bad. To him, Gene seemed like a younger sibling he never had, needing to look after and protect.
Alan's revery was suddenly broken by a discovery. The way Angel and Gene had interacted with each other. They were of different genders but often seen holding hands... more like Angel dragging Gene around... But they were acting too friendly. Alan didn't react earlier because Angel had dragged Bunny around too, but Bunny in the game was a girl. Could they be boy/girl friends?
Green with jealousy, Alan pitied himself, all 16 years of his life, he never had a girlfriend, and would not have one for the next 2 years. His crush didn't want a relationship until college, so he had to wait. He wasn't afraid she would be snatched away, because he was the only male in school she ever talked to.
Shaking away his irritation, Alan went to bed. Attending school was never boring, as that was the place he could interact with his crush.
*****
Monday morning came. While there are lots of people suffering from Monday blues, Alan was actually happy. Walking with a skip, he reached the high school he was attending. First place to be, the Student Council Room.
The High school Alan attended had a pathetic policy regarding student leadership. The person with the highest combined test score would be named Student President, Second highest net the Vice President. The highest scorer for English would be the Secretary while the best in Maths filled the role of Treasurer.
The reason Alan studied extremely hard was to keep his position as Vice President, so he could see his crush, Jeanne, who took the position of Secretary. Jeanne would always arrive 10 minutes before class and rest in the Student Council Room. Alan would arrive around the same time to spent a little quiet moment in her company. They almost never talk but Alan was happy simply being there.
Jeanne was an extremely shy girl. She could hold short conversations with other girls but with any male, including teachers, she would start to stutter or stammer. Contrary to her speech, her ability in written language nets her the undisputed top rank for the subject. Due to their constant morning meetings, Jeanne could somehow talk to Alan normally... assuming that exchanging less then 10 words daily was considered 'Talk Normally'.
The Student Council Room could only be accessed by its members. Those who earned their places, were rewarded with a quiet lounge shared by other members, they also had personal desk and lockers to keep their stuffs. The council was only in name, its members had neither direct power nor responsibilities. In the corner of the room sat a capsule, owned and used by a gaming addict called Student President.
The President, named Luke, wasn't normal. He played games all day and nobody ever saw him study, but somehow he always attained the highest combined test score. From what Alan heard, both his parents were Dark Gamers... In a way, his whole family's income revolved around playing games. Since his inauguration into president, he even brought a capsule and started playing during school hours; This made many teachers happy, because he wouldn't be in class to affect other students. Regardless of his notoriety with the adults, Luke was friendly with Alan.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The topic Alan and Luke talk most about was RR. Luke had very in-depth knowledge of any game he played. When Alan started playing RR, Luke gave him many pointers, including an account to access the 'Dark Gamers Union'. When they talked about professions in RR, Luke always said this:
“Every profession are equal, a farmer can just as easily kill an enemy as a warrior. He just needed to know how to do it using his skills. You are limited only by your own preconception, if you think farmers can only grow vegetables.”
Alan had always thought Luke was joking, but after looking at what Bunny achieved, he started to understand the meanings behind Luke's wisdom.
*****
It was lunch time and the cafeteria is crowded, Alan took refuge in the Student Council Room with his lunchbox, finding Luke just getting out of his Capsule.
“So, how is your new avatar?” Luke asked, while taking a thermos flask out of his bag.
“I unlocked a few hidden classes” Alan replied happily.
“Unlocked? A few? You sure?” Luke's curiosity was piqued. Unlocking a hidden class meant Alan was the first to have it. Alan mentioned a few, which meant more then 1.
“Very sure, I made a few friends and got some really unique classes”
“That's good, mind sharing the names?” Luke asked while uncapping his flask
“Then you must tell me your class too” Alan offered
“Alright!” Luke agreed, then started drinking milk from his flask
“Let's see, Ungodly priest, Animist Druid and Phantasm Breeder”
*Pfff* The reply Alan got was a splash of milk ejected from Luke's mouth.
“Ewww! That's dirty! What are you thinking?” Alan groaned. Looking to see Luke coughing while choking on the remaining milk he hadn't spew out, he asked “Is it that shocking?”
Luke just dumbly nodded, causing more milk to escape his mouth dripping down his chin.
It took Luke a few minutes to calm down as well as clean up. Finally becoming composed again, he said: “I never expected you to play a breeder, what got into you?”
“Nothing, I just happened to find out some secrets and one thing led to another... weren't you the one who always claimed all professions are equal?” Alan retorted.
“Yes, I said that, but I never expected you to do it. Also, what god did you pray to, it is some insane level of luck to get that super-rare class before even finishing your confinement.”
“Is it that rare? I thought lots of people unlock hidden professions as a newbie”
“No! What most people gain are simply upgraded professions, not the top tier super profession... sigh... Guess I have to tell you about my profession in order for you to understand” Luke sigh at his friend's ignorance, then continued
“Farmer and Breeders are paired into what is called Producers... Just like Sculptors and Painters are paired as the Artist, Bard and Dancers as Performers... and so on... The upgraded profession, or what you called hidden class for Producers are 'All-Weather Farmer' and 'All-Season breeder'. Those are not difficult to obtain.
What you had, is one of the top tier hidden jobs of producers, namely 'Fantasy Farmer' and 'Phantasm Breeder'. It took me 4 months and doing a B rank quest just to unlock 'Fantasy Farmer' while you got yours in less then a week.”
Looking to see that Alan was dumbstrucked and finally understanding his gain, Luke added
“But seriously, why would you go play a girl? I never thought you a pervert before”
Snapping out immediately since his identity was found out Alan rebutted.
“How did you know that... Wait... how did you know I used the breeder when I named 3 classes”
“Well... you see... ermm... ah... Oh, I got connections, as a top tier farmer, I got wind of someone attaining the similar top tier production job, so I checked it out. I only know it was a girl who got the job... oh... erm... You also used to play knight, so I doubt you will play something support types like priest or druid, so I just guessed... then... you also admitted you are the breeder.” Luke answered uneasily.
Luckily Alan was brain was full of his unique class to notice.
“Anyway, why did you play a female?” Luke questioned again changing the topic away.
“Oh, I wanted something different, goody-two-shoes doesn't fit me” Alan replied
“Hahaha, that is our Alan, the unpredictable one”
“Ah! Shut it... since you know my identity, can you keep it a secret?”
“You know my business, I buy and sell information, but info on my friend will cost lots” Luke laughed
“Arrggg... you and your business... but I doubt anyone would pay you to know such things”
“I am not so sure...” Luke teased.
While the two boys were bickering, a girl entered the room
“Am I intruding on you guys?” she asked while taking a seat at her personal desk.
“Not at all Lina, we were just finished” Luke answered nonchalantly, while Alan just sit quietly. He didn't want more people to know his secret. Looking at the clock and finding lunch time almost over, he decided to return to class.
“Luke, remember what I said, don't sell it” Alan was trying to be discreet.
“Alright, but I maintain my stand, and I doubt anyone will really pay for such info” Luke replied
“Hmpf” Alan snorted before leaving
This exchange got the girl interested, after waiting for Alan to be out of earshot she asked
“So what is the big thing?”
“You remember the request you asked this morning?” Luke questioned her question.
“Yes?”
“He is your answer, Miss Angelina” Luke replied seriously
“Huh?”
“You remember what you told Jeanne last month when she got a capsule?”
“Yeah, and she is still embarrass about it”
“Well, our dear Alan is in the same situation
“WHAT!!!”
“Do you think it is fate?”
“...”
The Treasurer of the Student Council, Angelina, was totally speechless. As someone who was the star of the mathematics department, someone who was used to logic and calculations. Something that was mathematically near-impossible, something with less then a billionth chance to happen, just happened.
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