BXBX NOVEL Chapter 45: Civilian Life
The sheer toxicity within the RMC's environment really did a number on him. Even though, by all means, he's already a 'civilian', Cedric still felt that he didn't belong here. That being said, he had worked hard for this chance so there's no way he's wasting it.
He's still staying at a hotel, by the way. The week flew by unknowingly since there was just too much to catch up on. He didn't have time to hunt for an apartment. Luckily, he had no shortage of money, or else he'd be homeless by now.
Despite being in a new environment, Cedric didn't forget about his training. He'd been doing it for so long that it has been integrated into his being and he doesn't feel at ease if he didn't do it.
While he might be in a different place and had to adjust to it, it wasn't an excuse for him to neglect his training. By now, his progress has slowed down considerably but it's still moving at least.
On that note though, thanks to the Educational Plug-in he had installed with the System, he was able to discover answers to things that he had been curious about.
The one thing that struck him the most was how absolutely broken 『Learning』 was.
See, because he struggled with his Monthly Mandatory Service, he never had the chance to enroll in a Superhuman Academy. Sure, there were courses online but they didn't cover everything. Additionally, they are expensive too, and for a struggling man like him, he couldn't spare Demon Souls to enroll.
That's no longer a problem anymore though, and with the Educational Plug-in, his access to online courses became richer. He could browse for hours and he wouldn't run out of things to study.
Back to the subject at hand though, thanks to the 『Learning』 skill, he had learned and mastered; Superhuman 101 — the basics of Superhumans and the world they live in, 'Enochian' — which is an ancient language, and the several mundane subjects like; Modern Science, Physics, Mathematics, History, etc.
He quite literally breezed through those courses like a gust of wind. Hell, at one point, he even tackled two subjects at once - which wasn't hard at all thanks to his 『Multitasking』 skill.
Within a short week, he has surpassed the educational level of about 80% of the population of Black Thread City. He wasn't a certified genius just yet, but he'll only need time to get to that level.
Speaking of skills, he now has an answer as to why people couldn't abuse the 'Mastered(Lv.10) Learning' skill...
It's because, to them, it doesn't exist...
Well, the 『Learning』 exists but not as a Skill. It's a 'Perk' instead, which grants them 20% increased experience when leveling up their skills.
It's different for Cedric who had it as a skill that could also level up to 10. It's even more ridiculous that he got it at that level right from the start.
Similarly, the sensory skills such as; Vision, Smelling, Hearing, Tasting, and Feeling - well, they exist in some form but not like how it is for him.
For example, the 『Vision』 skill appears to others as: Eye of Insight, Mana Eyes, Spiritual Eye, Dark Vision, etc. Sure, they might appear as a 'skill' and be leveled up to 10, but they're still quite different from what Cedric has.
His 『Vision』 skill was the embodiment of those skills packaged into one. And frankly, at its maximum level, those skills can't just compare to what he has.
...this also applies to his other skills.
For Cedric, this meant that he had unknowingly turned into a unique existence. Not a lot of people could easily, or possibly, repeat what he just achieved. In short, he's an anomaly.
And that didn't really make him happy. He's already under close observation courtesy of their Demonic neighbors, he didn't want more attention to him if he could help it.
Thankfully though, it seems that nobody was bugging him about it yet. This gave him the idea that, so long as he kept it to himself, he could still pretend to be just another man out there.
The Educational Plug-in answered many of his questions so far, and he's really thankful for it. With the well of information he had access to, he could plan his future according and solve his problems one step at a time.
As for the Entertainment Plug-in, it's also useful. He has been having fun with it, allowing him to unwind and relax. He had also caught up with recent releases in games, movies, etc. It's a good way to pass the time, especially whenever he doesn't feel like sleeping.
The Communication Plug-in was the one that got the least use. While it offers a lot of functions in terms of communication improvements, Cedric doesn't have that many people to chat with so he didn't use it a lot.
He had some contacts in there, yes. There's Arishem - who he only contacted once so far and that's it. Aside from that, there are the Official CICs of the Authorities which the plug-in comes with, and two unnamed contacts of girls he had slept with so far in his stay here.
...what can he say? It wasn't his fault that he was hot. They're one-night stands though, Cedric made that clear before they did anything. Also, they're the ones who approached him, not the other way around.
So, in short, he had spent his first week studying, getting used to his new environment and freedom, having fun here and there, and getting therapy.
Yes, he had his first therapy session and it went...well? Dr. Vega just encouraged him to talk about things. She asked very random topics and listed her analysis while being attentive to him. It felt nice and refreshing, but not life-changing. Well, that's to expected.
After all, mental healing never happens overnight.
Dr. Vega did say that he was doing well so far, she encouraged him to go out and experience more of what the city could offer. Cedric wasn't quite knowledgeable in Psychology so he just decided to listen to her, after all the doctor was nice to him.
Right now though, he's on his way to hunt for a new home. He had been in contact with some realtors and he filed for a visit to one of the properties that fit his requirements.
Because of the unique arrangement of properties within the City, he's heading to the outer area of the city, not that far from its protective walls. He's registered as a Superhuman and since he's new here, these are the properties that he could either rent or own.
Upon arriving there, he was met with the agent he was talking to and they immediately began their tour.
The property was rather large, and the offer was nice. The only downside is that the place was in dire need of reconstruction. Yes, re-construction, not renovation.
You see, this lot had been ownerless for quite some time now. For some reason, people tend to ignore it after seeing it once, it wasn't worth its price in their eyes.
According to the agent, this place suffered from the last invasion that happened to the city, and that was nearly a decade ago. Since then, it stayed like this, and again, nobody wanted it, which might also be the reason why it's cheaper than what Cedric initially guessed.
The remains of the house were decrepit, the walls had been reduced to rubble, shrubs grew wildly around the area, and overall the place was just undesirable...which was exactly why Cedric barely hesitated to buy it.
Weirdly enough, he could somehow relate to the state of the house, if that even makes any sense. He's going by instinct here and so far, that hasn't failed him yet.
Cedric had seen other properties before this. All of them were nicer and fancier compared to this but none resonated to him like this one did. So, he took that as a sign and bought it.
He didn't stop there though. He also asked the realtor to hook him up with construction workers, which the man was more than happy to do. He listed his requirements right then and there, even going as far as giving the realtor a generous 'donation' to make sure that the project was finished as soon as possible.
After signing claiming ownership of the plot of land, he gave a good look before leaving. Of course, he gave his CIC to the realtor to contact him whenever he needed to.
According to the man, it would take 2 weeks up to a month before the construction of his new home was done. That means that he'd have to stay in the hotel for now and that's fine.
Once they were done with that, they parted ways and Cedric returned to his hotel room to relax.