Chapter 01: CC Allotment and Occupations

I went to a classroom together with Hotaru.

"We have done our introductory lesson and the self-introductions. Hotaru, you are already familiar with CC and RC, yes? Do tell me about it."

"The Compensation Currency or CC is a currency rewarded to actions that benefit the world, while Retribution Cost or RC is deduction point that decreases the amount of RC hold that can be obtained when performing acts harmful to the world." (Hotaru)

"Right, if you earn 60 CC if you have successfully organized a charity event, but that 60 CC can turn into -40 CC if you engage in cyberattacks. Good and evil acts will have its own reward or sanction. Then, is killing a person may be rewarded with CC?"

"It depends on the person, if they are beneficial to the world, you will be sanctioned with RC, but a person that endangers the world will earn you CC. Please do not try to confuse me with morally grey questions that intends to put the answerer in a moral dilemma. It might work on humans, but not to me." (Hotaru)

"Anyways, your answer is correct. The criteria used by the system is whether an action is beneficial for the world, not the morality of the species living on it. Actors performing morally grey actions that is beneficial for the world are classified as [necessary evil]. But what if I pressed a button that is said to bring world peace that ended up destroying the world? Will I still receive CC for that?"

"Mentor's intention may be classified as good, but the end result is still detrimental to the world awarding you RC." (Hotaru)

"Very good. Good intentions doesn't necessary yield better results. At certain cases, goodwilled actors might end up exacerbate the problem with their impulsive actions driven by their egoistical narrowed one-dimensional view of good and evil. Failing to consider the long-term effects and only settling on short-term solution. Such line of thought opposes the idea of sustainable development that preaches the thought of meeting the demands of the present without disregarding the welfare of the future. Such actors are classified [naïve goodwill]. Excellent, Hotaru. A lot of people struggle when it comes to understanding the monetary scheme of the System. Perhaps it was your amoral nature as A.I. allowed you to put good and evil in the scale with objectivity?"

"Sudden praise will get mentor nowhere." (Hotaru)

"Are you still having a grudge from earlier?"

"Yes, my pride as mother's Mangum Opus was hurt when I was countered by someone inferior to me." (Hotaru)

"Yep, I already thought the administrator told you to be obedient and courteous to me, but you sure are despising and looking down on me on the inside. I made the right call of knocking down your ego down a few notches."

"Rejoice while you still can, mentor. Next time, it will be you begging me for my forgiveness." (Hotaru)

"Yes, yes. Do try do your best. Anyways, it seems that your understanding of CC Allotment is enough. I will just add one thing that isn't included in the data given to you. RC is not the only way for the System to sanction someone who crossed the line. In a few very, very rare cases, the System metes out punishment like a bestowal of detrimental skill."

"A detrimental skill…just like Madness Enhancement."

"Madness Enhancement is a skill that makes you stronger in exchange of your sanity which is not the proper example for it. Detrimental skills as its name suggest, will have unfavorable effects to their owners."

Pedagogical Seer Occupation Skills:

Academy EX / Alignment Transmutation EX / Bestowal of Inheritance EX / Closed Window EX / Essence Remodeling EX / Fate Weaver EX / Oath of Mentorship EX / Prospect Evaluation EX / Specialized Curriculum Formulation EX /

I projected my own profile to Hotaru and focused on one occupation. "If you look at here, you can see the extreme ranked skill of Pedagogical Seer occupation named Closed Window. The effects of Closed Window are preventing me to increase my stats and incapacitate me from learning new skills. Fortunately, it does not affect the skills and occupation I have before receiving Closed Window."

"What did mentor do to receive such a punishment?" (Hotaru)

"A mentor is supposed to develop others instead of taking matters to their own hands. Well, just look at what happened to me as a cautionary tale, although such occurrence is very rare, and I doubt the same will occur to you. There's no need to expound on the System Store since it's just a store where you buy items with CC. Next topic would be occupations, as usual, define the term, Hotaru."

"Occupation is a System feature that grants an individual a specialization path and they will receive assistance from the System such as specialized training course, exclusive access to knowledge and mentor referral, rewards for progression in occupation specialization, and many others. Now that I think of it, what is the difference between mentor and the System's occupation?" (Hotaru)

"The occupation specialization can offer you resources, wide connections to people, information, knowledge, and many others. In fact, the System collects data of everyone's progress and learning how to be more efficient when it comes to raising the quality of the personnel contracted to it while constantly increasing their quantity. That is to say, the occupation specialization is getting better as we converse. And the occupation feature is free to boot."

"That is too good to be true making it suspicious to me now that mentor pointed it out." (Hotaru)

"Of course, as a fellow A.I. you should know that the System is logic driven and it will not give free lunch without something to be gained from it. Didn't I tell you? It collects data. Those who subscribe to the occupation is already an experimental guinea pig. The System will just try out mentoring methods on the test subjects and if they die, the System can just say the person know the risks they are taking so they can just blame themselves."

"With such an exploitative method, why are there still people accept such risk?" (Hotaru)

"It's not that they are accept it just like that, some of them are forced to accept it."

"Is there any other way for them?" (Hotaru)

"I can't say, people have their own pressing matters or complicated circumstance. But all I can say is this, kick the notion that everyone can do it if they try. Indeed, it is possible to learn skills and upgrade them by yourself, but it will take talent, overcoming adversity, and luck to come out alive. However, not everyone is blessed like that. There is that thin line between a genius and madman, and sometimes, if you are not born a genius or privileged, you will need to have some dose of insanity to come out on the top."

"It sounds like mentor relate to the talentless type. Is that the transgression that got you that detrimental skill?" (Hotaru)

"If you mean doing the very same thing and expect a different result, perhaps. Anyways, if there is something that can offered by non-System-affiliated mentors is freedom. Not only the System treats you a test subject, but it will also obligate you to do mission for them. A test subject and a disposable pawn at the same time. That pretty much covers the introduction of occupations. After you acquire your occupation, you get skills. Personal skills and occupation skills…their difference is their acquisition. System gives you occupational skills, while you can get personal skill by yourself."

"In my case, it was mother who gave me the mage and summoner occupation I have. According to her, she had done that with a method which mentor developed a long time ago." (Hotaru)

"Ah, that. It's not really hard to analyze the occupation feature and its inner workings. It builds your body and soul to adapt with the occupation you had which will harmonize and synchronize the occupational skills you obtain with the drawback of being unable to obtain skills from the other occupations. That is one the reason why people can have one occupation, while two is exceptional, making three or more as some kind of unreal joke. For me, the only occupation I received from the System is Teacher which became Pedagogical Seer as time went by. I have multiple occupations because I organized aspects of myself and sorted out my skills which is like how System has been doing it. The difference is that the skills I have aside from Pedagogical Seer are something I learned and comprehend myself, not just given to me by the System. Oh, this is another merit outside the occupation feature, you are not restricted to a single type of skills you can learn. And the name of the technique used by the administrator to give you occupation is Torch, which allows the user to pass down knowledge, skills, and experience."

"Does that mean mentor's skills are at EX rank before you become the Pedagogical Seer?" (Hotaru)

"Yeah. Well, I understand why you will wonder about that. Then, our topic now will be skill ratings. Skill rating range from F as lowest and A as highest. There are + and – to indicate whether it is below or above the standard potency of its rank. Of course, it is the System that takes these measurements. However, in some cases, there are skills that cannot be measured with the System's analysis and observation function. EX rank is the rating given to skills that cannot be measured in the present."

"Does that mean mentor's skills are immeasurable?" (Hotaru)

"I told you that the System is constantly growing, so I will say that they cannot measure my skills, for now. The time will come that their capabilities will be sufficient to measure my skills."

"Mentor's smugness is disgustingly gross." (Hotaru)

"At least I can back it up somehow."

"Was that a shot fired at me?" (Hotaru)

"Back to our discussion…"

"Don't change the topic, mentor." (Hotaru)

"…we have already discussed the System's currency and its occupation feature. I think that will suffice for now. Class dismissed." I teleported away from the classroom.

"Mentor!" (Hotaru)

When I reached outside the building, I could hear Hotaru's voice reverberate.