CHAOS BORN

Nero had taken care of any beast he could get his hands on near the village, including a lesser minion porcine beast. He has long realized his strength can severely limit the number of points earned through killing creatures. 

Even now, he gained most points from passively advancing bloodline abilities, not from the blood and sweat he shed. 

Working on a grittier path does not translate to better results. He wasn’t some stubborn mule with dogmatic principles. Nero subscribed to being flexible and changing as the situation demands. He would gladly walk on the path of light, doing good deeds and being a hard worker filled with kindness as long as it benefitted him. But if not, he had few qualms before being cold and ruthless. 

Nero knew what he had to do now. 

Now then, what does it mean to act like a charm demon? 

Charm demon, as the name suggested, must mean the core part was to gain benefits selflessly from someone through pure charisma or manipulation.

Nero figured the biggest contributor to his bloodline advancement was Granny, who had helped him relentlessly. But she also seems to fill out the maximum amount he can reach without doing the vile deeds an Incubus would pull off. It wasn’t like Granny had stopped taking care of him or helping him out, but bloodline progress had reached a plateau for around two years. 

What are these benefits that a charm demon is supposed to gain? He wondered, his fingers idly tapping against the wooden table. 

Which one is it? Materials, power, status, sexual favors, or all of them. 

Charm demons are notorious for being indulgent in sex. Why not visit a brothel if their power is related to sex? Is there a reason for charm demons to seduce someone?

There had to be a reason for charm demons to seduce someone, a purpose beyond mere pleasure. He should try to woo someone in the village to see what happens.

But who? Nero always kept his distance from villagers. He couldn’t risk slipping up and revealing his true nature as someone reborn. No matter how good he acted, he knew some mistake was bound to occur.

 The villager’s views were deeply rooted in conservative teachings. If they were to discover a child with unique knowledge and viewpoints, they wouldn’t applaud him as a genius but rather report him to the temple, fearing an evil spirit possessed him. And since it was a real possibility, he couldn’t exactly blame them.  

Thankfully, they were not exactly kind to him during his early childhood, so Nero, being indifferent, was just considered being as a rebellious teen by adults. As for his peers in the village who tried to either cozy up to him or tried to teach him his place, a well-aimed sucker punch in the face was enough. Especially so for the latter. 

Above anything, Nero being under Granny’s wings was enough for people to leave him alone and turn a blind eye to most things he did.

Sigh…I always thought keeping my distance from the villagers was a good idea. Now it had come back to bite him.

Nero’s brow furrowed as he contemplated his limited options.

If I suddenly display interest or attachment to someone, villagers might view it as suspicious. For the same reason, he couldn’t show any interest to anyone suitable for marriage. Granny might misunderstand the whole thing and push for his wedding. So the best bet for it is to be with someone already married. This way, if things blow up in his face, he will be let off with a beating, otherwise he has to cough, cough Man up and take responsibility.

Another point to consider is that the person has to be reasonably invested in their marriage. Most women in the village see him as a catch. And if his Alchemist job is revealed during the Ascension ceremony, most people would have second thoughts. Being an Alchemist might not be ideal for Nero, but it has the potential to provide a middle-class life in a city in the future. At the very least, everyone knows Nero would move out of the village, so they will consider him an olive branch to cling onto until they reach their destination. Once safely reached in there, they could always find a better branch. This didn’t sit well with him.

He needed to find someone who wouldn’t raise suspicion if he spent time with her. They had to be married and don’t consider him a serious partner worth jeopardizing their marriage for. And on the off chance that they were discovered, they should part ways rather than stay together. 

Nero knew only one person in the village who fit the bill. 

But I already turned her down, though.

Ugh, if I had known how my job would turn out, I wouldn’t have pushed away her advances. 

Phew… no more crying over spilled milk. I should focus on what I can do now, rather than what I could have.

When Granny had cut off his funds, Nero looked for any other opportunities he could get around here. He could have tried working in the fields, but it would take all the time and steam out of him in a day. That means no time for practice or anything else.

He tried to be a butcher, but the one in the village refused to teach him the craft, nor were the villagers pleased to let him work with their livestock. The villagers were displeased, believing that Nero was demeaning the priestess and himself by pursuing a job other than pleasing the Goddess. 

Nero wanted a gig that earned him a decent sum without disturbing his training and study. But alas, there was no such thing. So he focused on hunting things that could be sold to the villagers or the caravan.

Being a hunter has its highs and lows. On the positive side, there’s the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction of bringing down challenging prey. Hunting allowed Nero to get used to the wilderness and combat mode while learning valuable skills like patience, tracking, and marksmanship. Above all, he could earn system points. 

The bad part was that the entire thing was a hit or a miss. Some weeks He may have successful hunts and be able to sell the game meat, furs, or other animal by-products for a profit. However, there are also periods when the game is scarce, and He returns empty-handed. He could spend days with nothing or a big catch to dwarf the half-year earnings of a worker in the field. 

None of the beasts here were easy to deal with. Despite his best preparation, most creatures beyond the village’s safety net posed a lethal threat. Others cunningly snatched the bait, outsmarting his carefully laid traps without setting them off. Nero had been through so many close calls that he learned never to underestimate an enemy or drop his guard in a fight.

All this meant an uncertainty that his income as a hunter fluctuated and couldn’t always be counted upon. Money was something that Nero needed to keep up with his expenses for buying and maintaining his weapons, armor, footwear, bait, and trap equipment required to hunt in the village. 

Nero came back in a full circle now and had to look for another job that suited him once more. After a long search, he finally got an offer that met all his expectations.

If someone asked who was the most successful man in Agroville village, none had to think twice before answering it- Carlos, the peddler. Carlos’ path as a peddler has been longer than Nero’s age. Over the years, the man diligently built his career from scratch found love, and married a stunning woman from a nearby village. The house they built became the envy of the villagers, and now Carlos seemed to be planning to move to a city.

When Carlos and his wife came up to him to tutor their young son, Jacob, Nero found the offer too alluring to decline. The timing was left to Nero’s discretion, and the money provided was more than reasonable. The only condition was to prepare their little brat to qualify for an academy in the city. Initially, they had wanted Granny to take on the task, but upon getting a clear-cut refusal, the couple sought out the second-best option - Nero.

His days as a tutor were mostly smooth sailing. The eleven-year-old Jacob might be the frivolous tyrant of brats his age, but Nero’s aloof nature he maintained and reputation as a cold-blooded hunter by villagers seems to have struck fear in the boy’s heart. This made Nero’s job relatively easy.

Jacob took most of his instruction seriously even if he hated it and the kid was smart enough to learn most of what he taught.

The only person who gave him a minor hiccup was Mrs. Sharron, Jacob’s mother, and the lovely wife of Carlos.