"Steady... steady... FIRE!!!" At the sound of Cassidy's voice, the gun within Jeremy's hand went off. The bullet flew through the air, spinning and spinning until it hit the duck in the air.
Well, the group were at a carnival.
The gun in Jeremy's hand was a toy gun, which shot rubber balls. The ducks he'd been shooting? They were flat, plastic targets which moved on a pole. The grand prize was a bunny plushie.
For Cane, this was a novel experience. He knew that quite often, other children in the Outskirts wouldn't have the opportunity to play. This held true, even for non-homeless children.
However, for the richer kids, they could play video games. It was all VR, which Cane still didn't understand fully. However, even the richest kids in the Outskirts - that is, if one was rich, but not rich enough to leave and enter the Inner City - wouldn't get to play in real life.
The idea of wasting a block of land, simply for a "carnival" which only provided momentary joy to children and parents was astonishing. In Cane's view, it should've long been repurposed into some company building or such. If it'd been the past Cane, such a blatant waste of money and space would've made him shake his head.
But, that was the past Cane. Now? He could afford to play in a carnival. Thus, the "waste" of space started to shift, and he no longer felt like carnivals were a bad thing. As a matter of fact, many of the values he'd held when he was younger, and uck, poorer, were slowly disappearing as he finally got a taste of High Society.
The luxuries of rich people finally started to make sense to him.
Of course, carnivals were still somewhat expensive. That is to say, for a group of Combatant prodigies, it might not be an issue to go to a carnival daily. But for the average child within the Inner City, they might go once a month.
Well, anyways! What's the problem? If someone can't afford to be happy, then they should just save up. Or, perhaps try smiling. Cane's inner thoughts had unknowingly become somewhat indifferent.
"Congratulations! Here is your prize!" The man at the stand gave Jeremy a rabbit plushie. Seeing this, Cane called the rest of the group to follow him.
"Guys, why don't I get the next plushie for one of you?" Cane was already walking up to a stand. This particular stand had been chosen because it relied on luck. And Cane?
Oh yeah, he definitely had luck.
The stand was filled with buttons. Simply put, all Cane had to do was press 10. As long as none of them made any noise, he'd win the prize. The prize in question was a yellowish bear plushie. Cane smirked and walked up to the stand.
"Watch this." His eyes narrowed, and in a flash, he began to press random buttons.
"Wait, no! Don't just press randomly, what if you get it wrong?" Cassidy panicked at the extremely lax and laidback style. However...
"There we go. All 10 buttons, zero noise." Cane smiled brightly at the dumbfounded man who stood opposite to him. He also ignored the shocked gazes of the 5 who were peering over his shoulder.
"Damn, what kind of dogsh*t luck is that!" Frytz couldn't help but curse as he looked at Cane's playing style. This guy isn't even a human!
Cane smiled, satisfied. He handed the plushie over to Cassidy, who was still shocked. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she reached out.
"Thanks, Cane." She took the plushie with a rare smile on her face. Then, she spoke up. "Alright! Since Cane's gotten one for me, why don't I get one for someone else?"
She spun around, causing her long black hair to swirl in the wind. She scanned the group, and chose Susie. "Let's get you that chicken plushie. I think it'd suit you."
Over the next course of an hour, the 6 of them would take turns winning prizes for each other. By the end of their time, everyone had at least 3 prizes, and the stalls were all empty. No one else wanted to play after seeing them.
Needless to say, none of the stall owners were happy.
And the other kids weren't happy either.
But no one cares about other kids.
...
"It's a beautiful sight." Cane was seated at the top of a tower, where a restaurant was located. Him and the others were having dinner, and the sight of the sunset, alongside the buildings and trees, was a view to behold. Surely.
Cane's mind felt at peace, and his chest felt light. In this moment of relaxation and comfort, he decided.
I won't blind another person to use Hidden Strength on. Firstly, I'm already quite strong. Secondly... Cane shifted his view to look at his new friends. I doubt they'd like that. And I don't think I'd be able to hide it from them.
"Meh, it's nice I suppose. Kinda average, to be honest." Frytz stared at the sunset as well. "I guess it's because we've seen this scene for so long? It's not really that great."
Cane smiled, though it felt somewhat forced. Right, these guys are rich. What a bunch of pigs...
Wait, no. Cane's smile gradually became real again. I suppose I'm also rich now, too. I guess it's not their fault. No, really. If a poor person wanted to live like me, then why not just work hard? I can't blame anyone, we've all earned our positions on society.
The food arrived, and everyone got down to eating. As they ate, Cane also noticed a strange thing.
"Hey, this food. Why is it only rank 2 meat? I thought we'd be able to eat some rank 3 meat... this is supposed to be a luxury restaurant, after all."
Cassidy raised one eyebrow in surprise. "What, you didn't know?"
Jeremy interjected. "People can usually only eat the meat of a monster which is one rank equal or lower than them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able handle the energy influx. However, there's a strange phenomenon when it comes to food."
"You'll always be able to eat what you hunt!" Susie's bright voice came from across the table, her excitement causing her curly blonde hair to wobble. She continued to explain. "No matter how high the rank of the meat, as long as you've participated in hunting it, you'll be able to somehow handle the energy overload."
Cane's eyes widened at the revelation.
"Indeed." Frytz nodded. He moved to part his reddish hair, which was covering an eye. Behind the hair was a scar which started from below his eye and moved up, along the eyelid, until it cut through his brow.
"This scar here was caused when I first tried to fight a monster above my level. I hadn't even awakened at the time, but I knew that if I could do it, it'd be a great boost to my strength!"
Cane slowly nodded, pondering. If Hidden Strength continues to go the way it's been, I should get exponentially stronger with every rank up. That means my strength should always be greater than at least 2 ranks above...
Cane could almost see the high-rank meat falling into his plate. But his fantasies were quickly cut short as a group of 6 came up to them.
"Hey. Did I just catch you guys having fun?" The leader of the group, a somewhat youthful-looking thug, spoke up. Or perhaps he was a thuggish-looking youth. Either way, it was a blend of the two.
Another kid interjected. "Shouldn't you "Oh so perfect" prodigies be out training, instead of sticking around in restaurants like this and stuffing yourselves fat?"
"Ugh, these guys again." Gabriel rolled his eyes and groaned. "Those guys are the prodigies of the Western Combat Schools. They think they're the best of the best."
Susie leaned in for a whisper. "Y'know... that guy's name is Nick Nick. It's really dumb."
Ignoring her, Cane looked around confused. "Which Combat School are you guys in?"
"The Northern Combat School." Jeremy stood up, folding his arms together and staring down at Nick. "Why don't you leave. After all, you came to this restaurant too."
Cassidy also took the opportunity to stand next to him. Seeing the situation, the others - as well as Cane, of course - stood with her.
"Tch, whatever. You guys are so dead in the upcoming Combat School Tournaments." The thuggish youth rolled his eyes, before then noticing Cane. "And who are you? A new guy? Yeah, you're dead too."
With that, the Western Combat School prodigies took their leave.
Cane and the others watched them go in silence.
"Oh well, at least it's not a boat on my waters. Or was it... "it's not water in my boat?"" Cane stopped in confusion for a moment, pondering different sayings. He didn't ponder for long, though, as Cassidy spoke up.
"You're also a student at our Northern Combat School now. You... you're gonna have to participate in the Tournament as well." She reminded Cane, as the others looked at him with schadenfraude.
"Ohh... yeah, f*ck." Cane stared blankly into space. As he did so, Jeremy helped him to sit back down and properly explained the Tournament.
"Simply put, the Tournament happens every 5 years, between the four Combat Schools. There's one in the north, south, east and west of the Inner City. During this time, each Combat School is required to submit at least 4 prodigies to participate in the Tournament."
Jeremy cleared his throat before continuing.
"Of course, the Combat Schools can have more than 4 participants if they want. The upcoming Tournament will happen in a month, which was why the Northern Combat School had us enter The Hunting Grounds and look for a rank 3 monster to hunt."
Jeremy finished up. "Since your only legal identity is now with us... and considering that you're also a Combatant... I think the school is gonna make you participate with us."
Cane nodded, lost in thought.
A Tournament, huh?