Book 1: Chapter 44

Star Pioneer Agency Rhettfelt feels a little sad as he watches Aqua arrive back at her makeshift home again before immediately ending the broadcast. All while looking shaken from what just happened. He isn’t sure when it happened, but he’s grown a little attached to the young woman. Which is unusual as he usually doesn’t even bat an eye when a Pioneer from his agency is killed. Other than feeling irritated at the funds wasted on them. Yet, despite his usual attitude, he actually cares for the little brat. In hindsight, it’s a little hard not to care about her. And he’s not the only one as her fans seem to feel the same way. She just has a sort of presence about her. Adorable, comical, entertaining, talented, powerful, and on top of it all, beautiful. With what are most likely two different Bloodlines added to the top of all of it. If she hadn’t been an orphan living on a Class V world of all places, he would’ve wondered if she had won the genetic lottery or something. But thanks to that, she never would’ve had any chance to shine if it weren’t for her becoming a Pioneer and being forced into the spotlight with her Bloodlines awakening. He turns to look at a few pictures he has on his desk. One of her before becoming a Pioneer while walking down the street towards one of the stadiums for the selection. In the image she looks different from how she looks now, but even then she still looks different from most people on the street. Even with snow on her head. Then another image is of her after awakening her Bloodline and being tossed into the waters of Oceana. With her clothes soaked to the bone and her eyes wide with confusion. And a third image showing her a couple days later looking very similar to the second image except covered in bruises hidden by her armor and without as much spirit in her eyes. Finally, a fourth image. One taken from not long before she found the large monster outside of the caves. In this image she looks better than the third image at least. But when he looks at how she was at the end of the broadcast, he can’t help but feel worried. He’s her manager after all, and at this point he may be the one in the Alliance most attuned to her. With the exception of the elderly lady Aqua has been having him send some of her earnings to. If things keep up like this... will she be alright? Or should I try to bring up her spirits somehow with a job she might like... It is at least easy from what I’ve seen for her mood to bounce back, but I need to figure out the right job for it... He frowns as he stares down at different job offerings on his desk. Then one about mints catches his attention. His thoughts go back to when she was filming that mint commercial and how happy she looked during it. The happiest he has ever seen her. That’ll work. I’ll adjust the schedule to change one of tomorrow’s jobs to this one. The original job can just be pushed back to another day. It was going to be another vocal training session anyways, and she’s doing incredible in those. And I should start bringing mints to her jobs from now on. He nods his head at that thought before turning his gaze towards the high tech phone built into his desk as it begins ringing. And when he sees the name of the caller, he isn’t surprised in the slightest. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Because he’s been expecting this ever since he speculated what Bloodlines Aqua has. Rhettford reaches out and accepts the call on the terminal before saying, “I’ve been expecting you for days now, General Orcayne.” Aqua When I wake up in the morning, I find a surprise waiting for me as I’m doing my morning routine. That being a change in the schedule for the day. And it turns out to be a very pleasant surprise that instantly raises my mood again when I realize the job is another mint commercial. A smile spreads across my face. Mints are the best. Although I’m kind of surprised we’re taking this many mint commercials. Makes me wonder if he’s trying to brand me as a mint girl or something. Regardless, it means I can eat mints. Even if they don’t actually make it to my real body. My smile grows wider as I finish up my stretches and put on my armor. At this point my arm is almost halfway regenerated, which means about another two to three days and it’ll be as good as new again. And there doesn’t seem to be any lasting damages from the mental attack. So that’s good too. After finishing up with my morning routine, I go ahead and accept the job. Instantly appearing for the mint commercial, where I practically bounce from one foot to the other in my excitement. Until I catch myself and try to calm myself down by taking deep breaths. To the apparent amusement of my manager, Rhett. Although I swear I see some relief on his face too. But I’m not sure what that’s about. Maybe he’s glad to see I can reign in my excitement? Regardless, I proceed with the shoot. Once again getting it without a single NG – otherwise known as a no good. A bad take. It’s interesting to learn some of the lingo from the entertainment industry. Makes me feel like a real actor. Or singer. Or whatever I am other than just a Pioneer. Which I guess I technically am. But whatever. The second job of the day is a modeling job. Another makeup one to be specific. All the job entails is me wearing a certain outfit that goes well with the setting along with their makeup and walking down the beach. Actually, I have a lot of jobs involving me walking along the shore of a beach. But I guess they’ll stop doing those, or at least reduce the number when these commercials and ads all start airing. After all, you can’t over exert your image and a certain type of ad or commercial. People get bored if you do. Anyway, the shoot doesn’t take very long either. Just a few takes before they call it good, and I take off the outfit and return to Oceana again. With my mood being significantly better than it was when I went to sleep last night. Is it weird that my mood can change so quickly? Probably not. Or at least I don’t want to think it is. I stretch again before hopping into the water. Then, after entering my artificial tunnel, I go down the opposite direction of the tunnel I usually go through. Looking for the unknown once more. And within one minute of doing that, I find something... I was not expecting. At all. “Huh?” I mutter while tilting my head at the sight in front of me. Even the chat is going wild. [Excuse me, huh?] [What the...] [I guess this is technically underground...] [But... that...?] In the cavern in front of me, while there are some monsters in it – none of which are that high in level – the sight that has me shocked is the ore covering some of the walls in the cavern. Yep. Ore veins. And the veins are adamantium at that. One of the top five strongest natural metals in the entire Alliance. This is going to make the worth of Oceana skyrocket. The mere presence of even one adamantium vein here implies there should be more veins on the planet. So Oceana will be officially marked as one containing the ore. Yet the planet is also still protected by the System. A downside of the Pioneer Broadcast System. Outsiders cannot enter the planet while the Pioneer is still alive. Nor can outsiders harm any resident of the planet. Which includes the Pioneer as they are marked as a resident of the planet after becoming a Pioneer. All of that meaning this adamantium will belong to me if I survive and end up taking control of this planet. “Huh,” I eventually mutter out loud. “Well that’s a thing.” [“Well that’s a thing” she says] [That reaction...] [Finding out she’ll become filthy rich in the future, and that’s her reaction?] [Another golden AquaReaction!] [This is gonna be clipped and posted to Alcast for sure.] I mean, it’s not like I can use the ore myself. At least not now. So with that thought in mind, I ignore the ore and turn my attention to the monsters. Monsters that are eating the ore. “Huh,” I mutter again at the sight as the chat explodes once more. At both my second reaction and the sight of monsters eating adamantium. Was not expecting this at all when I came here. Better than some monster attacking my mind though.