Ron took a deep breath and read through the detailed explanation of the Multiversal Character Summoning Pool.
According to the interface, character cards were ranked from D to S.
An A-rank card was already the second-highest tier available.
That only left Ron even more confused.
Arataka Reigen was an ordinary person without any supernatural powers, so how had he possibly qualified as A-rank?
Ron focused on Reigen’s card.
Responding to his thoughts, it flipped over and revealed a detailed list of abilities on the back.
[Character Card: Arataka Reigen]
[World: Mob Psycho 100]
[Character Ability Rank: A]
[Ability One: Basic Martial Arts (D)]
[Effect: Grants basic close-quarters combat and self-defense skills.
Also provides a significant boost to the strength and precision of massage techniques.]
[Ability Two: Massage Therapy (C)]
[Effect: Grants exceptional massage skills capable of quickly relieving physical fatigue and effectively treating muscular stiffness.]
[Ability Three: Jack-of-All-Trades (B)]
[Effect: Grants a broad range of practical knowledge from countless fields.
While none of it reaches an expert level, the user will possess enough knowledge to handle everyday emergencies and maintain a convincing disguise.]
[Ability Four: Master of Persuasion (A)]
[Effect: Grants psychological insight and verbal manipulation skills.
Provides the observational instincts of a veteran con artist, along with communication and persuasive abilities at the absolute limit of an ordinary human.]
[Ability Five: Learning Aptitude (A)]
[Effect: Greatly accelerates the learning of new skills and magic.
However, learning efficiency will gradually decrease as mastery deepens.]
All right.
Reigen’s abilities were actually…
Pretty good?
The A-rank classification seemed justified after all.
The card granted five separate abilities, and aside from Basic Martial Arts and Massage Therapy, the remaining three support abilities looked genuinely powerful.
Every ability on a character card was based on that character’s personality and defining traits, then adapted so it could function properly in the world of Fairy Tail.
The interface also included a detailed explanation of how the cards worked.
Once equipped, Ron would immediately gain access to every ability listed on the card, but the effect would only last for three days.
To keep any of those abilities permanently, he had to fully embody the character during that period.
If he reached one hundred percent roleplay completion, he would be allowed to choose which abilities to retain when the card expired.
There was no way to spend money on additional summons, either.
No premium currency, no buying his way to better luck—he could only rely on the free draws provided by the system.
After using his beginner summon, a countdown had already begun.
He would have to wait another three days before drawing again.
Since there was no point complaining now, Ron equipped the card.
At his command, it dissolved into a stream of light and merged with his body.
[Character card equipped successfully.
Current Roles: 1/1.]
[Time Remaining: 2 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes.]
[Current Roleplay Completion: 1%.]
Ron patted himself down, but nothing about his body seemed dramatically different.
“My grip feels a lot stronger, but I guess that’s mostly useful for massages.
“I’ll just have to hope I pull something better in three days.
Otherwise, I have no idea how I’m supposed to deal with all this debt.”
Shaking his head helplessly, Ron picked up the debt notice from the law office and prepared to shove it into a drawer where he would not have to look at it.
Then his eyes happened to pass over the document again.
He frowned.
“Wait.
Something’s wrong with this letter.”
Ron brought the page closer and carefully examined the handwriting and official seal.
The ink used for the seal was wrong.
The condition of the paper did not match the date when the debt had supposedly been recorded, and several parts of the document contained obvious signs of forgery.
“These debts are fake?!”
Ron’s eyes widened.
How had he failed to notice any of that before?
Then he understood.
The A-rank character card was already working.
Reigen might not possess any psychic powers, but he was a seasoned adult who had spent years surviving through quick thinking and running the Spirits and Such Consultation Office.
His experience dealing with people and navigating society was far beyond that of an ordinary child.
His broad knowledge even covered contract traps, legal loopholes, and methods for identifying fraudulent paperwork.
Ron felt a chill of relief.
‘Thank goodness I noticed.
I could’ve walked into that office a few days from now with an empty head, signed whatever they put in front of me, and accepted an enormous fake debt.
I’d have regretted it for the rest of my life!’
After thinking it through, however, Ron realized he could not simply storm into the office and confront them based on flaws in the paperwork.
He was only a child with no authority or influence.
Anyone bold enough to forge a debt in an attempt to seize the theatre troupe almost certainly had help from someone on the inside.
The key to breaking their scheme would be finding that person.
Ron lowered his head in thought.
Who had his parents left in charge of the troupe while they were away?
It seemed he would have to visit the theatre himself and ask a few questions.
“Although there’s one more important problem.”
Ron looked down at the cheerful, childlike clothes he was wearing.
“Where am I supposed to find a suit for a ten-year-old around here?”
…
Half an hour later, at the edge of Magnolia Town, the Pure White Theatre Troupe was performing inside a massive tent.
The afternoon show was already underway, but the audience consisted of only two or three scattered spectators, all of whom were beginning to doze off.
The actors onstage were not putting much effort into it either.
They delivered their lines without energy, lazily went through their movements, and carried themselves like exhausted employees counting the minutes until the end of their shift.
At the very back of the audience, beside the wall of the tent, stood a bald, middle-aged man named Wes.
Taking in the miserable scene, Wes let out a long sigh and shook his head.
Afternoon performances had never drawn large crowds, but judging from the troupe’s disastrous business over the past several days, the evening show would probably be just as empty.
He rubbed his gleaming scalp in frustration.
“Things really do fall apart without the director and his wife.”
Wes was one of the troupe’s oldest employees.
He had worked faithfully for the Pure White Theatre Troupe from the day it was founded.
Ron’s parents had both begun their careers as stage-performing Mages, and the Pure White Theatre Troupe had been their attempt to combine magic with traditional theatre.
In its prime, the troupe had paired dazzling magical effects with classic stage plays.
The novelty had made the performances wildly popular, and tickets had once been almost impossible to obtain.
Times had changed, however.
As newer forms of magical entertainment rose throughout Magnolia and the troupe failed to innovate, its longtime employees gradually drifted away.
Some left the industry entirely, while others joined rival companies.
Ron’s parents had also lost interest in performing.
After years of remaining in town, they had finally decided to travel again and temporarily placed the theatre under the care of Wes, the most dependable person still working there.
Wes was excellent with logistics and backstage management, but he knew nothing about securing investments or creating fresh scripts.
He was powerless to reverse the troupe’s decline.
At this rate, he was afraid there would be nothing left but a disbandment notice by the time the director returned.
“Hello, Uncle Wes.”
A familiar voice came from behind him.
Wes paused.
Recognizing Ron immediately, he hurriedly turned around.
“Good morning, Master Ron.
What brings you all the way out here toda—huh?”
The moment he saw Ron, he froze.
Ron was wearing an unusually formal gray suit over a white shirt, with a rather flashy pink tie knotted around his neck.
He was even carrying an old business briefcase, making him look like a tiny office worker on his way to an important meeting.
“It’s been so long since I last saw you, Uncle Wes.
Obviously, I came because I missed you.”
Noticing Wes’s puzzled stare, Ron glanced down at his cheap suit and shamelessly explained, “Oh, this?
A nice lady at the flea market gave it to me when I passed by.”
He lifted his chin and puffed out his chest, proudly showing off the inexpensive outfit with complete confidence.
Ron was in an excellent mood.
He had originally planned to flatter the vendor until she lowered the price, then buy the suit once it became cheap enough.
Instead, the woman had been so delighted by his compliments that she had simply given it to him for free.
“As long as you’re happy, Master Ron.”
The corner of Wes’s mouth twitched, but he forced an awkward smile and played along.
The young master seemed different today.
There was also a strange, almost inexplicable confidence surrounding him.
“By the way, has anything unusual happened at the troupe recently?” Ron asked casually.
Wes’s eyes flickered.
He instinctively rubbed his bald head and smiled.
“Everything’s the same as usual.
What could possibly have happened?”
Ron’s brows drew together slightly.
During that brief exchange, he had caught every one of Wes’s small gestures.
After equipping Reigen’s character card, Ron’s powers of observation had improved dramatically.
By watching subtle movements and fleeting expressions, he could perform a basic analysis of another person’s behavior and distinguish a truthful answer from a lie.
‘There’s something wrong with Uncle Wes.
What is he hiding from me?’
“Master Ron, this isn’t a good place to talk,” Wes said.
“Let’s go to the director’s study.”
Ron’s frown vanished at once, replaced by his usual smile.
“Of course.
Lead the way.”
The two left the tent one after the other and followed a dirt path covered in fallen leaves toward a nearby building that had been temporarily rented as an office.
After the door opened, Ron stepped inside and immediately noticed a large leather sofa in front of the desk, wide enough to seat three adults.
His eyes lit up.
‘Perfect.
That’s the one!’
From Wes’s perspective, Ron suddenly clutched his briefcase with excitement and hurried toward the sofa on his short little legs.
“Children really do have it easy.
Not a worry in the world.”
Wes smiled and shook his head before casually closing the door behind them.
Then he turned around.
His eyes went wide.
The previously bare leather sofa had somehow been covered with a clean white towel.
Several neatly arranged bottles of labeled essential oils now stood on the coffee table, accompanied by several jars of coarse kitchen salt.
Ron stood respectfully beside the sofa with his hands folded in front of him, smiling politely.
“Uncle Wes, please lie down.”
Wes stared at him in complete confusion.
One thought rose helplessly in his mind.
‘Master Ron…
what exactly are you doing?’
Had he seriously come all this way with nothing but massage supplies in that briefcase?!