I'm having some difficulties coming up with some things and I'm looking to see if you guys could offer me some ideas or suggestions that I can use for inspiration. So it's gonna take place in a medieval fantasy world where magic and magic beasts exist, something similar to Overlord if you've seen the anime or read the novels. The character is a boy of like 12-15 years of age, for now he is just an ordinary boy except he's got eidetic memory (photographic memory). He's an orphan sort of living at an orphanage together with his five years younger, younger sister. And what I'm having trouble coming up with is any kind of work this boy could be doing to provide with extra money for himself and his younger sister, especially if it's some kind of work he could be doing extremely well because it takes advantage of his perfect memory. The orphanage exists in a sort of Garrison Town, a city with a big military presence, probably walled because there is risk of magical beasts wandering close fairly commonly. Any kind of work the younger sister 7-10 years of age could be doing too would be appreciated, something that would work in this sort of medieval fantasy world, in that kind of town (the sister is completely ordinary btw) Thank you
He could be a clerk for a merchant,work in something magic related like alchemy, a chamberlain for a noble, a cook, an apothecary, a physician, a scribe, a steward, or any kind of fictional magic job you can come up with. Or he could just enlist in the army although that isn't gonna use his eidetic memory for anything. His sister pretty much can only be a maid considering her age and that she is ordinary.
Kids/teenagers in medieval times normally work as a servant/maids/cooks in other households so maybe the younger sister can do that? The brother can do labor in agriculture and manufacturing, blacksmith, assist in skilled trades, brewing, etc.
Perhaps a town librarian, or a some kind of an assistant to the school mages, learning magic and also getting money along the way.
Is the MC a reincarnated person with memories and skills from the other world? What is the main production or resource of the town? Does the MC live near a ocean or river? Does he live near a mine?
You mentioned overlord, is he isekaid? If he is then he could be like google, if he's able to perfectly recall his past life including every random thing he clicked, viewed, tiktokd, etc he would be a source of random knowledge. How he picks and uses this could be advantageous or detrimental, not all knowledge gained could be factual and could cause more problems later on. Also just because you might now the blueprints or outline of something doesn't mean you understand it, or are able to fix or cobble together something else if problems arise. So while you have vast information there are limitations. How you navigate these difficulties might be interesting... I'm not sure if you've ever read Dr stone, but that can be a source of inspiration if world building is a goal.
My ideas are for the perfect memory who wasn´t on the other comments: - A writer who copies books (does not have to look letter by letter) - an appraiser who grades/sorts herbs, monster materials and etc at the adventure guild (remembers shapes and properties of materials, herbs and etc ) - a librarian (remembers all book positions) - maybe a gatekeeper (compares wanted posters with travellers) Idea 1 and 3 can also be combined as one job. I personally prefer idea 2.
Personally, with the knowledge of this world and the cheat of magic. It’s possible to make many things. Depending on his magical affinity. It could go in any direction. Let’s assume the classics. Fire, water, earth and wind. With water usually comes with healing. With the knowledge of this earth you would have a better results than most natives. You could disguise yourself and sale your skills at a market corner. Using wind you could transport things in a timely manner or maybe you could fly and scout out rare resources. Maybe even retrieve them if it’s safe enough. Fire can be use in many ways like mercenary or a blacksmith. One is risky. While the other is tough to get in. In the mercenary option you could use a disguise, but a blacksmith you can not use the option. Being an orphan will limit things. Personally, I’d go with earth. I’d starting mining right under the town. There is the air factor that needs to be remembered, but otherwise I’d go as deep as I can. When I don’t find a vein there. I’d head to the most likely area that might have something useful. Gems, gold or even coal is worth a lot. Best of all you don’t need to worry as much about monsters. Sure there maybe monsters underground, but the number is probably a fraction of what you’d see outside of the town. So it really depends on the magic
As for child labour - I remember reading ascendance of the bookworm, the children there had apprenticeships at age 6 or 7? They would usually learn a skill from their parents and go on to find a workplace looking for said skill, orphanages in that novel were brutal. Point to note, majority of orphans back in the day were abandoned, not actual orphans as in no family/parent. For whatever reason, too many mouths to feed, problematic child condition/health/disability, churches etc that took in children were inundated... So perhaps describe the orphanage environment, is it bare bones, overcrowded, do they send out kids to help harvest, forage, or more seedier exploits? (Oliver twist kind of thing) is magic limited to mobility or race specific? Is magic common widespread? What is the standard of living? Child mortality high? Are plagues, measles, polio etc a thing there? Child slavery? What is the education like? Any noble orphans? Are wars a thing or are magic beasts to strong keeping humanity in fortresses for life like attack on titan...
If this is a world with monsters and magic, then society would adapt to this environment. For example, are there only some goods that can only come from magical plants but there is a look-a-like that can be extremely dangerous? If so, he can be a ranger/guide. Maybe a Librarian or some sort of merchandise manager. If I am being totally honest, I think you are approaching this in the wrong way. If you have such minor details, then they could be decent side characters. What is the goal of the story? Are you trying to deliver a certain feeling to the reader? How do you want to present this feeling, a quick punch or a long and tedious festering wound? Maybe you are not aiming for emotions? If so then Is this supposed to be some fantastical adventure where we will see the world? Is this action? How do the brother and sister relate to one another? Are they two peas in a pod, or do they live separate lives? Maybe they are two peas in a pod and through growing up, the world has expectations due to gender roles and they are forced to separate. There are many tools out there that can help you write stories, the most important one is to read stories similar to your own, or read to 'research' and see what people like and dislike of a story. These 3 aspects of a story you should focus on individually. One is worldbuilding. You said it has magic, what's the magic system? Hard or light? Just write down a paragraph or two about where they are living and how it is important to the characters- main, side, and NPC. Next is the plot/theme. Ask yourself "Why are you writing this story?" Literally, one line answer that will determine everything about the characters and the world, after all the environment is where the characters live and how they see it reflects their personality, or the society's personality. Is the answer, "For adventure?" Then you'll have to think about why the characters are traveling. Is to discuss a certain question like "What are the merits and demerits of living in a capitalistic government?" You will have to how multiple areas show each individual aspect of capitalism and how it affects the characters of that setting. Finally, is the characters. This is the most difficult part to explain for me. But, "How do your characters explore the plot/theme?" How do they carry it, or how are they the vehicle to show what you are trying to show the reader? In Western writing, they tend to spit out the phrase 'needs vs wants' but Eastern writing has none of this. They either are true and care for themselves so their want is their need (Korean). Or they tend to ignore themselves so they purely carry out the plot and sometimes they look at the bigger picture (Chinese, although I'm not too sure about this). Then there is Japanese writing, which I don't like usually so I'm not going to say anything about it. These are the three types of stories I read about. I found myself enjoying Chinese writing more and more recently. Western writing is for dramatic and reflecting stories, the 'need vs. wants. While Eastern novels are for carrying the plot a have varying levels of the characters being human instead of a cardboard cut out with a sticker slapped onto it. Honestly, just google everything. there are many amazing tools and guides out there that will help with your writing. glhf.
Personally, a lot of possible high money return making ideas are pretty random (finding herbs or minerals) or to complicated (weapons or tools). Usually the best ones are those you can get done with your own hands. Like for instance salt pools. Create large fields that allows sea water to come in and evaporate. Or creating cosmetics. Which you could use so many things from oatmeal to ginger. Maybe soaps. All you need lye, fat and scents. There not the difficult to make, but it takes time. Another good money maker is making steel. It would be hard to make a bessemer furnace, but with iron, coal and clay. You could make wootz steel. You could make some crochet pins, but you’ll need yarn. Still you could amazing sweaters or socks with them. You could make bricks. All you need good clay, sand, water and maybe straw. You could sell it to builders. You could make wine by getting grapes, sugar and yeast. Or make cider which is the same as wine. Just with apples. You could also make board games like checkers. Which you would need wood and a saw. A lot of Isekai novel like to use plants no one thought of using. Such as beats into sugar. All you need is to cook it and strain it. You could build boxes for bee hives and routinely gather honey. There are many many ways to earn money and that’s without using magic. If you can use magic. Sky’s the limit. Good luck finding your own way