Robert stood up and stretched. The sun was dawning in the sky and he was full of essence. After having dinner with Amanda, they parted ways in front of the restaurant when a limousine came to pick her up. He knew he was right assuming she was some well-to-do scion of some rich family. Then he returned to the park and spent his night between the liminal void and gathering wisps everywhere. He was gaining notoriety and needed to get stronger. Otherwise, he'd just become someone's pawn or slave. He was sure the Samson folks were still trying to figure out how he killed the variant. And also trying to figure out where he hid the stash of equipment.

Nothing mattered. Robert knew what he had to do. Train with the sword and the spear, practice his techniques and spells, and temper his body. He already did a lot of the former, now it was time for the latter. There was a reason he was delaying this. Tempering was painful and if he didn't heal the damage before going to the void, he'd suffer the whole time there.

Vitae Infusion was the best candidate. He had already used it on his left hand, now it was time to use it on the right one. He overcharged the hand with lifeforce and essence, then held it in place. The energy seeped into his cells to the point of causing minor burns on them The hand inflated like he had allergy to bee venom and was stung by a hundred of them. After the lifeforce and essence were entirely absorbed by his cells, he used healing hands to fix the damage. The inflammation receded. Only then he remembered he had alleviate pain to help with that.

But when the round of tempering ended, his hand was thoroughly infused with lifeforce. Healing that hand would be way easier than before. That would let him test void punch and finish the ability. Next, he used alleviate pain, then vitae infusion, then healing hands one after the other on his feet, forearms, and shins. After that, he had run out of essence to use. Another round of gathering around the park and the void occupied the whole morning. As he filled the tank, he used vitae infusion on his arms, shoulders, knees, and thighs. His skin was almost glowing with how smooth and pliable it became.

He would do a second layer of tempering on his limbs and improve his understanding of the tempering technique before he moved to his torso and head.

*

*

Two days later, he contacted Amanda to ask about the corpse recovery bounties. They agreed to meet at the District twenty-four shopping mall's food court.

"Hey, Robert! Good to hear from you!" She said.

"Good to see you two. How are you doing?"

"Much better. And it is all thanks to you. I would still be wallowing in grief and self-pity if you didn't shake me up."

He was trying to get rid of her, actually. But he went with the zero-risk option. "You're welcome."

"So, I talked to most families, and they all appreciate you rescuing the deceased so they can have a proper burial."

Robert just nodded.

"They offered you the standard compensation, except for two," she frowned. "These two want to meet you in person."

"Let me guess, to offer me a job?" She just nodded. "Would I offend them if I just took the reward and declined the job offer?"

"Not in the open, no. They could make things harder for you but it would take time. The city lord is really strict with the treatment of independents. Especially after what happened with the Kraven clan."

Robert clenched his muscles. "When did that happen?"

"Oh, almost a year ago! Relax!" She giggled and leaned forward. "They say Madam Morleppe and Basilisk, the city lord, had an altercation with the Kraven patriarch. We don't know why but several Kraven elders died that day, and the city lord became a majority partner in Kraven's mining operations."

Robert whistled and huffed. So it wasn't his... mass... mur... no. The collective disappearance of the Kraven acolytes and Bernard.

"Did you have any problems with the Kraven?" She asked.

Robert remained silent. He just stared at her and shook his head.

"It's fine, keep your secrets," she said, just a little annoyed. "And by the way, my father also has a job offer for you."

"Really?"

"Yes. And it is a huge opportunity."

"Is your father affiliated with Samson by any chance?"

She laughed. "That wasn't so hard to figure out, was it? What gave me away?"

"Those strike team guys were about to rip me a new one. I doubt some random girl would dissuade them from doing so. And how that clerk at the front desk seemed scared of you. I was half-expecting them to tell me to get the fuck out."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"I might need to reprimand them. They were specifically ordered to not act differently around me," Amanda grinned.

Robert could only feel like he had dodged a Death-affinity five-star Arch's ultimate ability. What if he had made any moves on the girl? Damn. Damn.

"I think your presence only kept them from misbehaving around me. Really, I'm a nobody—"

"Not anymore!" She triumphantly proclaimed and pointed a finger at him. "You are up and rising, Robert Blaze. Just like your surname!"

After all the time he spent in the liminal void alone (Mickey notwithstanding) Amanda was both a breath of fresh air and overwhelming. Robert noticed he was slowly changing because of his talent.

"Okay. The best I can do is to hear your father's offer first."

Her smile blossomed into something that only an angel who was also a starving tiger would make. He already regretted his last sentence.

"Great! Let's go, now!" She stood up and waved.

Robert sensed people approaching. They wore business suits but a pin with the Samson logo made it very clear who they worked for.

*

*

Of all the ways Robert expected his day to go, getting inside the Samson Arcology wasn't one of them. Now, he sat on a chair in a meeting room, on a very high floor. He had no idea which floor but the elevator took way too long to get there. Amanda, of course, sat next to him.

"It will be quite alright. I made sure Dad would cover any offer from the other two families," she said.

He waited in silence, trying to keep his cool. It was hard. Minutes later, the door on the far side opened and a man with a well-trimmed beard entered.

"Mr. Blaze, thank you for accepting our invitation," he said as he went around the too-large table.

Robert stood up, took the offered hand, and shook. Amanda's father's grasp was firm but not painful. He checked briefly with life sense and confirmed he was at least a strong two-star Arch if not a three-star.

"I'm Jeremiah Samson, director of logistics."

Damn.

"Amanda told me you have a job offer for me?" Robert asked, eager to get straight to business.

"We sure do. Please, sit. Do you drink anything?"

"Oolong tea would be fine."

A crystal plate on the table in front of his seat glowed, and a cup of oolong tea appeared. It was the same mechanism the ATA used in the consulting. Robert wasn't surprised, not at all. He totally remembered that was a thing. After staring at the cup for way too long, he took it and sipped the tea. "Perfect."

"Glad you liked it. So, Robert, we usually do a tour of the company and the advantages of working for us, then discuss the position's requirements, and finally, we move on to compensation. But this isn't a normal job interview, so we will skip the two initial steps."

"Straight to the job requirements."

"Correct. I want you to be Amanda's bodyguard."

Robert wheezed. Had he been drinking from the cup at that very moment, things would have gone very wrong. "Is Amanda in danger?"

"No. No more danger than any normal delver at one of our three passages. But the recent incident and your performance led us to believe she needs a delving partner whom she can trust. Your actions with the variant squid were superb. The autopsy of the creatures you killed alone showed how precise your attacks were. Top that with your healing and support spells, and the fact you have a lot of room to grow, and we reach the conclusion you are the perfect person for the job. Not to mention the rapport you already built with my daughter."

Amanda looked as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. Was he about to become the girl's pet? Butler? Guardian? It was obvious she influenced her father's decision. What was he getting into?

"And what functions would I perform?" Robert asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Delve with her, give her party support, healing, the usual. But if things get dangerous, you'll place her survival above the other party members."

Callous but the other party members would probably be of lower status than Amanda. Robert still didn't like that but he would hold his decision until he heard what was the compensation package.

"What's the compensation?"

"Your initial salary will be two million per year, with performance bonuses. You'll also have housing, food at the company cafeteria, uniforms, and discounts on all Samson products."

"What will be the work schedule?"

"You'll receive forty-eight hours of basic training, six days in each week, except on days when Amanda is delving. Each hour of company-approved delving carries a premium of fifty percent over your normal wages. We will also provide tempering materials and access to our library."

It sounded too good.

"Conditions to quit?"

"You won't—" Amanda started but shut up when her father glared and raised a hand.

"You must give us a six-month notice. You will also receive a compensation package which includes a non-compete clause. You will be barred from working with one of our competitors for five years, and this includes delving into their passages."

One red flag. That meant, in Robert's years, five centuries.

"With all honesty, sir, this sounds too good."

Amanda looked at him in disbelief as if he was a cheating husband.

"You have no idea how important Amanda is to our company, do you?" Mr. Samson asked.

"Not really, sir. She kept her cards very close to her chest."

Jeremiah looked amused. "Well, she will one day own ten percent of Samson."

At first, he thought ten percent was too little but then he remembered the size of the arcology. It was as big as two city districts.

"That's impressive," he said. It pleased Amanda.

But would he become her boy toy?

"Do I have to obey her orders during a delve?"

"No," Jeremiah replied straight away. "You are her bodyguard, not her manservant. In fact, I expect you to defy her if it is in the best interest of her security."

"And outside of a passage?"

"You can be called to provide security in social situations, but otherwise will stay here at Samson, training. I don't intend to attach you to any security unit. We expect you to improve constantly, to better serve in your assigned function."

"And this training will take the form of?"

"During basic training, it will be the same for all of our security forces. You will be assigned to a cadre of recruits, and work with them. After basic training ends, our human resources division will assign you a regimen to shore up your weaknesses and reinforce your strengths. But after that regimen is completed with a positive evaluation from the trainers, you'll have more liberty to choose your own activities. There's a quarterly evaluation of fitness for all our security personnel, and every one of them is required to pass."

"Dad, you forgot about the private gathering facility access."

"Of course. As part of your training, you'll have time allocated to you in one of our gathering facilities. They have top-notch equipment to gather wisps of your chosen affinity. It's Life, right?"

Robert nodded.

"You also need to make a full medical examination."

That didn't sound so good. Robert decided to make it the second red flag. Samson was still winning.

"And provide us with a detailed explanation of your talents and any other affinities you may have or acquire."

Yeah. That was not happening. Robert just closed his eyes and pondered. Was it worth the trouble? No. Even if he went with the ATA description of his talent, that should be in a report he had no doubt Samson could obtain, he couldn't tell them the whole truth. No fucking way.

"I'm sorry, but that's a deal breaker, sir," Robert said.

Amanda was shocked. Her jaw dropped.