“Finished ordering?” Max asked, as he watched Cy help the robots move the remaining equipment. His sudden question appeared to have surprised him since he dropped the ancient machine. The machine landed on a robot, who had been helping him. It let out a few peeps of complaints before it slowly began levitating with the machine. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Sorry, Jeeves.” The robot made a few more peeps to acknowledge the apology. Cy glanced over Elder Nova, who was looking over a supply list given to her by Lurch. “You finished getting registered?”
Ah fuck, they got so focused on making a secret supply list that they lost track of time. “It’s done.” Elder Nova declared. Did they need to do anything in the first place? “From now on, use the shortcut to this lab.”
Cy looked lost. “There’s a shortcut?”
“Just go under the bridge next to the field. You know, the one above the dribble of a stream.” Elder Nova’s voice was cold as Max turned to a puzzled Cy. There was a shortcut close so close to Cy’s home?
“How long has that shortcut been there?”
“Since an hour ago. The pair of you will need to come together for the teleport to activate.” Elder Nova made eye contact, causing Max to understand. It was made especially for him. “Lurch will see you two out. Your lab will be ready tomorrow.”
“What else should we do today?” Max asked as they passed through the newly made teleport. It was a lot more convenient than marching through the tunnels for half an hour. “I need to check in with Elder Aris in an hour or so.”
“How about we find you another part-time job? Dad seems to be insisting on it.” Max couldn’t deny it. “And I’ll be busy with the lab’s daily reports, so it’ll be better than you sitting around next to me.”
“How long are the reports?”
“They’re for Elder Ji-min to process.” Cy didn’t need to say anymore. No wonder Cy didn’t seem happy about being responsible for their activities.
Max thought for a second as he glanced up as his raised hood. “Will you be okay with helping me search for a part-time job?”
Cy looked at him, confused. “What the hell are you talking about? Why wouldn’t I be okay? I live here.” As if the devil called, they noticed a column of flames erupting from a match on the training field. “Let’s just avoid there until your check-in time. They won’t have a job for you anyways.”
“Alright.”
“Are you sure she’ll offer me a job?” Max asked, as they approached a mansion in the woods. Unlike the other quinte cabins, the building looked like a fortress on the outside. “Elder Obi rejected my application.”
“They’re always looking for workers and volunteers.” Cy dismissed his concern. “You said you were good with kids.” Well, he had kids. “It’ll be good for them to speak to someone who understands the world outside of the community a bit better.” According to Cy, Tsujuma usually recruited people while they were children. Until they get settled and adopted by another community member or were old enough to be self-sufficient; they lived with Elder Obi.
“Can you tolerate crying?”
“I can.”
“Then you’ll be fine!”
Max couldn’t hold back his unamused look. “Raising kids is more difficult than just tolerating cryin-” It had only been a fraction of a second, but there was a sudden change in the air. Instinctively, Max reached forward and pulled Cy back before a thick wall of light appeared before them. “Watch out!”
Cy looked at the wall before suddenly remembering. “Oh yeah, you’re not registered. I’ll go get Elder Obi-”
“You are not welcomed here.” The wall suddenly lowered to show Elder Obi standing on the other side. Although the wall wasn’t visible anymore, Max had little doubt that the safety feature was still there.
From the mansion, Max could see a bunch of children looking down at the excitement below them. Were there no teleports in this place? At first, they looked down with glee before they began pulling faces at the unknown people. A few of them were misting up the windowpane before drawing dicks on the glass. Some things never changed no matter what world you went to.
“Leave.” Looked like the system didn’t want him here either.
Story Name:
Children of the Acorns
Genre:
Horror
Description:
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Round up the troops, prepare your believers, overthrow the arrogant adults.
Goal:
Install a cult run by children.
Difficulty:
★☆☆☆☆
How to Start:
Win the love of the kids!
“Max said he’s good with kids,” Cy tried to convince her.
“It’s okay. Let’s not disturb the peace.”
“So, you’re good at metal work?” The local blacksmith looked down his nose at Max and Cy. He was probably the tallest and buffest man Max had seen in this world. What a monster. It was admirable.
“I’ve got a bit of experience.” Max looked around the workshop.
It was a lot cleaner compared to Noah’s. The blacksmith already had two employees, who were running around the smithy. Whilst Noah’s goods piled up on the floor, this smithy looked barely in stock while the employees chucked metal goods into shipping box after shipping box.
“I thought you were a farm hand?”
“Max helped out the local blacksmith in his village,” Cy lied for him. Max was a little surprised about his confidence in his abilities but considering how many skills he had shown so far, he guessed it must be expected by now. “Go on, let him have a trial period.”
The blacksmith looked down at them. “Willing to work for minimum wage?”
“You can deduct from my wages if I fuck up.” Max was going to be swimming with money if these part-time jobs and deals with Elder Nova continued.
“We’ll do a trial period tomorrow.” The blacksmith held out his hand for Max to accept.
Story Name:
A Silver Future
Genre:
Crime
Description:
After running an underground operation of smuggling precious metals, the MC plans on creating a new empire of profits in faraway lands.
Goal:
Create a legendary crime organisation.
Difficulty:
★★★☆☆
How to Start:
Work at the blacksmiths!
Fuck.
The motherfucking system had a twisted sense of goddamn humour.
“Sorry, I just remembered I’m allergic to metal. Let’s go, Cy.”
“Uh, okay?”
The blacksmith was lost for words as he watched the pair leave.
Elder Aris barely acknowledged them as they approached his training field. Another public demonstration of abysmal teaching. Maybe he should stick to musical theory. “Still here?” He snorted after they reached him.
“Still here,” Max looked out into the field. There was still a restriction with Lux’s prompt, but there were many other students in the field and probably a lot of cleaning up after they’re done. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. “You got a job kicking about?”
“You’ve got to be shitting me. You think I would hire you?”
Even Cy looked perplexed before Max shrugged it off. “Just asking.”
“Maybe we could bring on another person.” The owner of one of the local restaurants sat across from Cy and Max. She had been polite in hearing them out and even offered to pay for their lunch as a welcome home present. “Tell me, how good are you in the kitchen?”
“Sorry, I don’t think this is going to work out.”
Cy rubbed his temples as he leaned against the railing of the oversized, scenic bridge. “Have we tried the local store?”
“I’m not confident at providing good customer service.” The system said no.
“Becoming Charon’s apprentice?”
“Carriage sickness.” The system said no.
“Helping out at the school?”
“Elder Obi wouldn’t approve.” A genuine reason.
“Dog walking?”
“Dogs usually hate me.” The system said no.
“Barista?”
“Too close to cooking.” …
“You know… I don’t remember you being a picky bitch when you worked for Bessie.” Max just shrugged. “How about assisting Elder Nova?”
“She’s already paying us.” And it would be disadvantageous to stay in one place for so long. In a place like here, movement was key to keeping ahead of trouble. Max thought about it for a moment. “Elder Ji-min offered me-”
“Tell me you said no!” Cy suddenly exclaimed.
“I said I’ll think about it.”
Cy let out a sigh of relief. “He’s been trying to get people to clean that junkyard of his for years. Even if you did manage to clean everything, he won’t change his ways.”
Wouldn’t that mean more money when it got dirty again? “Well, if we can’t think of anything else…”
Cy thought for a couple of minutes. “Maybe we can convince Bell…”
“No.”
“Oh, come on!” Cy moaned as he watched Farmer Bell toss a handful of feed for his chickens. On the outskirts of the community, Farmer Bell experiments with agricultural related magic on his own. Outsiders were never welcomed. Community members weren't welcomed either. “Max worked on a farm before. You can work him like a dog.” Cy frantically gestured over to Max, who was casually patting one of Farmer Bell’s curious calves.
“No.”
“You can get him from the crack of dawn until lunchtime and then from dusk until midnight. And he’ll work for minimum wage.” Farmer Bell gave an unimpressed grunt. “He’ll probably work for even less than minimum wage.”
“You gonna say somethin’ or you gonna let this one talk for ya?” Farmer Bell hollered over at Max.
The calf licked his fingers causing Max to snatch them away. It was a matter of time before they would be bitten. Instead of replying with words to Farmer Bell, he just gave a smile with a shrug. The outdoor nature of the job appealed to him, the system had no qualms, and the work was familiar to this body; too bad the bossman was unwilling.
“Look at him! He’s a cow whisperer. Just give him a shot-”
Farmer Bell stared at Max with tiny eyes before murmuring. “He’s a quiet one.”
Cy saw his opportunity. “You won’t get a peep out of him. Just give the order, and he’ll do it without complaint. Almost any working conditions would be better than the place he worked at before.” Max didn’t like hearing Bessie being slandered, but he kept his mouth shut as he resumed petting the calf. “The moment he speaks, you can fire him.”
“Ya like cows?” Farmer Bell ignored Cy as he nodded to the calf.
Cy motioned for Max not to say anything, but he could have been air as far as the farmworkers were concerned. “Yes.” Cy looked like he could kill him before Farmer Bell continued.
“Can ya milk a cow?”
“Yes.”
“Got practice herdin’ them?”
“Yes.”
“What’s a name of one of ya’ girls?”
Max could tell the nature of the question. Did he get personal with his previous herd and endured the hardship which came with raising them? Or did he keep them at a distance for cold profit? “They were named after berries. We had Juniper, Straw, Cran, Goose-”
“They were named after berries?” Cy looked perplexed.
“They were Bessie’s berry girls.”
Farmer Bell gave another grunt. “Ya start at 5.” He had a job? “Leave when ya’r done. Come back at 7. Finish when ya finish. Got it?”
“Got it.” Max ignored the pain coming from his fingers. The calf got a little nibble in the end.