Chapter Five
Recruitment
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Adam and Simon returned through the portal and into the shed back on Earth. The sensation was disorienting, considering this time he wasn’t blasted through by a wizard. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings. Once the room stopped spinning he nodded at Simon. Adam got dressed back in his work clothes and folded up his tunic and simple pants and handed them to Simon. “Why don’t you just put those in your inventory for later?” Simon said, handing them back.
Adam then realized his HUD did not go away when they had gone through the portal. “Wait, is this permanent?” Adam asked. Simon only smiled and gave him a slap on the shoulder and moved towards the door. Adam tried for around thirty seconds on storing the clothes into his inventory without opening up the tab. He was unsuccessful and proceeded in storing it the easy way. I’ll have to practice that in my down time.
They exited the shed into the darkness of the setting sun and quickly made their way quickly through the yard to get away from the debilitation of the building's defense. It seemed to only have about a ten yard area that was being affected. They entered the house and Simon started making coffee for both of them. “I like my coffee like I like my wizards,” Adam said. Simon laughed so hard he dropped the k-cup he was holding, “Oh that sure is a new one on me.” He finished brewing both cups and resumed their conversation from the tree house.
“So, I have three concerns,” Adam began, “One, how am I supposed to make money? I feel like this is going to be a montage of me doing nothing but training.” “Ah. That is easy,” Simon said. “Your training isn’t going to be like monks training in isolation. Your training is going to be surviving. If you agree to this you will be tossed to the wolves. In this case, literally. I can give you some basic gear to get you started but you will have to fend for yourself. In the past we have tried more controlled training. It turns out it gives Heroes a false sense of security and when they are walking the line of life and death it doesn’t end well.”
“I will be your support but you will be locked away for six months out the gate.” Adam let out a burst of air, taken aback, “Six months?” They sipped their coffee before Simon continued, “The good news, we find out quickly whether or not you are cut out for this in the first week rather than spend years training you up just to fail.” Adam perked up at this, “Only a week? I thought you just said six months?” The wizard spread his hands apologetic, “Yeah. Usually after a week the people who don’t work out are usually dead. Keep in mind, we warn everyone so they don't die of their own hubris. They die because they are not capable.”
A few silent sips later, Adam nodded, “I think I can handle that. What about money?” “Well you haven’t had a chance to do this yet, but when you absorb your Zeniths you unlock four passive abilities. If you don’t get a looting ability I can show you a simple looting spell that can be easily replicated. It transforms the magical makeup of all creatures and turns them into items pertaining to the creature's makeup or surroundings. Sometimes you can get a very concentrated amount of mana and it turns into things like Zenith Crystals or Crux Cores. You will get other useful materials like Elemental Mana Shards.”
“Are these things valuable?” Adam asked. “Not here,” Simon said, “I came here from a place called Wallerax. It’s another world that has dealt with magic for centuries. I use to work at a place that helped magical desolate places like this prepare. I was just an administrator and occasionally I would go out with my clan to get stronger. I can take your loot there to sell off. I can loan you a years worth of your normal wages to help your family till you get back from your sabbatical.”
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“I don’t think I have the head room to deal with another universe today.” They shared a laugh and Adam continued, “I reckon that is kosher. You cut me a check before I leave for that and things two and three are not nearly as important.” Simon rummaged around a drawer for a moment and got his checkbook out and slid it over to Adam, “Go for it bucko. What is thing two and three?” “Two,” Adam resumed as he jotted down his annual salary on the check, “Can I bring people? I have two others that fit the bill. One is a brother in my church. The other has been a brother to me since childhood. If I got magic powers without bringing him in I don’t think he would forgive me.”
Simon seemed to stare off into the distance before answering, “Two others I can do. Bring them to me and I’ll have to vet them first. Don’t tell them anything. I’ll do something similar with them. If you think they are good people that is enough for me. I need to see if they got the right mental flexibility for this.” Adam finished his coffee and placed it into the sink. Simon signed off on the check and handed it to Adam. He placed it into his inventory with a goofy smile on his face, “I can get used to this for sure. Thing number three, do you provide the Zenith Crystals first or do we need to hope we find them in the wild?” “I will get you set up to get your Paragon Classes. I got a list you can choose from and we can send you on your way.” “Well, let me get your furnace fixed up here and get on my way. I got a long conversation to have with a few people and I want to make sure this check goes into the bank before I have them. If it does, you can expect me back here tomorrow evening. Hopefully before dark so the other fellas can see how beautiful the other place is.”
Adam went out and rummaged through his van and found a ten microfarad to replace on the old furnace. Once he was back in the basement he used [Scan] on the part.
Item : Capacitor (10 MFD ±6% 440/370 VAC). Part number 12932. Current capacity : 9.9 MFD.
Adams eyebrows just about slapped his hairline. “Oh my lands.” He whispered. He began to use [Scan] on the blower motor, control board, ignition module and getting all the data on the parts. Apparently the spark ignitor was weak, the blower motors windings were 84% intact and the heat exchanger had an approximate 15 years of life at its current degradation projections. “I have become the greatest technician in the world.” He pulled his phone out and attempted to dial one of his co-workers before he realized he had no signal. “Huh. Forgot about that. Hey Simon!” He hollered up the stairs.
Simon walked down and joined Adam as he finished swapping the capacitor and securing it back to the blower housing. “You can identify things too, right?” He asked Simon. “Why yes. I can,” He replied, trying and failing to hide his guilt. “Did you already know this capacitor was bad before I got here?” Simon did his best not to make eye contact before speaking, “I, I, I,” He stuttered, “I may have…” “Did you lure me here under false pretenses?” Adam interjected, “ Like me specifically? Was this all a test?”
Simon could only laugh, rubbing his bald head nervously. From what Adam had seen thus far from the wizard cowboy, nervousness was out of place on him. “I think the word ‘specifically’ is a little… specific. I may have requested for the company's most honest and holy person. They just happened to send you,” Simon replied and shrugged, picking up the old capacitor and placing it in a cabinet that was filled with old and new parts, from plumbing, electrical, HVAC and automotive. Adam did not see what was in the cabinet and the old wizard did not divulge this as his recruiting technique. Adam chalked it all up to coincidence and turned the power back on.
Simon quickly volunteered to turn the thermostat up and Adam used [Scan] on each step, completely enthralled in the new depth of his capabilities as a technician. He was startled when Simon called down after twenty minutes. Adam closed up the furnace and made his way back upstairs with his tools. Checking his watch he was much later than he wanted to be, “I really do need to be getting on. I got a good few things to get done before I come back here tomorrow.” The two shook hands once again and Simon walked Adam to his van, waving a final goodbye as he disappeared in the side view mirror.
If these powers work outside the fancy portal realm there is only one thing to do. His first phone call once he got cell phone service was to the owner of the company. “Jake, I quit.” He didn’t let his boss get a word in before he hung up and drove straight home to unload all his tools and have a very long talk with his wife.