Chapter 181: New Employee Interview 1
Translator: - - Editor: - -
It was Sunday, and he had finished lunch and was in the middle of training when he got a text message.
[Can you buy me a drink today?]
[Can you come out?]
A moment later, Sora sent another one.
[They won't let me go out yet.]
He imagined her whimpering and chuckled.
[I'll go to the HQ tonight. Let's drink at the park. I'll bring drinks.]
[Thank you.]
He turned the TV on and watched the news.
"Both the internet and the news are being censored?"
A building had been completely destroyed by fire and many people had probably died. It had only briefly made the news, but then it was subdued, so it wasn't possible to get any information about it from the TV or the internet.
"I have to make more money."
He opened the Spatial Bag and pulled out the leaves.
"How much are you worth?"
Whether it was Doyeol's money or Elise's money, he needed more money to make himself more powerful. Elise wanted to buy stuff behind Doyeol's back, but if she paid well, he wouldn't refuse her.
Obviously, Doyeol told him to bring back mana stones and bloodstones, but this was something else. He placed the leaves back into the Spatial Bag and got up.
Not wanting to think about it anymore, he went to the basement and trained until night.
---
Guardians HQ was still going through reconstruction from the destruction. The iron solder was helping with the construction, and it was moving along quickly, but it had only been a few days.
Junhyuk had some fried chicken and beer with him. He saw the construction underway and sighed. They wouldn't be able to enjoy their beer in the garden. Then, he saw the rooftop was also destroyed, sighed again and sent a text.
[Where are you? I'm here, but they are doing construction, and I can't find a place to drink.]
[I'll head over now.]
He waited by the front gate, and Sora walked out of the building and over to him quickly. She looked nervous, and Junhyuk spoke to her first.
"I came from the parking lot and got surprised. The backyard may still be OK. Wanna go there?"
"Sure."
They went to the back of the building, and Junhyuk saw the backyard was still intact, so he sat down. He set up the chicken and beer while Sora sat still, biting her nails. She looked different from before.
Junhyuk sat in front of her and poured her some beer in a cup.
"Shall we drink?"
Sora emptied her cup right away and looked at him.
"Can you give me another, please?"
So, he did. Sora drank three cups that way and sighed.
"Thanks."
He looked at her calmly and asked, "How was it?"
She had already told Elise, but not in detail. Sora looked at him and said, "The enemies had a hero troll. Had it not been for him, we would've lost."
Junhyuk wasn't sure he heard correctly.
"The enemies had a hero troll?"
"Yes. He rushed and followed up with a three-hit combo. He was a troll. You could kill him, but he still survived."
"Kaljaque?"
Sora nodded.
"Correct. That's his name. How did you know?"
He smiled bitterly. Kaljaque had become a hero and left the Champions' Battlefield, and Sora had met him.
"You were fighting alongside the allied heroes."
"That wasn't always the case. They used me as a bait to lure Kaljaque. I was just bait," she said shivering.
Junhyuk knew the feeling. It was same for him when he went to the battlefield for the first time, but he could stand his ground for ten seconds. She was fast, but her opponents were heroes. Her health was rather high, but heroes could kill her just by grazing her at her current stage, so she used her one-second run to get away.
"Did Kaljaque take the bait often?"
Sora smiled and replied, "He ran like crazy every time he saw me!"
Her power wasn't a danger to heroes. Even though she ran fast, she didn't have any attack powers. Perhaps when she got some equipment that would change, but at that moment, she was harmless. Kaljaque was being himself if he had tried to kill her.
"That's a relief."
"Do I have to go back?" she asked him tentatively.
Junhyuk nodded heavily.
"Yes. They'll call upon you again in two weeks and at the same time."
"I have to relive that hell?"
"Earn some money and get some equipment. Even a single item can keep you from dying."
"I know, but it's so expensive."
Sora had met Bebe, so Junhyuk told her what to get to survive. Zaira was monitoring the compound, so he didn't tell her what to get in exact detail. When he told her about the items, he noticed her feelings toward him. Her eyes sparkled, and he could guess what was on her mind. It wouldn't be hard to become friends with her.
---
They drank all of the beer, but neither of them was drunk. People had chicken and beer to get buzzed and not to get drunk.
Sora got up and slapped her cheeks lightly.
"I should be going."
Junhyuk nodded. Sora was more focused on surviving now than being nervous like at the beginning of the evening. The important thing was for her to not feel separation anxiety between this dimension and the Dimensional Battlefield. There was a limit to what he could do for her.
She told him that she would have a psychologist working with her, and starting the following day, she would have regularly-scheduled therapy.
She has to go back in two weeks. Can she get better within that time?
Still, therapy was better than getting no help.
She bowed to him and went back inside, and Junhyuk cleaned up the place.
He was about to leave when he saw Elise. She walked over to him.
"Chicken and beer?"
Her Korean was fluent. Elise was certainly a genius.
"Yes."
"Sora was extremely nervous. I was worried about her."
"I was able to help her a bit."
She sat where Sora had been sitting, touched her chin and looked at him. He stared back, and she whispered, "I thought we would drink together?"
"Yes."
"Then, where is my beer?"
"I drank with Sora today."
Elise pouted, saying, "Sure. I'm not curious about that now." She crossed her arms and asked, "What did you bring back this time?"
Junhyuk stared at her and pulled out a leaf. Her eyes sparkled.
"I need to tell you something," he said. "I don't know what this is for."
"I'll look into it."
"This isn't for mechanical engineering."
"Bioengineering was my minor."
"You should pay me fairly. I'm not sure what this can do, but I think I should get paid the same amount as a mana stone," Junhyuk said.
Diane, the Elf, had handpicked it for him, and Elise swiped her tongue across her lips.
"Can I check it first?"
She placed a hand in the air, and it turned into a screen. Junhyuk frowned. Zaira was monitoring the place. She had to be monitoring the entire HQ.
Elise scanned the leaf and smiled.
"It's not from this dimension. Its structure is different." She put the leaf down and added, "Things from the Dimensional Battlefield have different prices depending on how you use them. However, this is the first deal between us, so I'll give you a fair price: $100 million."
Junhyuk felt grateful to Diane. The next time she slapped his butt, he would let her.
"I'll wire the money to the bank account you used with Doyeol," she said while operating the screen.
"Thanks."
"You don't know anything about this leaf?"
"I didn't even know about the mana stone or the bloodstone, so of course I don't know."
"I'll do some research on it and let you know," she said and showed him her smile. "Thanks for selling it to me."
"I don't care who buys it. I don't belong to anyone."
"Then, bring me something next time as well."
"As long as you pay."
Elise could pay him $100 million, so he could make deals with her. That also diminished the distance between them. She would be a good source of information.
Elise got up and took the leaf.
"I should get going."
"You should."
He had been paid, so he didn't want to keep her any longer. She went in, and Junhyuk sat on a chair and looked at the sky. He could see a few stars.
Once he got up, he murmured, "They are reasonable."
Junhyuk had killed some monsters, so he thought the Dimensional Battlefield's administration would send even stronger monsters, but they hadn't.
The chicken and beer had been his dinner, and it was time to go home.
---
After facing a 1-percent-chance eliminatory round, they were all gathered there for the interviews. However, the company would only select five out of the hundred, and the other applicants looked very confident.
Soyeon was feeling nervous, but she pulled herself together by lightly slapping her face. Guardians was an international company. They operated the iron soldiers, which fought and killed monsters. Guardians HQ had been attacked, but no one was hurt, and they were creating even stronger iron soldiers at that point.
Everyone showed up for the interview.
Soyeon had thought fewer people would show.
They called her number along with four other people. The five of them would be interviewed at the same time.
She went into a room and tried to familiarize herself with the interviewers.
The Guardians' CEO, Eunseo, was wearing her glasses. Another woman sat next to her, and she looked strict. Soyeon looked at the woman, and her heart pounded. A man also sat with them. He was looking at some documents when Soyeon took her seat. When she saw his face, her mouth moved without her realizing.
"Mr. Banana Milk?"