Chapter 7 - Starting work to earn (I)

Chapter 7 - Starting work to earn (I)

"Hmm. Well, in your case, that will be one hour, three blue olgorian crystals." The receptionist said, not even taking a peek or glance at Jack.

"What? Why three blue olgorian crystals? And if I may ask, what is the monetary value of this blue olgorian crystal?" Jack asked with an inexplicable expression manifesting on his slightly contorted face—he felt like the receptionist wanted to cheat him.

"Are you sure you are from this world, that you don't know a basic thing like that? Perhaps you came from some outdated, ancient civilization that reside in some extremely distant hinterland that are thousands of years behind. Like, so far behind they don't know the current situation of things. Haha!" The receptionist said like she had been looking for whom to derisively tell that to, and produced a good, loud laugh once she was done. While Jack simply looked at her with a 'mehhh' kind of expression etched on his facial features.

"Anyway, to explain to you, a naive visitor from an obsolete civilization crested on unmapped hinterlands" the receptionist said, continuing with a bright smile hanging on her lips, "blue is the lowest of the olgorian crystals used as payment for services."

"We have six other colors, which in ascending order of value are: yellow, red, purple, violet, white and black. So, blue is beneath yellow and is therefore the one with the least financial value. Now, visitor from the hinterland—a rather irritably weak one, when you get paid three blue olgorian crystals for your work for a hour, you should be thankful that you are paid something that will at least cover your breakfast." The receptionist said without looking at Jack who gazed at her with the 'mehh' expression still etched on his face.

"Well, I would like to start now. And yea, you will also give me a place to stay within this building. You know, I came from faraway. I am a visitor from the hinterland who doesn't have anywhere to stay at the moment. And since I am willing to work here for really meagre fees, I should be given like a residence where I can live in till I am able to afford a cheap place of my own." Jack said, looking at the receptionist who looked back at him with an inexplicable smile gracing her lips.

"Then that can only mean you will be paid half of an olgorian crystal for working for a hour in this place. Are you cool with it?" The receptionist smilingly asked, while Jack, who began to boil within himself, but actually expected the receptionist to mention that to him, felt like shouting at her, push her off her seat, and walk out of their organization in anger. But he controlled himself and smiled, trying to negotiate calmly. He won't allow another person have power over him, over his emotions.

"That's too little a payment, come on. It's only a spot I require to sleep in. I won't take up space. If I am paid only one olgorian crystal, how do I feed? You should take pity on this poor visitor from the hinterland." Jack said with an imploring tone in his never-faltering, confident voice.

"Haha. I know visitor, I know. I was only playing with you. So, two olgorian crystals then. That's all I can do, sincerely." The receptionist slightly cackled before speaking, while Jack immediately nodded his head in agreement, before the seemingly sly receptionist in front of him would probably change her mind once again and reduce his payment.

But then, Jack, suddenly recollecting that he had been speaking to only the receptionist, and not the secretary or even the assistant director or deputy manager of the firm, immediately asked with his brows deeply furrowed, "Wait, aren't I supposed to see your boss? Isn't he or she the one that has the final say to make me start work here? Why do I feel like this is a backdoor entry into the organization."

"Hmm. The visitor is actually smart. Well, I said that because I took pity on you. As you approached me from afar, I could instantly perceive your really shocking weakness. Boy, you don't have any sort of strength. To be honest, you might be one of the weakest in our world. Who are your parents? And as an additional note, toddlers might wipe the ground with your body like it was a disposable rag."

"Anyway, being a condescending yet kind person, I just had to create a way for you to work here so that you could earn money for your various needs. As for my boss, though he isn't around at the moment because he's busy managing numerous other organizations scattered across different parts of our large city, he will promptly dismiss you upon noticing that you don't have even the minimum accepted degree of physical strength required for this job."

"Look, I am actually taking a big risk for you. A really big one. Because if my boss comes around and finds you, and asks how you got in and you mentioned that it was through me, even though I know he likes me for my sincerity, humility, top-notch managerial skills, project-executing ability, deterring fearsome strength, and most importantly, utmost religious dedication to the growth of the organization, I will be embarrassed and disgracefully kicked out."

"So... What do you say? Still want to wait and see my boss who will come here with possibly over five hundred short-term, casual labor workers truly fit to work here, and numerous certified workplace advisers and impartial inspectors who will seriously and critically advise him against you working here when he arrives in probably nine months time? Or you can start now and earn something tangible for yourself before he shows up?" The receptionist asked with a bright, suspenseful look plastered on her face as she gazed at Jack.

"Hmm. Alright." Jack immediately answered, after rapidly but carefully weighing his options.

"Thank you." He said further with an appreciative tone in his voice. She had done well for him—within the small capacity that she could act in, and so needed to be thanked, or he would seem like an ingrate that actually didn't deserve even the littlest good things in life. The moral training his grandfather imparted upon him was beginning to shine through.

Although she had said some vexatious things to him, she actually meant well and seemed like a good, kind, and jovial person, albeit one who is capable of mouthing off really annoying things. So, after learning about what she tried to do for him, risking her job appointment being terminated by her boss, he understood her to be a good-hearted but sharp-tongued person. More precisely, a person who audaciously made strings of scathing remarks and derisive comments on things she found ridiculous, outrageous or preposterous.

"No, don't do that. No need to thank me." The receptionist said with a bright smile and stood to her feet from her seat. Seeing her radiant smile and the white, pearl-like teeth that adorned her bright pink gums, it was only then that Jack could actually see her beauty—after managing to see past her rather annoying first impression that she constantly exuded. She was an elegant female with a long, curly and vibrant indigo hair who was above average in appearance. She had a bright and unblemished glowing white skin, a pointed nose, and intense violet irises that seemed to mysteriously switch color between indigo, purple and violet. An enigmatic-symbol birthmark adorned the right side of her neck, and she stood at a decent, tall height of 5'10" feet.

When she led Jack out of her sturdy, robust office and locked it to prevent the theft of certain vital documents or folders containing highly confidential papers, even though it was a highly secured organization where something as basic as theft couldn't happen, she took Jack to the place where about twenty-four thousand people were working—signifying that it was indeed a massive organization.

Once they arrived, she began, after learning Jack's name, which sounded really odd to her. However, she immediately understood why in the next moment—he was a visitor from the hinterland like she had mentioned earlier. "Jack, your job in this place isn't going to be all that difficult, given how weak you are, which is the sole reason why you will be receiving that meager sum of money. Unfortunately, I can't do much about it at the moment."

"You know, since you aren't registered into the system as a contracted worker under a fixed and reviewable payment scheme, as you arrived at this place through the backdoor employment offer that I gave you, your payment was made that small, just so I can absorb it without causing too much of a problem or hassle for myself for letting you work here."

"But if you perform well and manage to impress me, I will give you a proper job offer—within my current capacity to act as the deputy manager since my boss isn't around. And as the overall work and performance supervisor that I currently am, I will allow you to work here under a fat, robust, and upward-reviewable payment scheme that I will be in charge of. Hope you are glad hearing that?"

Maxmillan nodded with a slight smile gracing his lips. Then, with a contemplative look emerging, he thought, 'I guess this is how they do things on this planet. One person could be in charge of everything, as long as they are strong enough and trustworthy. Hmm. This will definitely allow the owner of the establishment to be many times richer, as he won't be paying other staff playing different roles any dime. I wonder if this lady is paid well. Probably not; she doesn't seem like it. Maybe just one percent of the hundred percent revenue that the organization makes. Though she seems smart and will definitely know that, maybe she just wants to stay since she will be in charge of the organization whenever he isn't around. She might not be seeking greater things in life, as there would be too much chaos and drama that comes with that. But I feel this isn't as ordinary as I think. Who knows, she could be a dismissed powerful warrior, because she mentioned something about deterring fearsome strength earlier."

""So, your job description is to join the casual workers here in transporting some amounts – in your case, an hourly quota of two hundred kilograms of polished Volberionnyre stones extracted from those glowing, enormous rocks. These stones will be loaded into carriages that will supply them to different parts of the city where they will be needed for repairing damaged roads or sealing large areas of lands upturned by gigantic, fierce underground beasts."

"They will also be sent to other places where they will be further processed into tremendously valuable items related to health, ornament, and agriculture." The receptionist, or more precisely, the acting manager, administrator, and supervisor—Lisseranda Gaurderort by name—explained and pointed into the far distance at a massive number of enormous, hill-sized rocks. These rocks emitted bright, compelling, and scintillating purplish, greenish, greyish, and silvery glows at different areas of their uneven, jagged surfaces.

These glows, which surprisingly conjured constant appearances of dancing, distorting, and stretching ephemeral colored motes of light in the air, would create intense, continuous illusions in the minds of those who gazed at them. Even Jack who was really far away from the differently-glowing rocks, was nearly pulled into a strong illusionary trance by the radiances that he would need a heavy, knock-out smack to the back of his head to probably come out of.

"Wow. So intense and overwhelming." He said and shook his head in both awe and fright—due to the intensive, highly realistic illusion that he was rigorously subjected to by the illusion-evoking, mind-incarcerating colored glows of light.

"Idiot, don't gaze at the resplendent glows that the rocks are emitting, or you will be pulled into an endless forest of fantasy—where each leaf floating in the wind in this forest of seemingly-countless, delightful and ecstatic false scenes, is an actual thread of energy stringing together nine hundred and ninety-nine million inescapable, highly-realistic misleading visions. It's crazy, right? Yea. So I heard from an old, venerable grand expert on illusion who oriented us on the unreality-weaving abilities of the rock and sternly, repeatedly warned us about its beautiful, eye-catching colored radiances."

"So, don't look at it, it's not something you should look at, or you will become part of the seven hundred and sixty men that were thrown out of here because they couldn't come out of the never-ending illusions that their frail minds were indefinitely subjected to, and therefore, everlastingly lost their way and path in the real world. All good things envisioned for themselves, families and friends, gone! Don't be like those airheads, those stupid, scatterbrained fools who are utter disgraces to their wives, children and society at large, or I will regret extending my hand of benevolence towards you by accepting your request to work here. Don't make me regret, because indirectly, the blame will fall on me. It won't be nice to see that my generous action had unfortunately turned you into one of those incoherent-word-mumbling, mind-paralyzed imbeciles." Lisseranda said, seeming like a big sister trying to strongly caution and sternly instruct a naive, young sibling.

"Well, Jack, that's the only danger of working in this place. Other than that, you will be fine. And yes, maybe a little bullying by some morons. Just don't overstep your bounds with anyone stronger than you here, or you might be taunted endlessly, which will result in continuous beatings. Be safe out here," Lisseranda said after narrating some things that Jack should be exceedingly wary of.

As she walked away—back to her office to attend to new people that would come in for certain enquiries, Jack abruptly tried to do something. He suddenly got this idea when she was speaking to him about the illusion-casting ability of the beautiful, endlessly charming light coming from the rock.