Chapter 296
“It’s good to see you again, Kyle. Your little hunting trip with Arhades sounds like it turned into quite the ruckus.” Suierrillax was sitting behind her desk with four different screens floating in the air around her, one of which had the logo for Pragmus Meat Purveyors. She pulled this one up front, showing the wall of text to Kyle.
“And, to top it off, you made some new friends. Pragmus has asked that you serve as one of their preferred Couriers for sensitive and special deliveries. They’re also looking to put down a large retainer to the Guild and to you, personally, for prioritization of their jobs.”
“I didn’t know that was even an option,” Kyle muttered, reading through the densely packed legal jargon as he wrapped his head around the offer.
“It’s a deal worth considering,” Suierrillax said. “The credits are great up front, and this means that you’ll generally have a steady stream of work. For most Couriers, this is about as good of an opportunity as anybody could expect to land.”
“Why do I get the feeling that there’s a ‘but’ coming?” Kyle asked, meeting Suierrillax’s black eyes.
She grinned at him, folding her arms. “You know as well as I do that you’re not exactly most Couriers. You’re already in the top decile of earners for D Grade, your job board performance was stellar, you’ve got Jarberry’s interest, and most importantly, you have me on your side.”
[WHERE DO I FACTOR INTO YOUR CALCULUS, SUIERRILLAX?]
“Naturally, C.H.A.D.D., you’re the only reason he’s survived some of his bad decisions. I thought that came without saying.”
“Hey now,” Kyle interjected. “I’m not that bad. I did just fine when C.H.A.D.D. was getting upgraded.”
“Only because you didn’t take any of the hard jobs,” Suierrillax countered back. “In any event, if you’re looking to settle down for a while, this could be a great fit. The contract is up for renewal every three years, and it doesn’t stop you from doing other jobs if they don’t have work.
“Now, admittedly, I don’t know the first thing about being awakened. From what I gather, though, you’re not too far off from making your way to C Grade. There aren’t nearly as many jobs requesting C Grades, but each of them are complex, and particularly lucrative. If you think that you’ll be making it to C Grade within the next three years, I would probably pass on the deal.”
That makes a lot of sense, Kyle thought as he nodded along. If he signed, and continued to work toward C Grade, Pragmus would have the ability to inundate him with jobs that he may not be as interested in, and get him for a bargain price. “Then it sounds like it’s not the right fit, at least for now.”
“I would agree,” she said. “Now, for the other reason I called you back. We got an update from your friends at Corthian Mining, and things have taken an odd turn over the last couple of days. From the sound of things, most of their ships and shuttles have been grounded for a while, but they’re mobilizing for something big.” She dismissed the screen from Pragmus Meat Purveyors, pulling up a screen with Corthian Mining’s logo on top.
“They’re offering you a per diem rate, right now, to not take any jobs in the near future. The details are murky, but my contacts at the Mercenary’s Guild mentioned that they’ve done the same for a handful of powerful D Grades. Yesterday, Angela was spotted going to their Guild Headquarters personally.”
Kyle frowned, looking subconsciously toward his nav bracelet. He hadn’t heard anything from Garth or Skippy, but it sounded like their expedition found something that was bigger than Corthian Mining to handle on their own. “How quickly would they be expecting mobilization, after we get notice?”
Suierrillax hummed to herself while she scrolled through the screen, highlighting the specific language from the contract. “They would want you ready for deployment within two days of notice. Failing to do so, or tardiness, would result in forfeiting a portion, up to all, of the per diem.”
[SO IF WE WERE TO GO SOMEWHERE REMOTE, THERE COULD BE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES?]
“Only if you choose to accept the contract,” Suierrillax said. “Frankly, if it weren’t for the personal nature of your connection, I wouldn’t have even recommended considering it. The per diem is nice for just sitting around, but you can make more credits by actually completing jobs.”
[WITH THAT BEING THE CASE, WE SHOULD PROBABLY WAIT TO TAKE A TRIP TO ORDATA. IT WOULD BE A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT, BUT IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO RETURN.]
Kyle nodded, already knowing what he was going to do. “We’ll plan on waiting around the Hub for further instructions. Whatever’s going on with my people, I want to be in the loop.”
“You’re nothing if not predictable, Kyle,” Suierrillax said with a smile. “I already booked myself a few days off. On call to coordinate logistics, naturally, but I figured you’d take the deal.”
“What can I say? I aim to please,” Kyle joked. His expression grew more serious as he thought about Garth and the survivors. Suierrillax was right, something big was happening, and that meant that there was room for things to go wrong.
Picking up on Kyle’s tension, C.H.A.D.D. jumped in. [YOU HAVE CERTAINLY EARNED A VACATION, SUIERRILLAX. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED FROM US BEFORE WE LEAVE YOU TO ENJOY YOUR TIME AWAY?]
“Nothing at all,” she replied. “I’ll pass along word to Corthian Mining that you accepted the job, and they’ll update you via nav bracelet. If anything comes up for you two just reach out, I’ll still be around.”
“We’ll try not to be a bother,” Kyle said, refocusing and smiling. “And echoing what C.H.A.D.D. said, you deserve the break.”
“Just take care of yourself, Kyle. Can’t have you running off to get killed out there.”
“I’ll be sure to watch out,” he said.
“C.H.A.D.D., keep Kyle out of trouble,” Suierrillax replied with a deadpan expression.
[I WILL DO MY BEST,] C.H.A.D.D. said non-committedly.
Kyle chuckled as he turned to leave the office. With some time to burn before they had to leave, there was another item on his to-do list just waiting to get completed. With some luck, he’d be returning the tomes he borrowed from Jarberry soon. After his levels from fighting the hodags and his new passive skill, Kyle was excited to see just how far he’d progressed with the exercises. His mentor set a goal for him to reach 500 pages on each tome before he evolved to C Grade, and he knew he was getting close. With eighteen levels to go, he felt that he was more than on track.
Settling in back at his apartment, Kyle got to work. He opened the first heavy book, and infused his mana. Words formed as he flipped page after page, holding his mana steady. His increased attributes helped him keep things stabilized, while his increased control from constant practice and application of his skills began to shine through. Novel applications of his skills, like the constant field of Repel he’d used, came to mind as he kept turning pages. It was an exercise in precision and focus.
Something in him clicked. The work was still difficult as he moved page by page, but it was as if a formula had been solved. He felt a gentle sense of approval from C.H.A.D.D. as he kept turning the pages, until finally he had a moment of distraction that caused the words to blur and disappear. Still, he was thrilled with the results. 476 pages. The number was a tremendous improvement over any of his previous records, and he smiled as he put the book away, looking at the second tome.
As it turned out, Muscular Compression and Iron Will resulted in a massive change in the way the second tome strained his body. The strain was barely noticeable as he turned the pages. Between his tightly-wound muscle fibers and the veins of resilient mana coursing through his cells, his body resisted the tome’s attempts to stress him.Before he knew it, hundreds of pages were gone, only now beginning to truly feel the challenge. Finally, he was pushed to a point where he could no longer turn the paper. 506.
His feelings on this one were mixed. On one hand, the synergy between his Adaptive Anatomy and his new passive skill was incredible. The additional muscle fibers and cells created more pathways for Iron Will to spread, enhancing his body’s resilience to insane levels. Though he didn’t want to test it, he expected that Arhades would have an easier time cutting through a hodag with his level 105 skill than trying to bisect Kyle.
On the other hand, the purpose of using the tomes was for Kyle to develop his foundations. His developments with the first tome were a great example of the fruit of that effort, with his mana control being refined further than ever before. In this case, he didn’t feel like he’d really made all that much improvement. Despite his body’s improved resilience, Kyle had done very little in terms of real physical training.
His combat drills were something, but even those were relatively basic and routine at this point. The reality was that Kyle had simply been relying on his physical techniques less and less. Similar to the position he was in back on Earth, his raw attributes made him overwhelming to enemies much weaker than him, and he was relying more heavily on his other skills during combat with powerful foes.
With a sigh, he opened the final tome, putting his concerns behind him. Ultimately, he couldn’t control it at this point, only trace the progress. With both C.H.A.D.D. and the Core of the Parasitic Devourer connected through Pack Leader’s Instinct, the pain was eased. Still, Kyle didn’t feel like his success here was just a result of his Adaptive Anatomy. He knew pain. He’d felt more than most people would in a lifetime. And so, the pages turned. One by one, the discomfort intensified, and Kyle embraced it every step of the way. After what felt like an eternity, he finally stopped, closing the final tome. 581 pages.
Despite the exhaustion from the exercise, he smiled. There was still room to improve, but he was satisfied with what he’d accomplished so far. Besides, plenty of time before C Grade. His thought process was interrupted by a sense of alertness from C.H.A.D.D., and just as he looked up, Jarberry appeared in the air in front of him.
“Well, look who finally decided to come home. Nice work with the books, kid. Looks like you’ve been training something fierce, to make progress like this. Keep this up and you’ve got a good shot at making a name for yourself.”
Kyle ignored the sense of frustration coming from C.H.A.D.D., and smiled at his impish mentor. “Good to see you, Jarberry,” Kyle said. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to be able to visit before I got called away.”
“And miss getting a chance to give you unsolicited advice? Never.” The imp’s expression turned serious, however, as he met Kyle’s eyes. “Look, kid. I heard some gossip about this new job, and figured you should hear it from me first so you go in with your head screwed on straight. I don’t know what Corthian told you about it so far, but it sounds like you’ll be stepping into a situation with a lot of complexity. I want to make sure you’re stepping into it with your eyes open.”