I ignored the milk and tossed some of the cereal into my mouth before trying to chew.
Cruuunch.
Cruuuuuuunccch.
Not only was the cereal stale, but it tasted like cardboard. I wasn't saying it was bland; it literally tasted like actual cardboard.
The flavor was called Caramel Cardboard, but the caramel was crossed out in red letters.
Cyril: ಠ_ಠ
Taking a deep breath, I chugged the water and grabbed the Specialty Skill Selection Ticket.
The moment I touched it, it disappeared in a flash, and a flashy golden textbox appeared in front of me with a list of skills with fantastic names that made it obvious at a glance what they did.
[
Fire Ball Magic
Meteor Shower Magic
Wind Blade Magic
Abyss Hole Magic
Warlockian Spirit Summoning
Invulnerability
Immortal Body
....
Sword Master Heavenly Slash
Spear Master Charge
Axe Master Mountain Crushing Throw
Dual Sword Mastery Twin Dragon Dance
Magic Sword Mastery Flame Hurricane Slash
...
Nature Healings
Saints Blessing
Inquisitioner Chains of Punishment
Priestly Refrain of Serenity
Lightening Bolt
Herculian Strengthening
Dismantle Slash
Immovable Barrier Magic
…
]
From weapons mastery to becoming a user of the skills of a mage of the abyss, all sorts of things were here.
Some of them were roughly described in the handbook, while I had to guess what others were.
According to the handbook, these abilities were gathered from all over different worlds, and due to the employment contract, any employee could gain those skills and learn to use them, growing stronger and stronger.
The only caveat was that….. these skills depended on previous skills or specialty items!
Don't be deceived by the flashy names; in tiny, tiny font that was almost hidden because it blended in with a golden color, there was a small plus icon to expand the text.
Once it was clicked, the accurate details came up.
For example.
Invulnerability - makes you invulnerable so nothing can touch you.
(You may continue sinking if you don't know how to control it. All rights reserved, H.E.L.P Apocalypse Co.
Wasn't this one a one-way trip to the center of the Earth and straight to outer space?
Immediately no. Next!
Immortality Cultivation Body - your flesh and mind will fade with time. Still, your bones will last forever
(Requires the frequent sacrifice of intelligent species to maintain mind and flesh. All rights reserved, H.E.L.P Apocalypse Co.)
Wasn't this the classic lich found in fantasy?
No, thank you! I had no interest in becoming the main character, reenacting the Salem witch trials.
Moving on to more straightforward magic.
Fire Ball Magic - using the mana pathways, draws out an immense amount of mana to detonate a ball of fire in a particular direction.
Didn't this sound amazing? Wrong!
(If the user does not have mana usage class or lacks previous mana capabilities, life force will be utilized instead.)
(If the user is not accustomed to using fire skills, use of the skill may char the internal veins and arteries of the body. All rights reserved, H.E.L.P Apocalypse Co.)
As someone who already had to pay back an unknown bill for coming back to life against my will, I doubted I had any life force to spare!
I sure as hell didn't have mana because I had no skills yet, and I didn't want to become a charcoal method actor by testing out a skill with a warning.
As I read through each skill, I reluctantly realized how monumentally screwed I was.
Not having an original class was a sin, and I was the poor schmuck being nailed to the cross despite my innocence.
Immediately eliminating any magical skills that required a body type I didn't have, I started looking at the practical ones.
Weapon mastery skills with swords, shields, and spears were an immediate no.
Sounds good, right?
Wrong!
Firstly, I had no interest in close-range battles.
Some people were going to be shooting guns, fireballs, or lightning, and I had already been chopped in half by someone whose hand became a weapon.
I planned to stay as far back as possible.
Secondly, where was I supposed to find high-spec weaponry that could handle magic or a body that required a magic-strengthening skill? Hard. Pass. Next!
Skills like Monster Taming were interesting, but with the caveat that I needed the strength to beat up or convince the monster I wanted to tame.
I was confident in beating anything domesticated under 50 pounds, but a wild animal or monster with abilities? I would pretend I didn't see it. Pass.
Resurrecting the dead by sacrificing some life force? Pass.
Teleportation with the possibility of splitting my body into pieces if I made a mistake? Pass.
Basic Telekinesis? Maybe. I'd put a mental star next to it since I was confident in my mental strength.
I began filtering the list, temporarily wishing I had a notebook and pen to help me compare before continuing.
The skills that made the shortlist were those recommended by the Employee Handbook: mental skills like Telekinesis, Hypnosis, and Charm, and physical ones like Stealth, Prowess, and Herculean Strength.
The mental skills could be trained with practice, especially if I locked myself away when not doing tasks.
The latter skills would increase my physical abilities in speed/strength, hiding, fighting, and getting away without any physical changes.
I was leaning toward the prowess skill since it was the most well-rounded and highly recommended, but I scrolled through the list of thousands of skills, hoping to find a hidden gem.
I wasn't taking it lightly; this skill could save my life and prevent pain, especially because I had missed out on getting my own skills class and would have to purchase them all from now on.
My dream was to get something that would increase my personal power and, if that wasn't possible, something to increase the waystation battle capabilities.
Ever since I found out that battles between employees were common and theft of Sanctuary Sparks was possible, it has been constantly in the back of my mind.
My personal strength was one thing, and although the handbook guaranteed that a guard-like item would be available for purchase in the newbie store and the Employee Store later on, I didn't think it would be enough.
The more cards that I had, the better, and since there was a slight chance that a good skill might show up, I would keep looking.
Please, please, please, let me find the flying castle, swimming castle, or traveling castle skill in this store.
Cannon gallery, lava moat, or defensive shield skills would also be acceptable compromises.
If I can have any of those, I'm willing to offer food sacrifices and burn paper money for any deity that grants my wish.
I continued scrolling and expanding, almost giving up, until I saw a small text hidden between skills I had lightly skipped over earlier because of the mind-numbing requirements needed to use the skill.
Seed - Increases the capabilities of a sanctuary spark.
It was the only skill I had seen so far that mentioned the sanctuary spark in the description.
The only unfortunate part was that the description was ambiguous at best.
It somewhat fit what I was looking for, but it also didn't.
I began weighing the pros and cons of the Prowess skill vs the Seed skill.
The company recommended one in the handbook, while the other was vague in name and description.
Personal growth vs business growth.
The question was, did I want to continue to trust and follow the company and its handbook that was diligently assembled by an overworked HR team....
Trust this shitty company?
This company that has sketchy supervisors?
This company that has with questionable work ethics?
A company that had bought the rights of a whole planet and planned on exploiting the workers on the verge of death?
Cyril: ಠ_ಠ
Not even if hell froze over!
Although it was just a hunch, I didn't think anything bad would come from using something that was so heavily emphasized for my first task, especially when it was an item that, if destroyed or stolen, would inadvertently kill me.
Adding to the fact that it was pretty well hidden and not mentioned in the handbook, even though flashier skills were?
Let's grab it properly.
I would take it as double insurance, and if it was useless….
Somehow, I didn't think it was going to be useless.
As for my physical abilities and a way to protect myself, let's discard that for now.
Since the shitty government that sold the planet out was still using military tactics, that meant weapons were effective to a certain level.
As somebody who lived in a country that was considered the number one weapons manufacturer in the world, where it was easier to buy a gun than cold medicine, let's go get a variety pack: long distance, short distance, manual, automatic.
Guns would solve a lot of problems at a distance and close up.
Figuring out how to complete tasks could come later.
My mind decided, and I threw away my hesitations.
Carefully tapping on the Seed Skill, I watched the popup change and eliminate all the other options.
[Would you like to select Seed from the Specialty Skill Store? ]
"Yep."
[Seed is not a skill for you as a Waystation Intern but for the Waystation - Oasis itself. Would you still like to select Seed as your specialty skill?]
[Please note that you may not re-access the Specialty Skill Store unless there are exceptional circumstances and enough payment is received.]
"That's fine, select it." I agreed without a single shred of hesitation.
Who the hell wanted to access a store where all the skills were going to kill me? Although the prowess skill….
No.
No regrets.
It was probably a skill that would exist in the employee store anyway.
Let's see how earning funds and surviving goes, and buy it if needed.
Even if the seed skill was a dud, reading through all the skills has given me several ideas to try: cultivating dangerous plants, forcefully domesticating monsters, and more.
Let's take a look at the employee store and go from there.
If that didn't work, let's rope in other people.
If things went the way the handbook mentioned, this world would be a mess that would be difficult to survive alone especially if other alliances had been made.
I already had a few names in mind and briefly wondered if they were okay before shaking my head.
There was one person who would thrive on Mars even if you threw him there right now with no oxygen or space suit.
I was more concerned that someone would piss him off, and he would take the opportunity to let out some stress and cross a line someone in his position shouldn't be crossing.
As for the other one, I could hear her bright laughter now and even imagine her stomping on the faces of her enemies with her Doc Marten boots while spinning around like a princess in her favorite green dress, braids filled with beads making a cheerful sound while swinging a bat embedded with gems and crystals, claiming that she was purifying the negative energy.
Was purification with so much violence that the other party wished to die, still purification? It was a question I had never gotten a good answer for.
The third one…didn't he just get a promotion in the military to a special-ops branch after doing several overseas missions?
Yeah….
Why was I worrying about those crazy people who would survive even if you threw them inside the Mariana Trench?
I should have been worrying about myself first.
They're all adults, so they can handle it.
No matter how I tried to hypnotize myself, the anxiety remained.
I did not doubt that the three would survive this changed new world, but the carnage left behind...
Universe…deities, if you exist….please….keep the enemies of those crazy people far away from them!!!!! Keep their enemies far, far away!
[Excuse me. Would you still like to select Seed as your specialty skill?]
As the polite textbox message showed up, I nodded politely in return.
"Set the specialty skill to sanctuary, please."
[Understood. The process will take 24 hours. Continue?]
"Yes, that's fine."
[Understood. Seed Skill Assignment Process Starting Now.]
A familiar iridescent feather appeared in the air, and a single golden seed as large as it was fell onto it before they both slowly sank downward.
Feeling the familiar sensation of a warm home, a faint feeling like a baby bird pecking at my face in curiosity, and then an odd feeling of thanks and excitement, I laughed while reaching out to flick the feather.
"If you understand, then treat me well in the future. Otherwise, who knows where I would wipe you on?"
The feather seemed to shiver before sending a sensation of shaking a fist at me.
It then quickly disappeared into the ground, leaving me sitting in the dark.
Before I could fully relax and enjoy the darkness.
[🔔Ding!🔔]
[Intern Remote Orientation Task 2: Live Laugh Love, Let's Decorate Within 6 Hours!]
[Description: You have claimed your new home - Oasis, but now it's time to decorate. Use your H.E.L.P. Apocalypse Co. Employee points to begin creating your ideal Waystation. ]
[🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉WOW🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉]
We at H.E.L.P Apocalypse Co. believe in nurturing the creativity and individuality of all of our employees, so the design and structure of your Waystation are entirely up to you. You may choose any structure, composition, or furniture in any style, and as long as you have the store points, we can guarantee its efficacy, stylishness, and sturdiness.]
[The H.E.L.P Apocalypse Co. New Employee Store also has unique items such as skills, living beings, and items. It can all be purchased as long as you have enough points.]
*All points must be used in one go, but as this is a limited new employee store, we will allow the new employee to use the 3D model system to simulate the H.E.L.P Apocalypse Co.(which can be purchased with store points), a search and filter functionality (which can be purchased with store points), and equipment and space preview system(which can also be purchased with store points).
**Items will also be delivered for free when purchasing from the new employee store.
***After purchase, the employee is responsible for handling, managing, and maintaining the purchased items. (H.E.L.P. Apocalypse Co. is not responsible for any injuries or death that may occur from purchased items.)
[🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉WOW🎉👏👏👏👏👏🎉]
[Reward: Pen]
[Penalty: 💀Permanent Termination of Employment 💀]
Cyril: "..."
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed very sketchy. Firstly, the reward is a pen.
1 pen.
Just that.
Let's think positively.
Maybe a sword, poisonous ink, or lightsaber was hidden inside.
I would have to test it out when I got it.
The main issue was why so many disclaimers emphasized the reduced price, paid features, and the threat of death and injury.
It was weird.
The employee handbook recommended two must-have guard items: guard-[ animals ] and gargoyles, which would work hard to protect the waystation. The type of guard animal was randomly chosen, but personally, I wanted the gargoyles for the aerial advantage.
But seeing the warnings and remembering the wording from the handbook, my confusion cleared.
'Protect the waystation,' not protect me, the waystation intern.
Cyril: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
Cyril: ಠ_ಠ
This shitty ass company!!!!
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the employee store ticket, not surprised when it gave me the same green-gold flash, and a different-style screen showed up.
This time, there was an obnoxious red discount banner at the top, a lower section neatly organized into three lit-up tabs, and a cart icon at the end.
The shocking portion was the fact that there were numerous disclaimers at the top, emphasizing the company's lack of responsibility.
[❗99.99% OFF: New Employee Discount Currently Applied to Most Prices ❗]
[❗10 Credits Available ❗]
*H.E.L.P. Apocalypse Co. is not responsible for the injuries caused by any items in the store. All rights reserved.
**Help Apocalypse Co. is not responsible for any deaths that may occur from purchases from the Store. All rights reserved.
*** Once the purchased items have been delivered, H.E.L.P. Apocalypse Co. is no longer responsible for any issues that may occur.
****😊Specialty Note: Plumbing, HVAC, and Electricity must be purchased separately😊
Waystation Amenities⚙️ | Skills 📚 | Items🛠️ o🛒
Cyril: ಠ_ಠ
No seriously.
Why were there so many warnings?!?!
Why are you trying to avoid responsibility while strongly recommending the item to me???