PenguinKills
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Chapter 247 - Teaching
🕑 Added 2025-02-19 23:07:08 +0000 UTC"Is there one that you like?" Abigail asked after all the interviews were over.
There was one, but I felt like ignoring it strictly on principle. Based strictly on performance and how well they would be at the job right off the bat, the best candidate was Sophia.
Although both could do the job, Assistant was a better fit for what I was looking for than Secretary.
With that in mind, she had the highest level than all the others.
The only problem was I knew what people would say. She just happened to be pretty. Not that I was biased just because of a beautiful face, but because she was the best fit.
It helped that she was personable and easy to talk to without being a sycophant. Half of them were too busy trying to grovel and kiss my ass that I wanted to kick them out right away.
"Sophia is the best fit, but I'm thinking of choosing Matthew instead," I said.
Matthew was the second best option. His Profession was a little different, being a Personal Assistant, but it was close enough to work. He also had a decently high level in it.
"Oh, the pretty blonde? Who could've guessed?" She said with such fake surprise.
"Why is it funny? She's the best fit from an objective point of view." I defended.
"Objective, really?" Abigail questioned, "Just to clear things up, how many of your ex-girlfriends were blondes?"
"That has no bearing on this decision."
"Oh, really? If that's the case, and you want to be objective, why don't you narrow it down to three and have Vinny choose for you? Then it would truly be impartial." Abigail poked.
"Fine." I rose to the bait, "These three!" I had already ranked them and the top three were easy to pick out. Sophia, Matthew, and Steven.
I did notice how she picked Vincent to be the judge over other options. Austin was the last person to be impartial as he would literally pick the prettiest face. Jonathan wouldn't care and he hated being put in the middle of our squabbles.
Our Mother was out of the question, as I would veto that. Which left Vincent. Mostly because he wouldn't care one way or the other and he was always results oriented.
The thought of being biased towards a pretty face wouldn't even pop up in his head. How he ever got married before me made me question myself.
He was easy to find in his forge and we quickly filled him in on what we wanted.
"Which one would you choose Vincent?" I asked.
The sweltering heat threatened to burn the papers to a crisp and I had to continually cool the air around them to keep that from happening.
"This one." His choice was swift, and after looking at all three's information, chose the top one.
Sophia's.
"See, I was being objective!" I had to rub it in, just a little bit.
Abigail didn't push back, "Fine, I'll call her back in."
Before she walked away, I called out, "And get Miles. I have a different job for him."
~~
Hiring Sophia was easily done and it took less than a few minutes. There wasn't any onboarding or HR paperwork to fill out. All she had to do was swear an Oath to not betray us and to keep anything she learned secret.
Miles, on the other hand, was different.
"Miles, nice to see you again," I said as the man walked into my office.
His eyes flicked to where Sophia sat and he knew that he didn't get the position.
"As you noticed, I hired someone else for the Assistant position," maybe having her shadow me wasn't the best idea for this conversation, rubbing in the fact I chose someone else, "But, I had something else in mind for you."
"Like what?" He asked. It was clear he was disappointed at not being chosen, but also intrigued by my offer.
"Well, I want to put your Artificer Profession to good use. It would've gone to waste being an Assistant." I said. "What I want is for you to become a Faction Artificer. Under contract, so to speak. Work on researching and building things that we need."
He reacted hesitantly, which was a surprise. I thought he would jump at the opportunity.
"How would that work? Will I be forced to only work on what you want me to?" Miles was thinking through what the job would entail.
"Not absolutely. You will have free time to work on whatever it is you desire. Think of it more like a 9 to 5 job. Work on the things we need for most of the day and the rest is up to you." I said.
"And the pay? Will you teach me?" He was hopeful. That much was clear.
I sighed, "I'm not exactly sure what you want me to teach you. It doesn't look like you use a hammer and I'm not the best weapon master."
He looked at me like I was crazy. The disbelief was palpable.
"But yes, I can teach you. It won't be one-on-one, but in a larger group if that's okay with you." The man nodded vehemently, "With our departure nearing, I planned to train with the Guard Orders anyway."
"Good?" I asked.
"Good!"
"Great! The first thing I need you to work on is communications. Speak with my brother, Gabriel, first to see where he's at with it before you dive in. He's been working on enchanting a way to communicate over long distances.
"I want you to see if there's a technological way, or if combining technology and enchantments will work," I ordered.
"Is that all you need? A way to communicate?" Miles asked skeptically.
"Well, no, but anything beyond that is for the future. Once you finish with that, I'll give you something else." I said.
Miles turned to leave, "Oh, one more thing. We train in the mornings, so be ready bright and early!"
~~
Miles
The past few days had been a whirlwind. He'd been called in for the Assistant interview and not only did he finally meet the City Lord, but he totally bombed the interview.
The man said he would take it into consideration, but it was clear to Miles that he wasn't going to be selected. Which was what made the call back surprising. He was nearly positive that he wasn't going to get the job. He was surprised he was even called in for the first interview, let alone for another one.
Seeing one of the other candidates in the room when he entered killed those hopes.
Instead of being thanked for his time and dismissed, he was offered a different job. One that fit his interests much more. It was annoying to have his research constrained by what was needed, but it was better than nothing.
He'd barely scratched the surface of what was possible with his Profession and he was excited to start exploring it deeper. All the levels he'd already gained came from the tutorial and he was eager to start increasing it again.
He was barely a few levels into F-rank and he'd only received one skill from his Profession at his current rank.
Better yet, the City Lord agreed to train him.
Which he was running late for.
Gavin and Louis had forced Miles to go out to celebrate as his new job was something they deemed a celebration was mandatory for.
Martha's was already their go-to Tavern, and there were even drinks to be had!
Ales were still out of the picture, as all the grain was needed as food, but meads were being made by some of the more entrepreneurial natures. They were god awful and in drastic need of a different flavor profile, but it was at least alcohol.
If Miles didn't know any better, he'd wager the berries used were poisonous to begin with. If only they had honey.
They weren't able to drink long, both because there wasn't that much available and because Miles didn't want to be late the following morning. To make a good impression, he planned to arrive ten minutes early but he was going to be lucky to make it on time now.
His pace was swift and he had to be mindful not to slip on the snow, but he made it to the courtyard in time. He'd have to adjust his schedule going forward as getting through the Inner Wall delayed him longer than he thought.
His apartment was closer to the Outer Wall than to the Inner Wall, which made everything all the longer.
Miles wished for a friendly face in the crowd but found none. Gavin wasn't a Warrior and was off training somewhere else and Louis wasn't a member of an Order.
The large group Miles stood a part of were strictly Strength-focused Warriors, or Warrior adjacent. Evolutions made some of the distinctions difficult.
A hush quelled the voices as the City Lord made his way over. He was already armored and had his notorious Warhammer strapped to his back.
"Alright, alright, let's get this started." he announced, "Is this everyone, Elliot?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good," Chris nodded, "As I'm sure everyone here is aware, our 'test' is nearing. In a short few months, something will happen and we need to be ready for it. Our current intelligence suggests that it's going to occur in St. Louis.
"That being the case, we have even less time to prepare. The journey there alone will take a couple of months, shorter if Marcus succeeds in his venture. With that in mind, I've decided to take a more active role in your training."
Members of the crowd looked around at each other worriedly.
"Don't be alarmed, I won't harm anyone too badly as that would defeat the purpose of training." A collective breath was released, "BUT, we will have Healers standing by in case something goes wrong."
A woman Miles hadn't noticed before off to the side waved. She looked familiar but Miles couldn't pinpoint why.
"Now," Chris took his hammer off his back and planted it in front of him, "While I see a few sporting a Warhammer like my own, most of you do not. I see some swords, great swords, battle axes, maces, and everything else.
"There's nothing wrong with any particular weapon, as it only matters what your preference is. So, I won't be going into detail about my fighting style specific to my hammer, but how I approach fighting in general. Basic instincts, what I've learned, and so on."
"Additionally, if your fighting style revolves around speed, or Agility is your highest stat, you are in the wrong spot. Austin is leading the training for that out in the woods. If you use a shield or focus on defense, that is also in a different spot."
Miles looked around but no one seemed to be hurrying to leave.
"Now, before we begin, there are a few ground rules." Chris announced, "Rule number one, if I see anybody leave their feet, there will be a punishment! Your legs and hips are the base of your power and jumping in the air eliminates that. You might as well be swinging a wet noodle at that point."
"Rule number two, while this is training and there will be spars, try not to kill anyone. Small injuries are to be expected but if I see anyone aiming to cripple or kill, I will dismiss them."
"And three," Chris smiled, "We will not be using wooden or dulled weapons. Pain is inevitable and it's better to get over it now than when your life depends on you not flinching."
Chris picked up his hammer, "Are there any questions?"
No one spoke.
"Good, now pair off into twos and begin warming up." He rolled his shoulders back and forth, "Who wants to be my partner?"
Comments
Thomas Issa
If only there was honey: Insect tamer but definitely not living in Frostheim, bees making honey, beeswax used in making lots of stuff, silk worms making silk, And other insects making poison and other alchemical ingredients But instead of honey which they would need to import I can see someone adding maple syrup to a lot of things since it is Canada
Secret Weapons
Who knew Abigail was racist against hot chicks! The nerve! Chris should've really called her out on that lol
Supperwaffle
I'm just stewing on Sofia's affinity cause we know miles
Cole Ford
some poor sod is about to be made a punching bag
Buck
My guess is that Miles will volunteer to be Chrisβs partner. TFTC!
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice chapter π "Who wants to be my partner" and everyone takes 3 steps back π€£π€£
