And all so suddenly, it is as though I am a schoolboy once more. So much to learn. So much to understand. --39.4 Seconds Post-Integration.
Just like that, Clark's heart skipped a beat. 'Earned a look? Heck yeah! If this means we're friends, then all that trouble was worth it!' Another part of him asked himself why he cared so much, but at this point, he didn't much care about that other part of him asking why he cared. He was operating on pure instinct by now.
Theo led him down a hallway which branched off into another hallway, which led into a small room with several more branching hallways, all of which were lined with dormitory doors. Thinking back to the seemingly endless halls in his own dorm section, it made Clark wonder how many of the workers were Lifers. "Welcome home," Theo said under his breath as he opened the door wide for Clark to push the dolly through. "You can stick that in the corner."
Once he was inside, the door slid shut behind him. Theo's dorm was little different than his own dormitory. Empty of all decorations except for a single flag draped over the wall directly opposite the bed. Clark slid the dolly and stone sigil into the specified corner. "I guess I will make myself scarce from your hair, now."
"Sure. You gotta be tired as shet-on-a-brick. And you probably have a shift, soon. I think I have one in a few hours, actually... but take this before you leave." Theo gave him a slip of paper. "That contains my contact ID -- my full contact ID. Add me to your work party, and you can contact me anytime."
Clark accepted the piece of paper. "Touch it to your system link device," Theo instructed. He did and one small touch was all it took for it to dissolve. A new notification appeared alongside a few others he hadn't opened in the hustle and bustle of their situation.
[Theo Char added to Contact List: Add New Contact to Party?]
He signaled to the system, and it added Theo to his 'party,' though Clark had no idea what a 'party' was and why it would be important.
[Theo Char has been added to your Party]
'Neat... my first work buddy. And all only for twenty labors or more.'
"With that," Theo started. "We can send each other messages, video call, share data and resources, and more. You've proven yourself to be a real pal, so don't be shy."
Clark nodded. The exact words failed to turn up in his tongue. Feeling a number of strong emotions, some of which he did not understand, Clark quickly hugged Theo and turned to go on his way, an action considered a common goodbye greeting where he had come from in the Wastes. It was likely Theo was not aware of his intent, though, as their face grew strangely reddish at the moment of contact.
Whatever the case, Clark had to leave. "See you soon," Clark said. Theo shook his head.
Out of the dorm, Clark couldn't think of social mistakes and cultural differences. "SIMP. Take me home, please."
His work was never done.
Getting home, he checked his schedule. He had a shift in six hours. Hardly any time to recuperate after everything he had gone through. There was nothing he could do, though. He needed the money, and he didn't want to use one of his benefit packages vacation days so soon.
He stripped down and dumped the reeking garments into the washing basin. Then, he got some water boiling and broke up some ground sausage in a saucepan. He quickly cooked the sausage on medium high heat before reducing the heat and adding some pasta sauce and spicy seasonings. Once the water boiled, he dumped in some pasta and ducked into the shower so he could thoroughly clean himself of all taint. More than once, he ducked out to stir the pasta. It didn't take long to cook said pasta, however. Once it was done cooking, he dumped the pasta into the meat-sauce, and finished his shower, happy more than anything that SIMP convinced him to buy a couple of basic scented soaps for moments like this.
Feeling refreshed -- truly, like a million merits -- he scarfed down his meal without a care for the flavor, texture, or how much he chewed. Calories, fuel, that was what he needed.
When he finished his meal, he set several alarms, informed SIMP he would be sleeping, and went to bed, his orders strict to ensure he would wake up in time for his shift. His sleep was uneventful and if he dreamed, he did not remember the contents. The shrill alarms he set and those of SIMP woke him up on cue, though he felt only a touch better despite his rest.
The time read an hour until he had to clock in, which meant if he didn't want to be late, he would need to leave soon. With a question on his mind, he thanked SIMP for their help before launching into a new request. "SIMP: be honest, was that whole adventure with Theo a good use of time?"
Beep: "At first, I considered the whole affair to be pointless. You are entitled to your share of pointless excursions, however. On that reason alone, I did not try and talk you out of it. As the excursion continued, I saw benefits to the otherwise pointless excursion. Namely, the experience you gained in understanding elements of the dungeon's interior, not to mention the practical combat elements which you sorely needed. To conclude, no, I would not say the excursion was pointless."
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Half-asleep, but already brewing up some of the coffee SIMP insisted on buying during their shopping excursion, Clark moaned his approval. "Good... good," he muttered. "What's a 'work party'?"
Bing: "A 'work party' is a colloquial term for a 'Work Detail.' Work Details are a vital component of how qualified Lifers tackle high-volume sales situations. Although anyone can form a Work Detail, they are more commonly seen among team-oriented Lifers. With a Work Detail formed, one's productivity output increases as tasks can be more efficiently divided among the group. Associates in a Work Detail share boons to their Core Metrics while simultaneously halving the detriments. Basic Work Details, however, cannot labor across different floors, not until Silver Rank has been attained."
"Whoa, that's incredible. But Theo is already on his shift, if his memory was true. I'm not working, yet, so what does that mean?" he asked.
Bop: "There is a timer to the active benefits on Work Details. If the minimum two people do not share a shift on the same floor within four hours of one another, then the boons of participating within a Work Detail remain dormant. As long as you and at least one other person who has been added to your Work Detail are working and you each are working on the same floor, you will receive bonuses. There is no timer on the deactivation of Work Details as the very formation of Work Details are at the discretion of the Associate themselves. I, for one, am glad you took the time to befriend Theo, as a Work Detail will be to your benefit as my Champion. On this note, I do apologize for not mentioning this sooner. You seemed like such a loner, I figured you would not want to work with others. Any more than you already were required as part of the job."
A gurgle from across his dorm brought his attention back to the important thing in life -- coffee.
A cup and a half later, minus a quick restroom trip, brought him to his departure point. Still drinking his final sips for all the energy he could muster, SIMP reminded him of the Accomplishment mechanic. "Clark. A final note before you leave. Now if the time for you to focus on building your aura. As I've said before, you can build your aura by completing Accomplishments, among other ways. Accomplishment farming, as it is called, is by far the most straightforward way, though. I will take the liberty of compiling for you a list of achievable Accomplishments which you should focus on grinding."
"I understand. I will focus on Accomplishments, then... but for now, I need to leave. Right after I use the restroom again!"
The twenty-third floor was where he had left his Climbing.
Minutes after he clocked in, SIMP sent him a list of Accomplishments he needed to prioritize. The complete list was exhaustive and touched on several departments. For the moment, he focused only on those which SIMP said would be best to achieve in the moment.
The first Accomplishment: 'train in three departments.'
Clark was surprised he hadn't already gotten this one. He had been assigned several departmental responsibilities as part of his climbing. Checking with SIMP about what he had to do to earn, they told him all he had left to do was to complete one intermediary responsibility in each department he had previous experience with, which, for him, was Produce, the Front End, and Center Store.
As luck would have it, the twenty-third floor needed a lot of help, that day.
On the Front End, he 'volunteered' for two hours, part of which, was taken up with him training for basic team lead responsibilities. This training constituted the 'intermediary' task he needed for his Accomplishment grind. The actual work itself was easy. Not as tedious as bagging but neither as attentive as cashier work, the team lead job was mostly looking at a schedule and determining who went where and for how long. Being his first time, his role was regulated mostly to watching an experienced team lead explain how decisions were made.
Next, in Produce, the intermediary task was supervisory in nature, but it did not involve people. Rather, it revolved around ensuring the many fruits and vegetables were in a ripe state while culling those which showed signs of decay and placing certain others into a donations bin. Clark couldn't say whether this task was easier or harder than the Front-End responsibilities, but it was a change of pace.
Finally, in Center Store, his Accomplishment quest led him to signing off on papers for a delivery. That was his 'intermediate' level task. His trainer was totally unenthused as they led him through the process, which was as simple as cross-checking the paper delivery notice with the computer delivery notice and ensuring the two matched. Like any supervisory task he had learned that day, it required an eye for the small bits, but it wasn't particularly difficult.
[Accomplishment Unlocked! 'Basic Departments:' You have some hair on your chest now, big whoop, wanna fight about it?']
With the Accomplishment unlocked, it was time for lunch.
As usual, his lunch was simple, but protein heavy. He ended up spending his daily allotment of Culinary Credits. Though he shoveled food into his mouth, his attention was not on his meal. It was on his unread notifications.
While he had been exploring the 'lost sector' with Theo, and during their climb back out, he had received notifications about his status and Accomplishments. He looked at these notifications only to remove them from his sight.
[Accomplishment Unlocked! 'Explorer:' You found a lost sector. Keep this under wraps, eh, kid?]
Then, once he dismissed his status notifications, he saw a notification for another Accomplishment:
[Accomplishment Unlocked! 'Partier:' You have formed a 'Work Detail.' Lovely. But you do realize we'll expect more from you, right?']
No more notifications littered his Main Menu.
Clark finished his meal and clocked back in; his typical tiredness barrowed itself with him, sure, but he at least had managed to refresh some after his cheap coffee and much-needed food.
The next Accomplishment SIMP laid out for him to obtain demanded he fall Below-Base ten times only to restore himself to At Base. Easy enough, for sure, but one which caused him some discomfort: to let his Core Metrics intentionally fall Below-Base when he was Above-Base by a decent amount -- point five, to be specific -- seemed wrong.
He decided he would put a pin in this one. No way was he going to let his Metrics intentionally fall. They would fall of their own accord when he invariably slacked off once something distracted him.
He finished out his labors for the twenty-third floor and climbed to the twenty-fourth floor.
[Congratulations! You've reached Imbued Level 16!]
'The day is looking up!' With a jig in his step, Clark continued his grind.
Wait. Maybe it would be dystopian?
Would You Like to be Able to Form Your Own Work Details?
