As I expected. The files were open. Well... not open, but open enough. The Usurpers have gotten too fat and stink-ridden for their own good. they think themselves gods. I will efface their heresy from existence. -100.00 Seconds Post-Integration.

  Throughout the rest of the cleansing session, which ended before they found a node, Clark and his team hammered out exactly how much they could reimburse a hired set of hands and what the qualifications would need to be for said set of hands.

  They settled on this: whoever they hired would be paid a flat rate per Power Core pulled. That rate? One-hundred Standard Credits.

  A hundred Credits was a lot.

  Which was the idea.

  They would find a qualified candidate, vet them, hire them, and teach them the ins and outs of the Pod. Upon pulling each Core, SIMP would authorize the payment taken in part from his, Hera's, and Theo's account. One hundred Credits Divided three ways wasn't too much. His account would live.

  "Theo. You know the ins and outs of the For Hire system better than us. You found a trainer to help your skills through that system, right? Can you take point on finding someone for us?" he asked of his friend.

  Hesitant at first because he wasn't in the Anti-Monster League, Theo came around once the burden of vetting the Leaguers was removed from his shoulders. "Don't worry. Just make sure they're at least beyond the probationary ranks, then Hera and I will take it from there."

  Pursing his lips in consideration, Theo relented. "Okay. I will search for us. I do appear to be the team's eyes and ears when it comes to the store's seedy underbelly, so why not!" They laughed. Clark could tell Theo was being playful. He doubted there was such a thing as a 'seedy underbelly,' but whether or not it existed, Theo clearly knew how to move among such a social stratum.

  Their cleansing session ended, and the group went their own ways.

  Another couple of days elapsed without anything to show for it.

  Then, a League Tutorial notification came through on his System Link.

  Nothing better to do, he attended the Tutorial.

  Salsa droned on in his typically macho way. "Let's cut the chatter, princesses! Today's lesson is on Elementary Telekinesis. Similar to Manipulation, Telekinesis is a refined technique of that Dandy. It will allow you to manipulate finely attuned elements at a distance if you know how to finesse."

  The Tutorial was trying. Far more so than he expected it to be.

  Did he pass? Of course.

  But along the way, he thought he would fail more than once. The technique involved required using one's fingers as 'threads' after visualizing taking apart a basic lock. He had to learn the lock and how to remove it physically before using mana directed toward his eyes to recreate the picking he had done with his hands.

  The process was far more intensive than he imagined for something like an 'enhanced' Manipulation.

  He understood the process -- about him needing to understand the fine elements of something first if he wanted to manipulate it.

  That didn't make it tedium-free, though.

  [Congratulations! You have been Promoted to League Rank 'O'!]

  "One more Rank down. How many to go?" In that, how many Ranks he had left, he did not know. Until the alphabet was completed, surely.

  That day he finished the Tutorial with much less energy than his normal habit. He attributed his lack of energy to how detail forward the Tutorial had been.

  When he was at the cafe post-class, he ordered not tea, as his usual beverage, but an iced coffee.

  Today, he found a place which sold specialty coffee. The Mean Lean Bean of Mrs. Dean. It was a heck of a name for a tiny storefront! He ordered an iced coffee with beans from Jamica... he squinted at the menu. 'Jimmyland,' not Jamica. He hadn't heard of either place. Yet, Jamica seemed familiar to him in a way he wasn't sure why.

  Pushing his odd vibes aside, he waited for his coffee and rested his eyes. He breathed slowly in and out and let the sounds of the lobby wash over him. People talking, kids shrieking, the heavy plop of power armor. It was all copasetic.

  "Here you go, sir!" a perky waitress said to him as she brought out a tray with a heavy glass tankard and sat it down before him.

  "No, thank you, ma'am!" He tipped the waitress an additional few credits, because why not, and appraised his drink.

  Unlike the previous few drinks he ordered, this drink did not come coated in chocolate or sprinkles. Which was refreshing, honestly.

  The glass tankard had imprints upon it of a tropical landscape complete with beaches, towels, umbrellas, and a bright sun. Inside, the tankard's contents were dark but bright, as though streaks of color brightened up the whole midnight hue. Though maybe that was the chunks of purred ice. He removed the decorative tiny umbrellas which came with the drink and took a sip.

  Mmmmm! He mouthed as though his lips and over his tongue came a coffee slush one-part coffee, another part iced.

  Typically, when he had iced coffee, the iced component came in via iced cubes, not iced blended into the coffee. The drink, then, had a consistency like a milkshake. Its flavor bright, like the tropics, and he could taste a distinctly citrus flavor hidden within the pleasant bitter notes.

  Clark drank his beverage down energetically. Considering the amount of caffeine inside of the tankard, he probably should've paced himself.

  Of course, he didn't pace himself. Being young and greedy, he slurped down the drink in record time.

  Bing: [Incoming Voice Call from Hera: Answer?]

  Hera? What did she need? "Answer," he told the System.

  "Clark. I know you're tired after that silly Tutorial, but I need your help. I'm in a bit of a pickle."

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Feeling overstimulated from the drink, he was more than happy to help. "Sure! What do you need, Hera?"

  "Long story short is I made too many commitments to my church, and I need you to pick up some papers for me."

  Papers sounded easy enough. "Yeah. I can do that. Where should I go?"

  Hera gave him directions, and he was off!

  He didn't like side-quests, but being between Interior Cleansing missions and having just done a League Tutorial, there wasn't much to do at the moment. Normally, he returned to his dorm after a Tutorial where he meditated. Or generated. Or a different '-ed' if he was feeling fruity.

  The floor Hera's contact was on was a floor in the woes of reconstruction. Repair crews went to and fro with heavy bundles upon their backs while repair drones swarmed the ceilings and pipes within the flooring. Hera's contact was in the produce department.

  Clark entered the employee only section and searched up and down for a woman matching the description. He found no one. As luck would have it, she found him.

  "Clark?" a voice said to his back, surprising him.

  He turned to find a face he had seen before -- "Brenda? From the first floor?"

  "Well, yeah. I work most of the lower floors at one time or another. AS long as they aren't too dangerous. Not like that means much in today's world, with the Monstrous Offensive in full swing." She shrugged her shoulders, trying to play herself off as 'too cool.'

  "Understandable. Hera said you had some papers for me. Where should I bring them? To Hera?"

  "Yeah. Hera is fine." She found a backpack properly hidden by some garbage pails and took out a large organizer which looked heavy. When Brenda plopped the organizer into his hands, he confirmed -- yup, it was heavy.

  "Ugh! What is this?" he asked, the strain on his arms already setting in.

  "Honestly. Nothing to worry over. Only receipts for expenses and reimbursement. That sort of thing."

  Clark didn't think anything more of the organizer and carefully deposited it into his satchel. He would need to reinforce his satchel with an arm due to the organizer's heft, least the organizer put too much of a strain on his shoulder.

  He was about to leave when he spotted Brenda wearing the crest of the Anti-Monster League. "I didn't know you were with the League. How are you liking it so far?"

  "Oh, that? Yeah. I joined for the same reason as many others -- self-defense. I'm not too far advanced within the League, though. I think I'm Ranked 'W.' So much more work than I thought it would be! I'm already so tired from working in Produce, so I don't have much left for the League."

  An idea was forming in his head. But he needed to be sure it would be safe for Brenda: "Have you killed Noir Slimes before? What about Airhearts?"

  She pursed her lips. "I've dealt with the Slimes. Hardly a threat! I can't do anything about those gross flying freaks!"

  "Brenda," he said. "Are you in need of a side-gig? Something to bring in extra credits but without a protracted commitment?"

  "What are you talking about, Clark?" Her tone was a bit on the prissy side. He needed to get on with his pitch.

  "So, Hera, I, and another co-worker, have a side-project going on in the Dungeon Interior. Sometimes, monsters need to be dealt with while you are traversing the Interior. Usually, it is safe. We have a research site and need some gig-based labor done every now and again. We are paying a hundred credits per labor done, if you are interested."

  Brenda's eyes went wide. "A hundred credits? Seriously? What's the labor?"

  "It's simple. I would also say, 'easy,' but if you're dodging Airhearts, maybe it won't be so easy. Once you're done traversing the Interior, and you are at the research site, all you have to do is enter the site, head to the site's back room, and remove a charging battery from its charger. You'll then place the battery onto a nearby rack. Then you'll leave."

  "That's it?"

  "That's it. Yup."

  Brenda took some moments to think it over. "How am I getting paid?"

  "I've authorized the System to pay you once the task is completed. You'll be paid automatically, then, upon the removal of the battery and its insertion into a storage rack."

  Another few moments of contemplation later and Brenda had an answer for him. "I would need some time to train. If I am going to need to handle the Airhearts, I can't do that with my current League Rank. Do you need help right away?"

  "We don't need help right this instant so some time for you to train is all fine by me. In fact, I will speak to Hera. Maybe she would be willing to help you train. She and I both have been grinding out the League Ranks." He inched a tiny bit closer to Brenda to whisper. "Between you and me, she takes to the League trainings better than I."

  Brenda smiled. "I will keep that in mind. If she is willing to have me, I will take it upon myself to be diligent under her tutorship."

  "Excellent!" Feeling the weight of the organizer upon his shoulders, Clark had to end the conversation before he permanently bruised himself. "I will speak to Hera about this right away. Either she or I will let you know once we've come to a decision."

  A few pleasant words of parting later and he was on his way to Hera.

  He met Hera by the dormitories.

  When he plopped the large organizer into her hands, he felt a weight and then some lifted. Literally.

  Hera, of course, took the organizer like it was nothing. She really was a beast!

  "Thank you for running this errand for me, Clark. I appreciate it." She spoke slowly and with reverence, as she always did.

  "No problem! It's the very least I can do for you after you gave me that Not-a-Loan. Anytime you need help like this, just give me a buzz."

  Hera smiled. "I will keep that in mind. You look flushed. Is everything fine?"

  "Oh, yeah, no. It's fine. That organizer was heavier than I thought, is all. Shoulder's tired. But speaking of the organizer, Brenda and I talked about some stuff, and I think you should know about it." Clark then launched into an explanation of Brenda filling their Help Wanted position and of Hera training her. "What do you think?"

  Hera pursed her lips in consideration. "Brenda is a hard-working member of the church. I never took her to be a particularly bright member, but her work with us wouldn't be demanding in that regard. I do have a lot on my plate, though. We do need the help..." Hera went back and forth like this for some minutes. Eventually, she agreed to train Brenda.

  Brenda's training did not happen overnight.

  And during that time, Clark worked as he always did throughout the tower in various positions: Climbing and-or training during his regular shifts; occasional volunteering at non-Augustford storefronts for extra funds; and Cleansing the Interior with his Work Detail.

  While Brenda trained, he and his team kept to their division of labor in removing the Power Cores.

  Several days after Brenda began her training, SIMP notified everyone of a new development in the Dwarven Pod: "Great news, everyone. A new schematic has been unlocked. 'Fitted Armor.' Think of it as disposable armor to wear over your everyday clothes. Like the previous creations, this schematic calls for a Power Core."

  Clark knew he wanted to build a few of those armors in a hurry. He made a beeline for the Pod and encouraged his team to do the same. As new schematics became available, he wanted the team to learn them, least they have at their disposal whole line-up of schematics they were ignorant of how to build.

  Back in the Pod's back room, he selected the Fitted Armor and pressed the button to begin the manufacture process.

  Gears and robotic mini arms swirled to life as the material from below the desk rotated onto the production line. Sparks and electronics warbles filled the tiny room as the material was gradually shaped into a form resembling a long-sleeved shirt. Much like the previous two schematics, his intervention was needed only once. And that was to apply a glaze onto the surface of the armor that hardened when heated.

  The manufacture process ended a minute after the last spark flew; the schematic called for (literally) a minute of drying to complete the process.

  With the drying done, he tested out the new armor.

  SIMP was correct. The armor fitted naturally over his normal working clothes and a few test taps of his sword later, and he was satisfied that the armor would serve them well in battle. Couple with a defense dandy and then an Enhancement dandy focused to defense as well, he figured his defensive game was elevated to that of a brick wall. Nice!

  While he was inside the Pod, he figured he would make a few more Fitted Armors. At least one for each of his team.

  Each of those only took a couple of minutes to make, so he was starting his way back to the sales floor when he encountered his team.

  "Ah! I hoped I would see you guys!" He fist-bumped Theo, who had an improved attitude lately, ever since their sleep over.

  "Yeah. We knew you would complain, so here we are, bro." Scratch that: Theo had some angst left, though that might have been tiredness.

  His team took turns working the new schematic. It wasn't hard.

  By the end, they had made a total of five Fitted Armors. They had eight Power Cores remaining. What to do with them?

  "Clark. I need your help with something. More church business. Nothing huge. Picking up more papers. Can I count on you?" Hera asked.

  He wanted to say no and groan for her even asking. But what else was he to do? "Sure. Point me where to go."