Chương 13: Expansion of the Workforce

Arthur and Coburn stood in the room, quietly waiting for further instructions from the young lady. After all, this was the full extent of the abilities Arthur currently possessed. Although he could command Coburn to perform a sword routine, he did not possess a proper sword right now; all he had was a cheap pickaxe. The inspection lady stared blankly at the imposing skeletal figure. Arthur could clearly see a trace of surprise on her face. This was a completely valid reaction.

From what he could guess, she was still very young. She had likely overseen very few inspections related to skeleton summons, or perhaps this was her very first time witnessing one in person. After staring at the skeleton for a moment, she quickly jotted something down on her pad.

"Does your summon use any kind of magic?" she asked. This question instantly put Arthur deep in thought. Since Coburn was a Jack of all trades, could he actually possess an Elemental Affinity? The possibility certainly existed, especially considering he was an Expert with a sword.

'Just how amazing would it be if he possessed an Elemental Affinity?' A greedy thought could not help but sprout in his mind. Seeing Arthur remaining silent in his ponderings, the lady made another note on her pad.

"Please command your skeleton to enter the Rune Space in order to determine whether it possesses any affinities," she instructed. Hearing her voice, Arthur snapped out of his daze. He looked towards where she was pointing—a separate space completely enclosed by glass doors covered in intricate magic runes. Taking the pickaxe into his own hands, Arthur ordered Coburn to stand inside the glass-confined room. Coburn obediently walked into the small space and stood right in the center.

In the next second, the runes engraved on the floor and walls brightly lit up. However, nothing else happened. They merely glowed. Perhaps that was all it took to determine the result, but Arthur simply could not see anything with his naked eyes. He turned his head towards the lady to see if she had discovered whether Coburn had an Elemental Affinity. She was already busily writing something down.

"Please command your summon to exit the space, and then enter yourself for inspection," she said after finishing her notes. Arthur did as requested. He stepped into the center of the runes, and soon enough, they lit up with a bright glow. However, Arthur felt no change in his body or mind. Just how this helped determine his results, he simply did not know. Similarly, Arthur and his skeleton went through several different kinds of tests.

After half an hour of solid testing, the Awakening inspection finally reached its conclusion with the final test: his Rank evaluation. Arthur grew a little nervous. His Rank was displayed as SSS-Rank. As far as his knowledge about this world went, there were only seven Ranks: F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. Yet, his rank shockingly showed SSS. He was quite reluctant to see how they would classify his Rank. Would they classify it as a brand-new Ranking, or simply treat him as an anomaly?

"Place your hand on the crystal and hold it there until it brightly lights up with a color," the lady instructed. Arthur nodded and placed his right hand onto the smooth surface. After a few seconds, Arthur felt a mysterious energy start to enter his body from the crystal, permeating throughout his entire being. It was a very strange feeling, but it did not harm him physically or mentally. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He kept his palm perfectly still. Soon, the crystal began to glow with a blinding white light, forcing Arthur to shut his eyes. He kept his eyes tightly closed for a while, clearly feeling the intense white light still shining against his eyelids. However, even after a long moment passed, Arthur felt that the bright light was still emitting endlessly from the crystal. Confused by this phenomenon, he slowly squeezed one eye open to see what was happening. However, the sight before him made his heart skip a beat.

Currently, he was no longer standing inside the inspection room. He was somewhere else entirely. The place looked pale white, and as far as his eyes could see, there was no end and no other elements present. It was just a blank white void stretching infinitely far away. With a slightly panicked mind, Arthur looked around to figure out what was happening. His gaze finally landed on something resembling a black dot amidst a glass of milk. Reluctant but curious, he quickly moved towards that black dot.

As he grew closer, the dot soon turned into an object floating in midair. Finally, he clearly identified the object. It was incredibly familiar to him. It was that damned notebook that had threatened him with a penalty and the revocation of his Rank and Class. Once Arthur stepped within a ten-foot range, the notebook suddenly flipped its pages automatically. Arthur immediately knew something terrible was about to happen as an unexplainable dread permeated his mind.

"Welcome to Nether-Realm, Arthur Purchase."

"Let me prepare your First Quest. Stand by," the notebook stated. Hearing the notebook's words, Arthur involuntarily took a step back. He knew this was going to be bad. The last time this damned notebook spoke, it almost threw his entire family into unrecoverable debt and threatened to drop him back down to an F-Rank. Arthur closely monitored the floating notebook.

However, as he looked at it for a long moment, he realized it did not look like a simple notebook at all, but rather an ancient Tome with deep engravings on its pages. Currently, brand-new engravings were starting to appear.

'Is there any way to escape this place or run from this cursed notebook?' Arthur frantically looked around, but all he could see was the pale white void stretching endlessly into space. Left with no other choice, he waited for a while until the notebook finally finished its engraving.

"Your First Main Quest has been created successfully." Right as the notebook finished its words, a translucent screen lit up before his face. [MAIN QUEST ASSIGNED: Expansion of the Workforce] [Quest Details]: The Nether-Realm Marketplace requires a robust trading foundation. A single skeleton does not make a factory. You are hereby ordered to heavily expand your labor force and establish a true monopoly. You must successfully establish contracts with the following: Recruit 25 Beginner Skeleton Workers.

Recruit 10 Intermediate Skeleton Workers. Recruit 5 Expert Skeleton Workers. Recruit 1 Master Skeleton Worker. [Countdown Limit]: 30 Days (One Month). [Failure Penalty]: A Theta-Standard Parasite will be forcefully implanted into your cerebral cortex. It will reside alive within your brain for exactly two weeks, where it will slowly consume 50% of your brain matter. [Quest Reward]: Exclusive Authority and Coordinates to the [Coffer Iron Mining Location].

Arthur's eyes widened in sheer horror as a cold shiver was sent straight down his spine.

'Eat half my brain?' The sickening brutality of the penalty hit him exactly like a heavy physical blow to the head. Arthur suddenly felt dizzy. Compared to this terrifying nightmare, the penalty he was dealt earlier was nothing but a gentle slap on the wrist.

"What kind of a sick joke is this?" Arthur screamed at the notebook. Last night, he couldn't display his anger or question to this cursed existence. However, now that it was floating right before him, he firmly decided to question the extreme cruelty of this quest penalty. However, before he could even finish his question, a blinding bright light shone all over the white space. Arthur instinctively closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was standing right back in the inspection room, where the young lady was casually finishing up her writing.

"The registration process is now complete. Please wait at the waiting area; you will be provided with your Awakening Sigil shortly," the young lady said before walking towards the door. Arthur silently followed her, though his chaotic thoughts were already somewhere else entirely.