The hotel didn't have much in regard to furnishings, just a bed side table, a dresser, a mini fridge, and the TV mounted right in front of the bed. Even though Kaid could afford a better hotel since he received that 100,000-credit compensation, he still chose to get a hotel within the lower districts. The reason being he didn't want any unnecessary attention and didn't feel comfortable getting a hotel in the inner city.
Now that he had the time to collect his thoughts Kaid tried to figure out what his next course of action was.
'Okay, let me think. I need to go back home to Caldaria to see my family's graves, however I can't do this right now because I'm currently being targeted correct?' asked Kaid to the system.
[Correct. God candidate is being pursued by known Gods. Due to low energy signature of candidate it will take time to locate candidate.]
'So, in that case it's better to lay low and wait for things to blow over'
[Course of action highly unrecommended. Gods will eventually locate and wipe God candidate from existence. It's recommended that the God candidate get stronger immediately.]
Kaid sat there thinking but his thoughts were a mess. Maybe it was because it had only been 30 hours since everything had happened, but he still couldn't wrap his head around everything that had happened. He could still remember the monster. The way its extreme features morphed together ever changing, it's unnerving walk as it tried to mimic human behavior, and that Good awful smell. But the thing that he remembered the clearest was how it felt as he watched himself being eaten alive. The sound of his flesh being torn apart, his bones crunching as the monster got it's fill.
Kaid shuddered as the memories washed over him. But the monster wasn't his concern now. What was really worrying him was his predecessors supposed will inside him. Kaid could feel its influence on him, growing stronger every day at a steady pace, telling him of all the abominations in the universe he needed to purge ['the unchecked powers that needed to be balanced'.]
Kaid quickly shook the thought out of his mind as he once again regained control of his own thoughts. From what the system told him the only way to suppress his predecessor's will would be to get stronger. Because Kaid was only a human who hadn't awakened it'd only take a week before he become consumed by the foreign will. With that in mind there was only one thing he could do. Get stronger.
Kaid let out a big sigh. 'What are the options for course of action then,' asked Kaid.
[Artemis program online. Synchronizing...]
[Beginning analysis...]
[Results.
God Candidate
STR: 22
DEX: 32
AGI: 23
STM: 24
INT: 42
WILL: 6
Additional information.
Life force: 486
Energy Source: 6 ]
Kaid watched in amazement as all this information rushed into his head. It was strange being able to accurately quantify his own capabilities in the form of numbers, but this certainly helped him clarify just how weak he truly was. Despite what he initially though he wasn't even anywhere near the peak of what a normal human being was capable of. From what he could gather, before an individual became a ranker their stats ranged anywhere from 1-100. Once they ignited their source they'd automatically jump up to the hundreds in regard to stats, excluding the Intelligence stat for some reason.
Now Kaid could truly understand why rankers were held to such high esteem. Even newly awakened rankers had stats that would put any normal person to shame.
[Recommended action, source ignition.]
With all this new information in his head Kaid understood perfectly why it was necessary for him to ignite his source. He wouldn't last even a second if he didn't ignite his source.
'How can I ignite my source?' asked Kaid.
[Currently best course of action would be to hunt low level beast. It's recommended the Candidate proceeded to an area in which they can acquire beast souls.]
'Well shit,' thought Kaid. 'This is going to take a while.'
The closest area where he could freely hunt beasts without restrictions would have to be the wildlands of Torvec which was on the other side of the planet. Considering that he was a black UII card holder, Kaid estimated it'd take him around two weeks to get to the other side of the planet.
'If I could upgrade to an emerald UII card it would solve a lot of my problems. But how?' thought Kaid.
When trying to upgrade your UII card there's generally a few ways you can go about it. You either need to have a lot of money to afford the upgrade, have a very stable and useful job, be placed in an important position within the government, or have some very powerful connections. Everyone generally started with an emerald UII card and those that ended up doing everything right throughout their life would likely have the chance to upgrade to a violet UII card, followed by the crimson, silver, platinum, and finally gold UII card.
It was honestly ridiculous how varied the level of treatment was for each type of card. Those below the green UII card could attest to the difficulty associated with even getting the basic necessities. Kaid who was just below the emerald card, with his black card, was barely making ends meet, while those with a white card were essentially hopeless.
As soon as he started thinking about it an answer had already started coming to him. 'Looks like I'll be making a trip into the inner cities. I'm going to need a suit,' thought Kaid.
---------------------------
"Listen up all you temporary workers! You better not be thinking of doing anything stupid tonight. Just do your job, get your damn paycheck, and get the hell out. Don't try to sweet talk anyone or try to make friends, none of those people up there are in your league understand?" asked the head waiter to all the temporary staff.
Everyone nodded seemingly to understand, but deep down inside everyone knew that if you were able to get on any of those peoples good side you'd be headed for a better life. Anyone of them could guarantee your ticket to the good life if you could secure a position with them, even if it meant being there lapdog.
Of course, those upstairs knew this was the case too so they tended to be shrewd, and even vindictive at times, about how they interacted with the lower staff. But even then Kaid knew this was the best option for him quickly getting a emerald UII card and cutting back on his travel time to Torvec.
The question is then how do you get a complete stranger to not only like you but be willing to help you? Kaid knew there was multiple ways he could go about this and was taking his time weighing out the different methods. This wasn't his first time interacting with people from the upper echelons of society so he wasn't too worried about how he would perform. His time as a waiter on the Artieus had given him enough experience to know how to handle those kinds of people.
The problem now was how to garner one of their supports. Kaid he knew that he'd have to select his target carefully.
"Alright then everyone get ready to move out. If I point at you stay behind, I have a different task for the rest of you." The head waiter pointed at a few people including Kaid and motioned for them to step aside as the rest of the staff left for the dining hall.
"Those of you here were selected to cater to the VIPs on the 53rd floor. Just so you know all of them have silver UII cards," said the head waiter.
Everyone except Kaid gasped. Of course, this would be the reaction, it's not every day you meet someone with a silver card. The common everyday person held an emerald card, so meeting someone who had enough money and power to buy their own planet was unimaginable. It wouldn't be farfetched for the normal everyday person to consider those with silver cards as Gods among men. But again this didn't faze Kaid because working on the Artieus let him meet a number of silver card holders. He was even able to meet a platinum card holder, now that was a real shocker.
As everyone tried to recollect themselves the head waiter continued on, "I think you all now know how important the situation is. The only reason why I'm even allowing you temporary workers to assist upstairs is because we're seriously understaffed tonight. Having said that, if you do good tonight you might be able to earn a permanent job here."
With that everyone was led to the 53rd floor where they prepared to receive the incoming VIPs.
-------------------------------
'Money is really everything,' thought Kaid as he watched the recent batch of VIPs entering the dining room.
Everyone was wearing the most lavishing outfits he'd ever seen. Before he could even think, a series of lights flashed in front of him highlighting the VIP's outfits as the system gave him a series of notifications.
[Beast material detected. Recommended candidate acquire. Beast souls detected. Recommended candidate acquire.]
Kaid held in his gasp as the system revealed to him that their outfits were made from high quality beast materials while their necklaces seemed to house beast souls. 'Shit! So that's what it means to be filthy rich,' though kaid. It made sense though, if they could afford to but planets them beast skins wouldn't be that hard to acquire. There were only a few types of beasts whose skin could be manufacture to produce clothes, unfortunately the weakest one was ranked at [R-07]. Additionally, the process to refine their skin was so expensive that only a few type of people could ever afford it. Everyone of their outfits could be priced in the tens of millions of credits.
Kaid had to look a way for a second because looking at their clothes hurt his wallet. 'I bet their shoes are worth what I could make in a lifetime,' thought Kaid. Of course, he was wrong, it would take him at least 4 lifetimes to be able to afford the cheapest of those shoes.
Having been thoroughly put in his place, Kaid adjusted his waiters suit checking for any issues before making his way through the dining room, tray in hand, offering drinks to highly esteemed guests.
The VIPs were a mix of different races. The majority were humans while you had your share of Alterions, half elves, and what Kaid thought was a half giant.
[Analysis
Half-Giant
STR: 106
DEX: 98
AGI: 42
STM: 66
INT: 105
WILL: 29
Additional information.
Life force: 602
Energy Source: 12
--Convergence Anomaly detected--
Recommended action. Termination.]
'What do you mean termination,' asked Kaid.
[Convergence Anomaly detected within being. Protocol directs candidate to eliminate target. Following elimination, candidate will have the opportunity to absorb portion of targets strength.]
Kaid didn't know what the Convergence Anomaly was referencing to but he knew it was probably related to his predecessor's will because right now it was telling him to kill the half giant. But of course, Kaid wasn't an idiot. Even just looking at the half giant who stood around 8 feet tall, Kaid could tell he'd have no chance to going up against him, not to mention his stats or the bodyguards who were definitely all rankers. The strongest one among them seemed to be at rank [R-04].
Kaid marveled at the half-giant. From what he knew it's stats were around that of someone at rank [R-01]. This was even more impressive considering that he hadn't even ignited his source. Honestly when thinking about it it made sense why giants were one of the dominant races in the universe considering that a hybrid was this strong when it only had half of their blood flowing through them.
Taking one final glance Kaid continued to move about the dining room never missing a single step as his years of service experience took over. To say he was skilled at this profession would be an understatement. Kaid knew when and how to approach every guest, appearing and disappearing whenever he was needed without having to be called. His mannerism conveyed the level of professionalism he'd cultivated while working on the Artieus. It was for this very reason that the captain of the cruise spaceship wanted to make him the head waiter and help him get an emerald card at the time.
Kaid was certainly attracting the attention of those around his as they noticed and approved of his skills, but that wasn't the only reason he was attracting attention.
Although Kaid had previously noticed the changes to his body and face as making him look a little better it would be an understatement to say he looked anywhere near average or even above average. Even before his transformation Kaid certainly had an attractive face although it wasn't very noticeable considering how he usually kept his hair long and unkempt, and his body hadn't filled out his full frame. Now with his hair cut short, and his body transforming to it's peak, he could really standout. His mannerisms further amplified his looks as he portrayed an aura of confidence and decisiveness.
The night continued on like this with Kaid occasionally getting looks directed his way and continuously maintaining his exceptional service skills. As the night reached it's apex Kaid noticed a group of the VIPs being ushered by the head waiter and the hotel manager, from what he knew, out of the dining hall. The head waiter shortly came back in and seemed to be making his way towards him.
"Hey, Kaid was it? Come with me, you'll be helping me with serving the VIPs upstairs."
Kaid nodded then followed behind him as they made their way to the elevators and proceeded to the 66th floor. The head waiter then led him to a room that had all VIPs that were being ushered inside.
The room was comparatively smaller than the dining room, offering a more intimate interaction for those inside. Without skipping a beat Kaid jumped right back into his work. The people in this room seemed to know each other very well as their interactions seemed less forced and more genuine. They all seemed to be more relaxed and very much so enjoying themselves. The rest of the night went on like this with this more pleasant and vibrant atmosphere.
Everything was going well and Kaid was about to start putting his plans into action when he noticed a strange feeling. It felt like someone was watching him.
He made sure not to make it very noticeable as he looked around the room trying to find the source of the stares.
The moment his eyes met that of the woman's in the toned down black and sage green dress, he was immediately transfixed. She stood out from the rest of the VIPs not only because of her simple attire in comparison to everyone else's but also because of her exceptional beauty. Her faced looked as though it had been carved from the smoothest of stones, with each feature being etched meticulously and them immortalized within the stone. Her ashen gray hair gave her the appearance of being older, but her face still exuded a youthful vibrance.
Kaid was so transfixed by her eyes that he didn't notice her getting up and walking towards him. As she got closer he could see more of her and slowly, as he lost himself into her eyes, he started to question if she was human. It wasn't just her otherworldly beauty that put her humanity in question, her eyes exuded an aura that seemed inhuman. It was like she could see right through him, he felt completely naked before her and yet he didn't feel threatened by her in the very least. Instead he was completely enamored by her to the point he didn't even here her when she asked for his name.
"I'm sorry what did just say ma'am?" Kaid to say those words.
She lightly chuckled before repeating her question, "I said, what's your name?"
Her voice was soft and powerful at the same time. They carried with it an air of grace and wisdom that Kaid had never experienced before. Having regain some composure he replied, "My name is Kaid Solvik honorable guest." He politely bowed while introducing himself. "And may I be so honored to know your name?"
Before she could say anything the system brought up a series of information about her. What surprised Kaid wasn't the information that popped up but the lack of information.
[Analysis
?????????
Error detected.
Unknown artifact interference.
Searching for Convergence Anomaly...
--Convergence Anomaly undetected--
Proceed with caution.]
"My name is Arcadia Paredes. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Solvik," said Arcadia as her eyes seemed to look at Kaid as if she knew all his deepest darkest secrets.
"The pleasure is all mine. How may I be of service ma'am?" asked Kaid.
"Indeed, how could you be of service?" a sly all-knowing smile pleasantly made its way onto her face as if she found something that she was looking for. "How would you like to come work for me Mr. Solvik?"