(Bu Cai Pov)
"...What is your purpose?"
I Couldn't help but be stumped by the seemingly straight forward question...
'What is your purpose'
It's so vague that it can encompass a variety of queries in one.
Such as; My purpose is to save people close to me.
Yet, is it really?
Isn't it objectively speaking, to defeat Long Tian?
Or is my purpose even more selfish such as,
Wanting to be live on no matter the cost?
These thoughts gathered in my head alongside the fact that,
I may have been found out.
Can you really say that I am your normal, everyday, eight year old child?
I train harder than anyone else my age should, I refuse to become friends and meet with others my age, I even do most of my tasks, such as bathing and clothing, all by myself as I felt uncomfortable having maids do it due to having been raised in a modern society.
It doesn't stop there, I don't eat many delicacies and sweets due to wanting to stick to a good diet to maximise my efficiency in getting stronger and even have weird things such as toothpaste to brush my teeth.
Could they have noticed? Or is it just Uncle Hou's suspicions?
After realising that I wasn't able to hold back the pressure from completely crushing me, I Shouted out with resolution the thing i have always wanted,
"I Want to be happy!"
After saying that, Hou instantly released the pressure and I heard a roaring laugh,
"HAHAHAHA, I can't believe it! What your father said was true after all! He told me that when he was doing this training, and his father did the exact same thing, he had answered exactly the same as you!"
I then passed out for a second time (Fucking Xianxia).
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(Bu Cai Pov)
After waking up I noticed I was lying in a bed in an unknown place, I instantly got up and searched for any danger as it had started becoming a small habit when i was in training.
Although I knew that there was probably no issues, as Uncle Hou was very strong and experienced, you could never be too careful.
After searching and only finding a folded piece of paper, I done the only logical thing and started reading it (where you expecting something else?).
In the folded piece of paper, there was information written in it (Shocking right?), and it basically told me everything i need to know for phase 2.
============================================
'Now that you have completed the wilderness part of the survival Training, now we have to get onto the social part.'
'To complete this part you must survive by yourself, purely through communicating with others and doing Jobs.'
'There will be no help in this and although I also think it is a bit much to expect someone of your age to do this, It is what master has told me to do.'
'You cannot hunt or use force (unless in reasonable circumstances) and must live through to the end of the half month period'
'Also, you cannot sell anything you have gotten before the training.'
'P.S Apologies for the unexpected pressure test, Master told me it was essential hence I had to do it.'
===========================================
Seeing this not the only word that came out of my mouth was,
"Fuck"
Although killing and surviving in the wilderness was already quite out of my comfort range, At least had trained in martial arts and shit for years, and read quite a lot before i started training hence I had some knowledge of surviving in the forest, and watching Bear Grylls came in clutch as well not gonna lie.
However, people were a whole nother matter in itself.
Firstly i was basically a loner since childhood in this world, and my previous life's interactions were mostly formalities and Job interv....
Wait...
'[Status]'
==================================
{Status}
[Name: Bu Cai]
[Titles: Host of THE System, No.1 Child Of Calamity]
[Age: 8 (29)]
[Power Level (Cultivation): Mortal]
[Alignment: Lawful Neutral ]
[Skills: (Martial Arts-Advanced), (Wilderness Survival-Intermediate), (Sword Arts-Intermediate)... ,(Finding A Part-Time Job-Proficient), (Persuasion-Advanced)... ]
[Unique Quality: Misfortune(E) ({Potential: Gold+ Rank)]
[Current Target- Long Tian(S-Rank)]
================================================
Although the newer skills and advancements were cooler, my eyes were focused on one part of the screen, More specifically the skills, 'Finding a Part-Time Job' and 'Persuasion'.
My Persuasion had increased in rank, this was probably due to trying to persuade Chang Wu to not do mean and stupid shit.
Thinking that, if I apply my skills in finding a part-time job, theoretically getting by would be easy, as even with my horrendous misfortune and portfolio of previous workplaces, i still managed to snag the job by using innovate ways of catching their attention (If anything, I may as well be called the god of part-time jobs. Part-time god, Perhaps?)
[New Self Created Title Has Been Acquired, Part-Time God]
...
Moving on.
This skill, Combined with my Advanced Persuasion. I doubt many places would turn me away
..Right?
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Feeling confident with my plan, I made my way out of the room (Of course, I had a shower before leaving. Gotta keep the routine alive) and went down a flight of wooden stairs.
After getting down, the first person, and only person, I saw was a relatively old woman, who was standing behind the counter where i presumed you could buy a room to stay in. I decided to go to her to check out.
after standing in front of her, she looked at me and asked,
"Hello Young man, I am aware that you were booked in for the night, and i have already dealt with the check out hence you can leave without worry. Thank you for your patronage and I hope you choose this inn next time as well."
Slightly surprised by the efficiency, I thanked her and made sure to take note of the place before leaving to venture for greener pastures (A Job).
As if god was answering my pleas, As i walked around to check for any good opportunities, i soon came across a small shop with a sign outside saying,
'Looking for cashier'
Perfect.
A job that isn't too demanding in skill yet will still require basic quick maths, therefore the pay will also not be too bad.
I instantly went inside the small wooden shop and went to the counter were a young women was standing.
Once she saw me she gave me a smile and asked,
"What's the matter Little kid, have you lost your mummy and daddy?"
Slightly irritated by her kiddy way of talking, i told her in the deepest and most professional tone i could muster,
"No Big Sister, I am looking for some work and saw the sign, Could you please allow me to see the owner so that we could talk about the conditions."
Quite surprised by my mature way of speaking, she looked down and said,
"Although Big Sister is not looking down on you, I hope you know that being a cashier at least requires basic levels of Numerals and also you must be able to treat customers nicely no matter what, Are you sure you can do that?"
I reply Confidently,
"Of course I can, I assure you on my name, Can you now guide me to the Shop owner please."
Without further ado, she shouted,
"Old Du! Someone is here for the position!"
Soon enough, an Old man, with a bald head and a grey beard, walked out from the back door which lead to another room, and came over, as soon as he saw me the expression on his face became one of disbelief.
He pointed and me and asked the young woman with a croaky and weary voice,
"Is this the 'Someone' you were referring to?"
The woman replied with slight embarrassment,
"Y-Yes"
After giving me one last glance he started to walk away shaking his head whilst muttering,"I'm too old for these jokes".
Before he left, I knew i had to get his attention so i said,
"Hey, Old Man! You'll be missing out on the single best worker of the god damn century if you leave right now."
This caught his attention alright, shocked by my boldness the young woman's face was full of shock.
He turned around again and slowly walked up to me, once he got relatively close, he looked down at the me, who was around 4'8, and simply asked the question,
"And what makes you think you are qualified for this job?"
Hehe; Ladies and Gentlemen, we gottem.
"(Insert just about any personal statement or textbook Job interview, with Xianxia terms replacing some words and some empty promises, and BANG, We have an mind blown and enthusiastic old man, ready to give me the money for my lodging and food on the table for the next half a month with no qualms at all)"
And if you are wondering what i will do if he realises that i won't be able to fulfill the promises?
Are you Dumb?
Of course I'm going to stall and keep adding some more empty promises to hook him in further, It's only a half a month anyway in a world not accustomed to such elegant methods of scammi... Discussing.
Anyways, After my words they were both (Young woman and Old man) singing my praises and looking at me as if i was a messiah.
Although i felt quite bad, If you ask me if i felt guilty or burdened by doing this?
I Would reply with a simple yet effective quote, 'Survival of the fittest'.
As Such I thought it would be smooth sailing however the Old man then threw a curve ball which i wasn't expecting,
"Although you would indeed be great for it and i think you do have potential, you are still too young and inexperienced. Plus in the end, what could a young brat like you possibly know?"
The Boat of employment that had just began to set sail, had started to sink not long after it started.
After trying for a long 20 mins, the old man shooed me off with the words, 'Too young and inexperienced', After leaving, as you can imagine, I was Pissed out of my mind, however due to the many setbacks in life i could still move on and keep calm.
Over the course of the day, I had tried a variety of different places with a variety of different methods but to no avail as it seemed everyone in this fucking place had a fucking fetish for 'Older and More experienced' people.
This place was a small backwater town, which I learned had the name of Smooreville (Sounds like shit straight out of SIMs if you ask me) and the shittiest place I had seen in my entire 2 lives.
After trying for ages, i had been able to become some sort of fucking stable boy.
Desperately using every trick in the book to convince the senile old bastard that owned it, that i wouldn't fuck it up, I had finally secured a Job.
Although It had payment in the fucking numbers equivalent to a few piles of horse shit, at least I was able to secure a place to sleep, The stable.
Although it may sound bad, Considering what i had been through in the forest it was honestly pretty good, I finally understand how great in many aspects the first phase was as it matured me and taught me many useful things, hence i also had expectations for this one as well.
After Finishing the job and showing my immaculate results to the old bast... Boss, i had finally been able to go and sleep.
After closing my eyes, I drifted into sleep with one thing in my mind for the future,
...Anticipation.
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Thanks for reading the chapter. Hope you enjoyed.