Career Advice
Day of Thura, 2:50 pm.
At the Library Room.
When Vivian stepped inside the room, she immediately went over to Annabelle who was sitting behind a desk.
After the teaching and feeding Holy Mission, Vivian was once again able to evade the invitations of Melissa, Lily and Airie by telling them that she had received a letter from Joshua yesterday and she was instructed to go meet Ezekiel and Annabelle today in the afternoon.
She claimed her 20 platinum coins reward but it was cut by 50% to pay for her loan. She then deposited the rest on her gold necklace before coming here.
"Good afternoon, Sister Annabelle," said Vivian.
Annabelle who was writing something in her logbook stopped and raised her head.
"Oh, Sister Vivian, I've been expecting you and I'm glad you have finally arrived."
"So what is this about? I mean, why did you want to meet me?"
If Vivian were to be honest, she had no idea why Annabelle wanted to meet her. She only realized that plothole after claiming her rewards.
Annabelle rose from her seat and went over to Vivian.
"Come, sister, let's go to a more comfortable place."
"Huh? Oh, okay…"
Annabelle and Vivian exited the library room and entered another room next door.
Upon entering the room, Vivian was immediately splashed with a bad feeling.
The room they entered reminded her of a guidance counselor's room back when she was still studying at a private religious school. The only difference was that this room felt more homely because there was a kitchen and dining table.
"Please take a seat, sister," Annabelle said and motioned at the lounging area in front of a desk.
Vivian warily sat down on one of the long couches.
Annabelle, on the other hand, went over to the kitchen area and began preparing some snacks.
"Is there any particular tea you like, sister?"
"Thank you for the offer, sister, but I just ate before coming here."
Due to the setup of this room, Vivian had no interest in eating whatever Annabelle was offering to her because it might be poison or something.
Back in grade school, she used to love hanging out at the guidance counselor's office during recess because the guidance counselor was the aunt of her female classmate who also happened to be her neighbor and childhood friend.
As for what caused her to have a change of heart, one day, she confided with the guidance counselor about a secret that no one knew but the guidance counselor shared it with Vivian's childhood friend.
Basically, she broke her trust.
And throughout Vivian's school years, she also met other guidance counselors for IQ tests, career advice and the usual things that schools require each student to attend. However, the more Vivian met these guidance counselors, the more she realized how "human" they were.
In Vivian's eyes, if she was going to take any advice from someone, she was only going to take it from someone who was larger than life, not some person who was no different from the average person.
It also led her to believe that talking to therapists, psychologists and whatnot was a complete waste of time and there is no such thing as depression -- you're either sad because your life sucks or you're happy because your life is amazing.
And to Vivian, the sure way to ensure to be happy is to have a life where you have looks, money and status.
And how to get those things? Just be consistent in working hard and smart.
Nothing more, nothing less.
"Okay, sister," said Annabelle. "But I'll still make an extra cup just in case and some cookies."
Vivian didn't say anything.
When Annabelle was done preparing tea and cookies, she placed them at the coffee table in the middle before sitting across from Vivian.
Annabelle took a sip from her tea and placed it down.
"Sister, are you sure you don't want to eat?"
Vivian glanced at the empty cup and cookies laid out on the coffee table.
"Thank you, sister, but I'm actually still very full. So why did you call me here?"
A small smile appeared on Annabelle's face.
"So what Sister Marie said about you was true. You like to get down to business right away."
"As much as possible, sister," Vivian said and smiled.
"The reason why I asked to meet you today is to discuss with you your future career here in our Temple."
"Future career?"
"Based on the performances you have shown, you're intelligent, you have great work ethic and loyal to our Temple's cause. And because of that, I have submitted a recommendation letter to the Headmaster to give you an administrative position."
Just like the Adventurer's Guild, they also kept tabs on their members.
"However, there was an issue," said Annabelle.
"Issue?"
"Are you aware that there are different types of grade jobs?"
"No."
"How about the Holy Crusade?"
Vivian wasn't sure if knowing about the Holy Crusade was common knowledge or not so she decided to give a vague answer.
"More or less, but please explain it to me just so that we're on the same page and we won't have any misunderstandings."
Annabelle nodded and then began explaining.
"In the Mission Room, there are 2 Class Magic Missions.
"The first one is to participate in managing the Temple's daily operations. The pay is 20 gold coins a month and some positions come with bonuses.
"The second one is to participate in the Holy Crusade where it lasts for 6 months. Although the reward is only 50 gold coins, you will also be rewarded with promotion points and other bonuses.
"Now, in regards to the Class Magic Mission where one has to participate in managing the Temple's daily operations, there are different types of grade jobs which are divided into A-Grade, B-Grade, C-Grade and D-Grade. And the higher the grade job, the higher the pay.
"In your case, given you're a White Cloak, the highest grade job or position you can have access to are only C-Grade jobs.
"However, given that you have yet to participate in a Holy Crusade, let's say there was a position for a C-Grade job which recently opened and can only be filled by one person. Although you're eligible to apply for that job, if another White Cloak also applies for that job and has participated in a Holy Crusade in the past, he/she will get that job over you."
"So basically, the people who participated in the Holy Crusades get priority over the ones who have yet to participate in one? And the more Holy Crusades one participated in, the more priority they will get when it comes to getting jobs?" asked Vivian.
"Yes, because you get at least 1 promotion point every time you participate and complete a Holy Crusade," replied Annabelle.
"But what if both people have the same and equal qualifications?"
"Then the Temple will make another position equal or similar to the type of job."
"I have one more question, sister. Please forgive me if I sound arrogant. But if priority is given to those who have participated in the Holy Crusades, let's say I joined the Holy Crusades, what are the chances that I will be under a competent leader or commander?"
Back in Vivian's world, based on her experience, people with higher IQ usually go into STEM fields, not the military.
In addition to that, the fact that the Class Magic mission is called Holy Crusade issued by the Temple of Priests and this world was set in the medieval era and had magic, Vivian can only expect that there's going to be a lot of fighting involved.
And when it came to fighting, given that her blood was blue, the last thing she wanted was to be under the orders of an incompetent leader to fight a powerful enemy.
Furthermore, she also had the Lore Magic [Nemesis of Beasts].
So in her mind, no matter how she looks at it, she rather take her time grinding here at Luxen City until she becomes a powerful being than be under an incompetent leader.
A smile appeared on Annabelle's face.
"I understand your concerns, Sister Vivian. As a matter of fact, I was expecting someone with your intelligence to ask such a question."
Vivian didn't answer and knitted her brows.
"Remember I mentioned that I submitted a recommendation letter to the Headmaster to give you an administrative position because of the performances you've shown, specifically your intelligence, your work ethic and how dedicated you are to our Temple's cause?"
"Um... Yes…?"
"The Headmaster really does want to give you an administrative position. However, there are rules and rules must be followed or all else will fail. But I have good news for you, given that we see a lot of potential in you and we know how dangerous the Holy Crusades can be, even with [Resurrection] magic, you will be assigned in a safer location and position during your Holy Crusade. We will even give you a medal as proof that you're a potential candidate for an administrative position and no one but the Saint can question it."
Truth be told, this wasn't the Temple of Priests or the world bending on one knee because Vivian was some kind of special diety or something.
In reality, just like any organization in the world, one of the biggest issues that the Temple of Priests faces is putting the right people in the right positions.
After all, just because someone is powerful or has the potential to become powerful, that doesn't mean they're also competent in other areas, such as management.
As a matter of fact, the First Holy Mission that all Brown Cloaks had to take where they have to take and pass a written exam in order to complete it, one of the main reasons such a Holy Mission was being offered in the first place was to assess a new member's intelligence.
And if that member shows a high degree of intelligence during that Holy Mission, the Temple would then consider that member as a potential candidate for administrative or managerial positions.
But of course, the Temple doesn't only look at the member's intelligence. They would also consider the member's loyalty, personality and many other things.
This is one of the reasons why the Temple of Priests rose to the top and continues to stay at the top.
This is also why there are Red and Gray Cloaks.
"You mentioned that the higher that grade job, the higher the pay. How much pay are we talking about exactly?"
"For D-Grade jobs, the minimum is 20 gold coins per month because some jobs are harder or more dangerous. For C-Grade jobs, the pay is 40 gold coins as the minimum. For B-Grade jobs it's 60 gold coins minimum. And for A-Grade jobs it's 80 gold coins minimum."
"How many Holy Crusades must I participate in exactly?"
Given that whoever has more Holy Crusades is given priority, Vivian wasn't stupid to think that participating only once would be enough. She figured that she must at least have more than the average in order to get the best positions.
"It depends. If we're talking about the members who love fighting and aim to be a Gray Cloak one day, then 6-7 Holy Crusades is the average. Meanwhile, for the ones who simply want to raise their priority in getting jobs, then it's 2-3."
"How many promotion points do I get with each Holy Crusade?"
"1 point is the minimum. You can also get additional promotion points if you participated in a special mission during the Holy Crusade. There are also bonuses."
"Last 2 questions."
Annabelle nodded.
"One: Are you really sure that if I joined the Holy Crusade I wouldn't be assigned to a dangerous location or position? Because I'm not a fighter and I am also not a violent person. Believe it or not, I'm actually a pacifist.
"Two: Let's say I decided to quit in the middle of the Holy Crusade, what will happen to me?"
"To answer your first question," said Annabelle. "We will give you a medal as proof that you're a potential candidate for an administrative position and no one but the Saint can question it.
"And for your second question, if you quit or commit a crime during the Holy Crusade, you will be stripped of your Class as a Priest. And depending on the crime you committed, you may be executed."
"I… I see…" said Vivian.
"But don't worry, sister. Given your intelligence, work ethic and dedication to our cause, I'm sure will do just fine. I can tell that the God of Light definitely watches over you," Annabelle said and flashed a very warm and kind smile.
"I see… Do I have to give an answer right away? Because I want to think about it first."
"You have until the day after the Ranking Match to decide."
Vivian remembered that the Ranking Match was on the day of Satur and there were supposed to be visitors coming, a group of Priests from another place.
"Thank you, sister. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"That's all, sister. Are you sure you don't want to eat some cookies? They're really delicious."
"I'm fine. Thanks."
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Hello guys, belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I have a few announcements to make:
1) I received my new laptop around the second week of December but I was already in vacation mode with my family so I wasn't able to write that much.
2) Starting now, I will drop most of the gimmicks I've been doing.
I just want to focus on writing and posting.
Having said that, I will only be posting 5 chapters per week here at WebNovel. Meanwhile, at Patreon, it would be at least 5 per week.
As to why, that's because in the later chapters I'm writing around 2,000 words each chapter compared to the earlier chapters which were only 1,200-1,500 each.
On top of that, I also have two small businesses that I'm managing and other personal matters.
So yeah, my hands are quite full and I hope that you will understand.
By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…
• https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades
There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.
Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 207-219 are posted there.
I would like to give my special thanks for this month's Patrons:
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Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.
Again, belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!