章 20: I’m Changing Schools… RIP Childhood Friend Romance Subplot
Chapter 20 - I'm Changing Schools… RIP Childhood Friend Romance Subplot
Every minute felt like an hour. After three hours of rest, Carn was tired of sitting around and being watched by countless CCTV cameras mounted on the ceiling.
To top it off, his former subordinate's gaze fixated on him, sending goosebumps down his spine. For some reason, Carn felt violated.
Trying to change the mood, Carn got up and paced around the lecture hall. During his wander, he spotted a portable toilet stall in a corner. Seizing the chance to escape prying eyes, Carn opened the door and stepped inside.
The stall was cleaner than he expected, though it had a dusty-like construction-site smell. He closed the lid, sat down, and sighed, glancing up to change his view.
When Carn looked up, he noticed a gap between the door and the ceiling. Through that gap, a pair of watchful eyes stared at him. Rosa was balancing on a desk, peering in.
"HEY!" Carn yelled, kicking the door in frustration.
When he stepped out, she was already back at the podium, pretending that nothing had happened. He snorted and returned to the stall, but as soon as he closed the door, there she was again, peeking through the gap.
Carn sighed deeply. "Is this fun for you?"
Rosa smirked. "Very. Standing here all day in an empty hall is boring. It's different from the dungeon. At least, I had a few mice or bats as pets to watch. But here, they don't let a single fly enter. I'm so bored."
"Can't you leave me alone and let me take a leak? I ain't a monkey in a zoo."
Respecting his wish, Rosa finally relented and returned to her spot.
Carn sighed in relief, but his hope for privacy was destroyed as he noticed the twelve red camera lenses and a glaring light bulb all pointed directly at him. Realizing privacy was nonexistent here, Carn gave up on resting in the stall and stepped out.
As he started tidying the area to pass the time, Rosa called out to him.
"Lord Pebble, may I ask you something?"
"Yeah?" Carn replied verbally, conserving his precious Aether.
"I sense a trace of Holy Power in you. Have you finally converted and accepted the 'LORD'?"
As a former priestess, she was knowledgeable about Holy Power, and seeing a hint of it in Carn thrilled her.
Carn pressed his lips together, wary of the implications of answering. With a quick gesture and a sharp look, he signaled her to drop the topic, not wanting to waste Aether on telepathy.
Rosa pouted, recognizing his silent refusal but respected his unspoken boundaries. Still, she couldn't help feeling overjoyed that Carn had begun to accumulate holy power.
…
A day later, the elevator descended, bringing a team of five men in hazmat suits. They marched into the lecture hall and approached Rosa and Carn, showing no sign of fear.
Rosa glared at the men but looked away afterward, dismissing them as useless since they lacked both Aether and Holy Power.
The lead soldier faced Carn and spoke through a small mic, "Examinee Carn, you've passed the tests. Follow us."
Carn got to his feet and turned to Rosa to bid her farewell. The inquisitor, however, gave no response.
Seeing her lack of acknowledgment, Carn smiled wryly and sighed.
'This is for the best. She can safely gather Aether without lifting a finger, and no one from that world will find her here. And I can finally be myself and move independently.'
He followed the men into the elevator, and the doors closed behind him.
Unseen by him, Rosa's mouth curved up into a sly grin.
…
The team brought Carn back, navigating through a maze of corridors toward the surface. They passed three giant shutter doors, marked G-3, G-2, and G-1 in order. After crossing the last metal gate, Carn got to see the sunlight again.
He looked up, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the bright light, squinting as it hit him. It felt almost like his first day when he emerged from the demon's tomb after years in darkness.
A military jeep awaited him, and in the back seats sat his parents, waving at Carn.
"Over here, Carn!" Han called him over.
Carn was surprised. He turned around to the hazmat soldiers. They nodded and revealed the result, "You've passed all examinations and received a recommendation from ECD personnel. You're exempt from all juvenile explorer courses. Please select your division within seven days. You may stay at the military base's guest house during this time."
"Huh?"
Carn was at a loss for words as everything sounded new and strange to him. He thought to himself.
'How does their scoring system even work? I don't get it.'
The hazmat soldiers returned to the facility, finishing their escort duty and leaving Carn with his family. Carn climbed into the passenger seat and looked over at the driver, who grinned back at him.
It was Eric, one of the researchers Carn had met the other day, flashing a yellow-toothed smile.
"Welcome, boy."
Carn recognized him and glanced back at his parents with a questioning look.
Han smirked and said, "Well done, Carn. Thanks to you, we got promoted."
"What the hell is going on here?" Carn was still clueless about what was happening.
"Simply put, you passed the test and earned yourself a military career recommendation. Since we're a package, your parents got a promotion and a free house. Now, we can finally sell that god-forsaken house and live under the ECD. You just made the American dream come true for us."
"…"
Carn frowned, wondering if he'd been set up or if Han had used him for their own gains. Whatever the case, Carn didn't like the idea of joining the military.
Wong read Carn's expression and warned him in her Asian dialect and broken English, "Don't even think about it. Our family's yearly salary now go up to $250,000, and no need pay taxes for whole life! You mess this up, we send you to Jesus!"
"…"
Eric laughed along with the family and tried to cheer Carn up.
"Relax, kid. The bad news is, you'll be required to join one of the divisions. But the good news? Your starting pay is better than most corporate jobs out there, plus you'll get a lifetime tax exemption. You won't find an offer like this anywhere else, so just be a good sport and take it while you can."
Carn paused, trying to wrap his head around Earth's culture and capitalist mindset. He decided to dig a little deeper.
"How much are we talking about here?"
Eric glanced at Han in the rearview mirror, who returned the look, signaling his friend to keep pushing. Clearing his throat, Eric shared the details.
"The ECD has the best pay. Even trainees make $85,000 a year. An average licensed explorer gets about…120K-ish, I think? The other benefits are about the same, though. Oh, if you sign the contract right away, you get a signing bonus equal to the starting annual pay, if I remember correctly. The contract period is usually five years, but that depends on the examination results."
Carn did some mental math.
'That's around $7,000 to $10,000 a month. Not bad, but…eh.'
For a teenager, it was a decent sum. But as a gargoyle who had once sat on mountains of gold coins and priceless artifacts, the amount didn't thrill him.
He had no girlfriend, mortgages, or loans. He wasn't into luxury watches or sports cars. And he wasn't greedy enough to put his mind on investing and financial plans.
Money just wasn't a priority.
Noticing Carn's lack of interest, Han leaned in. "If you join the ECD, you'll have access to the rifts."
"DEAL!"
Without a second thought, Carn agreed. He cared far more about exploring his former world than anything Earth's materialism had to offer.
"GREAT!"
Han, Wong, and Eric cheered, exchanging thumbs-ups with grins all around.
Carn observed them and smiled wryly. Then, a thought struck him.
"So, what about school? Do I still have to go, or can I skip it and join the ECD right away?"
At the mention of school, everyone froze. Their eyes shifted nervously, and Han began to sweat.
"Ah, right... the age requirement," Han muttered, rubbing his forehead.
"What do you mean?" Carn was puzzled.
Han sighed and admitted, "No matter how good you are, the military requires recruits to be at least 18. So…"
Wong added, "You still need to go to school, lah."
Carn thought of the high school that he was attending and frowned. Something didn't add up.
Usually, children of military personnel attended a public school, situated in a special district or within a military resident district. He wondered if he still had to go back to the old place.
"Do I have to transfer to the military base's local school or…?"
Eric chuckled. "Yes, you'll transfer schools, but you'll attend a public school in a military resident base. It's basically a regular school, just inside a military installation."
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