Chapter 9: Bad Day

“Leah, you’re late! You know how busy we get on Saturdays. Put on your apron and get the orders for table number three,” Uncle Bob, a thin man with matching thinning hair, admonished me the moment I entered his restaurant. 

 

Uncle Bob’s Chinese restaurant was located on a fairly busy street near downtown White Rock. This was where Sofia used to work full time before being hospitalized, and it was now where I worked most evenings. My humble home, a tiny loft, was right upstairs, and I lived alone now since Sofia left. 

 

I had always thought it ridiculous that my uncle ran a Chinese restaurant when neither he or his wife Judy were Chinese. Some days, I found it very funny. 

 

But today, I was in no mood to even fake a smile. 

 

I liked to think of myself as a decent waitress, because most days, I could muster up a courteous smile and pretend to enjoy my job. This was the best way to get good tips. 

 

But today, I knew my shift was going to be a bigger struggle than usual. 

 

With a curt nod, I grabbed my apron and some menus. As I walked toward the table Uncle Bob mentioned, I heard the breaking news being reported on TV. 

 

The anchor announced in a serious tone.

 

-Two new Pockets have appeared in London, and they were found to contain creatures equivalent to those inhabiting the high 60s floors. These are one of the most dangerous Pockets that have appeared in the history of mankind. The last Pocket that…

 

Pockets with 60th floor monsters?

 

I, and everyone else in the restaurant, turned toward the TV screen. This wasn’t the first time a Pocket containing high floor monsters appeared on earth. But this was certainly a rare occurrence. 

 

Most Pockets that popped up so far had contained at most monsters from the 20-something floors. This was why a Pocket hadn’t exploded in such a long time. Of course, the King monsters that ruled these Pockets tended to be much more powerful than the main inhabitants. But this still wasn’t a problem because after all, there were plenty of Rhombics who had reached 40 plus floors in the Door. 

 

But two Pockets with 60th floor creatures? That had to mean that the King monsters inside had to be at least the level of the 70th floor. 

 

The news anchor continued to report.

 

-The state of emergency has been declared in the entire city of London. Earlier, the British RAC sent out a reassuring message. It stated that the brother pair Oliver and George Burton will be dispatched to terminate these Pockets as soon as…

 

“Have you noticed how more and more Pockets have been appearing lately?” 

 

I heard one of the customers, a middle-aged woman wearing gray sweats, whisper.

 

Her companion sitting across mumbled back, “Really? I haven’t really paid attention. I mean… They always manage to terminate them right? And worse comes to worst, Harmony can dispatch one of their teams. Isn’t that what they did the last time we had a close one?”

 

Harmony was the biggest private Rhombic agency in the world. Corporations like Harmony were similar to the talent agencies for singers and actors. 

 

Harmony's main and most lucrative business was forming various teams of highly skilled Rhombics. The gems and the Gifts collected from high floors and big Pockets allowed agencies like this to make fortunes. 

 

Oftentimes, popular Rhombics in each agency also got endorsements and advertising deals from various businesses. 

 

I would have loved to be scouted by such companies. When I first found out I received the Invitation, I imagined myself getting a job in Harmony. At a first glance, one might wonder why anyone would join these agencies. After all, these companies took away a cut of everything their employed Rhombics earned from their hunts. 

 

But what Harmony, and other similar companies, offered was security and safety. 

 

The best and the most expensive weapons and healing potions were provided to him when a Rhombic belonged to a company. On top of this, some high profile Rhombics were even guaranteed an administrative job if and when they lost their powers. 

 

Such stability was exactly what I wanted. If I was offered a job at Harmony, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. 

 

But of course, this was never going to happen now. I couldn’t even pass the first floor test, so who would ever want me? 

 

“Hello. I’m Leah, and I will be your waitress tonight. May I take your order?” 

 

With a forced smile, I asked the customers sitting at table three. I had learned early on that a pleasant demeanor was always the biggest factor in the amount of tips I could earn.  

 

I really was sick and tired of hearing about this Rhombic business, so the best thing for me to do was to concentrate on my job. This way, maybe I could make a few more bucks.

 

Tonight, I planned on tuning out everything Rhombic.

 

I chit chatted with the table three customers. The group appeared to consist of grandparents and their grandchildren. I quickly jotted down the orders while maintaining my fake smile the entire time. Older customers generally tipped better, so I planned on staying on my best behavior.

 

I was about to turn around and leave when the elderly woman, clearly a chatterbox and mistaking my smile as an invitation for a conversation, asked, “Your name is… You said it’s Leah, right? Well, let me ask you a question.”

 

Please don’t, I wanted to say. But I kept my smile intact and nodded as she continued. 

 

“We’ve been discussing this topic all day, and my granddaughter here refuses to agree with me! You know that young boy Ryder Reece, don’t you? Well, I think it was a fair decision for him to be suspended for what he did, but…”

 

The young girl, who had to be the granddaughter, interrupted the elderly woman, “Gran! That’s so wrong!” 

 

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Turned toward me, the girl asked, “Don’t you think it’s unfair they banned Ryder? Everyone knows he’s strong enough to hunt alone, right? So they should totally let him! Remember how he closed that Pocket a few months ago? It was a close call, and he got it done!” 

 

Ugh, this again! 

 

Couldn’t people just shut about this Ryder Reece already?! I wanted to flip the table and scream so badly. 

 

Was I ever going to escape from hearing about the stupid Rhombics? After what I learned today, or more accurately what I confirmed today, I was desperate to forget about my situation. 

 

But I didn’t scream. And I didn’t make an attempt to flip the table, partly because I knew it was bolted down. Instead, I reminded myself that I was a professional. 

 

Plus, I didn’t get to go inside the Door today, which meant that I needed to make my day’s earnings from the restaurant.

 

I hid an annoyed frown by making my already-creepy smile even wider. I must have looked like the joker with his gruesome cut smile because I saw my customers flinch. 

  

I mumbled some nonsense and hurriedly left the table. When I left the RAC earlier, I had hoped that the rest of my day would be kinder to me. 

 

But just now, I had a sad realization that it was going to be a very rough shift tonight.

 

***

 

“Guess this isn’t exactly the best decision I’ve ever made…” 

 

I was back in the Door muttering to myself. It was like a deja vu, because I was struggling to kill a miniature goblin yet again. 

 

It has been one week since I had that upsetting meeting with Virpal. That night after work, I had decided to take a few days off from hunting. I thought this was for the best so I could take some time to think clearly. 

 

I have been hunting and working like a dog for months, so it was going to be a smart thing to clear my head. 

 

But the very next day, I found myself back in the Door without fail. Knowing what I was like, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

 

I hated working, but I hated laziness even more. Unable to stand being idle, and afraid that fully admitting my failure might cause me a panic attack, my body moved on autopilot to bring me here. 

 

And so it has been another week of grueling blunder after another. Every goblin I managed to kill was by luck, clearly because I was still a terrible fighter. The gems I obtained barely summed up to be worth my time and excruciating effort. 

 

At this point, even someone with the most basic math skills could gather that washing dishes at my uncle’s restaurant was going to be much more profitable for me.

 

Today, I felt eerily calm. I have been ignoring the elephant in the room all week, hoping that the said elephant would just trott away.

 

But I have wasted more than enough time. It was unlike me to just “wait” when the answer was right in front of me.

 

I scolded myself as I jumped back to avoid being clawed. Thankfully, I saw the goblin I was fighting stumbling a little. Taking this as my opportunity, I thrusted my sword and struck the nasty green monster’s stomach. 

 

“Pluerrrk!” The beast let out a blood-curdling scream.

 

I wiggled to take out my weapon from its body. It must have gotten stuck in one of its ribs, because I struggled to pull it out. But I managed it somewhere, and I sliced the goblin’s hairy neck. 

 

Unfortunately, my sword got stuck, AGAIN, midway. I had witnessed some Rhombics perform a clean beheading, but it was unsurprising that I couldn’t accomplish it. 

 

Well, at least my last attack was enough to make the goblin go silent. It choked for a few seconds before it took its last breath.

 

“Haa…” I sighed unhappily. 

 

Another kill like this wasn’t going to mean anything. Another thousand won’t change anything either if I couldn’t get stronger. Besides, it was more likely that I would be killed well before I reached my thousandth anyway. 

 

I have been constantly checking my Display after every kill every day. If my Power value went up even a single point, it would have been enough to give me hope. 

 

But the numbers refused to budge. Nothing changed and I didn’t feel any different. I was certainly not getting any better. 

 

As a matter of fact, I had another brush with death yesterday when somehow, I managed to bump into two giant goblins together. It was so unexpected to find the goblins roaming together, let alone such big ones like those.

 

I had to wonder if something strange was going on inside the Door. 

 

I was almost cornered by them, but thankfully, a training team nearby heard my struggle and came to my rescue. 

 

Afterward, it became very clear that I was getting all the signs in the world. And these signs were screaming at me that I wasn’t cut out to be a Rhombic.

 

This wasn’t my path to follow. 

 

“Message received loud and clear,” I muttered as I picked up the small red gem of what I assumed to be my last and final kill.

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