She Rules the Dungeon

A wise man once said that for a company to be successful, they needed to have the right people. However, that was for a good company. Did Five Lives Saga want to be a good company? Of course not! They were going to be a great company, right at the top. This wise man also said that what sets a great company from a good company was having the right people in the right seats. And that brings Otta to her daily hell for the past three days now.

"How can they have fun doing this?" she groaned.

Richard sighed. His soul was no longer with him. It escaped from its physical prison for greener lands void of paperwork.

Although Michelle had been very nervous around Venus initially, after working together for a while, they've gotten very close. After Jenny screened through the applications sent, five hundred and twenty-seven remained. To reduce the amount of work that Otta and Richard needed to do, Venus offered to help screen the remaining candidates with Michelle. They took the initiative to sort through the trash applicants that didn't get filtered by Jenny and sorted the remaining two hundred and seventeen into categories. Otta was impressed that they enjoyed spending hours pouring through the applications. She accidentally overheard them arguing heatedly over which applicant was hotter. Luckily, Richard wanted no part of it and left them to their devices. He was wise.

To further reduce those numbers, Venus took it upon herself to do the first round of interviews for the shortlisted candidates over the phone. That further eliminated the two hundred seventeen candidates to only sixty-nine. Even though the numbers have dwindled drastically and only the finest remained, it was still difficult for both Richard and Otta. Neither of them had any experience in interviewing people. To make matters worse, they had varying degrees of social anxiety disorder. Richard had it worse and broke out into hives when he was told he had fourteen people he needed to meet. Otta fainted after knowing that she had less than a week to prepare for a meeting with all sixty-nine candidates. Ever since then, Otta brought out her glasses and buried her nose in books all day, memorising and practising how to conduct interviews.

The phone rang and shocked Otta. The lines she memorised poofed into thin air when the shrill sound startled her and broke the wall of concentration. Irritated at the caller for picking such a bad timing to disturb her, she glared at the noisy device for a while before relenting. No use picking a fight over something that couldn't be helped.

"It's me!" the other person greeted and Otta groaned. Great... she was the last person Otta wanted to hear from at this point.

No offence to Grace but the lady isn't exactly the best when it comes to helping out with administrative matters. Her methods of dealing with interviews include a very physical examination of a person's skills and calibre, completely redundant to their nature of job scope and a complete waste of time. The same happened with Khan. When asked about the best ways to determine if they should hire someone, Khan told her that she should go with her gut instincts and kill if they showed signs of betrayal.

Richard took his preventive measures way ahead of time. With Neuf around, the programmer found a way to escape interviewing the fourteen applicants. Customised android life-sized dolls were easy to manufacture and deliver. Richard just signed the delivery off the courier service yesterday. He and Neuf had been holed up for a few hours now, modifying the headgear used for dungeon syncing. Apparently, it was alright for Richard to conduct interviews if he wasn't facing them physically. Otta didn't know it at first but Richard had a legitimate reason to avoid conducting interviews like a normal person. He broke out into hives if he got too worked up and it became a real issue when that happened.

"What is it?" Otta groaned. She didn't have time to entertain anything else at the moment. The first interview will happen in less than one hundred hours from now and Otta was only on volume two of Social Interactions for NEETS, GEEKS and NERDS 101.

"I heard the news from Michelle. Will you be alright?"

Otta sighed. Truth be told, there were a few troublesome people from the shortlisted candidates. However, as a business owner, Otta had no real reason to reject them. They were the people who once bullied Otta while she was still in school. Kendra was an exceptional PR manager and was well sought-after in her field. However, back when Otta was still in school with Michelle, Grace and Adam, Kendra had been really mean to Otta. With her looks, family prestige and talent, Kendra ostracised Otta on the very first day of school. If it wasn't for Grace, Adam and Michelle, Otta didn't know what would've happened.

"I won't be alone. Venus and Cameron will be present posing as out assistants. If there is something that Richard or I am unable to handle, they will step in for us."

"Still, I'm worried about you. It doesn't matter how good that bitch is, I'll give her a free face reconstruction if she dares do anything to you. Also, you should put your best foot down and let them know who they will be working for. I know how much you dislike formal hierarchy but if you don't set it straight from the start, things will start collapsing really quickly."

Grace was right. Otta knew it in her heart but that didn't mean she felt any better. It just wasn't in her nature to exert her authority upon others. If possible, she wanted the world to be a peaceful place where everyone was free to be who they are without any concern for consequences. Sadly, even in year 2050, that utopia doesn't exist.

"I'll be fine Grace. I'm not the same person I was eight years ago. Besides, I'm not alone this time."

Grace didn't answer immediately. She was conflicted. Although it was true that Otta had grown more confident over the years, she was still worried for her friend. Part of her simply couldn't let what Kendra did slide. She'd never gotten along with that two-faced skank and it became a slightly personal matter when she heard that Michelle approved Kendra's application. Grace wanted nothing more than to burn that piece of damn paper and pretend it never happened but Michelle wouldn't let it. Kendra was one of the best PR managers after all.

"Fine. I trust you. However, if anything happens I get dibs. It's been a long time and I've been itching to correct the angle of her nose. I'll see if she can ever pull that 'looking down on you' face with a flat nose bridge. I bet she'll just end up looking like a pig."

Otta burst out laughing at that. The image was simply too cruel but it was hilarious all the same. Sadly, even with her kind heart, Otta couldn't find it in her to feel sorry for Kendra. Grace had slapped merciless insults after insults and Otta was worried that she might be losing touch with her humanity by going with the flow.

After hearing her friend's laughter, Grace smiled. Michelle was right. Otta was too tensed and needed to lighten up. Now that her job was done, she should get back to her work. There were sixty-nine potential employees that needed research finding after all. With Black Penguin's network, it shouldn't be hard to weed out the potential spies from other dungeons.

"Alright, break time here is almost over so I'm going to get back to work."

"Hang in there, Grace... don't forget to take breaks!"

"Yeah... you take care and remember to eat too!"

The call ended just as suddenly as it came and Otta stared at the phone screen. Grace had always reminded her of a hurricane that came and went taking everything along with her and creating a mess. Things were never boring around the adventurer and the red-head smiled. Thanks to Hurricane Grace, her mind was now very clear. Volume Two of Social Interactions for NEETS, GEEKS and NERDS 101 was closed and thrown aside.

She'll cross the bridge when she came to it. After all, she wasn't alone anymore.

***

"Are you sure you want to conduct your interviews at Mcsmeldy's?" Dr Whitestone asked once more. Adrian had offered them a meeting room that they could conduct it in peace but Otta requested to conduct it at their usual cafe instead. The scientist was dumbfounded. How could he explain it to the director now?

"Don't worry, it'll work out. Jillian has agreed to reserve a corner for us for two weeks or until we complete the interviews. Cameron has the schedule ready so we'll be interviewing the fourteen technical team applicants the first two days. The remaining fifty-five applicants will be interviewed within the next two weeks. I don't see these interviews taking too long after Richard's interviewees. I'll be able to continue designing dungeons for the other half of the day after the interviews so don't worry about progress stalling during this period. The Halloween event will still continue as planned."

Utterly defeated, Dr Whitestone waved his imaginary white flag. Adrian was going to chew him a new one but it was a small price to pay. "Do as you will then... just let us know how many candidates you intend to engage by the end of everything. As your sole investors, we need to discuss the captial budget to invest in your company with our board of directors."

Otta grinned. "Sure thing! Alright, is there any other reason why you came running over again?"

Dr Whitestone shook his head. Honestly... he felt as if his physical fitness has improved overall from all the trips he made to Otta's apartment. He practically ran a marathon over from his office when Adrian called him informing him that neither Otta nor Richard were picking their phones up. Although it had pretty much become a norm, Dr Whitestone couldn't help but feel like he'd received a mini heart attack every time he heard it. There was once he found both youths on the verge of dying from starvation during a dungeon release rush. They agreed never to repeat the twenty-four-hour challenge again and had bestowed Otta's spare apartment key to him, entrusting him as their unofficial guardian.

The scientist had mixed feelings about this. However, he knew better than to question it and decided to do what he always did.

He placed his trust in them once again.

***

"I see... well then, it's not exactly unexpected. Thank you for the help, I knew I could rely on Black Penguin."

"It's not a problem," Grace smiled. Cameron was a great informant and with him around, she could afford to relax a little. Otta's enemies were at large and Richard was walking in an open minefield after he issued that challenge. Although they had many new strong allies, the number of enemies around them have increased too.

"I'll be going now, the interview will start soon. One last thing before I leave, can you keep this from Richard and Otta? I don't want them to panic and reject a person because of it. A talent is still a talent after all. It would be sad if I couldn't use this opportunity to buy them over into our camp."

Grace blinked. Was it her imagination? When Cameron said that she swore she saw two horns and a dark shadow behind him. Still, she nodded. Otta was in good hands and she was so thankful that Cameron wasn't his enemy.

***

"So what happened to Richard v2.0?"

The programmer groaned and let his head fall onto the table with a thunk. Otta sipped her latte as elegantly as she could. Michelle insisted on dressing her for the occasion since she couldn't participate. Dressing up meant borrowing one of Michelle's dress and putting on make-up. Otta couldn't refuse but she wasn't thrilled. It wasn't even her show today!

Meanwhile, the star of today's interview marathon was running on three cups of espresso and fried nerves. The andriod doll they bought had died on them when Neuf accidentally pressed the reboot button. It did a clean reset and Richard wasn't able to recover it in time so he had to turn up in person. To make matters worse, Michelle dragged him for clothes shopping and forced him to wear a black suit jacket.

The four of them were seated on the same side of the long bench. Jillian had been kind enough to allow them to combine tables to accommodate four people on one side. Cameron was seated to the right of Richard who was seated to the right of Otta who was seated to the right of Venus. This gave Richard and Otta no means of escape, trapped in between.

It was approaching nine and their first candidate was Thomas Meyer, a fresh graduate with an interest in graphic and effects programming. The man showed up in a timely fashion carrying nothing but a laptop, much like Richard's style. He was dressed casually in a cotton tee and some faded jeans that screamed comfortable. Otta was instantly envious. Thomas wore glasses and introduced himself confidently but not arrogantly. Otta had a good impression already while Venus plastered her business smile and Cameron kept a straight face. Richard looked disinterested.

After Thomas had taken a seat, Richard dropped the bomb. "In the application you mentioned that you're able to contribute by introducing new mechanics to the dungeon system revolving around movement and effects. Can you elaborate?"

Not taken aback by the fastball, Thomas set up his laptop while explaining the flaw he found in the first Five Lives.

"When I compared it to Five Lives Saga from the playbacks of adventurers who streamed it, I noticed that the movement AI applied the general law of physics only to the adventurer but not the environment. I would like to introduce that feature. Also, in the raid dungeon there are biome changes. No change in movement AI has been seen. Effects of skills used are not fully maximised. For example, in Ruler of the Purgatory, the Summoner can only summon when standing still. The requirements for a summoning ritual was an empty space in front of the adventurer. Any sudden obstacle will cause the ritual to fail. Similar bugs were observed in other skills too."

Otta didn't understand much but from Richard's pleased expression, she had a good feeling about it.

"You're good. But not good enough. Do you understand what it takes to be a programmer with Five Lives Saga?"

Thomas straightened up. "Five Lives Saga is leading the charge to break through all technological barriers in this age of stagnation! I am fully prepared to learn and adapt to changes as needed. Although my expertise lies in programming for the graphics aspect, I can contribute to other areas like territory boundaries and network gateway development."

Richard nodded. "Anything else you would like to add?"

Thomas paused. He seemed to consider for a bit before nodding. "If I am employed, can I request for one benefit?"

The programmer didn't stop him so Thomas continued. "I would like to request to be able to work out of office."

Richard smirked. "Don't worry. We don't have one yet so let's not talk about it. If you're the right person for the job, we will contact you again. We can definitely discuss in more details about the terms of your employment then."

Thomas bowed and thanked them before leaving. Otta looked at her watch.

"9.40am... not bad. That went quite smoothly. So what do you think?"

Richard nodded. "Can do but not my first choice. His knowledge is too lacking and his skills are not good enough to create the kind of things you want to see."

Otta sighed. She guessed as much. All those things Thomas mentioned earlier were things that Otta and Richard had gone over before. While all those improvements Thomas mentioned would make the game appear more appealing to adventurers, it wasn't quite what Otta wanted. Their main focus was to give a sense of realism into fantasy-themed worlds and encourage adventurers to rediscover themselves. Instincts will be overwritten and in the face of danger, your character's traits and job class will be what determines the outcome of the fight. That was what Otta wanted to see come true.

"When is the next one coming?"

Cameron glanced at the list. "Mr Freddy Tucker will be coming at ten. Does anyone need the washroom? We have twenty minutes."

Both Otta and Richard bolted at once, glad to be away from the tension.

***

"Hello Otta, it's been a while since I last saw you. How are you doing?"

It was the sixth day of their interview marathon. Richard was glad to be back at the computer but Otta was cursing the clock every morning. She wished she'd never agreed to it. Kendra Kellogg was sitting before her and only Venus was present with her for their interview. Otta refused to dress up after the first day, complaining how it was taking away her precious sleep time and Michelle didn't pursue the matter after receiving Richard's bribes. Michelle swore to never let anyone else see the pictures of a beautiful Otta Olley, lest some detestable pests started hanging around her again.

Before Otta could answer, Venus had stepped in to defend her.

"I believe this is a formal interview, Ms Kellogg. If you wish to reminisce about your past I suggest you do so after our interview."

Calm as a cat, Kendra smiled at Venus who returned a polite smile of her own. Otta was sweating bullets. It felt as if she was trapped between fire and a hard place. Naturally, she chose to take cover behind the hard place. If she was alone, Kendra might have started skinning her alive. Thankfully, Venus insisted on accompanying her on all the interviews.

"My apologies. It's been such a long time, please excuse my unprofessional conduct earlier. Shall we move on to the actual interview then?"

Unfazed, Venus continued to talk as if she wasn't trying to pick a fight earlier. Otta remained silent throughout the entire interview while the two ladies fought it out with practised fake smiles and underlying jabs at each other in honey voices laced with deadly poison. It was quite the sight and Otta didn't know what to think when Kendra left.

"My goodness! How can such an atrocious woman exist?"

Whatever it was that Otta was expecting, it certainly wasn't it. "What?"

Venus folded her arms crossly and snorted while tossing her hair back elegantly. "If she thinks she can continue being the best PR manager with that attitude and shallow foresight of hers, she can forget about it. The only reason how she's able to make it this far is due to her looks, prestige and ability to play it hard. Too bad that doesn't work on me."

Otta didn't know why but she felt relieved hearing it. If Venus didn't think she was the right person for the job, it would take a load off Otta's shoulder. She didn't have the obligation to employ someone who wasn't going to be good at what they did after all.

"The next one had better be good..." Venus growled and called for another mango smoothie. Otta mentally counted the number of drinks they'd ordered over the past few days conducting interviews here. No wonder Jullian was so eager to reserve the table for them. Mcsmeldy's must have earned a fortune off them. This month's rental wasn't going to pose a problem for them.

At eleven, a dull looking lady walked in. Her name was Molly Fincher and nothing about her stood out at first glance.

"Good morning, Molly. I trust that you understand what exactly entails this job that you're applying for."

Molly didn't back down. Instead, she remained impassive and nodded. "According to the recruitment post, a PR manager in Five Lives Saga is someone required to deal with the aftermath of news relating to the company and protect the company's image."

Venus didn't give in. She kept pushing all kinds of buttons hoping to get a rise out of Molly but the woman kept her chill throughout. Otta was deeply impressed. It took a different kind of strength to be able to maintain that level of calm under tremendous pressure. Secretly, she had a feeling that Molly would be a good addition to their team. All the other applicants were flashy like Venus and Otta didn't think that there would be anyone working in that trade who would be more introverted.

"Do you have any questions?"

Molly shook her head. At this point, Otta was dying to ask one thing.

"I have a question," Otta spoke and even Venus was surprised. She thought that Otta was going to leave everything to her from how Otta had never spoken much over the past few days of interviewing.

"Assuming that an enemy of Five Lives Saga has attained some data and leaked it to the media. That news affects not only the company's image but also Richard and my private lives... how will you handle that situation."

Molly didn't answer immediately. However when she did, Otta wasn't disappointed.

"I'll answer honestly. I have no comment. It is not in my place to speak for my enemies."

Otta smiled while Venus concluded the interview. She had a feeling that she would get along very well with that strange lady. Also, they might be meeting again very soon. Otta couldn't wait to see the full team although there were still a few more days before everyone was interviewed. Twenty-nine down, forty more to go.