n

n

nKairos looked towards his father and nodded.

n“Knowing the basics would be pretty helpful.”

nSam smiled bitterly.

n“Haha, I wish that there was someone that could’ve taught me how things worked, but alas, I had to learn it myself.”

nKairos held onto his chin.

n“Was there a lot of power struggle in your company?”

nSam let out a sigh.

n“There is a power struggle in pretty much every company. I highly doubt that there is one that has had moderate success, but no power struggle. Even the startups have violent back and forths between its members.”

nKairos narrowed his eyes, thinking about it.

n“Huh…”

nThough he had seen the surface of such a climate, he really didn’t understand it, especially because he was never directly within it. The most he had seen was indirect versions or vague versions of power struggle in school.

nSam used a second to gather his thoughts.

n“Though I have climbed up the ladder to a certain extent, there was always someone above me. The majority of the time, you are trying your very best not to provoke your boss in any way, which can be quite hard when they are unreasonable people.”

nHe rubbed his knuckle against his temple, clearly a little stressed by the experiences he remembered.

n“If you want to increase your power, that will always be the condition required, not provoking the one above you.”

nSam leaned back into the sofa.

n“From there, you can prove your abilities, that you are calm in stressful situations and show off your capability while keeping good relations. Especially so in situations where a hasty decision is required, but it is also gravely important. The second aspect is how good you are at persuasion, whether it is flattery, having a dominant personality, and maintaining relationships.”

nKairos nodded.

n“That makes sense.”

nSam chuckled.

n“Though you probably won’t have to worry about that considering that you are starting near the top already. The only thing you have to be careful of is to maintain your relationship with Talia, since it seems she is the one governing everything.”

nHe raised a finger.

n“Just know that the chances of beating a person that is above you in a position of power is impossibly difficult if you have a conflict. There are a few exceptions, but they are incredibly rare. Understand that any conflict you have will likely end up as a pyrrhic victory at best. Though you shouldn’t really care about increasing your position of power given you are already quite high.”

nSam cleared his throat.

n“Though considering this is the apocalypse and people now have dynamically different power ranges, it gets a bit more complicated. I’m not sure exactly how it will work, but physical power will be quite important. My recommendation is to intimidate, but not frighten. In other words, show that you are more powerful, but do not pressure the other side.”

nKairos tapped his chin.

n“Hm. It does get far more complicated.”

nSam chuckled.

n“This would be the part where I would tell you to always get ready to transfer to some other company, especially when relations begin to sour, but…”

nKairos laid back on the couch.

n“There is not exactly a place to transfer.”

nHe shrugged his shoulders.

n“Well, worst case scenario I would be forced to flee the city without anyone noticing. I imagine it will be quite difficult to survive without a sustainable food source, but that was just our situation before.”

nSam nodded with a smile.

n“Haha, yeah.”

nHis expression faltered slightly.

n“…Basically, the gist of it is to not make that girl upset, and everything should be fine. Your mother and I both did not even make our marriage known or even shared that we knew each other for the sake of not provoking certain people.”

nKairos’ eyes widened slightly.

n“You couldn’t even talk about that?”

nSam shrugged his shoulders.

n“We learned that the hard way, haha.”

nKairos rubbed his temple with the tip of his finger.

n“…This sounds like a huge pain.”

nSam laughed.

n“Because it is.”

nKairos took a deep breath.

n“So the first steps seem to be going out to fight some monsters. Though only after I fulfill my responsibilities. Could you gather the others while I go ask Tiana about some stuff?”

nSam nodded.

n“Sure.”

nWith that, they left the room. Sam went up the stairs to go to the third floor, while Kairos went to the room opposite to his and knocked on it.

nSoon after, Tiana came out.

nShe raised an eyebrow.

n“Didn’t we just talk? Or do you have some more questions you would like to ask?”

nKairos shook his head while keeping his back straight.

n“It’s nothing like that. I desire to leave the city soon, thus wish to fulfill my required responsibilities now, so that I do not neglect my work.”

nTiana smiled.

n“It seems your father told you a few things, huh?”

nThe corner of Kairos’ lip twitched. He didn’t know how to respond.

nIn the end, Tiana brushed it off with a laugh.

n“Well, there isn’t much to report as of now. So far, we are planting partially sprouted potatoes. From what I’ve been told it should take roughly a month or more for them to grow. With roughly one hundred farmers, they need quite a bit to be fed. And that’s pretty much the extent of the situation.”

nKairos nodded.

n“I suggest that you provide a relatively generous amount of food for them to eat, stating that you will give enough for perhaps the first month and a half. This way, they won’t be too afraid. As people that are too afraid will likely try to find ways to avoid giving their ninety percent so they can feel a bit more secure in their food.”

nTiana put a finger on her chin, contemplating it for a moment.

n“Alright, that sounds pretty reasonable. You can go off on your little journey then, just come back in a week or so!”

nKairos bowed.

n“Thank you.”

nTiana smiled strangely.

n“You don’t have to be so polite in front of me.”

nShe began closing the door and peeked out of the crack.

n“Frankly, that hypocritical ** pisses me off.”

nKairos flinched as the door slammed shut. He stood there in silence for a few moments.

n“…Somehow I messed up already.”

nHe shook his head and began walking up the stairs.

n“Whatever.”

nHe was greeted with the sight of Sam talking to Sydney. Tori and Chase were standing off to the side passively.

n“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better to consolidate your strength?”

nSydney looked conflicted, furrowing her brows intently.

n“I don’t think I should get stronger. I’m not sure if I can control myself…”

nKairos let out a soft sigh.

n“Yes, but don’t you remember?”

nSydney looked over to him and blinked a few times.

n“Ah, remember what?”

nKairos looked her straight in the eye.

n“If you want to remain in control of yourself, you also need to improve your strength. Don’t you remember the difference it made before?”

nSydney blinked a few times with her mouth slightly agape, as though she finally came to that realization.

n“I understand.”

nTori looked between the two of them.

n“Remember what?”

nKairos shrugged his shoulders.

n“Nothing too important.”

nHe then walked over to Nicole’s door and knocked on it.

nIt did not take look for a set of footsteps to rush over.

nNicole opened the door with a wide smile on her face.

n“Ah, Kairos!”

nKairos nodded.

n“We are going out to kill some monsters.”

nNicole’s smile froze on her face.

n“But… why?”

nKairos blinked a few times.

n“To get stronger.”

nNicole looked confused, tilting her head to the side.

n“But we already have the shelter we need, right?”

nKairos paused for a moment.

n“Shelter is more of a symbolic thing, and is only guaranteed when one is powerful.”

nNicole’s lips parted ever so slightly, like she never expected that to be the answer.

n“Y-You are going outside to get stronger?”

nKairos raised an eyebrow.

n“Yeah, didn’t I just say that?”

nNicole looked down to the ground and fidgeted slightly.

n“…Alright, I will join you.”

nKairos was a little surprised as he somewhat expected her to either decline or try to convince him otherwise. Though he wasn’t going to go against it, as it was better this way.

nChase cracked his neck.

n“Can we go already? I really can’t sit right while I’m still not even at the E rank.”

nKairos let the sharpened bone rest on his shoulder.

n“Yeah, let’s go then.”

nThe group then left the apartment complex and walked out towards the entrance of the place.

nAlong the way, they passed by many people farming the fields. Many of those that noticed the group had gotten out of the apartment complex shot hateful glares in their direction.

nKairos couldn’t help but feel that these people weren’t very welcoming.

nIt was then he recalled his father’s advice. To intimidate, but not frighten. He thought that this was a method one was supposed to use in order to fend off someone in a higher position.

nAnd that was also what his father meant.

nHowever, it seemed like that it would also be beneficial to prevent an uprising. Most of the people farming already seemed bitter even without his intervention. It seemed that the preferential treatment that he had gotten sparked jealousy within the others.

nThough he didn’t want to attract attention, it was already too late for that.

nKairos assessed how much mana he had.

nIt was roughly a half, which was not a lot by his standards. Though he wanted to save it for the sake of going out, he figured that there shouldn’t be too many fights immediately.

nAnd so, he walked over to a boy who was trying to clear a large pile of rubble away. He seemed to be a bit younger than Kairos, and was heaving greatly just trying to move away the stones.

nKairos waved casually.

n“Do you need some help in moving these stones?”

nThe boy looked up to him with a bit of surprise.

n“O-Oh, it’s ok! I got this.”

nKairos tilted his head to the side.

n“Why exactly are you clearing these stones?”

nThe boy scratched the back of his head.

n“Ah, this is the plot of farmland I was assigned and if I want to farm, then I have to clear away this rubble.”

nKairos raised an eyebrow.

n“But it doesn’t look like the others have to do the same?”

nThe boy looked down at the ground with an awkward smile on his face.

n“Um… some people moved their rubble onto my farmland even though we were supposed to bring it out towards the city borders.”

nThe corner of Kairos’ lip turned up.

n“Could you tell me who did that?”

nThe boy hurriedly shook his head.

n“Ah, it’s no problem, haha.”

nKairos surveyed the area, and noticed that a few people in the distance were noticeably tense. He pointed towards them.

n“I see that you are the people that neglected your responsibilities.”

nThose people seemed rather defensive.

n“What? I didn’t do anything!”

n“This is a false accusation without any proof!”

n“You can’t just boss us around! What makes you think you have the right?”

nNicole clenched her fists and walked up.

n“Kairos…”

nIn response, Kairos gave her a gentle push back.

n“Don’t worry.”

nHe then faced forwards once more.

n“That is a good question. I wonder, what makes me have the right to boss you around?”

nThe people seemed to get more confident at first, not noticing the sarcasm behind his words.

nKairos raised his hand, which gradually began glowing blue. He didn’t inject so much that his hand began vibrating violently like before, but it was still nothing to scoff at.

nThe people speaking out earlier quickly realized that something was wrong, becoming somewhat afraid.

n“W-What are you doing?”

nA strange smile appeared on Kairos’ face.

n“Answering your question.”

nHe shrugged his shoulders.

n“Oh yeah, duck if you want to live.”

n