Inside of this steel and concrete monster towering from the earth into the heavens, Ben started the first day of his new job, as he contemplated something close to his hearts. 'In theory, do you have to be in a plane or can you still join the mile-high club in a mythically tall skyscraper?
…
He believed that if a cultivator's home was a million miles high…it had to qualify…
Shaking his head in awe at life's great mysteries…Ben followed Laura to get his first assignment, but soon stopped mid-stride. His eyes almost popped out of his head…because he received a sudden alert from the system.
[Unique conditions detected]
[Tower detected: Hearth]
[Tower Entry Qualifications: (Employee ID) detected]
[You've acquired official entry into a Tower. Defeat the floor bosses and climb the corporate ladder. Earn rewards for gaining official access to higher floors and completing special achievements]
[Special Event initiated for user's first Tower entry]
[Special Event: Waifel Tower – Higher chance of encountering special challenges with special rewards for the next 7 days]
…
After noticing Ben's footsteps stopped, Laura turned around, and glared at him, because she saw his jaw hung open as he stared at her ass…
After a brief scolding, he returned to following her like an obedient intern…but his mind was a mess, pondering about the sudden changes. A few seconds later though, he took a deep breath, and calmed down. 'Okay, this is a good thing…but I need to evaluate the situation. First off, the event lasts 7 days, much longer than the previous two events in my dorm and Domina. I don't know why that is, but it might be due to the longer-term nature of tower stories compared to dungeons… Also, this means that like in the dungeon, hidden bosses should exist somewhere, along with other things…'
At that thought, he sped up his pace to move closer to Laura.
[Floor mini-boss detected]
[Mini-boss of Floor 9(Public Relations): Laura Baldwin]
Just as he suspected, it was her…
Staring at that screen, Ben couldn't help releasing a light chuckle, because this meant there would be special achievements!
Turning around, Laura saw he'd come closer and was now laughing while still staring at her ass!
…
[Target's current attraction level: disgusted(-1)]
After another scolding, Ben was no longer in such a happy go f*cky mood…
'I should focus. The event lasts a week, and if Hearth is like Domina, it'll still be a Tower even after the event finishes. So I should make sure to do my job well. Otherwise, I may lose my "Tower entry qualifications."'
Soon, Laura brought him to the place where he'd learn the skills to reach his potential at the company. It was the snack area of the break room…
She pointed to a coffee machine. "Do you know how to use that?"
…Ben nodded.
"Good. Your first duty is to keep that full, go around the floor and take orders from everyone."
…
"Well, what are you waiting for?" She crossed her arms.
'The day will cum…when I keep you full…' Ben cursed in his mind but did as instructed. Now that the system recognized Hearth Tower as a special location, he wanted to keep this job no matter what. As a man, he believed it was the key to his spewture…
Ben tried to stay positive. 'It's fine…if I got hired as an intern anywhere else, it wouldn't be glamorous either…because I need conflict in my story to avoid losing viewers…'
From there, Ben's day of odd jobs began. Following the instructions from her father, Laura gave him every annoying task she could think of: shuttling coffee and food, running documents up and down the building, and cleaning the offices. She even made him go inform some people that they were fired!
Despite everything, even when Ben had to deliver such emotional news, he enjoyed it!
…
Why? He was a villain!
…
No…it was because he was using the system's version of antidepressants—the stat growth multiplier! It was still active for a few more days, which meant his motivation and efficiency at work received a significant boost! Regardless of what annoying and tedious tasks Laura gave Ben, he didn't mind at all! He accomplished them with a smile! That was the case even when employees cursed at him and cried about feeding their families!
…
Every time Laura saw his grinning face and heard him whistling as he carried around a dust bin, she couldn't help but frown. Her father gave her an assignment and it wasn't going well. However, from a personal standpoint, she didn't agree with his assessment more and more. 'Benjamin even has an outstanding work ethic. I really don't know why dad wants to get rid of him so bad.' In fact, if Ben opened her status window now, he would've noticed a difference.
[Target's current attraction level: disinclined(+1)]
Yet, it wouldn't have surprised him. He'd already learned that women appreciated men who dedicated themselves to their work. Of course, that didn't always include cleaning and gophering…but Ben happened to be good at those… He'd spent years being bullied after all…
Despite her personal beliefs, when Laura looked at Ben, she still fell back on old tropes. 'You can only blame your bad luck for offending the wrong person…'
No matter their views, warriors and whores each had their own lords.
…
At one point, Ben got some free time and used it to examine the system's parameters of the Tower. Since it said the goal was to climb floors, he wanted to test that goal, and took the elevator up to various floors. Yet, as he stepped out and walked around, there was no message from the system. 'It said I need to get official access to higher floors… If I interpret that, I'm pretty sure it means I have to get promoted…'
So far, outside of Laura's status as a mini-boss, he hadn't run into anything extraordinary in the building. He believed that was because he hadn't triggered hidden conditions, similar to how he didn't see Laura as a Tower mini-boss during their interview. Sighing, he could only return to her for his next assignment.
Ben wasn't the only one having issues though. Each time he returned from a task bright and energetic, Laura's icy facade gained another crack, her cool expression melting like the polar ice caps
under methane cow farts…
'I need to give him something worse…but what?' She squeezed a pencil in her hand as she tried to come up with a dastardly plot…
At that moment, a call came in to her desk phone, and she answered it. It was bad news…and yet, Laura smirked. 'If I give this to Benjamin, won't that guy just tear this intern to pieces?'
——
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