Xi Ye was nervous inside the venue, while the countless job seekers outside were even more so. For fresh graduates like them, their anxiety at that moment might have been no less than when they had once waited for their acceptance letters.
Those who came to the talent market for open recruitment were, for the most part, not core heirs of their families. Some had even been born into poor households. With no abundant family resources to rely on, they could depend only on themselves, which made their first job experience extremely important.
Would the job match their specialty? Would they be able to learn valuable experience? Would they receive a salary they could be satisfied with? And would it give them, ordinary members of their families, a fortuitous opportunity to surpass those favored sons of heaven among their clans?
The universe was vast and infinite, and anything was possible. But the prerequisite was finding a good boss. Contracts with gods were at least ten years long, while some demanding gods would directly require century-long contracts. Once they made the wrong choice, they would waste a great deal of precious time. If they could not accumulate enough resources within their limited time to raise their life level during their golden years, they might well remain nothing more than a level-four or level-five piece of trash for the rest of their lives.
Following the customer service staff's announcement that the venue was open, the fresh graduates took a deep breath before slowly entering, carrying both anticipation and anxiety for the future.
The recruitment booths of the Great Lord factions in the front half of the venue were the primary targets of most of the fresh graduates. Most of the people seated there belonged to the Camille Clan and had azure-blue eyes!
As semi-mechanical life forms successfully modified by Hextech since ancient times, the Camille Clan was cold and devoid of human warmth. Even so, they were the Federation's most popular candidates for inspectors, and the public security, procuratorial, and judicial institutions of every faction welcomed these frigid Hextech-modified humans.
Apart from the legal field, the Camille Clan was also highly active in adjudication, human resources interviews, and big-data analysis. They were extremely popular with the various Great Lords. The Great Lords might like them, but fresh graduates like them certainly did not.
Those blue-eyed fellows always wore stiff, corpse-like expressions. They could often pick the most devious questions from your introduction and interrogate you with them. They could also analyze your personality, potential, hidden flaws, and so on from the tiniest changes in your expression.
Facing that group of cold machines, two minutes into the interview, you would feel as if you had been stripped completely bare. Most students who had originally been brimming with confidence immediately began questioning their lives after one round of interviews.
It was hard to say whether the venue had arranged it intentionally, but after being battered by those Hextech people, when graduates from those prestigious schools reached the rear section and encountered harsh conditions such as a monthly salary of seven hundred, having to pay for their own meals, and the like, they seemed to find them not entirely unacceptable.
Watching scene after scene, Xi Ye could not help sighing. Society really was full of damn schemes. Damn it, how was he supposed to quietly change his own price to seven hundred as well?
"Um..." Just as Xi Ye was furtively pondering how to alter the salary table, a youthful voice suddenly sounded.
"Excuse me, are you recruiting an elf guide?"
Xi Ye looked up and saw a pair of eyes as brilliant as the starry sky. His heart jolted. A Starlight Elf?
Judging by that radiance, she had to be at least level three, right? How had such a fine specimen not been snatched away in the first round? Were those Camille people blind?
"Um... I saw that you had this kind of position written here, so I..." Seeing that Xi Ye kept staring at her without saying anything, and feeling immense pressure from the other party's heavy helmet, she wound her fingers together. Her speech became increasingly halting, and she seemed faintly inclined to retreat.
How could Xi Ye let such a plump duck escape? Suppressing his excitement, he handed over an application form and said as calmly as possible, "Fill out the information first."
"Oh, all right!" Seeing that the other party had responded, a glimmer of light flashed through the female elf's eyes. She took the form and began rapidly filling in her information.
Xi Ye glanced at it. Her handwriting was beautiful, in the standard Federation script. Unlike some pretentious elves, she had not deliberately shown off with flashy artistic characters. Her attitude was quite proper.
Rare to see...
"I... I'm finished..." In less than ten seconds, she had completed the form and respectfully handed it over with both hands. Xi Ye nodded, accepted it, and carefully looked it over.
Name: Vilin Xingyu. Age: 79. Race: Starlight Elf. Graduated from: Tyrande Starlight Priest Academy—School of Life. After thirty years of study: Obtained a bachelor's degree in life studies and received the title of priest.
Professional skills: Mastered four volumes of the Hymn of Sacrifice of Life, all cultivated to level three. Mastered one volume of the Song of the Mind, cultivated to level two. Mastered level-three elven nature magic. Familiar with forty-one types of elven guiding arts. Proficiency: Beginner.
After reading it, Xi Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Your surname is Xingyu. Were you born into the Xingyu Family?"
The girl lowered her head awkwardly. "I'm only from a branch family. My parents are both ordinary level-seven teachers. I just happen to share the family name."
She really came from the Xingyu Family?
Xi Ye secretly inhaled. That family was a first-rate upper-class aristocratic clan in the universe, a colossal entity that had existed since the Federation's founding. Compared to it, the Eldia Family he belonged to was nothing.
Although she was only from a branch family, that name alone made it clear that her genes could not be poor. Elf genes were rare to begin with, and now he had even encountered someone from such a noble family who had graduated from a top Sacrifice Academy. If properly cultivated, she might even become a High Priest.
Such a promising seed had actually fallen into his hands? Damn, were that group of Camilles in front really blind?
With that thought, Xi Ye still asked, "Your qualifications are excellent. Why didn't you try more places in the front hall?"
"Th-the questions those people asked were a little too harsh, and... they offered very low salaries." The girl lowered her head and said timidly, "I want to start earning money sooner."
She's far too introverted... Xi Ye immediately saw the problem, but he did not care. He was recruiting a guide, not a warrior. As long as her professional skills were strong enough, that was all that mattered. He could slowly correct her introversion himself. Compared to her qualifications, this minor flaw was insignificant.
"Do you have a letter of recommendation from a mentor?" Xi Ye asked.
"I do!" The girl hurriedly fumbled in her bag and pulled out a beautifully crafted letter.
The letter was made of moon paper, and its design was filled with the elegant artistic style unique to elves, perfectly matching their high-class sensibilities. Xi Ye opened it and saw only one very brief sentence:
This is a reserved child, but aside from that reserve, she is absolutely a qualified elven priest. Even throughout my teaching career, she ranks among the outstanding students. Believe me, cultivating this child will absolutely not disappoint you!
Tyrande Starlight Priest Academy—School of Life—Merlin Fengyu Zhe!
Merlin Fengyu Zhe! Xi Ye trembled slightly. Even as a layman, he had heard of this professor's great reputation. Many of the life compositions she had written had been included in various textbooks as exemplary works.
This was a golden egg!
Xi Ye's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Suppressing his excitement, he tried to keep his voice calm and maintain the composure a Great Lord ought to possess. "Hmm, not bad. Your qualifications are excellent. I am indeed in urgent need of an elven guide. If you are willing, I can offer you an initial monthly salary of fifteen thousand. The probation period will be six months. Once your abilities are confirmed to meet expectations, I will give you a permanent salary you can be satisfied with, along with insurance and a housing fund of at least level five!"
"Fifteen thousand?" The young girl's eyes lit up. That salary was extremely enticing for a fresh graduate. Just now, she had seen the students who had successfully been hired by the Great Lord factions in the front hall. Each of them had been thrilled to receive a monthly salary of two thousand, their faces flushed with excitement. Could this count as reaching the heavens in a single step?
Just as she was about to nod, an odd, mocking voice suddenly came from next door. "Little girl, I advise you to choose carefully. Some things can't be judged by appearances alone!"
The little elf, who had been preparing to nod and sign the contract, froze. A dark look flashed through Xi Ye's eyes.
Ever since the girl had entered his booth, he had sensed the neighboring Great Lord's Mental Strength probing over from time to time. He had known then that the fellow was probably up to no good.
This guy... Just now, he had acted like a senior looking after a junior and struck up a conversation with me. Yet in the blink of an eye, he wants to snatch my food. He really knows how society works...
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