It was funny seeing such a macho man be embarrassed about this topic.
Kaiden tried his hardest to look into his trainer's eyes without trembling from soreness. He extended a hand towards Liam. "Thanks, I can tell that you will help me attain what I want."
The hulking man accepted the handshake with a firm grip of his own. "I didn't want to say this, but seeing your dedication, I can't help but want to do something for you. My good friend runs a bar, and he has trouble finding reliable waiters who work the night shift. I can't help you land the job, but if you wish, I can give you his phone number."
Kaiden's eyes shined brightly due to the sudden opportunity that presented itself in front of him. "Can you give me an estimate of how much the hourly wage would be?"
Liam thought inwardly for a second while shamelessly glancing towards Aria's wildly jiggling behind before replying, "I suppose it would be in the $15 ballpark, but I can't say for certain. Waiters make their money from tips, which would ideally add another $15 to $60 per hour."
Yes, even the appearance of the apocalypse didn't change the tendency of the hospitality industry to underpay their serving staff and force the customers to pay it in their stead in the form of tips.
As for why were people even working such jobs in the age of mana and monsters?
Only a small portion of humanity, about 15%, were awakeners. The rest lived normal lives that were almost identical to the one humanity led before the arrival of the apocalypse. The only difference was that sometimes they got eaten by a rogue monster or squashed to death by an awakened who was fighting another one.
'Hmm. If I work 6 hours a day and sleep 8, then I will have all the money I need and also be able to train to my heart's content. Sounds as good of a deal as I'll get before the month is up. I don't have the luxury of searching for the most ideal hiring, and getting accepted within a few days is another issue to consider altogether.'
Kaiden said his goodbyes, washed up in the shower facility, then stepped out of the building to visit a grocery store and stocked up on all the nutrients he was supposed to be consuming. He ended up spending another painful $100, though it should last him for a few days at least.
Once he was done with that, he checked his banking app.
$525 left.
Kaiden cooked himself a healthy meal and then stepped out once again, this time going straight to an adult toy shop. He was looking for a few things in particular.
"Hi, do you need assistance?" a cute, short girl spoke up from behind the reception desk. She had purple-colored hair that she wore in braids over her shoulders, and the girl also wore a futuristic-styled jacket, giving her a look that made her stand out from the average person. Kaiden found her to be an incredibly sexy girl.
Be that as it may, he had no time to marvel her beauty, for he was a man on a mission. "I want a life-sized fuckdoll and a liter of lube."
"Huh?!" the employee's eyes fluttered wide open with surprise. Not because she was shocked by his shopping targets but because he revealed it to her so shamelessly. People who wanted such things tended to keep to themselves and send her away when she offered her help. Interestingly, male customers were always shy around her, with only females wishing to chit-chat and the like.
"I said I-" Before Kaiden could repeat, he was interrupted.
"I heard you. May I know if you have any specifics in mind?"
He thought a bit inwardly before replying, "Yeah. I want to become as good in bed as possible, so it should give a realistic feel."
She might've been surprised, but Luna wasn't one to dwell on the past, and her awkwardness tolerance was also through the roof, so she replied without issue, "In that case, I don't recommend life-sized blowup dolls, but what we call fleshlights. These are the new rage and have been for a while. Blowup dolls are a relic of the past. Fleshlights are said to give a very realistic feel of how it is to be inside a woman, especially the ones that are more than a simple, cheap toy. I recommend one that has two holes, a bubbly butt, and the beginning of a torso you can grip onto. It will give as realistic of a feeling as possible while not costing an arm and a leg."
It was Kaiden's turn to raise an eyebrow at the girl. She was extremely enthusiastic while talking about masturbators. But, just like Luna, he was an eccentric person, so he just shrugged his shoulders after getting over his initial surprise and said, "Sounds good."
Luna grinned at Kaiden smugly, "That's just the beginning. There are so many variants..."
Kaiden listened to the unhinged girl list different male toys as well as the positives and benefits of each type while sporting a fulfilled smile on her delicate face. Kaiden didn't doubt that she was having fun. Although he didn't know it, the reason why she was so enthusiastic in indulging him with her knowledge of male toys was that no one ever asked for her assistance when buying one, so she was eager to showcase her vast amounts of information on the topic.
In the end, he chose something called a 'torso sex doll,' which, just like Luna said in the beginning, had two holes, a butt, and the lower end of a torso. It would do as his introduction to the world of adult toys.
According to the purple-haired eccentric girl, it was a premium product, so it cost $200. Kaiden's heart ached, but he wanted one that was as close to the real deal as possible. The whole training had no meaning otherwise.
An unsatisfied [Ding!] would soon sound in his mind as a result of his actions.