Project Daily Grind (Mirror World Book #1) by Alexey Osadchuk

to themselves. Greg, you really should have told him!”
    “I didn't know, did I?” Greg mumbled. “I thought he was one of those…“
    “Thinking isn't your forte, buddy. Now, what next? How many points have you got left?”
    “Thirty,” I said.
    “Really?” she turned away from the screen. “How many did you start with?”
    “Forty.”
    “Which means you had twenty-five test points. Not bad. But I'm surprised you've made it here at all. Did you take frequent breaks?
    Greg laughed. “No, he didn't. He used the Dark Hand. Aragorn bestowed it on him.”
    “What, that cheapskate? He's tighter than a duck's ass!”
    “It was Lady Isa who asked him to do so,” I said.
    “Ah yeah. Our lord's daughter. That explains it. She's a nice girl. So how are you going to distribute your points?”
    “Depends on the contract,” I said.
    I'd already come up with a strategy. Now all I had to do was double-check it.
    “What kind of contract do you want, then?”
    “I'd like piecework plus extracted value.”
    “You've come prepared, eh?”
    “Purely by chance,” I shrugged. “I checked the contract types when I was choosing my char. But I still don't understand what extracted value means.”
    “It means you get a bonus from the resource's market price. Which in our case is one percent.”
    “How interesting,” I said.
    “Useless, more like,” she snapped. Seeing my puzzled face, she began explaining. “You see, your lord's mines are poor in precious stones. And whatever's available is only worth something in large quantities.”
    “In other words,” Greg added, “had I signed this type of contract, I'd have had to toil in the mines day and night—and I'm not even sure I'd be able to earn what I'm earning now.”
    “But it's your decision,” Sandra summed up.
    “Is it possible to sign a contract, then cancel it and sign a new one?”
    “You mean you'd like to try it?”
    “Yeah.”
    “You can, of course, but you'd have to pay the cancellation fee.”
    “I see.”
    “But you can in fact try without canceling the contract. Thing is, you are required to sign a two-week contract first. This is sort of trial period. Then if both worker and employer are happy, they can make a longer contract—say, for six months. After that they can make an even longer one... you get the picture. I think two weeks will be well enough for you to make up your mind.”
    “I agree.”
    “Excellent. So what do you choose?”
    “Piecework plus extracted value.”
    Greg gasped.
    Sandra hummed sarcastically. “I had a funny feeling you would. Just something my delicate stone heart tells me. Trust my word, dude: they'll carry you out of the mine feet first.”
    “Let's see if I make it,” I whispered.
    My hands shook with excitement. This was probably what a gambler feels when he bets everything he has on zero. I risked everything, but it was worth it. I wasn't going to raise enough money promptly just by working. And promptly was the key word. I needed the money fast. I needed my girl to live.
    “Right, I'm sending you the contract. Yes... good. Press Accept here and here. Yes... all done!”
    “Sandra?” I said. “I wonder if you could forward a copy to my bank, please?”
    “Absolutely. Here you are. And one more thing. We have several in-game banks here. You’ll need to open an account with one of them and send me the number. That's where we'll send your wages. Pay packets are paid every week. I'll expect you at our office tomorrow to confirm your data. Here's the address. Your module number is 345C. As for your working schedule, it's entirely up to you. This idiot needs to show up at eight every morning,” she nodded at Greg, “but you have a different set of problems entirely. You're entitled to a start-up kit: gear, clothes, tools and food. It won't last forever, as you understand, so any new or replacement items are your responsibility. Now. You can get it all at Digger's Store—that's our local minimarket.