"You're worthless, you know that right?"
Adam stared at the man in front of him, wondering if he should feel pity or contempt. On one hand, it turned out this "benevolent recruiter" was just an asshole like everyone else. However, on the other, he had no chance to survive even the lowest class dimensional collapse.
"I mean, you think you deserve this job? With all those dead people your kind failed to save, you think—"
"Your entire company is collapsing. I'm sure you already know this, but the latest quarterly earnings have been reported. Profits lowered by 35%? Doesn't sound too good. But what would I know? All I have is a Master's Degree. Though, I'll just tell it like it is." Adam interjected the man's constant demeaning speech.
The man sat still, seemingly petrified as Adam leaned forward. A smile crossed his face, even though inside Adam was scowling.
"I could have all the business smarts of every trillionaire who's ever existed and it wouldn't change a damn thing. Because, in your mind, I'm nothing more than another Wasted."
An eerie air of silence fell over the room after Adam's spiel was over. One he knew the Federation would make sure he regretted later. Still, his voice had to be heard. The disrespect and abuse had to stop.
Unable to come up with a witty response, the man huffed as he flaunted his suit—a fine cherry-red one that is lined with ornate gold—and nodded toward the door.
"I'm unwilling to hire you due to your excessively aggressive tendencies. Nothing I have done even remotely suggests your absurd accusation."
Adam solemnly nodded once, already attempting to think through his frustration. His family really needed some extra cash, but...
"Everything everyone does suggests my accusation."
Both men were unable to control their impulses anymore, so even as Adam stormed out of the office the other yelled, "Don't make me call security!"
...
It would be best to take the long way home today. As he walked down the bustling street of New York, Adam kept his head low.
All around him he heard laughter, the banter of close friends, and even some unsolicited sexy talk of two young lovebirds. He had indulged in such sounds before—back when his own friends were alive.
While most civilians nowadays marveled at the modern architecture that conveniently replaced the tragedies of the past, Adam almost never lifted his eyes from the ground. This wasn't because he was too embarrassed of his status as one of the many Wasted.
No.
Underneath the ground was a gravesite even worse than any city bombed during the last great war. Within this gravesite was his...
Friends. Who had died fighting against one dimensional collapse or another.
Like him, most of his friends were unlucky. When the mysterious entity had given exactly 3,184,926 people this divine energy now known as qi, these new 'heroes' were quickly divided into 2 categories.
There was the strong, the 'Exalted' who could do no harm. Their deaths were considered great sacrifices and warranted the most ornate statues known to man.
Then there were the people like Adam, the 'Wasted' who could do no right. Because of their weak affinity to qi, the vast majority of the public felt as though they wasted one of the spots this mysterious entity had reserved for ascendence. When his friends died in droves, even as they did their absolute best to save the city and everyone they loved...
Well, the only people who really remembered them anymore were family, other Wasted, and the truly miserable civilians.
A small part of Adam couldn't truly blame them. When the first dimensional collapse had occured... it was a terror unlike anything the world had ever felt. In only days the entire international infrastructure collapsed. An outbreak that started in Canada, consisting of just 5 [Leviathan] class kaiju, quickly ravaged the entire country in just a week.
Millions died every hour. After just a month, even with every military scrambling together in the first unified front in history, 2,345,032,275 people died. Effectively, an eighth of the population.
The mysterious entity had granted qi right on the cusp of humanity's extinction. It was obvious why anyone would consider that gift to be the most divine of all. Which then made it obvious why those who were weak would be considered a waste.
Still, that didn't mean he would accept his friends who had sacrificed themselves being treated like trash.
There was no reason his sister should come home crying because some punk-ass motherfucker talked shit—
"Ahh!"
"What the hell!"
"You can damage our light poles and yet still can't do shit to any kaiju?!"
A few passersby began berating Adam after he had accidentally punched his entire hand into a light pole, completely damaging it. He felt a slight tingling sensation roll up his arm, but ultimately even his tiny amount of qi made quick work of the electricity.
A soft whirring sound of machinery droned from behind him, prompting Adam to jump back instantly. He watched as they scanned the light pole and then used nanotechnology to fix it.
Adam rubbed his wrist as he became very happy he had jumped back. Although these drones were good for accidents like this, they also had a really bad habit of not noticing people. If he hadn't yanked his hand back when he had, well...
'Bye bye hand.' He thought with a slight chuckle, his earlier anger fading away slowly.
Even though it was highly unlikely any security centurion would care that he had damaged the light pole, Adam didn't want to take any chances and instead opted to hurry home.
...
"Hey, I always told you that if you need a job, I need someone to hold my purse!"
Before Adam could even step through the front door, his sister's snide voice called from the couch with one goal in mind: to make fun of her older brother.
Merely rolling his eyes as he forcefully tugged at his tie, Adam responded curtly, "And I told you that's Eric's job. He's your servant, not me!"
"Boyfriend, not servant! I know you've never had one–er, girlfriend, I mean–but you can at least get his title right!"
"Stupid fucking tie," Adam muttered as he continued yanking it to no avail.
His rough tone instantly alerted his sister, who jumped from the couch to come help him. Despite the banter earlier, she really cared for him and could tell when he was upset.
As she carefully took care of his tie in one pull, she whispered, "Hey, don't swear when dad's around, remember. You should at least pretend to follow his new 'self-improvement' routine. And, uh, it's fine if you didn't get a job anyway. You're one of the most qualified people in the city, someone will take you in."
Adam shook his head as he felt a single cursed tear grace his cheek. "No. If I had never awakened my qi and become a Wasted hero, then yeah, sure. But now, when they see me in an interview they don't see any of my achievements. All they see is someone who would struggle against even the weakest dimensional collapses."
His sister, Cynthia, shrugged as she walked over to a cupboard and pulled out 2 cups. Opening the fridge she pulled out sweet tea for herself and orange juice for Adam. As she poured the drinks, she said, "Well, I don't see how they can even complain. It's not like they would do anything to those kaiju, either. And you're not even running away from the battles either! You, Troy... Faye—"
"That doesn't matter and you know it. Every single one of them is so self-absorbed that they think they'd awaken as an Exalted where people like me failed." Adam retorted sternly as he grabbed his glass forcefully.
The next second he stopped his rising anger, instantly regretting that small outburst. Closing his eyes, Adam forced himself to calm down before sighing and whispering, "Sorry."
"You better be! And don't think I'm letting that go, either! You owe me some ice cream now!"
Adam laughed at his sister's hysterics, knowing she was only half serious. He took a sip of his orange juice and then asked, "2 scoops of vanilla with a banana slice in between, doused in enough chocolate to cover 3 entire countries?"
Cynthia stood there for a second, silent and thoughtful. Taking a sip of tea as if it helped her make her decision, she smacked her lips before saying, "No, I want 4 countries worth today!"
"Fine. 2 it is." He said before bracing himself for the impending playful smack.
If he had known what would happen, what the Exalted had planned, he would've never indulged his sister.