Chapter 56

Starting Work!

Fortunately, this “connected student” had some self-awareness and didn’t choose the most popular majors at the school—Oceanography or Mining Strategy and Research. To get into those departments, many people have been attending cram school daily since childhood, pushing themselves to maintain top grades in their class. But good grades alone aren’t enough; applicants for these majors also need to be physically fit. To get in shape, students have to carve out time from their already limited sleep to exercise. Anyone who makes it into these majors is considered exceptionally gifted and has put in immense effort. If someone could get into these programs simply due to family influence despite knowing nothing about them, people wouldn’t look down on the Bricha family—but they’d definitely look down on that Bricha kid!

And so, when Juan entered the campus, he immediately attracted a lot of cold, observing eyes. When people discovered that he had chosen Ancient Human Art Research and Appreciation as his major, many secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, there was still plenty of gossip about how only rich young masters could afford to choose such a major. After all, most people work hard at their studies to secure a good job in the future. But what even is Ancient Human Art Research and Appreciation? Can it feed you or quench your thirst?

In fact, before Juan picked this major, many people didn’t even know the school offered it.

As Juan’s brothers, Nico and Jaap were among the first to know about his choice. Jaap initially considered advising him to think it over. After all, as members of the Blicha family, which had made its fortune in mining, Oceanography or Mining Strategy and Research would be the obvious choice. In fact, he himself was in the latter program. But then he thought of his cousin’s frail state not long ago and the high demands of his own program. In the end, he decided not to bring it up.

Nico, on the other hand, just snorted. He figured that his cousin’s health must have improved. Now that he knew their grandfather liked antiques, he was going all out to impress him, even choosing a niche major like ancient art.

Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself. In front of others, he smiled warmly, explaining that his brother had been in poor health since childhood, without much opportunity for formal education. For him, an arts program might be the easiest choice.

Everyone instantly understood—so this transfer student might not even have an elementary school diploma. That explained a lot.

For someone who might barely know how to read, the textbooks for Oceanography or Mining Strategy and Research would probably be incomprehensible. He’d be better off studying ancient human art, just looking at some paintings and sculptures. It sounded easier, didn’t it?

Well, that’s how most people view art these days.

Even in Bricha City, one of the wealthiest and safest cities in this post-apocalyptic world, people remain acutely aware that it’s still the apocalypse. Survival comes first, so they lean towards practicality. Art is something to explore only after all other needs are met, not something on most people’s radar.

This mindset is deeply ingrained, and it’s not just outsiders who think this way—the people within the art department think it too.

Since the department is so small, students from undergrad to grad school attend the same classes together. Even then, the classroom barely seats six people—including Juan, who just joined today.

Everyone in the department is a second-generation rich kid! Well, except for Juan—he’s third-generation.

Basically, this is where the least capable heirs of the city’s elite families end up. Those with even a hint of ambition are off in other departments earning their degrees.

The teacher had lost all hope in them. A batch of artworks was left in the classroom, with plenty of teaching materials provided, and the teacher showed up just to clock in for a lesson or two each day, leaving most of the time for students to “research” on their own.

The department head didn’t react at all to Juan choosing his department. For him, it was just another rich kid with no real interest in art, here to waste time. All he needed to do was accept him. Oh, and maybe with Juan’s arrival, some “generous benefactor” would make a hefty donation to the department, allowing them to purchase new artwork.

And that was it.

So, the department head simply introduced Juan to the classroom, had him and his classmates do some routine self-introductions, and left the space to them.

Nearly every rich kid in this city was born into mining wealth, and the Bricha family topped the industry. Knowing who Juan was, his classmates greeted him warmly, offering him the best seat by the window with ample sunlight—a perfect spot for sleeping at the desk. They made it clear with their actions that they were being kind.

Then they all slumped over their desks and started sleeping.

Juan: …

Having slept well last night, Juan didn’t feel the need for a nap. So he stood up and began exploring the classroom.

This classroom was incredibly spacious, not only large but tall as well.

It seemed that several big classrooms had been merged. In this vast space, various paintings hung on the walls: oil paintings, ink paintings, prints… Each piece was placed in a dedicated glass frame with precise controls for humidity, temperature, and light exposure to preserve it.

There were artworks of various sizes and themes, skillfully crafted, some bold in color, others more obscure. These works, each with a strong personal style, captivated Juan as he admired each one, feeling a sense of awe.

There were so many types of creatures in this world, yet only humans seemed determined to capture scenes they’d witnessed in some form. Perhaps that was the reason behind the creation of the first artwork.

Of course, in this world, perhaps the first camera was invented for the same reason, Juan mused.

Strolling through the classroom, Juan admired the paintings on the walls, eventually passing the area where easels were set up. Paints and paper were readily available, and on some easels, students had left half-finished pieces. In Juan’s view, the quality of these works wasn’t great, but they did inspire him to paint something himself.

Instead of painting the still life in the center, he dipped his brush in green paint, sketching a series of green plants on the paper. Then, after rinsing his brush, he mixed a bit of red, yellow, and just a hint of black to create a rich tea-brown shade and painted a young boy in that hue.

The boy’s soft, fine tea-colored hair was thick and looked very fluffy.

His eyes were the same color as his hair, with slight variations depending on the light. When he saw the Kaka fruit and Blin vegetables, his eyes were filled with wonder, but more than that, they sparkled with joy.

Under the sunlight, Juan captured that moment of Ped’s first use of magic with his brush, perfectly bringing it to life.

After quietly admiring his newly finished piece, he left it on the easel and went back to his seat, where he began using his virtual tablet to study.

The reason Juan chose the department of Ancient Human Art Research and Appreciation? Well… it was actually because it was the only department with “human” in the title.

As a dragon, studying humans was clearly more interesting to him than studying the ocean or minerals.

That was it.

But he didn’t expect the program to be so relaxed, which gave him plenty of time to pursue his real goal—

Getting a job to make money!

With Scott’s guidance, Juan began awkwardly learning how to use the virtual tablet.

Ignoring its other functions, he went straight to searching for job postings in Bricha City.

As expected from a city built on marine mining, most of the job listings were related to mining. Among them, one job’s hourly wage stood out, far higher than the others.

“Miner?” Juan read the job title aloud.

“Uh…yeah, that’s a miner,” Scott replied, recalling something. “It’s actually the most common and most sought-after job here in Bricha City. People back in my last life would always say, ‘If you have no other option, just go mining in Bricha!’”

“They were talking about this miner job.”

“Actually, I vaguely remember hearing something about a miner shortage here this life, too. Maybe that’s why the hourly wage for miners is so high now?” Scott wracked his brain, sharing everything he could recall about the job.

Nodding, Juan didn’t look at other jobs and immediately put this one at the top of his list.

After school, instead of going home, he asked Alban to drive him directly to the pier.

Not only did this pier have a landing pad for aircraft, but also large ships that transported goods and people from outside.

A good portion of these arrivals were people drawn in by the high wages.

Many mine owners had set up signs right at the pier, boldly displaying the salary and benefits offered. As soon as people got off their aircraft or ship, they’d see the signs. If someone was interested, the mine owners would take them directly.

Juan arrived just as a large ship had docked, and weary travelers disembarked, their spirits lifted by the sight of the job listings. They gathered around, looking for their first job in the city.

Juan joined them, reading all the signs, and picked the one with the highest hourly wage.

Sitting on the company-provided bus, he soon found himself being driven from this pier to another.

Actually, calling it a “pier” wasn’t accurate. There were no aircraft or ships here—only rows of container-like buildings. Unlike ships built on the surface of the sea, all these buildings looked the same, with only slight variations in color.

After they got off the bus, a staff member came to greet them and led the group into one of the yellow container buildings without saying much. The person simply handed each of them an instruction manual and guided them to the next room.

Inside, two rows of cubicles were lined up on each side of the room. Each cubicle had a desk, a screen on top, and control devices below the desk. There were three devices: the one on the far left resembled a car handbrake, the middle one was a circular dial, and the one on the right was another handbrake-like lever.

Seeing the setup, Juan quickly skimmed through the instructions in his hand and got the gist.

No wonder the person hadn’t said anything—the three devices were very simple: one controlled the height, one managed the left and right movements, and the circular dial in the middle was for grabbing. It was extremely straightforward!

Many of the people in the group were clearly not beginners, as they skipped the instructions and went straight to their cubicles to start working. Juan found an open cubicle and settled in.

After getting hands-on experience, Juan understood more about the operation. There was already a mining machine positioned underwater, and all they had to do was operate it from the surface.

This was certainly much safer than the old way of sending miners down to extract the minerals themselves, Juan thought.

However—

With the layers of separation, and the added difficulty of operating through water and equipment, their mining efficiency was quite low.

Even though Juan quickly mastered the controls, his mining progress was still slow. After nearly two hours and with the time to go home approaching, he had managed to gather only two small pieces of ore.

It was then that Juan realized the trap hidden in the job advertisement—

Hmm… To earn the high hourly wage advertised, he would need to meet the requirement of mining 10 kilograms per hour, with additional bonuses for anything beyond that. At his current rate, he might end up…

Working for nothing?

Working for free was out of the question—he still needed to save up for a plane ticket to visit Ped!

His mind focused, Juan placed his hands back on the handbrake-like controls on each side, but this time he didn’t move them.

On the surface, he seemed motionless, but where no one could see, a portion of his massive spirit split from Scott’s body. This part sank through the controls, descending, sinking deeper until it connected with the mining equipment on the ocean floor.

This time, the sluggish, distant feeling disappeared, replaced by an incredibly agile responsiveness!

Among all the clumsy mining machines, Juan’s was remarkably swift. It dug here, dug there, and ore after ore was extracted. When he finished his shift after two hours, Juan had collected a total of 183 pieces, weighing a hefty 230 kilograms!

Having earned a substantial amount, he declined the mine owner’s offer to meet him personally, and promptly took Alban’s car back home, which had been waiting nearby.

As he returned home on time and ate a large dinner under everyone’s watchful eyes, Juan calculated how long it would take him to save enough for his plane ticket at this rate.

Meanwhile, in another grand mansion, inside a dark, almost shadowy underwater-themed room, an old man sat facing the glass wall overlooking the sea. After a brief knock on the door, a butler entered lightly, placing two photographs on the desk behind the old man.

Looking closely, one photo was of Juan, and the other, though not of him, was still related—

It was a picture of the painting he had made in class.