I'll Call my Agent, Dammit | Glowfic Constellation

"Specialization, eh... I've never thought about SCUBA before. It might play nice with my backlash. The suits are tight, right? And it's probably still less dangerous than dungeoning."

"The suits are tight, and there's water pressure too, do you want lessons?"

"-Oh that sounds great to backlashed me. I won't want to come back up until Haru's ready to lie on top of me. So once I pick some other low hanging fruit, yeah!"

"Alrighty! I'll look into what kinds of things they might want pushed around underwater, sounds like potentially a great fit."

"...And there's always dungeons, they definitely need dealing with, but..."

"There are. I'd recommend going with - Haru? - or another partner at least the first couple of times, it'll change how your powers handle slightly but it makes it a lot safer to push. I'd match you with an experienced esper pair or team and start you in very basic dungeons, probably clearing monsters once the civilians are all out and they're looking for the core."

"Haru is the partner I've found so far. He's also with Maple agency apparently, so, whatever coordination to make everything smooth will be easier I guess? I know he wants to do dungeons- 'Superheroics', he said. But I definitely want to practice related stuff a few times before trying a dungeon."

"Absolutely. Looks like he's hired... Paula, I'll coordinate with her."

"We had the idea of going to a gun range for lessons there too- He can be invisible and inaudible, so, shoot monsters when they're not looking. And I think I might be able to do a - railgun thing, and obviously want to try that on a range and not a garage."

"Mm-hm, we can book you a time and an instructor."

"And this is all... Coming out of an expectation that the two percent of whatever will probably be worth it? No nickels and dimes?"

"Right now I'm booking things like that as a sales expense, since you're not picking up bounties yet and certainly shouldn't go out before you're ready. The way it usually works is that we get you set up and on board and then you have a long productive career installing infrastructure underwater and saving people from dungeons, maybe endorsements and whatnot if you like that kind of thing, and over the course of that career, two percent pays for my time and scuba lessons no problem."

"...I don't think I'm likely to like that kind of thing. Oh! When the money starts rolling in I want to set something up so that, uh... Hmm... Actually let's save that until I do actually earn some money, I won't exactly forget and I'm having feelings to sort out."

"Alrighty! A thing I like to do is, when my clients have partners whose agents are other Maple folks, have me and them substitute for each other if we need sick days or are on vacation - so that would have Paula working with you when I'm out, and me working with Haru when she's out, if you and he are both amenable, since we'll each need to know the basics about both of you anyway. Sound good, or do you need to meet Paula?"

"Probably meet her. I liked your style more than everyone else I was talking to, you know?"

"Of course. Still, I'm only human, so I need backup."

"Sense makes."

"I can get you an appointment with Paula in person this evening at seven on the phone or tomorrow at eleven in person?"

"Phone call is fine."

She's being inconvenient isn't she.

...Well, NYEH. That's fine really. She SHOULD be inconvenient.

"Sure thing." Typety typety. "Our calendar app is usually really easy to pick up but if you have any trouble with the link I've sent you, let me know, okay?"

"Sure... I'm gonna text Haru... Uh, is there like a break room I can hang out in for a bit?"

"Sure, there's a bunch of chairs around the aquarium you'll have passed on your way in."

"Cool. In a sec I'll go do that. Uh, I'm sure you'll get to know how I roll, what my preferences are and such- I'm trying to straightforwardly picture this as a, uh, mutual benefit thing, which it probably is but that doesn't make it feel like it automatically? Happy productive esper gives Maple a steady 2%, it's nice to have the incentives laid out clearly like that instead of being looking for the scam. I might need some things explained very simply, especially if it's bureaucratic and I'd prefer to not have to... Deal with that... More than I have to. I mean, not on the level of 'read these rules about Dungeon Conduct' that's fine, but like- I'm not sure what I mean but I'm sure there will be something."

"A lot of an agent's job is to shield you from the bureaucracy - everything to do with certifications and registrations and taxes and so on. It's up to you if you want me to explain it or just disappear it and give you the takeaways."