Chapter 50: A Scout For The Heroes – Part 2

POV Cornelius

It continued to be difficult to find a suitable candidate. We had planned to talk to and interview everyone who came forward. But we didn't expect the number of candidates. Only unsuitable candidates came to the first date we specified and now, to the second date, there were over 50 people. We had made it clear in advance that each of us had the right to veto and could reject people. In return, two of us could exercise a counter-veto and still allow these people to advance to a round despite the veto. But before they came to us for the interview, we had two hotel employees ask them whether they met the new basic requirements. Of the more than 50 people, only 12 people remained. We wanted to interview the others if no one was suitable among the first candidates. The 12 then came to the individual interview. I essentially conducted the interview while Javier appraised them in the meantime. We had agreed in advance that good sense skills as well as the two skills pick locks and disarm trap had to be present. Whoever was left went into the final round. The person would then go into the dungeon with us for a day and prove what they could do on site. We got to know them a little better. A girl around 16 came in first. I immediately liked her appearance and the smile she gave me. I was looking forward to the interview, but it didn't happen.

"Rejected. I’m against her.” <Eleonore>

I gave Eleonore a questioning look, but she didn't let me change her mind. Since neither of the other two used a counter-veto, she was out. The next one was a man and we started the interview. He made a good impression on me.

"Rejected. He can’t disarm any traps.” <Javier>

“Wha? How do you know that?” <Man>

“Appraisal. Have you ever heard of it?” <Javier>

The man seemed to know about it because he didn't say anything more about it. So the interviews continued. In the end, only 3 of the 12 people remained, including 2 who stayed on through counter-vetos. Both were women and were immediately rejected by Eleonore, like any other woman. In this way we might lose the right person and we would limit Eleonore's right to veto. She was no longer allowed to vote out a woman just because she was a woman.

The first person we gone into the dungeon with was the only man left. He also did his job quite well, so he didn't fail straight away. We got to the first boss with him without any problems, where he had no problems surviving or opening the chest. We said goodbye to him and told him that we would contact him if we decided to go with him. Next it was the first woman's turn. At 19, she is the oldest of the three and initially made a good impression. But the further we got into the dungeon, the more clingy she became. She sought more and more closeness to me, returned immediately after a fight and obviously tried to seduce me. I could practically see the poisonous looks Eleonore was giving the girl. Before a bloody incident occurred, we stopped investigating the dungeon. As we said goodbye, the girl blew me a kiss and promised to be there for me at any time. I was happy to accept her into my harem, but even I had to admit that she wasn't suitable as a group member.

The last of the three is a woman of 17 years old. Like the man, she seemed very solid, at least until we got to floor 6. As soon as she saw the first caterpillar, she grimaced and started to stop. She clearly had to force herself to go further. She was obviously disgusted by the caterpillars. Unfortunately, this made her unusable for our needs. We discussed that evening and decided that since the two women had failed, we would choose the man. We sent a messenger with the news that he should come to us tomorrow. A short time later the messenger returned with the news that the man had an accident today and was trampled by a runaway horse. He broke his leg and was out for a long time. Disillusioned, we had no choice but to start a new call and search again in two weeks.

Two weeks later only 3 people showed up. The rumors that we were doing background checks and even applying appraisal to them probably put most people off. We decided that we would interview all three at the same time and compare them directly. The three people are two men and one woman. Everyone made a good first impression, with the girl being the most reserved while one of the two men tended to show off. None were vetoed, so all remained in the selection. We asked everyone to leave the room to consult with us. Javier was the first to speak.

“The older of the two men is the best fighter, but has the worst intuition values. He would make a good soldier. In my opinion, he is the person who would help us the least. The second man has by far the best value in pick locks and disarm traps. He also has many other abilities such as stealth and disguise that I would expect from a thief. He also has concealment, but he can't fool me. He definitely has criminal experience. The girl has high Sense Presence values ​​and can fight enough to defend herself. She has all the required talents at advanced level and also other useful talents such as air magic. It would also be very helpful when we need to go out into nature. Overall, she would be the best addition to our skills.” <Javier>

“I don't like that she's a woman, but at least she's not openly flirting with Cornelius. I can live with that as long as it doesn’t change like the last one.” <Eleonore>

“She looks rather weak. Will she survive a proper fight?” <Ansgar>

“Hmmm, she may have a slim frame and not be particularly strong, but she is very skilled. Avoiding getting hit in combat is a very good tactic for survival. Then at least it won't get in your way. And her level is not far below us, so she has a lot of experience despite her youth.” <Javier>

“Then I assume we give the girl a chance first? If she's not convincing, we'll have to keep looking. I don't want to choose a pure fighter or a criminal for our group. Objection?" <Cornelius>

No one objected, so we invited the girl to visit the dungeon the next day.