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Cedric dove into the virtual universe to start his journey.
As soon as he arrived at his residence, he didn't waste time and immediately went to the virtual hub to travel to the training facility of the SHSD to start learning more about his future job.
Since it's been years since Cedric became a member of the alliance, he already knew this communal world like the back of his hand. Moreover, he has also upgraded his citizenship to the 3rd level, which is the High Citizen stage.
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(AN: Citizenship levels: Common Citizen, Valued Citizen, High Citizen, Treasured Citizen, and finally, Cosmic Citizen.)
The changes in his status were certainly fast. One has to know that it might take decades or even centuries for others to upgrade from a Common Citizen to a Valued Citizen. Going from a Valued Citizen to a High Citizen will take even longer; some might not even achieve it in their entire life, yet Cedric almost effortlessly achieved it.
The way he did it wasn't something that most people could easily follow. Not everybody was forged under the duress of perpetual danger, and not everybody's strong enough to survive that kind of crisis. The fact that he was able to maintain his sanity intact despite constantly throwing himself into the Asura Plane to harvest blood crystals and exchange them for merit points was nothing short of a miracle to most. Many have tried this kind of exploit before, but everyone who did it suffered immensely, with most turning mad.
Cedric might be one of the few people who did it, and even then, he's probably the only one that's completely unaffected by the side effects of constant exposure to that place.
Anyway, now that he's a high citizen, Cedric receives more privileges as a member of the alliance. He gets more discounts, more benefits, laws are more loose around him, he also receives a certain amount of dividends per year, he's got more access to places, he gets invitations to more social events, which he could use to expand his connections, etc.
Simply put, with or without this job, Cedric will be fine on his own. With his current status, it wouldn't be too hard for him to find lucrative work anywhere.
But as far as upgrading his citizenship further, Cedric has met a wall for now. Because the requirements to become a treasured citizen go beyond just accumulating enough merit points to do so. Yes, a good amount of merit points are still needed, but that's alongside the need to have not only him but his entire race to be denizens of the Inner Circle.
"Great, follow me."
Griff floated about with Cedric trailing behind. Upon exiting the virtual hub, he immediately discovered the immensity of the training facility. Everything within his sight was all related to the department.
"Welcome to Site Delta, otherwise known as the department's Personnel Training Facility. If you're serious about this job, then you'd find yourself spending a lot of time here." Griff introduced the place while gesturing at it. "I can give you a general tour of the place, but I can't take you to all areas since some are restricted even for me. You'd do well staying away from these places because not everybody here is as patient or kind to others."
"Oh and by the way," Griff faced him before saying: "Site Delta occupies this entire planet. I guess you can expect that everybody you see here works here too since this place isn't open for the public. That also means that the only way to leave this place is via the Virtual Hub behind you, the one that you just used. Of course, there are other means of leaving this place, but those options aren't available for people like us, so that's our only option."
Cedric already guessed most of these by himself. He was a soldier-in-training here, so he should expect some strictness, especially in his conduct, therefore none of this surprised him.
"This is the entrance for trainees like you," Griff gestured at the small gate they walked into. "They'd ask for an I.D., but you don't have that yet, so I'll take care of it for now. Just remember that once you receive your credentials, always bring them with you and don't lose them. Even replacing them would be troublesome, so take care of them as much as you can."
Griff nodded at the guards at the gate; he signed off some papers and went through several checks before it was Cedric's turn. After they passed through the gate, they appeared in a marbled hallway that led deeper into the facility.
Beyond the first door they entered, Cedric found himself in a wide space that branched out to many areas.
"Let's get you registered first, then we can continue with the tour," Griff suggested. Cedric had no problem with that, so he followed him to the registration office.
He already has a file here since he was scouted. They just needed him to make an appearance, take his biometrics, and print his ID; then he's good to go.
"You see the QR code on your ID?" Griff asked once Cedric received it. Cedric nodded to him, and he said, "Scanning that using the system will take you to your employee account; in there you'd see more details about your employment here. It could also be used in many things, such as applying for missions or courses, exchanging for resources, hiring a mentor, etc. Someone will teach you all about this later, so don't sweat it for now. Just know that you have this."
"Remember, nobody else except you can use your account. This applies to your spouse(s), children if you have any, friends, family, and even your superiors. There are rules that strictly prohibit this kind of interference. The only possible existence that can make changes in your account is the system or the system's admin, and either of them will document every single detail they changed in there and you'll be informed immediately once it happens. There are no other exceptions. Do well to remember this or else you'd be in a lot of trouble."