The sales agent, who was a young man who seemed to be in his early twenties was quite surprised that Michael wanted to rent a house.
It was not a surprise that someone would come to this agency in order to rent a house, it was just that, this was a place that most of the people that came here were quite well-off.
But looking at the way that Michael was dressed, it seemed that he was very poor. And, looking at the dark circles below his eyes, it seemed that this guy had not gotten sleep the previous day, looking worn out.
For a moment, the guy wondered to himself, could it be that this guy was previously living in the streets?
Or could it be that he had been working overtime, just to scrap together the money that he wanted to spend in order to rent a house?
Despite what he thought about, he tried as much as possible not to show it on his face.
"Ahem! What kind of house would you like to rent, sir?" The sales agent asked.
Michael did not notice the slight fluctuations of emotions from the sales agent, as he simply responded, "I would like a decent one bedroom apartment. Just for one month."
Michael did not have the intention of staying in that place for a long duration. After all, he did not believe that Dante would not come looking for him.
With his current capabilities, he could not deal with those gangsters. But later on, as long as he studied and gained some SP, he would be able to have the ability of dealing with them.
He did not have to deal with the entire gang, all that he had to do was to show them that he had some strength, believing that they would be discouraged, no longer bothering him.
For that reason, he was only going to stay within that place for one month, before finding another place. He had no other choice but to move from place to place, unless he collected enough points.
As for how long it was going to take him to be able to collect enough points, he was not sure.
In any case, he had not calculated how long it had taken him to be able to reach the standard where he was able to gain SP from studying accounting.
In the end, he was not even sure how long the system had been available, making it impossible for him to be able to calculate the duration required.
There was after all a possibility that the system had always been available all this while, waiting for him to reach the required amount of knowledge in order for it to be activated.
But at the same time, there was a possibility that the system appeared, and realizing that he had managed to gather enough information, it was bound on him, before being activated.
'As expected.' The sales agent thought to himself, still, he said, "We have quite a few options. Let me show you."
The sales agent led Michael to a counter that was not far away from the entrance of the building. There, he took a tablet, before he began showing Michael images of different apartments that could be rented.
"Just anyone of them would do. A one bedroom apartment will do. As for the location, it doesn't really matter, as long as it is within Willow district." Michael shook his head, preventing the sales agent from introducing each and every apartment.
He was getting a little impatient, as he wanted to go out and get resources that he could use in order to get the SP. Why would he even want to bother looking into the details of the houses?
Willow district was a middle class district, a district where most of the people that were considered to be in the middle class could be found.
This district contained apartment complexes, several office blocks, public schools, regular shops and so on. In any case, it was way better as compared to the slums where he lived before.
Despite being puzzled, the sales agent asked, "What is your budget, sir?"
"Just give me anything that is below $1,000. As long as it is within Willow district, it will do. And, is it possible to find one that is already furnished?" Michael responded before asking a crucial point.
When he left home, he had no intention of going back there. In any case, the most important item that he had back in the apartment was none other than the ID.
As for the books that were back there, even though he had bought them using the money that he had saved for quite a while, they were all on the basics of accounting.
With his current accounting skills, he did not need those books anymore. So, there was no need for him to carry them around.
Additionally, there was a risk that Dante might come looking for him. Michael did not believe that Dante did not know that he had already left the police station.
In any case, previously, during the police raid, Dante had left, and was not caught by the police. With him leaving the police station, Dante would definitely want to meet him.
"Okay, let me recommend one to you. There is an apartment within an apartment block on Raven Street. This apartment, previously, there was someone that had bought it.
It was just that, this person had a loan from a bank, and he failed to repay it. For that reason, the house was auctioned off, with everything inside, bought by the current house owner.
It was only purchased last week, with everything still within the house. But of course, the personal items of the previous house owner have already been removed, leaving behind just the furniture and other necessary items." The sales agent responded after giving it a thought.
Michael was happy about such a coincidence. If he needed to buy household items in order to move into a house, that was going to be quite troublesome.
As for renovating the house, that was even more bothersome, as it was going to take quite a while for the renovations to be completed.
"What is the price?" While nodding, Michael asked.
"The monthly rent of the house is $800. But, you will have to pay a deposit of $200, just in case of any damages caused to the house. This money will be refunded to you in case no problem is found with the house, or anything within it." The sales agent responded, though, he looked at Michael, worried.
He was not sure if Michael was going to be able to afford the rent of that house. It was quite expensive, but it was currently the only available house that could be rented out that matched Michael's requirements.
"Okay, make arrangements, I'm taking it." Michael responded.
At the same time, he began operating the new phone that he had just bought, logged into his current bank account, ready to make mobile transfer.
The sales agent on the other hand was stunned, wondering, was this guy not going to check out the house first?
Still, he nodded, before he quickly left to get the contract.
Michael read through the contract, confirming that everything was okay, before he signed and transferred the money.
"Should I take you to the house?" The sales agent asked, ready to leave with Michael.
Michael on the other hand shook his head as he responded, "There is no need. I already know the location, and I have the keys with me. I need to buy a few things, so, I'm not heading there directly."
The sales agent could only nod in agreement. Since Michael did not want to be taken there, he could as well continue waiting for another customer.
Michael on the other hand, having already gotten a place to live, he left the agency. Next, his target was a bookshop.
There were quite a number of bookshops in this street, but Michael's target was the biggest bookshop available.
While waiting for the contract, Michael had been thinking, what was the easiest thing to learn? Accounting was obviously going to take a long duration, due to how complex it was. And, other things such as engineering and so on would be even more complex, requiring even more time.
For that reason, he thought, why not go with something simple? He thought, something like cooking should be a little more easier than accounting, right?
So, he wanted to look for all types of books that were related to being a chef.
After moving around for a little while, he found a library. While this library was not the biggest within the city, it was quite big, and in this entire place, it was the biggest that he could find.
Quickly entering into the bookshop, Michael approached the counter before he stated his demand.
"I would like to purchase a few books. I would like to get all types of books and other available study resources that are related to culinary." Michael said to the lady who was behind a counter that was located close to the entrance of the bookshop.
He could have gone around, browsing, to see what books he needed, but that was going to be too time-consuming. He thought, it would be more efficient to just ask one of the staff members here, to get what he wanted.
He was getting more and more impatient, and next time, he thought, while studying, he would decide on what he wanted to study next, and just order books online.
"Huh?" The lady, who was just about to ask Michael what assistance he needed, was left dumbfounded, her jaw hanging open.