Zion's gaze lingered on the three vials for several seconds longer.

Then he looked back up at Calder.

"I'll accept the offer," Zion said calmly.

Calder immediately smiled, pushing himself up from his chair.

"Consider yourself debt free," he said, picking up the vials and placing them on Zion's nightstand.

Before he turned away, he glanced at Zion with a strange gaze. "If you need anything else, contact me with the number I left on the card."

With that, Calder left the room.

Zion let out a soft sigh, slumping back against his backrest.

"Uriel, would it be effective if I used one of the vials now?" he asked, staring at the ceiling.

[No. Host should first acquire around twenty pounds of nanobot material,] Uriel replied instantly. [If administered simultaneously with the herb vial, both physique and muscle integration will receive significantly greater effects.]

'Really?' Zion thought, surprised. 'I'll ask Calder and see if I can purchase some from him later.'

He took a slow breath, his breathing gradually calming.

'Now that we're talking about it,' he thought. 'Can you show me what my progress to D-tier is looking like, Uriel?'

[Affirmative,] Uriel replied. [Opening now…]

With that, a familiar blue window popped open inside Zion's eye.

[Neural synchronization rate: 63.7% → 91.9%.]

[Muscle integration: 34.1% → 57.7%.]

[Physique: 34.6% → 46.3%.]

"Mhm," he mumbled, tilting his head slightly. "Really great progress from a fight where I nearly died."

His physique always remained a problem, but the other stats had improved with such significant leaps that he couldn't be upset about it.

[That jump in neural synchronization wasn't a coincidence,] Uriel added. [Host previously avoided using Gravity Wings; thus, your nerves could never adapt to it.]

Zion understood immediately.

"And now I used it under immense stress too."

[Affirmative. Host's nerves were forced to adapt in that instant.]

He let out a quiet breath, staring at the blue interface for a moment longer before dismissing it.

'All the pain truly paid off.'

Before he could dwell on it, the mechanical doors slid open once more.

The girl from before stepped inside, her expression calm and neutral, just like the day before. She paused briefly upon noticing Zion sitting more upright this time, then approached the bed.

"You're improving quickly," she said, glancing at the bandages around his arms. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better than yesterday," Zion replied honestly. "Especially since I no longer feel like a corpse."

A faint smile flickered across her face.

Zion hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "Can you call Calder for me?"

She tilted her head slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he said. "I just… can't really use my hands yet."

Even moving his fingers was nearly impossible, let alone using a communicator and typing in a comm code.

The girl studied him for a second longer, then nodded. "I'll send a message right away."

She rummaged through a small bag at her waist, taking out a tiny hologram projector. After loading up the hologram, she rapidly pressed a few buttons and sent a message to Calder.

Not even a minute later, she received a reply and connected the hologram to a call before placing it in front of Zion.

"Thank you," he said, giving her a nod before switching his attention to the screen.

"Didn't expect a call this soon, Zane," Calder's hoarse voice echoed over the line. "I heard you needed something already."

"Correct," Zion replied, his expression calm. "I need high-quality nanobot material."

Calder paused for a brief moment. "You understand that isn't included in our deal and that you'll have to pay for it yourself?"

"I figured," Zion nodded, a small smile on his face. "So tell me a price."

"Ten thousand credits per pound. Fifteen percent off if you purchase more than one hundred pounds."

Zion sucked in a breath of cold air as he heard the price. 'That's practically all my money,' he thought, closing his eyes for a moment.

"But I could give it to you, of course fo—"

"No, it's fine," Zion cut him off, shaking his head. "I only need twenty pounds."

Calder's chuckle came through from the other end of the line. "Shame," he said. "It'll be at your room in a few hours."

With that, he disconnected the call, and the hologram projector powered down.

After the girl picked up her hologram projector, she left the room, leaving Zion in silence.

'Worth it,' he thought, closing his eyes. 'But I'm broke again.'

Zion let out a deep sigh and lay back down on his bed again.

Reaching the peak of E-rank was already draining him dry. To move beyond that, he'd need an actual source of income.

'And I can't earn that type of money by staying on this planet.'

It seemed like he could continue with his original plan from here on, though he knew it wouldn't be easy to join a random crew anymore.

His mind went back to what Calder had mentioned earlier. Apparently, the Sovereignty were crawling everywhere as a result of his fight.

'Seems like they really didn't like that I killed that C-rank,' he thought, frowning.

The Sovereignty usually wouldn't let something like that slide, especially not if it made them look weak.

Another thought followed almost immediately.

'…Or I made them think their target is actually here.'

If that was the case, then staying put would only make things worse. Whether they were hunting a specific target or simply searching for the killer of their troops, remaining on this planet meant being trapped.

Either way, it wasn't a good situation for him.

'It would only be a matter of time before they find me if they insist on not leaving.'

Zion let out a slow breath, staring at the ceiling.

'Once I recover, I'll accept a high-paying mission immediately and leave this planet.'

A few hours flew by after he'd made up his mind. In that time, he quietly asked Uriel to search the online mercenary board for any viable missions.

Everything was progressing smoothly when he finally heard the mechanical door slide open again.

"Your order is here," the girl said, carrying a bowl filled with what looked like metallic dust.

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