Zion stopped in the center of the room, his body properly warmed up.

"Uriel, activate the training module," he asked, a faint smile on his face.

[Affirmative,] the AI's voice came through. [Training mode initializing…]

Hearing that, Zion covered his arms in new, shiny scales. His unique sword also pierced through his knuckles, completely repaired and sharper than before.

'Back at the Mercenary Guild, I could only take on level fourteen,' he thought, raising his sword in front of him. 'I wonder how far I can reach this time.'

As his surroundings finished changing, a familiar shadowy figure appeared in front of him, holding a longsword in its hands.

The shadow moved first, its longsword coming toward Zion in a clean, horizontal arc.

Zion swung his sword down, meeting the longsword in the air.

A loud metallic sound echoed through his ears as the shadowy figure's sword bounced back, completely overpowered.

Zion blinked, watching the figure take a few steps back while it regained control over its shaking longsword.

"…What was that?" he muttered, staring at his hands.

The shadowy figure lunged forward again.

This time, Zion didn't swing his sword down. Instead, he held it steadily in front of him, waiting for impact.

The shadow's longsword slammed into his sword at full force… but Zion's arms didn't budge.

"This is far easier than I remember," Zion said, taking a step forward before pushing his sword with all his strength.

The shadowy figure was forced back several steps, its posture an utter mess.

Zion immediately swooped in, slicing horizontally through its head in one clean motion.

As its body fell to the floor and vanished, Uriel's voice echoed through his mind.

[Level fourteen, cleared,] it said, pausing for a second. [Would you like to start level fifteen?]

"No, this was sufficient," Zion said, his scales and blade retracting. "I'd rather not attract any attention by getting serious here."

[Understood,] Uriel answered. [Canceling training module now…]

As his surroundings changed back to the simple medical room, Zion walked to his bed and sat down.

'My strength should be at least twice what it was before,' he thought, smiling. 'It might've cost quite the penny, but I'm not the slightest bit disappointed.'

He laid down on his bed, letting his thoughts slowly settle, when a soft chime echoed in his mind.

[Host, a suitable mission just popped up,] Uriel said. [It came straight from the Mercenary Guild itself and offers a good chunk of money.]

Zion's eyes narrowed slightly. "Show me."

A blue window popped up in front of him, displaying rows of information.

[Mission type: Exploration.]

[Location: Unregistered planet — ID: disclosed upon acceptance of mission]

[Rank Requirements: D- or C-rank]

[Details: Go to a newly discovered planet and gather on-ground data about its lifeforms, possible ruins, fauna, and resources.]

[Restrictions: All data is confidential. Explorers do not gain rights to plunder the planet. A maximum of ten crews may accept this mission.]

…

Zion's eyes lingered on the mission details for a few seconds longer than before.

'An exploration mission?' he thought, nodding slowly. 'That does seem like a good one to take.'

Not to mention, they would be paid according to the amount and value of the data brought back to the Mercenary Guild.

"But a recently discovered planet…" he muttered, scratching his head. "The danger levels are completely unknown."

For all he knew, the lifeforms there could be B-ranks in overall strength. At the same time, there might not be any lifeforms at all.

The rewards were practically the same deal.

There could be something extremely valuable, like a mine or a rich fauna area. Or there could be nothing of value, though a minimum salary would still be provided in that case.

'Knowing there's nothing is good information too,' he thought. 'As it would prevent the guild from wasting more resources on the planet.'

He tapped his finger on the cushions, his mind churning as he thought about it.

'It's like flipping a coin,' he thought. 'Either everything goes well, or nothing does.'

Zion fell silent for a moment, contemplating it deeply.

Finally, he spoke up.

"Accept the mission for me."

[Affirmative,] Uriel replied in a mechanical tone.

The blue window shifted, a confirmation notice appearing in front of him.

'Now I can't back out anymore,' he thought, pushing himself up from his bed. 'I should go find Calder to lease a ship.'

He'd been promised a safe trip off-planet. As for the return trip, he could simply pay off the lease once he sold the information.

'I should also try my best to raise my value to him,' he thought, walking to the door with a smile. 'Calder has a lot of connections that can offer me rare resources in the future. If I keep showing pieces of my talent, maintaining a good relationship will be much easier.'

As much as he preferred staying alone, he knew he'd need rare resources in the future. Whether to improve his body or suit, connections were needed to secure those.

'Enough of that now.' He shook his head, brushing the thoughts aside. 'I'll need to see if I can get out of here first.'

Contrary to his expectations, when he reached the mechanical doors, they slid open automatically, revealing pale corridors beyond.

'Huh?' he thought, raising an eyebrow. 'That wasn't exactly secure.'

Zion stepped out of the medical room, the doors sliding shut behind him.

The corridors weren't anything like he'd expected either. Dim, flickering lights ran along the ceiling, barely offering enough visibility to see. The walls were also made of concrete, with no windows or signs in sight.

'I guess this makes sense?' he thought, scratching his chin. 'This should be some kind of back-alley building or something.'

He let out a sigh and took a few steps forward when he suddenly heard footsteps in front of him.

The girl who had treated him appeared from a side corridor, carrying a box filled with new bandages in her hands.

Upon seeing Zion, she immediately slowed down, her eyes scanning him from top to bottom.

"You're up already," she said, a hint of surprise in her voice. "That was fast."

Zion nodded slightly, a polite smile appearing on his face. "I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you and Calder."

The girl remained silent for a moment, her gaze lingering on his arms.

"…You're welcome," she said eventually, nodding once as she turned to walk away.

"Ah," Zion said, stopping her. "Before you go, can you tell me where I can find Calder?"

Her eyes flickered down the corridor she had come from. "Take the stairs to the ground level, then head to the first room on the right."

With that, she gave a single nod and walked away again.

Zion shrugged and followed the directions she had given him, making his way to the stairwell after finding it.

The higher he went, the worse the place looked. Cracks lined the concrete, wires hung loosely from the ceiling, while the place smelled like old garbage and smoke.

'Definitely a back-alley building,' Zion thought, his hand tracing the wall as he walked.

By the time he stopped in front of the first door, a layer of dust had gathered on his finger.

'This should be it,' he thought, knocking on the door.

The mechanical door slowly slid open, revealing a wide room with a large table in the middle, surrounded by dozens of crates containing all kinds of items.

As Zion was still staring around the room, a rough voice came from a chair at the other side.

"Come in," Calder said, his eyes locked on the blue screen in front of him. "And take a seat."

Zion nodded, walking toward Calder as the door slid shut behind him.

"I see you've already taken one of the vials," Calder said, glancing up from his screen. "And? Were the results satisfying?"

Zion pulled a chair closer and sat down, a small smile on his face. "Yes, they were all perfect."

Calder lowered his screen and stared at him.

"They?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Did you take two of them already?"

Zion raised three fingers, maintaining his slight smile to avoid making Calder suspicious.

"I took all three," he said. "I also apologize for not cleaning up the vials."

Calder fell silent for a moment before letting out a chuckle and shaking his head.

"Is something wrong?" Zion asked, tilting his head slightly.

Calder's chuckle died down, his eyes studying Zion with renewed interest.

"I'm sorry," he said, folding his arms. "I just thought of something amusing."

Silence settled over the room as they stared at each other.

"So," Calder finally said, leaning forward. "What do you want from me right now?"

Zion met his gaze. "I need to get off this planet safely, like you promised me," he replied. "And I'll need to lease a ship to return once my mission is done. Of course, I'll pay for it too."

Calder's smile broadened, nodding once. ''A fully restocked Lance-Class ship will be ready tonight.''

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