The morning sun filtered through the pristine glass windows of their new quarters. Having upgraded from a cheap inn, Trevor and Alister moved into a comfortable, middle-class hotel suite in Terra Nova's residential district.
The room came at 1,600 Terra Coins per month, covering lodging and two daily meals for both of them. Additionally, Trevor stopped by the port authority to secure a dedicated dock slot at the perimeter airport for his flying Junk Boat, paying a flat fee of 40 Terra Coins per month.
Alister slumped back into a plush velvet armchair, letting out a satisfied sigh. “Ah... now this is the life. I never expected we’d get promoted twice within just two days.”
Trevor stood near the window, adjusting his high crimson collar. “Yes. Finally, we have a reliable baseline for income.”
“What do you mean?” Alister asked, tilting his head.
“If we ever run low on cash,” Trevor said smoothly, “we can simply head back to that E-Rank hunting sector and harvest another batch of hyenas, bisons, flamingos, and crocodiles.”
Alister frowned, sitting up. “Wait... do you intend for us to just stay stuck at this rank?”
“No,” Trevor replied. “We're taking today off. To move up to D-Rank expeditions, the guild rules dictate that we need to recruit a third member for Apex Squad.”
“Right... we can't compete in higher-tier contract areas while lacking a member,” Alister sighed. “These mandatory party size rules suck.”
“I agree,” Trevor said, turning around with a faint smirk. “And in fact, as the registered Party Leader, you're the one who will be recruiting our third member.”
Alister gasped, pointing at his own chest. “Me?! Alone?!”
“Yes,” Trevor said flatly. “You are the Party Leader, remember?”
“What?! That's so unfair!” Alister whined. “What are you going to be doing while I do all the hard work?”
“I'm heading to the central library for monster research,” Trevor answered calmly.
Alister narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms. “Nah. I don't believe you. Eelon will just do all the work, scanning every single page in seconds so you can just ask him whenever you need info.”
“Yes!” Alister said smugly. “Late one night on the boat, I saw Eelon out of your collar, scanning that Kraken Steed tome! His optic was flashing over every page to memorize it!”
Trevor chuckled quietly, a rare, genuine sound. “Hah... observant kid. Tell me, Alister... do you want to know what I actually am?”
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“What do you mean?” Alister asked, confused.
Trevor unbuttoned his dark trench coat and pulled back his heavy Kevlar undersuit, exposing the seamless titanium-carbon plating, glowing micro-circuitry, and synthetic muscle fibers beneath his skin.
“I am half human, half machine,” Trevor explained neutrally. “My internal systems regulate me. I don't need to sleep, and I don't strictly need to eat food.”
Alister stared in absolute shock, his jaw dropping. “W-What the hell... I don't understand... Where did you even come from?!”
“I came from the year 4500, to be exact,” Trevor said, his voice dropping. “This stays between us.”
Alister blinked once. Then twice. He squinted at Trevor's cybernetics, then let out a casual wave of his hand. “Nah. I don't buy it. You were probably just made by some super genius dwarven runesmiter. And as for the 'no eating' part? I literally saw you eating roasted meat back at the tavern!”
“That is merely a habit to taste local cuisine,” Trevor deadpanned. “It isn't biologically necessary.”
“Okay, fine!” Alister smirked, leaning forward. “If you're really from the future, tell me what's going to happen next!”
Trevor stared at him blankly. “I cannot answer that. Time stream dynamics don't work like that.”
Alister laughed, standing up. “See? You're just an ordinary guy trying to sound cool.”
Trevor sighed, buttoning his coat back up and fastening his thick scarf. “I'm heading out with Eelon. Good luck with the recruitment, Leader.”
“Fuck...” Alister groaned as Trevor closed the door. “That guy is so lazy...”
At the Terra Nova Central Archives, Trevor sat at a secluded wooden desk stacked with heavy leather-bound compendiums regarding Gaia Pangea's ecology.
While Trevor read through historical accounts, Eelon slid quietly along his sleeve, his emerald optic emitting a subtle, low-frequency pulse that rapidly scanned and digitized every page into Trevor’s internal memory banks. Through the research, Trevor gained critical data on high-tier magical artifacts, rare monster drops, and elemental cores scattered across the continent. This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.
Meanwhile, over at the bustling Adventurers' Guildhall, Alister stood awkwardly near the central bulletin board, trying to find recruits looking for a squad.
At one point, he accidentally bumped into a sleek, silent kunoichi named Miko. She was looking for a temporary squad, but Alister quickly backed off upon seeing her silver B-Rank badge.
Many other prospective adventurers scoffed at Alister, passing him by simply because the young wizard looked too inexperienced to lead a serious squad.
Just as Alister was about to give up, a man in his mid-30s wearing battered leather armor approached him with a warm, friendly smile. His name tag read Vernon—a veteran D-Rank Adventurer looking for a temporary party placement.
“Stuck at D-Rank, huh?” Alister asked curiously as they talked near the counter. “If you don't mind me asking, Vernon... how have you been stuck at D-Rank for twelve years?”
Vernon’s face fell. His shoulders slumped, and his eyes welled up with tears. “Well... I'm stuck because I always get horribly injured in the field... Most of my former party members were wiped out in terrible accidents... Miraculously, I'm always the only one who survives those horrors...”
Vernon wiped a tear from his cheek, looking utterly miserable.
Alister’s heart melted with sympathy. He patted the older man on the shoulder. “Hey... don't worry! You'll survive our next expedition. I really hope that after working together, you'll decide to become a permanent member of Apex Squad!”
Vernon looked up, smiling weakly. “Thank you, young man...”
“Anyway, see you tomorrow morning at the station!” Alister said cheerfully, waving as he turned to leave. “I've gotta head back!”
“See you tomorrow, Leader...” Vernon called out warmly.
As soon as Alister turned the corner and disappeared into the crowd outside, the sorrowful, tearful expression on Vernon’s face vanished instantly.
A cold, sinister smirk twisted across his lips, his eyes narrowing with cruel malice as he watched the young wizard walk away... end of chapter