"What? Really? " Axel asked surprised.

"Emma told me that even if you didn't win, your troops did pretty well for someone that had just reached rank 1, so if you are willing to work, you could win some loot to boost your world's rank a bit," Mark explained.

"Work?" Axel asked while arching an eyebrow.

"Well, kind of. As you should know, in my group we offer a service where you can pay and we help you clear a rift. A few days ago, some of our scavengers resigned from their positions because of lack of time, so we are short on manpower right now to maintain all our territory. If you are willing to lend us a hand, you will be able to obtain some experience on rifts while you will be able to receive a small part of the loot." Mark replied.

"Only a small part?" Axel asked disappointed.

"We still need to give most of the loot to the people that pay for the service, and since you are still a rank 1, you are going to have to cooperate with two more people from our group to ensure that the rift is cleared. I think you will find the payment enough. Of course, if in the future you manage to reach rank 2 and you are willing to continue participating in this kind of work, your share would increase to correspond with your actual contribution." Mark continued explaining.

"Well, if that's the case, I guess it's not a bad deal."Axel finally said." But I think I need a few days before starting. I need to see if I can make any adjustments to my world."

"What? You are going to let Axel participate in rifts when you never did the same to us?" William, who had been playing with his phone until that moment, suddenly asked." I thought we were your favorite customers."

"First, this is not about who is my favorite customer, which is none of you, by the way, but this is because Axel's world seems like it has potential. He has interesting add-ons, and it seems like he knows how to implement new ideas into them in a more or less efficient way. That's why I'm willing to let him participate in rifts when we need people: it is both a way to replace those people who couldn't participate and a way to boost promising worlds so our group can become stronger. " Mark explained before realizing what he had just said, a moment in which he began to smile." Well, our group will become stronger if he decides to join, of course."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Well, we will stay in contact," Axel said smiling.

"Yes, whenever you feel like you are ready, just send me a message and I will let you know when I need you," Mark said while smiling.

After that, the three friends left the comic store and went to a cafe, where they talked for a few hours about different topics. When they left the cafe, each of them returned to their respective homes.

When Axel arrived at his home, in the same instant in which he opened the door, he found in front of him a middle-aged man. Like him, he had short black hair and was about the same height as he was. He was wearing a black suit and holding a briefcase in one hand while with the other he adjusted the position of his glasses.

As soon as their glances met, Axel felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Hey, Axel. How have you been lately? " The man asked.

"I have been fine, Dad. As usual." Axel replied while lowering his gaze.

"It is a pity that we can't have much time together, but I have been pretty busy with work lately. But when I get holidays, we can plan a trip or something cool. " His father said happily.

While he was saying this, Axel's mother appeared at the back of the corridor, and while she maintained a happy expression, various veins on her neck began to bulge, as if she was containing her fury.

"Yeah, that would be nice," Axel replied while smiling.

"Well, now I have to go. I have an important business meeting and I can't be late." His father said, while scratching his neck. "

After that, Axel gave his father a goodbye hug before his mother neared him and told him while looking into his eyes.

"Don't be late, darling. I hope that everything goes well." His mother said

"Don't you worry, I'm the best at this kind of meeting." He replied while laughing.

After that, as he knew that they were about to kiss, Axel decided to go to his room so he wouldn't need to see that. As soon as he got there, he threw himself on the bed and began to concentrate on seeing his world.

The battle against Emma showed him that he still had a lot of work to do, so he didn't want to waste any time. As soon as he saw his world, he found out that the migration was almost over, and that most of the humans in his world were already on the new continent.

"It seems like you have been working pretty hard these last few hours." Axel thought to himself while smiling.