Travis Montes is someone that once dedicated his life to serving his grandmother. He followed her teachings, at least most of them and he grounded himself to reality based on her viewpoints.

Travis came from a family of immigrants who moved to the city of Lindburg. Originally raised in the province of Nueva Ecija. Specifically the San Antonio municipality in the humble country of the Philippines, he moved to this realm's equivalent of the United States at the age of 9 with barely any capacity to speak English. A boy who grew up in a farm, thrust into a city where only a few people could understand him.

Ostracized due to his ineptness in the language, his few friends were with him only until the end of Highschool. Which is why he focused his time on something that he saw as permanent, family. He had a harsh viewpoint on others and he often kept to himself, not exactly the most social of people. His grandmother, the only guardian that he had left after the initial years was his saving grace. Making him resemble a decent human being whenever she was around.

In his growth as a warrior and a survivor when his realm opened up to the multiverse, Travis almost never had the time to breathe. But with the island currently under his control and the Gold-grades that follow him, his slow growth in absorbing the Internal Pills has finally let him do a bit of self-reflection.

"Was I far too harsh to other survivors?"

"They only wanted to live... the same as me. I'm not a hero... but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't help.. I could've shooed away that woman who visited my junkyard. I could have let her live..."

"If I hadn't let Vantak loose in the city... would we have had more survivors? Would they have allied with me? The second part of Mercenary Recruitment... If I just stopped for a moment. Had a bit of empathy..."

"The pirate captain's troops were all local humans... Grandma...My Lola would have shouted at me...If she were still here then she would tell me to at least give them the chance to fend for themselves."

"Was I too petty in the Terran Realm? Should I have just revealed my abilities?"

Questions swarmed his mind, the biting pain from the pills that he got so used to was comforting in its own way. Keeping him grounded as he conversed with himself. Ever since his scuffle with the Pirate Captain, the solid mindset that Travis held is now in question. The foundations are beginning to crack.

Which brings us back to the situation at hand. 'Worst case scenario, We can capture her and threaten them...but making a deal with a large group like them doesn't sound like a bad idea.'

General of the Western Coast. A woman in her 20s, she stood at a height of 5 foot 8 and appears to be of East Asian descent despite her western sounding name. Samantha Grey had about a dozen soldiers behind her, ten of which were in the Silver-grade while the two closest to her were in Gold. Basic Gold, but still in gold which made them rather intimidating. She wore office clothes, had short black hair and her rounded glasses made her seem like a proper adult who worked at a company.

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"Greetings, Master of Otherworlders. I believe that I already introduced myself earlier, but let me do it once more." She extended a hand before giving out her name. "My name is Samantha Grey, I am the General of the Western Coast. I have come to give you an offer from the Western Alliance."

"Travis Montes, Master of Otherworlders." Travis promptly shook her hand. "We can have the talk over some food, Mira can you fetch some food and tea?"

"Right away, Master Travis." Mira saluted, she was followed by a few undead to act as extra hands for the task.

"I wasn't expecting any guests today, usually the Sea serpent would have swallowed any guests whole right about now." Travis spoke casually, while in his territory even if she did have Gold-grades with her he still held the upper hand. He had more Gold-grades and the boons given by his statues would give his troops the edge. "Choosing to bring flying creatures was a smart choice."

"W..why thank you..." She didn't know how to respond, she expected one or two Gold-grades but Two Demons and a Sea serpent counted up to a total of three. The fortified island and the buildings that she saw around the area was a clear indicator that this person was prepared for most threats. Invaders from other realms would be easily taken care of and she knew that she would lose an all out war against the guy even if she brought her whole fleet.

"Well then, Mister Montes. I have come to strike a deal, As you may already know. The western region of the world, North and South America are under our control. Our only goal in this exchange, as per the orders of the Strong-armed magician is that you either ally with us or for you to simply treat us as friendly neighbors in this region." Her tone of voice was now much more mellow, the arrogance she held from before she entered the territory was now gone.

"I see, what can this alliance actually bring me?" Travis was now munching on some salted chips. "I can agree to a truce, so long as the borders that I speak of are respected."

"I'm glad that you think that way, Mister Travis." She collected herself, trying to show a front as if she was speaking to a superior at work. "The benefits of actually joining the alliance can include growth benefits for you and your troops. I'm sure you're aware of the Strong-armed magician's innate ability."

"One of the most sought after abilities for humans, the ability to give other humans access to not just magic but a large mana pool as well. It's something that those spammers in the group chat are often raving about. I'm surprised that they haven't joined your alliance yet." Travis then looked at her straight in the eyes. "But the downside is that I'll have to swear allegiance and become his slave. I'll have to pass if this is what it takes to join your alliance."

Discussions would be had for the next few hours, reaching a good conclusion was rather easy due to how cooperative the two parties were. Travis didn't want to make more enemies and being in the good graces of a powerful ranker was nice in his opinion. Maintaining peace, this something that his grandmother tried to ingrain in him. In the earlier days of the apocalypse, he would have struck at them for invading his space but now he at least had the common decency to converse with them and even invite them in. Though the last time that he did invite some intruders in, it ended up as just another feeding session for Ara.