While both Noah and Mira were out on missions, Travis trained in the vicinity of their rented home. Ara remained in the backyard, sort of like a guard dog.
Travis looked different from his past self. While he was clearly physically fit before, his muscles were now more well toned. His tan brown skin reflected the rays from the sun as his now more serious expression was apparent. Gone was the lost young man who was mourning his grandmother, he was someone that survived an apocalypse after all.
"I'll join Mira on the missions after that egg finishes hatching!"
Through context clues in the top ranked group chat, along with his own research through surfing the net of the Terran realms Travis learned a lot about this unknown egg. It could quite literally be the egg of any powerful creature, from the flying turtles that saved the locals from his original realm to dragons that he could only imagine and see in movies. The sky was the limit for the egg that he received, the same egg that would be hatching in that evening.
Used to manual labor, Travis first thought of the training that he did as just that. Another chore that he needed to do to survive. What he didn't expect was the good sort of pain that seemed constant in his exercise, wearing out the right muscles and waving his sword around in the correct form made it clear to him that he was improving. The pain was rewarding, both mentally and physically.
Bzzzt.
He slashed through another set of web balls coming from Ara. Travis was training his reaction time, using and mixing two different footworks from clashing sword styles was a tall task especially for someone who has only been training for a month. Mira was experienced, but her knowledge was lacking compared to Yeram. Yeram was a great teacher but she was off in a different realm at the moment.
There were also free training books in the Terran internet, but they were on techniques that were even more basic than the Plum-blossom sword. It is not suggested to learn more than one base technique due to the time it takes to actually learn one, averaging around 2 years to manifest internal energy on them unless a person already had prior background.
"And these are techniques that children learn, the techniques that Mira employs are just slightly more advanced versions of the ones online." For hours, Travis practiced with Ara as he deliberated on which weapons to learn next.
"How could I be so dumb? Of course! I was already thinking about it when I chose Mira! GUNS!!"
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He sent a chat message to Noah, asking him for any firearms that were more advanced than the ones from his original reality. "A gun can also place me at a safer spot while still helping out the group!" The upsides of a gun were not lost on him, though the use of mana and actual magic would be necessary if he wanted to use them on Silver-grade opponents or higher.
The earning potential of the crew that Travis brought with him was above average even by Terran standards. Elite Bronze-grade was still a hard to achieve rank for the common folk, which is why the missions that Mira could finish actually paid anywhere between 400 to 800 credits. While the repair missions and customizations that Noah finished up earned them around 500 to 600 credits, depending on the job. Though these missions could last from 1 to 2 days, they were still worth it considering that they could earn a lot for the small household.
"How much will all of this be?" Noah was answering the door to a delivery bot, who appears to have brought quite the large shipment of food.
"65 credits sir!" The robotic voice stated as it presented its head.
"Here you go!" Noah tapped his bracelet on the robot's head and closed the door.
"Lord Travis! Mira! The food is here!" Noah had a few different plastic bags with him.
Mira's order consisted of western style red sauced pasta, while Noah had a set meal with rice and a lot of side dishes from a restaurant that seemed asian in nature. Travis just ordered a burger and some fries, dinner was no longer the boring rations and supplies that they forced themselves to get used to back in the other realm.
"What's on the agenda for tonight's meeting Sir Travis?" Noah set up a large flat screen for them, it showed the channels that were talking about the Earth realm that Travis originated from.
"The egg will hatch in just a few minutes, so a gift of food doesn't sound too bad does it?" Travis ordered an extra burger meal for the hatchling. "Whatever comes out of this thing could either be something that can help us greatly or just a pain in the ass. I want you guys to stand at the ready just in case it's something we can't actually tame."
The wait would soon be over as the egg began to hatch.
Crack.
Emerging from the egg was an insect-like bipedal creature. With the head of an ant, the torso of a spider and the long tail of a scorpion. After fully cracking out of the shell and standing to its true height, it stood to be as tall as a human child.
[Pure-blooded Vetraxan Hatchling]
Vetraxans, originating from the Amos realms, Insectoids that have the potential to fully takeover realities when left on their own. Purebloods can draw from any insect variant of their choice, the natural likeness of this particular hatchling is that of the following: Scorpions, Ants and Spiders.
[Due to the creature's view of the user a permanent contract may be formed.]
[The second part of mercenary recruitment has been unlocked! Creatures that have taken a liking to you now have the option to sign a contract and be recruited. Make yourself likable and a good boss for these new mercenaries, unlike the mercenaries you gain from the gift the loyalty levels of these new recruits will vary greatly.]