In just three days with the help of Vantak's slaughter, Travis reached the higher ranks.

Current Local Rank: 36,004

Merit Points: 1590

[Click to check the top 10!]

[Click to open your rewards!]

There were rewards for both the top 100,000 and the top 50,000.

[Magical Weapon Ticket] 1x

Rip to use, it summons a weapon of your choice from a selection of magical weaponry. Reward for reaching the top 100,000.

He still had four of the regular weapon tickets, a magical weapon was something that he didn't expect.

[Internal Energy Pill] 10x

A rare consumable that raises one's internal energy. Use with caution or under the tutelage of a master. Reward for reaching the top 50,000.

Just the reward that Travis has been looking for. Internal energy growth was hard to attain, especially since live combat is necessary to induce it. His main focus was on getting a higher combat rating, which is why he downed all 10 pills at once. 5,000 points were added to his pool but the pain of the instantaneous growth was not lost on him. Convulsing on the mattress for about an hour, the painful pangs of his growth were something that he relished in.

"Status"

Title: High Ranked (Local rank: 36,004)

Combat Rating: [Intermediate Bronze-Grade]

Name: Travis Montes

Mana: 300/300

Internal Energy: 8,700/8,700

Innate Ability: Claws

God's gift: Mercenary Recruitment

The rank rewards were accelerating his growth, as a person who had a relatively weak innate ability he could only imagine the powers that the others gained through the awakening. He expected that he'd reach the top 10,000 by now based on the amount of creatures slaughtered by his second recruit. The fact that there are still thousands of humans ahead of him meant that the local humans were still moving forward. Travis admitted that his ways were self-serving, but in the new era he prioritized himself far more than the lives of others. "Besides, I'm not even strong enough on my own. Helping others is just out of the picture."

The thought of helping others only crossed his mind a few times since it all began, but he shot the idea down every time. With how volatile his allies are and how varied the different foes are, his priorities were on his own growth.

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"With this much internal energy I can finally use two more techniques from the book."

The first new move in his arsenal was [Thunder Step] which lets him move forward in breakneck speeds, a minimum amount of 5,000 internal energy is necessary to unleash this move. The second one was a move named [Twin Lightning], which lets him unleash two separate bolts of lightning from a slash one at the beginning of it and another at the end of it. The cost is also somewhere around 4,000 and 5,000. They were moves that were far too expensive for him to use before, now they were ace in the holes for when another emergency arises.

Travis would also use the remaining time he had over Vantak to gather more resources, gathering appliances, batteries and even stealing a car to bring it all to the dumpsite. The protection of a necromancer was no joke and as Vantak's contract came to an end the necromancer headed for their camp once more.

"What are you here for Vantak? Didn't I give you what you wanted already?" Travis was well and truly sure that the dark elf would simply go back to where it came from the moment their contract ends.

"I have come here to ask for a favor, my liege." The tone that the dark elf gave him held genuine respect, one that he was sure that he wouldn't receive from the tall spellcaster. This was an unexpected turn of events for Travis.

"Favor, what is it? Your contract expires in a few hours, is it in any way related to that?" Travis looked at the Elf with curiosity.

"But of course, I have wiped out nearly all of the leading factions on the southern region my liege. Would it be possible for you to extend my contract just a little bit longer?"

'Ahh I see how it is, he didn't get his fill.' Travis concluded. 'A bloodthirsty bastard who loves the smell of death, I'm glad that he's on my side.'

[The recruit Vantak is asking for a contract extension, would you like to proceed?]

The system then gave him a few options, with the smallest contract extension being 5 days. "I can offer you three different contracts, Vantak."

"The first one renews your current one, meaning that you'll have to come find me every five days to ensure your stay in this reality. The second one gives you two whole weeks, while the last one is a permanent contract wherein it only stops when one of us dies."

At the end of the day, the choice was solely on Vantak himself. Did he prefer staying the course of eternity in eternal torture or did he want to keep pursuing his passion?

"I will serve you for at least two more weeks my liege, I will give you my decision at the end of it."

Travis pressed a few buttons and soon enough their contract was renewed. "Before you go, I'd like it if you kept some of your undead around the area. Make them clear out any intruders, human or otherwise. Anything that's not in our group can die."

The next two days would go by quickly for Travis as he continued on with his training, still deliberating on the kind of magical weapon that he wanted. He knew that a sword was what he needed, he just didn't know what kind. He looked through the trade options in the trade tab to find a basis for what kind of magical properties could be added to a regular sword.

Soon enough Friday arrived once more, the 14th night since the start of the new era. The time for another companion to enter his ranks.