Having not seen the leaderboard in 6 months, Tai didn't know his exact position on the leaderboard, but he was at least confident that he was in the top 25, maybe even the top 10. Unknown to Tai, he was actually in the top 5, with his furry companion, Fenrir in the top 10, and watched by a group of UEE scouts at all times.
"Master, can you imagine? They're asking them to join you when they're not even close to your strength?" Nagi said, chuckling.
"It is amusing, Nagi, but not everyone has the same strength. I bet there's someone still stronger than me here."
Making his way towards the Aether City, Tai decided to walk and enjoy the outside as it was his first time out in 6 months.
----------------------------------------
"What the hell? I thought you said these beings were intelligent? How come no one reacted to my declaration?" Ongran asked his advisor.
"They are intelligent, Captain Ongran, but their protective barrier has just gone out meaning that they haven't been in the Aether Universe, stuck in their home planet."
Ongran rubbed his chin. "That makes sense."
As Ongran was thinking it over, sensors started firing off and a ringing sound was heard.
"Master, one of the I.A. representatives are calling."
Ongran let out a deep growl. "Answer."
A blue hologram appeared in front of Ongran, and a short, little kid appeared.
"Ongran," the kid said, smiling. "What are you doing on the new planet? Surely you've heard of the Intergalactic Alliance's choice to prohibit any single individual from taking this planet into their territory? You do know the consequences of disobeying the rules in our territory, right?"
"Tsk. Fine, I won't capture this planet, but I'm still ok with exploring and setting up a base here, aren't I?"
"Yes, the only people that control this planet currently are the beings that live on it, so it is ultimately their choice if they would let you go on their planet. So long as you don't try to capture this planet, or anything to harm it, we won't do anything to you."
"Heh, works for me, but while I might accept your demands, what if someone doesn't? Someone strong like another alliance, or maybe a god? This planet is clearly special if you don't even let members of your alliance take control of it."
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The kid on the hologram smiled. "I'll think about it when that happens, but while we might be the youngest of the big alliances, we're not exactly the weakest as some might think. It was good talking with you, Ongran. Goodbye."
The hologram disappeared and a sour expression was on Ongran's face. "Prepare my ship and set the location to the most populated Aether City on the planet. Bring the wares that we've raided too. Time to scam some newbies."
Since the citizens of the Mega Planet - 5934 were new to the Aether Universe, they didn't know anything about the price of things, or the economy of the Aether Universe, meaning that there were lots of individuals that were looking to make some quick money until the residents of the planets realized that they were raising the price of said items that weren't available on the planet.
----------------------------------------
"You sir, you look like you want to go to space, am I right?"
The man looked at the alien in front of him, its two antennas flailing about as it stared at him.
"Umm, yeah?"
The alien smiled as it used its antennas to read the person's mind.
"Well then I have a spaceship for you. This is a personalized spaceship, sir, and this model is limited and the company that makes them will stop manufacturing them in a year. It can go FFTL speeds, that's right, Faster, and Further than Light speeds and can take you anywhere in the universe, and with its highly efficient Stellar Engine, it won't run out of as long as it's exposed to a sun."
"Is that really true? Even if it's true, I'm sure that it won't be cheap."
"Sir, I know it sounds expensive and it's true! These things will run you for about 650,000 AC, but don't worry sir, I'm running a deal since this is a new planet so you can buy this baby for only 100,000 AC. That's over a 75% discount and the features I said aren't all of it. It has a color-changing exterior, 2 warp drives, anti blindness windows, hover mode for when you need to go onto planets, full map of the Aether Universe, and much more. So, sir? Will you take it?"
The man was overwhelmed. He had enough money to buy the spaceship, but should he do it? He only had 150,000 AC, but a 75% discount was insane and he had always wanted to travel the universe.
"I'll buy it!"
"Great, sir! Just put your fingerprint, DNA, or eye here and the payment will go through."
The alien held out a tablet that would take 100,000 AC from the man's account in exchange for the spaceship. He placed his fingerprint on the tablet and a ding sound was heard as 100,000 AC was taken from his account just like that.
The alien smiled as it unlocked the spaceship and assigned the man's DNA into it. The spaceship looked sleek and advanced as it was shaped similar to a jet. "Enjoy your new ride!"
Unknown to the man, he had just been scammed. The spaceship worked and it had all the features that the alien mentioned, but this type of spaceship wasn't worth 100,000 AC. It was worth 30,000 AC, and not only that, it had NO weapons. Usually, when people in the Aether Universe buy spaceships, they would buy all the features that the spaceship had, but then they would outfit it with weapons, shields, and armor, but this ship had no weapons, no shields, and no armor.
If the man was ever to leave the planet with this ship, he might have fun exploring for a few days, even weeks, but soon, a pirate would detect him on their radar, and he would be captured and turned into a slave.