Alex Volff is standing in front of his glowing [Transporter Box]. This is the morning of his 10th day in this realm. After he went back to his personal space yesterday he didn't immediately return home as it was already late at night. He's now waiting for the items he just purchased to arrive. He bought one {Return Stone} spending 50 credits for it and one F-ranked {Energy Stone} for 20 credits. {Energy Stone} is the main source of energy on Earth right now. Almost everything on earth now are being powered by {Energy Stones} that comes from the Realm of Defenders. Bringing back {Energy Stones} is the main method for Defenders to earn money. One F-ranked {Energy Stone} is being priced at $100 by the UDA.
One hundred dollars don't seem like much, but as Defenders gets stronger it gets easier for them to earn credits and it becomes a lucrative opportunity to earn money. Of course as the rank of the stones gets higher, the price increases exponentially. One E-ranked {Energy Stone} goes for $1,000 and it's rumored that a C-ranked {Energy Stone} is being priced at $100,000. Alex doesn't know how much credits he needs to buy an E-ranked {Energy Stone} not to mention the C-ranked one. Right now he doesn't have access to E-ranked and above items as he's only a F-ranked Defender. The UDA doesn't provide public information beyond the F-ranked.
After waiting for 10 seconds his ordered items finally arrives. Alex opens the box to find one black stone and one white stone inside. The black stone is almost as big as a child's fist and the white stone is the size of a marble. Alex takes the white {Energy Stone} and stuffs it inside his jacket pocket. He's now wearing a black jacket and blue t-shirt with a pair of jeans. These are clothes he packed from the outside world. He's leaving his leather clothes inside his training room for the next time he comes back.
Alex then takes the black {Return Stone} and walks to Fay. After saying his goodbye to Fay, he walks beside the [Transporter Capsule] and inserts the {Return Stone} in a tube attached to the capsule. He goes inside the capsule and tells Fay to send him home.
....
Not far from the portal that Alex used to enter the Realm of Defenders, a black light starts flickering and a person appears inside of it shortly after it stabilizes. The black light starts fading to show Alex Volff's figure. He's now back inside the portal hall again. After making sure nothing's wrong, Alex walks out of the portal room, greeting the guards when he passed them. He then walks up to one of the UDA staff inside the big hall.
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"Hi, my name is Akira. How may I help you, sir?" a bespectacled young man greets Alex politely.
"Ah, I want to trade the {Energy Stone} that I bring back from the Realm," Alex states his request.
"Please show me the {Energy Stone}," Akira replies with a smile.
Alex pulls out the white stone from his pocket and gives it to Akira.
Akira looks at it and says, "Oh, one F-ranked {Energy Stone}. We will give you $100 according to the market price. Please hand me your Defender ID Card so I can credit it directly to your card."
"Okay," Alex hands Akira the card and waits.
After around 15 seconds of processing, Akira hands Alex back his card.
"Is there anything else I can help, sir?" Akira asks politely.
"It's okay, that's all," Alex replies briefly.
"Then thank you for your hard work," Akira ends the conversation and makes a slight bow to Alex.
Alex then walks away, pulls out his old-school smartphone and use it to scan his card. He can see that $100 has been deposited to his Defender account. The corners of his mouth makes an upturn tho show a big smile. This is just a small amount of money, but this is his first hard-earned money. From now on he can help his mother to support their family.
....
On his way home from the portal hall, Alex stops by a convenience store to buy some tasty snacks for his mother and little sister. The respectful expression of the employee at the check out counter when he takes out his Defender ID Card to pay makes him feel a bit proud as he walks home from the convenience store. He soon arrives in front of his family's apartment door.
"Mom, Elsa, I'm home," Alex shouts as he enters his home feeling a bit moved.
He has only left home for 9 days, but he has also been struggling on the edge of life and death for 3 days straight. As he enters the familiar comfort of home, he can feel his tense body and spirit relaxing.
Soon, a little head pokes out of the dining room to look at his direction. That little head had a cute surprised expression on the face. It's his little sister Elsa.
"I'm back," Alex smiles gently at his little sister.
Elsa immediately smile and tears up a little.
She then runs to hug her big brother and shouts to her mother, "mom, big bro is here. He's back. Come here fast."
Alex pats her little sister's head to calm her down. He seems a bit more mature now after coming back from his first adventure in the Realm of Defenders.
Soon, his mother comes out from the dining room. Her eyes also starts tearing up while smiling.
"Welcome back."