The judge let out a strangled sound as he threw his hands up.
"You passed, obviously! There's no point in continuing the assessment when you already destroyed equipment meant to test peak D-rank mercenaries!"
Zion blinked, nodding slowly. "…So that's a yes?"
"Yes!" the judge snapped, rubbing his temples. "Yes, yes, a hundred times yes! Congratulations, D-rank! I'll update your license now… just please leave afterward!"
He fumbled through his coat until he finally pulled out a sleek metallic card. The moment it touched the air, a hologram flickered to life above it.
After the pressing of a few buttons, a small chime echoed in the room as Zion's license updated.
Zion glanced down at his license, the rank indicator having changed to D-rank.
"…Huh," he muttered.
At the same time, the entrance to the assessment room slid open, revealing the busy corridor behind it.
Several mercenaries stopped, staring at the damaged walls and the lingering scorch marks. One of them let out a low whistle.
Zion noticed the attention he was drawing and instinctively lowered his gaze.
'I really didn't mean to gain this much attention here,' he thought, moving toward the entrance.
Unbeknownst to Zion, the judge behind him let out a long breath.
"…I'm going to have to file a report on this," he muttered under his breath, rubbing his face as he stared at the wreckage. "Maybe a superior will cover the cost."
Several dozen mercenaries had already gathered at the entrance as Zion pushed past them.
'I see,' he thought, glancing back at the entrance. 'Now it makes sense why people are gathering here.'
Just above the entrance, a red 'OUT OF ORDER' sign had lit up. Instead of dispersing the crowd, it only made more people slow down, their gazes drifting toward the damaged assessment room.
'Seems like something like this usually doesn't happen.'
Zion tightened his grip on the license card and continued walking, weaving through the gathered mercenaries without looking up.
The further he moved away from the assessment room, the quieter the murmurs became and the safer he felt.
'…I really didn't think it'd end like that,' he thought, shaking his head. 'I didn't even get to fight the D-rank creature.'
[Host, there is no need to feel disappointed,] Uriel's voice echoed through his head. [Host's performance was exceptional during the fight. And there's no doubt you'll face countless strong opponents in the future.]
Zion slowed his pace as he fell silent.
'I guess that's true,' he thought, nodding slowly. 'Well then… I should collect the benefits for my efforts now.'
Instead of returning to his room, Zion continued walking down the hallway, heading for the place he came from.
The hallway gradually widened as he moved deeper into the building, reaching the official mercenary hall.
Unlike the assessment wing, this area was far busier and filled to the brim with strong people.
'So this is where I'll need to pick up missions later too,' he thought, glancing at the large holographic mission boards lining the wall.
Taking his eyes off the mission boards, Zion slowed his steps as he searched for the purpose of his visit.
Finally, he spotted several terminals with employees standing near them.
'This is it,' he thought, reading the neon sign far above the terminals with 'BENEFITS' written on it.
As he reached the terminal, Zion gave a polite nod to the clerk and swiped his mercenary license past the screen.
"Good evening, sir," the female employee said, flashing a polite smile.
Before Zion could respond, a red translucent screen flashed open in front of him. A block of text slowly generated on the screen, immediately attracting his attention.
He frowned and leaned closer.
"Emergency Response Agreement?" he read quietly. "What is—"
"First time?" the clerk asked, leaning over with a soft smile.
"Yeah," Zion said, giving a polite nod.
Before he could ask anything or read the text further, the clerk spoke up again.
"That's a standard clause which you have to sign in order to receive special benefits," she explained calmly. "In short, if a large-scale emergency occurs and you're within range, you're required to assist unless given direct exemption."
Zion frowned.
He'd never heard of anything like this before, and he wasn't about to sign something without reading.
Without hesitation, he skimmed through the rest of the text, his expression neutral.
'Mhm, alright,' Zion thought, leaning back slightly. 'It kind of makes sense. Otherwise, people would just run the moment a planet is in danger.'
His gaze dropped to the bottom of the screen, where a single line of text drew all his attention.
—Agreement required to unlock rank benefits—
"So there's no avoiding it anyway," he muttered, pressing his thumb against the screen to agree.
A soft chime rang from the terminal as the pop-up window closed.
The clerk's eyes flicked down to his license and paused.
"Oh," she said, a hint of surprise slipping through her professional tone. "D-rank already?"
She smiled more warmly this time. "Congratulations."
Zion gave a small nod. "Thank you."
Her fingers moved across the console, and the terminal's interface changed again.
"Your accommodation has been upgraded," she continued. "You'll be assigned a private room with increased space, reinforced privacy barriers, and full meal service. All other D-rank benefits are now active as well."
Zion exhaled slowly, hearing another chime echo from the terminal as his account automatically logged out after activating his benefits.
'That's… more than I expected,' he thought. 'I should head back for the stuff in my room and move immediately.'
"Have a good day, sir," the clerk said, bowing slightly.
"Likewise," Zion replied, raising a hand as he turned around.
As he walked, he glanced down at his license once more, the speed at which he'd obtained the D-rank insignia still feeling oddly unreal.
"Uriel," he asked quietly, "how long do you think we should stay here before going on a mission?"
There was a brief pause before the familiar voice answered.
[A few days would be optimal,] Uriel replied. [Host has expended significant energy recently. Proper rest combined with focused training will greatly improve stability and efficiency.]
Zion smiled faintly.
"Yeah," he murmured. "That sounds about right."
He continued down the corridor, heading back toward his old room.
Unbeknownst to him, far beyond Daresk, several sleek white-and-gold ships moved through the void, their trajectory slowly shifting toward the same destination.
And they were closing in fast.