Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 9%. Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 10%. Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 11%.

'If this were a battle-oriented Ember I'd just sit in the city centre for hours to gain mastery in it,' Daz thought as he entered the mercenary guild.

Almost immediately the outside world was cut off from his Ember of Empathy. He was now, relievingly, only able to feel the emotions of the people inside of the building itself and no further. 'Huh. So walls block it. I've never noticed that before... Well, that's certainly useful knowledge.'

The guildhall was full of people. More so than usual. Daz came here often enough to help out the city and earn merit points himself so it was obvious to him there were roughly 50-60% more people here than on your typical day.

Someone bumped into Daz's shoulder and called out to him, "Ow! Hey, you okay? Didn't see you there."

"Ah, yes. Sorry. I was spacing out," Daz responded before moving aside. He had been blocking the entrance doors, too busy thinking on his newest Ember.

The other person shrugged. "No worries, just be careful, eh?"

He then heard the man mumble in surprise at how good Daz's French was before wandering further into the building.

'I sometimes forget how diverse Fort Home is, ethnically speaking. Most of the population isn't even American anymore,' Daz thought as he approached the mission boards that correlated to his mercenary rank.

He pulled out his mercenary licence from his Industrial Item Box and glanced at the basic information displayed on its front just to see how it had changed since acquiring it.

[Name: Daz Crowthorne

Guild Registered At: Fort Home

Mercenary Rank: Mark-1 Highest Class]

Daz nodded. It was a rather impressive piece of technology or magical engineering or whatever else it was.

The thin piece of metal was able to display his recently adopted surname as well as his progress through the entirety of the first mark without the need to get it manually altered. It just updated automatically.

Done marvelling at the thing, he then flipped the card to check the details on its back.

[Missions Completed: Joint: 37 Solo: 26

Last Exam Taken: Mark-1 exam

Last Exam's Score: 94.]

'It must take an astronomical amount of successful missions to reach Mark-10. That's only marks too, after marks come stars, right? Like what the giant who destroyed Atlantis was. Such an extensive system... I wonder how far someone from Earth can go? There can't be too many quests beyond mark-2 or 3 in difficulty here, surely,' Daz thought.

It was certainly an organisation designed for the wider system. He wondered how useful it would be when Earth ended its trials.

Of course, that wasn't really a question for now but he still pondered over the topic as he scanned the available highest class missions for Mark-1 mercenaries.

'... Hmm... I definitely need an extermination mission or something that involves killing in some regard if I'm to test my new skills. It would also be preferable if the monsters or targets can damage souls...' Daz thought as his right eye glowed with a silver hue.

The listings on the board instantly lit up in his vision when he closed his left eye. Many different shades of grey, black, yellow and gold, filled his sight.

Over the months since he had developed this use for Survivor's Instinct he had practised it extensively every time he came here to do a mission or two alone or with the local church or by Madison's side.

Now he was more accurately able to tell which missions were more likely to succeed and which were probably going to end in failure.

Gold indicated an extremely high probability of success while yellow represented high but not as certain odds of completing the mission perfectly. Black and grey mirrored the brighter colours respectively but for failure.

He had only tried out a grey mission once and it had, while not being a danger to his life, proven to be quite the challenge. If it weren't for Madison's presence at the time he would have failed the mission undoubtedly.

Her Alteration had been the deciding factor in keeping his record of successful missions at 100%.

'I doubt many of these truly, if at all, pose a threat to my life. This sight only shows success odds, after all,' Daz thought as he grabbed a specific notice.

Mark-1 Higher Class Mission [Danger-level: Unknown. Likely very dangerous]

Details: A door has appeared in an unspecified location (more details upon acceptance of the mission). This door is believed to be the entrance to a highly dangerous dungeon. Two groups of mercenaries have failed to return after accepting this mission thus far.

Requirements for interested mercenaries: At least 25 completed missions. At least 2 completed dungeons on record of D-rank difficulty or higher.

Reward: 3 points added towards mercenary licence (1 if in a team of 5 or less, half a point if in a team of 6 or more). 25,000 merit points.

To his silver eye, this mission was a deep shade of grey but not quite black. Something about it had just spoken to him though. Perhaps it was his Luck stat, he didn't know, but he also wasn't in a huge hurry.

'I've got a few days before the expedition party is fully set up to go north-east. If this mission can't help me test all of my skills, if nothing else, it'll get me to mark-2 and then I can surely find something that can attack souls to experiment with. Worst comes to worst, I practice with my clones again though I'd rather not if at all possible. Also, this is a pretty deadly mission from the looks of things. I could save lives by finishing it,' he thought as he got in line.

About five minutes later he was standing on the other side of Gip's counter - the man who had been the one to test him for his licence in the first place.

"Hello, Gip. I'd like to register this mission," Daz said as he locked eyes with the non-Earthian human.

"Ah, High King Crowthorne. Working incognito today, are we?" the man asked with a perfect smile.

Of course, all conversations between mercenaries and staff were private with the help of some sound obscuring technology or magic, Daz wasn't sure which. Hence Gip's lack of hesitation to call him out for his royalty.

Nodding, Daz replied, "Yes. I need to do some testing and I'd rather do so in private. My clones can take care of the kingdoms and press. I would be wasting my time if I did all of that personally."

"A tragic matter, the attacks. I'm glad New Earth is so quickly getting back on its feet though. Remiss as I am to say it, business with the guild has increased substantially since we've added quite a few missions related to securing your kingdoms and repairing the damages," Gip said as he read over the mission Daz had handed to him.

Nodding, Daz asked, "I can see that. I can also see that my kingdom's crows haven't been integrated into the reward system of the guild quite yet."

"Sadly so, sir. Master Merit is very good at his job though," Gip said as he began reading the mission request. "I'm sure we'll have something figured out in due time."

"Fingers crossed," Daz said.

A few moments of silence passed as Gip focused on doing his job. It wasn't long later that he peeked up from the request to look at Daz again.

"Ah, this mission... We at the guild trust in your power, of course, but are you sure you wish to take this particular mission? It isn't an immediate danger since it's more than likely a dungeon. There's little-to-no risk of it affecting the area surrounding it," Gip advised. "Of course, I won't stop you if you really do wish to take this mission on."

"Thank you for the concern, Gip. I appreciate it but I'll be fine. Unless my system powers can be stripped, I doubt I'll be in danger. I may fail the mission though, hopefully not, but let's say I have a feeling it won't be very easy. What exactly is the mission, by the way? The posting wasn't very clear. Do I just need to scout the other side of the 'door' before coming back and reporting my findings?" Daz asked.

Gip nodded. "That's exactly it, sir. The mission is only considered a success if the entire layout of the dungeon - which we assume it is one - and its inhabitants can be fully mapped and documented. Partial credit will be received though, even if you fail. It's a dangerous mission, after all."

"Sounds good then. Where's the door?" Daz questioned.

"One moment," Gip said as he reached under the counter. A moment passed before he pulled out a map of New Earth and spread it across the counter.

He pointed his finger at a little spot just west of San Diego near the south-western border of California. Daz furrowed his brow. "It's under the ocean?"

Gip nodded. "Indeed. Will you need assistance reaching it? Guild approved water, air or gravity mages and manipulators can be hired if required."

"No, that's okay. I was just surprised," Daz answered. "I'll be off then."

"Very well, sir. Good luck and safe travels to you," Gip replied with a smile after handing back Daz's licence.

Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 12%. Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 13%. Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 14%. Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 15%.

'How utterly unpleasant.' Daz didn't expect to come to dislike emotions so much so quickly. He was sure he'd get used to the overwhelming feeling of walking through a city of broken and hurt people eventually, but for now, it felt akin to wading through thick tar.

Perhaps he'd force himself to endure it for several hours at a later date. Thankfully, though, he made it out of the city while only needing to stop for a rest twice.

Once he was clear of the densely populated areas, he used the Ridomochi Final Model's key to summon his flying car and he then drove it directly to San Diego.

'I should at least make it known to the city's lord that I'm here to deal with the potential threat of the door. Now that I think about it, I don't even know who rules this city,' Daz thought as he used Hamson to speed through the air.

He got a few glances from guards but they soon waved him past, letting him into the city when he showed them his Identification Medallion.

Daz smiled a little. It felt good to be able to fly freely and not be bothered by petty rules meant only to waste time. Anyone, not just Daz, could fly through his kingdoms provided they had their medallion on them.

Even foreigners could do the same with their temporary medallions, though not quite so freely anymore.

Restrictions were a little bit tighter now thanks to the Truthians, obviously. Still, Daz didn't want anyone to get attacked for just using a convenient method of transportation as he had been during his first visit to United Korea.

It didn't take long for him to set up a quick meeting with the city's lord when he revealed who he was to those it concerned. He was the high king, after all. The lord would be a fool to not afford him a few minutes of their time upon his request.

"Your Majesty! It's a pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face like this," a woman in her mid-thirties and with dark brown hair happily greeted.

She ushered him into her office before taking a seat behind her desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your royal visit?"

'Ah, lady, not lord. I should take some time later to memorise everyone in a position of power under my rule. If only to be better equipped for situations like this and for potential cases of betrayal,' Daz thought in passing. 'I certainly have the Intelligence to make it a simple task.'

"I'm here as a mercenary, not as High King Crowthorne, I'm afraid. The door in the ocean - I intend to explore it and thought it wise to let you know before the fact. Don't allow anyone inside or near it while I deal with it is what I'm here to say, more or less," Daz explained plainly.

"Ah, actually... a group of well-known mercenaries from the local branch here took on the request just this morning. I can certainly make sure no one else gets involved though since you, yourself, are interested, Your Majesty. That group, however, has already set off and is likely inside the door by now," the lady of the city said with a bit of a wry expression on her face.

Daz shook his head. "That's fine then. I'll be off. If I'm fast enough I may be able to help those mercenaries out. That, or see just how capable they are. Thank you for meeting with me, Lady Shaw."

"Oh, please, it was all my pleasure," she replied. "By the way, would it be improper for me to announce your arrival and intentions here to the media? I'm sure it would be beneficial for the people to know their ruler is doing his best to keep them safe from unknown threats even while preparing for war."

Daz slowly nodded. "So long as it's announced in a way to not make me look negligent or unconcerned by the Truthians, then you have my blessing."

"Thank you! I'm sure this'll help lift the spirits of the locals," the lady of San Diego said with enthusiasm.

'I do wonder if that's wise... Well, Rose has control over the media, mostly to make sure everything said is true and factual but I'm sure I can trust her to ensure this doesn't become some sort of colossal PR nightmare.' With that thought in his mind, Daz left for the ocean.