Cashing In

The next month had been spent killing low-tier monsters on the outskirts of the Kotus Empire's territory. Inian and Marc luckily didn't have to fight hand to hand anymore, and the Wing Demons just used the cannons on their ships. They only went down to collect the monster cores after the monsters were all defeated.

In total, they collected 800 gold's worth of monster cores, and today they were stopping by the mercenary station at the Aysel Palace to cash in. The Aysel Palace is the capital of the Empire and resides towards the east by the ocean.

"Hey Inian," Marc began, as he and Inian were both relaxing, sitting over the side of the ship, "with our share we get 266 gold coins to bring back to our family. That's more than my father could make in two years. Who knew it would be this easy?"

Inian shrugged, "I don't think its as simple as you'd think. By ourselves, we wouldn't be able to afford a ship in the first place, and these guys are all experienced mercenaries. They know where to hunt and how to find a good contract. If we tried doing this on our own, we wouldn't know where to start at all."

Marc nodded in agreeance, "that's true. Do you think we could stay in a life like this indefinitely?"

Inian shook his head, "I know I couldn't. It's a rush, but I couldn't stay in constant danger for my entire life. I know that I can survive and be fine with you at my side, but eventually, I will need a quiet job."

Marc sighed, "I get it. I think that I may want to do this for the rest of my life. It's great money, fun, and I get to fly around on a ship! I had just hoped maybe hoped that you would enjoy this as much as I did, and we could stay doing this for the rest of our lives."

Inian saw Marc look a little downcast, but didn't know what to say to his best friend/brother who wanted to do something different from him with his life. He looked away and saw a reflection of light off an object in the distance.

He squinted, trying to see what area they were flying towards. But what he saw shocked him.

He saw a massive Iron wall. At least 5 miles all the way around. Patrolling the walls were gigantic mechas. He saw Individuals in personal mechas walking around on the desert-like terrain, and he saw entire moving fortresses rolling or stomping around the city walls. He was gaping at this stunning appearance of the city.

Oliver came walking up behind the two, "here we are, fellas! The Aysel Palace. The capital of the Kotus Empire. Pretty impressive, huh?"

Marc's mouth matched Inian's and was wide open as they both stared at this impressive display of defense and power.

Oliver chuckled and slapped their shoulders, "the mercenary station resides within the city, and after we collect our gold, then we can send your shares out to your family. After that, we celebrate!"

He got up and walked towards Blyke to help give him directions. Inian and Marc both got up to collect their weapons and gear but stopped when Una stepped in front of them.

"Now listen here, you two, there are no weapons allowed in the city. So if you don't want to be killed by the Empire's soldiers, then I would leave your guns here. They may hire mercenaries, but the Empire is proud, and they don't like us. So keep your head low until we get our gold and are out of the city.

Inian and Marc nodded, they decided to leave their gear onboard and only grabbed the bags containing the monster cores.

Soon, the crew flew over the crowded city and landed on a landing platform near the mercenary station. They dismounted the ship and made their way into the city.

The city guards wore all black with a black cap on their heads. They each carried a rifle and a sword at their side. Whenever the Wing Demons passed by, they would give disgusted looks. Inian asked Blyke, who was nearest to him, "why do they all scowl when we pass by? How do they know we are even mercenaries."

Blyke shrugged, "Beats me. I've been here a few times with Oliver, and they always dislike outsiders. It's very obvious when someone who is not from the Empire comes into the city because we look different and have different mannerisms. I don't know what they are, but that's what Oliver told me."

Inian nodded and avoided looking at the scowling faces as they passed by.

Soon they entered the mercenary station. It was a large open hall with different groups of people walking by. Some crews were smaller, and some had 50 people crews. They were all friendly with one another and greeted each other as they passed by. Oliver would nod and wave his hand at other crews that walked by. Inian was a little surprised and thought that mercenary groups would hate each other more, or would be more competitive. But this felt like they were walking into a group of old friends instead of enemies.

"Hey, Oliver! Are these your new joins?" Asked a voice behind them. They turned around to see a man whose appearance was very similar to Oliver's greeting them. Oliver's face lit up, "Hey, Max! Long-time no see!" The two gave each other massive hugs, and Oliver turned around to introduce him.

"You guys remember my brother Max right? Except for you two," he said, waving at Inian and Marc. Marc started, "Hello, sir, my name is Marc, and this is my brother, Inian." Inian nodded towards Max.

Max introduced himself, "as my brother just said, I'm Max. I used to be on the crew of the Wing Demons but decided to form my own crew. I left with one guy, and I guess you two are filling up the spots we left open. I wish you luck working with my brother; sometimes, he can be a bit reckless."

Oliver rubbed Max's shoulder aggressively, "Oh, don't mind him. He's just disappointed that I've already filled up the spots."

Oliver and Max began glaring at each other, and Inian and Marc looked at each other uncomfortably. Una coughed, and Oliver was brought back to his senses.

"I guess we should be going here, Max, I will catch you another time, so don't die on me!"

They left Max and went to finish cashing in their bags of monster cores. They went to a lady at one of the desks in the open space. She looked at the contract that Oliver handed her and then looked at each monster's core with a unique device. After she looked at each one, she gave Oliver a large bag of 800 gold coins and bid them a good day.

The crew was very giddy after they left the mercenary hall, and were acting like a bunch of little kids with a bag of candy.

Oliver counted the coins and gave a bag to Inian and Marc, telling them that this was their share.

Oliver said, "keep a couple of coins for yourselves, as we are celebrating tonight! Meet up at the Barley Inn tonight for drinks and good food!"

The crew split up to go and enjoy their pay, while Inian and Marc went to a messenger station to send the coins to their family. Inian puffed out his chest a little bit. He was happy that he could help provide for this family that had given him so much. Marc said, "c' mon Inian, let's go meet everyone tonight!"

Inian followed Marc, happy that his first mercenary contract was a success.