Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

Urs led Avery directly to one of the simulation cockpits upon arriving at the Mercenary Association branch on Yuson II.

There had been a few mercs and worker present, but not a single one of them tried to approach Urs. Instead, they acted like he did not exist and allowed him to do as he pleased despite havening someone that was clearly not a mercenary with him.

"Is this allowed? I'm not a member of the association yet." Avery asked, worried that they might get in trouble for breaking some sort of rule.

"Technically, it's not. But nobody's going to cause a fuss about it. Retired though I may be, I still retain my rank as a five star mercenary. There are certain privileges that come with being in the upper ranks."

Avery could not help but feel a bit of trepidation at this response. While Urs might not get into any trouble, the same could not be said for him.

Still, there was no point in fretting over what might or might not occur in the future. Avery was here to learn, so he was going to put his all into doing so.

"Do you have your ship's data saved on your terminal? We can reproduce its specifications with the devices here and I can see what you're really working with."

Urs had heard from Avery's father that the boy had found an advanced vessel abandoned in space, but he did not know exactly what it was capable of. Before he could begin giving proper instructions, he needed this information.

Fortunately, Avery did have the data with him, and after around a minute, he had registered it to the simulator's computer.

"What the hell?!" Urs said, as he went over the capabilities of the SCXD-011.

For a smaller sized vessel, it had the highest firepower, defensive ability, and generator output he had ever seen. The only thing that was not far and away better than most other craft of the same size was maneuverability. However, even that was still close to the top end.

"My old ship was a mid-sized one that I'd modified extensively, and even then, it didn't have this level of firepower. How did Storren Corp. even make something like this?"

For several seconds, Urs seemed to have completely forgotten about Avery and was fully engrossed in the SCXD-011's specifications.

"From what you've said, I'm guessing my vessel's pretty good. But how would you say it compares to other mercenary craft you've seen?" Avery asked.

"I haven't been active for the last six years, so let me preference that what I know isn't recent. Still, this ship is easily the best small sized craft I've ever seen or heard about. I can see why you would want to pursue a career as a mercenary with something like this in your possession."

Urs had an almost envious glint in his eyes as he poured over the data on Avery's vessel.

However, he shook his head as if to dispel any negative thoughts budding in his head.

Then he turned back towards Avery with the expression of a stern teacher.

"Okay, I now know what you're working with. It's far and away more than I was expecting. So, I'll need to change up what I was planning to teach you quite a bit. For now, I'm going to load up the four star rank advancement program. Your goal will be to avoid being hit more than three times and take out all the enemies in no less than seven minutes. Taking any more hits or time than that will be deemed a failure, and I'll shut down the simulation. Then we'll head to a private practice range where I'll be personally teaching you how to fight, before starting the process over again."

Avery stared at Urs dumbfounded by the severe training plan the retired mercenary was going to put him through.

Without any buildup, he was going to be forced into the hardest training simulation available, and his goal was not to just win, but do so nearly flawlessly. And if he failed, Urs had pretty much stated that he was going to beat the crap out of him in mock combat exercises.

It was almost enough to make Avery reconsider going forward with learning from this veteran mercenary.

'This is what it's going to take though. I've got a bit of money thanks to selling my old ship, but it's not going to last forever. I need to shape up and start earning Krenin through mercenary work soon.' Avery thought, strengthening his resolve.

Once he was ready, he sat down in the pilot's seat within the simulation cockpit, and Urs booted up the program.

Immediately, ten pirate ships flying in formation appeared on the screen. Each of them was packing strong weapons, and along with eight light fighter craft, there were two medium vessels.

"Um, I don't think most pirates have ships like these, or can maneuver like a military squadron." Avery commented.

"That's certainly true, but there's always outliers. During my time as a merc, I fought against groups even stronger than this around a dozen times. They're definitely out there. Space is vast after all. You never know what you might encounter." Urs responded with a hearty chuckle.

He then pointed out that the pirates were about to engage with him and pulled Avery's attention back onto the training program.

It took less than a minute before Urs shut the simulation down.

Avery had done his best to avoid the enemy fire, but it had been practically impossible with so many ships attacking from multiple angles.

His shields had still been holding strong, and he had somehow taken out two of the pirate's light craft. Nevertheless, he had failed to meet the criteria that Urs had set, and the match was deemed a loss on his part.

"Now. Let's go to one of the training rooms. Space battles aren't the only area you need to improve on." Urs said, practically dragging a reluctant Avery out of the training cockpit.