"I have no initial marks," K'Vash-9 stated, his voice devoid of emotion, yet ringing with tactical failure. "My strategic readiness is irrelevant without resources. This Conflict Zone is closed to me."
Joshua shook his head. "The greatest Terran warriors always find a way to acquire their weapons. We must initiate a short-term, high-value Demonstration of Force to gain the necessary capital. A temporary skirmish to fund the war."
The warrior's four black eyes focused intently. "A skirmish? Is this legal on Terran soil?"
"It must be legal, K'Vash-9, or your acquired marks and honor would be immediately forfeit," Joshua confirmed, relying on the Rapid Rapport skill to sell the concept. "We will find a contest of verifiable struggle that rewards the victor with the required Victory Marks."
How to get $1,000 for a warrior in one day? Joshua thought, his fingers flying across his keyboard.
He couldn't rely on the System to find the job for him, as he lacked the Data Processing skills. He had to use his own knowledge and frame the search in the most T-Rank acceptable way. He quickly filtered open corporate contracts for high-risk, short-duration consulting roles.
He found one that stood out, posted by a hyper-niche private firm specializing in high-security asset protection: "Exotic Vulnerability Assessment Specialist - One-Day Contract."
The job description was a bizarrely phrased dare: "Test the physical and logical perimeter integrity of a Tier-3 proprietary data vault. Success requires verifiable asset acquisition. Payment is $1,200 upon objective completion."
Joshua's mind immediately reframed the task for the K'Vash warrior.
"I have located your first skirmish," Joshua announced, turning the monitor to face K'Vash-9. "A Terran corporation has issued a Challenge of Defense. They possess an objective—a high-value data vault—and they have hired you to be the Challenger. Your goal is to breach their defenses and acquire the core asset within a four-hour window."
K'Vash-9 examined the Terran text, which was filtered through the Language Skill as complex strategic coordinates. "They will pay me to defeat them?"
"It is a duel of honor," Joshua explained. "If you prove their defense is flawed, they pay you the Victory Marks to fix the flaw. If you fail, your honor remains intact, but you gain nothing. The terms of engagement are structured and legal."
The warrior stood up, the chair creaking under his residual weight. His entire posture shifted from patient strategist to eager combatant.
"When does this duel begin?"
Joshua spent the next hour making the necessary calls. Using his social worker skills, he negotiated the terms, guaranteeing the security firm that K'Vash-9 was both non-lethal and utterly committed to the rules of engagement. He emphasized the K'Vash's honor code above all else—the warrior would not breach the agreement.
They scheduled the assessment for 2:00 PM at a secure warehouse complex on the edge of the city.
At 1:45 PM, Joshua and K'Vash-9 were standing in an empty parking lot, facing a squat, concrete warehouse secured by multiple fences, laser grids, and reinforced doors.
A nervous, sweat-beaded Terran man in a security polo, named Mr. Davies, met them. He held a tablet with the rules of engagement.
"The objective is the flash drive stored in the central safe, room D-14," Mr. Davies whispered, glancing nervously at the seven-foot-tall warrior. "The rules are simple: no lethal force, no permanent damage to the structure, and you must utilize the tools provided in this container."
He gestured to a large, plastic trunk containing lock-picking tools, a small drone, a coil of rope, and a few outdated tech devices.
K'Vash-9 ignored the Terran's babbling. He was already surveying the perimeter, his four eyes analyzing the security grid like a flawed tactical map.
"The defense is flawed," the warrior stated to Joshua, his voice a low, focused murmur. "The laser grid is set to detect mass, not velocity. The thermal cameras are static. The entry point will be the maintenance vent above the second level."
Joshua nodded, mentally giving himself a Good Deed rating just for showing up.
K'Vash-9 did not speak to Mr. Davies again. He grabbed the coil of rope, ignored the rest of the tools, and, with a terrifying display of controlled strength, began scaling the rough concrete wall as if gravity had momentarily ceased to exist for him.
The whole encounter lasted exactly twelve minutes and forty-two seconds.
Mr. Davies' tablet buzzed. He stared at the screen, his mouth hanging open. K'Vash-9 reappeared moments later, dropping lightly from the roof and landing with a dull, heavy thud.
"The asset is acquired," the warrior stated, holding out a small, encrypted flash drive.
Mr. Davies, shaking, immediately initiated the payment transfer. Joshua watched his phone buzz with a notification: $1,200.00 deposited into the temporary escrow account he had set up.
[TASK COMPLETE: ACQUISITION OF CAPITAL ACHIEVED. CLIENT READY FOR STRATEGIC CONFLICT ZONE ENTRY.]
[HIGH-VALUE DEED ACHIEVED: CULTURAL INTEGRATION VIA HONOR-BOUND RESOURCE ACQUISITION.]
[SYSTEM POINTS (SP) AWARDED: +50]
[CURRENT SP: 65]
Joshua felt a massive rush of triumph. 65 SP! The warrior now had the capital and the motivation. Joshua now had the points to buy the real skill he needed.
"You have your Victory Marks, K'Vash-9," Joshua said, feeling the weight of the moment. "It is time to enter the Finance Market."
Joshua now has 65 SP. The perfect skill for teaching complex finance is Concept Transfer (G-Rank), which costs 50 SP. He can finally buy it!