Von observed that the emperor and aristocracy of the Duskthorn Empire held ultimate power over the region. In recent years, their already strained relationship with the neighboring Barbelon Federation had worsened, leading to continuous skirmishes along their shared space borders.
What made mercenary work so lucrative in the Nexus System was its close proximity to the Duskthorn Empire and Barbelon Federation's border—it practically was the border. Von knew staying in this space would inevitably drag him into trouble. While it was a gold mine for mercenaries, jumping into an unknown battle between space empires was a far cry from battling space pirates and their inferior ships.
"Maybe I should head to another star system instead? But still…" Von thought. Lieutenant Emilia had kept her eyes on him since the questioning. Though no one directly approached him, military personnel were clearly keeping an eye on his ship. If he fled the system too quickly, they'd be on his trail. It was better to let things cool down and take on some mercenary work for now.
"But..." Von murmured, looking at the Galaxy Map. He tried inputting star systems he remembered from Astria Online, but none returned results. He continued searching for other familiar aspects of the game. It turned out that many of the ship manufacturers, ship abilities, equipment, and items from Astria Online existed in this universe as well. A lot of his knowledge from the game was still applicable.
However, there were ships and items in this universe that he didn't recognize at all. The most concerning issue was the factions' strengths. The Duskthorn Empire, which controlled the Nexus System, was enormous. Yet, Von had no recollection of such a massive empire in the game, at least not in the areas players had explored.
Astria Online's galaxy was vast, and players hadn't yet reached the center of the explorable regions. It was certainly possible that a massive empire like the Duskthorn had been lurking in the unknown territories.
However, it felt strange that he recognized the ship manufacturers from this region.
"Hmm. Is it even the same universe?" he pondered. At this point, Von couldn't be sure how much of his knowledge from Astria Online—or his beloved Warhawk—would be useful here. His knowledge could be biased, leading to a fatal mistake. He knew it would be wise to constantly question what he knew, to assess whether his information really applied to this universe, and to regularly re-evaluate everything.
"I'd better stock up on food soon," he muttered. Over the past few days, he had nearly run out of the food stored in his cargo. Some of it reminded him of granola bars or jerky, but there were also canned goods and cartridges for the automatic cookers.
Food cartridges were essentially processed algae cultures, while the automatic cookers acted like 3D printers—but for food. They recreated meat and seafood so convincingly that one would never believe it was all just algae. While not particularly tasty, the food was edible—an example of true sci-fi technology.
As for waste, the resulting garbage and his bodily waste were processed on the Warhawk. The waste was compressed into blocks and delivered to colonies as part of the recycling process. Apparently, the waste-handling fee was included in the anchorage fee. When a worker came to collect the waste, Von had to ask how it worked. The worker gave him a puzzled look, as if saying, You seriously don't know how to take care of that?
"Sorry, guy. Astria Online didn't cover this stuff," Von thought.
Afterward, Von used the information network to look up other common-sense things he might not be familiar with. While it seemed like he would be fine in most situations, there was always the chance of running into some embarrassing situation in this world.
The Warhawk itself was surprisingly livable. It was a small craft with a maximum occupancy of five; one room housed a single person, and two rooms housed two each. It also came with a shower, laundry room, kitchen, and infirmary.
From the outside, the Warhawk might have fooled someone due to Von's renovations, but it was originally built for military use. Military duty meant being stuck on board for months or potentially years at a time, often while fighting for survival. Traveling the vastness of space wasn't quick, so it was clear that the Warhawk was designed with long-term living in mind.
Unfortunately, the ship couldn't replenish his groceries. For that, Von would need to head down to the colony himself. He dressed as presentably as possible and left the ship, small terminal and laser gun in hand. He decided to keep the laser gun visible in its holster as a deterrent, similar to how a prey animal flashes bright colors to ward off predators.
Von hadn't tested the gun yet, so he wasn't sure if it even worked, but after reading the manual, he knew how to operate it—at least in theory. Maintenance, however, remained a mystery. Since there was no manual for that part, he'd likely need to take it to a shop for more information.
In Astria Online, there was a face-to-face combat mode where pilots used laser guns and rifles to fight outside their ships. Von had won this particular gun for ranking first in a shooting tournament. The design was cool, and it had some interesting features, so he had kept it.
Pilots could also fight each other using power armor suits and tank modes. Von had a suit of power armor stored in his cargo hold. It was high quality but certainly overkill for a simple grocery run, so he left it behind.
"All right. Let's go, then," Von said to himself. Although he had never lost in face-to-face combat in Astria Online, he knew that relying on past experiences might not work out as well in this universe. He couldn't afford to push his luck. And so he left to go grocery shopping.