072 ENEMIES NEW AND OLD
"F–Father…" Eryn stammered.
Damen froze not of fear or respect… but hatred. This was the leader of the family who wanted him dead.
Out of respect for Eryn, he didn't move, but his eyes hardened. Valtor stepped closer, his boots echoing against the marble floor.
"I'm a man who wastes no words," Valtor said.
"You've done a service for my daughter. For that, I'm grateful. Name your reward, and I'll see it done. But on one condition—" his gaze sharpened, "—you will never see her again. You can never be a part of our family."
"Father…" Eryn whispered, trembling. "Damen saved me, and we are just friends… You can't just…"
Damen's silence stretched long enough for the air to feel heavy. Then he finally spoke, calm as still water. "I help Eryn because she's my friend. That has got nothing to do with you..."
He stepped closer until Valtor could feel the chill radiating off him.
"But if any of your dogs come sniffing for trouble at me again…" his tone sank lower, darker, "…they'll end up like your expedition team in Fortress Myrone. All of them…. Dead."
The hall went silent. Even Eryn didn't breathe.
Valtor's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
Damen's shadow stretched long as he turned and walked away. Eryn stayed behind stunned and crying.
-----
Valtor entered the great meeting room and the gathered heads of departments straightened like reeds in a storm. The air smelled faintly of cigar smoke and old grudges.
Belgore was first to break the silence. "How dare that bastard walk into our lobby. Is he openly challenging us?"
Valtor let the question hang, then answered with a slow smile. "He has more nerve than most of you. I'll give him that." The men around him shifted, embarrassed and uneasy.
"Brother, you must teach him a lesson," Belgore pressed. "For Freeland and Lukas — and for Eryn. We can't have him distracting her from proper suitors."
"Send boys to whack him," Alfore suggested.
One of the older men in the room sniffed. "The boy has a badge and we have information that he has a background with the military in Myrone. We shouldn't meet him head-on."
Belgore bristled. "Are we going to let this pass? Our reputation, my sons, was humiliated. I've been laughed at in every poker game in town."
Valtor took his place, tapped ash into an ornate tray, and lit a cigar with ritual calm. He inhaled, then exhaled a slow cloud that seemed to thicken the room.
"This boy is beyond you. He's more than he appears." He paused, eyes sweeping the circle. "After seeing him up close, I'm convinced he's tied to the massacre at Fortress Myrone. I can feel it in his arrogance."
Belgore's voice tightened. "How could he have wiped out our expedition? Weren't they done in by the Annunakians in the battlefield?"
Valtor's smile got colder. "Convenient scapegoats possibly. There are many ways we could get people killed without dirtying our own hands."
"What should we do now?"
Valtor flicked ash from his cigar and said, "We do nothing, just watch. Let others dirty their hands first."
"Who?" Belgore demanded. "The Zetheris? … So that's why you left Garius to stew in the lobby."
Valtor shrugged like a man shrugging off a minor itch. "Some debts are better collected by those with no ties to us."
Silence fell again.
-----
Damen stepped out of the lobby of Veyran Industries, the glass doors closing behind him with a hiss.
One thing he gathered from the events of the morning was clear- he had plenty of enemies in town, new and old.
"These bastards will go for my life when I least expect it."
"No matter, I'll deal with them, as long as I become more powerful. Nobody can look down on me", he thought. Then he quickly regretted, "Damnit, I lost both Acquire and Live View after the latest upgrade. How am I going to deal with powerful threats now?"
Losing his Acquire and Live View functions had crippled his mining app, and the silence in his interface now felt like a missing limb.
"Do you regret deleting the app? Y/N" Damen imagined his phone sending him the message.
But the app remained silent.
Damen couldn't ask. The app's AI chat hasn't been unlocked yet.
Whatever it may be, he knew Garius Zetheris and worse, Valtor Veyran — wouldn't let things end with his departure from the building.
Something would come from them, sooner or later.
So, he moved quickly.
He ran straight back to his apartment near campus. Inside the school grounds, he was safe — or at least safer.
"There won't be any hired hitmen, or mysterious accidents going to happen here," he muttered…
"Hopefully," he added.
------
After returning to school, Damen rejected every assignment from the SIA, reporting himself "unfit for duty." For now, he'd focus on rebuilding his lost power rank by feeding his mining app until his stats returned to their peak.
Days passed.
The Empowerment function began humming again, steadily restoring him to the strength of a Rank E.
But progress soon slowed after achieving the breakthrough. Once he hit Rank E, the app halved his gains —demanding stronger targets to generate the necessary coins.
"Damnit, I'll need to mine from stronger preys", he muttered before adding with a sly grin, "fortunately, there are plenty around."
Damen reviewed his combat readiness.
Physically, he was fine — better than fine.
"Against close combat opponents I am confident… but against those with ranged meta-abilities, I'd be at a disadvantage…. I need something better, deadlier to deal with that threat," he told himself.
He needed more power but he couldn't get that sitting in the dormitory.
He'd have to go out again.
Suddenly, a knock on the door sounded.
Damen opened the door and found Zairgid leaned against the doorway, grinning. "Hey, buddy. There's another auction tonight. You in?"
Damen hesitated, "This was the perfect outing", he thought then nodded. "Yeah… let's go."
Maybe he'd find something there in the auction that could help him grow stronger.
-----
The auction hall was dimly lit, the air thick with tension — a stark contrast to the last auction, which had been almost casual.
The robbery last time had clearly shaken the management.
This time, security was everywhere. Guards lined the exits, drones hovered discreetly near the ceiling, and no one spoke above a whisper.
Comfort and luxury had been sacrificed for control.
Damen and Zairgid took their seats near the back. Zairgid was restless as always, flipping through the holographic catalogue projected from his data pad.
Damen barely looked at it. His instincts were prickling again — something about tonight's atmosphere was too quiet, too still.
"Don't tell me there's going to be another robbery tonight," he muttered.
Zairgid chuckled under his breath. "Relax. They've upgraded the entire security grid. No one's stupid enough to try again."
Damen nodded, but the unease didn't fade. Maybe he was just paranoid. Something in the room was... calling him.