201 SIROCCO'S VENGEANCE
As the update finished, something strange happened. He reached for his pocket, where his phone should've been…and found it gone.
"Where the hell is my phone?" he thought, his heart skipping a beat.
Before he could panic further, another message appeared in his view:
"Congratulations! Your physical phone has been disabled. The DemCoin mining app has been assimilated into you permanently."
Damen blinked. "My phone... assimilated into me? What did that even mean?"
"This is... fantastic," he murmured, realizing the implications. "I was always worried about dropping my phone or breaking it during a fight. Now it can't be destroyed. It's part of me."
The Vision Connect feature has become default instead of on Toggle mode.
Most of the functions have improved dramatically.
There were more favorite lists to track, more mining targets to pursue, enhanced tracking distances, and even stronger Empowerment.
But after a point, those features didn't matter as much to Damen.
Just as he thought the update was finished, another notification appeared:
"Automatic Mining is available. Do you want to activate? Y/N"
He frowned. "What the hell is Automatic Mining?" He wasn't sure how it would change anything, but out of curiosity, he pressed "Y."
Instantly, his mining columns began to fill up automatically, drawing from his favorite list. There was no more constant monitoring or manual selecting targets.
His mining potential had just been maximized by the apps' AI.
"Convenient," he muttered, "but it doesn't really help me much right now besides giving me coins that I couldn't use."
Not wanting to dwell too long on the new update, Damen decided to check his Shop. To his surprise, it had been restocked with new items…things he had never seen before.
His excitement quickly grew as he scrolled through the list, but the prices were staggering. Each item cost a small fortune, far beyond what he had mined so far.
As he continued browsing, something caught his eye.
Damen paused, leaning in closer to examine the item. His eyes scanned the details, the anticipation building in his chest.
Name: Heart of Shu
Description: The heart of the God of Shu, the God of Wind and Tempest.
Price: 3,000,000 coins
Damen's heart skipped a beat.
"The Heart of Shu.."
He remembered the first time he assimilated a Heart of Ra, the power it unlocked for him was the special skill… Halo's Judgment, a powerful skill that had turned the tides in his favor during critical battles.
He couldn't help but wonder if the Heart of Shu would grant him another equally formidable power.
"This could be the key," he thought, staring at the shimmering artifact in front of him.
"With this kind of power, I might stand a chance against the likes of the Nuraliths, and others... especially when enemies are getting stronger by the day."
His gaze flickered to the list of his current skills.
Besides Halo's Judgment, his abilities felt like they were fading into irrelevance. He was no longer a one-man army; his enemies had started to outpace him, and the past battle against Rela's vine dome was proof of that.
If it hadn't been for his control of the referees, he knew the outcome would have been vastly different.
He couldn't afford to be complacent.
But there was a problem. The price.
He had already invested his coins in upgrading his software, and it had drained his reserves. The Heart of Shu was a hefty price to pay—3,000,000 coins.
It was a goal out of reach for now.
He considered it carefully, tapping his fingers on the table. At my current mining rate, I'll have enough to buy it within a week...
A week.
He could wait. After all, what's a week when the difference between life and death could be just one skill away?
With a heavy sigh, Damen closed the shop window, his mind already calculating his next move.
"Next stop, Aetheris then Veyran", he smiled at the thought. He would go to the headquarters of each of the major families in Silver City to add them onto his favorite list.
-----
Two weeks passed before Damen finally amassed enough coins to purchase the Heart of Shu. The moment the transaction completed, he assimilated the artifact without hesitation.
Nothing happened.
There was no new skill.
"Something's wrong," Damen muttered. "There must be conditions for triggering a skill through the mining app."
He fell into deep thought, replaying every prior assimilation in his mind. As he pondered, his fingers idly scrolled through the shop interface again.
Then he saw it.
The Eye of Shu.
Damen's eyes narrowed.
"It's possible," he reasoned, "that a single artifact isn't enough. Maybe the Heart of Shu only unlocks a skill if I possess multiple artifacts of Shu at the same time."
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
He didn't hesitate.
Damen purchased the Eye of Shu and immediately assimilated it.
The moment the process completed, the world seemed to shudder.
A blazing glyph erupted before his vision.
"Congratulations. You have received a new skill.Skill Acquired: Sirocco's VengeanceRank: B"
Damen exhaled slowly, a smile forming at the corner of his lips.
"Confirmed," he said quietly.
His hypothesis was correct.At last, the power of Shu had answered him.
"Sirocco's Vengeance?" Damen muttered, frowning. "What the hell is that supposed to be?"
He didn't waste time.
He returned to his secret training chamber deep beneath his headquarters—a room sealed with triple-layered reinforcement, built precisely for testing volatile abilities.
Inside, the walls shimmered faintly with energy-resistant coatings, and the air was still, waiting for him.
Damen steadied his breathing and activated the new skill… but nothing happened.
He tried again, pushing more power through his channels,still there was nothing.
Then realization dawned on him.
"Of course… just like Halo's Judgment," he sighed, "it needs Annunakin form., but…I need a skill when I'm not in the alien form… for normal use."
That wasn't good news.
Halo's Judgment was devastating enough while he was transformed, but what he truly needed was strength outside of that form… something that could keep him alive when he was still just Damen Dark.
He clenched his fists, thinking. There has to be a way around this.
Then it hit him.
"The Core of Genesis," he whispered. "It draws power directly from my blood… maybe I can route that energy into the skill."
He activated the Core.
A pulse of crimson light surged through his veins as his internal circuits flared to life.
Suddenly, a beam of plasma burst out from his hands. It was Halo's Judgment alright, but this skill wasn't released from his chest like when he was in his Annunakin form.
"So, this is the version of Halo's Judgment when I cast it in my human form", he murmured.
But this wouldn't be the skill he would use daily. He doesn't want to be associated with Black Halo with the skill.
"I won't use Halo's Judgment normally even if I could," he pledged.
Then Damen focused on the new skill again that was granted by the Heart of Shu….this time feeding it power from the Core of Genesis.
The air shifted.
A low hum built around him, then exploded outward.
A fierce gale erupted, curling into a spiraling blade of compressed wind. It slashed forward, carving deep grooves into the reinforced wall like a sword made of storm itself.
Damen grinned wide. "Now that's what I'm talking about."
He spent the next few days honing Sirocco's Vengeance, refining its focus and cutting angle. Each strike grew faster, sharper, and more devastating.
The training consumed him completely.
He didn't return to school. There was no point. The Nuraliths could easily send soldiers there again, and on campus, no one could or would protect him there.
His base, at least, was safe.
----
"Big Brother, someone's challenging you on your student ID chat," Kail said, glancing up from his holo-screen.
Damen didn't even look up from what he was doing. "Ignore it. I'm done with school fights."
Kail hesitated. "But… it's a Nuralith. He says if you accept, your grudge with their family will be settled in combat. Win, and they'll drop it for good."
That made Damen pause. Slowly, he looked up. "A Nuralith, huh? Which one?"
"Seris Nuralith," Kail replied.
Damen leaned back in his chair, thinking. Seris wasn't a name he'd heard before, but the family was full of dangerous prodigies.
If this duel could end the endless pursuit, it might be worth it.
"Alright," Damen said finally. "Accept the challenge—but tell them the duel happens in our own auditorium. No outside interference….No, make this a Duel of Grudge."
Kail nodded quickly and began typing a reply. "Got it. Sending confirmation now."
Damen stood, stretching his arms as a faint grin crossed his face.
"So, the Nuralith want vengeance, huh? Let's see if they can handle vengeance of mine."
-----