171 SPECIALIZATIONS
"I'll return to Melrose City. Fortress Myrone still needs the new shipment of meta-artillery parts and relay cores," Damen said to them.
Liorea nodded. "I'll handle the transport personally."
Zairgid turned to Kail, who was busy calibrating a drone projector. "You're staying here with me?"
Kail nodded, looking up to Damen. "Can I, Big Brother? Someone has to lay down the security framework for our new secret base."
"Good," Damen said, approvingly. "You stay. If Lander and Dorin want in, we'll bring them over here too."
Zairgid smiled faintly. "Perfect. Leave Silver City to us."
But Damen wasn't entirely comfortable.
His instincts gnawed at him — Silver City glittered on the surface, but danger ran deep beneath. "You'd better fortify the place while I'm gone. And don't step outside the HQ unless it's necessary. We don't know if your uncle still has any hidden cards."
Zairgid leaned back, his usual confidence flashing through. "Don't worry. With money, I can buy an army. We'll start recruiting meta-human guards — no one's killing me that easily again."
Damen smirked but didn't reply.
Outside, the foundations of their new empire began to rise with steel, glass, and ambition.
------
Damen and Liorea returned to Melrose City, heading straight for GenSyn. The familiar haze of the city greeted them — chaotic, noisy, and strangely comforting.
Inside the HQ, they found Lander and Dorin waiting.
"You've been gone so long I thought you weren't coming back," Dorin grumbled.
Damen dropped his pack and stretched. "We've been setting up a new HQ in Silver City …. took longer than expected."
He glanced at the two of them. "What about you? Want to come to Silver City? You could run your investigative agency there …. There would be nobody looking for trouble with you… consider it a reboot, a clean slate."
That suggestion caught their attention.
"I wouldn't mind leaving Melrose city," Lander said. "This city's rotten to the core. The government and SIA are too corrupt to function anymore."
He hesitated, then added grimly, "But before we go… the disappearances in the slums are getting worse. It's not just vagrants now …. working-class families are vanishing. Thousands of them."
Damen frowned. "And the government? The SIA? Aren't they doing nothing?"
"They don't care," Lander said flatly. "The upper class actually welcomes it …. Missing those people means fewer mouths to feed, fewer problems to deal with."
Damen exchanged a look with Liorea. "Alright. Make up your mind. We'll be back after the Fortress Myrone run …. then we'll decide our next move."
-----
Damen and Liorea arrived once more at the aur mine.
The air shimmered faintly with residual meta energy from the rift nearby. Waiting for them at the gate was Yaris, the overseer.
"Oh, it's you again, young sir," Yaris greeted with a weary smile.
"Good to see you, Yaris. How have you been?" Damen asked, his tone friendly but observant.
"The same as ever…" Yaris managed a smile, but Damen caught the heaviness behind it.
Something was off.
Casually, he asked, "Last time I passed through here, one of your miners had an accident. How's he doing now?"
Yaris's eyes dimmed, moisture gathering at the corners. "That's Ralph Dark… he has the same family name as you, sir."
Damen's expression didn't change.
Yaris continued, his voice trembling, "The thing is… Ralph and his entire family, his wife, his boy, they went missing. Vanished one night. No one's seen them since."
The words struck Damen harder than he expected, though he didn't show it. Uncle Ralph… The name stirred ghosts he'd long buried.
He gave a small nod, his voice calm but distant. "Strange times. People disappear everywhere these days."
Then, more softly, "Take care of yourself, Yaris."
He turned away before the overseer could say more and went down the elevator.
Together, Damen and Liorea entered the shimmering veil of the space rift — the world behind them dissolved into silence.
-----
[Fortress Myrone]
"Damen, you've returned," Captain Green greeted as the young meta descended from the transport platform.
The soldiers nearby paused their work to salute him.
The Captain and his men had only recently come back from Melrose City — their protection of the supply lines was no longer required.
With Damen in charge, and Liorea's psychic transport ability, there were no more convoys to ambush, no routes to defend.
Without a word, Liorea raised her hands.
A low hum rippled through the air as containers began to shimmer into view — dozens of them — materializing neatly on the platform. Each crate was marked, containing weapons, machinery, medicine, and rare meta materials.
A cheer rose from the fortress crew as the supplies settled with a heavy thud.
While Captain Green and his team began offloading and sorting the shipment, Damen turned away and made for the training center.
-----
Damen's Strength Stat had been stagnant for weeks; only a complete transfusion with advanced meta blood could finally shatter that bottleneck, allowing his Strength to grow again… he's reached the limit of his DNA Strength.
Fortunately for him, the technology in Silver City is far more advanced that Melrose city…. Provided he could pay for it.
Damen had undergone a complete blood transfusion at a Silver City medical facility, imbuing himself with revolutionary new meta-infused blood that possessed a unique property — which amplified physical strength and regeneration.
But every blood transfusion came with sacrifice. He lost two-thirds of his Blood Stat and a third of his Armor.
He reviewed his updated stats:
Name: Damen Dark
Strength Rank: B Meta Rank: B Blood Rank: C
Strength: 688 | Charm: 382 | Meta: 513 | Command: 512 | Blood: 406 | Armor: 887 |
A faint smile crossed his face.
This time, Damen had a plan.
Earlier, he discovered that having too many active Cores doesn't help him. Each new Core would dilute the effectiveness of the active ones.
With that in mind, Damen reconsidered his approach.
He realized he'd spread himself too thin before, learning too many meta skills and mastering none. From here on, he would reforge his power, focus on specialization, and bring his main cores into alignment and develop them— turning his diverse potential into something unstoppable.
"What can I help you with this time, God of War?" Lieutenant Kalmer teased, his voice echoing in the sterile lab.
Damen smiled faintly. "Actually, there is one thing. My fusion skills are too fragmented. I've been spreading my energy across too many elements. I want a more focused approach—something that amplifies my output through specialization."
Kalmer tilted his head, intrigued. "That's an interesting philosophy. I've never had anyone request less power before. How do you want to proceed?"
"I need a new fusion skill centered on a single element—electricity. If I concentrate all my upgrades, equipment, and medicines on one type, the amplification should multiply exponentially."
Kalmer's eyes lit up. "A focused elemental path… I like it. Give me a moment."
He turned to his console, working swiftly through layers of code and molecular design sequences.
Damen didn't bother him, he spent the time training on the simulators. When he was done, Kalmer returned, holding a small vial glowing with sharp blue arcs.