Returning to his private quarters, Damien placed the stygian-tinted briefcase over a wooden desk and unfastened his red tie. He flopped onto the bed and took a deep breath. The physical training combined with the practical training was exhausting and cumbersome.
Francine made sure that his body would experience extreme pressure to stimulate growth. He didn't question her methods since they hadn't failed him. He continued to grow stronger under her and was probably almost a dozen times better than his recent awakened state.
'It shouldn't take long before I can stand for myself in this world. Unless I confront a Paragon, I should be capable of surviving without much of a problem.' Paragons weren't vegetables that were available throughout the market.
They were the rarest and strongest of the Jaegers, the summit of what metahumans could be. The possibility of meeting them in the wilderness was low. After all, there were only seven of them within North America.
Damien glanced at the briefcase resting over the wooden desk and recalled his last moments in the laboratory of Doctor Krieger. He accepted her demand to experiment on him, but it was at a certain price.
For each experiment, she needed to build something for him, whether it'd be a weapon, a gadget, or anything experimental at best. Under this requirement, he ordered a fedora that was capable of suppressing his aetheric signature.
As an Aberrant, in the eyes of experts and powerhouses, his body was a lighthouse amidst the foggy night. It was a torch that attracted them. Because of his body, it was easy for Paragons to find him.
The proofs were the seventh Paragon, Alastair Glass, and the sixth Paragon, Dante Espada. Even within a vast cityscape, those two could find him as though he were merely standing in front of them.
It irked him since he'd rather avoid a confrontation.
With the suppressing fedora, he could bury his aetheric signature in the same frequency as the background. Of course, the question remains whether Doctor Krieger could build such a thing. But he trusted her.
She was the creator and inventor of the Armament. Only she could build such weapons for the SIGIL. There wasn't even an industry that pertained to the technology. It wasn't only a powerful weapon. It was also a status and a symbol for the Jaegers of SIGIL.
'Half a month, huh?' He wondered if she was arrogant or merely confident of her work. After all, the creation of such a gadget would require theoretical and practical engineering. However, as said before.
He trusted her capabilities and reputation.
Looking away from the briefcase, Damien couldn't help but feel an itch to test it. He wanted to feel the weapon for himself before testing it on a battlefield, but he could do that tomorrow instead. After all, he needed to arrange a schedule for the management office.
'Bureaucracy...' He inwardly clicked his tongue since it wasn't as straightforward as he wanted it to be. That said, such was the world of adults. There was an unnecessary complication everywhere.
"Makina," He muttered to himself as a drone escaped the cabinet and hovered above him. A monotone and mechanical voice escaped from its tiny speaker. *Master, unit awaits your command.*
Staring at the drone hovering over his head, he commanded his mechanical monster. "I brought a weapon with me from the research department division of SIGIL, the Crucible. Can you check it out?"
The crimson cameras of the hovering drone looked at him for a moment and glanced at the briefcase lounging over the wooden desk. It flew towards it, scanning the Armament from the bottom to the top over and over again.
*Scanning Briefcase. Unknown weaponry detected!*
The hovering drone turned towards him and reported. *The briefcase contains a peculiar synthetic technology. It seems to be capable of absorbing the exotic matter that is the foundation of the Master's body.*
*It also holds an unknown technology that is far beyond the Akashic Records.* Hearing the monotone voice of the drone, Damien raised his eyebrows and questioned. "Akashic Records?" He wondered what it meant.
*Akashic Records is the library where the combined knowledge of the creator's species is stored. It is a vital memory for artificial intelligence, ensuring they remain knowledgeable of the universe without false constructs and bias.*
The more he heard about it, the more his gaze widened. Futuristic technology was the only thing that emerged from his mind. "Can you construct these technologies for me?"
*Unfortunately, the utilization of the Akashic Records is beyond the current means of this body. The unit is a weapon, not a constructor or a worker drone. Apologies, Master.*
Damien sighed in disappointment, but understood that it wouldn't be as easy as he wanted. Perhaps he needed to evolve the Scorpion Tank further and unlock a better form for it. "Alright, thank you for answering."
The crimson camera of the drone flickered for a moment as its body wobbled up and down before it returned to the wooden cabinet. The black-suited young man could only awkwardly meet the silence and stare at the ceiling tinted with ivory.
His summoned monsters were much more intelligent than before. Especially the three two-star summoned monsters. Fafnir was prideful, Makina was a helpful artificial intelligence, and Eclipse was an eccentric monster.
But he was pleased since he didn't want his monsters to have no brains. More minds were better than one. There was a limit to how much he could strategize. There was a reason why commanders had adjutants near them. Opinions outside your psyche could provide insight.
Before he could continue with his thoughts, someone knocked on the front door of his private quarters. He stared at it for a second before replying calmly. "Come in, Francine."
Immediately, a gorgeous lady entered his room and gazed at him, relaxing on the comfortable bed. The edges of her crimson, plump lips curved into a gentle smile as she remarked. "Did you enjoy your time in the Crucible?"
Damien glanced at her and took a deep breath. "That research department is full of sharks. I feel like a fish surrounded by a group of predators. No wonder they rarely left that sterilized place."
Discerning his grievances and annoyance, Francine chuckled while turning her attention towards the briefcase. "The doctor must have given you a gift. What price did you pay for it?"
As the colleague of Doctor Krieger, she wasn't ignorant of the doctor's quirks and personality. That girl would never gift something without a price. It doesn't matter if the higher-ups ordered her to do so.
"I'd rather not talk about the price. There's no need for your assistance, Francine. I can handle it." He had chosen to accept the doctor's demand. It was his price to pay, so he didn't want to rely on his senior.
Francine sighed to herself and feigned an expression of sorrow. "How could this be. The junior who always follows me everywhere has already grown up. Is it truly time?"
Damien's face broke apart, wondering what he had done to deserve this. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and maintained his calm before questioning the beautiful lady in front of him. He decided to go straight to the point.
"Do you have orders, Francine?"