115 MIND CORE ASSIMILATED
"Who the hell are you?" Damen asked, keeping his gaze deliberately away from Ralph's eyes.
He didn't want to risk being caught in recognition.
Ralph opened his mouth. "You… you are—Damen?" But the words faltered. The figure before him looked faintly familiar, yet almost unrecognizable.
Damen was more than a head taller, broader shoulder, and carried himself like someone from the upper echelons of society, dressed in tailored clothing and radiating an aura of wealth, not the ordinary working class.
There was no way his Damen… a pathetic malnourished miner could become.
"I'm sorry, sir," Yaris interjected, holding Ralph back. "My friend got the wrong person."
Damen said nothing. Replying to the common people wasn't the etiquette of the noble class.
He stepped into the elevator, the hum of the machinery swallowing him as it descended to the Space Rift level.
Outside the lift, Yaris turned to the officer guiding Damen. "Who… who was that?"
"That," the officer said, his voice measured, "is Damen Dark, owner of GenSyn Industry."
Yaris froze. Ralph's shout echoed behind them. "That's him—that bastard!"
"Calm down," Yaris said, gripping Ralph's arm. "It could be a coincidence. Maybe someone else with the same name. Our Damen could never become like… that."
Ralph's face twisted with disbelief and rage. "No, I'm sure it's him. That's our Damen!"
Yaris shook his head, firm but cautious. "Listen. If you see that man again, don't act rashly. One wrong move and you could be fired. People like him—wealthy, and powerful—they're not someone we can afford to offend."
He released Ralph's shoulder and gestured toward the path leading to the miner's bar. "Come on. Let's get out of here before the night ends badly."
Ralph glared after the elevator, muttering under his breath, but Yaris led him away, the tension of that encounter lingering like smoke in the air.
-----
Damen quickly pushed the encounter with Ralph from his mind.
They were people from different worlds now; there was no reason for their paths to cross again.
He exited the Space Rift and stepped onto the shifting sands of the Desert of Anu, where a vehicle awaited to carry him to Fortress Myrone.
Upon arrival, he was ushered into a large dining hall where Lord Nicaesa was already waiting.
"Damen, you have returned at last," Nicaesa said, rising slightly.
"Thank you, Uncle Nicaesa," Damen replied with a bow.
Though not actually related, Nicaesa had always considered Damen's father a brother, and thus Damen was regarded as his nephew.
"I was shocked when you asked me for that letter of support to purchase GenSyn Industry," Nicaesa said with a laugh. "Who would have guessed you actually went through with it?"
"My partners provided the capital," Damen clarified modestly.
Nicaesa leaned back in his chair, his eyes twinkling. "So, what brings you here? Surely, it's not just to see me?"
"I've wanted to return for some time, but there never seemed to be a good reason. I didn't want to disturb you unnecessarily," Damen said.
"Don't be silly," Nicaesa replied warmly. "I'll always have time for you."
Damen shifted gears. "I've come to purchase alien meta-materials. We need them at GenSyn."
"Oh, that…" Nicaesa waved a hand. "It's no problem. We have plenty here. But the alien assaults on the fortress are intensifying," he said, pausing with a heavy sigh.
"Frankly, I wonder how long we can hold out at this rate."
At that moment, Captain Green burst into the hall. "The bastards aren't delivering the weapons as promised! How are we supposed to fight the Annunakians without resources?"
"What's the matter?" Damen asked, stepping forward.
Green froze, then recognition hit. "Damen Dark! When did you arrive?" He moved to clap Damen on the shoulder.
Lord Nicaesa explained, "As you can see, our fortress is struggling. Supplies promised by the major families are slow, and often the amounts are far less than agreed. The aliens are likely testing our strength because they caught wind of our weakness."
"Who have you dealt with?" Damen asked.
"The Veyran, Zetheris, and Aukuoma… all of them are the same," Green complained.
Damen's eyes lit up. "Tell me what you need—I'll have it delivered."
"Are you serious?" Green asked incredulously.
"My partner is the heir of Aukuoma Industries," Damen said. "At least supplies from his side won't be delayed." He quickly called Zairgid, who promised to speak to his father to ensure timely delivery.
They stayed on to further discuss future cooperations.
-----
The next day, Damen arrived at the Training Center.
"How are you, Lieutenant Kalmer?" Damen greeted.
"Damen Dark!" Liutenant Kalmer was stunned before he came right down to business, "This is perfect timing. It's time to test your progress with your fusion skill," Kalmer said, leading him to a new simulator.
"Didn't I test with the simulator before, I've completed all the programs", Damen said.
"This one is different," Kalmer explained. "It's designed specifically for fusion skill users—stronger, more demanding than any standard simulator. It's built for fusion skills."
Damen nodded, his anticipation building. He already felt that the simulator at home wasn't enough to push him further. Today he would test the limits of what he could do.
-----
The new simulator was enormous — at least ten times the size of the previous one. Damen stared at the vast chamber, wondering why anyone needed a training simulator this big.
Then, the sky above him split open.
A meteor came crashing down.
"Damnit, a meteor strike?" Damen dove aside just as it smashed into the ground, fire and debris scattering in every direction.
Before he could recover, more meteors began to fall — huge, blazing masses that covered nearly the entire field. It was impossible to dodge them all.
"Arghhh!"
One struck near him, the shockwave slamming him to the ground. The crushing force pressed against his armor, almost real enough to kill.
"This machine's insane," he thought through clenched teeth. "If I didn't have armor, I'd be paste."
The simulation reset.
Another barrage of meteors was released. The same crushing weight fell. Again, there was no escape.
Over the intercom, Lieutenant Kalmer's voice echoed with laughter. "Damen, you won't break this machine's record so easily. We built this simulator with alien core tech — the most powerful we've ever acquired."
Damen wiped the sweat from his brow. So, this was Fortress Myrone's top training facility. No wonder they made it so brutal.
Real battle demanded it. The soldiers needed this kind of training to survive on the battlefield.
Still… he needed a way out.
"How the hell do I dodge this? If only my app had something useful—"
A message suddenly flashed before his eyes:
"Congratulations, Mind Core Assimilation Activated."