1088 Try Harder!



For a moment, Varian felt a sense of absurdity.

Just this barren spaceport at nowhere had so many high awakeners. What about a well-populated city in the Duchy?

He gulped at the thought and clenched his fist. 

The ruler part of him feared the implications it carried for the human race while the battle-junkie part of him salivated at the opportunity to fight to oblivion without having to worry about opponents running out. 

Varian lowered his head and chucked. To the onlookers, he seemed like a madman.

"Stop embarrassing me, you dimwit. Shut that smile." Ajac gave Varian a derisive glance as they stopped in front of a simple glass building.

Many people were eating inside, enjoying all sorts of foods. Some smells were appetizing while others were plain revolting.

"Eat as much as you want, the more you spend, the more interest I'll get." Ajac slammed the table and asked them to order.

"Thank you." The captain said and picked up the menu with trembling hands.

He thought he was going to die. Having a second chance to live, even a simple meal felt like a blessing. 'I…I'm really alive. This isn't an illusion before death.'

Ash had his head lowered since Ajac introduced himself. The young man rubbed his palms from time to time and exhaled deeply.

He's just a level 7. Too weak to matter. If he really pissed off this guard, not only him, even his uncle would be in danger.

"A set meal for three…"

"Two. I'm not hungry, thank you." Varian waved his hand.

"Only one. I just want a drink." Ash muttered in a low voice.

"Think you can steal my money like that? I thought of giving you a loan for 5% interest. It's 10% now." Ajac snorted.

"Sorry, but I'll pay it back." The captain bent his head and apologized.

"Per hour."

"Huh?"

"10% per hour."

"What do you—"

"11%."

The captain shut his mouth and nodded weakly.

The people around heard their talk and merely sneered in contempt, without the slightest interest in intervening.

Varian noticed that most of these people were on good terms with the guards and were dining with them.

Since common people wouldn't travel through this spaceport, all of them should be merchants. For some reason, all of these merchants had a lot of blood on their hands.

'None of them are normal.' Varian exhaled deeply. He could guess what they were even with his feet.

There's a widespread drug problem in the Duchy. And this shady spaceport with shadier merchants. What else would they be transporting? Of course, it's drugs.

"How's the new boss?

"Too righteous. He refused all gifts. Tch. But he doesn't need to know anything."

"What should happen will happen, with or without him."

The conversation between a merchant and a seemingly superior soldier made Varian vary. If these people didn't even give a flying fuck about their own boss, then how deep was the rot?

"The quality is as good as ever, but why is the stock down?"

"The good for nothings died. We need fresh batches. But we can't abduct entire cities, can we?"

"If you offer some potent stuff, they'll come themselves!"

"Hahahaha!"

"But seriously, if you have places where we can get some free labor, tip us off. I'll pay you well. We're old buddies."

"That we are."

Varian took a breath and calmed down. Some things were deeply fucked here. Drugs, slavery, abuse, corruption. He didn't want to stay here and risk reacting to things. He just wanted to get out now.

Slurp!

"Haa! Thanks for the meal." The captain rubbed his stomach in satisfaction and turned to Varian. "So, where are you going?"

Varian didn't know any place. So, he answered with the next best thing.

"…I'm looking for some materials, do you have any recommendations for a good commercial area?"

"Materials, hm." The captain rubbed his chin and said after giving it some thought. "Ubiq. Very famous. Almost all major brands have a store there. Even the legendary Infinity Enterprises has a store there."

Varian clasped his fingers and rested his chin on them.

When the captain uttered 'Infinity Enterprises', the hall fell silent for a moment before continuing on with their conversation. But some gazes turned to them from time to time, mostly curious but enough greedy.

'Even taking their names in public has this effect, eh.' Varian was relieved. If they were that famous, they'd surely have all the materials he wanted.

"If you don't mind, we'll drop you off at Ubiq. I and this boy are going to a nearby planet anyway." The captain offered and Varian didn't refuse.

"Then let's go." Ajac stood up from his seat and rubbed his hands in anticipation of the big sale. He did give a regretful look toward Varian, sad about missing out on ripping off this seemingly rich guy.

They returned to the spaceship and were about to start off when a red light rang out of nowhere.

A dozen armed soldiers rushed in and surrounded the spaceship.

The space was closed off and other lights went out, leaving only the dim but disturbing red light.

Under that situation, from the entrance, heavy footsteps rang.

A humanoid male, taller than others, significantly burlier with a blunt horn on his forehead stared at the spaceship with an indifferent gaze.

Adorned in a smooth white armor that screamed luxury, he seemed to be way higher up in the hierarchy than everyone else.

Varian saw a few Sovereigns in the cafeteria. They all seemed to be officers—like leaders of their squads than foot soldiers. But none of them carried so much flair and aura.

"Black hair and black eyes with two losers, yep, that's you, come out." The burly figure said in a voice that tolerated no rejection.

Varian was pissed at the way of address. But he took a glance at the two in the spaceship and decided to get out of the ship first.

But Ajac beat him to it and asked his direct superior. "C-Captain Andrew, why are you—"

Andrew waved him off. "It's the chief's orders."

Ajac's eyes widened and stepped away.

Varian moved out with a relaxed expression.

"Hm, a rank 1, huh. No wonder you were so arrogant." Captain Andrew's expressionless face twisted into anger. "But."

The air grew heavy all of a sudden and tremendous pressure struck everyone in the place.

The soldiers collapsed without any resistance and the spaceship itself started to break apart.

"There is always a bigger mountain. A mere newbie of rank 1, you think you can be defiant towards the future leader of Havoc? I'll make something clear to you today, there's a world of difference between a newbie and a veteran."

Varian opened his mouth in mock shock. "Y-You are acting against me because of a pirate, you colluded with them? B-But you are the security agency! You're supposed to fight the evil, not join them!"

Andrew was surprised before he burst into laughter. "Welcome to society. And farewell. For what you did, I'll be taking your head."

Saying so, the man stepped on the ground and left a deep footprint before he flashed forward.

In everyone else's vision, he just disappeared from his place and appeared in front of Varian, leaving a trail of glowing starlight.

A wave of intangible power pulsed from Varian and swept the area.

Everyone present felt something passing through them like a ghost passing through walls. Their bodies grew cold and they shivered.

Coming to their senses, they turned to Captain Andrew and that young man to see what happened.

And gasped.

Varian stood in place, just like he did earlier, not even a wrinkle on his exotic clothes.

Captain Andrew was right in front of him, his powerful fist stopped by a…little finger.

"Y-You!" Andrew's face paled.

'This can't be happening…'

He gnashed his teeth and tried to push his fist forward against that little finger. But no matter how much force he put, that little finger remained still. As he struggled like a bug stuck under a boot, he felt a hand over his head.

Shivering like he was left naked in the snow, the officer raised his head and looked at the young man's face.

Varian cheered with a grin. "Come on, you can do it! Try harder, bud!"

Plop!

Officer Andrew collapsed onto his knees.