116 LIGHTNING COLLAPSE
"New Feature Unlocked: Autonomous Combat."
Damen blinked. "Mind Core… that's the thing I absorbed when I freed Kail from the Nightmare Machine…"
But ever since that time the Mind Core didn't activate any new function for him- until now. Perhaps it was because he never faced threats strong enough for its activation or simply because he recently updated his software.
Mind Core activates only on the new version.
Damen focused on the prompt.
Autonomous Combat: Toggle On.
In an instant, his body moved on its own.
Damen shot upward, streaking through the air. His movements blurred in a series of flash dashes that wove effortlessly between the falling meteors.
Every impact missed him by inches.
"Holy hell… this is amazing! My body is reacting on its own," he shouted, exhilarated.
From the control room, Kalmer's laughter faltered. "No way… we spent so much time developing this simulator. Don't tell me you're about to break its record already?"
Soon, Damen cleared Level 1 of the simulator. The screen flashed red, and without pause, Level 2 began.
From the very start, two meteors came plummeting toward him — one stacked directly over the other, doubling the impact zone.
Damen didn't even think.
His body moved on its own, twisting through the air as the twin meteors smashed into the ground beneath him.
"I'm starting to get a hang of this Autonomous Combat," he thought, landing lightly on the scorched terrain.
The system didn't take control the way an AI might. It wasn't replacing him. Instead, it enhanced him — sensing threats, predicting trajectories, and executing what he would have done if he had perfect awareness.
It was his mind in control of his actions although perfected by the Mind Core.
"This is a major cheat," he muttered with a grin. "Almost like the Rewind skill of the Black Cockerel Assassin."
The challenges intensified with each level — heavier bombardments, unpredictable meteor patterns, shifting gravity. Damen pushed through all of it, working in perfect rhythm with the Autonomous Combat function.
He stayed on the simulator for two straight days, eating and sleeping beside the machine. Every hour, he grew faster, sharper, and more attuned.
By the end of the second day, the new ability had become instinct — a seamless extension of himself.
Damen had mastered Autonomous Combat.
-----
The training room fell silent as Damen finally stepped away.
He'd pushed the simulator to its limit — and beaten it.
Lieutenant Kalmer wasn't unhappy. The data from Damen's runs would be priceless for improving the machine and in training the soldiers.
Damen went to Lord Nicaesa's office. Captain Green was already there.
"Damen, your contact from the Aukuoma family kept their word," Captain Green said. "We received a full shipment of equipment — and more."
"Finally," Damen breathed.
The planned shipment from Aukouma Industry was delayed and he's already contacted Zairgid about it. The hold-up wasn't Zolan Aukuoma's doing; it was Arom's.
Arom had been colluding with other house leaders, trying to squeeze the fortress for more concessions.
Zairgid arrived then, approaching Lord Nicaesa.
"Buddy, why are you here?" Damen asked when he saw him.
"I came to deliver the shipment myself in case my uncle stalled it again." Zairgid bowed to Lord Nicaesa and explained the cause of the delay.
When Zairgid finished, Lord Nicaesa slammed his fist on the table. "Those greedy oligarchs — how dare they stall our supplies while our men risk their lives holding the space rift safe?"
"They're trying to squeeze more out of you," Damen said.
"We've always traded fairly with the major families…. We never held back supplies", Captain Green said.
"Its all about profit. Those people are not contented with what they could get from you", Zairgid added.
Nicaesa's face darkened. "If I get back to Melrose City, I'll flatten those houses."
"Cool down, Uncle Nicaesa," Damen said. "There's a better way to get revenge and secure steady supplies."
Nicaesa's eyes narrowed. "What way?"
Damen looked at Zairgid and he understood.
"You consign all your alien artifacts recovered from the battlefield exclusively to us," Zairgid proposed. "With our Aukuoma Auction, we can secure top prices for those artifacts. If nobody else has the supply, our auction will fetch a premium."
"With the money from the auction, you can set up production facilities for all your supplies and guarantee your future procurement," Damen added.
Nicaesa looked skeptical, then slowly nodded. "But we are fighters not industrialists?"
"With Aukuoma Industry and our help, yes we can do it," Damen's voice was steady.
"All right," Nicaesa said at last. "That'll teach those bastards a lesson. But we won't rush this— we'll plan this properly."
Zairgid stayed for the negotiations.
With his father's backing, the Aukuoma family could sidestep the other families and build a near-monopoly on alien salvage while Fortress Myrone gets a steady supply of resources at higher prices.
It was a Win-Win situation.
Damen returned to his training.
-----
"I've designed two new fusion meta skill according to your request," Lieutenant Kalmer said, pulling up the holo-display. "The first combines physical strikes with a kinetic crushing effect, similar to your Momentum Collapse, but adds an electric charge to amplify impact. The second combines physical strikes with powerful sonic wave."
"That sounds perfect. Can you inject the meta chips now?" Damen asked eagerly.
Kalmer frowned slightly. "I'm curious, though — your meta rank is only D. Will your power output be enough to execute something this advanced?"
Damen smiled. "When I left here, I was Rank E. Now I'm Rank D. My power keeps climbing. As I get older, I'll need stronger meta skills to match."
Kalmer nodded, impressed. "At this rate, you could hit Rank A before you even reach your peak or maybe higher."
He prepped the injector and pressed it against Damen's neck. The chips hissed as it fused with his system.
Moments later, Damen was back inside the Fusion Meta Simulator.
The parameters had changed — this time, the goal wasn't evasion.
It was offense.
A dozen smaller meteors descended from the sky.
With the precision of Autonomous Combat, Damen dashed forward, his body flashing between trajectories. His first strike smashed through a meteor, releasing a pulse of kinetic energy that rippled outward — shattering several more in its path.
The room thundered. The air trembled.
Each swing felt heavier, sharper and alive with force.
"That's incredible," Kalmer said from the control booth. "If all our soldiers could fight like that, we'd never fear the Annunakin again."
Captain Green entered the room with his arms folded. "Not everyone's built like him."
Kalmer turned. "What do you mean?"
Green leaned closer and whispered, "His father — Lord Nicaesa's old comrade is the legendary defender of Myrone. Superhero Black."
Kalmer blinked. "You're saying his father was Black? No wonder his growth's off the charts — it's in his blood."
Inside the simulator, Damen kept pushing.
His strikes began syncing — the Momentum Collapse and the new electric discharge merging together at last.
Next, a soundwave tore through the virtual sky, breaking clear the lightning veins spreading across the storm clouds. Each hit detonated with crushing force, reducing the meteors to plasma and dust.
When the simulation ended, Damen stood breathing heavily amid the sparks.
"So, these are my new improved meta," he said with a grin. "I'll call the first Thunder Crush and the second Sonic Smash."
Before Kalmer or Green could respond, alarms wailed through the fortress.
The walls flashed red.
"Invasion alert," the PA blared. "Intruders approaching from Rift Zone Delta."
Damen cracked his knuckles, his eyes burning.
"Damnit," he muttered. "It's about bloody time."