The next day,
Lucien and Seraphina were on their way to the command center.
"Now, Sera, tell me about your awakened power," asked Lucien.
"I've awakened the power of light. When I woke up after drinking the serum yesterday, I didn't feel anything special. I just felt lighter than usual."
Later at night, I suddenly woke up because I felt changes in my body. I saw light surrounding me, illuminating the whole room.
Currently, I can only use light to illuminate, and my body is enhanced to be faster, with a slight strength increase. That's it," Sera finished her explanation.
"I see. Sera, we have to hide our true powers from the army. Only tell them that you have agility enhancement. Most people awaken body enhancements, so they won't give it too much thought. I'll do the same."
"But Lucy, what's your power?"
"I've awakened darkness. And… a little gift from my father."
"Gift?"
"Don't worry. You'll know," Lucien smirked.
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
After reaching the training ground, Instructor Remon gathered them together.
"You brats, you have become true soldiers of the Retribution Army. There are two more ranks you can reach—the Captain and the Commander rank. When you reach Commander, you can serve the great Ronan himself.
I too, as a soldier, dream to reach Captain one day," Remon said with a dreamy look.
Just another dose of brainwashing, Lucien thought.
Becoming a Captain means becoming a Gene Adept, which stops almost 90 percent of people. Let alone becoming a Commander, who are handpicked, brainwashed, and trained to become peak Gene Adepts.
Remon continued,
"Now you will be assigned duties. Yes, we are skipping testing because we're understaffed, and the island has many areas to patrol. Report your powers and go to your respective positions."
Lucien's eyes sharpened as he listened.
Remon announced teams of two. Lucien was paired with a lanky guy named Valen and assigned to guard duty at the lab. Their shift was from 9 AM to 9 PM.
Luckily, Sera was paired with Arden.
Lucien met up with them and learned they were assigned at the main camp walls, with the same shift timings.
As they went to their respective positions, Lucien said to Arden,
"Please take care of her. She can be a handful."
Arden nodded and walked away with the pouting Sera.
Lucien and Valen reached the lab entrance, which led underground.
They showed their IDs to the guards, who explained their duties and went inside.
Lucien and Valen stood quietly side by side, doing nothing.
Or at least, it seemed that way.
Lucien opened the system.
"System, open Skills."
[ Skills –
Bloodline Skills –
Devil Transformation (Partial) – Transform into devil form, gaining high defense, sharp claws, enhanced stats, and devil aura.
Contract (Tier 1) – Allows you to make contracts with other beings.
Active Skills –
Inspect (Tier 1) – Allows the user to observe and analyze targets, revealing key information such as name, species, level, stats, and overall condition. The amount and accuracy of information depend on the skill's level and the difference in strength between the user and the target.
Passive Skills –
None ]
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
"What are these tiers in front of the skills?"
[ Tier 1 skills are equivalent to Gene Initiate. Tier 2 equals Gene Adept, and so on. Bloodline skills do not have tiers. They improve with mastery and repetition. ]
"System, why is there a 'Partial' tag on my transformation skill? And how can I remove it?"
[ There is a partial tag because you have only partially awakened your bloodline. You can make it whole by—BEEP. Please complete Goal 1 of the main quest first. ]
Lucien sighed.
"I'll check Inspect first."
He looked at Valen and used the skill.
[ Name – Valen
Species – Human
Age – 20 years
Aptitude – ERROR
Affinity – Fire
Affiliation – Retribution Army ]
[ Host needs to become more powerful to gain more detailed information. ]
"I see. This is handy. His aptitude is ERROR… is it the same as mine or just not recorded in your database?"
[ Not recorded ]
He opened the shop next.
[ Medusa Potion
Rat Bile
Destroyer Lance… ]
The system displayed a long list of supplies.
"System, what's the currency of exchange?"
[ You can buy items using Points. You currently have 100 points. You gain points by completing quests and killing creatures. ]
"No daily tasks?" Lucien mused.
[ The system can't afford to give daily rewards. ]
Lucien felt flabbergasted at the straightforward reply.
It was as if he could hear his father's phantom laughing at him from far away.
Three weeks passed without much drama.
But there was a problem.
Most of my time is spent patrolling. I haven't even had enough time to train my affinity except for snuffing out some candles. I can't slack off either, or it'll be bad if I get caught, Lucien thought.
Sigh… I can't take over the island this way. I need to do something.
Suddenly—
The gates of the lab exploded from inside.
Lucien and Valen were flung away.
Lucien lost his bearings for a moment. As he regained his senses, shouts echoed nearby.
"Catch the thief!"
"How dare he steal from the Retribution Army!"
But the thief didn't escape.
Instead, more of his supporters emerged and began killing the researchers.
"Wh-What? Which bastard stole my idea of revolution?!" Lucien shouted inwardly as he watched the chaos.
The pursuers noticed him and rushed to kill him too, but he dashed into the lab.
The chase began.
Lucien ran down the stairs at full speed, not even looking back. There were too many of them, and they clearly held a deep grudge against the Retribution Army.
He reached the fifth and final floor, panting.
The floor was on fire. Pods and equipment were in ruins.
Footsteps echoed from above.
About thirty people rushed in.
"Kill the guard," said a man, signaling someone forward.
Lucien's mind raced.
Now how should I go about this?
Just as he was about to be attacked, he caught sight of someone familiar.
"Wait—Valen!" he shouted.
Valen frowned.
"You know the boy?" asked the leader.
"Batchmate," Valen replied.
Before the leader could speak, Lucien quickly said,
"Join me."
"What?"
"Are you in your right mind, kid? Why would we join the Retribution Army?"
"No. I'm only here as a cover. In truth, I want to take over this island."
The group burst into laughter.
Except Valen… and the leader.
"And how will you do that? Alone?" the leader asked.
The laughter faded.
"No. I'll do it with subordinates, training… and a little help."
"Oi, are you delusional?" someone sneered.
The leader raised his hand, silencing them, and stared into Lucien's eyes.
"Prove it. Take us out of here."
The group erupted in protest.
"Boss, why do we need a brat?"
"We can escape through the forest!"
"Let's just kill him!"
Lucien laughed.
"Escape? Do you think the Retribution Army will just let you leave? By now, they're probably blockading the entrance. But I can help you escape."
"How?" the leader asked coldly.
"I'll get lab uniforms from the fourth floor. I stole a master key from a researcher a few days ago.
I'll disguise some of you as staff and the rest as experiments in cages. Then I'll divert the soldiers so most of them go underground.
Meanwhile, you kill a few soldiers and escape through the weakened blockade using the jungle route."
"Or we take the key from you," someone said maliciously.
"No," Lucien smiled.
"Because I also have this."
He revealed a timed bomb which he bought from the shop for 50 points.
"But I won't need it," he added, tossing it onto the floor.
The leader was a little shaken at the sight of bomb being tossed like a tennis ball, but asked,
"Why?"
"Because I can defeat all of you."
Lucien relaxed completely, smiling confidently.
He had already inspected them—none were Gene Adepts, nor were there any A-rank or above Initiates. If it came to it, he could defeat them all using Devil Transformation.
After a pause, the leader asked,
"Can you really help us escape? Saying and doing are two different things."
"Of course. But I have one condition—you become my subordinates. After all, this island will be the beginning of my empire."
Silence.
The leader's gaze hardened.
"…Okay," the leader said.
"His plan is valid. Let's do it. Besides, he has the bomb."
Though dissatisfied, the others agreed. They had to follow their leader after all.
Lucien spoke clearly,
"My condition: I help you escape safely.
Your condition: you become my subordinates.
Do you all agree? I want a YES or NO."
"Yes," they all replied.
For a split second, a screen appeared in front of them.
But before they could react—
The lab shook violently as debris began falling.
[ Emergency Quest – Save the Rebels ]
Lucien's eyes widened.
A grin spread across his face.
He picked up the bomb, set a 5-minute timer, and shouted,
"Follow me!"
He sprinted upstairs.
The others stared at the ticking bomb in horror.
"Madman!"
Yet they followed.
Lucien laughed wildly as he ran.
Here we go… hahaha.