013 DAMN YOU ARE HANDSOME
Dorin approached like a nurse with a syringe, though the device in her hand was something stranger. Without asking or warning, she jabbed it into Damen's arm and triggered the injection.
"Ouch! What the hell was that?" Damen yelled, more in shock than pain.
"I implanted a chip into your blood stream," Dorin said matter-of-factly.
"It contains the instructions your body needs to develop a meta skill. With training and conditioning, you'll learn to use it," she added.
"A chip? What kind of chip? Are there side effects? How do I remove it later?" Damen demanded.
The idea seemed absurd….could a simple chip implant really grant superpowers?
"This chip is the result of years of research," Dorin explained. "It mobilizes the meta particles already inside a meta-human. Once its work is done, it dissolves into your body. There is nothing to remove."
Damen frowned but nodded.
"Meta skill grafting is one of humanity's greatest scientific triumph since Armageddon, when ordinary humans could be engineered to become super humans. It was the result of every great mind in the world who turned their mind from other pursuits to unlocking the mysteries of meta particles," Dorin explained.
Damen had no other questions.
She led him into a chamber where a cylindrical booth stood open. He stepped inside. The door sealed shut, and moments later, a radiant liquid cascaded in, rising until it covered his head.
"Dammit, I can't breathe!" Damen choked, thrashing.
Through an intercom, Dorin's calm voice reached him. "Breathe it in. The liquid is engineered to be breathable. It activates the chip, catalyzing the meta particles within you."
He froze, then instinct—or programming—took over.
The liquid forced its way into his nostrils and lungs. Panic flared, then faded. He wasn't drowning. The substance circulated through him like water coursing through gills, and as it cycled, it carried an electric rush through every nerve.
When it finally drained away, he stood drenched but alive, as if reborn.
"This… this is miraculous," he whispered.
It was like breathing inside a miracle.
An hour later the booth drained fully. Damen stumbled out, exhausted, dripping, but whole. After cleaning himself, he rejoined Dorin.
"So that's it?" he asked. "I've grafted the skill… Summon Shield?"
"Yes," she said, with a knowing smile. "But grafting is only the first step. Now, you must learn how to wield it."
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Damen still had a few hours left on his unlimited gym pass, and he wasn't about to waste them. He booked one of the specialized training rooms for Summon Shield practice.
There were no manuals, no instructions. The meta grafting had already etched the ability into his body. Now it was up to him to unlock it.
Without warning, a beam of light flared across the room and struck his chest.
"Ouch!" Damen cried, startled more than hurt.
The laser wasn't designed to injure—it was just a sting to force a reaction, to push the latent ability into action.
"Dammit, how do I even activate this bloody skill?" he muttered, bracing himself.
The barrage intensified.
Thin beams lanced out from every angle, peppering him relentlessly. Damen twisted, raised his arms, even imagined shields forming in his hands, but nothing appeared.
The same frustrating training persisted for hours. His frustration grew as he vented his frustration at every strike.
Then, mid-screaming and shouting hopelessly, something changed.
A translucent pane shimmered into existence before him—a glass-like barrier that absorbed the next beam with a dull flash.
He froze, staring. "Did I just…? Is that Summon Shield?" His lips curled into a grin of relief.
Outside the observation glass, Dorin watched with narrowed eyes.
"Unbelievable," she whispered. "Most recruits take months before meta powers manifesting even a flicker. And this boy does it in hours? Is he a Genius… or a cheat?"
She recorded the session, sending the footage straight to Director Ambrone before slipping away, leaving Damen to the training floor.
Inside, Damen was no longer fumbling.
With each hit, the shield surfaced faster and stronger. What began as a fragile sliver grew larger, thicker, harder. He laughed between impacts. It was exhilarating.
The Summon Shield was his now…and it was only getting stronger.
-----
Damen ended his session the following morning, having trained through the night. He refused to let the day pass go to waste.
Who knew when he'd have enough money to step into Heroes Gym again?
Damen eventually slipped out of the gym without saying goodbye to Dorin—her shift had ended hours ago and wasn't there anymore.
Exhaustion weighed on him, but his thoughts kept circling.
"I need more DemCoins… and Aurs. Money. Strength. A cheat mining program alone won't be enough."
As if answering his hunger, his phone buzzed. A notification lit the screen:
[You have enough coins for a system upgrade. Proceed? Y/N]
His heart kicked. "Finally. This is what I've been waiting for." He hit Yes without hesitation.
The app froze, reloaded, then installed a new version. Damen skimmed the menus, frowning. Nothing looked different.
Just then, a gym patron stepped outside.
On impulse, Damen targeted him with the mining app. The process began smoothly. Curious, Damen lingered at a distance, watching as the man walked off.
He tracked every step of his victim. Damen was testing the effective range of his mining targets.
50 meters…51 meters…52….
"How far will this reach?" he muttered with excitement.
The target crossed the street, passed another block… and only then did the connection collapse.
Damen's eyes lit up. "No way… my range jumped to over a hundred meters."
Excitement soured when he noticed his balance on his app. Almost all his DemCoins were gone.
"Damn it. The upgrade was great, but it ate everything again."
But discouragement never stuck to him long. He locked onto another gym-goer, mining him as he entered the building. With his new range, Damen slipped into a nearby café, ordered an iced coffee, and settled into a corner seat.
The mining connection didn't fade. Damen was mining his targets inside the gym while he was outside… in the café.
"Damn… I can do this mining like forever and there is no risk anyone finding out I was mining them", he told himself pleased.
The moment he sat, fatigue crashed over him. He hadn't slept all night. With his phone still in his hand, the link to his mining target still active, Damen drifted into slumber.
An hour passed.
"Hey, sir… you're sleeping here all night…we're closing soon, get a room in a motel next time… we don't offer beds here," a voice said suddenly, pulling Damen out of his sleep.
He blinked awake to see the waiter standing over him, obviously not too polite and ready to clear the place.
"Right… I'll get going," Damen muttered, rubbing his eyes as he stood.
At the door, he glanced back at the waiter and smirked. "Damn, you're handsome," he said casually, then walked out into the night.
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