Chapter 42: Chapter 42
The smile never left Damien’s face, but the one on Lucien’s faded away in an instant.
The atmosphere around them grew noticeably quieter as several nearby survivors pretended not to listen, though their lack of speech already told that they were listening.
Damien seemed amused, "Let’s talk somewhere more private."
Lucien didn’t object and followed him together with Evelyn, while Kaelan remained outside.
The three of them moved deeper into the shopping mall before going on an elevator which only stopped after reaching upto the fourth floor.
Most of the stores here had been repurposed, some acting as storage rooms while others housed survivors and families of awakened individuals.
This is... their base?
He couldn’t have thought of using a mall as a base in his wildest dreams and yet, the man before him had not only thought but had also achieved that.
That too while being so weak individually.
It was obviously related to his talent, Influencer.
Damien’s office turned out to be an old clothing store in which the shelves had been removed, replaced with tables covered in maps, handwritten notes, and other things.
Simple and organized.
Lucien silently observed the office while Damien sat behind a desk.
Evelyn occupied a nearby chair.
"First things first," Damien began. "I assume you don’t know much about the current situation since you recently moved out of your apartment complex."
Lucien nodded, though he was slightly confused.
The Black Water had receded recently, what did he mean by his sentence? People were able to get information even when the flood hadn’t vanished?
Damien walked over to one of the maps hanging on the wall.
"Let me start from the very basics, the city itself. It is currently divided into three major regions."
His finger moved across the map.
"The north and east are controlled by the Golden Order."
Then he pointed elsewhere on it. "The west belongs to New Dawn."
And finally, his finger settled on the southern district.
"And we’re here."
Evelyn frowned.
"The only territory you people control?"
"Yes and no."
Damien folded his arms.
"We aren’t strong enough to control the entirety of South, and neither is any other group."
"And why’s that?" Evelyn asked.
"After the Black Water had disappeared, most mutated creatures ended up gathering here, in the southern portion of the city because of the huge territory control of the two factions. To be precise, this area has become a buffer zone."
He tapped the map.
"We’re lucky. This shopping mall sits near the edge of the southern district and not in the center. Because the further inward you travel, the more dangerous it becomes due to the huge amount of creatures lurking there."
"You’ve already seen some of them on the way here."
Lucien recalled the mutated dogs they had encountered earlier. Probably Kaelan had told him about it.
"So that’s why there aren’t many people in this area." Evelyn nodded.
Damien smiled.
"Most people who go too far don’t come back, and even the ones near are devoured by creatures who roams around the edge of the city."
Silence settled briefly which only broke after Lucien spoke. "What’s New Dawn, are they also like the... Golden Order?"
Damien looked mildly surprised. He returned to his desk and explained calmly.
"New Dawn is a faction primarily composed of Spirit Beasts, ones blessed by the magical energy that allowed us to awaken ourselves. At least that’s what I know."
"Spirit Beasts?"
Evelyn immediately frowned.
"Creatures can become intelligent enough to make territories?"
"Some of them do."
Damien nodded.
"They retain their instincts but gain intelligence comparable to humans. Some can communicate, negotiate, and even lead the others of their kind."
Lucien immediately thought of the Sky Roc which he had encountered.
The giant bird had clearly possessed intelligence far beyond an ordinary beast as it had tried to attack them when they were distracted with each other.
But he remained silent, deciding not to tell about it.
"And the Golden Order?" he asked instead, and a knowing smile appeared on Damien’s face.
He leaned back against his chair, exhaustion and resignation apparent on his face.
"The Golden Order is the group ruled by thirteen individuals who proclaim themselves as the Kings."
Evelyn straightened slightly as Damien continued.
"The strongest six are called higher-ranked kings, while the remaining seven are termed as the lower-ranked kings."
"What about the King of the Wind?"
Damien nodded.
"Roman, he ranks eleventh among the thirteen of them."
The room fell silent.
Not only Lucien, but even Evelyn looked stunned.
Ranked eleventh, not tenth or ninth.
That meant there were exactly ten people above him whose capabilities surpassed even his.
Lucien remembered the overwhelming pressure Roman had radiated despite being heavily injured, not to mention the berserk talent that had almost guaranteed his death.
If that man was only ranked eleventh... then what exactly did the people above him possess?
Damien seemed to understand what they were thinking.
"The Golden Order isn’t weak, and neither is the New Dawn."
"Both sides possess enough power to completely overwhelm settlements like ours in a matter of minutes if they used their full force."
Evelyn released a slow breath. "Then why haven’t they?"
Damien’s expression became slightly more serious.
"Because they’re busy."
"Busy with what?"
"Don’t tell me you didn’t even think about why they were trying to conquer land and expand territories?" The words made both of them realize they had overlooked the main question of the matter.
And Damien answered without being asked, "It’s due to the Mystic Realms."
The unfamiliar term made both Lucien and Evelyn look toward him.
Damien pointed toward the map once more.
"Blessed Lands are regions overflowing with the mystical energy that awakened us, which allows resources to grow faster there and mutated plants to become stronger."
"Even the fruits from trees that grow there can be used to awaken. They are called spiritual fruits, and last but not least important thing. Simply living inside one allows cultivation to progress faster."
Lucien’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Spiritual fruits?
Now things were starting to make sense, and so were the rewards too, at least some of them.
"Right now, the Golden Order controls six of those Mystic Lands whereas the New Dawn controls three."
Evelyn’s eyes widened slightly.
"Nine?"
Damien nodded.
"At least nine that we know of for now."
His finger traced several unexplored sections of the map.
"But nobody knows how many more exist as large portions of the city remain unexplored, south to be precise."
"Mutated creatures occupy entire districts here and every faction wants more territory because every new district might hide another Mystic Land."
For the first time since entering the room, Lucien had finally understood the bigger picture.
The factions weren’t fighting over land, they were fighting over growth and resources.
Damien watched the realization settle in, and then he smiled.
"Now you understand why surviving Roman caught my attention, but at the same time, it isn’t too big of an achievement as he’s only ranked eleventh."
"Not to mention you only survived, not defeated him."
Lucien remained silent.
"Both factions are expanding every day and somehow..."
His gaze settled firmly on Lucien.
"We are stuck in the middle of this."
