"Nice, a total of 35 treasures! That's much more than I was expecting to get down here."
Damien nodded in satisfaction while tossing the 35th treasure into storage with the rest.
'This subterranean vein has been cleared, but I only traveled in a straight line for a few thousand kilometers. I should've made it around halfway through the realm in distance, but nowhere near that in the actual area covered.'
35 treasures in a single vein was a great harvest, but it also meant that other similar veins would have plenty of treasures as well.
When Damien was mapping the realm, his All-Seeing Eyes saw the subterranean tunnels as a massively interconnected system, but his experience showed differently.
'That can only mean there are powerful illusory walls that I can't see through unless I actively use the All-Seeing Eyes. If I can uncover the fakes and make use of the entire hidden system, I can gain an absolute advantage against the competition.'
Damien was only able to take a single step forward before—
BOOOOOOM!
—the ceiling collapsed inward, revealing tens of meters of the subterranean tunnel to the world above.
Damien looked up into the open air with intrigue, tilting his head when nothing else happened.
"Aha, are you perhaps scared?" He commented, shaking his head lightly as he pressed off the ground and leaped out of the tunnel and onto the solid ground of the surface.
"I knew I'd get ganged up on, but I didn't expect it to happen on day one! Let's see… there are thirty of you? Mm, I guess five of those elders outside are respectable people."
A smile lit up his face as he felt the slight twitches of alarm that came from the surroundings.
"I bet you're wondering, 'How did he find us?!' or maybe even, 'he must be bluffing,' but I assure you I'm not. Want proof? Then…"
Bang!
Damien flicked his finger, forcing space to implode in an empty area around 10 meters away.
"Keuk! You…!"
A man was thrown out of the empty air, slightly roughed up by the previous attack. He immediately spat a few words of grievance before making distance and warily watching Damien's movements.
"I think that guy was the second best among you in terms of concealment techniques, so the rest of you have no chance. Just come out and fight me all together."
Damien's originally ineffective taunts became super effective as if he had a type advantage. 27 geniuses joined the first man, surrounding Damien in the large clearing he was currently standing in.
Damien's eyes lingered on the distant horizon for a second before he turned his attention to the gathered geniuses.
"Hmm, mostly late-stage 4th class and…a few in the middle stages? What are you guys even doing here?"
Damien immediately scoffed after reading their power levels, snapping his finger and wrapping the 8 mid-stage 4th class geniuses in his mana.
"Go play games elsewhere."
His mana tightened around them, and with a flash of light, they disappeared from the area entirely.
"You…what did you do to Asia?!" A young man yelled, pointing his sword at Damien.
"Do you expect me to know who Asia is?" Damien replied offhandedly.
"You just made her vanish!" The man practically screeched in annoyance.
"Oh, this is a current grudge. My bad, I thought you were an old enemy's pupil or something. If she was one of those who just disappeared, she's probably in this secret realm somewhere. As for her safety…well, that depends on her, doesn't it?" Damien remarked tauntingly.
"I'll kill you!" The young man roared, charging at Damien without a second of hesitation.
"Haa, seriously. Were you listening to anything I said?"
Damien watched as the man approached with his sword outstretched.
He put a finger out into the air.
Clink!
The sword stabbed against it and halted in its tracks. Within a second of the young man forcing it forward…
Shatter!
It broke into countless shards that fell powerlessly to the ground.
"My sword—!" The young man cried out. "What did you do to it, you demon?!"
"Brother, I quite literally did nothing at all. If you were half as smart as your peers, you'd realize how dumb the shit you just said is," Damien replied with a deadpan expression.
He glanced around at the others, who showed clear hesitation after seeing his defensive ability. With a sigh, he turned his attention to the sky.
"If you're going to send people after me, send the ones that actually have balls! Also, how badly are you treating these kids for the destruction of a single treasure to make them hesitate so strongly?! Stop being so stingy, you damn old farts!"
He shook his head in disappointment, unaware of the storm his provocation had just incited and turned back to the geniuses.
"If you want to fight, I'll entertain you, but be warned that your treasures will definitely break when they touch my body."
"I…I'll forfeit! I'm sorry, Master!"
The first to flee was the man Damien dragged out of hiding first. It was to be expected from a man who specialized in concealment.
But his cowardice started a chain reaction.
Sabotaging other geniuses in the secret realm went without saying, but to do so at their own expense was nothing more than foolishness!
One by one, the geniuses cleared out, either saying a few words and fleeing or directly apologizing before leaving with their heads held high.
Damien watched them go wryly before finally turning his attention back to the horizon.
"Then, what about you?" He said to nobody in particular.
"Naturally, I have come to test your skills," a response came from the void.
A man materialized in the distance.
He had a chiseled and handsome face, the definition of traditional male attractiveness. His eyes were sharp like blades, his irises painted in a beautiful sakura pink color, unlike anything Damien had seen before. His hair was long and black as midnight, similar to Damien, but his build was far more robust, that of a man who rigorously trained his body every day.
There were two blades strapped to his back, one pitch black and the other shining platinum, mirroring the Twin Moons.
Despite the distance separating them, Damien could feel the mysterious aura coming from the man, as if he was severed from the Real Plane by a field of unknown intent.
"You are?" He asked, his tone that of an equal rather than a superior.
The man nodded, cupping his hands and offering a slight bow of introduction.
"My name is Su Ren. I have spent my whole life sharpening my blade and searching for challenges. You can consider me a wandering blademaster seeking advice," he said firmly, neither arrogant nor submissive.
Damien nodded and returned the gesture. "Damien Void. I guess I'm something of a jack of all trades, but I specialize in physical strength and law comprehension."
"Those are quite the grand specialties," Su Ren commented, drawing his blades.
"I guess they are. Whether I'm just bragging or not, why don't you come find out for yourself?" Damien quipped back.
Su Ren's lips curled slightly.
"That is exactly what I came here to do."
BANG!
