Aria rested her hand on her cheeks, the heated texture of the slap she had received earlier still stinging her skin.
No one had said a word since the incident happened, mainly because they were curious to know as well.
It was quite a shock to see someone standing up to the lieutenant the way Damien just did.
With one hand on his waist and a carefree glint in his eyes, Damien uttered with a calm voice,
"There, are you calm now?"
His first few words were teasing, almost urging Aria to bounce back up and retaliate.
Yet, she didn't.
Only a frown marred her face, nothing more.
"I am willing to help this sector grow and survive the Raptors. I will be more effective than all the Resonators you have combined, I promise you. That said, if I am going to offer my help, you need to show me as much respect as you'd show any high-ranking officer."
Clicking her tongue, Aria stood up from the ground, dusted her skirt, and walked over to Damien.
Once again, she wanted to land another slap, and Damien was more than ready to entertain her.
He caught her hand before it could land on his face, and in return, he threw a slap of his own.
A loud gasp echoed in the room.
Radia was so shocked that she covered her mouth in shock.
Normally, after the first slap, a swarm of soldiers would have rushed in to take Damien away and lock him up.
This was the second slap, and Aria had not said anything.
Raising her hand, she tried her luck to see if she could slap Damien unaware.
She failed, and instead received a third slap.
Finally, someone in the room spoke up,
"Lieutenant? A-are you alright?"
Damien looked at Aria in the face, and she was wearing the exact expression he was expecting.
Not only were her cheeks bright red and her eyes glowing as if wandering into another world, but her mouth was also slightly opened, in such a way that saliva was just waiting to drip out.
"H-how dare you slap me…?~ I'll make you pay for this."
Looking at her, Damien couldn't hide the pitiful look he gave her.
'Exactly like in the game… she's a masochist.'
Damien had recalled the main character did the same thing in the game, although it wasn't this soon after their meeting, so he didn't expect it to work.
Aria was only sexually frustrated, and everyone feared her; those who didn't were too weak to lay a dent on her.
But after the main character beat her up during a raid, she became obsessed with him, always wanting him to give her the same treatment.
'Hopefully that doesn't happen to me.'
Damien pulled his face closer to Aria's frown.
"I am the ace you need to bring this place back to its feet. Don't let your ego let such an opportunity slip between your fingers."
Throwing him a glance, she replied,
"And what makes you so confident about that?"
"I have awakened my Crystal Heart without being exposed to constant mana training like the rest of the students in the military academy. Isn't that proof enough?"
Aria was a bit speechless upon hearing that.
Her mean facade slipped back in after a while. "I call your bluff. Are you saying if we scan you right now, you will have a Crystal Heart?"
"If you doubt me, then do it. But in return, you'll give me a territory to the north to start my base."
Aria chuckled mockingly.
"The north has been completely destroyed by the Raptors. There are no膨0no buildings there, and the entire place is probably crawling with monsters by now. You won't last a day."
"That's my problem to worry about…"
Silence took over for a while, everyone waiting to see what Aria's response would be.
She had already surprised them by not throwing Damien in jail after he slapped her so many times; there was no reason they shouldn't expect another surprise.
Aria sighed.
"Fine. Listen well, if you turn out to be ordinary, I want you out of my sector."
"So bossy."
"What was that?"
"So bossy."
A grunt escaped Aria's mouth as she tried to slap him again.
…
Damien followed Aria and Radia toward the room where the F01 stone was kept.
The white room was wide and empty, with only a few cameras and a large window space where people could see through from the outside.
Aria and Radia stood outside the room, watching as Damien was in there by himself.
As soon as the stone was activated, women were advised to stay hidden, as the magic ray from the stone could turn them into a Raptor. Hence why they always remained outside.
With one hand, Radia grabbed the mic.
(Sweetie, are you ready?)
Damien glanced at the speaker and nodded.
(Okay then, good luck. The commander wishes you good luck too.)
(Shut up and get on with it already!)
A loud buzzing sound echoed inside the white room, like an emergency drill urging people to run from danger.
Damien took a step back, unsure of what was going to happen.
Before his very eyes, the ground opened like a door and pushed out a colorless rock with the tag F01 on it.
'There it is…'
His wariness disappeared as he began moving closer to the rock.
The rock in question was obtained from a rare monster and had been used for many years to test those who had awakened their Crystal Heart.
Depending on the color the crystal took, it was easy for them to determine the rank of the Resonator.
It could only display the three primary colors: red, which was the low rank, blue for mid-rank, and yellow for high rank.
A low-ranked Resonator would most likely summon D-rank Avatars or lower, and it only increased depending on rank.
No matter the rank he got, he could always just pull for an Avatar of high rank.
Gently, he rested his hand on the stone.
After a slight glow of yellow, it suddenly faded into black.