Damon's Ascension-Chapter 97: Assembling The Team 6

Godin walked down the aisle of hushed goblins like a war general on a victory march, his hands behind his back and his grin never leaving his face.

He stopped in front of Damon and adjusted his glasses with a click.

"Well then, allow me to process the transaction immediately. I presume the funds have already been routed from your account?"

"They’re approved for collection," Damon confirmed after fiddling with his VQD.

"Just run it through and arrange for delivery to Kusibo Station." He added while folding his arms behind his back.

Godin nodded and waved a hand, summoning a golden interface from thin air. He flicked his fingers across it with some skill, his clawed fingers pressing each virtual input like a knife stabbing into a wound.

"As always, Trust and Trades guarantees secure delivery. With this volume, we will need over 60,000 sacrifices and have to split your essence into precise amounts for easy collection and distribution... standard protocol."

"Good," Damon said smoothly, then added.

"I’ll also need an advance of one hundred million units. Same process as last time. We’ll do the sacrifice here."

Godin’s hand paused for half a second before continuing. "A hundred million as an advance... very bold. If I may ask, purely out of curiosity... what exactly are you planning, Mr. Arnan?"

Damon gave him a pleasant but vague smile. "Let’s just say I’ve got a few side projects to jumpstart. You’ll find out soon enough."

Godin chuckled but wisely didn’t pursue. "Ah, very well. Trade discretion is our top virtue, after all."

With another wave of his hand, Godin snapped his fingers and a goblin clerk hurried over with a portable portal activator, keyed for a private instance.

"I’ve arranged a grid chamber. You can use it immediately for the essence transfer. A group of our finest sacrificial vendors are already waiting." Godin stated as he turned to Damon.

"Then let’s begin," Damon said, his expression calm as his virtual avatar strode toward the glowing portal.

Damon then turned to his group. "All of you follow along and get familiar with the process so that you won’t make any mistakes when we really go there."

Felicia hummed with interest while Xela cheerily skipped along. The rest of the group followed along while wondering exactly how this would be done.

The process was the same as previously, only that Damon had to receive the sacrifice from multiple ’victims’ hearing the fellows scream and howl as they were extracted from the very bone. The faces of the various humans went from intrigued to pale or shocked.

Damon himself was frowning heavily, as he had to take the amount from over 200 targets as not everyone was dedicated and crazy like that previous beastman who farmed 1 million units all at once. Some had 200,000 units, some had 500,000 units and others had varying amounts.

By the time Damon got his full 100 million advance, the faces of Xela and Felicia were pale while the males wore extreme grimaces, and even Connor and Marshal had cold scowls.

"I’m really sorry for the experience, but there really isn’t any other way to handle this. While we could mute the other person’s screams, it wouldn’t stop their thrashing, so the option to do so is up to you for future transactions." Godin apologized with an expression of understanding.

Damon waved his hand. "Don’t worry about it. Put down the remaining 149.9 billion for collection approximately seven days, which is how long it should take us to arrive on Kusibo Station."

Godin nodded. "Leave it to us."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the group left the virtual world and awakened in the virtual pods within Ambrose’s ship.

"Well... that was unpleasant." Kyle remarked with a frown.

Xela was curled up in her pod seat, hugging her knees and looking queasy. "That... wasn’t what I expected. I thought maybe it was like... energy being transferred in beams or something, not - ugh - spiritual screaming marrow extractions."

Felicia exhaled sharply and wiped her palms on her skirt, even though they weren’t sweating as she was in VR. "No one warned us it would feel so... visceral. I’ve dissected brains, for heaven’s sake, and that was still worse."

Henry rubbed his arms like he was cold. "Bro, I was expecting pain, but not the kind that haunts your bloodline. One of those guys was screaming in like, five languages."

Nicholas, surprisingly grim, adjusted his collar. "Their agony was... pure. Not just physical, but existential. They weren’t just dying, they were being unraveled."

Connor leaned back, silent for a while, then muttered, "Makes sense why it’s called a sacrifice, not a transfer."

Bane nodded once. "Now I understand why the goblins run this operation. You need something less... emotionally inclined."

Levi crossed his arms and looked at Damon. "So this is what it takes to break the rules of reality."

"Rules?" Kyle sneered slightly.

"That wasn’t a rule, that was a curse wearing a tie." He added coldly.

Marshal didn’t speak. He just slowly leaned back, eyes closed, the corners of his mouth tight.

Damon finally stood, brushing himself off. "That was just the preview. The real transaction will be even larger. I’ll understand if anyone needs a break before we proceed."

"No, we need power, and power never comes cheap." Protizen said firmly.

Felicia sighed. "Still, let’s not make this a daily thing."

Xela shivered. "Yeah, I need like... a hug and ten cute cat videos."

"Good, because next, we need to collect our spaceship." Damon said as he operated his VQD to mobilize Ambrose’s spaceship, which the vampire had given Damon full control of while he ran down to earth to roleplay as Count Dracula in Transylvania, moving it towards the drop-off point around Pluto.

The familiar shuttle revved as it detached from Ambrose’s sleek obsidian cruiser and drifted into the gravity-neutral void beyond Pluto’s orbit.

Through the shuttle windows, they could see the delivery cargo vessel ahead, which was massive, rectangular, and purely functional, a behemoth shaped like a floating factory silo that had docking arms protruding from its sides like mechanical tentacles.

Hover lights blinked across the hull, displaying the insignia of Vritu Enterprises in glowing golden script.

The cargo bay at its base had already begun to open, a shimmering blue field keeping the internal gravity stabilized as they approached.

Inside, nestled within reinforced clamps and grav-locks, was their purchase, the custom-built Normandy-class spaceship, modeled after Earth’s finest fictional design and outfitted with top-tier Galactic-grade modifications.

"Whoa..." Kyle whispered, nose pressed to the glass.

"That’s sexier than a Gundam in high heels." The fellow said lustfully.

Felicia crossed her arms. "At least it’s not some tacky alien design or neon hover-train. It’s sleek and practical, so I approve."

"Better than the brick-shaped death-coffins the vampires use," Henry added.

The shuttle docked gently as a boarding corridor extended from the side of the cargo vessel, locking in with a satisfying hiss.

When the doors opened, a Vritu Enterprises docking officer, another tall elven woman with silver-and-gold threads woven into her uniform, stepped forward.

"Welcome, honored clients. We’ve been expecting you. The Normandy-class vessel has passed all diagnostics and awaits release. We just need the primary client’s biometric confirmation." She greeted with a bow, her presence suppressed since her level was more than 2 times higher than anyone here.

Damon stepped forward, placing his palm against the hovering authorization disc as a ring of soft green light pulsed from his hand outward, confirming his ID and payment signature.

"Authorization confirmed," the officer said stepping back and allowing the group to access their purchase for real.

"Releasing vessel from restraints and activating the power core. Main systems engaged. She’s all yours, dear clients." The officer said with a business-like smile.

As the docking clamps released with a metallic snap and the ship gently lifted on its grav stabilizers, a deep thrum echoed through the hangar.

Damon smiled and turned to his group. "Let’s board and begin our journey."

"Finally! I have been waiting for this for hours!" Kyle exclaimed with excitement as the usually taciturn fellow seemed to be injected with chicken blood.

Henry Jasek chuckled. "A man’s romance is said to be made up of three things. The gun at his waist, the babe in his embrace, and the steering wheel in his grip!"

Xela was confused. "How on earth is that romantic?"

Henry stuck out a hand arrogantly to block Xela from looking at him. "Hmph, this is a men’s only club, no women allowed!"

Xela was instantly furious, about to retort when Felicia patted her on the back and shook her head.

"Don’t argue with these machine-brained brutes, I used to often sleep angry due to arguing with my brother when we were younger." Felicia shared casually.

Xela had an expression of unwillingness, never having lost a battle till this fellow came along. However, she greatly respected the femininity and wisdom of Felicia, so she tolerated this loss for now.