SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God
Chapter 157: His toys?

Chapter 157: His toys?

As soon as Damon saw the same face, he could tell that this had a unique quest written all over it. He walked over to the old man and tried to talk to him. "Are you okay, senior? Would you like some help?"

The old man’s head snapped up. He looked utterly desperate. His voice trembled as he reached out a shaking hand toward Damon. "Y-you... you’re the Blood God, right? The one who defeated Frostmane?"

Damon gave a small nod. "That’s me. What’s the matter, senior?"

Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes as he clutched Damon’s sleeve with surprising strength. "Thank you so much, hero. Thank you so much for putting down that monster." The old man sobbed, standing up. "That monster took everything from me. My sweet son. My sweet, sweet son."

The old man started walking, his steps wobbly, and Damon supported him. The old man continued ranting and slowly walked back to his house, which was somewhere in the outskirts of the city in one of the downtrodden areas.

The situation looked bleak and hopeless by the second. Maybe he was following the wrong bread crumb. Damon scratched his head impatiently. The quests related to any world boss were always top notch and gave big boy rewards. If not for this, he wouldn’t be wasting time here like this.

Damon entertained the old man for a few more minutes, patiently listening to everything he was saying. In the end, the dude collapsed on his bed, completely knocked out from the liquor, and he got absolutely nothing in return.

Damon’s expression darkened as he stared at the old man snoring on the bed. "You’ve gotta be kidding me," he muttered under his breath. He decided to give up on this and head out, but he looked around the small, broken house one more time for good measure.

No mana signatures. No treasures. Nothing.

It was really just a simple house. Damon didn’t care too much. He tried, and it didn’t work out. He turned to leave when suddenly he noticed a small metallic ball in a corner of the house. It was nothing fancy. Just a ball of some metallic ore. He tossed it into the spatial ring just to be safe. Maybe it would be worth something.

However, the next second, something completely unexpected happened.

The ball of metal shot right out of his spatial ring like a failed pokemon capture. "What the hell?" Damon stared at the ball in shock as it whirred alive right in front of his eyes.

The ball Damon had just claimed rattled on the ground, transforming itself with a hiss of gears and a faint blue glow. It extended small, spindly legs and a pair of mechanical eyes, making it look like some kind of spider-like robot, but still maintaining its spherical core shape.

Damon raised a brow, impressed. "Now what do we have here?"

But before he could properly inspect it, a mechanical whir came from all corners of the dilapidated house.

From behind cracked floorboards, beneath the sagging sofa, and even from inside the old fireplace, ten more identical spheres suddenly rolled out, each one emitting that same eerie blue glow.

One by one, they unfolded like mechanical flowers, each with their own spindly legs and blinking eyes, forming a miniature mechanical army.

Damon’s eyes widened. "Oh? Jackpot." He was pretty sure he would find something interesting if he examined them, but it looked like he had to take them out first. He conjured a fireball, ready to blast the first one.

Before he could launch it, the old man stumbled in from the back room, wiping sleep from his eyes and clutching his head. "What is all this noise?" he grumbled, squinting at the bright blue lights flooding the room.

In that instant, as if his voice had flipped some unseen switch, all the mechanical spheres shuddered and then, one after another, they deactivated. Their lights blinked out, legs retracting as they collapsed to the ground like lifeless toys.

The main ball that Damon had claimed gave a last pitiful beep before it too shut down, leaving Damon standing there in stunned silence.

The old man looked at the balls and gave another sorrowful sigh. "Oh, you found my son’s favorite toys. He always loved playing with these."

"Playing?" Damon smiled bitterly. He suddenly had a feeling that the old man’s son wasn’t all that simple. He decided to probe a little, pressing on this hunch.

"Senior, could you please tell me more about your son’s last few days? I have a feeling that it was not the bear who harmed your son. Maybe something else happened. Maybe he is still alive somewhere. Can you tell me everything more clearly?"

Damon knew that he was probably a bastard to make the old man relive all of this, but he had no other choice. After all, he had his own family and people he cared about to protect.

The old man’s eyes glistened with tears as he looked at Damon. He staggered slightly, gripping one of the mechanical spheres as if it might help him stay on his feet. "My son... he was always too smart for his own good," he began, his voice trembling.

"He wanted to be an inventor, you see. Spent days locked up in his room, tinkering and building. These... these toys were just his practice pieces. He was working on something much bigger, something he said would change everything."

"And? What was he working on?" Damon asked.

The old man’s voice dropped to a whisper. "He called it the Core Guardian. Said it would protect the city from anything, bandits, monsters, even... even Frostmane." He shuddered.

"The night before that monster came, he ran to me with a wild look in his eyes. He said he’d found the final blueprint, the last piece to make the Guardian work. But... but he wouldn’t show me. Said he had to hide it. Said someone was after him." Tears streamed down his face. "I never saw him again."

Damon nodded. "You think someone killed him?"

The old man nodded shakily. "A few days later, Frostmane attacked. My son’s workshop was destroyed. I... I thought the monster had killed him, but now... maybe you are right... " His eyes flickered to the mechanical spheres, his voice cracking. "I think someone else wanted that blueprint. I think they killed my son for it."

The next second, a system message blinked in Damon’s vision:

[Ding! New Quest Available: The Tinkerer’s Legacy]

Quest Description:

Find the hidden workshop of the Tinkerer’s son. Uncover the truth about his final invention, the Core Guardian. Retrieve the blueprint before it falls into the wrong hands.

Objectives:

Investigate the house for clues leading to the hidden workshop. Follow the trail to locate the Core Guardian blueprint. The enemies who wanted it gone might still be lurking in the shadows.

Rewards:

Unknown blueprint fragment.

Unique mechanical companion.

Reputation with Trendelan increased.

Rare crafting materials.

Damon’s eyes lit up as the system message faded. "So the kid was hiding something important after all," he muttered. He turned to the old man, whose eyes were wide with surprise and hope.

"Senior," Damon said gently, "do you remember if your son mentioned any special hiding spots? Maybe a secret room, a trapdoor, or a hidden code in his toys?"

***

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