"Lord Ambrose, one of those humans asks for an audience with you!" A grunt rushed over to report with a strange expression. In truth, had Lord Ambrose not shown his interest in this new species by granting them access to the special tutorial, he would have simply sent that human away.

However, he decided to report first, and his choice proved to be wise. Ambrose's red eyes flashed with a certain light as he smiled slightly. "Let him in."

Damon soon walked in with the look of obvious curiosity on his face, gazing at the various technological doodads around him like a country bumpkin. Seeing this, Ambrose's lips curled up with slight disdain, and he swirled his glass of blood wine.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr Damon Arnan?"

Damon was stunned as he paused, gazing at Ambrose with a slack jaw. "You remember me?"

Ambrose laughed. "Of course. You may think yourself unimportant, but a being with three EX-Grade Abilities has not yet appeared in our universe. A being like you was thought to be an impossibility, yet here you stand in the flesh before me."

Ambrose took a sip and place his glass in the holder. "Give yourself more credit."

Damon seemed heartened by these words, but still maintained a respectful demeanor. "Thank you, Overseer Ambrose, for your sagely advice."

"Mmm." The Vampire acknowledged lazily. "But back to my earlier question, what is the reason for this surprise visit?"

Damon seemed to hesitate for a bit, but firmed himself. "Well, I did some research on the laws of the IUAS…"

Ambrose nodded. "I am aware. As Overseer, it is my duty to monitor the first 100 of a new species and give reports on their behaviors. There have been many like you who thought to enrich themselves with knowledge rather than lapse in the joy of newfound power."

Ambrose rubbed his goatee lightly. "I believe there was one other who researched the entire history of the IUAS, a female of your species. There was also one who secretly researched about the various companies, and another who researched on Abilities in the first week."

Hearing this, Damon's eyes flashed. Either Ambrose was mixing truth with lies to sow discord among the humans, or he was letting Damon know that not everyone was being truthful with him.

Thinking on his long explanation with Felecia, the fact that someone there had an idea of what they were saying but chose not to speak up made him wary. Damon swore from the bottom of his heart that if it weren't for the possible detriment not caring would bring him in the future, he would never risk his neck like this.

Now that he knew about how insignificant his own species was in the grand scale of the universe, humanity really wasn't worth his efforts.

"Uh… yes, Felicia told me. As for the other two, I don't know them. Anyway, about my purpose here, it's quite simply, Overseer Ambrose." Damon answered like he was stunned by the revelation.

"I have firm belief that my people will choose me as our Prime Representative. You may have researched on humankind in this time and noticed that we often flock to those we perceive as strong."

"In light of that, I would like to offer to submit us humans under the protection of the Vampires through you, Lord Ambrose." Damon requested with a bow.

Ambrose's eyes flashed for a brief moment, but he did not say anything right away. Rather, he took a deep sip of his blood wine and swirled it before gazing into the scarlet drink.

"And why, may I ask, did you make such a choice?"

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"It's the obvious choice. Felicia and I have already shared our knowledge and realized that our species can only choose between one of two outcomes. We can either accept our lot in life and submit to a stronger species and work for them, or we can keep our pride and stay free… at least until the grace period is over, at which point the Cyclopses, or some other strong species, will come down to deal with us."

"As such, the smart choice is obvious, especially given the fates of those who chose the latter option in the past." Damon answered with a raised eyebrow, as if it should have gone without saying.

Ambrose laughed. "Well said! As the oriental ethnicity of your species says, 'a wise man submits to circumstances'!"

Ambrose's laughter suddenly died down as he gazed at Damon with a mocking expression.

"However, have you ever considered that the Vampire species doesn't want to enslave you? Or want anything to do with you?"

It was as if a bomb exploded in Damon's mind, and his smile froze. He felt like he had been hit on the head with a stick and could even hear ringing in his ears a little.

"Don't look so surprised." Ambrose said as he leaned back into his seat. "Us Vampires are ranked 28th. It's a high and impressive rank, but it is nowhere near being good enough to ward off those in the Top 5. Do you think we got to where we were by seeking danger?"

Damon breathed out lightly. "But the actions you made during the awakening…"

Ambrose was startled. "Oh that? At first, I was bored because I didn't expect much. The first batch had such good results, so I was unhappy that you guys proved me wrong. Then the next batch came out, and I frowned heavily because I was contemplating taking you in."

"However, by the time the fourth batch displayed their results, I looked worn down because I realized that my species simply couldn't afford to even dream about coming near a species of your potential. When your final batch was done, revealing that you actually had three EX-Grade wielders, I could only laugh to myself because it was genuinely hilarious."

Ambrose chuckled. "I mean, how could it not be? A new species found at the edge of the known universe with such talent had cropped up, yet it is practically guaranteed that they won't be able to grow in peace. You will be stuck between the oppressive pressure of the IUAS and the protective umbrella of the Universe Will. Under such heat and pressure, either you'll be ground to dust or become diamond from carbon."

"I also have front row seats to the goodness that will come later, so why not laugh? It's a good thing!"

Damon's heart went cold. To a being like Ambrose, humanity's life and death was not something to spark pity or empathy, but pure entertainment. Relying on someone like this was no different from pledging your life to a scammer.

Damon frowned. "You commanded your men to treat us well…"

Ambrose now looked at Damon as if he was an idiot. "While I recognize that you guys are fucked, it doesn't change the fact that your species has great potential. As you said, you'll have a grace period of 20 years, and who knows, on the off chance that you DO survive, I get to leave a favorable impression on you lot by having been nice. Since it costs me next to nothing, why wouldn't I show you some good will?"

Damon sighed deeply. "Thank you for enlightening me, Lord Ambrose."

Just as he bowed and was about to leave, Ambrose spoke in a slow drawl.

"Instead of doing meaningless thing like researching laws and history, you'd be better off acting like the others and research companies and Abilities, especially the Chaos Realm. The best bet your species has to survive is to enter Essence with your real body, all of you. Only then will the Universe Will pull out all the stops to protect your little lives."

Damon paused as he listened to this and left the room without turning around. Ambrose watched him leave with a slight smirk. He then turned and face the observation panel that showed the glowing blue planet below him.

"Such a lovely world. Such a strange species, those humans. They possess strong souls because they develop their brains directly from birth, sacrificing other functions to that end." Ambrose sighed with lament.

"However, there is a strange energy reading coming from the planet. There are so many chaotic energy forms and sources buried deep all over, and if it wasn't for the treaty, I would excavate this world to its bones myself." Ambrose frowned as he gnashed his teeth slightly.

He calmed himself down and leaned back into his Oveerseer's seat and crossed his fingers together. "However, I don't need to do anything. Once the voting is done, I can scan the entire planet using the Value Checking Scanner and ascertain exactly what it is that they have which is worth my time."

While Ambrose was monologuing to himself, lost in thoughts, a grunt walked over and bowed. "Lord Ambrose, I have done as you said and delayed the reporting of the first hundred's Abilities to the IUAS. Rather, I have made sure to send it to… 'that faction'… who claim to be the spokesperson of the Universe's Will."

Ambrose nodded and waved a hand for the grunt to leave. "They are legit, there's no need to doubt them. You have no idea the power that they wield in this universe."

When the grunt existed the room, Ambrose smiled towards the empty space. "I am just a small level 78 vampire lord, but it feels like I am currently playing chess with the top echelon of the universe."

"How… exhilarating."