BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

As Erik walked away, though, murmurs and whispers began to arise from the people at the party. Many of them saw how Emily took the initiative to talk to Erik. It was unusual since other people often initiated conversations with her, but she often rejected their approaches.

The most important people attending the party knew who Erik was, they had close ties to the military, and it was impossible for them not to have heard about the nation's only awakener.

Still, the majority of the people, usually family members of influential people, didn't absolutely know who he was. The males and girls around Erik's age who had a crush on Emily were seething inside since the young woman had never treated them this favorably. They had to understand who this Erik Romano was.

Erik was oblivious about all that, he didn't know who Emily was, or better, he didn't connect the dots. Of course, he was aware who the stone family was. He also knew that the stone family had a daughter called Emily. Still, since they came to the party way before Erik, he wasn't aware of their presence, and there were simply too many people attending to even notice.

The young man quickly went to the buffet and filled a plate with a lot of food, then sat down next to two older women in their fifties who looked like sisters, but obviously, he didn't start a conversation. After a while, Caiden, Amber's father, came to him and asked the young man to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Erik asked with a little bit of apprehension. Caiden was an extremely mysterious individual, and since Erik still had doubt about his implication in the robbing of his house, he didn't really want to go with him.

"We are going to a table nearby. There is a person I would like to introduce to you," Caiden said. After a short walk, they arrived in front of a vast table filled with food and drinks.

This was the only table where food got brought, meaning that the people sitting there had to be important. Erik wasn't disappointed when he saw the person sitting at the head of the table, Richard Stone. The young man immediately wondered if the person that mister Joyce wanted to introduce was this tycoon, and he was spot on.

"Richard, this is my daughter's friend, Erik Romano," Caiden said. There wasn't a need to say anything else since Richard was already aware of who the young man was.

To be honest, he also saw how his daughter took the initiative to go talk to him, and this intrigued him a lot since Emily never did something like that.

"Erik, this is Richard stone, head of the stone family."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Stone," Erik nervously said.

"Likewise, mister Romano... Caiden made it clear that you are some of the students who won a spot in the Red Palace. Congratulations, it must not have been simple since you awakened not even a month ago..." Richard said, smiling amiably.

Erik obviously was immediately alarmed. He wasn't aware of how much Richard Stone knew about him, but he could confidently say he knew a lot. He was, after all, the wealthiest man in the country, and his information network had to be boundless.

"Thank you very much, sir... Indeed, it wasn't easy, but luckily I have great friends, especially Amber. She helped me a lot and taught me a lot about combat..." Erik replied.

"We can all agree that Caiden's daughter is a very promising fighter. As much as her father told me, she is also good at studying, a perfect student as many people say," Richard said, chuckling. He then turned to look at Caiden, "You must be very proud of her..."

"I am," Caiden said, nodding. "Ah... children grow up so fast, don't you agree?" he said to Richard.

"You are right, my friend..."

The conversation between the three went on, with Caiden and Richard trying to understand what kind of man Erik was.

They obviously knew everything about his personal life since it wasn't hard to find out who his father was or that he lived alone and worked at a farm.

Moreover, the school had probably given them information regarding his academic records and his fighting prowess.

Clearly, they knew how much Erik had improved during this past month. This was something that, in truth, left them flabbergasted, as he basically crammed several months of training in a mere 30 days.

That was no easy feat. But was there something else in this young man? What were his dreams, his aspirations? Did he have the drive to become a pillar of their society? What kind of character did he possess?

The two asked countless questions to Erik, who felt a little bit violated. From there, the conversation ranged on many topics.

Though Caiden and Richard couldn't talk about Erik's life all evening. It was already rude to ask him personal questions, and it would have been embarrassing if they had done it for hours.

So, they talked about the war, the teleportation device, and many of the things that were happening inside the nation. They even gave Erik tips regarding his stay in the Red Palace, which he gladly accepted.

After that, Erik left the two men talking about their business and went to his friends.

"What do you think about the boy, Caiden?" Richard asked.

"To be honest, I was slightly disappointed when I first met him. It is not his strength that I doubt. Obviously, he is an awakener and bound to become rather powerful in the future. No. What I don't like is his character. He looks rather meek, and we know this kind of mindset doesn't bode well in Frant."

"You are indeed right; this is the same impression I had. I hope for the young boy's sake that the Red Palace will straighten him out," Richard replied.

"Did I tell you that he is currently staying in my mansion? His house was recently robbed..." Caiden then added.

"Really? Any clue about who did this?" Richard asked.

"My men are still investigating. I highly doubt it was a random thug, but the problem is to find out what organization is behind this," Caiden replied.

"Keep me informed..."

The party went on a lot longer. Luckily, Erik didn't have to go back to his house since he was currently staying at the Joyce mansion. Still, the problem was that he had to attend the party until the end to not look disrespectful.

He was alone most of the time since Floyd, Gwen, and Amber were constantly talking with this and that person, but someone went to him to make small chats.

That evening, Erik was introduced to many influential people, and he met several celebrities. Though, his mind trailed to something else, the young woman that came to talk to him. Emily was her name.

He wondered who she was and what she wanted from him. Most of the people who talked to him wanted to get ties with someone joining the Red Palace and that would hopefully become a key figure inside the organization. Still, he had no clue about what the girl wanted.

After a little bit, a thought came into Erik's mind.

<What if...?>

The more and more he thought about the young woman, Emily, and the more he thought about the stone family. Richard Stone was even at that party.

Erik quickly picked up his phone and searched for Emily Stone on the browser, quickly finding a photo of her. The one on his phone and the girl who talked to him were the same people.

<But what did she want from me?> Erik asked himself. Though having no answer to them, he started searching for the young woman in the crowd but was unable to find her. Since things were like that, he left things be. He enjoyed the rest of the party, unaware that on the other side of the mansion, Emily was secretly searching for him but could not.

After a short while, the party finally ended, and Erik could go to sleep. He was pretty tired, not only because of the fight he had during the morning but also because of the incessant small talk he had to do with the people attending the party. There was one thing he became sure of after that event, he wasn't cut to join that world.

With that thought in mind, the young man quickly went to bed and fell asleep with his mind trailing over Emily's face and sweet voice. He couldn't talk to her, but no one could stop thinking about her, at least.