The Sovereign Veil Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Meet the New Members

Read chapter 13 of The Sovereign Veil by GodEmperor on NovelPedia.

"Lucian, please accept my condolences. Quinn's trajectory is destined to leave yours in the dust," Vincent Thorne sneered, relishing every syllable as if venting years of suppressed envy. "A man needs to have a little self-awareness, you know?" "Haha! Young Master Thorne used a Grade-A synthetic serum to Awaken. He's a Catalyst now! He and Quinn are a perfect match!" "Vincent will definitely get drafted into the same Vanguard Academy as her. Think about their future bloodline, tsk tsk..." The corporate sycophants flanking Vincent were more than happy to rub salt in the wound. If this were the old Lucian, he probably would have turned red and withdrawn into a shell of insecurity. But the current Lucian just listened intently, his expression perfectly blank. After the lackeys finally finished their spit-flying tirade, Lucian looked Vincent dead in the eye and asked, "I'm sorry, who are you again?" The smug grins on Vincent and his crew vanished. Are you kidding me? Lucian didn't know Vincent? They were in neighboring classes, and Vincent was one of the loudest trust-fund brats in the entire academy. "Oh, wait, I remember now," Lucian snapped his fingers, his face lighting up with faux realization. Under Vincent's expectant gaze, Lucian stated confidently, "You're Vincent... Thrombosis !" Vincent Thrombosis. God-fucking-Thrombosis! Vincent's face contorted into a livid mask. He despised people mocking his name. His family name, Thorne, was supposed to represent piercing strength and corporate dominance. "Was I wrong?" Lucian asked, innocently trying to salvage the situation as he watched Vincent's blood pressure visibly spike. "Could it be... Vincent Tapeworm ?" "Lucian Croft!" Vincent roared. He had only intended to flex his new status as a Synthetic Catalyst and humiliate his long-time rival. He hadn't expected Lucian to be this spectacularly infuriating. In less than ten seconds, Lucian had nearly made his lungs explode. "You ungrateful baseline trash! Don't blame me for bullying a civilian!" Vincent snarled, a ruthless glint in his eye. "You're not a match for a true Awakened," Lucian said bluntly, his tone bored. "Even if you artificially forced an Aether-core with a synthetic serum, your kinetic output is going to be incredibly pathetic." Every word Lucian spoke was absolute truth, but it stabbed Vincent right in his fragile ego. The Thorne family owned Thorne-Bio, a massive chain of hospitals and bio-pharmaceutical labs with assets in the hundreds of millions. Through black-market channels, they had procured a standard Gene-Awakening Serum worth tens of millions of Coalition Credits. With a mere 35% success rate, Vincent had gotten lucky. Although his resulting Aether-core was inherently weak, he was officially a Catalyst. As long as he underwent grueling physical refinement, he would eventually stabilize as a Tier 1 operative. "Heh, are you seriously trying to pretend you're an Awakened right now?" Vincent laughed, utterly enraged by Lucian's condescending attitude. You're really good at bluffing, Croft. But you picked the wrong target. "Fine. Let me show you the true power of the geopolitical elite!" Vincent barked. He forcefully activated his synthetic Aether-core. The muscles across his entire body violently swelled, stretching the fabric of his bespoke uniform. In seconds, he transformed from a lean high school student into a hulking, heavily muscled brute. "Is that it?" Lucian curled his lip, genuinely disappointed. Vincent's ability was a standard biological-enhancement mutation increasing muscle density and localized defense. However, compared to Marcus Vance's terrifying, high-speed Augmented form, Vincent looked like a clumsy, bloated amateur. Lucian's absolute lack of fear made Vincent's rage boil over. What did he mean, Is that it? He had expected Lucian to cower in terror. "You're asking for a body bag!" Vincent roared. His heavily muscled fist, carrying a rush of displaced air, swung directly toward Lucian's