Six Years Later

Six years later...

"I can't believe you have grown this quickly." Lena murmured as she fretted over Rowan's hairstyle.

"Mom," The eighteen year old sighed as he batted away his worried mother's hands. "Uncle Freeman will take care of me. There's no need to worry." He held onto Lena's hands and gave her a warm smile. The two of them bore some similarities. Rowan had her soft, blue eyes, and her soft smile, but the rest of his features came from his father.

"Of course I will worry! My baby boy is all grown up and is about to become a Baron for Black Gold. There's every need to worry." Lena fussed a bit more. "Freeman assured me that if you only generate a geno armor, then he'll send you back on the fastest transport he can get."

"I have you and dad's excellent genes, remember? The chances of me only generating armor is quite low. For all we know, I'll just generate a geno weapon like Eric." Rowan grinned widely.

"That brother of yours... running off to join Black Gold as soon as he generated his own geno weapon. Last I heard from him, he was on the brink of breaking through to Viscount Class." Although Lena was complaining, she had a proud smile on her face. She was immensely proud at the level of talent and growth that her son was displaying. In just six years, he had gone from being a newly emerged Baron, to a peak level Baron.

The only sad part about the past six years was the disappearance of Roland, her dear husband, and the father of her children. Ever since he accepted the mission that led him into the xenogenic space, he had vanished completely, leaving no traces.

Roland's disappearance had deeply hurt Lena, but she had managed to hold herself together only for her sons' sakes. Her sons had been equally devastated at the disappearance of their father, and the only way for them to console themselves was to train to grow stronger.

Whoosh!

Up ahead, the aircraft that was assigned to pick up the latest batch of recruits for Black Gold passed over the city in the direction of the airport of the city.

"Mom, I have to go now. Aunt Raizel will take care of you while I am gone, and I will also keep in touch. Don't worry, I'll give Eric a good knock and tell him to call you as soon as I see him." Rowan gave Lena a final hug and pecked her cheek before turning to leave. He also bid farewell to the maid that was staying with his mother in his absence, before leaving the house.

Rowan boarded a taxi that quickly took him to the airport of the city. There, he ran into about two dozen other young men and women that had been recruited by Black Gold. They were the members of the young generation that had great potential. If all of them were to generate geno armors, then that would be a new wave of elites that the organization could nurture. This was in addition to the others that the organization would recruit from other cities.

"Hey, are you Rowan?" In the waiting area where the aircraft would pick them up, a pair of boys came up to met Rowan.

"Yes, I am. Is there any trouble?" Rowan tilted his head and answered honestly. He still had not completely lost his honest attitude, although he had learnt how to hide things better.

"Oh, wow. Me and my friend here heard that you would be joining the latest batch of recruits for Black Gold. We wanted to meet the son of one of the revered Earls of our race." The blonde haired boy grinned widely. "My name is Dustin. You can call me Dust." Dustin had a head of sandy brown hair, and bright brown eyes. His grin revealed a set of dimples, and his smile seemed to be contagious, because Rowan also found himself smiling.

"I'm Bernard, but you can call me Ben or Benny." Dustin's friend, Ben, spoke up. He had jet black eyes, and dark blue eyes. He smiled as well, but not as widely as Dustin.

"Well, you already know me as Rowan. Nice to meet you two." Rowan extended a hand for shaking, and after exchanging handshakes, the three began talking.

"I'm so excited to join Black Gold. They say the chances of me developing geno armor is just 50:50, but that's still good compared to the rest of our people." Dustin exclaimed from where he was seated at Rowan's right side.

"When are you ever not excited?" Ben commented with an eye roll.

Just then, a loud beep echoed through the waiting room.

<Black Gold recruits, please make your way to the boarding section.>

<Black Gold recruits, please make your way to the boarding section.>

...

Upon hearing the announcement come through the speakers, the two dozen recruits began making their way out of the waiting area and into the boarding area. There, they saw the large aircraft parked there, with its back side opened up, revealing the insides of the aircraft.

"This way, please." A robot stood by the screening machine, directing the recruits through a scanner, before they were finally allowed to board the aircraft. One by one, the recruits passed through the scanner, and when it was time for the trio to pass through, Dustin did so with much bombast. Ben followed after him with much less fanfare, and Rowan only sighed as he passed through.

He did not sigh at Dustin ridiculousness. He sighed at the thought that he was finally getting a step closer to his father's line of work. The only difference was that he was currently still too weak to do much. He had yet to even reach Baron class. Right now, he was taking a gamble. If he lost, then he would be sent back as soon as possible.

"I'm close, dad. Watch over me." Rowan sighed as he boarded the aircraft.