Chapter 617: The Governor’s Visit

A few hours after Thoren revealed the path of a Knight to his father and the men who would later become the private army of the Starfall family, a new visitor arrived at the estate.

The Governor.

She came with her elite hunters. Their auras pressed against the air like a physical weight. These were not ordinary hunters.

They moved with the confidence of those who had faced death and conquered it. Their eyes were sharp, their postures relaxed but ready.

They flanked the Governor like shadows, silent and watchful.

Inside the visitor’s room, the atmosphere was tense and strange.

The Governor sat across from Thoren, her back straight, her hands folded neatly on the table before her. She stared directly at his face without blinking.

Her gaze was sharp, probing, the kind of look that had made weaker men squirm and weaker women nervous.

She was searching for something, weakness, a crack in his facade.

However, Thoren was unbothered.

He sat relaxed in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, his wine cup held loosely in his hand. He sipped slowly, savoring the taste, and did not look at her.

His eyes drifted to the window, to the gardens beyond, to anything but the woman who commanded the city.

He acted as if the Governor was not inside the room.

Watching this, the Governor’s expression flickered. It was subtle, a brief tightening around her eyes. A slight downturn at the corner of her mouth.

She had expected something different.

She had expected respect.

At the very least, acknowledgment.

Yet, she received none.

Her mind raced behind her composed exterior.

’What is this?’

She had dealt with awakeners before. First floor, even second floor awakeners. They all had one thing in common; they understood hierarchy.

They understood that power in this world still belonged to the Federation and as the Federation Governor, she had such power.

But Thoren Starfall looked at her as though she was nothing. An ordinary woman that could be found everywhere in North Dock.

’Is he arrogant? Stupid? Or something else entirely?’

But sitting here now, watching him sip his wine as though she were a servant waiting to be addressed, she began to wonder.

After realizing Thoren was far from an ordinary young man she could pressure with her position as a Federation Governor, she straightened her back and cleared her throat lightly.

"Young Master Thoren, thank you for saving the people this time," the Governor said calmly with a forceful smile.

She had deliberately waited for this moment to visit him. This was to show that Thoren’s influence was nothing before hers.

Previously, when she had met Thoren just after he cleared the first floor in less than two weeks, she had merely thought he was lucky and somewhat talented.

Not enough for her to recruit into her family faction. But now, she knew she had been mistaken. Clearing the first floor might be luck. But the second? That could never be luck.

Thus, her arrival this time was to find a way to recruit Thoren into her family faction.

Listening to her, Thoren raised his brow and looked at the Governor.

"Really? I don’t know I saved the people. I thought it was dogs and ants that I saved. But now that you’re telling me... Hum!"

He pretended to put on a thoughtful expression, tilting his head slightly as though genuinely considering her words.

The Governor’s smile stiffened.

Her fingers, resting on the table, curled slightly. The insult was not lost on her.

Dogs and ants.

She could hear the blatant sarcasm in his tone. She understood his underlying meaning but as an old fox in politics, her expression did not change.

She forced herself to maintain her composure.

"You are modest," she said, her voice strained. "The Federation appreciates what you have done."

Thoren waved a hand dismissively.

"The Federation appreciates nothing. You appreciate nothing. You are here because you want something. So stop wasting my time with pleasantries and tell me what it is."

The Governor’s eyes widened.

She had come here expecting to negotiate from a position of strength and power. She had come here expecting to offer him a place in her faction and watch him accept it gratefully.

However, the reality of things was different from how she imagined it. She took a deep breath to calm the rising anger in her mind.

"Very well," she said, her voice cooler. "I came to offer you an opportunity."

Thoren picked up his wine cup again.

"I am listening."

"Join my family faction and your future will be bright," the Governor said calmly.

"Although you might have cleared the second floor, don’t think the other floors will be as easy. You must know the higher you ascend, the harder it becomes. However, if you join my family, they will pave the way for you in the Abyss, and you will receive resources beyond your imagination."

"The secrets of the higher floors will be revealed to you, allowing you to avoid many pitfalls," she said, her voice filled with confidence.

"So what do you think?"

She did not believe any sane young man would reject such a favorable offer. This was a chance to ascend higher in the Abyss. How could Thoren refuse?

Thus, she could not wait for Thoren to accept her offer.

Thoren’s expression throughout her speech remained unchanged. He continued to drink his wine. And slowly, he dropped the wine cup on the table.

"Governor, can I ask, which city do you come from?"

The Governor blinked.

The question was so unexpected, so seemingly irrelevant, that for a moment she did not know how to respond.

Her mind scrambled to understand the purpose behind it.

Was this a test?

Her mind raced as she tried to understand why Thoren would ask such an irrelevant question.

Unfortunately, no matter how she thought about it, she could not wrap her head around his train of thought.

So, she could only respond.

"I’m from the Super City Base. The Redcliff City."