"Are you mocking me, Damien?" Dominic's voice was low, dangerous. "Are you trying to play a prank?"

His fingers curled against the polished wood of his desk, his jaw tightening as he exhaled sharply through his nose. His gaze, cold and piercing, locked onto Damien's with the weight of absolute authority.

"Do I look like a fool with time to waste on childish nonsense?" Dominic's voice was razor-sharp, slicing through the air with effortless control. "You stand here, throwing out impossible claims as if I would entertain them."

Damien didn't flinch. He didn't waver.

Instead, his smirk vanished.

His expression hardened, his dark eyes steady and unwavering as he met his father's gaze head-on.

"Do I look like I'm joking to you?"

A beat of silence.

Dominic's eyes narrowed. "You are not?"

"I am not."

The study, already thick with tension, felt suffocating now. Owen's breath was slow, controlled, but his hands—clasped behind his back—were curled just slightly tighter than before.

Dominic studied his son carefully. His gaze traced every inch of Damien's expression, searching for the arrogance, the reckless bravado, the spoiled indulgence that had defined him for years.

But there was none of it.

Only something cold. Something sharp. Something real.

And yet—

"This is absurd," Dominic finally muttered, shaking his head ever so slightly. He leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming against the wood. "Losing fifty-five kilograms in one month? You understand how utterly impossible that is?"

Damien's lips twitched slightly.

"I do."

"Then—"

"And yet, I will do it."

Owen inhaled sharply, his composure cracking just a fraction more. His cold, professional mask was slipping.

Dominic, however, simply exhaled. "Your confidence is misplaced, Damien."

"Then prove me wrong," Damien countered smoothly. "If I fail, then you will have been right, and this conversation will have been nothing more than a waste of time."

He took a step forward, placing both hands onto the desk as he leaned in, his presence suddenly heavier, more imposing.

"But if I succeed," he said slowly, deliberately, "then you will let me enter the [Cradle of the Primordials]."

Silence.

Dominic exhaled again, this time slower, as if weighing something far heavier than just his son's reckless challenge.

"This is foolish," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "Completely, utterly foolish…"

Yet despite his words, despite the sheer absurdity of what had just been proposed—

He couldn't deny it.

Damien wasn't joking.

Dominic let out a slow breath, his fingers tapping against the desk in a steady, deliberate rhythm. His sharp gray eyes didn't waver from Damien's, but there was something new in them—not uncertainty, not hesitation, but calculation.

Because no matter how absurd this was, no matter how utterly impossible it seemed, there was logic in entertaining it.

It wasn't as if he had anything to lose.

If anything, this was better.

If Damien failed, it would serve as the perfect way to discourage him, to shatter whatever delusions of grandeur he had developed. To break the reckless confidence in his voice, to prove that discipline wasn't just about words and impossible claims—it was about reality.

And if, by some unimaginable, unnatural means, he did succeed—

Then that would be an answer in itself.

Because a feat like this? It wasn't something that humans could achieve.

It wasn't something that a mortal could accomplish through sheer willpower alone.

No normal body, no matter how disciplined, could force itself through such an extreme transformation in one month.

Which meant that if Damien truly managed it—

Then he wasn't normal to begin with.

And that? That was worth knowing.

Dominic exhaled through his nose, his fingers stilling.

"Very well," he said, his voice measured, steady. "One month from today."

Owen's head snapped toward him, his normally impassive expression shifting into something dangerously close to disbelief.

But Dominic didn't look at him. His gaze remained on Damien, cold and unwavering.

"If you can reach ninety-five kilograms within that time," he continued, "then I will keep my word. You will be allowed to enter the [Cradle of the Primordials]."

The room was silent.

Damien didn't move. He didn't smirk. He didn't gloat.

He simply stood there, meeting his father's gaze, letting the weight of those words settle.

Then—

A slow, sharp grin stretched across his lips.

"Good," he murmured.

Dominic leaned back slightly, his fingers pressing together once more.

"Don't mistake this for approval," he said, his voice turning colder. "I am giving you this chance not because I believe in your success, but because I expect your failure. You will come to understand reality soon enough."

Damien chuckled under his breath.

Ding!

The familiar chime echoed in Damien's mind, the system's interface flashing before his eyes.

---------

[New Quest Received: Defy the Impossible]

Objective: Win the bet against Dominic Elford by reducing your weight to 95 kg within one month.

Reward:

▶ +1000 EXP

▶ +1000 SP

▶ +5 Attribute Points

Failure Penalty:

▶ Loss of 'Aura' – Your presence will become insignificant, making it harder to assert dominance or command attention.

▶ Reputation Drop – Your reputation within the Elford family and beyond will hit rock bottom.

▶ Luck Stat Reduced to 1 – Fate will turn against you, making all future endeavors drastically more difficult.

-------------

Ding!

The system notification lingered in Damien's vision, the glowing text hovering before his eyes like a private joke only he could see.

[New Quest Received: Defy the Impossible]

Ah, how predictable.

Damien's grin widened ever so slightly. He had been waiting for something like this to happen. The moment he threw down such an absurd bet, he knew the system would react. After all, a challenge like this wasn't just difficult—it was something that should have been beyond mortal means.

And that was exactly why he found it so entertaining.

He flicked his gaze briefly over the quest details, absorbing the information effortlessly. The rewards were decent—1000 EXP, SP, and a boost in attributes. But what really caught his attention was the failure penalty.

Loss of 'Aura.'

That one stood out. He already had an overwhelming presence, something that made people instinctively pay attention to him, whether they wanted to or not. Losing that? Annoying.

Reputation Drop.

Expected. His father's expectations were already low, but if he lost, they'd plummet beyond repair. It wasn't just about proving himself. It was about making sure that no one, not even Dominic Elford, could ever dismiss him again.

Luck reduced to 1.

That was amusing. Did that mean he had been lucky all this time? The thought made him chuckle inwardly. Either way, he had no intention of losing.

He dismissed the screen with a thought and returned his attention to his father.

"Now that you have stated your conditions," Damien said smoothly, his tone laced with amusement, "I should also state mine, shouldn't I?"

Dominic raised an eyebrow, unimpressed but intrigued. "And what exactly do you want?"

Damien leaned back slightly, exuding a calm confidence.

"I want to live in Blackthorne Villa."

Owen's breath hitched slightly, and even Dominic's expression flickered for a fraction of a second before returning to its usual unreadable coldness.

Blackthorne Villa.

One of the Elford family's private estates. Large. Isolated. Luxurious. Not as grand as the main mansion, but still far beyond what most could even dream of. It was a place of status—not something given to just anyone.

Damien's grin deepened at their reactions.

"And," he continued smoothly, "I want no one questioning my choices. I will not be restricted, and I will not be spared any expenses. I will use my money however I see fit."

Dominic's fingers drummed once against the desk. A silent acknowledgment of the request, but not yet an agreement. His gray eyes narrowed.

"You want to live alone?"

Damien shrugged. "I work better without distractions."

"You need escorts."

That was expected. As the heir of the Elford family, living alone wasn't an option, even with his newfound ambitions. But that was fine. He had already considered this.

"Elysia will be with me."