Rumors

<Well done, Seb. Well done!>

Sebastian observed the bodies of the two gang members. He was happy, ecstatic.

The technique worked. With that, he was going to increase his mana, and to make money easily. At that moment, it occurred to him.

<Those guys should have some stuff on.>

Following that, he searched them and uncovered a handful of money as well as a bag containing some funny stuff.

<I will bring this to Adrian later. For now, let's see if I can find some more people.>

He grinned.

In the night's darkness, the streets became saturated with blood. Sebastian went on a hunt for the gang members with a newfound fervor.

Every life he took boosted his mana and filled his pockets, pushing him towards his goal.

The more he did, the closer he got to moving his mom and brother out of Starhaven.

Meanwhile, he was getting closer to getting revenge, his determination growing stronger as the night went on.

His wrath turned the streets of Exidia into a canvas for his dark deeds.

As the night went on, Sebastian's heart got hotter, his mission got funnier, and he got even more hyped.

…

…

…

Two months flew by. Sebastian took out around 60 more people, but not all of them were from the Cobalt Serpents. They couldn't meet Sebastian's mana needs due to a lack of members. That's why he went after the Nightshades and the Rust Reapers too.

Sebastian thought he got a ton of mana, but couldn't measure it or know how many mana clusters it was equivalent to. However, his ability to use Cinder Blast got way better.

He also got a little stronger from the mana he gained, but not by much.

He had to wait for the system to come to see how much he gained.

"I'm strong like a Thespian, but I'm not awakened. That's fucking weird."

Of course, he was as strong as the weakest Thespian right now.

…

…

…

Sebastian sat in his classroom, taking in the familiar view.

He scanned the room, seeing every student lost in their own thoughts or chatting away.

The chalkboard up front still had some leftover lessons from the day, a mix of words and numbers that gave a clue about what we talked about.

Sebastian looked around and noticed all the little things—the classmate chewing on their pencil, the person tapping their foot, all those nervous habits.

The young man found himself amid a typical school day, surrounded by the chatter of his classmates.

Instead of learning and discussing, the classroom became a place for speculation and rumors.

The recent murders in the slums of Exidia had captured everyone's attention, sparking a debate among the students.

They were whispering about the gang members who got killed, totally scared but also intrigued.

"Have you heard about the dead gang members?" one student said, leaning closer to the group gathered around him.

"Yes. I heard it was an ugly affair."

"You think this is a battle between the gangs?" One asked.

"Maybe."

"Could Derrick have been killed by the gangs?"

Another student pondered. There were three bodies found a few months back. The cops had trouble figuring out who they were at first, but since three kids disappeared, after some investigating, they were able to confirm the missing kids got killed.

But then someone chimed in with some logic. "That's not likely," a classmate said. "All the victims had similar injuries—burning wounds. Looks like one person did it, not a whole gang."

This revelation shifted the direction of the conversation. "Burning wounds? Hold up, you're saying this is the work of a Thespian?" someone asked, surprised by the implication.

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant. The kind of wounds pointed to a Thespian as the culprit. You don't often see gang violence leaving marks like these. Besides, Thespians don't usually get involved with gangs."

The mention of a Thespian as the perpetrator raised more questions than answers. "But why would a Thespian target gang members? And Auditors at that?"

The classmate shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe the person behind this is just crazy."

As the word "crazy" lingered in the air, a sudden silence fell over the classroom.

Sebastian, who had been quietly listening, suddenly became the center of attention.

Sebastian could sense everyone staring at him, curious and accusing.

"Do I look like a Thespian to you?" Sebastian said. To that, his classmates turned the other way.

No one wanted to tick him off. His classmates didn't know what went down, but they saw he was different after not showing up for two weeks in June. It was pretty clear - he wasn't himself anymore when he got back.

Eventually, the bell rang, and everyone was free to go.

The conversation ended just as suddenly as it started, leaving everyone whispering and exchanging glances.

Sebastian gathered his stuff, his mind racing with thoughts of the events from last night.

***

"Have you not found him?" Emily, the leader of the Cobalt Serpents, said.

"No. He disappeared."

"Do you know who he could be?" She asked again.

"Those who survived him said he was a young man, likely a high schooler."

"A high schooler?" She asked.

"Yes. It is weird. He is for sure the guy who attacked our members and stole their money," the man said.

Emily thought it was weird. This guy definitely went after them to take their stuff.

The smaller gangs only controlled a small portion of the slums, as most of it was divided among the larger gangs. However, even though their slice was small, it proved to be highly profitable.

She understood that this young man's intentions were solely focused on robbing them at the beginning, but she was baffled on why he transitioned to killing the gang members. What did they do to him?

"Find this mother fucker. See if the Nightshades and Rust Reapers can lend a hand. I heard they got attacked, too."

"Indeed. We'll reach out to them as soon as we can."

"Good. Hurry up. This asshole needs to pay."