"Flavian, what are you doing here?" Brandyn asked, taking off his mask entirely.
"Well, I'm a regular-born. My whole family is too, and something has to pay the bills." He replied.
"Oh yeah, that's true."
"Why are you here though? I thought you were eligible for governmental compensation?" Flavian asked back.
"Well, they reduced my payments for 12 months because I had a non-contractor. It's against the rules, yes, but it's not like these people give me a lot of money in the first place. My house is literally just my bedroom and empty space." He said, making Flavian chuckle.
In his school, there was quite a well-known student called Flavian. He was a regular-born but what was striking about him was that he seemed to have the perfect genetic material for a human. He was extremely attractive, and he stood at 6'0. His top speed was around 26mph, and he could lift hundreds of kilograms. He could also jump around 60 inches in the air, and all of this was done without an ability. Since he was so strong across the board, he wasn't in the weakest class in the year group but was, instead, in Brandyn's F-1 class.
"Those damn elites. They know they can get away with it because we have no power against them." Flavian said, visibly annoyed.
"Oh well. There's nothing we can do but work around it."
"I guess I'll see you around then. I'm going to a different outpost than you so I'm heading off that way." Flavian explained, putting his mask back on.
"When do I get the compensation for this mission?"
"As soon as you meet him again. Just wait for your next mission and he'll pay up." Flavian said with a slightly muffled voice due to his mask.
The two fighters then made their exit, giving a brief nod to each other before leaving. Mostly, regular-born students liked to keep to themselves due to the harsh bullying and damage that was done to their mental health. However, Brandyn felt a weird connection with Flavian. There was basically no one he had ever talked to after his parents died that could relate to him. Now, hearing somebody who was just like him, it made him quite happy to hear about it.
[Quest Complete!]
[+150XP]
[+1 Stat Point]
"Hmm. What should I put my stat point into? Let's check my stats."
[User: Brandyn Santiago]
[Level: 5]
[Strength: 6]
[Speed: 6]
[Durability: 7]
[HP:34/50]
[MP: 2/10]
[XP: 195/500]
"I should try and increase my strength. My stats are quite balanced now, though." He realised, clicking the strength option on his stat point to use it.
***
A few more days passed, and Brandyn continued to fortify his skills in the use of daggers. Now, they gave him more combos and he really started to sharpen out his form to a near-experienced level. He was not only swift with his attacks but also forceful at the same time. Flavian was in his class but since Flavian was training with different weapons, it was rare that they ever encountered one another during the battle training.
The evening sun flared a beautiful orange and the sky slowly started to darken to a dusky black. In the sky, there were several blue streaks and large aircraft soaring across the sky.
*ring*
His second phone had gained a new notification. It was another mission.
"Meet me at this location. You have been given a mission and you have been rewarded with 4,400 marks for compensation with your last mission. This is a mission, if completed, will give you between 1,000 and 1,500 marks."
"1,000 marks again?! I thought that was just like a one-off! This criminal life thing really is lucrative!" He said to himself.
This meant that he could gain up to thousands of marks a week if he was to continue like this. Since he was so curious on how much he would earn, he decided to reply to the text.
"Will I continue to make money like this?" Brandyn placed his phone away but the phone vibrated just as he was putting it away.
"To be honest, no. These are missions that you are lucky to get since you performed so well in your first mission. Expect the missions to earn you around 200 – 500 marks, and they will become much less frequent for you." Carbine announced, making Brandyn slightly bummed out.
However, this was still a lot of revenue for him. Alongside his work at Brandy's corner, he could gain a significantly large income. Since he was skilful at his job, his earnings at Brandy's corner had recently increased from 3 marks an hour to 5 marks 50.
"I have a shift tomorrow anyway. I think I won't even need my state payments in a while. If this gang stuff gets more lucrative over time, that is." Brandyn remarked as he followed his path home.
The train soared under the ground at extremely high speeds until he reached his home neighbourhood's station.
As the evening came swiftly, the sky soon darkened out into midnight black, and it was go-time. Brandyn lifted himself from his cosy bed to prepare for the big mission that awaited him. This time, he was not nervous or fearful. He was determined. This life was dangerous, but this was key to provide him with what he wanted. Independence.
Power.
*RING*
The phone rang again, and Brandyn was ready. He wore a grey hoodie that he had purchased with the money that he had gained and decided to wear dark, soundproof shoes. He also wore a nice tracksuit, which were a soothing matt black.
Walking the odd path that he had been provided with, he ended up arriving quite far from the location of his home. He was around a 45-minute walk away for a human but with a quick jog at 20 miles per hour, he was able to reach the destination in a few minutes.
The small outpost was in a small, isolated area of Salham, and it was deep in a park. The only building present was a large, abandoned home situated next to the open park a few minutes away. The walls were a dying grey and there were meagre lights emitted from the open windows.