The girl in the plain white pyjamas stood in the middle of the busy street.
The street bustled with festive people, no one even caring to look at her. In awe, she stared at the world around her. It was the first time she had seen anything like that. Her past life was in a different, much less advanced world, and in her current one, she spent all her years of freedom living in a mansion in the rich part of the city.
"Look where you are standing, kiddo!" A man in a red tuxedo, blue cape, and suit of shiny, metallically looking fabric pushed her out of his way while murmuring, "Fucking, junkies..."
Originally she was worried about her being too eye-catchy in her white pyjama, but now when she looked at the passerby's often comic and varied outfits, she realized she was wrong.
'Thanks, goodness at it is a new year festival. Streets are full of people, everyone is drunk and dressed in festive clothes.' It was as if the goddess of luck herself stood on her side, helping her with her escape.
'This is not part of the city for me... Sooner or later someone will spot and report me. Cameras are everywhere, it is only a matter of time before they find me.'
Without waiting, Tia rushed to the dark side street, 'Follow the poor, and you will find a place where no guards dare to go.'
She kept walking deeper and deeper into the guts of the city.
The crowds of festive citizenry slowly trickled away, replaced by dark streets with beggars lying on the sidewalks. The murky, stinking water puddles reflected flickering neons from the desolate houses and businesses. The fireworks explosions in the sky above the city occasionally illuminated the entire street, revealing garbage on the ground.
The tattooed men and women smoked and drank in the corners, guns, knives, and metal poles hanging on their waists.
She hated it, but it was her best hope as she remembered articles from the local news she had read a long time ago: 'Not even guards dare to come here casually if they don't want to get shot. Gangs are the rulers here. There is no surveillance they could use to track me down as the local gangs already took it down.'
The deeper she walked, the cleaner the streets became, and the beggars slowly vanished, replaced by shady-looking people walking all around her. She felt their eyes on her back, but no one moved to attack her.
'This is the dark side of the Federation... You have rights and freedoms, but at the same time there is no social security and the planetary guard can barely protect the rich and middle class, leaving the rest to fend for themselves.' From the day she was born, she was raised and groomed as a federation citizen of the upper class, leading her to believe it was the best place to live.
However, now she felt nothing but disdain. She experienced the corrupted justice system on her own skin and the treatment of the less fortunate. And now she saw all the people who were thrown away by the system after being used and deemed useless.
"Ahhh!" Shouts echoed through the murky, neon-lit streets as a bunch of goons in a shadow beat a man with metal poles again and again.
"Please, I will get you your money! Ahhh"
Tia continued to walk deeper and deeper into the shady, poor parts of the city, shivers passing down her body under the cold evening air. Her nose wrenched at the disgusting smell of human filth in the air.
Human eyes constantly stared at her, but no one dared to move, the pulsing blue glow of her plasma pistol working as a strong deterrent.
'Where to go?' She escaped, but she was alone and wanted, without any money. Her stomach audibly grumbled in hunger.
Suddenly thunder rumbled above her head, and heavy rain descended. The raindrops drummed on the metal and concrete roofs.
'Are you kidding me?'
Her eyes fell upon a man walking right in front of her and glinted, stopping at the purse in the back pocket of his pants. With a single thread of her thought, the purse jumped out of his pocket and flew straight into her hand.
'Haha, from a powerful witch to a rich girl and then to a petty criminal... is this really how deep have I fallen?'
Ding!
//
New quest: Set up your witch practice
Every witch needs her own hideout where she can, in peace, produce and sell her crafts. Find a suitable location and form a cordial trade relationship with the local community.
Rewards: 1 x witch point; 1 x random potion recipe
//
Beep!
<<<<<<>>>>>>
New mission:
Objective --> Kill 5 local gangsters to earn a respect
Rewards --> 3 x esper point
<<<<<<>>>>>>
'Come on, are doing this intentionally?' The girl stomped her feet in frustration, catching everyone's eyes, 'What is this nonsense? How am I supposed to trade with someone if I start killing people whirly nearly?'
A dirty beggar sprawled on the road with a bottle in his hand looked at her and quietly murmured, "What a freak..."
"Shut up!" She stared back at the beggar, making him flinch back, a visible shiver running down his spine. They had been calling her insane and sick for years, and she had enough of it.
'Maybe... I can do both of them. The systems are right; I should not give up. I just need to work hard, and everything will turn alright' Her eyes pulsed with purple energy, her hand already itching on the hilt of her gun. She looked at the dump she was in in the new light. She no longer saw the dirty and stinky street. Instead, she saw her opportunity and her future kingdom, at least until she got away.
Without any fear, she briskly walked towards the nearest shop, her eyes slightly glowing as she stared at the goons in leather jackets and tattoos all over their bald heads camping before, 'Time for some small confiscation!'