Nick just aimlessly walked back to the Dregs with a disoriented expression.
10,000 credits.
Three days of nothing to do.
Nick had achieved his dream.
He had become a Zephyx Extractor.
He was earning a lot of money.
He didn't need to fear for his life anymore. Well, outside of being in the Dreamer's Containment Unit.
And yet, there was a certain emptiness in Nick's chest.
It was almost like all of this wasn't real.
Literally just two days ago, Nick had been poor and had spent all of his life in the Dregs.
Now, Nick was wearing nice clothes, and he had even taken a fancy bath.
Even more, he was rich.
Eventually, Nick just stopped walking.
By now, he had already reached the Dregs again, and he had stopped in the middle of a random road.
Nick just looked around the area.
He saw a couple of people, but they all avoided him.
None of them dared to look at him, and the few that had to travel past him either waited for him to leave or passed him with a wide berth.
There was fear and nervousness in their faces.
Nick felt the distance between him and the people around him widen.
In a way, Nick felt like he had been thrown out of his home.
Just a couple days ago, no one had batted an eye when he had been walking through the Dregs.
But now, everyone was looking at him from a distance with fear.
'I guess this is what happens,' he thought with a sigh. 'I look like a Zephyx Extractor now, and all Zephyx Extractors get such looks.'
'What am I saying? I don't look like a Zephyx Extractor. I AM a Zephyx Extractor!'
'This is what I have always dreamed of!'
Nick looked around the area with newfound motivation, but the more he looked at the people, the more isolated he felt.
Eventually, Nick sighed again before continuing to walk.
After a couple of minutes, Nick reached his goal.
In front of Nick was a sizable house made of rusty metal, but compared to most houses, this one was quite a lot bigger.
It was almost a mansion.
It was Nick's current home.
Nick opened the door and walked inside.
The house smelled just like the Dregs outside, but Nick didn't mind.
He was used to the smell of rust, shit, piss, and toxic waste.
"Nick?" came the voice of a young boy from upstairs.
A boy, about eleven years old, walked down the steps, but as soon as he saw the person standing at the entrance of the house, the boy stopped in shock.
"S-sir? How can I help y-you?" the boy asked with a fearful voice.
"It's me, Horua," Nick said.
"N-Nick?" Horua, the boy, asked in shock.
Horua was the actual owner of the big house.
Horua was the only child of a quite rich man in the Dregs, which meant that he was earning about as much as the average person in the Outer City.
He had only needed to save enough money to move out of the Dregs, but before he could do so, he vanished.
After some weeks, the gangs started to covet the man's old house and closed in on it.
Naturally, Horua couldn't resist them.
But then, Nick intervened, and he defended Horua.
However, while Nick was a nice person, he was also a practical one.
To say that Nick only helped the little boy out of the goodness of his heart would be a lie.
Nick saw Horua's troubles as a good way to earn some money without having to commit horrible acts.
In exchange for a place to live and his tax money, Nick made sure that no one dared to take anything from the house or hurt Horua.
For the past months, Nick had been living here.
"Is that really you?" Horua asked.
Nick nodded. "Yep," he said as a smile appeared on his face. "I'm officially a Zephyx Extractor now! Cool, huh?"
Horua looked with shock at Nick as he slowly walked closer.
For several seconds, Horua just looked at the uniform like it was a valuable gem.
"Wow," Horua eventually let out. "That's amazing!"
But then, the little boy realized something. "Wait, so does that mean that you won't be living here anymore?"
Nick furrowed his brows.
He didn't answer.
Nick had often thought about moving out of the Dregs, but when it finally became a reality, it felt like it had happened way too soon and quickly.
"I guess so," Nick said after a while.
Horua became a bit worried, and he looked at the ground.
With Nick gone, the gangs would return, and he would lose his house.
Even more, maybe the gangs would even take revenge on Horua for all the troubles Nick had caused them due to him!
Horua was just an eleven-year-old boy, and he was very scared of the gangs.
Horua felt like he would soon die.
But he also knew that Nick actually had no obligation to help him.
"And will happen to me?" Horua asked. "What about dad's house?"
Nick sighed.
"I don't know about the house, but I can make sure that the gangs won't hurt you. I can probably also store your credits somewhere."
Horua's eyes widened in fear.
He knew how much everyone coveted his father's money, and after becoming a Zephyx Extractor, Nick was suddenly willing to store Horua's money?
Horua became suspicious, but he still trusted Nick. After all, Nick had been protecting him for months.
For the next couple of minutes, Nick and Horua talked about what to do.
In the end, Horua could only sigh and accept that he wasn't strong enough to protect his own money.
"If I remain on my own, I will lose my money with certainty. If I trust you, there's still a chance," Horua said.
Nick wasn't offended that Horua didn't fully trust him. After all, they were both living in the Dregs.
"If only there were a way for me to also become a Zephyx Extractor and get an ability that makes me powerful."
When Nick heard that, he got an idea, and he scratched his chin in thought.