Bag of newly bought stuff in hand, I slipped inside a narrow pathway that took me to the southern part of The Market. Properly called the "Techies' Hangout," this part of the market is where someone like me will want to buy Genius tech and since it's The Market, the variety of this place means that anyone can find just about anything here; from Jury-Rigged, barely functioning but competent machines that'll explode on your face more often times than not, to actual tech made with actual intent behind them to everything in between.

If I'm lucky, I can even find Hardlight tech in here.

I walked along a line of people who are as colorful as they are different. Some are clearly mercenaries, understandable since it's here that most of them would spend their time to either buy gear or information.

'Or maybe to just hang out.' Like the pair of rough looking men sitting down by a beer-brewer. They're too far away but I can see that every time one of them talks, the other would reply and they'd both start laughing. 'Huh, must be pretty funny people.'

Or it's the effects of beer.

I stopped in front of a stall because the assortment of knives all over the place got my attention. I looked around, my eyes stopping briefly on a dark-blue blade hanging on a thin thread, I grabbed it with my middle and index finger, slipping the blade in between them. My fingers trailed down the blade and I was amazed at just how smooth the metal is. I looked at the handle, simple black authentic leather with metal accents.

"Like it kid?" a smooth voice came and I jerked my hand away from the knife. I put up a smile way before I faced the stall owner. Behind the curtain of blades hanging from the stall's ceiling is someone that I think is in their mid twenties, with black hair, black eyes, and a mouth full of white teeth that smiled at me expectantly.

He had a piercing on his nose, two of them side by side and close enough that the metal rings hit each other when he smiled, "You have a good eye," he reached out to grab the knife and unhooked it from the string. He pushed the blade with his thumb and it rotated into the handle, "but let me let you in on a secret- the blade isn't everything on a knife."

He pressed one of the metal balls on the handle and a two pronged fork came out, it was thin and unlike the dark-blue blade of the knife, looked like stainless steel. "See this?" I nodded, "This is a taser," he pressed another button and electricity crackled on the prongs' surface, "you can also pick locks with it."

He pressed the original button and the fork went back in. His thumb then pressed the back of the handle and out popped the blade, "so kid? Want it?"

I looked away from his expectant eyes and looked at the other blades in the shop, this time I checked out the ones that didn't hang from the ceiling and are just instead placed unceremoniously on little dents on the table. If there are hundreds of blades hanging from the ceiling, then the table only had a handful of knives on it and I don't know if it's because of spacing or what but that seems to be the case for the stall's product placement.

There are only 10 or so blades here and I eyed all of them one by one. The knife that took most of my attention though is this dagger with a normal looking blade but had a futuristic handle. I grabbed it, "how much is this?" I asked, twisting the dagger around to get a better look at the handle.

Like the knife that I picked earlier, the handle of this one had metal accents on it but this time a few plastic additions are added- A few squares with different colors sit on the upper part of the handle, one is green, the other is yellow, and the last one is red. I don't know what they all do and I'm curious to find out.

The stall owner must've sensed my thoughts because he asked me for the blade and he pressed the red button after I handed it to him, "different modes of cutting," he said, "red is hot, melts steel. Yellow is for energy and can be used to slice apart lasers while the green one is... I guess the green one is used for medicine? It can clean wounds." He finished with a shrug.

"Oh, and I guess there's this thing as well-" he gestured to a smooth metal ball, "-but all I heard is that it makes the blade longer by adding plasma or something. I don't wanna say you need to buy this because it's pretty energy inefficient but if you want it. Fine."

"No, actually." I shook my head. The knives are starting to interest me now so I decided to ask for something, "Do you have something I can throw?"

"Throwing knives?" I nodded and watched as he put the two knives I picked back in their original place, "do you want something that goes back to you or do you just want regular knives?"

"How much would it be if I buy something that can return to me?" I still had a lot of Digits, somewhere in the lower 400s and if I have enough money for the knife, then I'd definitely buy it.

"Something like that is either lower 300s or middle 200s." The guy stopped rummaging for knives through the box at the bottom of his stall and stared at me.

'So it's either 250ish or 330 at best.' Right. Do I want to buy a knife now? I hesitated because I still have the registration fee but I guess- 'I'd just ask him to help me with the registration fee,'.

Getting indebted to that insane piece of shit is probably a bad idea but since I'm already a part of his world, getting a few more of those wouldn't hurt. I sighed and took out my wallet, "I'll take the knives in the 200s."

The guy frowned, "You sure? Techie stuff isn't that reliable you know?" He plunged his arm deep into the box and took another box out of it. The box looked ornate, with wind carvings on its lid and a black lock holding it shut. "There's a lot of throwing knives here and the box only costs 56 Digits."

I stopped. Thinking. Experimenting if my magic affects items doesn't sound so bad. The knives felt perfect. I smiled, "Do you have another one of those?"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

He nodded, "Yeah,"

"I'll take them." Guess no Techie stuff for the time being then. 'I can live with it.'

The music disappeared and everything died down when I took a step out of the exit doors, it was back to being monotone now, boring, lifeless. I hear someone somewhere talking to a guard, probably something about not getting let in. I looked right and bright neon took over my vision, washing over the blue but not mixing with it.

Even when the gate's right there, and a lively crowd is right behind it, somehow the world just feels dead. Ahead of me is the abandoned industrial sector, nothing could have represented the lifelessness of everything better.

I steered away from the lunatic filled sector and did something I thought I wouldn't have done after coming here- I went out of my way and walked into the main roads of Gloria's lower parts.

Immediately, the difference between it and the slums becomes obvious: A lot of recreational stuff can be seen here, taking up most of the wide road and presenting their "Products" into the open with brimming confidence that you can only see with successful businessmen- Pimps, Prostitutes, Drug Dealers are just the few that most people consider bad but then there's also the Body Handlers, a group of fit men and women who are willing to let their body get controlled in exchange for money.

One of them came up to me with a smile on his handsome face, his open vest showed his well toned chest and his thick arms went over my shoulder in a friendly manner. The guy is middle aged? Most likely lower twenties actually- has blue eyes, green hair, and a mouth full of shiny white teeth.

I got away from his grip and he put his hands together in apology before smiling, "Sorry about that," he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Didn't know you wouldn't like it- I get touchy I guess? You know?" his words came rapidly and I stood there, listening. Which might've encouraged him more.

He laughed, "Anyways, you want in?" he pointed at himself then moved his thumb to a clean looking building filled with Neon Signs behind him, "I'm only 500 Digits a pop."

I shook my head, "Not really." And left.

Better be polite than ignore them. No matter how separated they look, these people are a community and God knows that communities are considered sacred by some of them. 'What was the saying again? Hit one part and the rest of the body feels it?'

I guess that's what they consider themselves, an entire entity that only wants to live and they do it through selling themselves. 'It would have respected it if some of them aren't so pushy.'

I circled around a tall redhead talking to a short brown-haired girl, whispering something in her ear. Definitely one of the Handlers.

My grip on the plastic bags I'm holding tightened and I pulled them closer to myself. The streets here looked clean, and I guess that's the point when it's a place where the rich go to enjoy themselves without worrying about attachments or law. None of that mattered when people think you can be easily robbed, if someone or worse, a group of someones in the lower parts think that they can take from you without losing anything in return then they'd do it.

The so called "Ethical creed" here isn't gonna do anything. Not when you're a target that can't fight back.

"Hey there," the silken voice made me flinch but only for a second before I turn around and gave out the most reassuring and self confident smile I could. The woman who catcalled- who is definitely under someone's control by now, - looked hot. And I mean it. Her body is curvy, with tones of muscles visible on her stomach.

"Hi." I replied politely while continuing to walk.

She followed after me with a seductive smile, her sharp eyes curving, "Wanna drink somewhere?" I grabbed her wrist and slowly put it away when she tried to pull what the other guy did. My reaction didn't stop her in the slightest because she jerked her head to her left and said, "I have a nice room somewhere out back."

"Not interested." I smiled, "Sorry." and walked even faster. If she decides to chase me, I'd just run. The body she's wearing has high heels.

"What? You gay or something?" she asked with a frown while cocking her hips to the side. "You don't wanna sleep with something like this?"

Oh, I would. Just not right now. "I just have better things to do," I replied, my words reflecting my thoughts.

Five steps out, the woman gave up on following me and said- "Fair enough. Your loss."- with a shrug.

I walked past several controlled bodies, most of them socializing with each other with confidence that the controllers most likely never have when they're in their original selves. Some of them called out to me but again, I ignored them. I had better things to do than talk with some middle-class people who can only steal bodies instead of upgrading their own.

'The people they're controlling probably have more modifications than them too.' And that's what makes this place so dangerous. Because if even a worker is modified to be a better human, then what about the actual guards here? There are also rumors that there's a drug that makes Mutants stronger too, and that the guards here take that.

Not a place to mess around with by any measure. So, reminding myself that I should leave it as soon as possible, I walked faster and left the place.

Slowly, everything went dark as the light of the neon signs faded into the darkness. The more I walked, the more these signs got rarer until there's nothing around me but ruined streets and decrepit buildings. I smelled something rotting and walked quicker while making sure to gather as much Theikos as possible. My eyes kept looking around, searching for the place where the smell came from but found nothing until it just disappeared.

I went to a metal bridge whose wire groaned when walked on. It smells like rust here, sounds are dead and darkness overtakes everything. A passing shadow came by and I heard a meow.

I moved quickly, pushing my feet till I reached the ledge. I didn't look down, or up as I pushed myself off of it. A platform caught me, it started to sway but I wasn't scared. I held on.

Another meow made my heart beat faster. My process of gathering Theikos became easier too and I can absorb more of it now. I'm not stupid- I like to call myself observant- I know what helps me use Theikos; Adrenaline and Movement

'Should've thought of that back at the circus,' Or in my room. But I guess learning how to control my powers while being potentially hunted down by the Lioness doesn't sound so bad either!

I tread across the creaking platform, it went further and further down, going deep enough that the ground below is only a 6 feet jump. After boosting myself with minor super strength, I bent my legs and leaped.

I landed and dust went up my nose and I started coughing. The good news is though, no attack came while I'm halfway through the air.

The land below the bridge is supposed to have been a dried up river channel that ran across the city at one point. It's gone now, but the signs of what it once was are still there; The good kind of concrete lined the place, serving as its interior. Large beams shaped in an arc were everywhere, giving the channel a look of a dying animal whose ribs are jutting out of its skin.

And on the smooth concrete skin are large holes littering its walls.

Back when the river is still alive, they would've spat out sewer waste that went directly to the slums and horror stories of what comes out of them still get told among the older denizens.

Mrowww.

I shivered. That one sounded close.

I walked faster.