"This is the place?" Caster asked with visceral disgust. "You must be joking."
Gehrman wasn't all that surprised at this reaction. Caster hadn't become a better person just because he left his prejudiced clan. It made sense that he'd turn his nose up at the Outskirts of NSCQ.
"In the Forgotten Shore, there was only one person who I considered to have the ability to become a true Yharnam Hunter, do you know who that was?"
The young man sneered.
"Judging from where we are, I assume it was the tiny fiend."
Gehrman raised an eyebrow at the insult. He knew that Caster still hated Sunny, but calling him tiny was a low blow. He may have been a bit shorter than the average person…but it felt rude to point that out.
"Sunny had something that none of you had. He had an unquenchable hatred for the world. He had been raw, untamed, but he was still stronger than almost everyone there simply because he was too damn stubborn to give up."
Gehrman paused and turned his head to face Caster.
"He had his gut split open by a broadsword and spent hours lying in a ditch. And instead of cowering in fear he vowed to kill the thing that hurt him. And the most ridiculous thing is that he actually managed it."
The young man frowned at his companion.
"So instead of trained killers you want unruly, insane beasts."
"More or less," Gehrman nodded. "Besides, there is a demand for trained killers. But no one cares if I take a couple 'Outskirt Rats' off the street. The Government barely gave it a second though before approving my plan. It only cost me a single Ascended Soul Shard and I bought 5 square kilometers of land."
"Thats because it's pointless," Caster said through gritted teeth. "Sunless was…unique. He was in a position where he had to become trained and powerful. And he had one of the best teachers in the world to make him that way. You can't possibly hope to replicate that. The ones who live here can hardly be considered people. They live here for a reason. They are lazy by nature, and will not train and work like he did simply because you offer."
Gehrman's jaw dropped and he gave Caster an incredulous look.
"I knew you were entitled but I didn't think you'd be an idiot about this," Caster's face contorted at the insult. But Gehrman simply pinched his brow. "It's easier to believe they're lesser because, that way, you don't feel bad for them. This society is built in a way that they simply can't be treated as equals. The system would fall apart otherwise."
Gehrman shook his head.
"Whatever, I don't need you to become a decent human being, I just need you to keep getting stronger."
Caster's face shifted to one of confusion.
"Wait, what is my role in all of this? I thought I would be…your apprentice or something."
"Eh, not really. It would be more appropriate to say I'm your sponsor. I'll keep giving you the resources you need to climb the Ranks and you return the favor by killing whatever I point you at," he paused. "For the most part you'll be acting independently. I'm not going to be a mother hen always over your shoulder. That will dampen your growth."
"Do I even need to be here then?" Caster asked, the look of disgust returned to his face as he considered their surroundings. "The air here is literally poisonous, I'd rather not be a part of this if I can."
Indeed the Outskirts of NSCQ was a deeply unpleasant place. Unprotected by the city's complex and expensive air filtration system, the polluted air that covered the rest of the planet ran rampant here.
It was heavy and scratched at the throat. But for Awakened, it wasn't too bad to deal with. Caster's discomfort came from the simple fact that he was used to the pristine air of his rich home and the Dream Realm.
The area itself wasn't very pretty either.
They had returned to the place he had flattened when he had fought that Corrupted Tyrant.
A few loose approximations of buildings had popped up in the area, but unless the Government actively built factories here it would remain empty for a while.
And since Gehrman now owned this area, none of that would be happening.
Still, the architecture of the Outskirts was visible. Apart from the few Government buildings like police stations, everything was made with no regard to safety or practicality. All the buildings had unstable foundations, shoddy stonework, and were very cramped. Not a single one reached higher than three stories, as no one could create a building to support it.
The result was a bunch of block-like structures huddled together. Exteriors were rusted and worn and the entire area seemed to squeak and groan as it tried to stay alive.
So what Gehrman was about to build would undoubtedly stick out. And he hoped it would bring plenty of fun new people to his doors.
"I need you for this first bit. I know I just said that you would be independent but this is an exception. Manual labor isn't cheap and an Awakened worker will make this whole thing go faster."
For this line, Gehrman received a glare.
"They won't listen to you. Anything you build will be destroyed and vandalized. These people don't welcome outsiders."
"I don't need their affection. I just need their respect and fear. It isn't ideal, but things will be quicker that way."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
Gehrman gave a broad smile.
This was something he had thought about for a long time. In some of his free time he had looked into things like leadership and management. In order to motivate workers, they had to feel valued and feel like they were making a difference. But to keep them in line there had to be a certain level of fear. There had to be consequences for stepping out of line. It was mentioned that though the consequences couldn't be cruel, lest their fear become too prominent. But if the workers themselves believed that the figure in charge was too unassailable and frightening, then they wouldn't even test them.
Suddenly, a slight change occurred in Gehrman.
He had been practicing for a while, and he eventually succeeded in doing something very strange and unnerving.
Gehrman was altering his body.
Of course, he couldn't control flesh itself, but with [Blood Manipulation], he could do subtle but effective things to make him seem like a different person.
Or rather, to make him seem like something entirely inhuman.
His cheeks thinned and his eyes became sunken. His face was inhumanly pale to the point of being frightening. Blemishes started to appear all across his forehead and cheeks. His strange beauty that he acquired from Ascending was replaced with an uncanny imperfection that still seemed alluring.
As a final touch, he put pressure on his vocal chords.
In a bass-like voice that was entirely too deep to be natural, he spoke with a slow and creepy tone.
"I will simply become something that they won't even consider going against. Something that isn't even man," his grin became inhumanly wide. "I will be a frightening story that spreads like wildfire, something absurd and unnatural. I will be a folktale."
…
One early morning in late January. A sound rang out throughout the south of the Outskirts. It was a dull sound, but a loud one.
Rhythmic, like a bell toll.
No one could tell what it was, but it was big enough that people woke up. The folks living in the Outskirts knew to never sleep heavy.
Even if they were doing well and weren't in debt, at any moment something could come in and turn their lives upside down.
It could be a Nightmare Creature.
A lot of kids fell to the Nightmare Spell these days, and a lot of them did not turn themselves over to the police once they started showing the signs.
They would die in the Nightmare, and a monster would take their place. It would be "Dormant". A weak creature by the standards of the Government.
But even if one was lucky enough to have a knife, or even a firearm the creature would undoubtedly still kill dozens.
Life held little value out here.
When the unnatural thudding that sounded like a giant's walk echoed around the area, they were ready to run. Some ran before they even saw what it was.
But a few glanced out toward the empty plot of land where numerous buildings had been before.
And what stood there was a small hill of rock. And a young man standing in front of it.
Suddenly, there was a blade in the young man's hand, and not a normal one either.
Instead, it seemed to be made of porcelain black.
When he swung the sword, the stone split cleanly, as if it was a piece of paper that had been cut.
"An Awakened!"
Now only three still stood their ground, watching the magical man do his mysterious work.
A mother hugged her daughter tightly. Her sickness had made her weak, and she was in no condition to move.
And a boy with a torn cap stood with arms crossed and hatred in his eyes.
Everyone else had scattered.
But the sound kept repeating. Over and over like a drum beat.
Eventually, it started to occur in quicker intervals.
The mother watched with shaking eyes as she recognized a monster made of stone. Its limbs were of unnatural length and it moved in inhumanly smooth motions.
This creature was cutting the stone as well.
What's more, the stone hill that they were working on kept getting bigger. Now it was a decent bit taller than the tallest building in a dozen kilometers.
The vengeful child eventually paled as the process seemed to be nowhere near stopping.
He skulked into the shadows, nimbly making his way toward one of the larger buildings in the area.
Inside the large box of a building, yellowish lights illuminated a smooth concrete floor. Carpets and cushions could be seen and several large men and seductive women idled around.
The boy pushed past them all, and they let him go with a derisive glare.
Eventually, he pushed into a secluded room in the back.
It was quite large, the square footage equaling most premium housing that could be found in the Outskirts.
A string instrument let out a slow song and a long. Dim lights played off several old monitors that played different scenes. Some was live footage of factories or parks. Others were sports games or contests amongst Awakened fighters.
At the center of it all, a lanky, skinny man with a sleeveless shirt laid back leisurely. He looked like any other junky off the streets, and indeed he smoked from a pipe.
But he was by no means an ordinary person from the Outskirts.
He had a beautiful woman on one side and a pretty young man on his other. Sprinkled throughout the rest of the room were other beauties and larger folks who acted as bodyguards.
"Boss," the boy said. "There is an Awakened where block 9280 was."
"Yeah, no shit bootlicker," the long man took a large drag from his pipe, his voice simultaneously squeaky and hoarse. "Everyone in the 9000s was on my doorstep this morning with that same shit, acting like I'd give them a medal for pointing out the most obvious thing in the fucking world."
"He isn't just any Awakened. He has an Echo,"
This made the man freeze. His pipe stopped just shy of his mouth and his pale eyes smoothly looked down at the boy before him.
"The fuck you just say?"
The boy swallowed, nerves firing under the gaze of the man.
"He…has an Echo. It's a stone creature. Too big and disproportionate to be a human. I saw him summon it, there were white lights."
The man grunted, he tapped the shoulders of the two people sitting next to him and spoke quietly to them.
"You can go get each other a drink. Have some fun with each other if you want. This is some boring work stuff, so I'll be there for a while."
The two looked stiffly at each other before standing and leaving the area.
At the same time, two larger men walked over, standing on each side of the boy.
"An Echo," the man mused. "That's some rare shit. You gotta kill hundreds of Nightmare Creatures to get one of them things. Or you gotta be absurdly lucky," he tossed his head back and looked to the ceiling.
"Kid, what's your name again?"
The boy flinched. He had been surviving by reporting stuff to this man. He had practically worked for him for the last five years of his life.
"Bitz, sir."
"That's a weird ass name you got there," the man let out a raspy chuckle and took another drag. "Tell me, Bitz. If you got yourself an Echo what would you do with it?"
The boy was taken aback by the question, but he didn't need to take long to respond.
"Sell it. Use the money to become a citizen."
"Well your dream of becoming a citizen is naive and shortsighted but you're right to want to sell the thing," the man abruptly leaned forward, getting so close to Bitz that the boy could smell the old drugs in his breath. "Echos will get you a shit ton of money. Dosen't matter what Rank it is those Legacy fucks are always clamoring for more. It's more than enough to never step foot in the Outskirts again. So it's not an Awakened who lost everything and came here just to cause chaos. Whoever this guy is, he still has a way to live a normal life…and he's ignoring it."
The lanky man crossed his arms and frowned.
"Well it's worth more than what any other douche has brought me today. Since you had the balls to actually stay back and watch I'll give you a couple credits for your time…after we verify it's true."
The tension in Bitz's shoulders eased.
"Thank you sir, but there is one more thing."
"Uh huh, what?"
"The stone he keeps cutting up. Somehow he keeps getting more and more of it. It just keeps showing up. I don't think he's doing it. So there might be another Awakened there."
The man's face suddenly became dark.
"You gotta be shitting me. They can't just be pulling stone out of thin air. They gotta be taking it from somewhere. Probably under our feet. Thats gonna destabalize the entire fucking district!"
He threw his pipe aside, letting it clatter loudly to the ground. In anguish, he pressed his hands to his brow and gritted his teeth.
"I soooo, did not need this shit today."
After letting out a deep sigh. He muttered something under his breath.
"Hey, Bitz kid. How do you feel about tripling the money I am about to give you? If you're telling the truth, go talk to that Awakened, figure out what the fuck he's doing and if he's got a partner. If you do that, I'll even buy you meals for next month."
His eyes suddenly narrowed and his voice became low and viscous.
"But one of my guys will be following you. And if you're full of shit. Then he's gonna gut you right there in the street."