--
News of Vanessa's death soon spread through the entire school, plunging it into a semi-depressing mood.
Everybody was shocked to hear that the cultists have returned and, as usual, are spreading dread throughout the district through their hateful actions.
They got another one. A talented young lady this time.
Vanessa's friends and family were devastated. They couldn't believe it. It hasn't even been long since they celebrated Vanessa's awakening, especially her luck at awakening an S-Rank boon, and now she's dead. She had such a bright future ahead of her, yet all of that was gone in a snap of a finger.
Obviously, the management and authorities of District 13 are under the spotlight this time.
Vanessa's mother, struck with immense grief and anger, even slapped the District Lordess because of this. She would've done more if her husband didn't stop her.
This was caught and shown on a live broadcast. Yet surprisingly, even though the mother did something very offensive, the District Lordess didn't press any charges.
In hindsight, she could've stopped her if she really wanted to. The District Lordess is a high-ranking combat professional. She's been known to kill beasts strong enough to take on an entire city on her own. Vanessa's mother was a lifestyle professional, and thus, she couldn't have possibly done anything that the city lordess couldn't avoid.
Therefore, everybody was convinced that she allowed herself to be slapped. It's probably her own way of atoning and validating the emotions of the grieving mother.
The City Lordess even bowed her head and personally apologized to her. Vanessa's loss wasn't just painful to her friends and family; to some extent, the whole district is also affected.
If Vanessa had been able to grow, she could've been a strong candidate to be the next District Lordess. Vanessa was a combat professional, too, so this loss was even more painful.
At this point, no amount of apology will be enough. Killing the culprits won't return her back to life either. The only way for the District Lord and her team to make up for this was to strengthen the security of the territory and make sure this doesn't happen to others again.
Alas, that's easier said than done. If it were that simple, this wouldn't have happened. The Black Church Cult had means to get in and get out of every district without being noticed. They blend in so well with society that nobody even knows where to start searching for them.
The failures they experienced in the past just made them even more cunning and dangerous. So much so that even the District Lord and her team couldn't guarantee that they'd be able to get rid of all of them.
**
The news of the Black Church Cult being active again did raise alarms all over the District.
Due to this, a 10:00pm curfew was passed and applied for everybody. For those who had to stay way late that time, they would need to present a valid reason and proof of their activities; otherwise, they will be detained.
Security will be increased. Guards will start patrolling, and all sorts of security cameras will be activated and surveying the entire district to keep peace.
This caused everybody to feel a little skittish, like they have to walk on eggshells around everybody else.
TJ wasn't too affected by this. First of all, he's not personally connected to Vanessa; he didn't even know her before Lily described her to him. He also wasn't the one who caused her death, and more importantly, if Atlanta truly helped him, then his name shouldn't even appear on the list of the cultists.
That said, this also reminded him that, as exciting and fascinating as the professional world was, it was just as dangerous, if not more. The Black Church Cult was just one group of lunatics; they don't represent all of the shady and disgusting existences in the world.
TJ wasn't trying to follow Vanessa's footsteps, especially the dying part, so he reminded himself to be very careful from now on and continue doing his best in training.
He might even have had to hide his cleverness and strength for an extra layer of security.
Lily, on the other hand, was very affected, though. Not just because she was friends with Vanessa, but also because of her identity.
As the only child of District 13's Medical Saint, she is one of their prime assassination targets. Attempts have been made before and were barely thwarted by the arrangements of her father.
Anthony actually cashed in some of the favors he's owed just to make sure that Lily was protected. Lily thought that he was overreacting, but Anthony said that overreacting was better than having his only daughter dead. Apparently, having the current dean of the school be Lily's teacher wasn't a sufficient guarantee for Anthony.
Now, Lily had an additional shadow following her around. Its presence was never seen nor deliberately felt, but it's there, and it doesn't go away. Lily tried calling that person out, but no matter how hard she tried, they didn't answer her call.
Sieg was also doing his best, but he's also aware that he was too weak to even be a target, so instead of mindlessly tailing Lily like a dog, he opted to train harder instead, something that TJ also took advantage of.
Speaking of training...
**
[Skills:]
• Basic Breathing Technique (Major 470/500)
• Basic Fighting Technique (Major 465/500)
• Basic Footwork Technique (Major 460/500)
• Fencing (Minor 200/250)
**
This was TJ's progress within the past two days.
With the addition of his fights with Dream Echoes and the fact that his other boon also worked in the dream battlefield, his progress speed skyrocketed.
It's to the point that light sparring doesn't even grant him mastery points anymore, in the waking world at least.
William, although resentful, didn't trouble him anymore. The poor guy doesn't even dare to look at TJ in the eyes after the beating he recieved. Of course, he also doesn't dare to invite TJ for another spar, at least not until he knows that he's stronger than him.
The only one who could keep up with TJ was Sieg, and that's only because he's beefy and could take a hit. TJ's spar with Sieg still has some results but not as much as before.
Things were slowing down for him. If he wants to keep up with this progress speed, he has to figure out a new way to do so because ordinary spars won't cut it anymore.
One of the ways he could secure this is by gathering more Dream Echoes.
This required him to go all over the district to collect them, and what poor timing too because of the curfew. However, he still made an effort within his limits and the rules.
Thanks to his efforts, he managed to collect five more Dream Echoes; 1 was named, and the rest weren't. And amongst those who weren't named, one was of the Fusion Class, which was a pleasant surprise for him.
He's really curious about the fighting style of the Fusion Class. He read about them online and even saw some demonstrations, but he knew that they'd still be different in reality, so he's looking forward to fighting this particular Dream Echo.
With these new Dream Echoes available, his choices for sparring partners every night just got more varied.
As for his options in the waking world, they're more limited. And his main bottleneck was none other than money itself.
There are certain places that provide a variety of training courses and plans. Some of them even had facilities that provide bonus exp during training, a complete breakdown of the exercises, suggestions, tips and tricks, etc.
The only downside is that they're expensive. Those services aren't something that TJ can afford with his measly allowance.
The same thing goes for coaches, trainers, etc. Everything has a price tag, and TJ can't afford them.
Becoming a decent professional takes a lifetime's worth of time and effort, while becoming a good professional costs a lot of money. And as someone who doesn't have a source of income just yet, options that require monetary compensation weren't included in TJ's choices.
So, it seems that he'd have to make do with what he has right now.
Still, despite his difficulties, TJ was having a good time.
He had completely fallen in love with the sight of visible progress. He feels like he's walking towards the best version of himself one step at a time. He's feeling so good that even the voices in his head couldn't slow him down.
TJ preferred to live like this compared to what he had experienced for the majority of his 16 years of living in this world.
Having a purpose felt powerful for him. It kept him motivated, focused, and sharp. It's completely unlike his previous self, who was just going through the motions like a puppet with an empty husk. The psychosis wasn't as maddening as it was anymore.
Overall, TJ felt really good about himself. And this was definitely the first time he ever felt this way about himself.