My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

’This world is genuinely dangerous.’

To secure humanity’s continued survival, the top brass from the Elite District refused to admit anyone from the Slums until they’d proven themselves. Part of the reason for this came down to the fact that certain Invaders could disguise themselves as humans and slip in undetected.

Which was exactly why an Identity Card mattered so much.

’That’s just another reason why I need to get out of here.’

Julian felt a chill crawl up the back of his neck. Everyone around him suddenly felt suspicious, maybe some of the people here in the Slums were actually Invaders, maybe half of them, maybe every single one?

He took a breath. Having finally found a way into the Central Area, Julian had no intention of rushing straight into action. Sure, he wanted to get moving as fast as possible, but he still had to be patient.

First, he’d brought Kina to an inn and booked a room.

"Master, why are we here?"

"Your wounds haven’t healed yet. Rest first."

Kina’s injuries were serious enough to be a real problem. If they moved around carelessly with her in that state, the odds of getting jumped by muggers were far too high. So, once he’d made sure Kina was settled in to rest, Julian had no intention of just sitting around idle.

He couldn’t afford to look like some Master who couldn’t do a single useful thing. At the very least, he needed to accomplish something, even something small.

The inn in the Slums was genuinely rundown. But it still beat stopping just anywhere at random. After closing the door to Kina’s room, Julian headed down to the ground floor and found himself in the inn’s main hall, where the guests and patrons gathered.

The inn had sleeping quarters on the upper floor and a small tavern down below.

"I’m going all in, 15 credits!"

A man slammed his hand down on a table covered in cards, leaving three small chips on the table, each worth 5 credits.

"Old man Odwil’s gonna cry if he hears you say that! I never thought you’d actually go through with it, with his wife of all people. You’ve lost your damn mind."

"Who do you think I am? Haha."

Off to the side, two men roared with laughter. Lost in their own conversation, their flushed faces made it obvious they were both drunk out of their minds, rambling on about who knows what.

The whole inn reeked, a thick mix of liquor, worn playing cards, and the body odor of people who clearly hadn’t bathed in a very long time.

Julian walked in, brow furrowed, and took a seat at the far end of a table, close to the window.

’Based on what Kina told me, I can get into the Central Area by using Kina as an intermediary.’

The key was Kina, and the Academy.

Any human who met the requirements could take the public entrance evaluation, including undocumented Slum residents. If Kina managed to pass the exam, Julian would receive a temporary visitor’s pass and act as Kina’s guardian for registration purposes.

That temporary pass would only last twenty-four hours. But Kina had insisted she’d figure out a solution for that. Julian had no idea how, but he’d decided to trust her and wait it out for now.

Well, that was a problem for later, first, there were a few things to sort out. Given Kina’s current identity, if her family found out she was still alive, they wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

That was exactly why Julian needed to find something that could hide Kina’s real appearance, so she could enter the Academy under a completely new disguise.

That could be done with a Serum made from Invader Mimic tissue. A Serum capable of altering hair color, iris color, skin tone, and even minor facial tissue structure for up to two weeks.

Kina had told him the Slums were basically synonymous with illegal trade of every kind. Because of that, there was a real chance they could track down that Serum if they looked hard enough.

Which was exactly what Julian was trying to do now. He needed to dig up information on this illegal trade and get his hands on a Serum for Kina.

And the best way to find that kind of information was actually pretty simple. Julian just needed to find someone who knew how the streets actually worked.

He glanced around the room, staying quiet for a few seconds, his expression darkening before he looked down at his table with a thin, nervous smile. The thought of having to strike up conversation with the rough, foul-mouthed people surrounding him filled him with genuine dread.

Sure, a few of them looked normal enough, but "normal" in this world might mean something entirely different from "normal" as Julian understood it. Any one of them could easily turn out to be the dangerous type.

’...They’re all terrifying.’

Julian drew in a deep breath, his gaze drifting out the window. He watched the busy street outside, and then spotted a small child being beaten by a group of adults.

Judging by the bag of food the kid was clinging to for dear life, those adults were probably trying to steal it from him, or maybe the kid had stolen it himself just to survive.

’Well, I don’t have time to worry about someone else’s situa—’

Julian stopped himself mid-thought. He kept his eyes on the helpless boy, who looked genuinely pitiful and utterly defenseless. But judging by his age, he’d clearly already survived years and years in these Slums.

’Someone who knows how the streets work doesn’t have to be an adult, does it...?’

If anything, a kid who spent his whole life running through narrow alleys probably knew the Slums better than most.

And on top of that, his target being a child actually worked in his favor. Julian might be able to win the kid’s trust fairly easily just by showing him some kindness. Sure, there was still risk involved, but this was a far better bet than most.

Still hesitant, Julian watched the boy lying there covered in bruises, having failed to hold onto his bag of food. Then, once the adult who’d been beating him finally walked off, Julian rose from his seat.

***

"Those bastards! I swear, I swear I’ll get strong and pay them back someday!"

Ariel watched the adult who’d been beating him walk away. He held back his tears, breathing hard, his whole body covered in bruises. Blood trickled from his lip, but he forced it down, refusing to let himself cry.

Now, he’d probably have to go back to his little sister with nothing at all to eat.

"Ugh... Clana’s gonna cry from hunger again."

Just thinking about that nearly broke through the wall he’d built to hold his tears back. Guilt and pain crushed down on his chest, and he pushed himself up, glancing around at his surroundings.

There was still some time before nightfall, maybe, just maybe, there was still hope he could find some food to bring back to Clana.

But where...?

’If I push too far into someone else’s territory, they might actually kill me.’

Was hunting a few rats really his only option left, like always?

Maybe they really were destined to live like this forever. Ariel felt a surge of fierce anger boil up inside him, why did he even have to be born in the Slums in the first place?

He took a breath.

’I have to stay strong. At least for Clana’s sake.’

Hope always felt impossibly far away. In the Slums, all that ever waited for anyone was death. No story here ever ended happily.

"Are you okay?"

"....!"

Ariel flinched, his eyes trembling wide as a shadow fell over his body, followed by a voice he didn’t recognize at all.

In a rush, Ariel scrambled to his feet, snatching up a piece of wood and putting some distance between them, eyeing the figure approaching him with wary suspicion.

"Who are you!? I don’t have anything to give you!"

The man... For a moment, Ariel froze at the sight of him. A man with dark hair paired with equally dark, sharp eyes. He wore a white shirt, spotlessly clean, his whole appearance flawless.

Even his hands were covered in white gloves. He barely looked touched by a speck of dirt, if anything, his whole presence radiated wealth and elegance.

’A rich guy...?’

Ariel clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding hard. No rich person was ever good. They were all evil people who came to the common folk of the Slums with nothing but rotten intentions.

Nearly everyone in the Slums knew that much, it kept them on guard every single time one of them showed up.

"What do you want!?" Ariel repeated, louder this time.

The man, for his part, stayed quiet for a moment, watching him in silence before finally speaking:

"I need your help. Would you hear me out?"

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