For a while, Nick just looked out of the window.
He saw so much cruelty and wasted potential.
If the rich could give just a little bit to the people of the Dregs, the people wouldn't need to pay with their blood.
Then, they could be healthier and could contribute more to society.
'Of course, people who don't work don't deserve to own as much as people who do, but they deserve some dignity at least. At least, they should have enough to survive.'
'As long as people can have a home, food, water, and a family, it's okay.'
'If I can turn this dream into a reality for this city, I can say with certainty that I would have somewhat redeemed myself.'
'While Horua will never get to live his life, at least his death won't have been pointless.'
'Maybe he would have even given his life if it meant improving the lives of so many other people.'
"So, you've been standing there for a while," the rat said awkwardly. "Got anything to tell me?"
Nick didn't look at the rat and only looked at the city outside.
"I guess there's something that I can do with my life," Nick said.
Right now, Nick's emotions were rather complex.
On one hand, he felt some righteous indignation and drive for retribution, but on the other hand, the emptiness in his chest still made Nick feel like he wanted to die.
It was a strange mix of motivation and lethargy.
The only thing he could do to somewhat solve or suppress the conflict was to focus on making something of his life.
'I might have been a stupid idiot in the past, and I might even still be one, but I might not always be one.'
"So, you feel better?" the rat asked.
Nick didn't immediately answer.
"In a way, yes," Nick said. "I know what I want to do, at least."
"Okay, good, good," the rat said with a grin. "You don't want to kill yourself anymore?"
Nick released a sigh. "I guess wanting to kill myself is not really important. The fact is that I can't."
"There's something I want to do, which means I can manage to survive."
"Whether I want to or not."
"Great!" the rat said. "Then, my job here is done."
After that, the rat walked over to one of the windows.
"If you need some information about Specters, you can always call me," the rat said with a grin. "The price will be higher than the first time, but that shouldn't be a problem. After all, a Specter is worth more than just a couple of corpses, right?"
Nick furrowed his brows and didn't answer.
"See you soon, Nick," the rat said before leaving through the window.
Nick didn't look at the rat and kept facing the city.
'Parasite,' Nick thought with narrowed eyes. 'You might have helped me in seeing a way forward, but we both know that you only want more corpses.'
'Albert said that Specters are unable to feel things like empathy, and that has proven to be correct in this conversation. The Parasite couldn't even understand the value of human life and how killing a child is different from killing a criminal adult.'
'You might appear nice and helpful to me, but in the end, you still convince countless people to let you kill them.'
'Without you, many people would still be alive.'
Nick narrowed his eyes further.
'For now, I need you, but in the future, things will change.'
Nick turned away from the window and sat on his bed, but this time, he didn't just blankly look at the wall.
'This entire city is run by monsters, and if I want to improve the lives of everyone significantly, I need to become as strong as them.'
'While some donations here and there won't be an issue, giving everyone enough money so that they don't need to pay the blood tax anymore will almost certainly put a target on my back.'
'It's obvious that Kugelblitz is earning a crazy amount of credits from the blood tax. The 100 credits probably can't even remotely compare to how much two liters of blood are worth.'
'I can use my wealth right now to improve the lives of everyone in the Dregs, but I will quickly turn into a target and get killed.'
'The only chance is to become more powerful.'
'If I can become a level six Extractor, I will probably be strong enough to save the people of the Dregs.'
'A Hero, huh?' Nick thought as he looked forward with furrowed brows.
'The fact that the current leaders of the city are called Heroes is disgustingly ironic.'
At that point, Nick took a deep breath and released a sigh.
'And I won't be any different, I guess. After all, what Hero kills a kid?'
Nick shook his head rapidly to get rid of the intruding thoughts that threatened to drag him back into lethargy.
Instead, Nick stood up and looked at the weapons on the ground.
'I need power,' he thought as he slowly put on the braces.
'For that, I need Zephyx.'
'And to get Zephyx, I need enough power to acquire and defend it.'
At that point, Ardum's smirking face shot through Nick's mind.
'People like Ardum will try to kill me and acquire my wealth, and they probably won't intend to use that wealth to improve other people's lives.'
Next, Nick grabbed one spear and put it on his back.
'I haven't trained in quite a long while, and I've already noticed that my physical condition has somewhat deteriorated.'
'I should get back to training.'
But when Nick thought of training, he already became exhausted, and he quickly realized why.
'Right, I haven't properly eaten in a long while.'
At this moment, Nick wasn't looking at food as an indulgence anymore but as fuel.
He needed food to survive and to become stronger.
'Let's get some food with lots of protein, and then, I will run around the Dregs to improve my stamina.'
Nick nodded once and stepped out of his room.