Sunday came around and Blaze found himself at his little hideout in the Treasure Hill once again. it was quite early in the morning, earlier than when he usually woke up. the sun was yet to peek at the horizon. The air was so cold that it stung the bone. The young man ignored most of this and continued to haul trash to the warehouse.

"Urk! Phew! That's the last of them," Blaze sighed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. he looked at the junk he had collected in front of him and smiled. Electronics, plastic, and other things that he might find use later.

After a short break, he began to separate them into two categories; separable and inseparable. The separable consisted of things that he could manually break apart, while the inseparable were junks that he planned to break down into fine molecules.

You might be wondering why Blaze planned to them down to their finest parts? No reason really, at least at the moment. because other than gaining other blueprints for his collection, he didn't have any clue what to do with fine dust particles other than to contain them for future use.

After separating the junk, Blaze pulled out a chalk and began to draw two magic circles on the concrete floor, a big one connected to a smaller one. It took him quite a bit because he needed to be careful with these kinds of things. He had to make sure that there were no kinks nor errors in the circles, like overly bold lines or thin lines. Small stuff like these would affect the result of the ritual, especially in the cloaking field part.

Finished with his drawing, Blaze pocketed the chalk and stepped into the smaller magic circle. He examined briefly at his work; a huge magic circle with various runes on the edges connected to a small pentagram, where he was currently standing. Blaze nodded in satisfaction and began the ritual.

Inhaled, he raised his right hand.

In his curse vision, curse energy began to roil around him. The hair on his neck stood, and Blaze quashed the thought to run away.

Exhaled, he raised his left hand.

Curse energy began to flow around him. like a stone in a river, the wave of energy passed him and sunk into the circles. the magical arrays began to glow, and the cloaking field followed soon after.

After some experimentation and study, Blaze was able to improve upon his cloaking field further. First, he made it activate right before the main circle by pouring curse energy in a 6/4 ratio. Then, he increased the effectiveness of the cloaking field and closed the leaks he could find.

Looking at the slowly activating circles, Blaze opened his mouth, "κατάρες. σαπίλα. σταυροδρόμι. θαύμα. καθαρότητα. τέλος." (katáres. sapíla. stavrodrómi. thávma. katharótita. télos.).

During his research, he also found that an aria helped in making him focused. The words he used as aria were whatever words he could scrounge up from his limited lexicons of the Greek language that connected to what he was trying to do. It also made what he does look cooler according to Willow.

He hoped that he'd get more knowledge of Earth one of these days. The cultures of Earth looked so interesting despite the monsters running around the place.

The magic circle flared to life, blasting its surroundings with the nastiest feeling he ever experienced before being subdued by the invisible dome of the cloaking array. Blaze stood for a bit, scanning for any error at the circle before running out of the warehouse. Confident that nobody was around, Blaze ran back in and immediately went to the other junks. The young man brought over a box and sat down before the collection of trash. The box contained whatever tools the orphanage had. There might be some tools that he didn't have, but nothing a bit of projection couldn't fix.

He began with the TVs. while breaking down them into the smallest possible parts, Blaze blasting music on his earphones (after locking the warehouse's door, of course). Finished with the TVs, he moved to the other electronics and once they were done it was whatever other things he got. It took him around 3 hours to finish his little operation. He noticed that every time he got a blueprint, his work became a lot easier and faster.

Blaze took a moment to rest. He observed the magic circle which was busy deconstructing plastic and metal junk he collected. In trance, his eyes refused to look away from the ongoing ritual, watching the items break down from the seams and fade into dust. It would probably take the rest of the day to finish, but by Gods, it was satisfying to the eyes!

Blaze moved into the circle. He had nothing to worry about, the ritual was redesigned to break only inorganic objects and ignore organic ones. He designed this way to give him an easier time configuring the circle mid-ritual.

Ignoring the intense negative aura circulating in the magic circle, he kneeled and grasped the fine dust that started to gather on the floor. He grabbed a fistful and let it run down his palm. It was so fine that it tickled. It was fascinating how these small things were the base of everything around him. deciding he had seen enough and around fine dust materials might not be healthy, Blaze stepped out of the circle.

Out of the ritual circle, Blaze's brain buzzed with ideas. Thoughts of how to make a construction or a reconstruction spell bounced around in his head. He had a few spells that had the potential to be improved into such spells.

Firstly, Projection, a spell that gathered curse energy and turned it into a malleable clump. However, the minus of Projection was that every item he made would be harmful in one way or another.

Which seems to be a theme with spells using curse energy.

Second was Bind or Shadow Bind, it was a spell that invoked the concept of 'Binding' to his opponents. The spell took the form of jagged chains that sprung out of the nearby shadows. The maximum radius of this spell was 5 meters and lasted for 3 minutes max.

Then there was Mesh, a spell that allowed him to combine the flesh of the undead under his control, usually used by necromancers to create flesh golems. This iffy spell had the highest chance.

And of course, there was the Deconstruction ritual in front of him. All he needed to do was to reverse its effect and make it portable. However, turning a ritual into a spell was easier said than done.

With nothing else to do, Blaze sat down and opened his Celestial Forge app. He opened the blueprints tab, scrolled around, and chose to work on a flatscreen TV he broke down earlier. opening the TV blueprint on his scroll, he pulled the device into Tablet mode and put it down before starting to gather whatever components necessary for reconstruction.

The reassembly of the TV was a surprisingly smooth process. The combination of Hoarder's Eyes instant recognition, Development and Improvement's other abilities which seems to make reconstruction easier.

But that wasn't all, because Manager seems to have another ability other than managing blueprints.

"Sir, may I suggest something?"

the Ai suddenly chirped, startling Blaze who was in the middle of resoldering some parts on the TV's PCB. It seems the original owner was either too rich or too lazy to call a repairman because other than some parts needed resoldering the TV was fine otherwise.

"Huh? Sure, what is it?"

"After further analysis, this unit has determined that minor adjustments can decrease power input while sustaining consistent output levels. This can be achieved by reconfiguring the components on the Printed Circuit Board as follows," Manager said, and then he highlighted some parts of the blueprints before rearranging them, "With the diminished energy demand for TV operation, this unit anticipates a 20% reduction in the electrical bill."

Blaze's eyebrows rose, "that much? You sure?"

"Affirmative."

A 20% decrease in the electric bill? That was practically a steal! Considering how expensive everything was in this kingdom, he'd welcome anything that could alleviate the burden on the orphanage. Plus, now the kids could finally enjoy a better TV!

Without hesitation, Blaze began readjusting the components on the TV's PCB as per the Manager's suggestion. The soldering took quite some time, but he managed to complete his work before lunchtime.

XVX

Blaze yawned as he made his way back to the orphanage, his home. He reflected on his accomplishment today with a smile on his lips. The reconstruction of the TV was nearing its completion, no doubt his perks helped him skip a lot of time usually needed to repair the item. Days jobs turned to hours and the knowledge he wasn't easily swept away by other thoughts. He could still vividly recall the positioning of the screws and the small cables on the PCB.

He got what were basically cheats that every engineer in Remnant would kill for by chance. Talk about luck!

"I told you, didn't I? We don't give a shit!"

Blaze's steps came to a halt. His smile vanished as his eyes focused on something across the street, where the orphanage stood.

Standing in front of his home were two bulky men. One man was bald with tattoos on his biceps, beside him was a tall man with a mullet cut and ratty-looking jeans. Blaze recognized these men; they were loan sharks who worked with one of the gangs.

"I don't give a fuck how you get the money. next week you better have them! if not..."

"If not what?"

The words ripped from Blaze's throat before he could stop them. The loan sharks whipped around, surprise momentarily flickering across their scowling faces. Blaze met their gaze head-on, his scowl deepening into a thunderous expression. His brows furrowed, his eyes sharpening to points of icy defiance

The men approached him with a swagger, the bald man sizing Blaze up with a sneer. "You're that kid. Haven't heard of you in a while," he rumbled, then let out a derisive scoff. "Heard you're going to school in that flying city. Seems like you're up there for too long. You think you're above us now, huh?"

The mullet man's hand disappeared into his pocket, emerging a moment later with a glint of metal - a folded knife. He spoke with a thick Valean accent, his voice dripping with menace. "Ya think yer hot shit, huh? I hope ya don't forget what happens to upstarts 'round 'ere."

Blaze held his tongue, his silence a storm brewing within. His fists clenched into white knuckles in the depths of his hoodie pockets. His anger simmered, conflicting with the knowledge that escalating could make things worse for the matron. But he wouldn't back down from these thugs who bullied the woman who cared for him.

The stare-down continued, tension thickening the air with each passing moment. Blaze refused to yield an inch, his unwavering gaze a silent promise to defend what mattered most.

The bald man clicked his tongue, "Whatever, we're done here. Let's go, Nod," he said to his partner before walking away. the loan sharks then bumped into Blaze as if daring him to throw the first punch. The young man didn't fall for the taunt, he knew that they could his physical actions against them to do something against his caretaker.

Because that was how you live in this city; grasp every chance to lower your opponent, bring them down so you can raise yourself. That was the philosophy of living in Mantle.

Blaze was lucky he was raised on the milder part of Mantle. couldn't imagine how torturous it was for other people on the other side of the city. Especially the faunus in the Crater.

The bald man suddenly stopped, glancing above his shoulder, "You better get that money ready by the end of the month. You won't like what happens if you don't."

With that last warning, the men finally left. Blaze's fiery glare never left the men's back until they disappeared from view. he pulled out his fists, white from how tight they curled. pushing the burning desire to run after them and beat them down. Blaze was confident that with his new abilities, he could hold himself against them maybe even defeat them. but it would bring more problems to the orphanage.

The gang the men worked for was one of the big gangs in Mantle, lording over the western side like it was a piece of their little kingdom. Blaze was sure unlike most of the gangs in the city, this gang won't be cowered by what little military officers in this part of town.

Moreover…

"Ack! owowow—!"

Blaze's thoughts of retaliation were banished when someone pulled his left ear. Squirming and yelping, he looked to the side. standing beside him was a lithe woman with long golden hair tied in a ponytail. Dressed in a black nun dress, was the matron of the orphanage. Ms. Maryam. Her expression was rather fierce at the moment.

"Are you stupid? Does being in Atlas deprive your brain of oxygen?!"

"M-Maryam—"

Whatever he wanted to say was silenced by a tight hug from Ms. Maryam.

"You could've gotten yourself hurt, you idiot!" the woman chided him, sobbing. Blaze's expression immediately softened. He raised his hand and patted her back.

"Alright, alright," he sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, okay? I just… don't like how they treated you. how they always push you around with debt that isn't even yours to begin with."

"I know Blaze, I know. I know that it isn't fair, but it doesn't mean you have to make yourself their target." The woman pulled away and looked at Blaze straight into his eyes, "Promise me. promise me you won't do that ever again."

"I… alright, I promise I won't do that again." Ms. Maryam stared into his eyes as if to see if he was lying. After a while, she nodded and then pulled Blaze to the orphanage.

"Good, that's all I ask." Her sad expression was gone, replaced by a soft smile, "Now, let's eat. You skipped your breakfast, right? it's not healthy, you know!"

XVX

Evermorrow Orphanage, that was the name of this old place. as far as Blaze knew, it had always been his home ever since Ms. Maryam's mother found him on the steps of the orphanage. when he said this building was old, he meant 'since the Great War' old. Originally it was just another home in Mantle, but due to the rise of orphans due to the war, Ms. Maryam's mother's mother turned it into an orphanage.

The building itself was nestled between a cheap apartment and the only supermarket in the neighborhood. It was a two-story building made of wood and weathered stones, the large windows near the double door were grimy mostly due to pollution in the air. the inside was nothing fancy, there were little decorations in the foyer mostly old, dusty photos from the old residents of the orphanage. a creaky hallway connected the foyer to the other parts of the house. A winding staircase nestled between the foyer and the hall. laughter of children playing could be heard from the second floor.

Ms. Maryam took Blaze to the kitchen where he helped her prepare food. While she was cooking, the young man was placing plates and cups. Today's menu was spaghetti with marinara sauce.

It didn't take long for Ms. Maryam to finish her cooking. after filling the plates, she called, "Kids, food's ready!"

Rumbles of steps poured down from upstairs as the children ran to the dining room, Ms. Maryam chided them but it seemed they ignored her and took seats instead. Blaze smiled lightly as he took his seat as well followed by the matron of the orphanage. the kids consisted of 5 children; three humans and two faunus.

One of the kids was about to dove into her food but Blaze flicked a bean to her forehead, stopping her in the track.

"Ouch! Ms. Maryam, big bro being a meanie!" the girl cried and the matron gave Blaze an unimpressed glare. The young man shrugged, a smile on his face.

"Don't worry Matilda, I'm going to scold him after lunch," Ms. Maryam promised and Matilda blew a raspberry at Blaze, "alright kids, let's pray before eating."

After a brief prayer led by Ms. Maryam, they began eating. Then, in the middle of their lunch, a question was asked, "Ms. Maryam, why do we have to pray?"

Eyes were immediately drawn to the one who asked the question, it was a dark-skinned boy with freckles on his cheeks. His name was Joshua. Ms. Maryam answered without missing a beat.

"It is to show that we are thankful for the blessing from the Gods. That, even with how harsh things could be, the brother gods still guided us in their mysterious way," Ms. Maryam, the ever-faithful, explained gently.

"Do they even listen?" asked Jeremiah, the boy who sat beside Matilda, with a frown and furrowed brows. There was frustration that laced his words, "we always pray, like how we pray that those people bully you to go away but it never worked!"

His words were accompanied by nods from some of his siblings. Ms. Maryam frowned; a sad look briefly crossed her face.

Ah, it seems the kids saw what happened earlier.

"don't worry, they are," Blaze assured, "the thing is names of deities carry some weight and they felt it when we uttered them. I'm sure the brother gods heard your prayers, and they prepared a punishment for the bullies that keep harassing Ms. Maryam. Remember; 'Trust in the Brothers' with all your heart, and upon Them you rely, thus They will make your path straight. For they are the Lords of the worlds.'"

He recited a passage from the Sacred Scriptures, earning understanding nods from the kids and a grateful look from Ms. Maryam.

He didn't say that it fell to the gods to act on one's prayer or not. his words were largely based on the knowledge he gained from Real Research, so the gods here might act differently than the ones on Earth.

However, he was positive that the Brothers might have heard and already answered in their own way, just like how his every ritual his prayers were answered by Lady Hecate almost without fail.

Hmm, maybe one of these days he should make an offering to the goddess to show that he was grateful.

XVX

After lunch (and some chiding from Ms. Maryam, as promised), Blaze helped Ms. Maryam around the house. While the matron was cleaning the dishes, he went to clean the house. He swept the floor, wiped the windows, and did whatever he must do to keep the house clean. In the middle of cleaning the second floor, one of the kids pulled him aside and asked him to help with their homework.

The kids were lucky that they were still able to get their education thanks to the donations from those the orphanage cared for in the past. not many children in Mantle go to school for one reason or another, mostly because they can't afford to due to the need for work. It wasn't a big surprise that Mantle's child labor laws were rather… loose, being the kingdom's industrial zone and Dust mines.

There were programs from the government to increase the number of educated children and mitigate the various issues that plagued Mantle, but due to various reasons, the progress was rather slow.

"Big bro, big bro," Blaze turned to the call. It was Lily, a faunus girl with a small horn and long green hair. With a curious look, she asked, "How's living above feel like?"

Joshua nodded vigorously, "Yeah, yeah, tell us! One of our classmates said robots are walking around the street, is that true?"

Blaze pondered before answering, "Ah, kind of? I don't go out of the academy often, but I've seen a few patrolling Knights… I think."

He wasn't sure. The robots, Atlesian Knights, were recent additions so they might be deployed in small numbers to make everyone used to their presence. At least that was one of the more rational responses he read on the online forum. As if racism wasn't enough, there were… doomers spouting nonsense online about how the government would replace people with robots.

Jeremiah raised a hand, "um, do the rich really act like they act like they're above us? My friend said the rich on the flying city act like… there's a pole in their ass? Yeah, I think that's what he said."

Blaze chided softly, "Language. but yeah… not everyone though! My friend Willow isn't like that."

"…is there really no faunus on the flying city?" someone quietly asked. Blaze's gaze turned to the speaker. Melanie was her name, a faunus with bear ears on her bob-cut hair.

"…as far as I see, not much," Blaze admitted after a pause, "there's a few faunus in the academy, but they were so few I could count them on one hand. I heard most faunus go to the huntsman branch rather than general."

The answer somewhat saddened Melanie. She was a meek and shy girl, but today she seems more withdrawn than usual. Curious, Blaze inquired, "Melanie, does anyone is giving you a hard time at school?"

Melanie looked surprised before hastily shaking her head, but before she could word any rebuttal, Matilda stepped in with a stormy expression, "There is! It's the kids from the Saladon Street. They're always bullying Melanie whenever she's alone!"

"Matilda!"

"What? you're obviously not going to say anything to big bro, "Matilda shook her head, "that won't do. you already said nothing to Ms. Maryam, but this time I can't let it slide. We're sisters, we're supposed to take care of each other!"

"Matilda…" Melanie was taken aback by Matilda's declaration. She was even more surprised when Lily and Joshua wrapped her in a hug.

"That's right! we're sharing the same home and caretaker. That means we're siblings, right?" Lily said with a smile and Joshua nodded vigorously. Melanie then joined the hug, even the introvert Jeremiah too. Melanie's sad expression slowly morphed into a grateful smile.

Blaze smiled at the sight. It was good to see that the rowdy kids who were his younger siblings could count on each other for support.

Saladon Street, huh? He thought with an internal frown. That was the western side of Mantle, inside one of the city's gangs' territories; the Red Tomahawk, to be precise. One of the most anti-faunus gangs in the city. It didn't surprise him that some kid from that place ended up being a racist, especially with how low the kingdom's overall opinion of the faunus folks was.

Atlas wasn't the most Faunus-friendly kingdom, not before the Faunus War and still was 5 years later.

Still, he needed to do something about Melanie's bully problem, but what?

Blaze frowned openly now. he could ask around for the kids, he knew some people in that neighborhood hopefully they could give him a hand. however, this could be a risky decision. Blaze going there and asking around could be seen as intruding on the gang's territory. they might also see him as a member of another gang looking for info or something.

Still though…

Blaze mulled over his decision; his gaze drawn to the sight of the kids hugging each other.

A sigh escaped his lips as Blaze stood up. the children's attention turned to him, Matilda then asked, "Where are you going, big bro?"

"Where else?" he looked over his shoulder, giving them a reassuring smile, "I'm going to talk sense to some brat about being polite."

This had a big chance to escalate to a big problem but Blaze was very determined. This was reckless and could potentially become a fight, but he was prepared; after all, you don't grow up in the slum without learning a thing or two about throwing hands. he also had some spells ready if push comes to shove.

And of course…

What he wouldn't do for his family?

XVX

Searching for the bullies wasn't that hard with some of the help he got. Being a few blocks away from Treasure Hill means people around the neighborhood mostly went there for work, which means Blaze got to know them during his part-time job. He was able to meet a few of the bullies and gave them a stern talk. He doubted that they would stop immediately, but if his street-ology (his term for street smarts) were correct it would give Melanie's a few free days. Hopefully.

He planned to meet with the teachers after this, just in case.

While giving the bullies some stern talks, he could tell that a few of the parents didn't agree with the sentiment of not being a racist shit. that was why Blaze was preparing to get jumped on as he made his way back home.

And as if summoned by his thoughts, a group of people approached him from the distance. Then, a flutter of a feeling made him activate his curse vision for a moment.

Some of them had their aura unlocked.

Blaze sighed heavily.

He knew this would happen eventually.

Blaze stopped, turning fully to the group of people. they stopped a couple steps away from him in a half circle. Their formation left only the path deeper into the neighborhood as his escape route. no doubt if he ran away, they would ambush him.

"you're the guy who's been stirring shits around here?" demanded the man who led the group. He was well-built and tall with a tattoo he recognized on his neck. he cocked his head at Blaze, his mohawk swaying.

"I ain't stirring anything," Blaze denied, "I just came to tell some bullies to stay away from my sister."

Blaze scanned the crowd, his eyes landing on a particular person. It was a young man around his age with the same tattoo as the others. Blaze recognized him – a glimpse from when he scolded one of the bullies. An older brother, perhaps?

"You sure, cuz that's not what I've been hearing." The man inserted his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, "all I heard is some animal lover coming and intimidating good folks."

Ah, he realized it now.

"Then maybe you should tell these 'good folks' that my sister is off limits."

Blaze could care less about them being racist shits to other people. They could believe what they wanted to believe. They could believe that the faunus folks were the devil or Grimm worshipers for all he cared. freedom of belief and all that.

Just like he believed that anyone who harassed his family deserved to get their ass kicked.

"Tch, you call that thing a sister? you're deluded. Look at what those animals do around here! They steal, rob, and harass good folks—that's all they do! Stealing jobs away from us, killing good people of Atlas in the war. Those parasites deserve to rot in that crater, and your sis—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll clean the street with your hair," Blaze growled; his voice laced with a dangerous edge.

As he threatened, curse energy began to coil around Blaze's body. the normies members of gangs were taken aback by the intense negativity flaring from the young man they were surrounding. Blaze's eyes glowed a dim red as his neutral expression turned severe. Meanwhile, the gang members who had aura had anticipation clear on their faces.

"Hoh~," the mohawk man let out a chuckle before asking with a leery grin. "You have some backbone, kid. Do you know who you're talking to?"

'Dunno, don't give a shit.' He wanted to say but decided to refrain. He mucked things too much already, "look, I'm not looking for trouble. I just came to scold some shitty kids to not bully my sister. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go home before dark."

Blaze ignored the words thrown at him. he couldn't care less if they called him a coward or a pussy, he just didn't want trouble for Ms. Maryam. She had enough on her plate as is with the debt pushed to her. Blaze stepped to the side and tried to walk away from the crowd.

Keyword being tried.

"Where do you think you're going? We're not done yet," Rumbled one of the gang members as he stepped in his way. Blaze eyed the man, "Maybe if you drop on your knees and bow down to us, we'll let it all slide, how's that sound?"

Oh, he was trying to de-escalate things, and now it was their turn to escalate problems. Blaze knew he wouldn't get out of this scot-free. He knew the gang was set on their intention from the start.

Blaze sighed.

He hated the gangs in this city.

The young man looked up. The sun was sinking fast, its last rays turning the sky into a fiery farewell. Darkness, thick and oppressive, began swallowing the surroundings. There were no signs of the usual army patrol. Here, in the forgotten corners of Atlas, help wasn't readily available.

"…Αγαλμα. (Agalma.)"

A whisper escaped his lips. Curse energy crackled around him, responding to his will. A picture, a blueprint, formed in his mind. The energy swirled and solidified, taking shape based on his image: a snarling, furred beast akin to a Beowolf but more humanoid. The process was swift, taking only 1.2 seconds. Then, a fearsome statue materialized before Blaze and the man blocking his path.

The people around him spit curses, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the statue and the vile, terrifying feeling it exuded. Blaze ran away. but before that…

"σκιώδης δεσμός! (skiodis desmos!)"

Chains shot out of the shadows, both from around and under the gang members. They missed those with aura but otherwise ensnared without fail.

"You little shit! After him!"

Blaze took a sharp turn. Glancing back, he noticed that the men chasing him weren't nearly as fast as the professional hunters he'd seen on Vytal Festival broadcasts. Was it because they weren't trained?

Blaze turned his gaze forward. It didn't matter.

He needed to shake them off his tail one way or another. The neighborhood around the orphanage usually had officers patrolling the streets, the gangs would definitely stop chasing him the moment Blaze steps into what essentially be the Atlas Military territory. Hopefully, Ms. Maryam would let him off the hook.

Oh, who was he kidding? She'd definitely beat his ass!

Points: 300 1300

Happy Eid Mubarak everyone!