Chapter 111 - The Public Market

"So... Blood Control huh..." Said Jay, who definitely hadn't expected that to be Vedra's ability,

To say it was an unusual ability would not suffice to describe how rare it truly was, not only in the world, but throughout history.

As for the reason for this, no one knew exactly why, though there were several theories on the matter, the most famous among them being that this ability was on the list of skills that every type of organization yearned to possess.

Be it a criminal organization, the association of heroes, or even... countries.

The control abilities, as the name indicated, gave the esper the ability to control certain elements of nature, giving them the power to impose their will on nature itself.

Wind control at its maximum power was capable of creating or destroying hurricanes at will.

Water control could do the same with any tsunami, and that was repeated with all control abilities.

So, if elemental control abilities allowed the esper to be the embodiment of the will of the earth... then what would an esper with the ability of blood control be capable of?

Fortunately, the answer was present thanks to a villain famous enough to be feared by heroes and villains alike and who undoubtedly managed to become the master of the underworld for several generations.

Although it was from a time older than that of those present, and even that of their parents, this villain's name still remained widely known.

With an interested expression on his face, Jay spoke, "It's the same ability as Bloodlust's..."

Nico then added, "That's right, and from what my group and I have been able to confirm, Vedran has at least one of his three bases."

What Nico meant by bases were the strongest things that Bloodlust had proven to be able to do with his Blood Control, which while they didn't amount to "Traits", were the basis of his power.

"And which of those three is...?" Jay asked, his interest piquing even more.

"It wasn't clear to me before, but thanks to yesterday's confrontation, I was able to confirm that it was Blood Boost. The physical strength he showed wasn't just thanks to his body, but he was also using his ability discreetly... or even unconsciously, of that I'm not so sure."

While Nico's goal had truly been to teach Vedran a lesson, he did also had another goal in mind, and that was to be able to confirm his suspicions about said esper.

And everything would have gone according to his plan... had it not been for the interruption of the person in front of him.

Remembering this, Nico couldn't help but look at Jay with annoyance, although this feeling disappeared as quickly as it came.Â

"Hm, hm, I already thought it was weird that he had such a strong physique being an esper." Jay said, purposely ignoring Nico's stare, "Well, and what's your plan then?"

"Yes, I'll explain what we'll do, but before that, I ask you both not to go divulging this information to anyone, I'm not saying this for my sake only, but also because if this gets to the ears of certain students... I'm afraid Vedran himself will be the one in danger." Nico added.

At this, both Vildan and Jay nodded, though the next moment Vildan asked, "...I don't want to ruin the mood or anything, but... who is Bloodlust?"

***

A few hours passed, and Jay was finally alone in his room, his mind running through the plan Nico had told him about.

Apparently, although Nico's group's abilities were average at best, they weren't too bad at gathering information, managing to find out several things about Vedran.

Starting with the classes he went to, going through his current job and ending with where he lived, all of which allowed them to form a small information file on him.

It was also thanks to this that they managed to catch him yesterday, and now the same information file would serve for Nico's new plan.

'Hm, he wants to try the same thing again, but this time with my help...'

The plan was simply a repeat of yesterday making a few simple changes, among those changes would be that instead of Nico's henchmen, the person who would take their place would be Jay.

As for the objective of this, it had changed, it would no longer be something like teaching Vedran a lesson, but bringing out all the power he possessed, something Jay was also interested in.

Or rather, a part of what Jay was interested in.

The next moment, his mind completely forgot about both Nico and his plan and instead was filled by Vedran and his ability.

  'I wonder if it's luck... or something else... to have stumbled upon such an incredible and powerful ability...' Jay thought as a huge grin formed on his face.

It was evident that finding a remaining ability to assimilate was something that had been plaguing him lately, only getting worse with each passing day.

But with the information that Nico had given him, Jay had already made his decision.

As for why he was so quick to decide, it was because the Blood Control ability was a complete package, even without Bloodlust's three bases, it was an ability that would give Jay a great boost in short and medium range combat.

And while it might not seem like there wasn't much synergy between Blood Control and his other abilities, Jay was already coming up with several ways to accomplish exactly that.

Finally, there was also the possibility that maybe Nico might be lying to get him to help, but according to Jay's parasite inside said mage, he was telling the truth.

'Well, thanks to the blond I now have his schedule too, all that's left is to meet Vedran and pass it off as a coincidence... I sound like a stalker.' Jay thought, laughing at this fact.

*Pin*

At that moment, his smart watch suddenly beeped, indicating that a message had arrived.

Turning on his watch to see who had sent him the message, Jay again couldn't help but smile as he read the message preview.

[Here's half of my list, I expect the money and information at the end of this month].

Finally, it seemed that things were starting to move in his favor after a long time.

***

The next day, after classes and another failed attempt to interact with Faith, Jay and Vilda were again leaving the school, though this time the direction they were headed was not the training center.

Instead, they were heading towards the Bronze City Public Market, one of the busiest areas in the entire city.

Walking sideways next to Jay, Vilda spoke up, "Wasn't Nico's plan supposed to be to meet up next week and not go alone?"Â

"Are you planning on going along with blondie's plan?" Replied Jay as his hair fluttered slightly in the wind he was creating.

This was a new training method he had been using, being able to perform it at all times and without drawing too much attention to himself.

"Heh, of course not!" Added Vilda with a smile on his face.

While he had put aside the differences he had with Nico in the past yesterday, that didn't mean they were getting along, so he was much less going to listen to him.

As for why he was following Jay even now, it was simple...he was bored and had suspicions that Jay was going to do something entertaining.

The further they walked towards their destination, the more the streets became crowded with students, evidence of how busy this part of town was.

After walking for a few minutes and bumping into other people a couple of times, they arrived at the reason there were so many students.

In front of them was a huge field free of buildings, instead being occupied by dozens and dozens of stalls with all sorts of colorful products, groceries, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers and countless other things that were hidden deep in this market.

Not only was it overflowing with students, but the stalls usually had two to three people, busy serving their respective customers and sometimes receiving produce from their suppliers.

All together it created a lively scene.

"Ahh, the Public Market, my sister says this is the only place where one can truly enjoy the youth in the academy!" Said Vildan looking in awe at the market.

"...Again, your sister really said that?" Jay asked.

"She also said that the real displays of passion are in the haggling over prices!" Vildan added.

"...We'd better get looking for Vedran's stall...wait, a whole tub of fruit just for 15 credits?! Vildan, come on!"

"Coming!"

With those words as his last, Jay entered the market, followed closely by Vildan.

For a while, apparently having been seduced by the incredible offerts of the public market, both Jay and Vildan slowly accumulated bags and bags of supplies.

"Well, we've already got vegetables, fruits, legumes and lots and lots of rice, all that's missing is the meat!" Jay said as he hurried towards the meat section of the market, in his arms hanging  several heavy bags.

Thanks to the fact that it was already relatively late and the meat usually ran out early, there weren't many students here.

While Jay and Vildan were reaching the meat section, a certain butcher was busy thinking.

'Hm, I still have about 27 kilograms (60lb) of meat left.... Well, who cares, I'd better sell it before it starts to rot.' Thought a tall, bearded man, the owner of a stall in the middle of the meat section.

"ATTENTION ALL PRESENT, TAKE TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE, OFFER FOR THE FIRST ONES ONLY!!!" Shouted then the same man.

Just as he finished shouting, almost as if it had been a coordinated movement, all the students in the vicinity turned their heads at the same time.

Immediately, they began to move hurriedly towards the man's stall, some even activating their abilities in order to get there faster.

"Sh*t, we just arrived to this section!" Shouted Jay running towards the stall of the butcher who shouted the offer.

"I don't know if we'll make it, I think it's already too late!" Replied Vilda with a worried expression on his face, from his arms also hanging several bags as he followed Jay.

His insecurity was normal, since although they were also moving fast, the advantage the other students had for getting being closer was undeniable.

"Don't lose hope, Vildan! Just get behind me and follow me, we'll clear a path!" Shouted Jay as he increased the strength in his body using the energy of his little ones.

*Bam!*

"Argh!"

Unfortunately, even Jay, with his rank (D+) pugilist's body, couldn't against the outer barrier of the butcher's stall, ending up being pushed to the opposite side, crashing into another stall that for some reason was empty.

"Jay, are you okay!?" Vildan asked, who saw everything in the front row.

"You selfish bastards, keeping it all to yourselves, I want to see how you'll resist me when I use Overl-!"

"You again?"

However, at that moment, a young man's voice coming from behind Jay interrupted the latter before he used everything he had to push his way through.

"WHO!?" Jay said, quickly looking back, still annoyed that he had been repelled, his gaze falling on a young man taller than him and with shoulder-length wine-colored hair, "...Oh, Vedran? Vedran?!"

Suddenly, the reason he had originally come to the market suddenly came rushing back into Jay's head.

For a few seconds, Jay stood still as he looked at Vedran with a blank expression on his face.

The next moment, Jay then dropped his bags on the floor, one by one, before putting his hand in front of his face and smacking his forehead hard.

*Bam!*

"Jay, what's the matter, aren't you going to try to break through again? I'll help you this time, we must hurry before it's too late!" Vildan said, impatiently.

In response, Jay looked up at him from the gaps between his fingers and then slapped him as well.