Blood Red Crystals

As much as he didn't want to, Maximus almost zoned back out, but only for a few seconds which they misinterpreted as him thinking about the offer.

'Wait, didn't the organization offer me the same thing? But their condition must be for me to join their core force, whereas these guys are going to tell me that just for joining their team. Suspicious much? Maybe William is just a newbie in the world of supernatural beings and this is just common knowledge? Or maybe Seraphina's group happens to be one of the more experienced ones? I should really join them, maybe some questions of mine would be answered along the way.'

Maximus didn't notice as he was zoned out but both Seraphina and Isabelle looked at Adrian with a serious questioning gaze when he gave out that offer. All the latter could do was ignore their gazes as he looked forward to Maximus' answer, and he didn't disappoint.

"Alright I'll join. Can I know what y'all do though?"

Adrian first held up his hand for a high five which Maximus reciprocated while the women smiled. Seraphina replied,

"We just go around dealing with gangs and other minor important characters hoping for someone to come deal with us. Then we deal with them in return and loot their belongings."'

'What hole did I jump in?' Maximus had a blank look on his face as he contemplated the decision he took a few seconds ago. Seeing his look, Adrian laughed.

"You didn't have to scare our new teammate that way alright? Look, Maximus, the way of increasing physical prowess I told you about needs a resource. You simply crush that resource and spread it across your body.

"These resources can sometimes be found in the hands of these supernatural beings who are tasked to chase after us. We simply torture them to get the necessary information and steal their money along with that resource.

"Second way to get that resource is through black markets but we Seraphina hasn't found one yet in our city, so the only way is through the people that the organization sends after us. And how do we achieve that? By inconveniencing them.

"They seem to be irked when someone messes up the structure of society so we do just that. Don't worry, we only look for people who deserve it. Understand everything?"

"Hmm… is that why you're so strong?"

"Partly"

"Alright. By the way, now that I've joined you guys. Could you tell me more about that shop?"

Seraphina narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, chuckling slightly, she said,

"Did you buy anything from there? I'll give you a signal jammer after this trip, use it and bring the items to one of our safehouses which I'll let you know later as well."

Maximus echoed her chuckle to hide his embarrassment and agreed to her and said,

"Alright that's it for now, I'll ask you guys in case I remember anything."

"So, can we move on to abilities? I'll start. I can extract energy from the surroundings and use it to make a blast anywhere within my range." Isabelle excitedly began rambling as if this was the part she was waiting for the most, then without waiting for anyone, she continued, "Seraphina can instill and delete emotions in the target. It might seem useless but it is oftentimes the most helpful ability in times of dire need. So, what about you?"

Giving a blank look, Maximus pointed at Adrian without saying anything. Isabelle understood the gesture and giggled, "He doesn't have any ability, I already told you, did you forget? but mind you, he might be the most powerful of us lot even after you've joined. His physical prowess is off the charts, which helps him tremendously in his fights. Even in raw combat capability disregarding physical prowess, only a handful can contend with him. Look, I told you everything. You should tell us something now too, no?"

Tilting his head to a side, Maximus said, "Probability Manipulation"

*****

"This motherfucker is too tough!"

Sebastian gritted his teeth as he took out another M1 box and handed it to Robin. The latter opened the box, which was approximately the size of four notebooks stacked on top of each other and discovered the familiar blood red crystals he had been consuming for the past few hours. He would have liked to steal all of them but the red dots trained all over his body reminded him not to.

He grabbed a handful and recited the scripture he had been given and watched as those crystals turned into red smoke which penetrated through his skin. He gradually felt energy entering him but still not enough to use his soul spear again.

Of course, Sebastian had told him that he would be given the complete scripture as soon as he agreed to join their organization. The complete version was much faster, could supposedly upgrade his ability and also increase his physique. It was an exciting notion, he had just been waiting to sign the confidentiality agreement so he could get all the benefits and be promoted to the core members.

A few meters away from him lay a blood red figure, impaled with a spear but on a different spot than the first time. Its body had holes all over it, likely signifying the previous injuries of the spear. The strange thing was that it was still moving, likely holding onto its hope of escaping. All around it was a wide open space, a precautionary measure taken by the army to not let the blood red figure possess anyone.

Suddenly, a soldier walked in, holding another person who had confusion visible over his face. If the students were present they would've recognized him to be a person of the Serene University, who had joined last year and had a good following among the student body.

The blood red figure who had been wanting to escape saw the student and as if something snapped, it changed its direction and began struggling in the direction of the student with much more vigor. The figure opened its mouth for the first time and a hoarse voice emerged,

"You… betrayed… us! You… must… pay!"

No one saw or heard anything, except Robin, who still hadn't finished refueling enough energy to make a strike.