Divine-Class Awakening: I Can Steal From Gods!-Chapter 24: Cost of Freedom

Neo ended up paying.

Snot looked far too pleased about that, carrying the last bite of his burger in one hand while they stepped back out into the city. Neo said nothing, but the taste still lingered in his mouth, rich and warm in a way he had not expected. It was his first time eating one. He kept his face the same as always, though part of him understood immediately why people paid for things like that.

The street outside was alive in a different way than Zone 0 ever had been. Cars passed in steady lines. People moved between stores, offices, and walkways with the ease of those who belonged there. Everything looked stable, planned, built for people who expected tomorrow to arrive.

Snot swallowed the last bite and glanced at him. "Right. You’re from a Zone 0. You probably don’t actually know how this place works."

Neo looked at him. "Then explain it, please."

Snot seemed happy to.

"The city is under the World Government, same as most major cities. They keep everything organized, regulated, safe enough that normal people can live without thinking too hard about what’s outside the walls." He pointed ahead with his chin toward a distant cluster of taller buildings. "But families still have weight inside that structure. The Duplains, the Mournes, others like them. They have buildings here, businesses, branches, people working for them. Just because the government runs the city doesn’t mean it owns every piece of it."

Neo listened and said nothing.

Snot kept going. "And beneath all that, there’s the gray market, underground routes, people who move things quietly. Illegal stuff, restricted stuff, favors, information. Since you’re from a Zone 0, I’m guessing that part doesn’t surprise you."

It didn’t. What did surprise him was the scale of it. Even the hidden part of this city sounded more organized than ordinary life back where he came from.

"There’s more than families too," Snot said. "The Church of Souls has influence in a lot of places. Big institutions operate across multiple cities. And then there are groups like Gray Hand."

Neo narrowed his eyes slightly at the name, but he said nothing yet.

Snot noticed anyway. "You haven’t heard of Gray Hand?"

"No."

"That’s normal." Snot shoved both hands into his pockets as they kept walking. "They’ve got branches in different cities. It’s basically the closest thing to a guild without calling it that. You work for them, they take a cut, and in return you get access to things most people can’t touch on their own."

Neo looked at him. "Like what?"

"Breaches, for starters. Better jobs too. Controlled Godscar Ruins. Expeditions. Wild zones outside mapped territory." Snot rolled one shoulder. "You can grow through them without needing to kneel to a family."

That last part mattered more than the rest.

Neo kept listening.

Snot went on without slowing. "A lot of the world still hasn’t been fully explored. More than eighty percent, or that’s what people say. Could be less. Could be more. Depends who you ask. But the point is there’s still a lot out there. Old places. Dangerous places. Places no one’s claimed properly."

That was enough to pull Neo’s attention tighter.

"If that’s true," he said, "then why doesn’t everyone go looking? You could find a Godscar Ruin."

Snot laughed once, but there was no real humor in it. "Because people like us can’t just walk out and do whatever we want. The government stops a lot of movement. Families control territory too, sometimes more than maps admit. You cross into the wrong place without knowing it, you might not even get the chance to explain yourself."

Neo said nothing because he didn’t like that answer.

Snot either didn’t notice or didn’t care. "And Godscar Ruins aren’t all the same. Some are barely more than broken monuments. Others are castles, temples, fortresses, huge stretches of land left behind from the wars of the gods. Some are still being uncovered. Some are famous. Some are locked down so tightly that normal people never even hear the real name."

Neo’s eyes shifted slightly. "People live there?"

"Near them, inside them, around them. Yeah." Snot glanced at him. "Usually families. Not always, but a lot of them. Some build around the edges. Some turn parts of them into training grounds or farming zones for Souls. Some just hold the territory because letting someone else have it would be worse."

"Why live there?"

Snot snorted. "How would I know? I’m not from a family." Then he added, "But I doubt they get along well enough to leave places like that alone."

Neo believed that easily.

The more Snot talked, the clearer the shape of the world became. On the surface, everything looked open: cities, streets, work, movement. But the real paths were narrower than they seemed. Access belonged to governments, families, institutions, religions, groups with names and power already built long before he arrived.

He disliked it immediately.

It felt rotten.

The strongest roads in the world were already owned. The ruins that mattered belonged to someone. The dangerous places that could change a life were controlled by people who had decided, long ago, who was allowed to step inside them.

That meant strength alone was not enough.

For now, if he wanted real access to the world beyond the city, he would have to enter through someone else’s gate.

Neo walked in silence a little longer before speaking again.

"What about you?"

Snot looked at him. "What about me?"

"What are you going to do now?"

Snot scratched the side of his neck and looked ahead at the street. "I’m not planning to live off small Breaches and random jobs forever. I told you about Gray Hand, right? I want to get in."

Neo kept watching him.

Snot went on, voice lighter than the subject deserved. "It’s not that I love the idea of being under someone. I don’t. But if I want access to better Breaches, proper jobs, controlled Godscar Ruins, all that kind of thing, then it’s the most practical choice."

Neo asked at once, "Can anyone join?"

"There’s a test." Snot shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. "Three months from now. That’s when the next one is."

Neo’s attention sharpened.

"What kind of test?"

"A hunt." Snot glanced sideways at him. "Inside a Godscar Ruin they control. Nothing easy. They want to see if you’re useful, if you can survive, if you panic, all that."

Neo fell quiet, thinking.

Snot kept talking. "No fixed rank is written down, but if you ask anyone with a brain, they’ll tell you the same thing. It’s better to be at least Vein. Heart is safer. Going in as Ember isn’t impossible, but you’d better have a damn good reason for believing you won’t die."

Neo let that sink in.

Three months. Vein or Heart. A controlled Ruin.

Restrictive, yes, but still a door.

He had no interest in getting close to a family. The government did not appeal to him either. The Church sounded worse than both. Gray Hand was not ideal, but ideal had never been something he built his life around. Useful mattered more.

Snot noticed the look in his eyes and grinned a little. "Thinking about applying?"

"Maybe."

"Good." Snot sounded genuinely pleased. "Alice is planning to do it too. Marika and Max as well. We could train together now and then."

Neo did not answer right away.

Training with them had value. So did knowing people, learning how they fought, how they thought, and what habits surfaced when things got ugly.

At the same time, he was already thinking beyond that.

Gray Hand could be one road. It did not have to be the only one.

There were still government Breaches, still places outside the neat parts of the city, still Zone 0. If he needed classes, then he needed chances to kill and take them. Monster classes, human classes, whatever made him stronger. Waiting for one test in three months would be stupid.

"I can come with you sometimes," Neo said in the end.

Snot’s grin widened. "Knew you’d say something like that."

They kept walking until the road ahead split, each side leading toward a different part of the district.

Snot stopped there. "I’ve got to go. But I have your contact now, so I’ll message you."

Neo gave a small nod. "Fine."

Snot turned, lifted one hand without looking back, and disappeared into the flow of people.

Neo stayed where he was a moment longer.

Then his thoughts shifted to the next thing that mattered.

He needed to speak to Richards.

And after that, he needed to find a place to live on his own.

If he was going to start moving for real, he needed space, freedom, and no one watching over his shoulder.