Soul Traveler: Venator.

Over the next week, Jess and her grandmother would come assist Horatio in the mornings, with bathing and cleaning, and in the afternoons, he would leave and go explore more of the slum that he now lived in, whilst taking notes on everything he had found in the Mind Realm at night. Another strange thing he did was collect his own blood, using some of the empty needles and the like from Horatio's drug using days. As much as the original Horatio Rex lived and died in this world, he was by far the most unreliable narrator, due to how he was inebriated most of the time, hence why Kumkani took it upon himself to do his own research. By the end of that week, he had obtained enough information to start formulating a plan. In the evening of the seventh day, Kumkani was in the Mind Realm, with the equivalent of a vision board, looking over everything he had learned.

"So first, there are four major groups in this slum, each with their own Domains and forces. They are at war with each other, and constantly have skirmishes – to the detriment of the entire area. Secondly, the sizes of plots and properties are larger the closer one gets to the Walls, however those places are at risk the most, as they are closer to the Wilds – where the various Zones are. Thirdly, Venators can take on independent contracts that are separate from those commissioned by Venator Guilds or the Venator Union – most low rank Venators like me usually make our money taking on these contracts."

Kumkani was standing right in front of the board with his arms folded across his chest, in deep thought. After a deep breath and a nod, he finally looked away from it.

"Seems like I'll have to enact the first part of my plan, tomorrow. I've assimilated enough of this body to produce 5 droplets of Primordial Blood, so I'll have to make do with that. I don't have access to a lab after all. If I can't find a way to process and use foreign Aura, I may have to resort to Blood Magic in this Dimension – especially if Mana is scarce."

The following afternoon, after Horatio was dressed and ready, he made his out of the building with the intention of setting his plan in motion. His broken arm was in a sling, and as he made his way out the parking lot, he was subjected to wolf whistles and laughter – something that had been a constant over the past week.

"Come now Venator Rex! It's been so long since you came for your regular order, I'm starting to think you've another supplier on the side! You're hurting my feelings!" The main guy said as he clutched his shirt, feigning pain.

"I told you I've stopped with that shit. Leave me be." Rex said, his throat having recovered enough for him to actually speak again, albeit very softly.

"Don't worry, you'll be back! You always come back." The guy said with a laugh.

Horatio ignored him flat out, and just walked with a sense of purpose, as he looked to make good time. His intention was to enter each of the four Domains belonging to the groups, and he had to do it discreetly. Raised black cars on large offroad tyres drove over the pits and ditches that littered the roads with nary a thought, as they policed their Domain.

"The Harbingers." Rex said to himself as he crouched behind a rather large trash heap.

Known for contract killing and drug production, they were the refuge of the unhinged and bloodthirsty. Often clad in all black, they were lower in number than the others, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up for with sheer strength as they had the most A and B Ranks on their books. Their Domain was also littered with the most corpses, as any members of other groups found in their Domain were immediately killed, trussed up like a pot roast, hoisted into the air on poles, whilst still decked out in their colours, and left to rot.

'I need to go a little deeper… these guys don't have any form of shifts or timing, but I'll get there if I'm careful.'

Horatio indeed went deep into the Domain, and after a while, entered a drug den, filled with barely conscious people. The smell was repulsive to Kumkani; however, it was enticing to Horatio Rex, causing his body to shake in yearning.

'This guy was a lost cause.' Kumkani thought to himself. 'Luckily, he was once a soldier, so his body hasn't been completely ruined. His muscle memory is useful, as I'm able to sneak with minimal fuss.'

He went a little deeper, and found a rat's nest, catching the largest male and covering its mouth, clamping it shut so it couldn't bite him and muffling as much squeaking as he could. He aimed his pointer finger on his left hand at the rat, and after his hand shook in the cast a little bit, a small bead of very dark blood flowed out from the tip and formed, before being shot directly into the rat's heart. The rat started convulsing and squirming hard, as the blood was pumped into and spread throughout its entire body until it went limp. Kumkani released the rat and looked at it as its eyes went from being pitch black, to suddenly having a deep red blow behind them. The rat then woke up, and looked right at Kumkani, who looked right back at it.

"Bide your time, procreate, and scout this Domain."

The rat squeaked in acknowledgement and disappeared into the darkness of the drug den.

'One down.' Kumkani thought to himself before exiting the building, and eventually, the Domain.

He went to the areas he had identified in the other Domains, such as the green coloured, poison crafting Locusta – creepy edge lords that were incredible try hards and unnecessarily cringe worthy. Their poisons however were as potent as they were embarrassing, and as much as they lacked physical prowess, they made up for it with numbers and potency. Their Domain was virtually a bog, with most who lived in it having to wear a mask or run purifiers in their house if they could afford them. In the summer, a toxic miasma permeated through the entire Domain. Luckily it wasn't summer, and Kumkani found some rats near a bridge and injected one with Primordial Blood.

The red clad group called the Ira, was an incredibly aggressive melee force that had the highest overall number of members. They were all muscle bound and violent, especially considering how they were enforcers for hire, as well as steroid dealers. They had a very fragile alliance with the Harbingers, as they made the steroids for the Ira, who would also deal it to athletes on the low. Despite having the numbers, it wasn't difficult for Kumkani to find a rat and convert it.

The most troublesome Domain for Kumkani to infiltrate smoothly was that of the Alteri. Unlike the other Domains that seemed to thrive on chaos, they strove to achieve was a safe, peaceful space that served as a safe, clean space within the slum. It had actual flora, clean and maintained streets, smooth roads, access to the city directly from the Domain – it was like an extension of the city. With blue being their dominant colour, the Alteri were mostly healers, concocting and brewing all manner of potion and salve. Unlike the Locusta whose gardens were toxic to those who were not immunised, the beautiful gardens of the Alteri were filled with healing plants, fruits, vegetables, and even flowers. It was truly beautiful. Unfortunately, the beauty came with increased security, and a cleanliness that meant rats were not easy to find, and there was enough lighting and camera coverage to make reconnaissance a challenge. Luckily, Kumkani had found a park across from an apartment complex with vacancies where stray cats would congregate. As he got there that evening, he found a young boy feeding the cats and just watching them.

"You're here again, Mister." He greeted with a smile.

"As are you, boy." Kumkani greeted back. "These cats are lucky to have you."

"So will you be moving into the building across the street?"

"Unfortunately not, kid. I'll have to look somewhere else." Kumkani said as he crouched down to pet one of the cats. "You'd better get home before your mom looks for you."

"You're right. Good luck."

"Appreciate that." He said with a nod to the waving child. "This will be gamble, as I can't hang around and help you process the blood." Kumkani said to the cat he was petting, before a bead of Primordial Blood entered the cat's tail. "Best of luck."

Kumkani stood up and left, leaving the cat to fate and returning to his own apartment building, which was on right on the edge of Harbinger Domain.