2 The Artefact

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

The repeated sound of clanging at a steady pace, resounded throughout the cold and quiet mine.

There, a young man, could be seen, using his whole body weight as he swung his pickax, down at the stone, in a desperate search for a valuable metal or ore.

Three hours had passed since he had started, but unfortunately, his luck seemed to run out as he couldn't find a single rare ore.

The reason being, he was mining at one of the branch areas to the main mining area, no one except for him, mined there for many reasons.

The unhealthy amount of dust, the lack of valuable ores and the danger of monsters as hunters had yet to explore the area. It was in no way, in the conditions for there to be people mining it. Yet the higher ups didn't care. In a way, it was beneficial to them, so they didn't put nay restrictions in the area.

*Clang* *Clang*

The young man knew that mining there would be bad for his health, but he kept it up. The reason was simple, he wasn't allowed to mine in the main area.

He hadn't done anything wrong, nor had he been banned from doing so. It was because of the miners there. Their greed knew no bounds, they would even steal any valuable ores someone who was barely old enough to be considered an adult could find.

Even if it were a child, there's no doubt that they would steal it. That was how society of the time, now was.

"Just coal today… huh…?" The young man asked as he picked up the pieces before throwing them on top of his metal cart.

'How many hours has it been?' He wondered as he looked down the empty mine halls

With no way to tell the time, he would usually rely on his own body clock or just count. However, today he had been to out of his game to focus on that.

If he stayed for too long, it would be dangerous in many ways, which is why he always made sure to stay for at most two hours.

It was just about reaching his time to leave, so he decided to give up just after a few more hits.

*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

Again and again, he would hit at the same spot, at the same corner, gradually expanding it over time. It had worked mid-game, but now that it was end-game, he was getting nothing, he had gotten as much coal as he could from that spot.

*Clang* *Clang*

His next objective was to look for a new spot, before heading home. And just as he gave off his last hit to finish things off for the day. He hit something, through the rocks and rubble.

*Cling*

It made a different, yet similar sound. The feeling was also different. It didn't feel like he was hitting rocks or coal.

Confused, he looked over to see what it was, and for the first time in a long time, he felt his heart sink. But it wasn't due to fear.

"A-Ah… N-No way… Oh shit…" He muttered as he stared straight at it.

What came from the area where he was mining, was not rocks, or fuel which he could sell, but a capsule. This was amazing, because miners had the right to whatever they found in the cave, and this, despite all the rubble and dust, it was glowing.

A red crimson glow could be seen coming from inside of it, he couldn't tell what it was, but judging from the faint glow, it was definitely worth something more than coal.

He slowly moved his hand towards it before grabbing it and hastily looking around, making sure that no one was there to see it.

It was rather big, the length could be compared to the length of his hand up to his elbow. A cylinder capsule.

The more he looked at it and held it, the more he began to fantasize of the things he could do with it, in case of it being worth a lot.

'I can finally get out of this hellhole…' He thought to himself

But despite that, he wasn't too hopeful, for all he knew it could be nothing.

"And even if it is something… Who would I sell it to? I'd just end up getting robbed."

It was a troublesome situation, but it couldn't be avoided. So to that, he thought up of a simple solution.

"Oh well, I'll just kill anyone who tries to take it." He said as he happily placed away the capsule underneath his shirt.

He then looked at his cart and let out a sigh of relief.

"This should be enough for a few meals…" He muttered before grabbing on to it's handle.

Then with a strong pull, the cart began to move, staying right behind him as he walked through the mine.

'I wonder how many thousands this'll go worth…'

—————————————

In the year 2053, a world-wide catastrophe changed all logic within the world. Scientists had discovered a magical catalyst and after breaking it, the earth was hit by a magic surge, completely affecting all of it's natural components.

The surge caused global catastrophes, mutations in animals and plants and there have been cases where people have claimed that it opened cases to different dimensions. All while adding magic to everyone's daily lives.

Millions of people died, those who mutated, were either given magical powers and had their abilities greatly enhanced, or died due to their body not being able to handle all the power.

Worst cases ended up from the animals and insects. Snakes, lions, tigers, pets. They all mutated and were considered as monsters. Eventually it became an all out war with these mutated monsters, and catastrophes.

This war not only pushed humanity to the brink of extinction, but it ruined most civilizations. If a person were to stroll the world, they would mostly encounter wastelands or areas which lacked all logic.

Snow in a desert, or it being hot in the the north pole. All of this, because of magic. That is without including the interdimentional portals which were opened around the earth.

Humanity would have been extinct, if not for the fact that they too received mutations. Thanks to the magical surge, people were either born or given a set amount of magic power. The amount received could increase with training. But of course, like everything in life. There was a limit.

On top of magic being granted, there were also humans who received mutation and gained supernatural abilities. They were refereed to as edicts. These powers were obtained during the mana surge. Marks which were engraved in people's body from the mana, giving them supernatural powers.

And these powers could genetically via birth, with the possibility of variation, depending on the parents.

Some were more talented than others. Others more powerful. Those with power survived, those without it, unfortunately met their doom.

However, within all the hell which had occurred on earth. There were safe spots, It wasn't accessible to everyone. Some had conditions to enter, but they were relatively safe.

Some were schools while others were refugees. The numbers were few as the number of humans existent in society had dropped considerably. There were other races trying to take over earth, aside from the monsters. Hence these places were created.

There was one thing for sure, about this so called "new world." There was no such thing as fairness.

The young man took residence in the city of Zalpha, one of the few refugees currently available for humanity. It was known as the city of mines