3 The Mines

Even this young man, who had recently turned sixteen, had to spend his days dedicated to working in a mine just to make a living. Risking his life everyday as he did so.

"Twelve Nova." Said The man

The young man had now reached the entrance of the mine, here he was talking to a man known as Hendrick. Tall, muscular, and short gray hair above his intimidating eyes covered by goggles and always calm and composed. He was one of the men, miners would claim their Money from, by selling any ores they would find.

"Twelve? How long have we known each other for, Sir. Hendrick? Can't I get a little extra from being a regular?" He asked

"Fifteen Nova." Replied Hendrick

"Deal." Said the young man with a smile as he pushed over the Cart to Hendrick's side.

Following that, Hendrick Grabbed 15 Copper coins in which he handed to the young man and the young man took it happily.

"Thanks for doing business with me and the extra." Said the young man as he walked away.

Before he could get far enough however, he was stopped by Hendrick who said "Wait."

"What's wrong?" The young man asked as he turned

"What's that thing sticking out of your back." He asked

It was the capsule he had found. He had hidden it inside his shirt in case there were still any people in the mine and to not draw any unwanted attention, but it appears he couldn't get past the attentive Hendrick.

"It's nothing." Said the young man after giving Hendrick another smile as he stared straight at him.

"Is that so." Replied Hendrick as he understood what the young man was trying to say.

"Is that all?" The young man asked

"Yeah." Replied Hendrick

Upon hearing this, the young man nodded before leaving and right as he left, he was certain he had heard the words "Be careful".

"What a strange guy."

'Sometimes you think he cares about you, other times, he pays you so little you can't help but hate him.'

After exiting the mine through the entrance, the young man realized that he had indeed lost track of time and that it was already night time.

This was bad, very bad, as many scummy hunters would usually be out working at this time, purposely near the mine. And there were less miners active, meaning no evidence for them.

Fortunately for the young man, no hunters could be seen, except for the guards at the mine entrance. They didn't give a shit about him and that was why he liked them.

Ahead of the young man, and the mine was a broken down city. It was once a large-well inhabited urban city where many people lived in peace, enjoying their boring yet stressful lives, however now, it was simply ruins.

"The city of ruins…"

At night, it was rather terrifying, and the young man knew fully well why. However, he wasn't scared. He knew his way around it, and had already experienced many near-death experiences in it.

'The monsters are out at this time, going there is a bad idea…'

The young man had planned to stop by there and do some scavenging while avoiding monsters, but it was night-time already. He was tired and monsters were more active, the risk was too high.

'Guess I'll wait till I get home.'

As he left the mine and began walking down the road, he noticed a vehicle arrive. It was a vehicle full of hunters, exactly four. Worst thing was, all of them looked like bad news.

They all had strange strange tattoos which resembled wolves on their shoulders and they wore short sleeved Armour and gloves which seemed to have magical or advanced technological properties.

Whatever it was, they were all well equipped, and even had rifles attached around their back. Engaging with them or even messing with them in anyway was not an option.

Ignoring them, the young man continued to walk, in the direction of the city, when suddenly they called out to him.

"Hey, you. The kid with white hair, over there, stop." He said

Without looking back, the young man stopped in his tracks and stood still. Seeing this. The man asked a question.

"Where are you from?" He asked

"Zalpha." He replied

"Not that, I meant what area."

'Near the slums'

"Nobleman area, with my uncle." He replied

Of course it was a lie, but they liked going for the weak and poor so showing that he had support was the best course of action.

"Bullshit, then what are you doing near the mines?" He asked

"I came to collect something for my uncle."

"So your hands became worn-out and your clothes full of dust?" He asked

"…"

"What's that on your back?"

"…"

"You deaf? I said, what's that on your-"

Before the man could finish, the young man suddenly dashed forward before running as hard as he could. The hunters were all surprised yet wary.

"That's suspicious." Said the man leading them

"Do we go after him?" Another asked

"Why not, I'm in the mood for another hunt." Replied their leader with a wide grin

***

The young man pushed forward with his right leg, before quickly shifting over to his left and pushing again. A process typically used in the activity referred to as running. But for the young man, it was a secret technique of life and death.

There were no rooms for mistakes. Not too fast, but definitely not slow, all to priorities stamina and distance.

He had already reached the ruins, and was forced to head in this direction as they would just find a way to deal with him in the city. It wasn't safe at all, especially not when hunters were after you.

"Stop right there!"

"If you don't, we'll kill you!!"

Voices resounded from behind him, they were already catching up, even though he had gotten a head start.

"Great… Just my lucky day. I'm warning them now, this is a bad idea…"

——————————————-

Fast forward, and that brings us up to now.

"I… to…ld… you…"

However, the hunter was too distracted by the glowing artifact to hear it.

"I-It's not over… Right… This artifact… It might be able to save me… I'll just-"

The man was interrupted, as a dark shadow passed through the room in a single motion. In that instant, the walls and everything in the room, including the man, was cut.

His waist was slashed in half, causing his the top half of his body to slide off before flopping to the ground.

And that was the last thing the young man saw, before everything turned dark.

***

<System Initiating>

<Synchronization commencing...>