19 The SandStorm.

With the sun shining down on Asper, he walked around the vast wasteland in the middle of the sandstorm and watched the figures of other hunters ride their way towards the ruins on their vehicles. He couldn't help but feel a hint of envy as he too wished to have such a ride.

Thanks to the sand which hid the city of Zalpha underground, it felt as if he was walking in the middle of a desert as he made his way towards the ruins.

It sucked and he was sweating quite a lot, but he was already used to it. After all, he went through the same process every day whenever he had to go to the mines for work. He wasn't the only one too, there were others who walked around him, heading for the same direction.

The only difference now was that he wasn't heading for the mines, but rather. The ruins.

The sand would stop once he would reach a certain point, letting him know that they were close to the mines. For some reason, there'd be a sandstorm everyday, in both morning and night making it harder to commute from the city to the mine and mine to the city. Many have gotten lost because of it.

But this sandstorm was probably what was keeping the city safe for so long.

'We're nearly there…' He thought to himself

They had reached the end of the sandstorm. There was a point in which the sand would no pass through no matter what. Was closer to the mines than it was to the city, which was north-west of it.

Asper stepped past that point, only to open his eyes wide as he took in the fresh air.

"Finally…" He muttered.

He then looked back and stared at the line of sand. There was literally a sand cloud, just behind him. A cloud which went high up into the air. The cloud hid what was behind it, but as he had come from it many times, he knew damn well what it had in store inside.

'A sandstorm is what awaits for any new traveler who decides to pass through here. Many have gotten lost on their way to the city of Zalpha because of this… Was it made by man or nature? A truly strange phenomenon.' Asper thought to himself before diverting his attention away from the sandstorm to the mines.

The mines which were a few tens of kilometers south east of the city had quite a big entrance. Asper who had spent years mining had most of the routes memorized, so he himself knew how far it went, underground.

He then noticed a few older miners making their way towards the mine laughing with one another.

Asper had nothing against the miners, however there were a few who he held a grudge against. Those who never let him mine with them or would steal whatever he'd mine if he were to mine in their area.

'Because of that I nearly died…' he thought to himself as he looked at the knife on strapped to his leg. He then diverted his gaze to his chest before thinking. 'At least I got something good off of it.'

In the middle of the sandstorm, Asper had received an adaptation which improved his vision and blocked the sand from entering his eyes. He had no idea how it worked but it was helpful.

"Great." He muttered before making his way towards the ruins.

***

Despite it being the morning. The ruins were mostly quiet. Aside from the sound of occasional gunshots and vehicles in the far distance making their way towards the ruin.

Asper stood at the edge of the city, waiting to make his way in as he watched the hunters get off their vehicles.

Those who were in military cars or quad-bikes would just get off, and lock it using a special lock which would keep the vehicles stuck right in place so no one would be able to take it. Most of them were high-quality and engineered by great mechanics and would require tools and knowledge which would be worth far more than just stealing the vehicle itself.

Because of this the hunters weren't worried about their rides being taken. Even Asper himself didn't know how the mechanism behind the locks nor would he want to find out.

'I'm no thief after all…'

***

*Step* *Step* *Step*

Despite all being said and having happened, Asper was still quite nervous. It was his first time exploring the city on his own. He would always stay away from it in the past.

'Now that I think about it… Last time that I ran here, it was actually my first time coming here.'

Asper continued to walk on his own, ignoring and staying away from the sight of the very few hunters which he had seen.

He followed the same path as last time, and encountered almost no monsters on his way. Those which he did encounter, were either being targeted by other hunters or getting gunned down.

Before he even realized it, he was standing near the area where it had all started. He looked over to the spot where the building was and noticed that it was gone. Not completely gone, there was still the broken street sign which he had seen from last time.

The only problem was that the building itself, seemed to have been torn off, leaving behind only a bit of rubble.

'What kind of monster… Did this…?' He wondered

Asper walked close to the side walk and near the broken down buildings in case he'd need a place to hide inside or avoid others sights. The reason being, the monsters weren't his only enemy here. It was every man for himself.

But it was such actions which led to this situation.

*CRASH*

The wall belonging to the broken building, right beside Asper broke as something crashed into it from the other side, lunging straight at Asper.

It was in this moment, where the monster's figure could be seen mid-air inches away from Asper, that Asper realized, he had miscalculated.

'SHI-'

Next chapter