4 Chapter 4 - The Empty home

Zefer lived in a poor area; the area was run down and looked filthy. This area was known as the Lower District; it housed all the poor and weak people. There was no law enforcement here. The government saw no reason to be in this area that contributed nothing. Still, the crime rate here was also low.

There was nothing to steal, and no one had any grudges against each other. There was really only one problem: Sexual Assault Cases. Even if the women were dirty looking, it didn't matter to those in the Middle or Upper Districts. As long as they were not too old or too young, they would come in every so often and do as they pleased.

Although, recently, those in the Upper and Middle District would leave transfer funds after their fill and fun. This was due to a recent incident. Someone tried to murder someone from the Upper District, which caused a case to be issued. Sure they could kill everyone in the Lower District, but they would lose out on one thing. A drive to keep people from slacking off and doing nothing. If people didn't want to end up like that in the Lower District, they would strive to do their best.

The government did not want a revolt either. Sure, the Lower District people were weak, and as said before, they could quickly kill them, but they didn't want to. So, they made an unofficial law that those in the Upper and Middle District that came down to "have fun" were to leave a "parting gift." This prevented a revolt and still let the government use the Lower District to keep people from slacking off so they wouldn't end up in the Lower District.

As Zefer walked through the dirt path, he noticed people dressed in fancy or decent attire leaving homes. Zefer knew what had happened; even he didn't need to see them fixing their clothing to realize what went down. His eyes were filled with hate and disgust; however, there was one thing he was good at, and that was putting on a facade. It was as simple as putting on a mask. He hid his bloodlust and hatred behind a depressed expression and kept to himself while moving towards his home.

The home looked ruined and run down; it was also relatively small as if it only housed one or two people. Zefer moved to the door and pushed it open. There was no lock on the door. Even if there was, there would be nothing to steal anyway. Zefer entered the tiny home.

In front of him was a kitchen, dining area in one. As he moved into it, small living space and a single mattress on the floor in the living room could be seen. The home was an efficiency style home. Meant for one possible two people.

Everything was connected with no walls to split it up, and the only thing that had a door other than the front door was the bathroom. The home was empty, though. There were no tables, nor were there any chairs. The entire house was empty aside from the single mattress and one other thing.

Zefer would trudge over to the mattress and plop down on it. His face hit the pillow, and he looked over to his side to see a small photo frame. It looked cracked. Inside the structure was a picture of two smiling people. One looked like Zefer, and the other looked like a slightly older woman who seemed related to Zefer. She was beautiful. "Sis... I'm sorry..." Zefer muttered as his eyes started to tear up. "I'm sorry...." Zefer continued with the lump in his throat. Then he began to sob, repeatedly apologizing while looking at the photo. His earlier mask shattered completely, and eventually, he cried himself to sleep.

Morning came sooner than expected, and Zefer woke up on his own. His internal clock was already preset to wake him up just in time to get ready and head to the school. He got up, showered, brushed his teeth, and ate a single piece of toast from a loaf. As he opened the refrigerator, he saw there was nothing in there. It was empty. "That's right... I didn't buy anything yesterday..." Zefer muttered. He would tap upon his bracelet, which brought up his profile.

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Identification Card

Name: Zefer Zillian

Mana Pool: 0

Level: 1

Rank: F

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Class: None

Status: Excellent

Coins: 30

Page: 1/3

[<-] [->]

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A cybernetic screen displayed before him, and he read over it. His eyes, in particular, looked at the Coin part. Ever since cash and credit cards became nonexistent, places started to use a form of E-Currency called Coins. Coins became a form of a paycheck for many, and people could transfer Coins through contact with their bracelet and verbal command.

Stores had machines where customers would place their bracelets inside to extract the proper Coins per purchase. Companies could distribute Coins to their employees through a system similar to direct deposit.

A loaf of bread usually cost 10 Coins, and a small quart jug of milk cost 10 Coins. Cereal and other produce and foods typically cost anywhere between 20 to 50 Coins depending on what one was getting. This was why Zefer had nothing in his refrigerator. He was beyond poor. The homes in the Lower District only cost 5 Coins per month to rent out because there was little to no upkeep. The jump from a Lower District home to a Middle District home was vast. The cheapest Middle District home was anywhere between 100 to 250 Coins. Zefer could never afford anything like that, so he settled with the Lower District housing.

"Rent is tomorrow... so I'll be down by 20 Coins. I should have enough left over to get milk and bread..." Zefer seemed to smile slightly. The only way he was getting Coins was from school. The school allowed people Coins once per month based on Rank.

F Ranks - 30 Coins

E Ranks - 90 Coins

D Ranks - 180 Coins

C Ranks - 360 Coins

B Ranks - 720 Coins

A Ranks - 1,440 Coins

S Ranks - 2,880 Coins

Anything higher was set in negotiation through a higher power or the government itself. The System was developed to give people the drive to increase their Rank. Everyone had a Rank, even adults in the workforce. Their pay was determined by the same System. Yet, that depended on the company and the employee's position.

Even with AI Robots, people still wanted to have humans fill in the less mundane tasks. Technicians, Operators, and Creators were some of the highest sought-after jobs that required people with loads of knowledge to obtain. Routine jobs like trash collecting and fast food were replaced with AI Robots. Those that had yet to switch over to AI Robots were either for a couple of reasons: Not enough money or old-fashioned.

Zefer finished eating and went off to school. He ignored everything and everyone and kept along the dirt path. The path would lead to the Middle District, where housing, business, and shopping outlets were. Even the school was in the Middle District.

There was only one entry into the Middle District. Everyone coming and going from the Lower District had to be inspected. More times than not, people tried to escape the Lower District to become thieves in the Middle and Upper District, so they had to go through a scan at a checkpoint.

Zefer went through this scan every day, and every day, he was laughed at by the guards for how weak he was. Sometimes guards would even smack him for whatever reason, and other times he was pulled into the office for a "talking to." Which was just another way of saying torture. Once he got through, he was off to school. People usually took the Val-Bus or Val-Taxi, but those things cost Coins, and it was not something within his budget.

So he always got up super earlier to make it to school on time. The only reason he was going to school was for the allowance. Students would need to attend a certain amount of days to receive their allotment, and if they didn't then, they didn't receive it.

Along his way, one could see just how vastly different the Middle District was from the Lower District. The place was clean and well maintained. People were often out on errands or trying to promote their store. As he passed by various people, they looked at him with disgust.

It was because people knew who he was. He was the only person in the entire City of Falter who had zero Mana Pool. At first, the government did try to keep it up on wraps, but the students spread his information around, and people from all over Falter knew who he was: Zero.

It became even worse after the most recent incident too. No one even wanted to be associated with Zefer. They treated him like the plague, a piece of filth that needed to be purged or cleaned. He was still allowed in the city because the government decided to use him as an example of what not to be and what would become of someone if they were ever like him. In fact, it was the only reason.

Zefer arrived at the school gates, and as he did, he was approached by Ruth and his gang. "Hey, Zero. We are kinda short on Coins. We had to pay for our buddy's medical fees to get him patched up, so why don't you just fork over the fee?" Ruth stated while pointing at his friend, who looked perfectly fine.

"You know what will happen if you don't, right?" Ruth would grin wide with sinister intent. Zefer sighed heavily and tapped upon his bracelet five times like yesterday. A repeat of what happened yesterday happened again.

"Good, I'll be taking 20 Coins," Ruth said, and Zefer nodded while adjusting the transfer amount. Then the transaction was completed with a purchase sound. After that, Ruth and his buddies left, but not after laughing at Zefer and calling him rude names.

"I hate this place... I hate these people... I hate this city... I wish it would all just burn to the ground..." Zefer muttered to himself but kept his anger from showing. Instead, he went with a mask of someone who didn't care about anything. Zefer would proceed onward to class. He could really do nothing about Ruth and his gang, even if he wanted to.

[User's Darkest Desires detected! Beginning initialization process for the Gift...]

If he didn't give the Coins over, they would just beat him, and he would end up spending the Coins on himself. The problem was, the medical fee wasn't free if they got into a fight or something outside of a Gambit's Challenge.

Gambit's Challenge was a way for people to gain Coins and increase their Rank outside of other means such as killing monsters or helping people out with various tasks. Gambit's Challenge tracked a person's win/loss record, which was how a Rank up or Rank Down was issued.

Of course, Ruth and his gang could beat him Zefer anyways, but Ruth, for someone so evil and sinister, was a man of his word. As long as Zefer gave him the money, Ruth left him alone. Sadly, Zefer didn't have the funds to purchase any bread or milk, and the last of his funds would go to rent and utilities. With this, Zefer just went to class, and as per usual, he put his head down without caring.