Trench Rot Cave

Hundreds of pairs of eyes watched, as Asher was dragged to the Trench Rot Cave.

It was possibly the worst place in the Crude Lands. A cave that was forever damp and dripping with water that let off a foul smell that nauseated the toughest of stomachs.

It was place feared by many, as well as one that was used to house prisoners. 

The Crude Lands was not exactly a town, and neither was it a village. At best it could be called a mixture of camps that covered an area of about a hundred kilometers. There was no specific name to the camps either, with them simply being numbered.

The camp that Asher belonged to was camp 30 and was located at the very edge of the area and was close to several mines including the Trench Rot Cave. 

The cave used to be a mine once upon a time too, but had to be shut down once it was flooded with water. Most of its areas were submerged in water, with only a few tunnels still left.

These tunnels had no use as they didn't have any ore veins left to be mined. As such, they had been re-purposed as a prison instead. 

Asher had only ever heard about the Trench Rot cave, but had never actually been there. He had never hoped to go there, but now here he was being dragged against his will.

"Let me go!" Asher continued to struggle, but the guards were stronger than him.

~thud~

"Enough! Stop struggling when it's not worth it!" One of the guards shouted while smacking Asher on the back of his head.

"Do you really think someone you can resist against a one star warrior!?" The other guard scoffed.

"Damn you!" Asher gritted his teeth, knowing very well that this was true.

Warriors were individuals which had strengthened their bodies using Mana. Their raw physical strength was greater than that of a normal individual and could even exceed them several times, depending on what their rank was.

Even if one was born strong, there was little chance they would be able to oppose a warrior. That was the reason why many people yearned to become warriors.

It was the more 'open' choice than a Mage after all. 

Asher didn't even know what was the requirement for becoming a mage. All he knew was that becoming a mage was very hard and only a few could do it. But becoming a Warrior was something almost everyone could do, as long as one knew the method as well as the resources needed for it.

As a poor miner, there was no way Asher would be able to become one. But that didn't mean it wasn't his goal one day.

"Aren't warriors supposed to be just? Why are you siding with the stupidity of the Overseer?!" Asher couldn't help but say.

"Bah! You really listen to too many fairy tales." The first guard spat out. "The real world is different from those ideal stories you've heard." He said, giving a look of disgust.

"That's enough. Shut his mouth. I don't want to hear him yap." The guard behind them spoke.

"MNHHHHH!" Asher couldn't do much as they stuffed a rag into his mouth. 

The salty taste of the sweat stained rag along with the bitter grime made Asher gag, but he held on. Puking right now would be much worse than just enduring the rag in his mouth.

A few minutes later, Asher was brought to the entrance of the Trench Rot Cave. Four guards were already stationed here and were acting as security for the place. They saw the group approach and stood up in attention.

"Overseer wants him locked up." The guard leading the group spoke to the stationed guards.

"What'd he do?" The stationed guards couldn't help but ask.

The Trench Rot Cave was mostly used for those that had committed serious crimes, which Asher certainly didn't seem guilty of. At least on the surface, the guards' instincts were telling that something didn't add up.

"Tried rebelling against the Overseer." The leading guard replied.

~WHISTLE~

"Yeah, that'll do it." The stationed guards didn't know whether to praise the guts of Asher or to laugh at his stupidity.

Everyone knew that going against the Overseer was the same as dropping an axe on one's foot. 

"We'll take him from here then." The guard said and took hold of Asher's arms.

"Hngh!" Asher pulled away the moment they tried to switch, but the guards were faster.

"Careful, he's a feisty one." The leading guard said.

"Don't worry. We've seen worse." The stationed guard said with a frown. "A few days in the cave will do him wonders. Even the most stubborn man will break under those conditions." They laughed.

Asher watched it all, a mix of anger, fear and uncertainty on his face. 

The guards brought Asher into the cave, opening the iron gate that prevented the inhabitants from leaving freely.

"Ugh, the stink is bad today." One of the guards wrinkled his nose in disgust as soon as they entered.

"Seems like the water level in the inner caves has increased once more. If not for that, it wouldn't be this smelly." Another guard spoke.

"How many times has it been now this year? Eight? Nine?" another guard asked.

"Eleven if you count the collapsed tunnel too." The first guard replied.

"Oh, yeah… We can't use that place anymore." The second guard said with an expression of realization. "Though, did we ever shift the prisoners from that tunnel?" 

"Nah, they were long gone before we even heard of the collapse. Besides, even if we knew, you think it's worth moving these pieces of garbage? Haha!" the leading guard laughed.

Arthur heard all their words and couldn't help but tremble. They were quite terrifying, after all.

"Who know's perhaps this kid will get to experience it too, Hahaha!" The guard weren't ones to stop that easily and continued to mock Arthur.

~drip~drip~drip~

Water continued to drip from the ceiling of the cave, as if counting down to Asher's doom.