The ascendant of

The tunnel was a gigantic, perfectly round entrance, spanning fifty feet in diameter. The dark, polished rock surrounding it seemed too precise to be the work of nature, as if centuries ago someone, or something, had sculpted it.

Kiyen couldn't help but whistle as he scanned its outline with his eyes.

"It never ceases to impress me," he murmured.

Despite having seen it before, the immensity of the place always managed to overwhelm him.

When he was younger, he had ventured to the entrance out of childish curiosity, but never dared to cross it. Stories of missing miners and beasts in the shadows were enough to keep any child away.

But today was different.

"I'm not a child anymore," he said to himself, clenching his fists.

At fourteen, his words held some truth. Crossing the cave marked a before and after in life. Taking on a higher risk job was what really made you an adult in that world.

The boy took a deep breath, gathered his courage and entered.

The interior of the tunnel was strangely regular, with curved walls and ceiling. The air was thick and humid. Torches of blue flames sprouted from the walls, flickering with a spectral glow and casting twisted shadows on the surfaces.

Roughly drawn pictographic symbols could be made out on the walls, like scribbles made by children, but which, according to the stories, had been there for centuries.

I knew that, further along, the tunnel branched into a network of caverns where newcomers divided into groups to work. The dangers were unpredictable, but the rewards were minerals that allowed the artifacts of the ancient era to function. As such, their value was extremely high.

Of everything he managed to extract, only forty percent would belong to him. The rest was to be given to the one in charge, an emissary sent from above. He was not a nobleman, for none would descend to such a wretched place, but a servant of a nobleman, someone who had managed to improve his life in exchange for signing a servitude contract.

Kiyen quickly tracked him down.

He was a broad-shouldered man with messy gray hair and a scar that crossed his face, giving him an even more sullen expression. He wore a thick green jacket with shoulder pads, straight-cut brown pants and sturdy black leather boots.

Kiyen had never seen clothes of such good quality, without being soiled, patched or worn by time.

As soon as he approached, the man, without taking his eyes off the invisible System floating in front of him spoke to him:

"Identification."

"Ah, yes..."

Kiyen felt embarrassed by his clumsy answer. He ran his hand over the back of his neck and brushed aside his greasy black hair, which glistened with sweat and grime.

The nobleman's servant took his eyes away from his system and looked at the back of the boy's neck, where he had a set of black squares tattooed with no apparent pattern.

"Kiyen, fourteen years old, residual zone A-85, primary role: collector, mining experience: none."

The man clicked his tongue, doubtful. His taciturn expression darkened further.

"You're too small, aren't you better off going to the crops?"

"The plague left nothing, sir. There's no more work for me."

Kiyen was nervous. What if they wouldn't let him in because of his age?

The nobleman's servant was slow to respond. Kiyen didn't know if his hesitation was for his safety or simply because he didn't want to deal with someone who would be more of a hindrance than a help.

No. He couldn't afford to be denied the job. He needed money, lots of money, and fast.

"Although it may not seem like it, I have a lot of strength and I'm pretty tough. When I was planting, I always carried the heaviest sacks..."

The man looked him up and down. The boy was skinny, you could say malnourished, but his skin, at least, showed no serious signs of erosion and he still had all his teeth.

He could not deny that the boy was in better shape than several of those who worked in the mines, but that did not guarantee his survival.

"You haven't sold your kidneys, lungs or anything that affects your performance?"

"No, I haven't sold anything.... At most, my milk teeth."

The man sighed, resigned.

"Let's see how long you last...."

"I'm not going to die," Kiyen said with a defiant look.

The man let out a dry laugh, as if he had heard that phrase a thousand times before.

"None of them plan to, kid, but whatever, go if you want to, there's no rule in the System that forbids entry based on age. But, since it's your first time in this job, I have to scan you completely to verify that you haven't sold your body parts. So now, get undressed."

Kiyen tensed, worried. It wasn't out of embarrassment at being seen naked, but because of the daggers hidden under his clothes. He feared the man would ask him how someone as poor as he was had obtained a weapon of that value.

But he had no choice. The man even narrowed his eyes, wary of his hesitation.

"I-I'm coming, sir...."

Resigned, the boy took off the rags he wore as clothes. He didn't even have any underwear, so he was completely naked. His skin bristled from the cold, in contrast to the burning in his chest at the knowledge that his daggers would be exposed. Slowly, he unbuckled the mana-laden weapons strapped to his thighs which fell to the ground with a thud.

The man wiggled his fingers in front of the tactile system that only he could see. Immediately, Kiyen felt a tingle run through his body and held back a shiver. Was he being scanned?

"Indeed, you retain all your organs. You have a nasty scar on your back.... Did you ever work with the Burners?"

Burners were machines that generated perpetual fire, commonly used to dispose of garbage.

Kiyen let out the air he had been holding without realizing it.

"No, sir. My mom burned my back when I was a kid because I misbehaved."

"I see... "The man was silent for a moment, as if pondering his decision more than usual. In the end, he ended up shrugging his shoulders. "It's all right, anyway, a burn scar is not a handicap. It would be if it were a birthmark. Mmm... I have no objections. You're fit to enter the mine."

The man stopped manipulating his System.

"Now get dressed, I'll explain the protocol."

"Okay."

It took Kiyen a couple of seconds to react, but he quickly put on his clothes and reattached the daggers to the inside of his rags, tying them to his thighs with pieces of cloth cut like rope.

The man didn't even seem fazed by the daggers - were they not as valuable as he thought they were?

"Boy, I'll explain the job to you. Ahead you will find a corridor with several caves arranged from left to right. You must form a group of five people before entering to work in one of them. Although I warn you that most of them already have their teams formed, so it will be up to you to gain the trust of some of them. In any case, there are always those who lose members and, as they are obliged to complete a team, it is possible that they will accept you. I hope you are smart enough to make it. If you don't find a group, come back and try another day. Remember, if you enter a caves alone, the intruder alarm will sound and you will be punished by death. Be smart and follow the rules. I assure you that most do not die because of the monsters hiding inside, but for not following my instructions."

Pulled out a blue bracelet from his jacket, placing it on Kiyen's wrist.

The bracelet had a touch screen, but Kiyen couldn't read, so he only recognized three icons: a pickaxe, a loaf of bread, and a bottle.

"Each of those pictures you see there will appear if you touch them with your finger. The pickaxe is the tool you must use to collect the minerals. Do not use any other. Every time you break an ore with this pickaxe, it will be sent directly to the main deposit. If you try to use another one, it will be considered stealing. You can't use the pickaxe to defend yourself from creatures either, I assure you it's preferable to die than to go into debt for damaging it. So those daggers you have stashed away will come in handy."

Kiyen blinked, puzzled, was he really not going to reprimand him for the daggers? That guy's kindness was a rarity in those times.

Not giving the boy's reaction much thought, the man went on to explain:

"The bracelet will show a count with the minimum quota you must fulfill per mission. Once completed, you return and receive a percentage of what you extracted as payment. You can then sell it. Its value is around 400 kurps. Otherwise, you can also keep it as a souvenir or use it if you have access to ancient technology."

Kiyen's eyes widened. 400 kurps. That was more than he was getting in three months working on the planting.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You will also receive food and water rations for each day's work. Use them sparingly, because sometimes the work in the caverns can extend over several days....."

Kiyen nodded frantically, excited that, after a long time, he would taste a mouthful of food again.

The man dismissed him with a wave of his hand, and the boy continued on his way, going deeper into the tunnel.

As soon as he lost sight of the nobleman's servant, driven by his most basic needs, he repeatedly touched the icons for bread and water. In front of him appeared a loaf of bread the size of his arm.

His hands trembled as he held it, as if he feared it would disappear before he took the first bite.

He immediately bit into it eagerly, as tears of relief and joy streamed down his cheeks. Never tasted anything so soft and fluffy, something that didn't have that rancid, mushroomy texture from the passage of time.

Then she greedily drank the incredibly pure water until the clear bottle was completely empty. A shiver of satisfaction ran down his spine.

Breathing raggedly with excitement, he tossed the bottle to the ground and looked at the screen of his bracelet, watching the bread and water icons disappear.

"I guess I got carried away..... I ate the whole supply."

But, deep down, he didn't feel guilty. Even if he failed to complete his work, even if he died at the hands of some creature of the abyss, that payment already seemed more than enough.