The mine felt oppressive, its gloomy occupants slowly chipping away at the thick rocks that made up its walls. Among the many grown men, there stood a lone boy. Alex stood at the edge of the group, drilling into the hard wall with control not befitting that of his age. The cave was hot and damp, sweat constantly coalescing atop his forehead. Alex gently wiped it away with his sleeve.
“Going at it like always, heh?” Uncle Sam said.
“You know how it is, Uncle Sam. The more crystals we find, the more money we get.” The 12 year old boy replied. His scrawny figure did not stop for a single second, his movement almost robotic as he continued to mine. His face showed a determined resolve.
“You should give yourself some rest, otherwise you’ll burn out boy.” Uncle Sam replied. He scanned a wall before drilling with finesse and precision that only someone with untold years of experience could pull off.
“Haha, I know. You don’t have to worry.” The boy stopped for a second to give a thumbs up to the older man before returning to this task. His hands were calloused and rough, something a spectator couldn’t help but notice.
‘This kid, he really is a brat.’ Uncle Sam sighed.
“Say Alex, why don’t you come to my house today? You can bring your siblings along too, no problem.”
“No, it really is fine Uncle Sam, I can take care of us.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. I know you don’t like people giving you favours, but you must prioritise your siblings.”
‘Uh, he always gets me the same way.’ Alex thought. He imagined his poor sickly sister and his thin brother. For their sake, he couldn’t afford to be magnanimous.
“It really is fine, my wife caught lots of game yesterday. Don’t worry yourself over it.” After listening to Sam, Alex calmed down a little. He knew Uncle Sam’s circumstances weren’t great themselves, so he greatly appreciated the help he received.
“I guess I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Uncle Sam laughed.
“Well, see you tonight at 8:30. How does some -” Crack! The rock crumbled away to reveal a dim shine. “Jackpot! See Alex, when you act good, our great God Lumen awards us.” Uncle Sam spoke while his withered hand was already clearing the area around the crystal. After some time, he removed an unremarkable grey crystal.
“Another attribute-less crystal. Guess I can’t complain.” Despite sighing audibly, the old man picked it up.
Alex watched with a tinge of jealousy as Sam fiddled with the crystal. A single crystal was enough for your pay to increase from 1000 Aes to 2000. Although Alex's base wage was only 500 Aes, on account of his shorter working hours. It would thus allow him to save up some money rather than barely sustain his family for the day. He swept back his black hair that had fallen in front of his eyes.
“Honestly though Uncle, do we really need all these crystals?”
"Of course, without a doubt. Do you realise how many crystals a city of 10 million requires? Everything runs on the stuff." Sam was flabbergasted Alex even asked such an obvious question. “And don't get me started on the mages, lad. They have an insatiable appetite for these things. The supply is never enough for the demand.”
The youngling knew this, but it was just hard to accept. He had seen the scale of crystals being extracted, and to think it was still not enough.
“Oh, my back really is killing me.” Uncle Sam switched the topic to talking about how bad the job was and other menial topics.
Alex drowned out his uncle's voice, and his mind started to wander. As per Alex’s knowledge, every person once awakened had some mana, but mages had more of it and were able to utilise it to perform magic on a completely different scale. Theoretically, every person could become a mage, but reality was not so simple. Despite making up one in ten of the awakened population, they permeated through every facet of life in Inops City and controlled the majority of its resources.
Alex turned back to watch Uncle Sam mine. It was almost unnoticeable, but every motion by him dislodged more rocks than you would expect it to, a steady stream of rocks being removed. This was due to Uncle Sam being an Advanced Vigil, also known as a 1st tier mage. The 'advanced' referred to how far he had progressed within his tier. Though you weren't really a mage in the real sense until you were 2nd tier, an Ortus. This allowed him to weakly control the element he was proficient in, Earth.
‘That power, soon enough…’
As far as real mages were concerned, these were mere little party tricks and not considered proper magic. Snapping out of his daze, Alex went back to drilling a little more forcefully than before. Most of the tunnel he was in was already stripped of crystals through more industrial means, even if it destroyed some smaller crystals along the way. They were just here to clear up the remainder. It was much safer, but not as monetarily rewarding.
And so, another day swept away from Alex’s life. Once the workday’s end approached at 7pm, Alex started heading back to the entrance of the mine along with the remaining miners. In front of him, Uncle Sam was talking with another man.
“Old Sam, my daughter is getting wedded soon. As an old friend, you must come.” The man spoke.
“Why of course Old Noel, how can I ever miss that? To think Laura has already grown into a respectable young lady, time really does fly. Why don't you work on Saturdays too, make some extra money?”
Alex watched the men laugh. Uncle Sam himself had a sole son, but he lived in a different city, closer to the capital. At seeing their great relationship, Alex smiled bitterly. He had neglected his only friend. His relationship with Uncle Sam was more like that of a father and son, and his younger siblings were more like his children. He dreamt of a normal friendship, that other boys at his age seemed to have. Even the children of the poorest of workers had each other, but between Alex’s work and his responsibilities to his siblings, no time was spared.
After a long trek, the group finally approached the mine's exit. Two burly men stood there, clad in light armour, blue lines etched on the surface. They were different from the ones earlier in the afternoon. One by one, the workers were checked and paid electronically, and anyone who had crystals turned them over for their extra pay.
These attribute-less crystals outside were often sold for 2000 Aes, and for even more in the black market, so many people in the past had attempted to smuggle them out. Hence, the guards deployed now usually had crystal detection tools, thus barely anyone dared to steal anymore. Especially after the harsh punishments enacted on those who were found. Not to mention sneaking them out wasn't enough. You would have to refine them to their standardised proportions, lest you arise suspicion, which would also cost some money. It would constitute a large percentage of your cost when done at such small scales, and may not even be profitable.
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‘I wonder what element that involves?’ Alex stared at the light glow present in the guards’ tools as they scanned over every person in the cave. His hands started to clench together tightly. Learning magic without being taught was a dangerous and foolish endeavour. Only the most talented of all humans could achieve this, but you couldn’t know your own talent until you tried learning. As such, no one bothered to be so risky. The better choice was just to learn it through the proper avenue in school and university, despite the often exorbitant prices, through the awakening crystal. Nowadays, getting your element naturally was all but a myth.
Finally, Alex’s turn approached. He headed to one of the guards, having already returned all of his equipment. The guard gave 500 Aes, before ushering him forward. Behind him, Uncle Sam returned the crystal he found to the guard. The guard gave Uncle Sam his wages, a contemptuous snort escaping his nose. Despite being merely an Ortus, the guard held distaste towards anyone who was 1st tier. That meant the vast majority of adults. Uncle Sam turned his black eyes down, his gaze kept low as he escaped the dark hell that was the cave. The sun was setting, its last few rays caressing Alex’s now dirty skin, who was already waiting outside.
“Let’s head home now.” The old man gave a reassuring smile as Alex walked up to him.
***
The 2 figures headed back to the city in their van, crystals clattering behind them.
“How’s Archie and Zara? I hope you are feeding them well. They are always so weak when I see them, bless their hearts. My wife is going to prepare a massive feast for all of us tonight, you better be prepared…” Sam mumbled on and on, and Alex was content to just listen and smile. While he acted energetically outside, his body was constantly aching, and his mind numb from the constant toll of his work. He didn’t know what his parent’s relationship with Sam was, but after their death, Sam had been the only thing stopping Alex from plunging into darkness, besides his siblings.
He stared ahead, beyond the city into the far east. There, if you squinted just hard enough, you could spot a black line running through the sky. It was obscured by the towering skyscrapers of the city. Chief among them was the Griffin Tower, a monstrosity exceeding a kilometre in height.
But the line behind it was far more important. It was a crack in the sky itself and was undoubtedly humanity's most important landmark. Reaching it from Inops however, was a long and arduous task.
'Lumen's sword. I wonder if the stories behind it are real.' Alex thought. Its name was given by the fact it looked like, well a sword. A very jagged one, but a sword nonetheless.
As they neared the city, the crack was hidden away. The walls of Inops soon loomed above them. The entirety of the metropolis was covered by the wall, making sneaking in virtually impossible, but such was obvious. Who would build a half finished wall? They stopped in the same area as previously, to offload the crystals stored on the van. Uncle Sam was trusted by the higher ups, hence he even had such a task. But regardless, the crystals were carefully counted to make sure none went missing. Afterwards, as they were in a van, they took a slightly different route to entering than Alex did previously. After some checks, they swiftly went through the guards in front of the city’s entrance.
“Remember to arrive at 8:30 Alex. No dilly dallying, you hear me?” The man said as he landed his van in a parking spot. Alex's home was very close by.
“Yes yes, you’ve said it a million times already Uncle Sam!”
“You cheeky boy, talking back now! Well, I’ll see you then.” Sam watched as the boy walked off, waving at Alex as he went. The young boy waved back, and once Alex was a good distance away, Uncle Sam's van rose into the air. His home was not far either.
‘For them, this is definitely worth it.’ The boy thought as he headed home.
***
Alex entered his dilapidated apartment building, with a quick nod to its guard. It was by no means a small building, in fact, it even looked quite impressive under its dirty exterior. But it no longer had the vitality it likely had when newly constructed. All sorts of characters roamed its hallways. He headed towards the 23rd floor via an elevator, where he lived. He had inherited this place from his parents. One of the few links he still held on to. As Sam opened the door to his apartment, two bodies instantly lunged at him.
“Welcome back brother!” A girl’s voice screamed. The weight of the two bodies caused Alex to fall backwards, the two children lying on top of him.
“Alex!” The young boy on his stomach started laughing.
“Alright you two, that’s enough shenanigans.” Alex’s heart melted at the sight of them. Every day, without question, they would be ready to ambush him when he entered his house.
“How was your day?” Zara asked.
Like her brothers, she too had dark hair, like the night’s darkness, and blue eyes, like the day’s sky. Being a year and a half younger than Alex, at 11 she was responsible for Archie when Alex wasn’t home. The boy was always up to no good, always playing pranks at school in ways that seemed impossible for a 9 year old to think up.
“I want food!” He demanded, his tummy making an adorable rumbling noise.
“Haha, you greedy boy, that’s what you always think of.” Alex said as he and Zara laughed at Archie’s red face.
“We are visiting Uncle Sam and Auntie Helena’s house today, so I won't be preparing any.”
Archie, at first disappointed at having no food, then started to jump and down in glee having realised what going to Uncle Sam’s house entailed.
“Yes! Uncle Sam's food is delicious!” His stomach rumbled again, even louder than before, as if anticipating it already.
“Silly Archie.” Zara said as she poked his stomach. Alex watched as they started to poke each other, and then run around the house playing various games.
“Calm down, you two. Behave yourself. I’ll clean myself and will be right back, and if I see you misbehaving, I’ll tell Uncle Sam to not give you any dinner.”
Archie immediately stopped.
“You can trust me brother.” He touched his heart with his right hand as if making a solemn oath.
Alex laughed as he walked to the bathroom. After a quick cold bath, and making himself look as pristine as possible, he changed into his best clothes before heading out. Zara and Archie had already cleaned themself before he arrived at home. They only had to slightly wash themselves owing to the fact they had jumped on him while he was still dirty. After telling them to change their clothes, Alex looked around at his house. It was nothing noteworthy, a small living room with the kitchen attached, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. The smaller bedroom remained mostly unused, as his siblings were too scared to sleep without him.
Looking outside of a window, the view was blocked by lots of buildings of similar sizes. That said, you could still easily make out the flow of people down below, and hover cars flying about just above them. A constant stream of noise tried to make its way to you. The apartment's insulation hardly helped. But being in the Outer West Sector, the traffic was not quite as severe during the night, a different reality from the city's inner sectors.
Hearing his siblings approach, Alex looked away. As they were all done, Alex told them stories that he remembered from his parents, time ebbing away in the household. After a while, the family was ready to leave.
“Ok, stick close to me. No running around. Understood?” Alex said.
“Yes sir!” They spoke back in unison as routine.
“Good, let’s head off!” Alex headed out with his siblings, locking the door behind him. Uncle Sam’s house was in a different apartment, but it was not far away. After entering the streets, they started walking towards its direction.