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Feeling his stomach rumble a bit, Ryatt walked into the kitchen and checked his pantry. The final half of a single loaf of bread remained among the tragically empty shelves.
"Hmm…I'm thinking, bread sandwiches today?" Ryatt grabbed the loaf happily and threw the strap of his school bag over his shoulder. He even hummed a tune as he walked to the door.
~Zoomp~
However, just before the door, Ryatt paused in interest. Behind his front door was a wall. In front of this wall was a black metallic bin, which had just made a strange sound.
"Well, what do we have so early in the morning?" Ryatt excitedly ran to the bin and palmed what seemed to be thin air.
A light panel appeared, showing a string of characters and information. Ryatt studied the information while watching a series of images that seemed to be taken from the perspective of a motorized toy. In the recording, dust, dirt, and rocks were scattered everywhere. It looked like some type of sandstorm as the device with the image recorder advanced. Firearms discharging could be heard in the background, with shouting and the sounds of battle.
The mobile device didn't seem to care about all this as it approached crater after crater.
Each time it entered a crater, it would withdraw with these rough-looking meteorite pieces as if it were being drawn to them. The meteorite ores were two-thirds metal and a third rock, and the black metal seemed bespectacled with white lights. Two mechanical claws would appear in the frame and drill into the meteor. When they withdrew, the rock would crumble away, revealing several twinkly stones in a net that seemed to be made of energy.
The machine repeated this eight times before exiting the sandstorm and approaching what appeared to be a random corner of a dilapidated street. Its treads crunched over gravel and dirt, spraying small dust clouds into the air. The trap door in the ground opened with an animal-like hiss, twice as large as a person's palm. The first cargo of bodies in bags dropped out through it and thudded onto the ground below, resulting in another swooshing sound. The second machine joined them from another direction, and both fed the corpse-sized sacks into its waiting arms.
"Hmm, so Rovers #5 and #6 discovered some new conduits, huh? They seem pretty high quality, too, like the ancient crystals at Wonder Corp!" Ryatt mused after reviewing the footage. "Could it be an undiscovered ancient crystal? What force would it conduct? It doesn't seem elemental…."
Ryatt keyed in a command on the interface with a swift, calculated hand motion. The sound of machinery echoed throughout the room as a swooshing sound was heard from underneath the bin. It opened slowly, revealing a tray containing a silver cylinder that glinted in the light.
Ryatt's eyes lit up with excitement as he reached for the tube, its cool metal surface sending shivers down his spine. He picked up a pair of sleek black gloves and put them on while walking over to the couch. He delicately opened the cylinder and retrieved several sparkling stones. They were as hot to the touch as they were cool, pulsing with otherworldly energy that vibrated through his fingertips.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
As he examined the glittering gems more closely, Ryatt couldn't help but wonder at their origin and purpose. Were they simply beautiful trinkets, or did they possess some hidden power beyond human comprehension? He couldn't wait to find out.
"Marvelous…I wonder what principles this falls under?" Ryatt felt amazed by the sensation that was neither too cold nor too hot, yet both at once.
He quickly pocketed a few stones in a little baggy and then dropped the silver cylinder into a tube beside the couch. The silver cylinder then zipped away to only ghosts, and the boy wonder knew where. Satisfied, Ryatt proceeded to open the door and leave. Stepping outside the place he had called home for the last eight months, Ryatt glanced at the decrepit valley town around him. These dilapidated buildings, covered in sand and filth, were all that remained of the old Origin City. Now this area had a different name.
The slums.
The city was changing. Origin City used to be known for its agriculture. However, the founding of Wonder Corporation in Origin City changed all that. The city started expanding and transforming with Wonder Corporation's marvelous inventions and electromagnetic and nuclear technology advances. The mayor and his cohorts at Wonder Corp even built a connection with the most sought-after magipolis in the entire Acadian Empire.
Kairo Mountain.
Or, as the humble called it, New Acadia.
Technically, the Kairo Mountain range existed on the other side of the valley outside the slums. However, the actual supercity was vastly different. It was literally somehow inside the mountain range. Accessing a Wonder Train terminal in New Origin City would be the only way to get there. Not many people could afford such a luxury. So Ryatt, with his loaf of bread in hand, raced down the street, skirting around the sharp edges of the valley.
Cutting through the slums would have saved him roughly 30 minutes of traveling time; however, doing so meant he would need to contend with roughnecks and gangsters. He had to go around the valley instead. Although he wasn't particularly afraid of them, their repeated attempts to recruit him into their little street gangs became an all-too-familiar part of life.
He was constantly getting into fights with them. It had been a daily occurrence since he moved. That was the problem! They wanted him to be a petty bandit or crook in exchange for so-called 'brotherhood' and 'protection'?
They could keep dreaming.
Ryatt knew that they just needed pawns to play on their board and foot soldiers to take care of the more minor things. With the world's latest technological advances, there was much room to capitalize and grow into a powerhouse, even as a humble man. These gangs were all just organizations that used the so-called 'brotherhood' to achieve that aim.
"Businesses and gangs are fundamentally the same," Ryatt mused aloud upon thinking here. "They recruit underqualified people to fill in their numbers. Some of those recruits may surprise them by showing good aptitude, but most work in the same position until they fail or die."
Such was the way of the humble world.
Ryatt may be relatively young, but he was also rather ingenious. He could see the truth of many things other kids his age took for granted.
"I will never stay humble. I have to reach the bigger world, just like Phu," as Ryatt thought this, he increased his speed, thinking he could still get to school in fifteen minutes since he was running.
Based on where the sun was, Ryatt knew it was almost noon. In that case, he had already missed three lessons! Luckily, this school didn't teach the arcane, so his life goals weren't affected.
"Man…if only that Lucci punk hadn't set Axe and me up, I wouldn't have another strike on my record… one more strike, and I'll be expelled. Then again, if he didn't do that, I wouldn't have been free from that bastard Marc for a year…eh?" Ryatt suddenly stopped in his tracks, his ears twitching.
He could hear…
Gunshots?
"And also the smoothest revving of some fancy engine? Closer to the gunshots…another engine? Only this second one is way too loud. Must be old; that screeching sound is probably the wheels. Hah, wheels, I've never seen them in motion on a vehicle," Ryatt also wanted to see what vehicle would have such an intricate engine system.
Still, he hated the sound of those wheels; they made him feel like spoiling plans. Gas-fueled cars had been outlawed and outclassed long ago. They were destroying the clean air! Why were some broke bums chasing after some fancy second generations?
"Who even still drives cars with wheels? So novel…only those punks from Black Tyrant would ride like that in the slums. I hate Black Tyrant. Let's see who they're picking on this time."
Although the sounds were far away, Ryatt's ears were above average. He dashed 800 meters west as fast as he could, arriving in thirty-five seconds. In the distance, he saw the swiftly approaching vehicles.
"As I thought, that thing is some kind of new aircraft!" Ryatt suddenly grew excited when he saw an aircraft resembling a luxury model car. Spotting a sewer cover, he slid past and picked it up with almost practiced ease.
He started spinning on his pivot, his momentum increasing with his rotations, and his voice warping in the wind, "Antiques…are meant…for stores!"
"Hey kid, get outta the way, will ya?!" A loud bellow rapidly approached behind the still-spinning Ryatt.