After successfully meeting his quota for the day, Rocky took his pay from the Finance Officer and left the dismantling center.

“Hey, look.”

“A Carvian? They still allow those people in this city?”

“Shh… don’t make eye contact. I heard they’re capable of hypnosis if you stare in their eyes for a long time.”

“Really? They’re no different from the monsters outside the city then.”

“What are the guards doing? Why are they letting someone like him roam the city?”

As expected, Rocky garnered unwanted attention the moment he stepped outside.

He’d gotten used to this by now.

Be it the Manager of the dismantling center, or the residents of this city – it was rare for him to find people who didn’t shun those from the Carvian race.

Such remarks had become so common that he’d learned to shut his ears whenever he went outside.

It was amazing how the human body was so adaptive when it came to matters like these. In order to preserve his sanity, he’d learned to filter out words he could hear whenever he was on the streets.

Thankfully, the law in the city was strict. Although Carvians were openly shunned by the other races, no one tried to openly pick a fight with him.

The city guards were known to throw troublemakers outside the city, banning them entry for several days.

Despite the high tax imposed in the city, the Mayor and the army he commanded were so stringent that there were hardly any crimes occurring in the territory.

This was the reason why Rocky could openly walk the streets like this.

It was also the reason why he was desperately clinging to his job in the dismantling center. Although the Manager was an irredeemable piece of shit, the job granted Rocky’s family the right to reside in this city, where security was guaranteed even for those from the Carvian race.

Rocky heard that the other cities in the Republic of Krista weren’t like this.

According to a traveling merchant he’d met a few years ago, in the other cities, it was legal to kill those from the Carvian race. Moreover, the Mayors of the other cities were corrupt to the core, causing crimes to be rampant under their rule.

“I survived the day again,” muttered Rocky.

After walking the streets for more than an hour, Rocky finally reached the alley where his family had taken refuge. The people sitting on the ground, surrounding a stone stove, noticed his arrival.

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“Rocky’s here!”

“Big brother!”

“Haha! Just in time for dinner!”

Rocky’s family couldn’t afford to rent a house. They were living in this abandoned alley, a place located deep within the slums.

Although this place was putrid and dirty, it was relatively safe due to the rules imposed by the city Mayor. Even the slum dwellers dared not provoke the guards out of fear of being thrown outside.

“I’m back, everyone.”

Three children immediately ran to his embrace. Rocky patted their heads and embraced them tightly, one after the other.

“Hehe, you stink, Big Brother!”

“How was your job in the dismantling center?”

“Did the Manager praise you again? Hehe, I’m sure he did!”

“Children, stop bothering Rocky. Dinner’s ready. Come over here.”

“Yes, mother!”

No one knew of Rocky’s struggles in the dismantling center. No one knew that he was being mistreated every day, shunned and scorned even by his coworkers.

Rocky decided not to tell them about it, lest they felt guilty for burdening him with their taxes.

Three younger siblings, a crippled father, and a sickly mother. Among his family members, only Rocky was capable of taking on a job in the city.

Rocky knew this, too, that’s why he decided to take on all of the responsibilities in the family.

“Hm? Orc stew?”

Rocky was surprised when he realized that they were having orc stew for dinner.

Orcs were relatively strong monsters. Although weaker than minotaurs, they usually moved in groups, rendering them hard to hunt by the Awakeneds.

Still, as strong as they may be, their meat was quite tender when cooked properly. Some even say orc meat was far superior to pork not only in taste, but also in nutrition.

“Rina saw a merchant throw the leg away after biting on it just once,” said Rocky’s mother.

Rina, the second eldest child, made a thumbs up. “Hehe! I immediately rummaged through the trash bin after the merchant left! Look, it’s still fresh!”

“And since I have the seasonings, I decided to turn it into a stew instead,” said the mother.

Rocky ruffled Rina’s hair. “Good work.”

“Ummm!”

The child closed her eyes in glee, clearly happy that she’d been praised by her older brother.

After dinner, Rocky’s crippled father called him.

“Rocky, how’s work in the dismantling center these days? When will the Director of the dismantling center return to this city? I’m worried since Craug has a reputation for discriminating against other races. I’m worried he’s been giving you a hard time while the Head is away.”

His father’s words were filled not only with uneasiness and worry, but also embarrassment. He was probably ashamed of burdening his son like this.

“Work is going great, father,” lied Rocky. “I don’t know where you heard that rumor, but Manager Craug has been treating me well.”

Hearing those words, his father sighed in relief.

“Is that so? I’m glad… really.”

Rocky’s father held his hands.

“Son, if things become unbearable, just quit. I may be like this, but it should be possible for me to find a way for us to pay the taxes somehow.”

Rocky wryly smiled.

He knew what his father planned to do in the event he lost his job in the dismantling center. The man would probably volunteer as a subject for the Research Institute’s branch in the city. As a Carvian, his father would be paid a hefty sum for willingly undergoing various experiments. Of course, such a job entailed numerous risks. It wouldn’t even be strange if his father suddenly came back a corpse one day.

“People are treating me well at work, so don’t worry, father.”

Rocky’s father gripped his hands tightly.

“I’m sorry, my son. If only I wasn’t so reckless back then, I wouldn’t be in this state right now. If only I could move these legs… you wouldn’t have to shoulder everything.”

His father was close to sobbing. Rocky felt a squishing sensation in his heart.

Paying the taxes aside, one of his goals was to save enough money to buy the Elixir from the Alchemist Guild, an extremely rare potion capable of healing most wounds.

They said that only around a dozen vials of Elixir were being produced each year, each of them costing half a million gold coins each.

As a pauper, the goal felt unreachable, but Rocky decided to try regardless.

As long as he’s alive, Rocky deemed it should be possible for him to find a way to earn more money one way or another.

Rocky crouched and looked his father straight in the eyes.

“Please don’t apologize, father. You became like this because of us.”

His father used to be a D-ranked awakened. But during one of their travels, they were attacked by monsters, and he lost both of his legs in the process.

His father could have escaped alone, but he chose to stay behind to protect his family.

For that sacrifice, Rocky was forever grateful.

“And like I’ve said before, I’m doing great at work, so please don’t worry.”

***

In the vast outer space of the LY78 System, a Dreadnought-class battleship continued flying toward Planet EA908-XRV at a tremendous speed.

The lower half of the ship had already fallen off. The damage it had sustained was so severe its repair function failed to keep up.

[Energy remaining: 2.83%]

[Distance from Planet EA908-XRV: 3.35 billion kilometers.]

[Emergency repair of the Cryonics complete.]

[Emergency repair of the Medbay complete.]

[Moving Admiral Isaac Segarus from the Cryonics to the Medbay.]

[Requesting permission for emergency surgery on Admiral Isaac.]

[Request timed out.]

[Initiating emergency surgery.]

While Rocky was conversing with his father, the Dreadnought-class battleship, Aravark, continued looming closer to the planet.