"Clank, Clank." The echoing clangs of metal reverberated through the desolate town, accompanied by the heavy footsteps that echoed through the deteriorating houses. Silence hung in the air, devoid of any hint of conversation. The people worked tirelessly, their efforts shrouded in the grimy confines of the district. But that was how the slum town of Nautilopolis works.

A skinny young boy with unkempt hair was carrying numerous sacks through a dimly lit alley, making his way towards a specific destination. Upon reaching a shady vendor, he handed over the sack to a formidable, muscular, and intimidating bald man who emanated an air of discontent. The man carefully inspected the bag, discovering that it was filled with an assortment of metal scraps. The bald man expressed his discontent by swiftly administering an electric shock to the child using his hands. The shock slowly seared the boy, inflicting serious harm and then followed by several beatings.

“This isn’t enough scrap! I told you to bring the dense one! You Grace-less boy!” the man shouted.

“Sorry…” the child apologized out of reflex.

Aside from him, there were many other workers who were subjected to supernatural attacks such as g, shockwaves, and so on, from their lord which were common things that happened in the town. The boy saw what was happening and clenched his hand.

“If only I have Grace….”

Once the man was content with the beatings, he cruelly hurled two potatoes at the boy's face. He seized the potato in his hand despite the pain. Not only did the beatings cause him to break several bones, but they also caused him to experience numbness in his right hand, which had been accumulating from earlier abuses.

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The boy arrived in a small broken house within a filthy alley. Inside the house, his mother was bedridden and seemed to be afflicted with an unknown sickness. He quickly served the recently obtained potato to his mother after boiling it. His mother noticed that he was badly hurt and that he was cooking with only one hand. He might not be able to survive his next day of work.

“I’m sorry, mom. I can’t get your medicine again today… ” said the boy, his voice low, looking down with a disappointed look.

As she gazed upon the young boy, his mother tenderly ran her fingers through his soot-covered, singed hair. She burst into tears, feeling the pain her son had endured from his workplace.

“I’m so sorry, Frederick,” said the mother as she hugged her only son. 

They eat their potatoes while sobbing together inside a dimly lit home with just one candle.

On the next day, the sound of his mother's excruciating cough woke Frederick from his slumber on the floor. Besides him, a greenish bright light emitted from her mother’s hand illuminated the whole house. Frederick opened his mouth in fear because he understood what her mother was doing.

“Mom,Stop!”

Frederick's wound was fully healed, and his fatigue had subsided. Her mother was healing him the entire time with her power while he was sleeping.

“Frederick…” said her mother with her sudden calm but serious expression.

“Promise me. You must escape from this place,” asserted his mother.

“Yes. We will escape together! Please, stop! You’re going to kill yourself” Frederick sweated.

He quickly stopped his mother from healing him any further by swaying her hand. But it was too late.The light went out. Frederick had fully regained his health, his hand could move again, there was no burn, yet he leaned down, his gaze fixed on the floor, while his mother delicately rested her hand on his leg as she exhausted herself from healing him. Her mother had passed away. In the midst of a pale, lifeless appearance, she smiled, not regretting her actions. Frederick gently grasped her mother's hand, and held it tightly remembering all his time whenever his mother protected him from this cruel place.

Frederick has been grieving for several hours. He rose to his feet after meticulously adjusting her mother's position. His face bore the marks of exhaustion, with tear-stained cheeks and heavy, tired eyes. Nevertheless, his face displayed unwavering resolve.

“I will escape this hell! This Cursed Town!” he shouted in a trembling voice.