After a brief—and not so thorough—hunt, the trio landed a job for each, thus breaking the cycle of misfortune that followed them since they departed into their journey in this world.

Joel became a library assistant. He kept the library organized by arranging books, changing or renewing certain materials, assisting any who visited the library, and such. It was a job fitting for Joel's taste and character, and he also loved it for being a gold mine of information in a world where they knew nothing.

Mik was a delivery boy. As such, he was tasked with…well, delivering all sorts of things to customers, including documents, goods, packages, and such. It wasn't a job that the boy particularly disliked, but only applied for it due to its simplicity and its more physical nature.

Lastly, Dolisia joined a construction site as a simple worker. Her field required tons of tasks from her, a few of which were carrying and transporting materials on the job site, assisting carpenters, building brick walls, and such. Despite the job requiring a lot of physical strength and activity—which would have been better off for Mik—Dolisia couldn't care less, for the money behind the job had tranquilized any and all complaints and inconveniences.

However, things weren't as good as they appeared to be at first.

For starters, the trio's lack of planning ahead resulted in them spending their first night after the job in a barn, where the owner was kind enough to house them for the night. However, the horrendous, god-awful stench that reeked from within the barn left the trio nearly sleepless.

Moreover, it also killed their sense of smell for the entirety of the next day.

The second and third days were spent in a horse stable belonging to a generous owner who offered them such lodging, for the trio was known across town as "The misfortunates". However, the nights at the stable were far more merciful and far less dreadful than the ones at the barn, moreover, they were thankful that they even found a place to stay, since the main inn of the town was stacked with visitors from other towns due to the market that would continue for the whole duration of the week.

Later on, the trio was kicked out of the stable on the very same third night due to a "mysterious fire" that ate through the stable but thankfully harmed no person or animal in the process. Nevertheless, it did hurt the trio's reputation, and they agreed to never talk about the incident again after Mik confessed, in his own words that it was:

"An incident of midnight masturbation."

Then came the fourth night, in which the trio slept out in the open, under a tree near the outskirts of the town. The night they spent there started as a surprisingly peaceful one, which was short-lived due to a snake that bit Joel in the thigh, leaving him unconscious, his mouth foaming. Thankfully, Mik sucked the poison out of the latter's thigh…resulting in an incident that the trio added to their blacklist of "Things that should never be talked about".

And thus came the fifth day, in which the trio decided to meet early after work in the main inn of the town—The only place generous enough to offer them food despite their horrid reputation.

The inn was busy, as per usual in the market week. Regulars, new customers, and merchants alike sat down at the many tables of the inn or the counter, eating and drinking, joyful and cherry, chatting and laughing. The inn of Hilltop was always known to host joy in all who visited it, especially due to the variety and quality of the drinks and food they served. However, not all customers were joyous.

Sitting at a table situated at the far corner of the inn, there sat Joel, his head lay upon his wrist as he lazily held a tankard of grape juice, struggling to raise it to his lips every time he decided to take a sip. His fatigue was excessive but justified due to the black circles around his eyes, and the visible eye bags that lay underneath his bloodshot eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of a squeaking chair resonating in front of him knocked the boy out of his blank state. With a quick glance, he sighed in frustration before sipping from the tankard again.

"Yo!" Mik greeted.

"Fuck off."

"You sound like you're in a great mood." Mik sarcastically replied.

"Does wanting to die count as one?"

"Eh, more or less. As long you don't actively try to kill yourself."

"Well," Joel began "I'm just one tick away from doing it."

"Yikes, something bad happened?"

"Something bad happened? What's bad that didn't already happen?" Joel groaned.

"Aside from this week's shit show, did something happen today? With the job? You look really tired."

"I've got some news, I'm just waiting for Dolisia."

"Oh, wonderful. I also have some news, now we just gotta—"

The red-haired boy ceased his statement midway, his eyes squinting at the entrance of the tavern as a confused expression replaced his previously neutral one.

"Yeah… never mind. No need to wait anymore."

Joel turned towards the entrance. He was nonchalant at first, but upon witnessing the bizarre sight that his vision fell upon, his eyes squinted in an appalled manner. He simply turned around, sipped from his tankard, and pretended nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, the people at the inn were all in awe as they witnessed a person groaning and cursing while crawling under the swinging double doors of the tavern's entrance. Said person was struggling as they dragged their motionless legs behind them, using only their arms as they crept their way towards the table where Mik and Joel were sitting.

Said person was, of course, Dolisia.

"Goddamnit, GODDAMNIT! To hell with this job!" She cursed, "Innkeeper, a wine bottle, please!"

After stealing a quick glance at Dolisia, Mik turned towards Joel, who was nonchalantly sipping from the tankard. The two were simply waiting for Dolisia as she crawled her way towards them.

Upon reaching them, Dolisa took a deep breath before crawling toward the empty seat, struggling as she tried to climb on top of it.

"Need a hand?" Mik asked.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Joel followed up.

"I said I'm fine!"

And thus, after a short struggle, Dolisia finally sat on the chair, her legs motionless and dangling as she breathed heavily, drenched in sweat all the while.

"…sup?" Mik greeted.

"Fuck you."

"You sound terrific," Joel said.

"Fuck you too," Dolisia replied before taking a deep breath and calming herself down, "Anyway, I have some news to lay on the table today."

"Oh? What a wonderful coincidence, so are we." Mik stated.

"Mhm, and since I came here first, let me begin—" Joel said, before being interrupted.

"Nope, nuh-uh, no chance." Dolisia interrupted, "I'm going first. I want to lay out what I have to say before getting destroyed on red wine."

"Well please, don't let us interrupt." Joel disappointedly agreed.

"Right, so…the construction work ended. And since today was the deadline, we got overworked to death. And guess who got the short end of the stick? Ding ding ding, you guessed it, me. So, I spent all day busting my ass, I can barely move my arms, I can't move my legs, I'm tired, and I want to drink until I pass out or die."

"So…you got fired?" Mik questioned.

"…Are you serious? Did you hear a word of what I said? The job ended, I can't work anymore because the construction IS FINISHED! Do you get that?"

"Alright, alright. Just calm down." Joel calmed, "And your paycheck? Do you have it?"

"Town hall, I just need to cash it out. They also gave me a five-hundred Coe bonus since the job ended, so that's another good thing. But other than that, I'm bust. I have no more work, and even if there was, I can't work since I'm a fart away from dying. I'm out of order, it's up to you guys now."

"Well…funny you should say that," Joel whispered, sipping from the tankard.

"…please tell me it's not related to your job, right?" Dolisia said.

"Not right." Joel replied.

"Not right?"

"That's right." Joel confirmed, "Due to the inhuman work environment, I had to quit."

"Oh my God! You have to be kidding me!"

"Unfortunately, no. But, here's the thing." Joel began, "I chose to work at the library so that I can get us some intel, while simultaneously getting paid. But the librarian lady is the fucking devil. Not only does she dump all the work on me, she also forces me to tend to all customers, or else my paycheck would be deducted. So I don't have time to read any goddamn book, moreover, she makes me stay up at ungodly hours of the night to rearrange the library, or sweep the floor, or some other goddamn thing before closing it. I worked at Apple and even that cesspool had more moral work ethics than this unholy shithole."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"But….the job, Joel. It's one of the two remaining income pipelines we've got in this damn world and you gave it up!"

"Pipeline? Dolisia, If I worked anymore, I wouldn't even have a life to secure that pipeline. Actually, do you have any idea at what time I slept tonight?"

"I don't know, midnight or something?"

"Well, here's a surprise for you, I didn't. I've been awake for the past thirty-four hours doing whatever shit the librarian lady told me. And, I've been sitting in this chair since the ass-crack of dawn. I mean, look at my fucking eyes." Joel said, pointing at his eyes. "I have eyebags big enough to be used as storage. Plus, with these dark circles under my eyes, I look like a sleep-deprived, anorexic goth."

Upon hearing the latter's statement, Mik and Dolisia focused on Joel's eyes. At first, they were squinting in wonder and slight disapproval, but upon staring for longer, they couldn't help but break into a chuckle in response to his 'accurate' analogy.

"Fuck you guys." Joel looked away, sipping from the tankard.

"Hey, you're the one that said it. And it's not like you were lying or anything." Dolisia said.

"Yeah, I'd say you were spot on," Mik assured.

"Again, fuck you guys."

After having their fair share of laughter, the trio went into a phase of deep contemplation as silence loomed over the conversation, to which after the silence was broken by Dolisia, breathing out a deep, shallow sigh.

"Goddamn it…" Dolisia murmured, "We're really doing an awful job at progressing with anything. But, at least, we still have another pipeline of income to live off of until…well, we find a better opportunity. Only now it's going to be harder, thanks to you, Joel."

"At least I went out with pride and quit the damn job myself. More dignified than getting fired if you ask me."

"Yeah…about that." Mik interrupted.

Silence struck like thunder, the pressure protruding from Dolisia rendered the latter into a state of cold sweat.

"Are you…kidding me?" Dolisia said, her eyes bulging as she glared at Mik.

"Hold on, let me explain what happened first." Mik said, "So, basically. The delivery job was going well for like the first two days since I basically had to do nothing, just had to deliver some meat and some other stuff to these old bastards and that's that. But then…Suma ols."

"Suma ols?" Joel questioned.

"I know, right? The guy I was working for gave me a bag full of letters and some other documents that all should be mailed to Suma ols." Mik explained, "But here's the catch, there is no Suma ols! I visited every single goddamn house in the town, and there is no Suma ols! It's a conspiracy, the mail guy is trying to make me go crazy!"

"O-…kay? And, what did you do?" Joel asked.

"I went to the town hall, asked for Suma ols, and not a single goddamn person knows who Suma ols is. So, I went around asking some town folk about it, only for this prick to come right into my face and say 'Sugma Bols'.

I couldn't contain myself, I socked him in the throat. After that, I just downright gave up and went back to the guy I worked for. I demanded he explains the shit he put me through, only for him to shout at me and tell me that Suma ols is a town that's up North, thirteen kilometers away. So I traveled all the way to there, and guess what? Not a single goddamn building is in that place, none. I can't even call it a ghost town cause it lacks the main component: THE FUCKING TOWN!

And 'till now, I still don't have a single clue where Suma ols is, or if that's a town, or a person, or whatever! But, to be honest with you, the thing that still pisses me off is all the people that I asked about Suma ols and replied with 'Sugma Bols.' If I could, I would have honestly killed them then and there, but I was just happy to smack the shit-eating grin out of their faces."

Dolisia and Joel were silent, unresponsive, and nonchalant to Mik's explanation. They knew something was horribly wrong, hence why they had to make sure of Mik's authenticity. At the same time, the bartender finally made his way toward the trio's table, handing Dolisia her desired wine bottle. And as such, Dolisia saw her chance.

"Ah, sir. Great timing, may I ask you something quickly?" She politely asked.

"Oh, uh, sure. What shall that be?"

"Do you know Suma ols?"

"Suma ols?" The bartender contemplated, wondering in silence. "Oh, oh! You mean Sugma Bols?"

"Oh, so it's Sugma Bols? Would you so kindly tell me about it? Where it is?"

"Oh, sure. Sugma is a small town down East. It's—"

"Thank you, that would be enough for now." Dolisia replied, a friendly smile plastered on her face.

Confused, the bartender slowly walked away from the table, leaving the trio back to their business. As he did so, Dolisia's eyes shifted into a blank stare, carrying behind it immeasurable frustration.

"Oh…my…God. I am stuck with a brain-dead idiot." She whispered audibly enough for the duo to hear, simultaneously popping her wine bottle open before gulping some of it down.

Meanwhile, Joel's eyes were locked on Mik, a simple frown plastered on his face as he glared at the latter. Mik averted his gaze before he gulped down in a cold sweat.

"…shit."

"You're an impulsive, sociopathic, fucking moron. You smacked people around for telling you the name of the town, and you didn't stop to think thoroughly about what they said?!"

"It's a new world! Come on, Joel. At least you can understand that, right?"

"Nu-uh, you're the last person to use that excuse. Moreover, you were working under an equally brain-dead illiterate dumbass who not only doesn't know the name of the town but doesn't even know the right coordinates!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to be a prick and punch people around, but you need to consider the fact that I was roaming around for hours under the sun, looking for a non-existing person while everyone tells me 'sugma bols'."

In response, Joel breathed out a sigh of disappointment.

"For God's sake…at least you didn't get fired," Dolisia said.

"Yeah, about that—"

"WHAT?!" Dolisia shouted.

"Woah! Calm down, I'm not going to get fired…because I've already been fired."

"WHAT THE FU—"

"What the hell?!" Joel interrupted, "You lost your job?!"

"Yeah, just this morning." Mik stated, "After all that stuff, I went back to the employer where we had a huge argument about the entire thing. Went back and forth, and ended up knocking him unconscious with the mailbag he gave me."

"What?! What is wrong with you?!" Joel questioned.

"You lost it…you lost your goddamn mind!" Dolisia retorted, "You're a psychopath!"

"I was angry, okay?!" Mik defended himself, "What would you do if you had people saying sugma bols to you for two days, huh?!"

"Oh my-" Joel breathed a sigh, "Welp, there goes our final pipeline of income."

"You don't say." Dolsia said, shortly before gulping down the remainder of the wine.

"So…uh…what will we do?" Mik asked.

"Well, it's gross and grotesque…but we have no choice but to do it now." Joel replied.

Mik and Dolisia's eyes shot up in wonder before they replied in unison.

"And that is?"

…

Shortly after—on that same night—the trio were off to their new job. They didn't particularly like their new job due its very appalling and grotesque nature, however, it was good enough to earn a few more Coes before committing to the next stage of their plan: Going somewhere far away from this town.

Hence why they were now Gong farmers—workers who dug out and removed human excrement from cesspits at night. Disgusting, horrible, gross, grotesque, one may call this job any and all kinds of bad names, nonetheless, it was the only thing the trio could work on at the time.

As such, not a second of the long night was wasted before the trio came to the job site, dressed in a makeshift hazmat suit made from deer hide, along with gloves, makeshift boots, and a plague doctor mask.

As for the equipment that will be used, it was already on the job site with an old man named Harold—a lone gong farmer who shall tutor the trio tonight.

He was a frail old man, with a bald head, terrible posture, horrible teeth, and tattered clothes that smelt like…the very same material the trio would be shoveling tonight. Nevertheless, he was a kind old man, kind enough to help the trio on their first day.

And as such, they dug into the cesspit.

"Hey!" Dolisia shouted, "Watch where you throw the shit!"

"Oh yeah?" Mik replied, "Well how about you stand up from that chair and help us shovel this literal metric shit-ton of shit from here!"

"Stand?! I am sitting for a reason! I can't move my legs!"

"Well, shut up! Else, I'll throw you into the shit!"

"Guys!" Joel interrupted, "Calm the hell down! Seriously, it's the middle of the night!"

"Aye, lads. Calm ye selfs down now. Farming gong's a job needin' lots of patience." Harold said.

"Right. Thanks, Harold." Joel replied.

"Eh, s'alright lad. Shoveling shite ain't as bad as ye hear, but a first night's always a tough load of bollocks to deal with."

"You hear that guys?" Joel said, "As bad as it may sound, shoveling shit in the middle of the night isn't as bad as some of the things we already went through."

"That's a big load of shit." Mik replied.

"Excuse me?"

"No, I mean, like—" Mik pointed, "That is literally a big load of shit, there, in front of you."

Surprisingly, as Joel turned around, his eyes fell upon a huge pile of human excrement that lay in front of him.

"Oh, shit."

"Big shit." Mik corrected.

"No shit. Thanks, man." Joel followed.

"No problem."

"Well, I have a problem!" Dolisia shouted, again. "You guys have your masks loaded with herbs and stuff to counter the smell. But what the fuck did you load mine with, Mik?! My nose and eyes are burning!"

"Oh, yikes. That must've been the pepper and garlic."

"THE WHAT??? You put pepper in my fucking mask?!"

"I'm sorry, alright? Pepper has a very tricky appearance."

"You son of a bi—"

"Guys! Calm the hell down!" Joel interrupted, "Seriously, all this arguing?! We are wearing makeshift hazmat suits, while poor Harold is not even wearing a mask and still doesn't complain."

"Oh, that's 'cause I've lost me sense of smell twenty-five years ago, lad."

"Oh…because of the shit?" Joel questioned.

"Precisely, lad. Because of the shite. But, no worries, ye lads are working for a short time."

"Well, we're already used to dealing with a lot of shit, about time we get used to dealing with it physically, am I right?" Mik jokingly remarked.

"Our entire 'adventure' has just been a cesspool of fiascos. We've been farming gong since day one in this world." Dolisia added.

"Well, considering all the shit that we went through, our journey really would make for a great sitcom. Call it: 'It's always shitty in Hilltop.'" Joel suggested.

Old man Harold couldn't help but burst into laughter from hearing the trio. To him, they were weird and foreign, yet he loved the energy they brought to the job site that night. Moreover, he couldn't help but slightly relate to their 'shitty' struggles.

"Bollocks, lads. Ye really are quite a bunch, are ye?" Harold said, "But aye, as hard a job it is, it gots its merits. If I tell ye what I found in the cesspits, ye'll go crazy."

"You found stuff here?" Dolisia questioned.

"Sure! I found plenty o' stuff in here. Once, I found a gold brick in one of the many shites here." Harold asserted, "I even found me missing tooth in here."

"You found…gold?" Dolisia asked again, far more confused.

"Aye, it's a rewarding job sometimes. But ye got to be patient, like I say, 'ye never got true might if ya never step into the shite.'"

"I'll pass on the might through the shite, thank you." Joel replied.

"Aye, easy on yerself lads. Farming gong's a hard job, it takes some strength to do it." Harold explained, "But, truth be told, I'm rarely ever talkative, lads. Yer company has really brought meself some comfort."

"Oh, same to us, sir." Joel responded, "We forgot to mention it, but we're very grateful for your help, really. You're a kind old man."

"Ah, bollocks, yer making the old man blush, lads." Harold embarrassingly stated, "But, I wish ye could have been here when Bob was still around."

"Bob?" Dolisia wondered.

"Ye, he was me company before ye all came. He was a funny lad."

"What happened to him?" Joel questioned.

"Oh, he fell and drowned in the shite a week ago."

The trio froze in place, the utter shock that struck them upon hearing the former's statement left them in disgust, dismay, and utter horror. They were unable to inquire about the situation anymore due to the utter shock that came over them, meanwhile, Harold was working with a smile on his face as if he hadn't dropped a bombshell on the trio.

"Well…that's a shitty death." Mik nonchlanatly stated.

The rest of the night was resumed without a single word spoken by the trio.

…

The night came to an end, and the dawn of a new sunrise was about to begin, signaling the end of the trio's shift of…shoveling unpleasant things. However, they rightfully earned their pay, and were now bidding old man Harold farewell for the night.

"Well, lads. That was honestly a great night of working, innit?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Joel responded, sarcastically.

"So, what will ya do now lads?"

"Well…" Joel began, "We were thinking of going home, maybe looking for a better job, probably travel to somewhere else even."

And such wasn't a lie, for the trio's next step to 'saving the world' was indeed traveling out of Hilltop in search of a better life. As helpful and as kind as some people were in the town, the trio couldn't endure the nearly non-existent reputation they had here, and the horrendous jobs they faced.

It was about time they looked somewhere else. And by the dawn of day, their next destination was the town hall, to spend most of their savings in search of a better life, and a better approach to their adventure.

"Well, God bless ya, lads. But I'm not so sure you'll find any at the moment since…well, it's the weekend, no merchants or coaches to pick ya up. Ye'll have to wait until Monday."

"Oh…" Joel uttered.

Well, maybe their visit to the town hall should be postponed for now.

"But aye, until then, be sure to come back, right? I'll have plenty of jokes for ye lads, haha!"

"Oh, of course! We'll absolutely come back, so get those jokes ready, haha!" Joel cheerfully replied.

As to be expected, the trio did not come back.