A few hours ago, at the dining hall.

“Do you think 2709 is alright? It’s about 8 am and he still isn't here. It's not like him to not eat breakfast on time,” asked Darrick

“Hehe.. maybe he is just so exhausted, stop worrying about him. it's not like he is a kid. Come to think of it, you didn't even worry about him this much when he was a kid.” Rolf replied with raised eyebrows.

‘You were mostly indifferent towards him back then, so why are you so anxious now?’

“I don't know but I have a feeling that he is about to do something crazy. I don't believe in your joke yesterday,” said Darrick while furrowing his brows.

“Yeah.. yeah.. whatever none of my business,” said Rolf with a yawn and thought to himself,

'It's not like I don't know something is strange but I don't think that kid will do something stupid.'

“What are you two bickering about now?” spoke a bald man who was sitting beside them. He had a similar tag named 3426onhis chest.

He was in his late twenties and was the oldest of the group. He had a short beard and mustache and despite his hairfall, he didn't look all that bad.

If he wore better clothes and a wig, he could easily pass by as a gentleman. He was in charge of house management or rather, cave management in this case

“Nothing serious we were talking about 2709, he was doing something yesterday and asked us to fake mining for him.” Replied Darrick

“It's the first time he is being mischievous so we are just curious about it,” Rolf added and then explained the situation in a joking tone.

“ohh! So there's something like that. Well, he is about that age anyway. He could've asked me for a room, that place near the third layer is really cold,” replied the bald man with a smirk. He definitely didn't look like a gentleman now.

“Yeah he knows how to act unlike certain someone we all know,” said Rolf and both looked at Darrick and laughed.

However, Unlike the usual, Darrick did not reply to them and he still looked lost in his thoughts.

“Is everything alright with you?” asked the bald man in a worried tone. Although they were making fun of him, it was just to lighten the mood in this shitty place. But when Darrick didn't reply, they were worried that maybe they had gone a bit too far.

When Rolf was about to apologize, Darrick spoke

“Do you think that it makes sense to give birth to a new life in this place? Why are we even doing this? Don't tell me none of you ever hated your parents for this. I just don't want to be hated by someone I love,” not again.

The atmosphere suddenly became dark and none of them spoke. Although life in the underground mine can be quite sad sometimes, everyone here just behaved as if it was normal.

It was nothing but a facade and adults knew that it's better to live a happy and merry life even if it's fake, than to be depressed and gloomy all day. After all, regardless of what they do the situation will not change anyway

However, things were different for children. No matter how much limited information they get, it is in the nature of a child to seek freedom and have curiosity.

The first time when they are faced with the reality of their 'world' or prison, everyone had a very hard time. It was a painful memory itched in every one of their brains. That said, Nobody wanted to talk about it

“oy oy don't ruin the mood while eating.” Spoke a well-built man in an annoyed tone. He was the 4th person sitting in the group and he had black hair with deep brown eyes.

His features were other common and he was clean shaved. He wore neat clothes and he looked well mannered and decent among the slaves. Most people here had scrubby facial hair and ragged clothes.

His living conditions were the best among them as he was the current head of the logistics department.

“Why are you being upset? You can eat whenever you want pretty boy” said Rolf in a jealous tone.

“It's not my fault that you are a dog brain who couldn't count properly and failed the test.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“You just got lucky,” said Rolf with a sulk. This was a sore spot for him, If he had passed the same test that this man had, he could be living a much better life now.

He wasn't actually jealous of the person sitting before him. He knew how hard he had worked but he couldn't just outright accept his lack of Intelligence compared to him after all.

"Aren't you guys interested in something?" spoke the bald man in an amused tone.

"What Mr.3426?" asked Rolf

“No need to be formal between ourselves just call him Baldie”

“Shut up will you, I am being serious right now” replied the bald man in annoyance.

Everyone looked at him and had the same thought, 'With that look on his face he definitely isn't being serious right now'

"Aren't you curious who 2709 is going out with?"

Even Darrick looked over with curiosity despite being in a bad mood.

“hoh! so this got your attention? I thought you had gained enlightenment and were above the joys and sorrows of us lowly beings. Taunted the bald man which made both Rolf and 7894 laugh.

“hmph! Whatever” replied Darrick with a snort and started eating.

‘From the look on his face it was pretty obvious that he was interested.’ But no one teased him further and they too started eating

“And how do you plan to figure that out? There are thousands of people here,” said Rolf.

“You really are stupid. Among these ‘Thousands of people’ how many have ever talked to you?”

“About 200?” replied Rolf in an awkward tone.

“Precisely, the number of people we meet and have conversations with in our daily life is very limited.” Added the bald man

“Yeah mostly we only talk with those living near us or those who are working in the same area as us.” spoke 7894 in a bright tone. Though he did talk with a lot of people as he was the head of the logistics department, that was besides the point.

“Indeed. We only need to figure out who we know is not present among the crowd.” Rolf spoke with half a bread in his mouth

“All of them lived and worked in the same area for years. Anyone who had come in contact with 2709, they had to be known to them as well.”

“You live near him right? keep an eye on anyone absent among those living nearby you.” Rolf nudges Darrick who was pretending to not listen.

They lived pretty close to one another, and Darrick was the closest one giving nearby 2709.

So the people they had to look for were only around 400-500. They kept looking nearby as they had nothing better to do before work started anyway.

However, to their disappointment, they did not find anyone missing. It was pretty normal actually as no one missed breakfast.

“See I told you 2709 was up to something weird, But you just had to take my concern for a joke,” Darrick retorted while glaring at Rolf.

Just when Rolf was about to reply, a person passed by them and asked them out of curiosity.

“Who are you guys looking for?” the man lived nearby the three of them so he knew them pretty well.

“It’s nothing; we were looking for our friend. By the way, why are you alone today Mister?” Spoke 7894 in a professional manner.

He knew the man who looked to be in his late thirties. He was a part of the patrol team, a position not liked by anyone. Despite having mediocre pay and a bad reputation, it was necessary to keep order in the underground mine.

He looked up to people like this man. Despite being in a higher position than those in the patrol team, he always addressed them with respect.

“You don't have to be so formal with me, my wife was feeling sick today so I came here alone to eat. I thought I might as well head over to my friends in a different area and eat with them today.

He was heading back to work so when he discovered them looking for someone he inquired about it.

“Oh, what happened to madam?” Asked Darrick

“Nothing serious, she just felt exhausted and had a cold this morning, maybe due to seasonal change.”

“I see. There are always cases like this at the end of summer” replied 7984

The man was about to bear them farewell but suddenly, Rolf spurted out all the food in his mouth and laughed.

“What happened?” asked Darrick in confusion

“Oh no-nothing, I just remembered a joke haha..” Rolf replied while barely holding his laughter

“Well goodbye, see you later.” The man looked strangely at Rolf and left

“Yeah sure” replied 7984 belatedly in embarrassment. he had lost all his face when this idiot suddenly started laughing for no reason like a madman.

As the man left, Rolf couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing boisterously

“What is wrong with you?” asked Darrick as looked at him with annoyance.

“Didn't you hear what he said? I didn't know 2709 had such a taste” replied Rolf while laughing

“How does 2709 come into this topic?” asked Darrick with knitted brows

“Oh he certainly did 'come' into the topic we were talking about alright” replied the bald man as he smirked

Hearing their conversation, 7984 almost choked on his food. All three of them started laughing while Darrick stood there with a beet red face.

…

Three Days passed by just like this as Odin was immersed in his reading. He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and for the first time in his life, he could focus on something without worrying about any external factors.

Not to mention he had the reward from his first orc mission aiding him in cultivation

[+50% Exp boost For lv 1-10 (7 days)]

[Note: Remaining time 3d:12h]

As for his absence?

With much turmoil happening around the underground mine no one paid much attention to it.

Finally! Despite it being easier to understand at the initial phase, my progress is rather quick.

Odin wasn’t the one to be modest with himself but still, this time he had underestimated himself. His true potential was being unveiled bit by bit with the help of Ominira.

[You have leveled up]

[Current level 10]

[You can create a skill now]

[You can use World Essence after completing the prerequisite mission]

[Note: It is possible to use skills with world resonance]

A message floated in front of him even though he was still reading ominira while lying on his bed.

The message made him look up in delight but it wasn’t only for the level up, he had comprehended the basics of the law of illusion.

‘The conjurer class is about the law of reality and illusion, no it would be rather accurate to say that reality and illusion are one in the same, it all depends on perception.’