“Tylor, pass me that pick.” A muscular thirty year old man said. Tylor guided his head toward where the man had been pointing, spotting the tool. He grabbed the pickaxe and gave it to him without much thought. “Here ya go.” He said. The man nodded in a grateful posture before walking out into the mines. Tylor and Hibe followed him out as they were intently watched by the guards.
Hibe’s arms were a bit more muscular than before and he had slimmed up some. His brown hair was covered in grime and his face similarly. Tylor began working thoughtlessly, hammering his pick into the rock. The spiral staircase down was rigid for the men. It was dangerous, so the kids would labor at the top of the facility.
“Hibe, I want to get out of here fast. Let’s just freaking leave!” Tylor said in a frustrated tone. His frustration had overcome his patience. It had been too long! Too damn long. When was that oversee going to kick the bucket anyways? He was the bane of Tylor’s existence. Tylor brought his menu up.
SYSTEM
---------------
Name: Tylor Justifix
Title: The Slave Laborer
Race: Human
Age: Nine Years Old
Gender: Male
----------------
Stats:
Level: 8
Strength: 12
Vitality: 10
Agility: 7
Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 7 (+37 )
Wisdom: 7 ( + 12 )
Luck: 7
----------------
His stats weren’t that bad-- at least he thought. Peter hadn’t played that many games back on earth but he was starting to grasp what was considered good. He was happy that he had also obtained a new skill. The skill allowed him to get extra rations when he was running low. Therefore Tylor could feed Hibe too. The skill was beneficial.
“Energy-Surge!” Tylor shouted. Everyone immediately turned their heads to watch the boy, as it was common knowledge by now that those words meant he was about to go on a rampage against the rock. Hibe stopped, and so did the other kids beating away at the rock. It was almost a form of entertainment, and it even caught the attention of the overseer sometimes. Today was one of those days.
Skill Activated: Energy-Surge! 30 Second duration.
A burst of jovial energy sprouted from nowhere as Tylor shattered into the rock, in rapid-fire succession. He chipped away at the rock like a grinder before sending a deadly critical hit into the rock. The hit resulted in a large crack in the rock which segmented off from the rest of the stuff. It came tumbling down and smacked against the floor. Tylor tried to catch his breath, sitting down on the rock. The skill was definitely an additive to his current strength, and could be used in various ways.
The overseer would give the boy a break when he accomplished this occasionally. His efforts were as fast as the adults working in the lower levels of E-Block. It wouldn’t be long before his greed surmounted and he made the poor boy work again though. Tylor wasn’t doing it to help anybody but Hibe and himself though. This rock mining gave the bare minimum amount of experience, but provided experience nonetheless.
A blaring siren spiraled out of control, signalling the end of today’s work. Everyone came crashing down on the rock as the relentless work had seized their bone’s for another day. The end of work also meant the arise of dinner time. The slaves started to head back to their quarters, clinging to the rock as they sighed. A son waited for his father to come up the spiral staircase. The father looked malnourished and pale. He grabbed his son as he hastily made his way up to the slave quarters. He would give his meal portions to his son so he wouldn’t starve.
The men all gathered around the metal window that was in the slave quarters. This is where they distributed an artificial paycheck to the slaves. Usually a single copper coin was the payment for work. That single copper coin was enough for a pack of crackers. Tylor had an advantage though, he would usually be given two coins for his work with his new skill.
Hibe was next in line to receive his daily pay. He held his hand out to the man behind the counter. “Thank you.” He said in advance as it had become a habit. The man gave him a single copper coin. Joy washed over the boy’s face as he had saved up some coins for food. The boy and the father went together. The boy was given a single copper coin. The father praised him for his good work with a weak smile as he brushed his hair. “Good job Lincoln. I’m so proud of you!” The father held his hands out for his pay, but to his surprise he only received a single copper coin. The work he did should pay out for at least five, but Overseer Akira liked to watch him suffer with his son.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The overseer watched from above. His quarters was directly above the slave quarters, as he could see through the one-sided magic floor. Watching the slaves’ every move. As the father took his pay in despair, Tylor swore he could hear a familiar, “Ga-Haha, Ga-Haha!”
Tylor was next in line to receive his pay. The man grabbed from the stash of coins and dropped three copper coins into the boy’s hand. “Thank you.” Tylor said in a dignified voice. The boys marvelled at this display. No boy had ever been payed three copper coins for a single work day, and Tylor had just made E-Block history. He graciously took the money and went over to the convenient store.
The convenient store was at the opposite end of the pay out door. It was a place where the slaves could spend their pay for food, items, and even freedom. All of the coins would go straight to the overseer, making him richer by the day. There was a choice between crackers, corn, meat, and a full chicken. The price of some crackers was one copper coin, while a corn cob was two. Meat was three and the full chicken was five.
Normally the slaves would give their pay to one man to buy a full chicken with, as it was the only way to get proper nourishment. The kids would do the same thing but usually buy meat or something cheaper with it. The older men had taught them well. Hibe and Tylor caught onto this trend fast.
Tylor had been planting seeds in the slave department though. Today was no different. He walked over to the malnourished father and his son Lincoln. They eyed him as he approached. He set three copper coins down for the father. “Take this. I wouldn’t want to see you suffer anymore as it is.” Tylor said. Hibe was standing behind him with his arms crossed. He understood the plan. They had been carefully devising it for two years now.
“I-I can’t take this son. You’ve earned this money. Buy you some meat. We are fine how we are now.” He shut his eyes in frustration. The overseer wanted to see him suffer, and the father was strong-willed. He had reached his limit though. He needed to eat, and Lincoln knew it too. “Dad. Please!” His eyes filled with tears as he tugged on his stained garments. “I’m begging you to take it dad!” He said.
The father gritted his teeth. “I-I-I c-can’t.” He muttered in pure agony. He was too kind-hearted to take this from Tylor. Tylor was only nine in appearance, so this was a difficult hurdle to overcome. Tylor had expected this though, and almost smiled before clinching his shirt.
“Good sir, I kindly wish for you to take these coins. No one here wants to see you suffer at the hands of the overseer. Especially not your son. I have plenty of money.” Tylor said boldly. Hibe grabbed out the bags from underneath their cotton beddings as proof of Tylor’s claim. He handed the bags over to Tylor.
“See? I have more than a hundred copper coins saved up.” Tylor jangled the bags around and caught the attention of everyone in the room. Even the overseer came bursting through the door. “Tyler!” The overseer said in his annoyed tone. “Have you gone mad! You’ve stolen from me have you?!” He snarled.
Tylor shook his head. “I didn’t steal from you. Oh kind Overseer Akira! I humbly support you every day! This money is what I have saved in the past two years! Eating meager crackers and corn has given me a spare coin to save every day! I ask that I could spend these now at your convenience store?” Tylor began his monologue in a humble tone, but ended it with a persuasive one. He knew he had caught the fish by the hook with this one.
If Tylor spent the money at the convenience store, the money would go straight to the overseer, but if the overseer forcefully retracted the money, he would possibly incite riots and rebellion among the ranks. He stammered before recovering from this blow to his reputation. Tylor had garnered the power in this situation by putting on a display.
“Why of course you can mah’ boy!” He said in a jolly tone. He crossed his arms as he watched Tylor. What kind of boy could use a grown man’s play toy against him in such a fashion? He knew that the overseer had been harassing Lincoln’s father by malnourishing him with wrongful pay, and used it to steer the overseer into the room. Then used the power of his meager savings to force the overseers hand? This was no boy. This was a monster.
A monster that the overseer had to stop.
Intelligence +1
Tylor got a notification in his mind. His intelligence had went up a point. He decided to take a look at his stats again just to get an updated picture of his progress. The progress had been mindboggingly slow. Two years for a few levels, but that’s the price to be paid as a slave.
SYSTEM
---------------
Name: Tylor Justifix
Title: The Slave Laborer
Race: Human
Age: Nine Years Old
Gender: Male
----------------
Stats:
Level: 8
Strength: 12
Vitality: 10
Agility: 7
Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 8 (+37 )
Wisdom: 7 ( + 12 )
Luck: 7
----------------
Not bad. He sat the two big bags of coins on the counter and looked at his choices. Everyone eyed him as he quietly sat there, pondering his options. He had thought about buying a quality pickaxe to gain more pay, but that wouldn’t be beneficial. It would cost fifty coins, and was the cheapest quality item. There was a brown book that had “Magical Apprentice” plastered on its cover. It was a hundred coins, and the last quality purchase was freedom at a staggering five hundred coins. He knew this wasn’t an option because he couldn’t leave Hibe alone.
His hand was forced, so he took the magical book and dumped out a hundred coins onto the counter, reserving the rest for himself. “Thank you for doing business.” He said with a jarring smile plastered across his face. The overseer was evidently infuriated. He ordered the guard to round up the coins for him as he slammed the door. His heavy footsteps were heard as he climbed the rusty staircase to his quarters.
Everyone sighed in relief. Tylor sat against the wall and opened the book. It was a magical guide for beginners. “This book is written to teach newcomers the basic laws of magic and its natural course of circulation. By the end of this book you should be able to cast magic to some extent.” The book synopsis said. Tylor was satisfied with this purchase, it would be the biggest aide to him in the future as he read intently.