Dumo ruin

In a hot wasteland devoid of any life, a truck can be seen running through the dry dirt. Its destination is a ruin that hosted a tower that extends beyond the skyline of the Dumo ruin.

This structure is what was left of an era generally called the "Old World". It's an era where humans could reach the stars and conquer them, but that age is long past, leaving their technology to be harvested and re-studied.

People often call items from the old world "relics". These include a pen or paper or up to a battle tank as long as it's movable and can be owned. People will call it a relic. All these items from the old world have been crafted flawlessly by their technology.

Even after thousands of years of research, the people of this era still can't decipher all the wonders that they left behind. Some say it's due to the vastly different environment. But some suggest that they are not smart enough.

Some scientists of his era suggest that the vast wasteland that surrounds us had been grass and forest before, but most people don't believe it. They can't imagine what could have happened to a green landscape to turn into a dry hell.

So people turn this theory and suggestion into a fairy tale about how the world is a green place with no danger lurking in the night. Where humans could sleep tight, knowing tomorrow wouldn't be their end.

Vero often thinks about this fairy tale, about how life would be if he were born a few thousand years earlier. He shelves that idea into the back of his mind because if he were born a thousand years earlier, he would be dead by now.

However, he still would have taken that reality over this kind of hell. Being ordered around and fed a ton of narcotics on a daily basis is considered worse than death at this point.

Yet he couldn't do that, not before killing the Frankie gang and shoving all the narcotics in them all at once and leaving them in the streets begging for another dose. He will make it happen even if he has to die for it.

"Wow, that's the Dumo tower!"

A bright voice snapped Vero back to his harsh reality, where he couldn't even lift a finger against Coal. The voice came from a blonde kid across the truck. He's peeking his head through the truck window meant for shooting down a monster.

"Shut up! Not everyone is excited to go there! "

Coal, despite being a psychopath, still doesn't want to go to the ruins. In his own view, the reward isn't worth the risk. Having some authority from a young age makes him think that his life is worth more than risking its ruin.

"Look at this guy over here! He really doesn't like this trip. HAHAHA "

He happily walks over to Vero while the other parties cower in fear. At this point, even if Vero's mind wants to fight, his body will shudder from instinct. Coal smiled again at the sight of the scared Vero. The one who ferociously fights him is gone now, only left with an obedient little kitten. Coal greatly enjoys this process.

"Hey, don't be like that to your friend!" But the excited kid doesn't seem to like Coal's manners.

"Then what's you going to do about it? You don't even know him. If you don't like it, let's settle with our fist then. "

"...."

Coal smiled playfully again. He is trying to provoke the blonde kid, and it seems to be working. The excited kid stared deep into Coal's eyes.

"Hahaha, I'm just playing with you. What's your name? "

"... I'm Hayato."

"I'm Coal and this guy here is number-15."

"Number-15?"

"You don't know? HAHAHA, I guess your gang is somewhat clean then. This guy is a "worker." He's been working with my gangs and assigned a number. "

"Don't he have a name?"

"It doesn't matter. Anyways, why are you guys here? "

Hayato still doesn't like Coal's attitude toward the so-called "number 15". Something tells him that this is not the ordinary "worker" they claimed to be.

"I and my gang members are here to collect relics from the Dumo ruins as a practice run."

It's not uncommon to send out young hunters from their gangs to do an easy exploration of ruins. Getting more experience and raising money for the gang They often corporate with another gang to split the cost of an escort.

This time their destination, the Dumo ruin, is a rather safe place. They only have some cleanup machines in the ruin, and the security robots all reside on the upper level of the Dumo tower. A massive structure that extends beyond the sky.

It'd be estimated that this structure has over 10,000 floors and reaches out to space. So far, they have only been able to explore up to the 7th floor. The 8th floor and beyond require more "authority" as the A.I. asks for their I.D.

So reaching the 7th floor is considered a success by the expedition team, but for others, it'd mean that they have only a few expensive relics left. So people don't come here anymore. This is a perfect place for you to get some experience as a young hunter or gather cheap relics.

Hayato is here as a young hunter. He volunteered to go gather some relics because he wanted to see the ruins.

"Ohh so you're the young hunters from Frenzy, right?"

"Yes"

"That makes sense now. OK, let's get along! " Coal extends his hand with the usual smile, while Hayato reluctantly shakes Coal's hand. He doesn't want to cause a ruckus in the middle of the ruin.

Truthfully, Coal didn't want to get along either, but seeing Hayato's equipment made him change that decision. Hayato and his team are wearing a ruin exploration outfit with one rifle in hand. Coal only has a pistol that is used to control the workers.

If a fight broke out, he would get gunned down.

The truck travels through the harsh landscape and arrives at the Dumo ruins. This ruin was once a brilliant city with tall skyscrapers everywhere. Now it's just the rubble of buildings and dirt.

The truck passes through all the rubble and arrives at the Dumo tower.