Chapter 34: Hellish Days

The single burning stone between them dimly radiates with warm light, lighting the kid's youthful face. His golden eyes glinted as he looked at Zyro with a rare, tense expression with a touch of hesitance. Ending his long pause, the kid leaned forward and said in a quiet voice. Akin to a whisper.

Zyro attentively listens.

"You might not believe me, but... There's a really, really dangerous monster in my room."

Zyro's heart skipped a bit, his eyes widened and fixed on Pert before him. Aggrieved by the sudden revelation. However, the tension of his nerves was short lived as a realization entered his mind. Zyro heaved a long sigh.

If he could painlessly move his arm, he would have facepalm himself.

"Liar, you almost got me there. Better keep it up, someday you might fully fool me."

In front of him, Pert staidness was gone. Replaced by an over flowing joy as he struggled to hold back his laughter after seeing Zyro's priceless as a result of his jester. While Zyro watches him silently.

After a while, Pert wiped his tears of happiness.

"Ah, sorry about that. But I'm not lying, there really is a monster. Just beside you in fact."

Seeing where this is going. It's time to get his revenge. With a straight face, Zyro pointed at where he had seen the covered monster cage located. He gritted his teeth from the pain of moving his arm, but it was worth it.

"You mean the creature hidden behind that wall?"

Pert smile froze. Looking at him with a comical, dumbfounded expression.

"H-how did you know!?"

Zyro grinned. Gently brought his arms down and explain how he accidentally discovered what's hidden behind that wall. Greatly emphasizing the earthquake involvement, causing the rocky cover to collapse. And all being pure mischance he didn't wish for. Which is the utter fact.

Pert look at him with dubious eyes but believed Zyro words anyway. Zyro doesn't have any specific reason nor gains in knowing his secret after all.

"So, if you don't mind. What is that thing?"

Without pause, the kid replied.

"Honestly, I don't know either. But I do know how useless and frail that thing is. The only reason I'm taking care of it is because It's the only thing my father left me. Thankfully. It consume almost anything, or else it long had died under my ownership. And if your wondering why I'm hiding it, that's because I don't want those dimwits seeing that creature. No matter how harmless it is, those brutes will either play with it before killing or ending it's life directly. So, you won't tell anyone about this right? I'll let you play with it if you want, just don't kill it."

Zyro was flabbergasted. His expectations completely crushed. One of his thoughts, was the kid secretly taming a powerful beast to spread chaos in the mine, from a lowly slave rising at the top and many more creative theories. As it turn out, it's something so simple.

Zyro sighed. And grinned. Of course he won't tell anyone. However, although his not a child interested in toys, surely he'll play with whatever that thing was.

Some time later. Zyro found himself holding a rounded creature, it's skin was glossy and extremely soft. Transparent, clear enough to be seen throughout with a small body to be held by both palms. Seemingly possess no organs except one, black dot in it's centre.

Zyro frowned, recognizing a similar creature in his "studies" on fantasy stories through watching anime. In those fictional worlds, there exist a famous creature named (Slime) weak little creatures with transparent and fragile body's akin to what's his seeing now. Exceedingly so, actually. Zyro felt like he could kill the tenuous creature if a little more strength is applied in his grip, putting his fingers inside and crushing the creature unseen internals if it have one. Strangely, knowing a being so much weaker than him exist felt comporting.

Zyro silently look at the puny creature for a few moments before shifting his gaze in his battered body. The days ahead will hold no mercy, riddled full of similar torments he face in the past 3 days as a mine-slave. Perhaps even worse, while the human body of his decay as time went by. How long can he last? Truthfully, not long.

With their conversation over. Zyro's hellish days continue.

It took almost a week for Zyro's arm to satisfactory recover. Even then, only the right arm is available for usage, while his left unfortunate one remain unmovable, strapped in a made-up forearm sling. Fortunately, he have dozens of dried meat to feed on those idle times when his unable to work and earn food for himself. By the time his up and working again, things didn't get better as expected. The mine-slaves living routine was simple and arduous, they woke up from hard and rough chilly stones serving as bed. Then tirelessly dig for hours under the harsh environmental burden for merely pitiful quantity of magic crystals in exchange for unsatisfying spoiled breads. On Zyro's case, who can only use one arm that wasn't fully healed. Every swing of his pickaxe was a painful struggle, as he force his busted one arm with gritted teeth. He had to work no matter the pain, no matter the strain. He have to live. As if that's not enough, due to his endured bones hindering. Zyro had no choice but to continue mining in the onerous deeper area where the space is hotter and rich of magic stones to earn more.

Despite all the hard labor, Zyro's reaped magic crystals only amount to dozens. And when he go out, the greedy plunderers await to reduce his messy earnings, sometimes even giving him an extra beating as act of resentful vengeance for his past actions. Zyro cannot fight back anymore, for it will entice the alpha and have his remaining arm snap again, deeming him completely disable. he can't take the risk.

However, Zyro's didn't let them have their way either. By hiding his spoils of labor someplace else before exiting to face the Plunderers. He was able to keep most of his digged ores, giving the brutes almost nothing. In exchange, Zyro received constant hurtful punches. Which his good at taking - protecting his injury and fragile parts in the process to lessen the burden. He was able to withstand somehow, but didn't last long. The accumulated injury littering his body rose everytime, reaching a threatening point without sign of the enemy stoping nor caring for his life. Zyro was forced to play their game, left with no choice but to earn more to appease the plunderers demand and his hunger by working longer, barely having enough sleep.

His only saving grace is what little remains of his dried meats, carefully feeding on it to last as long as possible. But was soon fully consumed by his unbearable hunger. What's worse, the mine had to accumulate a large stock of magic stones to once again send a caravan to visit the village. Hence, Zyro is stuck in the Caves.

It was hard, exceedingly so. If it were normal human, that person would have long meet his end or voluntarily reach for it's mercy. However, as someone who had already walkthrough hellish trials and walk out alive. Consumed dozens of bodily augmentation drugs, vitamins and undergone strengthening surgical operation for upgraded biological structure.

Zyro withstood and remain unwavering as he patiently waited.

Time fly in that merciless regimen. Grueling days past, sometimes less painful, more times offer greater challenges. In one of those days, Zyro accidentally hit and broken a magic stone and almost died. Fortunately, the explosion was weak and he was only send flying before stumbling into the ground while his tool flew off elsewhere and not to him.

He had also crossed path with the three malicious vampires. At first, they attack in the same mindless fashion, charging with their bare fist. Despite Zyro's pitiful state, he was able to fend the hungry suckers with some effort due to how similarly weaken they are because of other slave discriminative abuses.

Zyro gave no mercy to his attackers and looted their mined crystal. However, after a couple of days. The trio came back for a second round with improvise assault tactics. Using throwaway stones against Zyro. However, they didn't consider their distance and battle geography. Making use of the stone walls shrouding as shield, he was able to close the distance that wasn't much and bring them down, earning him free magic crystals once again.

Strangely, Zyro began anticipating the vampire trio's attack to earn easy food and some entertainment, wondering what would they do next. However, when they came one more, it wasn't that fun. That time, the vampires combined their fist and rocks by clutching the stones while sending punches. Probably thinking it'll empower them, but it did not. Atleast they almost hit Zyro by a tossed rock at close range. Again, Zyro claimed victory. Only to be disappointed in the end. The trio had learned to not bring their mined stone!

Earning him nothing.

That's how Zyro's slave days past.

In the same old cave internals, a young man sat, leaned against the hard, earthly wall. Crowning a lengthy messy black hair, his eyes were like a deep pool of darkness blankly staring at a single burning torches clinging in the wall before him. Warm light caressing his pale skin and dark bags hang under his listless eyes. Bruises and scratches littered his body, hinting how sleep deprived and harsh the life he had live. His once fine body under the shroud of a ragged tunic had noticeably shrunken, leaving no fats behind, only lithe muscles. Even that, was not fully spared from the devouring starvation.

A month had past since he became a shackled slave of the mine. His left arm can now be move, albeit, barely.

In that tranquil corner where Zyro silently rested. A sudden sigh scape from his lips, his eyes regained it's clarity, waking back to reality.

Zyro turned off the screen that's only visible to him. Rather, only his mental artificial intelligence housing mind can conjure to be seen by his eyes.

'Well, what a nice ending.' he commented on the anime series he just finished watching... Studying I mean. The last few days he live was full of torments, if not physical abuse and extreme labor, then by screaming hunger that devour his stomach every night, disturbing his slumber. Viewing entertainment series was one of his means to cope with it. But mainly thanks to his apparently unfaltering will that he was able to last.

He took a deep breath, stood up and stretch his body. The sound of cracking bones entered his ears as he groaned in delight.

"I guess it time to end this too" he mumbled.

Tonight, he'll be leaving the Mine.