Chapter 2：Avarice Dungeon (1/2)

”Your contract has been terminated.”

The words felt foreign, yet expected. They left a bitter taste in his throat, making his voice crack and hollow. He saw it coming given the sheer number of new scavengers appearing, ones with dedicated abilities for the job. He didn't feel resentment nor a grudge, not toward his employers at least. For the world, however, he did.

”As stated explicitly in your contract, there is no reimbursement upon termination.”

This was the second nail in the coffin. The bank's notice hanged around his neck, like a rope slowly strangling him. The rope grew a face and it looked like his mother's face, it grew hands that were his brother's, the rope had a name and it was life. His eighteen-years of it were of little happiness, as those days long faded under the mountains of stress and worry.

Arthur Silvera had to grow up before he wanted to. His hands were callused beyond their age due to the labor he had to go through. His young heart aging under the hammers of time. He, however, was only one of many.

His phone lagged a little before he could use it again. He left his email inbox and decided to read some job websites to solve his predicament. There were always jobs out there if one was willing to risk enough. After a while of searching and weeding out jobs' notices, Arthur found one that he fit its requirement.

”Porter Needed, Avarice Dungeon, High-Risk, High-Return, Responsibility-Clearing Contract needs to be signed. Message me for further details.”

Avarice dungeon was a new dungeon that had appeared only recently, and it had yet to be conquered. The job notice didn't state that the contract was for conquering the dungeon, that would be the job of those guilds. It was for a group of warriors and mages needing a porter, someone to collect the items and materials, carrying their extra-luggage, and making camp and cooking. Arthur worked as a porter before, but it was only when times were dire. Furthermore, he worked in cleared dungeons only. This time, however, was much riskier since Avarice had yet to be conquered. It meant there could be unforeseen accidents.

”Hello, my name is Arthur Silvera, aged 18. I worked as a scavenger for four years, for the Lime Time agency. I'm not an awakener, but with enough experience to make up for it. I…”

Arthur typed his message for a long time and revised several times before he sent it. He also sent his recommendation letter from Lime Time, which they kindly attached to his termination email, to further impress the employer. He had high hopes because he read the comments and they were all saying that the job was too risky. Of course, it wasn't that he was brave or reckless, he was in a far worse state called being desperate.

The night was long and Arthur took several hours to research the Avarice dungeon. It was one of the fourth-generation dungeons, ones that appeared after the federal union of Yalveran was established. The dungeon appeared after a merge happened half a year ago. Since then, several syndicates have tried to conquer it, to no avail. The dungeon was stated to be the next stepping stone for humanity, encouraging warriors and mages to challenge it. After several causalities rising, it was found out that this dungeon was one of the Sins Dungeons, causing an uproar in the world.

”Ok. Tomorrow at 11 AM, table 36. The pay would be 50$ per hour.”