Day in and day out it has just been one thing after the other, all of the kids were forced to do more and more backbreaking work without being given a single break in short, they were just treated like beaten animals.
Because of that all they could do was silently obey. And if they didn't, they'd get brutally punished without any mercy.
So while others would cry, others would try very hard not to get on the guards nerves but for Abel, he didn't give a damn how he was treated.
They could beat, kick and curse him as much as they all wanted, but he would always get back up.
Of course, it hurt when they did but little by little he was actually starting to get used to the extra special treatment he was getting from them.
With the system helping him he could feel his strength and endurance building up, and it was something that he knew could really come in handy in the near future.
Therefore for each bloody nose he received, he'd earned more strength.
…
Now, he was having a pitiful breakfast at the mess hall with all the other many kids who were also enjoying their ration meal.
That is… if the damn food didn't taste like absolute crap.
Abel sat alone at one of the tables, grimly trying to choke down the pathetic meal he was given, a chunk of bread and watery bitter soup.
He could barely stuff any of the damn thing down, the bread was so stale and bitter that it could be considered poison, and the soup… the thin, murky soup tasted like sweat water mixed with a pinch of salt and vinegar.
"Ughhhh…" he groaned, more than willing to throw it all up since it tasted like vomit mixed together.
There really was no better way to describe how he felt , so the question was…
'Why am I still trying to swallow this crap when I already know how shitty this slop really is so…?.'
Though it was disgusting, he needed what little nutrients he could get out of it, otherwise he wouldn't have the strength or will power to deal with the daily treatment the bastards always gave him.
Or the system for that matter.
[Daily System Conditioning Preparations Phase]
[Objective: Complete the following training regiment before sunset.]
[Goal]
Push-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Squats Incomplete (0/50)
Sit-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Pull-ups Incomplete (0/50)
Running Incomplete (0/5km)
[Warning: Failure to complete the daily conditioning will result in a System-imposed penalty.]
Abel frowned, "You really don't expect me to deal with all of this now. Aren't I already suffering enough?" He muttered.
To him, he could have gotten all of the nutrients by licking the salt out of rocks, or from chewing grass or leaves.
Hell he could even get it from eating the dirt off the ground.
He was the only person who thought that way because the other kids wolfed the thing down like a bunch of starving dogs.
"I can't believe they're actually enjoying this crap!?" He looked down disgusted at his plate. "Cause there's no way I can finish this crap."
As he stared at it he suddenly had the memory of his past life before this living nightmare, a life where he, his mother and father all shared a warm meal together and that single memory almost drove him to tears.
He wiped his tears before anyone else could see him. 'One thing is for sure, mother's milk soup was a thousand times greater than this garbage could ever pretend to be.'
With that there was nothing that could change his mind.
Nothing.
While he half-heartedly played with his rotten food, a cheerful voice echoed in the air "Hey, if it isn't everyone's favorite runt."
Abel looked up with an annoyed glare and saw a kid with glaces wearing an annoying smile without a single clear worry in the world.
He just took a seat across Abel with a smirk. "First of all my name is Abel, four eyes, not runt, so try to remember that."
The kid laughed it off. "Man, for a shrimp you sure aren't afraid of saying what's on your mind, a mouth like that won't get you many friends around here you know." He said, showing his concern.
For someone like Abel, he didn't ask for any of it because he really couldn't give a damn. "I didn't ask for your concern and honestly I don't need any friends. They'd only drag me down at this point."
Even with all of that, all the kid did was grin at him with a soft smile on his face. "Is that so? Well I think you're absolutely right about that."
Even though he was smiling, his presence and his chatter was actually getting on Abel's nerves.
They say a meal is well spent when you share it with friends and families, but a horrible meal like this and a pointless conversation with a stranger just made the opposite effect.
"There's something I actually wanted to ask you Abel… what is it that you really want?"
That surprised Abel; he definitely didn't expect a random stranger to ask him what he truly wanted in this moment of his hellish life, though something like that wouldn't matter in a place like this.
Abel wanted to believe he did, and the kid noticed it.
"The reason I'm asking you this is because I know that a tough guy like you doesn't mind getting hurt now and then, but I don't think that's the only thing you're after."
Abel narrowed his eyes and snapped, "What are you getting at!?"
The kid leaned in. "What I'm getting at is that you should consider leaving this place."
Abel scoffed. 'Seriously?'
What the kid was saying wasn't wrong, it was just… obvious. Of course, he wanted to leave this hellhole but he didn't get why he was whispering it like it was a big secret.
"Look I know what I'm saying is crazy but you should listen carefully." The kid got up from his seat and walked to Abel, putting a hand on his shoulder and quietly whispering in his ear. "If you really want to leave, you should seek out Iris and her small band of runaways."
Abel's eyes widened. 'Wait, Iris… that Iris? She did mention something about leaving this place, but to be honest I just thought she was messing with me.'
The kid then patted his shoulder and said, "Well that's all I had to say, have a nice meal, okay. Oh and by the way my name is Salo, so try to remember it okay." He left, leaving the hall and Abel with an uncertain expression on his face because when he looked at his plate and sighed…
"What's so nice about this crap?" he muttered.
He frowned and muttered again. "So Iris has a whole plan on leaving huh? Maybe I should join the group… who knows, maybe she really can get me out of this place."
After their morning meal, all of the kids were marched to work but Abel snuck out of the group and headed to the greenhouse to find Iris, since that was the place where they first met each other.
He managed to slip in and find the place without any of the guards noticing him, carefully he made his way to the room where all the kids were sorting and crushing the white powder from before.
He still didn't know what they really were but he remembered Iris calling it a drug… whatever that was to him.
He stood by the rusty door and tried to look for her without drawing the attention of the working kids, not that they noticed him since they were so focused on what they were doing, but it was better to play it safe than be sorry.
He scanned, searched, and then finally noticed the only clean and unchained girl of the group holding some kind of board in her hand.
"There she is. I need to get her attention but how…" he thought long and hard about it but before he could try anything…
"Hey, what are you doing here… You don't look like any of the workers here."
Abel suddenly froze.
He then felt a rough hand suddenly grab his shoulder… slowly Abel turned his neck to see what fate awaited him.
Everything was a blur of motion. A heavy object swung down, catching the edge of his vision.
[Warning: Critical blow detected!]
[Durability Check Failed: Stun Initiated]
Everything went completely dark.
And in the void, a sound echoed directly inside his skull.
[Emergency Quest Issued: Identify Captors & Secure Alliance]