Extra's Guide to Surviving a Dark Fantasy World-Chapter 61: Soren Vylor
"A little more, just a little more." Soren kept repeating the same phrase to himself like a mantra, reaching out his hand to grab another rock on the side of the cliff, propelling himself upward.
All around him kids similar to his age, were grabbing onto the rocky mountain, holding on for dear life while trying their best to reach the top.
Soren was just about to take another step when a sudden scream caught his attention. This time he didn’t even look to check what had happened. Another one had fallen, it was as simple as that. Besides these screams had become way too familiar the higher they climbed up.
Originally they had started with over a thousand kids. Yet now only less than a hundred remains, all of them in grave shape, yet still refusing to let go.
Soren was no exception either; the skin on his hands had been already torn to shreds while the rest of his body was screaming at him in defiance, yet he still kept climbing. He couldn’t even remember how much time it had been or why he had started climbing in the first place.
Yet he had to climb up, that was for sure. He had to reach the top no matter what.
Taking an exhausted breath he reached out once again, grabbing another rock protruding out of the side of the mountain.
He would definitely reach the top.
--
"BOY YOU BETTER GET OUT OF THAT BED BEFORE I DRAG YOU OUT MYSELF!!!"
A distant shout caused Soren to jolt awake from his sleep.
"DO NOT MAKE ME COME UP, BOY; GET YOUR ASS IN THE FRONT NOW!"
Another shout resounded through the shop, and this one helped him clear his mind.
"I AM UP, SHUT UP ALREADY!!!" Soren gave a similar shout himself while clutching his head.
"Another nightmare." He mumbled slowly while rubbing his face. "What is he trying to tell me?"
Soren had been used to these nightmares since he had been getting them for years by now, ever since he got that ’Unknown’ bloodline, these past months however had been a bit too much. It was like the being inside of him had suddenly awakened, trying his best to communicate with him.
"I might have to put this on the board." His eyes went to the withered wooden table standing in the corner of the small, dingy attic. There was a wooden board attached to the wall in front of the table, filled with notes of his research into the expanse. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"YOU BETTER NOT HAVE GONE BACK TO SLEEP AGAIN; I AM GETTING SWARMED BY CUSTOMERS HERE!!" The old coot shouted once more, clearly annoyed that Soren hadn’t magically appeared in front of him in the few seconds since he had last shouted.
"I SAID I AM COMING!!" Soren angrily jumped out of his bed and began walking down the small ladder to the first floor before walking down into the main shop.
As he had expected, there wasn’t a single customer in sight. The shop stood empty, only containing rows and rows of beast organs sitting on shelves, and the old man, who was sitting silently behind the counter, was busy watching TV.
"I thought you were swarmed by customers?" Soren hissed.
"I was, they just left." The old man answered unbothered, simply changing the channel.
"You didn’t even let me wash my face," Soren complained.
"Your face is pretty enough. Now, go into the basement and arrange the batch you hunted last week in the shop." The old man waved his hand, causing Soren to take a deep breath.
"A little more, just a little more." He repeated the same phrase from his dream and walked down to the basement. Thankfully, he had already butchered the beasts last night, so now he only had to bring them forward.
One by one, he began carrying the materials out in the front and putting them in glass jars filled with conservatives.
He was bringing in the last batch and had only stepped into the shop when the old man called him.
"Boy, come here." He spoke, gone was his usual afoolness instead replaced by a tinge of worry.
"What is it?" Soren asked while walking towards him, although his query was answered the moment he heard the TV.
On TV sat the figure of a news anchor displaying the images of the Mira Nyrith, the matriarch of the Nyrith household and the ruler of Thyrox.
"It has now been an entire month since the search efforts for Aria Nyrith commenced in the desolate expanse of the Gleaming Wastes. Tragically, no substantial clues or leads have surfaced regarding her whereabouts.
Despite growing public concern and mounting speculation, the Nyrith household has remained tight-lipped. In an official statement, they have refused to provide any details about Aria’s disappearance, citing the matter as strictly confidential."
"So she is still missing; who cares?" Soren asked. Aria Nyrith, the princess of the Nyrith household, had gone missing somewhere around a month ago. The matter had been alliance-wide news, sure, but he couldn’t see how this could relate to him."
"You should care; keep listening." The old man spoke while turning up the volume.
"Though the reason behind her disappearance still remains a mystery, in a shocking move that no one had predicted, Nyrith’s household has decided to give their full support to Expansion Initiative."
"With the three great houses in agreement, the alliance is set to begin humanity’s expansion into the expanse in the coming months. Preparations have already begun to take place, the biggest being the revamping of Sacred Vanguard Academy and moving the faculties along with students into the Wailing Hollows, where they can support their fellow arcanists from behind."
"According to our sources, the aim of this initiative is to train an elite group of arcanists from the youngest generation. To achieve this, the academy has been reportedly doing a complete restructure of its previous curriculum, although the details still haven’t been disclosed. Even though the three houses and Sacred Vanguard Academy headmaster Mae Rhyden had assured people that students’ safety would be their highest priority, the public is still showing some-"
The old man muted the TV. "You hear that they are sending young children in the middle of Wailing Hollows. That place is going to be a death zone, I tell you."
