IllyasArt

  Chapter 1: That Dream Again...

  Celia: “…”

  Like so many times before, Celia woke up with tears staining her face, drenching her dusty bed. She knew that, from time to time, she’d have a specific dream.

  Regardless of the pain it caused, Celia could never remember what even happened in those dreams. Though, after having them, Celia would have such a painful and depressed mood for the entire day.

  Celia: “It’s like being unable to grasp a fleeting desire…” She said out loud, sighing a bit.

  Chirp!

  Through the damaged roof, Celia heard and saw various birds, and the sun shined down onto her. In this ruined house, only Celia was the sole person living here.

  Although it wasn’t her house. Instead, it was only just slightly better than a shack, which she took refuge in a while back. Currently 14 years old, Celia was a gutter rat, living off the generosity of her fellow gutter rats.

  Bang, Bang, Bang!

  Albert: “Celia! Open up!!” He demanded.

  Celia: “…Shit.” She cursed with a sour tone.

  System: “User System is initializing, please stand by.” The genderless voice spoke.

  For as long as Celia could remember, this random, inhuman voice would speak inside of her mind. Each and every time, it would just repeat the same sentence, driving Celia almost to insanity.

  Celia: “What do you want?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, after she opened the door.

  Albert: “You haven’t paid protection money this month, girl. Pay up!” He sternly requested.

  Celia: “…”

  At first, Celia was just going to gently tell him to fuck off, but then she… saw the gang of eight people behind him, all were wielding various types of weapons. “Damn… I shouldn’t have opened the door.” She thought with a regretful tone.

  Albert: “Celia, don’t think me cruel… Remember Calum?” He said with a calm tone.

  Celia: “Hm? That big, ex-adventurer bulky guy?” She replied with a thinking pose.

  Albert: “Yeah, him. Every time… I need at least this many people, or he’ll refuse to pay. Listen, I don’t care how you do it, but, Celia, you must pay us two Silver Coins by the end of the day, okay?” He expined.

  Knowing that Albert hadn’t come here to beat her into submission… calmed Celia down. Though, she didn’t really have the Coins Albert is asking for…

  Celia: “…I’ll try.” She replied with an unsure tone and expression.

  Albert: “That’s all that I ask. At worst, you can work at one of our pces for a bit.” He proposed with a smile.

  Celia: “I’d sooner take my own life than be a prostitute, Albert.” She scoffed in reply, her tone also disgusted.

  Albert: “What?! Celia, only sick fucks go for children, and you aren’t even 16! Perhaps, if we had some nobles living in this area, we’d be in that business… but we aren’t at all, I assure you.” He quickly replied, feeling like his darling reputation was about to be stained.

  Celia: “Then?” She replied with a head tilt.

  Albert: “You can work in a factory, or help us smuggle drugs, many, many, jobs around for you to do, if you need them.” He answered, before soon leaving Celia’s house.

  Thunk!

  Closing the door, Celia was now sighing even more. Running away really wasn’t in the cards for her, so Celia needed to figure out a way to come into possession of some quick Coin…