Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 6: Chapter 6 — Basement Level Three

Chapter 6 — Basement Level Three

Victor followed the faint indicator on his bracelet through the tower’s corridors. The small mark on its surface shifted whenever he reached an intersection, directing him left, right, or straight ahead. He kept glancing at it as he walked, occasionally looking up to take in his surroundings, but most of his attention remained on the artifact. It was strange relying on something that could apparently kill him to guide him to work, but so far, it seemed to know exactly where he needed to go.

After several turns, the bracelet directed him toward a large open area. Victor slowed as he stepped through the entrance and found himself standing before an enormous circular platform. The platform was made from a single slab of dark stone, easily large enough to hold dozens of people at once. There were no stairs leading downward, no visible machinery, and no obvious explanation for why his bracelet had brought him here.

Victor looked down at the indicator.

It was still pointing toward the platform.

He hesitated.

I’m really supposed to get on this thing?

The guard had told him to follow the bracelet, and so far it hadn’t led him wrong. Victor took a breath and stepped onto the platform.

Nothing happened.

Then, without warning, the entire slab began to descend.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly as the ground beneath his feet dropped away from the floor above. He instinctively shifted his weight, but the platform remained perfectly stable. There was no shaking, no grinding of gears, and no visible mechanism moving it. It simply descended through the enormous vertical shaft beneath the tower.

An elevator.

At least, that was the closest comparison Victor could make.

The platform continued downward, carrying him deeper beneath the tower. As it passed through the shaft, Victor noticed large signs carved into the stone walls.

Underground Level One.

The platform continued.

Underground Level Two.

Victor looked down.

Then another sign appeared.

Underground Level Three.

The platform slowed.

Victor waited for it to continue, but it stopped.

He glanced at his bracelet.

There was no button. No lever. Nothing he had touched.

How did it know?

Victor looked around the platform, but there was no answer waiting for him. Apparently, the tower’s magical systems were simply capable of knowing where people were supposed to go.

The platform came to a complete stop.

Victor stepped off.

The sight before him made him pause.

Basement Level Three wasn’t a basement in any ordinary sense of the word.

A massive underground ravine stretched out before him, its walls disappearing into the darkness above and below. Bridges and walkways crossed different sections of the cavern, while countless people moved throughout the enormous underground area. Some were carrying crates, others were pushing carts, and many were working directly against the stone walls.

Victor stared.

There were humans everywhere, but not only humans.

He saw a broad figure with greenish skin and frog-like features carrying a heavy sack over one shoulder. Farther away, someone who appeared almost human except for a pair of wolf-like ears was hauling a cart of ore. A smaller woman with feline ears and a long tail was gathering plants from a patch of strange vegetation growing along the cavern wall.

All of them wore similar rough clothing.

Slave uniforms.

Among them were people dressed in cleaner, more durable outfits. They weren’t working. Instead, they moved through the cavern watching the slaves, checking their progress, giving instructions, and occasionally stopping to speak with workers.

Managers, Victor thought.

The underground division was far more organized than he had expected.

Victor followed the bracelet’s indicator toward a small kiosk positioned near the entrance. A man stood behind it, apparently handling the permits of incoming slaves.

"Hand me your permit."

The man’s voice was oddly unpleasant, almost eerie.

Victor winced slightly at the tone but reached into his clothing and handed over the permit the Quartermaster had given him.

The man took it and began examining the information.

Victor finally got a proper look at him.

The man was unusually muscular, with a broad chest that his strangely designed uniform seemed almost determined to display. He wore a hat resembling a captain’s cap, complete with a feather sticking out from the top. His face was stern, but what caught Victor’s attention most was his nose.

It was surprisingly small for a man of his size.

Victor wasn’t sure why he noticed that.

Perhaps because it was difficult not to.

The man finished reading the permit and looked at Victor.

"Okay. You are the new addition."

He checked the information again.

"Perfect. You can go over to Area C. They lost somebody there last week."

He handed the permit back.

"You’ll take his spot."

Victor accepted it.

The man’s tone had been so casual that Victor almost wondered whether he had heard correctly.

So I’m replacing someone who died.

Victor looked toward the vast underground area.

The thought was unsettling, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He had a job now. That was what mattered.

He followed the directions toward Area C.

As he walked, Victor saw more of the underground operation. Slaves swung pickaxes against the walls, breaking away pieces of stone and searching for ore hidden inside. Others gathered strange herbs growing in small patches along the cavern walls. Carts moved between the work areas, carrying materials toward different parts of the underground facility.

Eventually, Victor reached Area C.

A man stood near the entrance, watching the slaves working.

He looked over when Victor approached.

"The name’s Chad," the man said. "I see you’re the new recruit."

Victor nodded.

Chad pointed toward the wall.

"You can join Jacob over there. Help him with the pickaxe."

Victor followed the direction of his finger.

Someone was already working farther down the wall.

Before Victor could move, Chad continued.

"And understand something before you start. Don’t steal."

Victor looked back at him.

"If you steal anything, your bracelet will know. You’ll die instantly. It’s not worth it."

Victor glanced down at the dark bracelet around his wrist.

Apparently, the tower had thought of everything.

Chad continued, "The going rate is five percent. Whatever you find and turn in, five percent of its sale value goes toward your credits. Everything has a price already."

Victor nodded slowly.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Victor looked toward the wall.

"What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Mine. When you find ore, break it down and bring it to me or the guy at the kiosk you spoke to when you came in."

Chad pointed toward a darker section farther along the cavern.

"And if you find a cavern, be careful. Most of this area has already been checked for herbs and underground materials, but that doesn’t mean everything has been cleared."

Victor listened carefully.

"There can be monsters down here," Chad continued. "The beasts in these tunnels are vicious. You never know what you’ll find once you break through into a new cavern, so don’t go charging in if you find one."

Victor nodded.

Chad reached toward a nearby pile of equipment and picked up a worn pickaxe. He handed it to Victor.

"Here."

Victor took it.

Chad then picked up a small metal device and attached it near the head of the pickaxe.

"This gives you light."

He tapped the device.

A circular glow immediately appeared around the head of the pickaxe, illuminating the stone in front of them.

Victor looked at it with mild interest.

Useful.

"You’ll get a break every three hours," Chad said. "At six hours, everyone stops for lunch. After that, you finish the rest of your shift."

He pointed toward the wall.

"That’s all. Get to work."

Victor nodded.

"Understood."

He adjusted his grip on the pickaxe and attached the light properly before looking toward the area Chad had indicated.

The cavern was enormous.

The walls were covered with marks from thousands of swings, and the sound of metal striking stone echoed throughout the underground chamber. Everywhere he looked, slaves were working.

Victor tightened his grip.

Twelve hours.

That was what he had been given.

Twelve hours of work before he could return to his room and begin working on the things that actually mattered.

His cultivation.

His Black Flame.

His understanding of this world.

Victor started walking toward the wall.

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