The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1525

The main door was several meters long and wide that was opened for Ogostin and his party when the city picked them up, and to its left was a much smaller door for humans and other 'normal sized' beings that Sumeet opened to lead the party out from.

Once they were all out of sight Rufgar directed his gaze towards Che Yun who was trying to, unsuccessfully, hide behind Hao Xuan.

"Hmm, that is not in my records."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Hao Xuan questioned with a raised eyebrow to which Rufgar simply scribbled something on his papers.

"No problem- as long as you are the one who tells his bedridden sister that her only living family was killed because you took him out of the city."

But before Hao Xuan could say anything Che Yun intervened, "Then give me medicine!"

Rufgar solemnly shook his head, "All must be earned. Wait a few days and something better will come along-"

"She can't wait any longer!" Che Yun retorted which made Rufgar frown.

Hao Xuan patted him on the back before the situation could get worse, "Wait for me outside."

The boy harrumphed and stomped out of the city which was quite comical with his small size.

"What's this about then? Why did you call me?"

Rufgar pointed to the gate with his oversized pen.

"You will be in group 3. I'm sure you've heard the city is in dire straits since we lost the main spiritstone so, for the moment, we are stranded here. Groups 1 and 2 are clearing out the area around us and putting down some temporary defenses while Group 3 will be responsible for venturing out into the wasteland."

He pulled out a map from his papers to show to Hao Xuan. It had the city marked in the center and a big red circle to the southwest.

"We are here, you will be going there," he said pointing to the circle, "We have discovered a small cache of spiritstones so you will clear the way and start digging. Hopefully your group can either find a replacement stone that is large enough to help us get moving again, or find enough of the smaller ones that can push the city to the mountain range to the south."

It was pretty simple and Hao Xuan had already agreed to help when he entered the city so it didn't matter much anyway since they were all on the same boat.

"Alright. And what about compensation? How much is the pay?"

Rufgar's confused expression told him everything he needed to know but the minotaur still clarified.

"Slaves don't get paid anything. You work when there is work to be done."

But Hao Xuan was just as confused, "Then how is the kid supposed to buy medicine?"

"Like everyone else, through hard work. Once the city recognizes he has done enough the medicine will be given out."

Hao Xuan nodded, it was understandable since they weren't running a charity.

"And how do you measure that? How will you know he has done enough?"

Rufgar chuckled as if he was hearing a bad joke, "He gets paid a part of your credits so the more work you do, the more you can give to him. You work for the city, he does not. Chances are the youngin won't even live to see the sun set- the wasteland is not kind to the weak. That is why we only selected those who could withstand its many dangers, like yourself."

Again, this was not all that surprising.

"You still did not answer my question, how is it measured? How will you know someone is being productive?"

Rufgar pointed to his slave mark, "All is observed through that. At the end of the day I will tally your work. If you have done enough you can even take a break or work less during the next shift- so long as the minimum quota is met."

Hao Xuan looked towards the gate to make sure no one was there before asking in a lower voice, "And what of the slaver? How does he help?"

"Sumeet?" Rufgar's eyes narrowed, "Hmm, that one is troublesome but nothing we can do since he is in the Song Children's camp. Think of him as the stick to my carrot. He might be ruthless but not stupid, as long as you keep to yourself it will be fine. Go now, listen to him if you want to come back in one piece."

Having wrapped his question-answer session Hao Xuan made his way out of the city. As soon as he stepped foot into the wasteland the glaring heat hit him like a truck accompanied by the blinding light.

He could feel the 'sunlight' trying to dig deeper into his flesh as if it were a parasite.

'He wasn't kidding. The heat alone would be enough to kill a normal person in just an hour or two. Not to mention the monsters and creatures that live here-'

Sumeet's hoarse voice interrupted his line of thought.

"Our prince charming has finally arrived, we can depart!"