It was a pretty typical day, all things considered.
I woke up in my newly found, run-down, abandoned house. The chipping walls and crumbling roof may not have been top quality, but they were the best protection from the elements I'd had in a while. I got dressed, put on my scavenging gear, ate some stale bread for breakfast, and fixed my hair.
I cringed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I took in my matted hair, caked with dirt and dried sweat, and gagged a little, looking at my old white shirt that was closer in color to my beige cargo pants now than the pristine white it was initially.
"If only this house had a washing machine or at least a working shower," I grumbled.
Pushing open the old chipped wooden door and ignoring the morning wind's chill, I started my 2-hour hike to the wasteland. To begin my search for anything, I could pawn off for a couple of credits.
'The Wasteland' is a weird place. To the rest of society, it's a trash dump where all of humanity dumps its trash, but for poor schmucks like me, it's a goldmine if you know where to look. You can earn a lot of credits relatively quickly if you get a good haul.
Plus, most of the wasteland is at a 'low danger' level. The only monsters you see out there are steel bugs. And other than tasting like burnt metal, they're harmless.
Continuing my walk, I eventually spotted the wasteland in the distance. Focusing a little more, I could see the trash hills surrounding a vast garbage mountain.
Each hill was at least the size of a four-story building. And in the center of all those hills was "The Mountain." The Mountain is considered to be the inner ring of the wasteland, and it's where the real treasures are found.
Sadly, entering as a solo scavenger is a pipe dream. A bunch of large scavenger groups monopolize the mountain. Anyone who isn't a part of their group isn't allowed anywhere close. I found that out the hard way.
Thankfully, the scavenger groups don't touch the surrounding hills, So that's usually where I do most of my searching.
Finally reaching the entrance, I ruffle through one of my many cargo pockets and pull out a nose pin.
As you can guess, the worst part of the wasteland isn't the lack of goods or the ruthless scavengers; it's the smell, which makes sense, with it being a giant garbage dump. So as a universal rule, scavengers always have at least three nose pins.
After adjusting my clothes, weapons, and bags, I went inside.
….
As soon as I entered work mode, I instantly looked around for something sellable. Like ancient electrical technology or some of the older models of mana appliances.
Though not completely extinct electrical devices are considered rare, many collectors would pay top price for a piece of functional electric technology.
So scavengers like me collect the old crap, sell it to merchants who hire repairmen to fix it, and then sell it to enthusiasts for a profit. All things considered, it's not that bad of an industry. The only downsides are that you work in the trash, and each day's earnings are luck based.
While making my rounds, I spotted a large trash mound. Though bigger doesn't always mean better, having more to work with is always nice.
I started searching around the trash mound and found an old electrical lamp after digging around a little bit. I looked at the old, outdated piece of tech with a huge grin.
'Jackpot!'
I messed around with it a little, salvaged the most valuable parts, then moved on.
After scavenging nonstop for a couple of hours with no luck, I decided to take a break.
Other than the electric lamp, nothing else I found was that valuable, a couple of credits at most. I let out a sigh and started eating my lunch. While munching on my bread, I began to reflect.
'Is this it? Eat stale bread and dig through trash until I die?'
I started snickering to myself a little bit and put on a self-deprecating smile.
'Man, what a shitty life.'
Then all of a sudden, as if on cue, I spotted a giant shining beam of light. After looking at it for a second, I shot up in excitement. A large beam of light in the wasteland is usually a good sign. So I grabbed all my stuff and rushed to its source.
I arrived pretty quickly and was surprised that there was no one around, but I knew it was only a matter of time until people would be on me like a ton of bricks. Hurriedly looking for what was glowing, I found a unique-looking ring sitting on a throne of trash. Even from miles away, you could tell that thing was extraordinary.
Letting out an evil grin. I snatched it as fast as I could and started running in the direction In the opposite direction I came from.
After putting enough distance between me and where the beacon was, I took out the ring and started scrutinizing it.
The ring was pure crystal white with ancient gold writing inside and drawings on the outside. If I was being honest, I took a liking to it. I don't have many possessions, so I kept it to myself.
"This one's a keeper."
After declaring such, I put it in my bag and started walking away when I heard a voice calling from the top of a nearby trash hill.
"Hey, Outlander!"
Hearing the sudden voice, I jolted, turned around then let out a groan
"Ugh, What do you want, Marco?"
Looking up, annoyed, I saw Marco and his shit-eating grin. Marco is a stuck-up asshole who can never keep to himself. He works for one of the prominent factions in the inner circle. The Knights. A bunch of self-righteous pricks who couldn't cut it as knights in the real world, so they try to be them here. They are the wasteland's self-proclaimed police.
Marco is the leader of a small separate squad of scavengers that manage the outskirts. Though not as scary as the punks inside the inner rim, he's still a pain in the ass—my ass, especially. When we first met, he stopped me, claiming that it was a matter of national security, and then tried to make me hand over my stuff. Annoyed, I punched him and told him to fuck off. We've been enemies ever since.
Standing next to him were his lackeys—a group of 5 scavengers weaker than Marco but not by much.
"I know you have the source of that beacon on you. Leave it on the ground, and I'll let you leave with your life,"
He looked down at me with unwavering misplaced confidence and pointed his rusty old sword in my general direction.
"Nah, no thanks, You know the rules. Finders keepers," I shrugged, smirking at him.
"How dare you be so impertinent with me, scum. Hand it over, or you'll regret it," Marco narrowed his eyes and swung the sword around as if bringing attention to it would persuade me.
"Ooh! I'm shaking in my boots!" I said, looking up at him with obviously fake fear and a condescending look.
"You will be! Knights attack!!"
Following his commands, all the "knights" started rushing down the hill after me.
"Well, shit," I cursed, hauling ass in the opposite direction as they made their way towards me.
One of the main reasons I've been able to last over a year in this dump is my high stamina. Well, high for a normal human. My stamina saved me countless times and allowed me to escape most situations.
So shaking off those knight wannabes who haven't had any real training wasn't hard, just tiring.
Hiding behind a trash hill and panting my heart out, I let out a curse at that living toad.
"Marco, you piece shit, I swear that when I get out of this place, I'll roast you alive!"
After calming down and collecting my breath, I decided to call it a day and started to leave the wasteland sneakily.
….
"Oh, This is some nice stuff you got here, Abel."
"I knew you'd like it, Ray."
Standing in a rundown shop with creaky floorboards and little bits of mold in the corner, I showed off my haul to the shopkeeper at the counter, Ray.
Ray is a merchant friend of mine. I met him when I first moved here. He helped me make a living off of selling garbage like this.
Ray's average height for a man in his 50s with a pot belly that causes his green robes to strain slightly. He wears a monocle on his left eye. I've asked him about it a couple of times turns out it's not medical and is only used to make him seem more "professional."
Ray is my go-to man for selling what I find. He gives a pretty good price.
Most merchants try to take advantage of salvagers since a good chunk of them are just dumb kids who don't know any better, but Ray isn't like that. He gives me the market price for every item I sell him.
He also helps me find odd jobs around town that I can do for some extra cash.
"So, how much do you think it's worth?"
"Hmm, it's in good condition and has all the essential parts. Hmmm, I'll give you 318 UC for all of it."
"Really?! Deal!"
I was smiling ear to ear as he transferred the money into my account. Having sold what I wanted, I turned around and was about to leave when he called out to me again.
"Hey, Abel, I've got a pretty good job offer if you're interested."
Curious, I turned around
"What kind of job?"
Knowing he caught my interest, he started explaining
"One of my old pals is bringing a group into goblin caverns to mine some mana crystals, and they need more bodies. Since you're pretty strong for your age, mining would be a walk in the park for you."
Listening to his explanation, I got serious.
"I've never seen, let alone fought, a real monster before. So if I go, I'd be putting myself in danger."
Looking at my concern Ray's smile just got bigger
"I know that, but the reward is worth it."
Looking at his smile, my anticipation started to grow
"How much?"
"1,500 UC up front plus a little extra for each crystal you mine successfully."
Looking straight into Ray's eyes, I could see he was being 100 hundred percent serious. One thousand five hundred credits could sustain me for months, and getting all that money for one job was irresistible.
"Where do I sign up?"