When Eric arrived in front of the city gates, the guards stopped him.
They looked at him up and down. Seeing his tattered clothing, they revealed disdainful expressions. Then one of them said indifferently, "The entry fee is 100 credits. If you can't pay, just piss off."
Eric wasn't angered by their attitude. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "My lords, I'm a citizen of the Kroft city. I live in slums. Please don't make things difficult for me and kindly allow me in."
The guards looked at each other, pride flashing in their eyes when they heard they how Eric addressed them as lords. One of them laughed. "Haha. You know how to talk, kid. Alright, show me your I.D. and go."
"Sure, my lord." Eric fished out a crystal card from his pocket and respectfully presented it to the guard.
Seeing Eric act so reverently toward them, their vanity was greatly satisfied, and that's the only reason they didn't try to make things difficult for him by asking for 100 credits again.
The guard gave his I.D. a cursory glance before throwing it back at him and nodded. "You are indeed a citizen of the city. Um, you can go."
"Thank you, my lord." Eric thanked him and scurried inside.
As soon as he was in, his fawning expression turned into a look of disgust. He really disliked these people who looked down on the weak and poor but respected and fear the rich and strong.
But as someone who belonged to the first group, he could only endure all this with a smile on his face and his head lowered if he didn't want to suffer.
'Hopefully that demon didn't cheat me and this system can really help me become strong,' He thought before sprinting towards the slums.
The Kroft city was enormous. It spanned approximately 100 square miles and was roughly divided into three tiers or sectors.
The lowest tier was the slums, where people like Eric lived. The slums were in the outer area of the city and covered a large portion of it.
The second tier was the middle city where middle-class people lived. Most of the city's trade happened in this area. Compared to the slums, this area was like heaven and people were quite well off here. They could afford to dream about owning luxurious things and such, unlike people of the slums, who slept hungry for most of the nights.
Then came the first tier or the core city. The city's overlord, the Kroft family and their affiliate noble families lived here. It was a posh area with everything available. However, apart from the people who lived here, no one was allowed entry without prior permission.
After more than half a day, he arrived in his neighbourhood. Although this place was poverty-stricken and people here didn't even have basic necessities available most of the time, it was his home. Only after he arrived here did he sigh in relief.
"Huh? Isn't it Eric? How come he is still alive? I remember those nobles took him away two months ago. Did they forgive him?"
"Forgive? Those nobles? Are you fucking kidding me? He must have escaped somehow."
Just then, Eric heard some boys of his age saw and started talking among themselves. When he heard what they were saying, his expression turned weird. 'Two months? How can it be two months already?'
Suddenly, his expression changed. 'Oh, no! I didn't realise how much time has passed because I was unconscious most of the time. Mother and little sister must be very worried.'
Thinking this, he ran toward his home, which was on the outskirts of the slums, at his top speed. One can imagine how poor they must be to have their house on the outskirts of the slums.
After another half an hour, he reached his home, which was a just straw hut that his mother had made a few years back when they didn't have any place to live. Thanks to her daily care, it was still standing tall after years, protecting them from wind and rain.
Phew!
Taking a deep breath, he walked to the door. Just as he was about to knock, he heard a crying voice from inside and his hand paused.
"Wu... Wu... Eric, where you are? I miss you so much. Mother misses you so much. Wu wu. The neighbourhood kids said you won't return ever. But I know they are lying. You'll definitely return. You won't abandon us. But can you please come back sooner?"
Hearing this, Eric's eyes turned moist. From the voice, he knew it was his little sister, Riya, who was crying inside. She was 16 years old this year, only two years younger than him.
Since childhood, they have been really close. She would always follow him around, no matter where he went. Without him, she wouldn't even eat or sleep.
Ha!
He took a deep breath to calm his emotions and knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock!
There was no response. Eric didn't knock again. He knew Riya must be wiping her face to erase the traces of her crying. This girl... she didn't like showing her weak side to anyone.
Creak~
After a while, the door opened and a petite girl wearing a shirt patched up with many different pieces of cloth and knee-length trousers came out. Although she was skinny and had poor clothing, she was very nice to look at. She had smooth, fair skin, thin pink lips, big black watery eyes, shoulder length black hair and a very cute face.
"Who are you?" She asked, looking at the side, trying to hide her reddened eyes.
"Oh? I was out for just a few days and you forgot me? That's hurtful." Eric said in a sad voice.
Swoosh!
Hearing the familiar voice, Riya immediately shifted her gaze toward him.
When she saw it was Eric, tears streamed down her adorable cheeks uncontrollably before she threw herself into his arms. "Eric! Wah... you are back."
"Shhh! Don't cry. I'm here, aren't I?" Eric lovingly caressed her back, also becoming emotional. When he noticed she had lost some weight, he felt guilty because he knew this was because he wasn't here.
Riya cried for a long while before she eventually calmed down under her caressing and coaxing.
Gently wiping her tears, he said, "I'm sorry for worrying you so much." He then added in a teasing tone, "You must have missed me a lot, right?"
Hearing this, she pouted her small pink lips and snorted softly, "Hmph! Who would miss you? I was just a little worried about your safety."
Seeing her act so cute, he couldn't help but pull her cheeks and asked, "But I think I heard you say you miss me? Did I misheard?"
Riya struggled free from his demonic claws with difficulty. While rubbing her cheeks, she angrily said. "You big bully. I told you not to do that. It hurts." She then added, "And of course, you misheard it. I only said that mother misses, not me.
"Oh?" Eric faked a sad expression and said with a sigh. "So, you didn't miss me? This hurts my weak heart."