As time slowly went by, Oliver slowly began to uncover the truth—a truth more interesting than he could have ever imagined.
The Havoc Bay prison wasn't merely a place to house criminals; it was a dark and treacherous mine, where the cruel captors relentlessly extracted raw materials for the creation of resonance weapons—powerful and destructive tools, that acted as the backbone and power of humanity.
Essence conduction stones commonly known as EC stones are something that cannot be obtained in huge amounts no matter how one nation tries, at least in the knowledge of the commoners and most of the nobles.
But right now, Oliver stood before a colossal mine brimming with an abundance of stones that were widely perceived as a rare and precious find, which easily blew his mind.
To use the real power of the resonance without self-damaging, one always needed a resonance weapon. These weapons were mostly custom-made by the master crafting women.
There were different ranks in the industry of master-crafting but even the most renowned people needed to contact the government to obtain the EC stones, as they were not distributed equally among the people.
Common women with resonance often faced neglect due to the prevailing notion that their abilities were weaker compared to the nobility.
Despite this, numerous commoners have defied these odds and risen through the ranks, earning positions in the military or serving the nobles. Such individuals are privileged to interact with skilled craftspeople, who readily create custom-made weapons to match their unique talents and strengths.
"These pickaxes, they are made out of simple iron," Oliver examined the tools he had been given—plain iron pickaxes. The choice seemed logical as providing enchanted tools could potentially lead to the prisoners overpowering the guards.
Oliver walked over to the man who was already mining with one of the plain iron pickaxes. As he approached, he tried to strike up a conversation, "Hey there, mind if I join you?"
Issac, glanced at Oliver for a brief moment but said nothing, then turned his attention back to the rock face and continued mining. It was evident that he had no interest in engaging in conversation.
Undeterred, Oliver tried again, "I guess we're all stuck with these simple pickaxes, huh? At least they're better than nothing."
Issac still remained silent, refusing to acknowledge Oliver's presence. Feeling a little awkward, Oliver decided to drop the conversation and focus on his own mining instead.
'Damn it, this cocky bastard!'
He cursed inside feeling embarrassed by how desperate he looked and he knew he had no reason to talk with another man when they didn't even have any power that he could use to his advantage.
Even though he openly didn't look down on them, hidden deep inside his heart he had the same feeling as the other women that other males were inferior, but he tried to stop thinking like that as he wanted to look at everyone equally. If there was anyone who could break the curse that haunted them, Oliver knew it was him because he was an abnormality in this world.
He swung the pickaxe against the rock, the clinking sound echoing through the confined space. With each strike, he chipped away at the stone, slowly forming a small crevice. Oliver tried to ignore the tension in the air and concentrated on his work, making the best of the situation.
Time passed, and Oliver worked diligently, mining one rock after another. Issac had moved to a different spot, seemingly trying to put some distance between them. Oliver decided not to take it personally and focused on his own task, keeping his distance as well.
As he continued working, his senses were suddenly heightened by an unusual silence - the familiar sound of Issac's pickaxe had vanished. Concern crept over him, and he halted his own task, cautiously turning to investigate the silence. To his surprise and worry, he witnessed a distressing sight: a woman was stealthily groping Issac from behind, causing him to tremble with fear.
*Tsk
"That bastard, he might be the target of all the women," Oliver muttered to himself, a mixture of annoyance and sympathy welling up inside him.
He observed the scene for a moment, unsure of what to do. It seemed like the woman had some sinister intentions, and he didn't want to jump to conclusions or interfere unnecessarily.
Taking a deep breath, Oliver waited until he saw Issac's eyes suddenly meeting his own. Oliver could only see a crying puppy in Isaac's expression – a mix of confusion, fear, and vulnerability.
"So much for a big-mouthed bastard, I guess I can create trouble and bring out all the powerful parties by using this as a chance," Oliver was unaware of the underlying reasons, yet a strong intuitive force compelled him to act with a purpose that eluded his own comprehension.
Exiting the spot where he had been peeking, Oliver swiftly entered the narrow trench where the woman was groping Isaac. Catching her off guard, he firmly grasped her hand, locking eyes with her, displaying no trace of fear.
"Now this isn't very ladylike," He said while telling Issac to get behind him.
Issac hesitated at first, but when he saw the girl's predatory eyes, his body automatically reacted and got behind Oliver while tightly holding his pickaxe hoping it would help him calm down.
"..."
The guard lady looked at Oliver without knowing what was happening and suddenly she recognised the boy in front of her and a wicked smile came to her face, as Oliver had been the hot topic among the guards.
"Well, well, well," she taunted, "looks like we have a brave one here. You've just made a big mistake, boy."
Without any warning, she tried to free her hand from Oliver's grip, but he held firm. His eyes remained locked onto hers, unyielding.
"We don't want any trouble," Oliver said calmly, trying to diffuse the situation. "We were just passing through, and we don't mean any harm. Let's all just step back and go our separate ways. Nothing happened here and nobody saw anything,"
The guard lady scoffed, "You think you can just waltz in here and challenge me? You clearly don't know who you're dealing with. I was going to forgive him with some touching today, but because of you I am going to go all the way,"
Leaving those words, she suddenly used her resonance weapon which looked like a baton and hit Oliver in his hand, which suddenly caused his hand to get heavy.
"How do you like it? My resonance is pretty sweet right?" She asked while stepping on Oliver's hand and grabbing Issac, who was on the verge of fainting with her other hand.
"Undead embrace, it allows me to create hands that cannot be seen by my opponents, and anything that touches my weapon will be a target," She explained why Oliver was feeling heavy. "Even though it will last only one minute, that time is enough for me to kill someone,"
"Haha~ I'm surprised you're just a common guard with a power like that," Oliver's expression shifted, revealing a newfound enthusiasm as if he had stumbled upon a hidden treasure. He immediately changed his approach upon witnessing the girl's incredible capabilities.
The woman raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by Oliver's sudden change in demeanour. At first, she had considered leaving him, knowing he was a huge red flag, but her perception shifted when she witnessed his next move.
As soon as the power of her resonance and the weight Oliver was feeling went away, he suddenly got up from his position and with a sly grin on his face. He slowly approached the woman, moving with a newfound confidence. His eyes locked onto hers, and he spoke in a low, seductive voice.
"Let that idiot go, I will show you a great time that no one else can give," He knew this would be a killer move to any of the females since it is not every day that a man actively tries to seek them.
He circled around her, his movements calculated and smooth and his hands touched her body, which sent chills through her spine. "You know, I've always had a thing for powerful women. It's not every day I come across someone as captivating as you."
Oliver paused for a minute and started to poison the girl's brain with dangerous thoughts in her mind.
"You know why I rejected your captain?" Oliver asked the stunned girl, who was now frozen by this seductive man's boldness. "She was weak, I don't want to be with a weak woman, but looking at you, I can feel your strength and your power, as well as you're beautiful,"
In a sudden move, his gaze fixated on Issac, silently urging him to depart from the scene. Although hesitant at first, Issac mustered the courage to overcome his fears. Without delay, he grabbed his pickaxe and made his way out of the area. However, the female guard remained oblivious to his departure, her full attention still captivated by the man standing before her.
Oliver was only a few inches away from kissing her, but then the dream of the guard girl became a reality. Suddenly she felt a soft sensation on her lips which caused her to open her eyes wide in surprise.
As she opened her eyes, she found herself looking into the warm, caring eyes of Oliver, who had indeed leaned in to kiss her. The moment was surreal, and her heart raced with excitement and uncertainty.
Oliver, with a devilish grin, whispered. "Believe my bloodborne senses, you can achieve greatness and I will be there to support you, be it as your lover, manslut whatever you want, you just have to believe me,"