"ARGH" After the Guards departure, Number 102 let out a loud grunt as he dragged himself wearily to his bed.
"Are you okay?" Number 103 and 104 asked in unison.
Number 102 smiled, and reassured them, "Yeah, I'll be fine guys, get some rest" before succumbing to sleep.
They wanted to comfort him more, but seeing him passed out they decided to go to sleep as well.
With their brother in their hearts, the two of them also drifted into unconscious.
*RIING* *RIING* *RIING*
The ringing of the bell awoke the siblings. As they got up, Number 103 and 104 checked on 102 and saw him also getting up, albeit with a bit of difficulty.
They helped him up, causing him to smile and say, "Thanks"
They then followed the rest of the prisoners to work, they don't want last night's events to repeat after all.
The movement of the crowd stopped in a shining cave filled with crystals, resplendent gems and minerals, along with minecarts and pickaxes.
These stones were called Ki crystals. These crystals formed because of dense concentrations of Ki being condensed into the ground, thus, bleeding into the stones.
They served as materials for resources like potions, equipment, armor, weapons, etc. They can also be absorbed from direct touch into people, if one knew the technique.
The trio found out that they were assigned to mine these stones, put them in the carts and restart the process again and again.
So, seeing the guards, the three of them got to work!
*TWANG* *TWANG* *TWANG*.....
102 was using his anger and the stones as an outlet, leading him to accumulating the highest amount of mined stones.
103 the second highest of the three and 104 the third highest because he's younger and smaller than the other two.
After the bells rang again, they all followed the crowd into a room with chairs, tables and an assembly line looking food stand.
The three of them felt their stomachs grumble as it had been days since their last meal.
Getting a tray, they each got some rice and chicken, with nothing but water.
Despite the simplicity of their meal, it felt like heaven to them as they had eaten and survived off of much worse!
Number 104 even almost shed a tear because of how good it tasted!
Now not working, the other prisoners were all eating and chatting. There were some who saw the way the three white haired siblings reacted to their food and found it amusing.
'Hmm?' Number 102 put down the plate of food that he was voraciously scarfing down as he saw a group of people walking over to them.
He looked at them, cautious but curious, as the leader of this three man group smiled and said, " Saw you hard at work today"
The 2 smaller kids behind snickered, making Number 103 suspicious even though she didn't feel anything off about the group in front of them.
Number 102 nodded and dismissed the group immediately, " If you're going to interrupt our meal, at least make it worth my time"
"Do you know who you're talking to?" The kid on the left exploded with anger as he raised his fist in a threatening manner.
"How dare you?" The kid on the right seethed as well.
The boy's smiles fell into frowns as they heard this annoyed and blunt response.
"Hey, hey now, why the aggression, friend?" The boy's leader put his hands up and asked with a twitching smile.
Number 102 glared at the boy and spoke in irritation, "I have better things to spend my time on than chatting with you" as he shot a glance at his food.
As he did, he saw his siblings eating while watching him speak.
He got even more annoyed as he clicked his tongue and muttered, "Traitors" before turning back to the group.
The boys took a second to look at Number 102's condition, noticing the scars and bruises that were visible along with his underdeveloped physique.
As they came to this realization, they decided to show their true faces, understanding that Number 102 wasn't going to allow them to get close to them before betraying the siblings as they had planned!
With a foul smirk, the leader of the boys demanded, "I want you to put 50% of your Ki stones in my cart from now on, it's the least you could do after disrespecting me like that" as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Why?" Number 102 asked as he was genuinely confused. He understood that these people didn't talk to him with good intentions, however his demand left him puzzled.
Was there a point?
Seeing the confused look on the sibling's faces, the leader decided to explain, "Every week, the one with the highest number of Ki stones in their minecarts gets a reward from one of the wardens"
"Yeah, and that's gonna be boss Number 54" Minion 1 said, puffing his chest out in pride.
"Haha, he's gonna take all your Ki stones and get a big reward" Minion 2 claimed.
Number 54 nodded as he told them, "The Count initiated this to make sure his 'workers' worked hard to mine the stones"
The three siblings were surprised to hear this. They didn't think they had anything good to look forward to in this dungeon.
It honestly wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
"You better give me your stones, I'm not in the mood to mine for a couple hours," he said again with a sh*t-eating grin.
"You just need to work with us, no big deal right?" Spoke Minion number 1 with the same punchable smirk.
Minion 2 nodded and said, "It's not like you'd be getting the reward either"
Number 102 stared at them silently long enough to make them uncomfortable before he replied, "Find someone else to do your dirty work, I'm not playing"
The smirks of the group turned into frowns as they heard his response.
With how many times these guys have changed their expressions throughout this interaction, the quickness with which it happens makes one wonder if they are perhaps bipolar!!
They tried to threaten Number 102 some more but he just shook his head before completely tuning them out and focusing on his food.
Seeing that their, very poor, intimidation tactics weren't working on him, they angrily walked away.
Prisi–I mean, 'workers', weren't allowed to fight and with the guards watching the room, and especially the interaction, they were unable to actually go through with their threats.
*RIING*!! *RIING*!! *RINNG*!!
10 minutes later, the bells rang and lunch was over.
Number 104 asked, "Why didn't you do something, won't they bully you now?" He was puzzled why his elder brother just ignored the bullies instead of retaliating.
Number 102 shook his head and spoke with a rare calm, "That's the thing with bullying, it only works if the target is weak mentally, and willing to bend under such nonsensical threats and intimidations!"
"If you simply don't play the game, ignore them, or prove that you're better than them, they become exactly how much attention they can receive, nothing"
Number 103 nodded her head after her twin brother stopped speaking and chimed in, "They can't actually do anything, especially in here"
Number 104 nodded his head as he took his elder siblings' words to heart as they all headed back to the mine.
Number 102 picked up his pickaxe and thought to himself, 'I wonder if that so-called reward is worth my time'
With a smirk, he attacked the stones ferociously and purposefully!
*CRACK* *TWANG* *CRACK*!!
Seeing their brother fired up motivated numbers 103 and 104 to pick up the pace as well, for different reasons!
'By the looks of it, he wants that reward' Number 103 thought as she smirked, 'However, I do as well!'
Gripping the pickaxe, she started swinging as hard as she could!
'I won't fall behind those two, never'! Number 104 thought childishly. He didn't want the reward, but losing to his siblings wasn't something desirable for him either.
Poor kid, but game is the game!
The bells rang once again and Number 102 had also once again mined the highest number of stones!
A couple hours in, Number 102 thought that it was stupid, to work so hard for someone who doesn't care, for a reward that's probably some thrown-away trash, scraps of the Count.
However, just when he was about to stop, he spotted his siblings gazing at him and swinging with renewed vigor!
He smiled and thought, ' Humph, let them chase me, it's futile to think they can defeat me!' as he also got back to work, swinging harder, faster, with more effort than ever before!
In this dark and dreary place, the siblings found themselves having fun, found themselves competing on something that had no meaning or reason!
As what was once forced upon them and meaningless, was now a game of familial rivalry!
Seeing Number 102 getting the most stones again made Number 54 burn with envy!
.....
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