On the same day.

Ren - the man in the black coat - was wearily driving the wagon loaded with the group of slaves. This load of men was smarter and did not try to escape, for their own good.

The tiring journey took six days in each direction. The road from the estate to the mines was hard-packed with some sort of land technique so it did not swamp or collapse.

Mountains, rivers, forests, hills. The passengers couldn’t help but admire the breathtaking view. They came across some animals, too. However, dangerous beasts did not dare to attack the crowd.

Ren went on this trip each year, and now his seventh one was drawing to a close. It used to be boring and dull, but this time a frail boy named Kyon saved the day with all the jokes and pranks, gags and stories. The boy got Ren’s attention back at the mine. Now he was the life of the party and didn’t let anyone feel blue.

On the third day of the trip, the boy had a big surprise for all of them. He raised the stage of his development! There was no mistake about the spacial pop of development increase. Only those who didn’t connect with the soul got to the third sector... And Kyon had found the connection and learned to create cycles! Once again, he surprised them all.

{This guy shows great promise... There must be something in this for me...} - Ren sighed gazing wistfully at the fellow.

The wagon drove up to the checkpoint. The Stone estate began there. Two guardians checked the mark on Ren’s wrist and let him in.

The land was protected with a two-meter stone wall created with the element of the earth. In addition to the walls of different height, the estate was under 3 invisible barriers equipped with alarms in case of a break-in.

Another two hours of their journey had passed and they came to the second checkpoint behind the wall, and half an hour later, there was the third, the last one. By then, the sky had hidden under the dark veil of night.

The big gate swung open. Ren and the wagon were let inside. A huge estate appeared before the tired slaves. Here and there, they could see houses about 3 floors high. They were beautiful buildings, pleasing to the eye. And it was only the outer courtyard of the estate. Closer to the center, the houses were getting even more elaborate.

The man in the coat stopped the wagon at the building that looked like prison with its barbed wire fence. However, they couldn’t see any guards...

An old fellow warden came out to meet Ren, a venomous smirk smoldering on his lips. He gave the slaves a scornful look, fixing his eyes on Kyon.

«What a pack of skinny guys you’ve brought this time, Ren. The slaves are getting worse and worse every year. Do you have any idea why?» - Hein clucked his tongue and shook his head reproachfully.

Ren grimaced. The jerk always had to make a snide remark. He replied in a flat tired voice:

«How the hell should I know… I’ll go take a shower. You take from here.» - After all, he was almost done. His job was to bring in the slaves so that they could get their new formations and go get his bonus.

The warden nodded following the colleague with his eyes. When Ren left, he made a derogatory remark to the guards:

«What are you waiting for? Take the trash to get washed.»

Kyon still had a handful of the amber stones. He’d have to stash them somewhere. The risk is worth it. If he can’t use them as money, they’ll come in handy as crackers.

After a shower, each slave was given a set of clothes in size: simple, gray canvas trousers and a shirt. They were much better and of higher quality than the miner's uniform. At least there were no holes or stains.

Kyon put the unfortunate pile of amber stones in his new pocket.

After washing, both guards lined everyone up outside.

Hein walked along the row of the slaves with a haughty look, his hands behind his back. He loved his job… His primary mission was to show the newcomers their place and he was happy to start.

«You all suck!» - His loud voice sounded solemn and mocking. - «You must have heard the tall tales about the sea and roses, girls and loads of food. It’s all bullshit! You are going to work even more than you used to at the mine! Each of you will get a job which will make you puke your guts out in a month! You are nothing but worthless tramps breaking your backs to get something to eat and nothing will ever change this.»

The slaves lowered their heads not daring to look up and see the smug look on his face. Some moaned in despair: the barbed wire fence, the cruel boss yelling at them promising another hell. It wasn’t exactly what they had pictured in their initial vision.

The warden, pleased with the effect, looked for the first victim in the crowd. He wanted to increase the feeling of frustration in the newcomers and bring home the full weight of being a slave. His gaze fell on the frail young fellow - how did he manage to get here? The man grinned snidely and spat:

«With each passing year, the slaves are getting more useless and worthless. They even forget to wash their ass. But today, as I can see, it’s worse than ever... Take you for example. Come here, trembling creature.» - He pointed majestically his finger and beckoned the boy labeled “Kyon.”

Kyon was growing darker with every passing moment of his stay in that “friendly” place. He took a step forward.

The man grinned maliciously:

«Tell me who you sucked off day after day to get here, huh? Do you think I will believe that such a frail sissy with a pretty face like yours could win the auction on her own?»

Kyon gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes but said nothing. The unspeakable truth was looming before him: he was a nobody there. But he couldn’t accept the humiliation either. His people would never respect him after that. Everything else was subjective.

As the slave did not respond to his attack, the man became even more aggressive. He had to send a message to the little whore!

« I order you, sissy, to bend over with your back to me! I’ll show you what it means to work your ass off!» - A nice kick in the ass in addition to public humiliation will teach the kid some good manners and make him stop staring like that! Then he’ll proceed to the next exhibit. Three victims will do.

Kyon had to suppress an urge to break the warden’s neck. Unfortunately, he had neither the right nor the strength to do that. But he didn’t want to bend over in front of the twenty men he’d just struck up a friendship with. The only tactic left was to remain silent and do nothing. It was strategically reasonable and would lead to no consequences.

Hein's lips stretched in a hideous sneer:

«Are you deaf, sissy?! Did they fuck you in the ears and now you’re silent, huh?!» - He turned to the guards with a chuckle pointing to Kyon, who froze like a stone statue: - «Just look at him, now they take in the deaf, too!»

They both giggled. He was the boss, after all.

The warden quickly moved forward to teach the insolent boy a lesson and bend him with his own hands when something slippery flew under his feet. He lost his balance, plopped right on the floor stomach first and slid a couple of meters with his face on the ground.

Kyon shook his head with a barely noticeable smile: indeed, the soap is man’s best friend!

The warden blushed. He got up, scraped the slippery personal care product off his shoe and roared:

«Who did it?!»

Several slaves behind Kyon covered their mouths to stifle their loud laughter.

Unfortunately, their maneuver did not go unnoticed. Hein's eyes narrowed menacingly:

«Do you think it’s funny? Ha ha, so do I. Do you know, why? That's why!» - He threw the bar of soap like a curveball straight into the slave’s eye. But the slippery and unruly soap whizzed past his head and flew somewhere up and away. A window broke in the distance... The slippery flying object flew with tripled speed straight into the warden’s face like a boomerang.

*bang*

The piece of soap hit Hein’s eye marking a future bruise. The man cried in pain and pressed his hand to the injured half of his face:

«Agrr... What the...! WHO DID IT?!» - The humiliation filled his remaining intact eye with fury. He had made a complete idiot of himself! Even the guards, his subordinates, could hardly help laughing.

Hein forgot about his intentions, crushed the long-suffering soap in his fist and rushed like a wild boar at the nearest laughing slave who, of course, was Kyon. He hadn’t taken three steps, though, when Ren approached him from behind and gave him a smack upside the head. The warden couldn’t keep his balance once again and slid across the floor on his face, leaving a pretty bloody trail that marked the braking distance of his pathetic body.

Hein stood up clutching his injured nose and yelled in bewilderment:

«Why?!»

«I gave you a simple task and you made an idiot of yourself… It’s time you changed your sphere of activity and stopped disgracing the status of a warden.» - Ren shook his head scornfully. He turned to Kyon and slightly raised the corners of his lips in response to his smile. The kid had noticed him approach the warden. He must have picked up on his intention to give the idiot a “friendly” slap. There’s a good boy, an observant one!

Ren looked at the laughing slaves and waved his hand.

«Follow me. We need to define your status and position.»

They went to the formation department. His delivery job was about to be done, at last.