Ren's eyes flickered open. He rose with a yawn as he the bustle of the people poured out of the chamber.
He stirred the others awake who were sleeping just a couple of meters away from him, and the group of four stepped out to greet the rising sun.
Some people sat against the wall, rubbing sleep from their groggy eyes, while others washed their faces and started practicing immediately.
As Ren searched for Selene, his gaze fell onto the females emerging from the pathway that led to the players' area. Each one of them looked weak and pale, yet a happy smile still graced their face nonetheless as they carried some food in their hands.
Evan sensed his lingering gaze and placed his hand on his shoulders. "You know it too, we can't stop it, no one is being forced by others to do it."
'Of course, how could I forget about them?' Ren knew that things like these would be happening when he reached the city. But seeing them and thinking about them were two totally different things.
He knew there would be all kinds of people, some who slept with others for their own and their children's survival, and others who would sleep with women to fulfill their lust.
Closing his eyes, he exhaled lightly, and turned his attention back to searching selene only to find her standing some distance away from him, conversing with someone.
He waited for a while before she finally finished chatting. The moment she reached the group, Ren asked, "Who was she?"
"Hmm, quite curious, aren't you? Don't tell me you fell for her at first sight." Selene teased but seeing his unbothered face, she wanted nothing more than to punch this guy who didn't know how to take a joke directly on his nose.
"Tsk, you are no fun. She's Luna, one of the awakeners who is from the elite group of people."
Awakeners— the denizens of Ashenhold who had crossed the level twenty mark and gained a class.
"So what's her class?" Ren asked, curiosity taking the better of him.
"Archer. Almost everyone here knows about it." Selene's face twitched as she said that.
"Apparently, she had screamed about receiving her class to almost everyone a few days ago when she gained it.
And here's another interesting fact, she is apparently the step-sister of the Brett guy who messed with you earlier. Though their relationship is neutral to say the best."
'So that's why you were interested in her. Due to her class and her relation to Brett. But why?' As much as Ren liked to talk to Selene, he was wary of how much she deliberately kept hidden.
***
The bell rang, the sound echoing through the citadel and reaching everyone's ears. Immediately, everyone stopped sparring and rushed to the ration distribution hall.
It wasn't like they hadn't seen people carrying the food towards them just minutes earlier. They simply didn't go because of the players accompanying the food distributors.
Currently, the players were a lot stronger despite the elite awakeners who had crossed the twenty-level mark and gained a class.
The reason? Their special powers.
It gave them an edge against the awakeners, the reason why none of them retaliated against the distribution of food.
And as expected, almost a dozen people who were the last to arrive, comprising mainly of elderly people, didn't receive their share of food.
They started to beg the others to share some to feed themselves but everyone just focused on their own meal without sparing them a single glance.
Ren too looked up once, then at his plate. Sighing, he shared some of it with them as he remembered the pain of hunger when he was in the orphanage.
How others immediately grabbed the food and didn't even spare his meal as they believed feeding a fiend would bring upon them the wrath of the gods.
Funny thinking how some of them blamed the gods for giving them an unfair life, but using them to do injustice to him.
***
After finishing the meals, everyone trained once again but this time, the hall was almost half-empty. Today was their turn to hunt the vermyrexs, level up, and bring forth any edible food they received from the drops.
Food. Actual, edible food.
Even Ren was surprised when he heard that one can get edibles from killing vermyrexs, and now, everything made much more sense.
Even though food would be limited, it shouldn't have such a shortage that they can't feed a few hundred mouths considering they had collected the grains and bread from almost the whole Inner part of the city.
'So they only want to keep the ones who could fend for themselves. They are not saint protecting us, even though they have a reason. And that's why we are being sent to hunt every alternate day.'
Another group of people exited from the pathway used by the players and guards. But this time, Ren recognized one of them.
Kael.
Ren lifted an eyebrow, 'Is it already time?' He wondered as he looked at the scorching sun right above his head.
Kael wasn't alone, with him were two other people. They greeted Ren and Kael introduced them to each other.
The short heighted man, aka Owen, was also around the same age as Ren himself, for comparison, he stood slightly taller than Lina but still fell a little short of Selene.
And the other one was Derek. Taller than Ren but his slightly chubby body made him look a little weird. Though it wasn't noticeable too much.
"So shall we go?" Ren asked but was surprised seeing Kael shake his head.
"We will take one more person," Kael informed, but Ren was confused as to why that last person didn't arrive with them together.
And he soon got his answer.
"Shall we go now, Luna?" Owen said with a bored look in his eyes, and seeing his hunched shoulders, he appeared almost like a dwarf smaller than Lina herself.
'Her?' Ren paused, scanning her from top to bottom.
'That's a surprise.'
And like this, the group of five stepped out of the citadel, not knowing that fate, or rather someone, had entirely different plans for some of them.