"Just give up Zach".
The Creaking of the ceiling fan added to the tension as silence loomed in the dimly lit office.
"We've rejected your contract application for over 5 months months now.." the voice paused.
Zach stood opposite the administrator, his fist clenched, jaws tightly locked together in a grit as body shuddered lightly.
The administrator, a short and chubby man holding a cigarette tossed bunch of paper at Zach with displeasure, the paper scattered gliding around the room, dancing around until it landed gracefully on the wooden floor.
"B-But sir.."
"Shut up..!" The man groaned.
"I've given you enough time already.."
Zach face fell as the man continued
"You haven't still paid the inquiry fees I asked you to even after I gave you a chance." He lowered his glasses
"Please get out and don't waist my time." He spoke, his words heavy, Zach just looked at the man in silence.
Zach tried to speak, suppressing his anger and with a calm tone muttered, "The head of administrative said we--"
*BOOM*
A shriek of white light zipped past him like lightning crashing into the wall behind him with a deafening boom.
Zach's eyes widened as blood trickled down his cheek.
The administrator, pointing two fingers at him that were cracking with blue light hissed with a cold stare.
"Get out now, or I'll make you".
Zach couldn't do anything, he wasn't even at the curious stage yet, meanwhile the administrator was at the stage of suspicion and with a working Tether.
He couldn't even dream of fighting him unless he wants to be turned into a freshly made—sizzling hot—human donut.
'Ah, that's right, a poor man can't survive in a world were wealth and power is everything.'
Zach had always been struggling with financial difficulties ever since he was a kid, his dad passed away before he could recall anything.
Ever since he could remember it was his mom that worked as a transporter, that took care of him and his elder brother.
They weren't rich, and that was their only sin.
Zach's elder brother was only 14 when he started working in the fissure mining industry as a miner. A highly dangerous job, and for what?, measly change?.
Zach exited the towering building with a cardboard box in his hand filled with all his, 'failed experiments', dragging his feet through the street like a zombie.
Onlookers and passerbys threw side glances at him, some with pity, others with disgust.
His clothes were worn, his fair skin had turned red because of the heat rays of the sun, and his dark grey eyes were decorated with dark bags underneath.
*Ring* *Ring*
Something vibrated in Zach's coat pocket.
He pulled out the object witch looked like a digital stop watch.
'Sigh.. not this guy again..' he sighed internally as he looked at the matrix displayed on the digital phone in his pocket.
His shaky hand clicked the click the metallic botton and with a clicking sound a voice rang through the phone.
"Hi doc.." Zach tried to sound ecstatic but failed horribly.
"Zach, I'll go straight to the point " the voice spoke.
'Not even a 'hey how you doing?' or 'how's your mental health?' Just straight up business. Sigh.. Doctors are the worst' Zach internally shook his head.
"It's about your mom" Zach's face instantly turned serious as those words came through the phone.
"What happened?"
His voice turned frantic.
"..Is she ok?"
"Has her health improved?.."
The doctor on the other end sighed, "I'm afraid not Zachariah" his voice turned soft.
Zach's family counted on him to improve their financial situation, Zach was sent to the mystic arts university, one of the most prestigious and expensive colleges at the time.
*Everyone that graduation with a degree in mystic arts were rich* so they said but Zach couldn't see the reality, the corrupt government, and agencies that won't to make money off of interns.
The academy fees cut down their budget by so much and Zach wasn't going to do that to his family, but his mom and elder brother encouraged him.
Over the years he had worked his butt off and finally was able to get a scholarship half way through, saving their family a lot of money.
You might think that that would at least improve their financial situation, well it would've, if his mom didn't fall sick 2 months after.
All the money was been used for her treatment, and Zach had to do side jobs and sell a few illegal mystic drawings just to keep her heart monitor stable.
And now...
Zach watched helplessly at the corpse being loaded into the transport pod. In this world, proper funerals were exclusive only for the rich,while the insignificant others are thrown outside the city gates to rot.
Zach was uneasy knowing that his mothers corpse would be food for vultures, but what could he do.
The transport pod was loaded, containing his mother and a shit ton of dead people, being moved to the outskirts.
Zach looked at the vehicle until it was out of site, his eyes wet.
The doctor approached him with a solem expression placing a cold hand on Zach's shoulder.
"Sorry kid.." the old man muttered.
Zach gritted his teeth.
It hurt.
It really did.
His body shuddered uncontrollably as he sobbed, " it's okay doc.." his voice was shaky.
"Don't forget you're still owing the hospital 400 gold coi-"
"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!!" Zach snapped at the doctor.
The doctors perplexed face slowly turned into raged.
"You gold diggers" he spat through his teeth and stormed out of the hospital premises, while the doctor whispered something to the nurse behind him not even baring an ounce of regret.
Night quickly came. And the night sky casted a warm glow as Zach walked through a dimly lit alleyway, pipes steaming above him with a violent hiss.
He looked at his door, and a pile of paint brushes and papers scattered all over in front of his residence.
'rent past due'
The words were boldly written on the door frame.
Zach just hunched down at the door's entrance, gathering the pieces of paper, he placed it into his cardboard box as he sat down with his back leaning against the door.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, his body shuddered, and he curled up.
Sobs echoed.
"where did I go wrong?".
Was it his fault?.
Was it really?.
He wasn't born with wealth, he followed the trends.. he read, he studied, and he couldn't even pay his rent?.
"Look at what we have here..." A ridged voice rang out.
'oh God.. Can't I catch a break!..'
Zach's lazily glannced at the thugs in the distance some held bats, some held metal bars.
Zach stood up, staggering, slowly, he looked at the group in front of him.
"What do you what with me?" He asked with a cold stare, his fist clenched as he left foot positioned itself behind him.
A burly guy twice his size stepped forward, "you stepped on the wrong tail boy.." he cracked his neck.
"Must be a pretty long tail to be stepped on that easily..", he rolled his eyes.
The brutes face lit red with anger "cocky huh?." The brute grinned " see how well you talk when I dislocate your jaw" the brute shrugged like it was just another day on the job.
"You know, most people actually buy me dinner before threatening me, oh I forgot.." Zach paused as he pondered out loud, angering the brute even more.
"I'll kill you kid..". He finally had enough.
"Oh no he's gonna hurt me, should I faint now or later". Zach openly taunted with a straight face.
Zach positioned himself.
"I wasn't the second best genius fighter at the academy for nothing.