World's Last Hope-Chapter 89: Faint Hope

A loud knock woke him up.

"Dear, it is time to get up."

Kyle grunted as he stood up. "Didn’t I just go to sleep a second ago?"

Quickly dressing himself, he exited his room.

"Good morning," he spoke as he glanced at his family.

"Good morning," his sister and mother answered in unison.

His father was sleeping on one of the chairs.

’I wanted to talk with him... but I guess he is too tired. Better not wake him up,’ Kyle thought as he quietly sat on the chair and began to eat his dry bread.

After he was done, he said goodbye to his family and went to work.

He took a deep breath, so early in the morning, the air was pleasant on the lungs, so he was going to take advantage of it as much as he could. After all, in the mines, his lungs were working overtime. As such, they deserved a little break from time to time.

"Oh? You are actually on time," his boss said as he glanced at Kyle.

Kyle didn’t respond as he took one of the pickaxes and went into the mine.

His hands hurt. He was using very old gloves that had multiple holes in them. As such, just holding the pickaxe’s wooden handle was enough to damage his hands.

He brought it down, and a few chunks of silver fell on the ground. Not minding them, he continued to mine silently.

His ears hurt. Each time the pickaxe hit the ore, it produced a loud sound. Because he had been exposed to such loud sounds for so long, he had trouble hearing. When he talked with somebody, which was rare in itself, they had to almost shout so he could hear them.

Sweat poured down from his forehead and dripped down his face.

Kyle grimaced as he knew he was going to take a shower later, meaning he would have even less time for sleeping.

’Let’s just get it over with,’ he thought as he brought down his pick again.

It was the middle of the day, so it was time for lunch. This was probably the only thing that Kyle loved about the job—the lunch.

He sat at an empty table and looked at the food.

A warm potato and a small bowl of soup. Sadly, it wasn’t Monday, which was the only time in the week they gave them meat, but Kyle didn’t mind as he quickly devoured the food.

After he was done, his stomach growled. He was still hungry. Working in the mines for so long meant that he had a lot of muscle mass that required food, but due to his financial situation, he was never satisfied. There was always hunger present in his stomach.

’I want to take a rest,’ he thought as he leaned back in his chair. Having nothing better to do, he decided to eavesdrop on the other workers in the mines.

They, unlike him, seemed to have the energy for conversations.

"Hey, have you heard the rumor?"

"What rumor?"

"Apparently there has been another person sent by the gods!"

The man grunted. "And so what? There have been what? Thousands of them? Yet all of them turned out to be next to useless!"

"That’s the thing, though!" the other man spoke. "Apparently, he went into the Death Zone, returned as a master, and managed to evolve two others into Grandmasters!"

Raising an eyebrow, the man spat. "I doubt it. But even if that is true, how does that concern us in any way?"

With a scoff, the other answered, "It means that we have conquered two cathedrals. As such, the gods should have awakened! Meaning there is a possibility that we might awaken!"

"Wouldn’t that be nice..." Kyle smiled as he looked up at the sky.

’Awakening... dying in the Death Zone... At this point, I will take anything rather than staying in this hellhole.’

He had rested enough, so he returned to the mines. The 100-kilogram quota wasn’t going to mine itself.

*****

Kyle was barely able to stay on his legs but pushed through anyway. He opened the entrance door and returned home.

There, his mother was waiting for him.

Another day had passed.

He got up, worked, collapsed.

He got up, worked, collapsed.

He got up, worked, collapsed.

Over and over and over.

"FUCK!" He brought down his fist, hitting one of the rocks in the mine.

As tears fell from his eyes, he managed to mutter, "Is that all I’m going to do my whole life?"

A few nearby workers saw him but didn’t approach him or try to cheer him up.

This was a daily occurrence in the mines—people slowly losing their minds.

Only the strongest remained.

*****

It was morning, and something rare had happened—Kyle and his father were both awake at the kitchen table as they ate their breakfast.

Deciding to make use of the chance, Kyle asked, "Father... is there a point in all we do?"

His father raised his head and looked into the eyes of his son. "Survival. Ours and that of our family.

This is the most important. Everything else comes second."

Hearing his father’s words, Kyle looked at the ground in shame.

’My father works so much harder than me, and yet I’m the one thinking about giving up? That’s quite pathetic.’

’Family... It is indeed important.’

He was about to ask another question, but something interrupted him.

He let go of the piece of bread he was holding.

His father’s eyebrows furrowed. "We don’t have a lot of food, Kyle. Don’t waste it."

But Kyle didn’t pay him any attention as he stared at a hologram in front of his eyes and heard a voice.

[You have been chosen by the gods]

[You have awakened] 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Before he realized it, his face was drenched in tears.

His father spoke, his voice clearly concerned. "Son? Is something wrong? Talk to me."

Kyle shifted his gaze to his father, his voice shaking in disbelief as he spoke. "I have awakened."