He shook his head, snapping out of his reverie and glancing at the ring in his thumb. He had tried everything, but the ring had not responded; instead, it appeared to have returned to being a regular ring.
Only if the ring responds as it did half a decade ago, maybe I can analyze it and solve its mystery, Osa thought to himself.
Could the ring have responded in that way because I was in danger, I wondered. Do not tell me I have to put myself in danger for this ring to respond; the thought of it is enough to give me a headache. Who would want to put themselves in danger in order to validate their hypothesis? Forget it, he thought to himself, there ought to be a better way.
He got up, grabbed the broom he was using to sweep, and headed in the direction of his small house. Since turning sixteen, he has left the orphanage in search of employment, but he has only been able to settle down as a sweeper. John has even approached him and asked him to join his squad, but Osa declined, reasoning that he might still have time to awoken. However, he is sixteen years old and has not yet woken. Osa made the decision to give up and acknowledge that he is not destined to become a hybrid.
In an effort to repay the orphanage, he made the decision to hunt for employment so that he could continue to support the younger children living there. Unfortunately, Osa was only able to accept his current position despite his best efforts to find a better one. He had intended to look for work in a different city, but that would require funding because traveling outside of a city can be dangerous due to vicious hybrids whose human sides have been consumed by their beast sides, turning them into nothing more than beasts.
Traveling outside of the city is extremely difficult. Six years ago, $5000 was not a significant amount to him, but now, only gods know how long he would need to work to get that amount sign what a world he thought to himself. Osa estimated that he would need at least $5000 just to travel to Red City, which is his destination. Currently, Osa is paid $100 a month, of which half goes to the orphanage leaving only $50 with him.
When Osa arrived at his small hut, he threw the broom in the corner where he usually kept it and ran away from his hut. Since it was the end of the month, Osa was going to get his pay as normal.
Mr. Johnson is a well-known businessman in the South District; practically everyone knows him. He deals in a variety of goods, from the creation of supermarkets and other shopping centers to the smallest of things, like hiring drivers to use taxis and buying the vehicles—of course, on a monthly payment basis. Actually, Johnson's Corporation is ranked second only to the Merchant Guild, which supposedly has global roots.
Arriving in front of a skyscraper with the sign Johnson Transportation Osa stopped, he marveled at its height and opulence while thinking to himself, "Money is really good," before going inside. The security guards did not even stop him because they knew him from when he was sweeping the building, so seeing him here meant that the month was almost over.
Osa went straight to the secretary after entering the well-known building.
He said, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Clinton," as he approached the secretary.
Hello, Osa, and good afternoon. Mrs. Clinton answered
I take it you are here to get paid? Mrs. Clinton questioned
Yes, ma'am, osa responded embarrassingly.
Other than when sweeping, he only visits this place at the end of the month to pick up his pay.
Alright, Mr. Osa, this is the money. If it is okay with you, you can make sure it is complete.
Osa answered right away, "No, ma'am, it is definitely complete."
Mrs. Clinton responded with a kind grin.
Following his routine salary collection, Osa made the decision to visit the orphanage and give Mrs. Rose half of the money, putting the other half in his savings.
Once everything was sorted out, Osa was left with nothing. He signed as he pulled out the seal food he had purchased with the money John had given him the day before.
After eating, he decided to walk around because he did not have anything to do for the time being. When he got to the main road, even after seeing this scene, he could not help but gasp at the sight of the busy road, seeing cars of various models and sizes moving about, osa sign because he felt like not everyone is lacking like him, who barely has anything to eat at all. He shook his head and continued to walk, passing several stores and observing their sales. Osa was envious because he could not afford the things that people were purchasing, even if he were to save his entire salary for half of his life. He thought to himself, "Wait a minute, instead of me killing myself with work, why can not I just start stealing? At least it is much better and profitable than killing myself with work." He shook his head and grinned miserably, thinking that "Mom would kill me if she is still alive."
After walking around the southern district local market, osa decided to go back home because it was getting late, so he started walking towards the direction of his hut. On his way to his hut, he came across two guys, one was smoking and the other was trying to force himself on a young woman who was desperately trying to push him away but to no avail. When Osa saw this scene, he immediately ran to help the young woman while shouting to all the guards on duty, but he was immediately hit with a bottle in the head, causing his head to bleed profusely, but what really caught his attention was not the pain, but the strange ring on his thumb. Similar to how it did six years ago, it was shooting bright red light, and dozens of blood-red tentacles quickly emerged from it, entangling the two guys in an instant—not even the woman was spared.
After wrapping them, it began to drain their life force, and after a few minutes, all that remained of them was a dried-out corpse