Ignoble, thin Harry Potter exited the orphanage, holding a pickaxe on which his misery and hardship lay crossed. The Sun had just risen, spreading its orange-purple light across the sky and creating a picturesque scene. Yet Harry spent only a moment to appreciate its beauty, before preparing himself for the day that awaited him.
He was 17 this year, though he didn't look the part. He was skinny and short, scrawny and stunted. On his head was a mop of messy hair that covered a curious scar located on his forehead, shaped like a lightning bolt. He didn't know how he got the scar, but it had always been on his forehead.
'I hate my life,' Harry sighed as he made his way towards the mines. As far as he could remember, his life was misfortune after misfortune.
The first misfortune occurred when he was not even two years old. One night, someone had murdered his father. His mother fought the intruder off, but both his mother and the assailant disappeared, with no bodies ever being found. No one even knew who the assailant was – making it a complete dead-end case.
It was followed immediately by the second misfortune.
After that night, he was dropped off at an orphanage. Specifically, Wool's Orphanage, located in the poorest areas of Crystal Mine City.
Crystal Mine City was a small city built around a number of eponymous Qi Crystal mines. Living in the city were a few thousand people whose livelihoods depended on mining and selling the Qi Crystals produced. Over time, these people had formed a number of loose organizations, one of which was Wool's Orphanage.
In reality, calling Wool's Orphanage an orphanage would be stretching its definition. True, it did offer orphans a place to live and food to eat. But it also employed them – shelter and meals were provided at a cost of 20 Qi Crystals a day. An orphan who didn't meet the quota was an orphan who went hungry. It was the perfect reflection of the cruel nature of the world.
Nonetheless, Wool's Orphanage was a necessary organization in Crystal Mine City. Orphans were all too common here, and without it, they would all starve to death.
And as for the third, fourth, and next few thousand misfortunes, Harry had long lost count. As far as he was concerned, every day spent in the wretched mines was one of them.
After a short walk, Harry reached the entrance of the mines and stepped inside. It was a gloomy cave, which stretched deep and far into the ground. Even though the lighting provided by the torches was poor, Harry navigated it like the back of his hand.
Some twists and turns later, he reached the area he had left last night. It was a high-risk area, as the workers had not yet reinforced this section of the cavern with the wooden supports. As a result, few people wished to mine here due to the danger of a cave-in.
But mining in this area also had its benefits. With fewer people here, there was less competition over the Qi Crystals. In a lawless area like Crystal Mine City, it was common for disputes to occur and fights to break out. Especially orphans, who had no support, were a frequent target of the miners from other organizations.
It hadn't always been like this. Harry could still recall the times of relative peace, back when making a living hadn't been as difficult. For the most part, people would mind their own business, and leave Harry and the other orphans alone.
It had all changed a few years ago. For the past few decades in Crystal Mine City, the largest organization was Grunnings Drill Company. After the head of Grunnings passed away, a man named Vernon Dursley became the new head. Under his rule, Grunnings aggressively grew in size, forcing the other mining organizations to disband and join Grunnings through various underhanded means.
In a few years, Grunnings grew to control nearly 80% of the mining business of Crystal Mine City. As for the other 20%, they were comprised of small groups like Wool's Orphanage, which were too trivial to enter Vernon Dursley's notice.
However, that didn't mean Wool's Orphanage didn't feel its effects.
Before Vernon Dursley assumed command, there had been a balance of power between the large mining organizations. At that time, Crystal Mine City could be considered a somewhat lawful area, with rules set in place to maintain a sense of fairness. For example, certain mines belonged to certain groups, which was vital for the orphans of Wool's Orphanage, as it ensured they had a place to work.
But after Vernon became in charge, and the large mining organizations all merged into Grunnings, the rules of Grunnings became the rules of Crystal Mine City. Furthermore, Vernon imposed strict quotas upon his workers, some as high as 50 Qi Crystals a day. And mining was only one way to get Qi Crystals – it was easier to just steal them from someone weaker. Such as an orphan.
Just last week, a group of workers from Grunnings Drill Company had robbed hundreds of Qi Crystals from some orphans returning from the mines. The orphans had no power to resist, and the matron of Wool's Orphanage, a horrid woman named Ms. Cole, didn't care for their excuses.
Needless to say, it was best for an orphan to keep a low profile. Hence, Harry worked in the most deserted areas of the mines.
Lifting his pickaxe above his head, Harry swung it at the cavern wall, starting the day's work.
The process of mining Qi Crystals, in theory, was very simple. One swung his pickaxe at the cavern wall to dislodge large boulders, and then broke the boulders apart to find Qi Crystals. Qi Crystals were translucent rocks, which contained dense amounts of Qi packed inside. They ranged in size, some the size of a pebble, others the size of a fist. They emitted a soft silvery light, making them easily identifiable from ordinary rocks.
However, the actual mining process was more complicated. There was no way to tell if a rock contained a Qi Crystal without smashing it apart.
There were cases of small rocks that contained dozens of tightly packed Qi Crystals, there were also cases of massive boulders that didn't contain a single Qi Crystal. Therefore, the mining process always involved an element of luck.
Around half an hour later, Harry managed to knock out a large boulder, which crashed to the ground with a loud BANG. Wiping the sweat off his face, he began attacking it.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With practiced strokes, the boulder split down the middle, revealing two silver objects inside.
'Two Qi Crystals, not bad,' Harry thought, before swinging his pickaxe to break up the two halves. But to his disappointment, no other Qi Crystals were found amongst the ruins. Setting the two aside, he began loading the smashed bits of rock into one of the nearby wheelbarrows. At the end of the day, they would be carted out of the mines.
With his years of experience in the mines, he was usually able to complete his quota a bit after noon, which was when he would eat his first meal of the day. At this point, most of the orphans would waste the rest of the day away, finding ways of amusing themselves in Crystal Mine City.
But Harry was different. When Harry completed his quota and ate his fill, he returned to the mines.
Qi Crystals were valuable mainly because they were the standard currency in the Scarlet Phoenix Empire. There were thousands of small cities like Crystal Mine City that produced the raw materials to supply the empire's entire economy.
However, Qi Crystals had another use. They could be used for cultivation.
Cultivation was the process of understanding and using magical force. In this world, cultivation and strength were everything. The strong ruled, and the weak were ruled. That was the way of life since ancient times.
It was everyone's dream to become a strong cultivator, but reality was cruel. Especially in a backwater place like Crystal Mine City, most people had long given up on such thoughts.
Yet, Harry was not one of those people. He wanted nothing more than to leave this wretched orphanage, leave these cursed mines, leave the forsaken Crystal Mine City, and head into the wider world. Most of all, he longed to find his mother.
15 years ago, he was dropped off at Wool's Orphanage with only two things on his body.
One was a note, which said his name was Harry Potter, his father was murdered, and that his mother was missing, presumed dead. There was no other information on the note – it didn't even mention their names.
The second item was a necklace, which he had worn for his entire life. It was a simple loop of string, with a small decoration hanging off it. The decoration was made of red metal, and shaped into a bird with its wings outstretched, resembling a scarlet flame.
Other than those items, and the clothes on his body, there was nothing else. No one had seen who dropped him off, and the note was unsigned. Harry's background was a complete and utter mystery.
The note had said his mother was missing, not that she was dead. So, Harry had held onto the hope that she was alive, and convinced himself that his mother was out there somewhere. However, he knew his parents weren't from Crystal Mine City, as no one here was surnamed Potter.
Therefore, if he wanted to resolve the mystery of his parents, he had to travel elsewhere. He didn't care if he had to question everyone in the empire to find his mother. Even if his quest was ultimately a waste of time, it at least gave him a purpose, and it was better than working in the mines for a lifetime.
But, in order to realize those dreams, he had to cultivate. With his measly strength, he could barely maintain a livelihood in Crystal Mine City. And Crystal Mine City was one of the weakest locations in the Scarlet Phoenix Empire, which was a massive empire filled with strong cultivators.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Another rock was split apart, this time revealing four glittering Qi Crystals. Harry set those aside and once again began attacking the wall.
A few hours later, his pile of Qi Crystals had doubled in size.
By midday, he was thoroughly exhausted. But in front of him were 20 sparkling Qi Crystals.
Wiping the sweat off his head, he cleaned the broken rock bits around him and gathered the Qi Crystals into his sack. He swung it over his shoulder and headed towards the cave entrance.
He was in a good mood, as he had completed his daily quota earlier than expected. After his meal he'd return to mining and –
His good mood vanished the moment he saw the people loitering outside the cave.
They were a group of five teenagers, around Harry's age. In the middle was Dudley Dursley, the son of Vernon Dursley. Surrounding him was his gang of bullies, Gordon, Malcolm, Piers, and Dennis.
Dudley's gang frequently robbed Qi Crystals from the orphans. The orphans were their favorite target, as most didn't even dare to fight back. Offending Dudley was the same as offending Vernon, and no one, especially not the orphans, dared to offend Vernon.
And out of the orphans, Harry was their favorite target.
"Hehe, Doggy Potter. Good harvest today?" Dudley smirked as he saw Harry head out the cave.
"Good afternoon," Harry responded politely. But inside, he cursed his bad luck.
"You know why we're here, don't you?"
"If you want Qi Crystals, there are plenty in the mines. With the five of you, I'm sure you could get some in no time."
"But why should we do that?" Piers sneered. "We can just take yours."
The rest of the gang loudly laughed.
"Don't you feel ashamed of yourselves?" Harry tried, in a last-ditch effort to save his crystals. "You are all at the 4th level of the Body Tempering Realm, and Dudley, you are at the 5th. I'm only at the 2nd level. Besides, you took all my crystals three days ago."
"Haha, ashamed?" Dudley guffawed. "Why would we feel ashamed? And so what if we took your crystals three days ago? You should thank us for not taking them yesterday."
"Right, right," Malcolm chimed in. "The winner is the king, the loser is the bandit. Just hand over the crystals, and we'll spare you a beating."
"I'm not handing them over," Harry snapped. He had worked hard all morning to get these crystals, how could he just give them away?
"We gave you a chance, but it's a pity you didn't take it. We'll be taking them by force!"
Dudley leapt forward and threw a punch. Harry raised his arm to block it.
Fights between cultivators were affected by a great number of factors, but generally, a lower-level cultivator couldn't defeat a higher-level cultivator. It was rare to find a cultivator who could; those who could perform such feats were referred to as geniuses.
But Harry was no genius. He couldn't even beat other cultivators at the 2nd level, much less fight against those a level above. How could he beat Dudley, who was at the 5th level?
Each level of the Body Tempering Realm allowed the cultivator exert a few dozen kilograms of strength. Someone at Dudley's level could lift small boulders, if Dudley bothered to work in the mines, he could mine Qi Crystals far faster than Harry could. Besides, Harry was already exhausted from mining.
As such, Harry's arm was swatted aside like paper, and the rest of Dudley's punch landed solidly on his chest. The force was enough to send him tumbling backwards. He landed on his side, panting for breath as the wind was knocked out of him.
'The gap between the 2nd and 5th level is too large,' Harry cursed as he struggled to get back up.
Just as Harry got back on his feet, Dudley reappeared in his vision.
Wham!
Another fist landed on his chest. Harry felt like a rock had been smashed into his body, and once again tumbled onto the ground.
Gritting his teeth, he got up again, only to be struck right in the stomach. Immediately, he was back down on the ground.
The pummeling continued, the cycle repeating itself over and over. Dudley would hit him, Harry would fall to the ground with a fresh injury, and the moment he got up, he'd be sent back down.
Cursing his life, Harry struggled back onto his feet. He turned his head, searching for where Dudley had vanished to, and then –
Dudley's foot landed right in the center of his back, sending him crashing right into the ground. He tasted the bitter dirt and dry grass.
"Haha hahahahaha!" Dudley's gang laughed and jeered, throwing clumps of dirt at Harry's prone body.
Mustering all of his remaining strength, Harry got back up.
What happened next was completely unexpected. Just as he got into a standing position, Harry was struck by a spasm of pain and lost his balance. In a desperate attempt to reclaim it, he wildly stuck his legs out. Meanwhile Dudley, not expecting Harry to fall, overshot and tripped over his outstretched leg. The result was that both Harry and Dudley landed in a heap, faces in the dirt.
There was dead silence.
Harry scrambled to his feet, backing up as quickly as he could.
"POTTER!"
"I-I-I didn't mean to –"
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
Enraged, Dudley leapt up and shot towards Harry, releasing all the strength in his body.
'I'm screwed,' Harry thought in terror. He now realized that Dudley was just toying with him earlier. The punch coming his way was like an unavoidable rock aimed at his head.
A fist landed on his nose, caving his face in, and painting it with blood. Another landed on his stomach. Thankfully, he had not eaten yet.
The combined force of the two hits propelled his body ten meters away, and he sailed through the air like a ragdoll. Landing on his back, he opened his eyes just in time to see the bottom of a shoe –
STOMP!
He screamed as his already throbbing nose was broken even more, and then screamed again when the next foot landed on his chest. Over and over, Dudley kicked him, like how a child might kick a ball, until he was panting on the grass and coughing up blood. The grass beneath him was stained red.
There was a loud CRACK as Dudley stomped on his right thigh, and another CRACK as Dudley stomped on his left thigh.
"That's what you get," Dudley spat on his face. "Serves you right. Spiritless Orphan, my father will hear about how you injured me."
Dudley kicked him a few more times, breaking a few more bones until he was satisfied, and Harry slipped into unconsciousness as the pain became too much to bear.
