The Cursed Soul Reaper

Now, to the humans that had been left behind, the Land of Ruins was seen as a treasure trove housing various artifacts and important jewelry and technology that could be sold on the market if found. Although, now that centuries had passed since the Yofou were defeated and most of the humans left, the ruins had been mostly wiped clean of anything useful or valuable. That was why the job of Scavenger was slowly being weeded out by parents and guardians who warned their kids that there was no future in that path.

If Harry's grandmother found out that he was working as a Carrier with Judy, she would pull his ear and shout at him to not waste his life. Harry wouldn't blame her for doing that. From what he could see, the scavenger occupation only had about half a decade left before it could no longer sustain itself. There was only so much treasure to be found in this one city, and once all of the treasure had been found and sold, there would be no need for the Scavengers in the Lower Valley anymore.

'I won't be surprised if some of them haven't already begun stealing from their fellow scavengers. I should keep my eye open out there.'

Harry thought this while looking around at the tough-looking men and women surrounding him. If he got into a fight with them for treasure, then he might not be able to win without a weapon. Harry decided in his heart that the first thing he would do once he was inside the Ruins was to find anything to use as a weapon.

Most scavengers had to take on other odd jobs on the side just to make ends meet if they didn't find anything valuable in the ruins, but today, the square was packed due to the emergence of the new ruins and the promise of new treasure to be found.

"Hey, get out of the way."

A female voice called out from behind Harry, making him turn his head to see who it was that was talking to him. A young girl that was around his age was frowning at him with her hands on her hips. She was dressed in a similar manner to most of the other Scavengers. Cargo pants, boots, a jacket, and a pickaxe on her utility belt, but all of the things she wore seemed to be one size too big for her, and it made Harry wonder if she had stolen them from someone else. She had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail behind her and a face that reminded Harry of Terence.

"Rachael. What are you doing?"

Terence suddenly pushed Harry to the side as he grabbed the girl by her arm and pulled her closer! The girl frowned up at Terence and immediately tried to pull her hand away from his hold!

"Dad said I could come with you to the ruins! So here I am!"

"Dad!? Dad doesn't get a say in this! It's not like he brings any fucking money home! I told you no, and that's the end of that! And what are you doing wearing my clothes!? Did you enter my room, you rat!"

Rachael stomped her foot on the ground angrily as she struggled in Terence's grip for a few seconds before she finally managed to free herself from him and stepped back! She glared at Terence while massaging her throbbing arm.

"I don't care if you try to stop me! You started going into the ruins when you were my age, so why can't I go!? I just want to make money!"

"You can't go because you're a girl and I say you can't do it! You'll go back home and put my things right back where you found them! If I come home and anything's missing, you're not getting dinner!"

Rachael's eyes watered like she was about to cry, and she used her hand to clear her eyes roughly before turning to stomp away!

"I hate you!"

"You didn't hate me when you were eating the chicken I bought yesterday!"

"Shut up!"

Terence clicked his tongue in irritation before turning away from his sister and back at his group. He glared at them all.

"What are you all looking at? Stop staring and check your damn inventory. It's almost time."

The boys all turned away and began to check their inventory and utility belts to make sure they had everything. Judy called Harry over and told him that they had to go rent the bags that they would use to carry the stuff they found, and they walked over to a Scavenger store at the side that was selling various tools and storage bags.

Judy pulled out two silver coins with clear edges and the image of the solar system etched into the front, and Harry's memories supplied the name of the currency: Sol.

The Sol has been the universally used means of transaction ever since The Discovery a thousand years ago. There were no more paper prints. The dollar was the most dominant currency at the time of The Discovery, so dollars were used as the foundation for evaluating the worth of a Sol. Today, a silver Sol was the equivalent of a dollar, with a golden Sol being worth a hundred silver Sols.

They rented two brown backpacks and joined back with the group just as the time approached for them to enter the ruins. Terence led them all toward the gate, and Harry followed behind the rest of them with Judy walking beside him.

As they went, Harry's eyes glanced to the side of the gate where a hooded figure was peeking out from behind one of the stores. It was Rachael, and Harry knew that she was going to sneak through the gate with them once they passed, but it wasn't any of Harry's business. Harry was not the sort of person who enjoyed poking his nose in other people's family spats.

Harry just waited for Terence to finish showing his ID to the guards, and then they all walked through the gates and into the Land of Ruins.

…

The Land of Ruins was a landscape that did justice to its name. For as far as the eye could see, down towards the edge of the world where the setting sun was slowly casting its shadows, there was nothing but ruins.

Toppled buildings and fallen monuments decorated the landscape in rocks and stone, remnants of an age-long past, with great trees and massive vines holding down the structures as nature slowly began to reclaim what was once its own. 

Skyscrapers that would've once towered high into the sky now leaned against one another in heaps, forming intricate patterns of inner passageways and dangerous walkways between buildings that added to the danger of the ruins.

The sun was already low in the sky, and before long, it would be night. The ruins were relatively safe, even at night, so the children didn't have to worry about anything attacking them in the dark. There were other scavenger groups that entered the ruins together with Harry's group.

They were all standing on a large platform that overlooked the wide expanse of the ruins, and although they would normally all separate in different directions to try and find artifacts in different parts of the Land of Ruins, today there was only one place all of them were interested in, so the large group ended up moving in the same relative direction.

Terence spoke up to his group while grabbing something out of one of the pockets in his utility belt.

"It's going to be dark soon. Make sure you have your night vision goggles and torches ready. I'm not going to come back to look for anyone if they get lost, so follow the red flare in your goggles."