Money

Bringing his hands in front of his face, Aether proceeded to cover it and roughly rub it. By the time he was finished, the depressed smile on his features had changed to a carefree one.

Getting up on his feet, he pressed the button to allow entry and walked to the entrance. After waiting for a few seconds, he saw the guilt-filled Mei enter the house.

Seeing her evade eye contact, the smile on Aether’s face grew even brighter. “My, my if it isn’t our resident deceiver. Welcome back! Please come in.” His tone grew more and more exaggerated as he continued to talk.

Hearing his words, Mei felt a terrible feeling fill her chest. Her head stayed bowed while her shoulder began to faintly tremble.

“I-I’m… sorry,” she quietly said.

“Hmm? What was that? Did you say something? I didn’t hear it.” Aether’s smile remained on his face while he put his hands on his waist and leaned in closer.

This time, Mei’s shoulder began to tremble more evidently while her shaking voice grew more pronounced. In a sobbing tone, she apologised, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied and hidden the truth from you. It’s just… It’s just… I didn’t want to… cause you… anymore… burden.” Her sobbings grew louder.

While Aether took special care to not burden Mei with information about their finances and about how many jobs or what jobs he worked to provide for them, as an intelligent kid, she was more or less aware of the hardships borne by her older brother. While she could rationally understand that it was unavoidable, her kind and prideful heart couldn’t remain uncaring and unburdened.

And the more that he pampered her and worked hard to provide for her growing needs, the heavier her heart felt. Other people might be able to pass such a life in quiet ignorance but to Mei, such a life caused her unparalleled guilt.

They say that children who grow up in poverty mature faster than their peers. While this saying might not be true in all accounts, it was certainly the case with Mei.

Wiping her tears, she lowered her head further and spoke with a resolute tone, “I’m sorry. You can punish me as you see fit.” She then braced herself.

Having closed her eyes, Mei faintly felt the shadow of her older brother in front of her grow taller. She felt his hand reach over and approach her head. Just as she prepared herself for her punishment by stiffening her body, she felt Aether’s hand land on her head.

Roughly ruffling her hair, Aether clicked his tongue in discontent and said, “Geez, you sure know how to kill the mood, huh? How am I supposed to be satisfied now?”

“Huh?” Mei raised her head in confusion. Her eyes were immediately filled with Aether’s smiling face.

“Shitty brat. If you’ve already broken down crying before I could begin my teasing, how am I supposed to gain satisfaction from your tears?”

Clenching his other fist, he faced the roof with a distant gaze and profoundly said, “True satisfaction is derived from the effort that one puts into something. The satisfaction that comes without any effort put in is not true satisfaction!”

“Now then,” he turned to face Mei, “this time, you’re going to face me with a more rebellious attitude. I’m going to say something like ‘How dare you lie to me?!’, to which you’re going to reply, ‘Go to hell! I can do whatever I want!’, and then we run around in a little chase, I catch you, you struggle, I smack your bottom a few times while saying, ‘Dare do this again!?’ while you say something like, ‘Die! Die you, shitty brother!’ Taking a pause, he finished, “Do you get the picture that I’m painting here?

Feeling utterly baffled, Mei asked speechlessly, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“See, that’s more like you,” Aether replied in satisfaction. He then ruffled her hair once again, and spoke a bit seriously, “Do you remember our deal?”

Mei looked at him in a daze for a second before biting her tongue and nodding her head quietly.

“I’ll work hard and do everything to provide for your education. In exchange, once you land a well-paying job in the future, you’ll take care of this old, sickly brother of yours and indulge him with his fancies,” Aether repeated the promise brokered between the two siblings. Tapping her on her head, he asked, “If you remember, then what the hell are you still feeling guilty for? You’re not intending on reneging from our promise are you?”

He put on a sad puppy-dog-like expression on his face.

“No!” Mei instantly rebutted, feeling disgusted from seeing Aether’s expression. He always seemed to know just what buttons to push to annoy someone.

“Then there’s no problem here!” Satisfied at Mei’s recoil, a cheeky smile covered Aether’s face. Removing his hand from her head, he turned around and walked into the kitchen.

“Let’s eat. I’m starving!”

Watching her brother’s tall, broad back as he carefreely waltzed towards the kitchen, Mei once again recalled how fortunate she was. She had lost both her parents at a very young age causing her to have no memories of them. However, she had never once felt wanting of them.

For as long as she could recall, her older brother had always been there for her. He had always been there protecting her, cherishing her, and showering her with all the love that a person could ever want.

To Mei, there was nothing more important than her older brother. He was her hero.

While she stood at the foyer’s entrance with a faint smile on her face, she heard Aether’s voice from the kitchen.

“Though, I can’t help but wonder! What exactly was your plan in not telling me the truth? Did you hope that it would somehow just disappear or that everyone would suddenly forget about it?”

Following that he continued with a mocking tone, “I didn’t know that you were this naive and dumb, dear little Mei. I’m suddenly feeling worried about your upcoming promotion exam. Is there still time for me to back out from our deal?”

Every sentence that he spoke caused Mei to physically crumble from shame. Unable to hold in her embarrassment any longer, she flew towards the kitchen with a flying kick while screaming.

“DIE YOU, SHITTY BROTHER!”

“Hey! I’m next to the stove. Don’t attack– ARGH!”

---

Next Day.
Outside the Sacred Hearts White Angel Girl’s Academy, St. Victor’s Street. District 4.

Exiting the gates of Mei’s school, Aether pressed the button-like device held inside his left hand and caused the holographic screen to appear. Seeing the number displayed on the screen, he instantly felt depressed.

[Account Balance: 72,304 credits]

“Money has no value,” he mocked. Sighing, he shook his head and muttered, “Man, what a shitty start to a wonderful day.”

Turning his mask-wearing head to face the dark clouds-filled, endlessly roiling with the lightning, sky, and said, “At least the weather seems nice.”

In this withered city filled with pollution, garbage and sin, a slightly calm sky was the sign of good weather. After all, the netizens of District 4 had never seen a sky that wasn’t filled with ominous black clouds or constantly flickering thunder.

“Let’s go to my usual spot. I don’t feel like working today.” Saying so to himself, Aether began his journey to his place of relaxation. After everything that had happened last night, he felt that he deserved a day to himself.

---

The journey to Aether’s ‘relaxation spot’ consisted of an hour-long monorail ride, a thirty-minute walk, a ten-minute trek through an unexcavated wasteland, and a twenty-minute vertical climb of a steel ruined building that had definitely seen some better days.

Grabbing onto the ledge that was relatively free of rust, Aether pulled himself up and landed on the dust-filled floor. The instant he landed with a heavy thud, the ground beneath him started to shake.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy, little guy,” he addressed the inanimate object. Taking great care to not accidentally fall and restart the twenty-minute-long climb, Aether finally relaxed when he felt the shaking settle.

“That’s better,” he breathed out in relief, causing two streams of white-coloured air to whoosh from his mask. “Even you are getting older, huh? Tell me about it.”

Walking ahead, he shortly arrived at an open space surrounded by fallen debris and rusted metal bars. The place that he currently was in was an abandoned building that was located in the far north of District 4. In the past, this place used to be one of the settlement zones of District 4 for the upper-middle and lower-upper class netizens. Unfortunately, for some reason not known to Aether the place had been abandoned and his building, and many others like this, had fallen into ruin.

Ever since accidentally coming across this place some eight or so years ago during one of his odd jobs, Aether designated it as his ‘relaxation point’. With not a single soul here, there were no overcrowded streets, no constantly clinking machinery, and none of the predatorial, corporate soul-sucking that was otherwise so, so common within the more populated parts of the city.

Out here in the faraway wastelands, it was only him, his thoughts, and the thundering naked sky above his head.

Watching an enormous bolt of lightning flash followed by an equally enormous peal of thunder, Aether remarked with a smile while reclining against a broken wall. “Yeah, you tell ‘em, big sky.” It was a terrible pun, but Aether felt very satisfied with his humour.

Time passed as Aether spent the moments in simple thoughtlessness. He did nothing, thought about nothing, and worried about nothing.

After an unknown amount of time, Aether slowly opened his eyes and stared at the distant sight in front of him. A complex smile appeared on his face as he spoke. “Look at that. Standing as upright and steadfast as ever.”

The building that Aether had chosen as his rest spot was one of the buildings in the outer circle of this distant wasteland. In other words, there was nothing in front of this building that blocked Aether’s view of the area in front of him. Having said that, it wasn’t like it mattered too much either.

For nothing could block the thing that filled his vision.

In the far, far, distant distance away from Aether stood a great wall.

A wall, so tall that it pierced into the lightning-filled heaven itself.

A wall, so wide that it stretched endlessly, covering a distance farther than what one could ever hope to see.

The ash-grey walls that reached the skies and covered the earth had a wide moat, a few kilometres in width, separating it from the wastelands that followed. The contents of the moat remained unseen from where Aether currently was, but judging from the toxic plumes of gas rising in the distance, he could guarantee that it was nothing pleasant.

As for the wall itself, its surface seemed to be built out of a combination of concrete and metal rendering it not only unscalable but also unassailable. This was true for Aether had read some records of the past where the citizens of District 4 had tried attacking the great wall once and failed to leave a single mark on it. Not heavy artillery or beam weaponry left a single scratch on its smooth surface.

As for why they had attacked only once in the past? Well, the retribution that followed as punishment for this attempt marked the bloodiest chapter in the history of District 4. Since then, even the most warmongering of tyrants decided to keep to themselves.

Moving on from that depressing part of history, what Aether’s eyes paid attention to wasn’t the poison-filled moat or the insurmountable wall. Instead, Aether’s eyes narrowed on the enormous white lettering that spelt out the name of that faraway palace.

EDEN.

That wall, or to be precise, beyond that wall laid the paradisiacal sanctuary that every citizen of District 4 hoped to reach in their life.

Beyond that wall lay Eden, where the skies were clear and blue, where water was clean and unrationed, where food consisted of more than just bland, tasteless nutrient blocks, and where life was an infinite times better than this poisonous hellscape that they called home.

Towards this place, Aether’s expression turned difficult and complex while his thoughts became unknown.

---

“That was a nice, relaxing session. If only I didn’t have this impending financial crisis hanging over my head, I’m sure it would’ve been better.” As usual, AEther began by cracking a few jokes.

While making his way down the ruined building, he continued to vocalise his thoughts.

“Let’s see. Mei’s Promotion Exam is one month away. All her outstanding dues have been settled and there shouldn’t be any further problems. Once she passes that exam, she will become a Level 3 citizen at a tender age of sixteen.”

“Level 3 citizens earn approximately 20,000 to 30,000 credits each month. That’s 240,000 to 360,000 credits of gross earnings per year. That much money will open up a lot of options for us. We could secure a loan from one of the registered loaners and move into a nicer place. Our food can finally move away from the bland junk that we’ve been eating for all these years and become something that has a resemblance to a proper meal. Our rationed quantity of water will increase from 10L to 160L! Water baths might no longer be a myth at that point.”

“Assuming that there aren’t any big, needy expenditures from that point, we should be able to live a decent life while repaying the full loan in twenty years. Maybe less. Of course, during this period it is very much possible that Mei finds someone she likes and settles down.”

His steps suddenly came to a halt as Aether realised an unprecedented problem that he had forgotten to take into consideration.

“Wait. When she marries and builds a nice family of her own, wouldn’t I become that stereotypical deadbeat uncle who doesn’t work and leeches off of his relatives, becoming an unceasing drain on the family’s funds while not contributing anything?” A sense of panic seized his heart. “How did I never think of this before!?!”

Aether felt his legs weaken a little. Grabbing the nearby wall for support, he calmed himself, “Calm down. Calm down, Aether.” Taking a few deep, filtered breaths to calm himself, he then continued, “Let’s do it like this. Once Mei finds a nice man and gets married, I’ll just move out, get a job, and live by myself. I’ll become the cool uncle that visits every so often with gifts that enthral my nephews and nieces, becoming their object of adoration.”

Feeling his heart settle, he decided, “Yeah, let’s do that. That’s much better.”

Resuming his walk, he continued his talk, “That’s going to be the standard plan should Mei become a Level 3 citizen. Now, if she were to become a Level 4 citizen instead…” The light in his eyes sharpened, “Her future would be much brighter and filled with many more opportunities. Just the difference in value between the two identities (Level 3 and Level 4) is astronomical.”

A Level 3 citizen was an above-average and slightly valued worker. While a Level 4 citizen was an ‘Essential’ worker whose value to society was unparalleled. To give an analogy to demonstrate this difference, a Level 3 citizen was equal to a rich commoner while a Level 4 citizen was equal to a noble!

Even the poorest of nobles still belonged to a different class compared to the commoner. And in this society, status was everything!

“The jobs that she will work, the people that she will meet, the opportunities that she will participate in, everything will belong to the highest circle of District 4. The potential for her future will quite literally be limitless.”

If given the option to choose between being ordinary and extraordinary, 99% of people would choose to become extraordinary. As someone who wanted to set up the best possible future for Mei, Aether was no exception.

Seriousness filling his handsome features, Aether resolutely decided, “There is no question. Mei has to become a Level 4 citizen. Only then will I be able to live free of regrets.”

Having come to a decision, Aether did not waste any more time meandering. He picked up his pace as he headed towards the inhabited zones, leaving behind the abandoned wasteland.

---

The descent was always quicker than the ascent. Following this logic, Aether arrived at the monorail station in almost half the time that it took him to reach his relaxation spot.

As he walked towards the station, he kept mumbling to himself in a low voice, “... 4 hours of sleep and a single meal every third day, I should be able to earn 900 credits per day. That over the three months I have to make the initial payment for the Level 4 citizenship course, I should be able to make the initial payment combined with everything that I already have. That’s a little over a third of the 340,000 credit tuition fee.”

“Still, even if I continue to follow that schedule, I will still not be able to make up the remaining difference within the allotted time. At that point, not only will Mei lose her chance at attaining Level 4 qualifications, even her Level 3 certification will be negatively affected. That cannot be allowed to happen.”

“3 hours of sleep and a single meal every fourth day? No, my body won’t be able to bear that. There will be no problems in the short term, but by week three there is a real chance of something going horribly wrong. I cannot afford to strain the finances any further by getting hospitalised.”

Arriving at the bottom of the station’s staircase, he let out a sigh and said, “Is there no other choice other than going to a loan shark? But with the ridiculous interest rate that they charge coupled with the base amount of my loan amount, I would effectively be signing away the next 30 years of my life as an indentured labourer. I’ll be living the life of a wage slave.”

A bitter smile appeared on his face. “Thirty years. That means that I’ll still be 56 at the end of my term, right? That’s not too late to start a life of relaxed living, right?”

“Augh, this is too depressing,” he shook his head and started to ascend the stairs of the station. Just as he was about halfway up, Aether’s keen ears picked up something.

“...5000 credits in just thirty minutes! Why not give it a try?”

Like a shark reacting to the scent of blood, Aether’s head immediately snapped in the direction of the voice announcing that message. His eyes narrowed as he immediately traced out the announcer amongst the crowd of people.

‘There!’ Vaulting over the metal handrail, he landed perfectly on the ground. Locking onto the announcer, Aether sprinted towards him.

“This old uncle over here, ah, I see it! You have the bone structure of a gifted martial artist! Why not give our challenge a try? Maybe YOU will walk away with the 5000 credit prize mone– hey! Careful!! Let me go, man!” The seventeen or eighteen years old youth announcing the message suddenly yelled in fright as he felt his bony body being grabbed by a stranger.

Grabbing the bony young man by his cuffs, Aether stared at him with avaricious eyes, and asked, “Is it true!? You can earn 5000 credits in just thirty minutes!? You’re not running a scam, are you!? ARE YOU!?!”

“No! Please let me go, man!” The bony youth cried, feeling himself being hoisted into the air.

Falling into a daze and recovering a short second later, Aether wore the best smile that a person could muster on his face. Of course, he had already forgotten that his mask would hide his features from the youth.

“Hahaha, I’m sorry. I just got a little excited at the mention of the prize money.” He let the youth down and helped him pat his cuffs. “There, there, it’s all fine now.”

“That’s some excitement you’ve got, man!” The bony youth exclaimed. “You’re one scary guy!”

“I’m just a little more excitable than others. Now, could you quickly tell me what this ‘challenge’ is and how I can earn that money?” asked Aether, locking his arm over the bony youth’s shoulders. It was as if he was afraid that the bony youth would disappear.

The bony youth, who was chock full of complaints against Aether, instantly felt a burst of goodwill towards him when he heard him ask about the challenge. Having spent more than half-a-day parading around and yet finding no takers for the challenge, he was more than happy to explain to the interested Aether.

“It’s really simple and won’t take you more than thirty minutes, man! All you have to do is beat my boss in a ‘1v1 Duel’ in the game ‘Pathfinders Ascent’ and you can take home the money. It’s that straightforward, man!”

“Pathfinders Ascent?” Hearing that unfamiliar name, Aether voiced his doubt to the bony youth.

It was starting from this exact moment that the course of Aether’s life changed forever.