"Yes, sir Edwards?"

The warden was a tall and broad man with a deep voice. He had bulging muscles, which indicated his immense strength, and he had an intimidating presence, much like a fierce snake. Most prisoners were afraid of him, and even I felt uneasy around him, despite having seen many fucked up things these past years.

I couldn't make out anything from the conversation between the director and the warden as it was too muffled and quiet. However, based on the bloodlust emitting from his grin and the side glances that he gave towards the soldier next to me, it was pretty much evident that he had put a target on his head.

With a small nod, the warden left as fast as he had appeared.

"Anyway, today we have hit a new kind of fortune dear pigs. A new part of a cave system has been discovered and the riches to be gained are endless, for us at least. If you provide the newly discovered materials for the generous republic, you dear pigs will get a taste of meat! How does that sound!" When he acted like he was generous, everybody automatically acted like he actually was. Otherwise, you would end up with either a sword or a bullet piercing your head.

After the half-assed cheer faded away, we were instructed to begin by the sound of a single gunshot from his pistol. The entrance to the mineshaft was located conveniently within the courtyard, and there were lockers available to store our equipment. In addition, there were general showers for all prisoners, although several chose to shower in the frequent rain instead. This was because of the contaminated water that often caused illness among many prisoners.

Now that we have been allowed to ease up, I stretched and prepared myself to go inside to work. Although I had an idea of how to escape, I had to wait for the perfect time to execute it, which was quite frustrating.

'I guess today won't be the day either.'

With a deep sigh, I entered the 5th locker room with all fifty numbered inmates having their supplies stored up there yet to my surprise, I immediately felt a strong push from the left side making me hit the edge of a locker. While the pain was manageable the thing that irked me more was that I was pushed by another inmate, another Evyne citizen. Anger filled me as I saw the group of four adult men ganging up on me.

"What was that for!" I shouted but then I saw him. It was the guy shouting in my ear a couple minutes earlier, a sly smirk visible on his and his companion's face.

"How fortunate that you are a fifty like us, dear friend, we have been waiting for you." He laughed deviously, his yellow teeth clearly showing.

"How pathetic that a grown-ass man gets this easily provoked by just a mere 'kid'," I said, returning his smile innocently. His face turned sour as if he looked at a bug. He then gave the order to attack.

"Teach him some manners boys, this kid has not experienced the world yet, let's give him a lesson hehehe."

They slowly started to advance, all of them with a wry smile that made me feel sick to the stomach.

'Do they actually think they can beat me?'

During my time on the streets of ruined Gierchen, I developed some shabby but effective enough fighting skills. And the place was pretty cramped with many random stuff lying around too.

'Maybe I can use those.'

As I was about to use a pickaxe as a weapon against a group of men, another man suddenly appeared behind them with his focus solely on the group. He unleashed a rapid barrage of punches that even surprised me with their speed. The afterimage of his previous hits and a red glow that enveloped his whole arms were evidence of his immense strength. The pickaxes, which were originally meant for mining, would probably have been of little use in such a fight but I guess I'll never know. There was something else that I saw as interesting now.

'He is using mana,' I thought in awe with the screams of pleading in the background.

'He is using mana,' My mind excitedly repeated. Because in my mind, I was ready to negotiate as the soldier I had met a few minutes earlier seemed to be the biggest possible asset I could gain in this hopeless situation.

A kick to the face, a punch in the stomach, and two throws ended the fight in what felt like an instant. The men were overpowered just like that. The one that beat them turned his gaze toward me. The other fifty numbered prisoners cheered him on.

'I will use the shit out of you,' I thought as I was trying to refrain from laughing out of pure joy.

"You alright, boy?" The man asked.

"I am fine; thank you so much for the help!"

If I wanted to get his attention, now would be the ideal time. There was one thing I had to take care of before I acted. He needed to be a capable mage. These folks were fodder, though I could've probably dealt with them. The guards are quite a notch stronger than these malnourished bandits.

As he was cleaning and wiping the blood off his hands I called out to him in hopes of learning more.

"You're pretty strong, old man! Isn't your mana restrained? I sensed it pretty clearly."

He turned around, his gaze showing some petty form of curiosity.

'Catching the bait, huh?'

"You can sense my mana even when I mask it?" He asked, his voice calm.

"Well, it's more of an assumption. Normally, a restrained old man wouldn't be able to just single-handedly crush four thugs like that. And the way our dear camp director looked at you made me question your rank. Are you perhaps a soldier?" I asked him, though the answer was obvious to me. I had to know if he was dumb enough to reveal it to me. He just laughed at me, seemingly not taking me seriously.

"If I am a knight? How does that benefit you?"

"It doesn't, I simply am curious about why a knight like you would be in the mines. Weren't they integrated into the army of the Isha kingdom?"
As I replied, he flinched. A smirk formed on my face. I knew exactly how to rub salt into his wound.

"Or are you against the vassal state of Evyne?" As expected, his expression immediately turned sour.

"You're pretty informed for just a mere brat. How does a kid like you get classified information that even a lower noble wouldn't know?" During my stay in Gierchen, Daniel had some business with some woman. She had talked about the plans to him in exchange for some service he offered. I was also busy during those times, which is why I never really pried into his work as long as we had enough to survive but he still told me.

"I have my ways. Anyway, you and your friends probably don't plan to stick around for long, right?"

"That is the case. We planned a vacation during the next few days."

This was it, the moment I've waited for. These guys will start a massive riot and try to break out, the perfect chance to slip away into the freedom I deserve.

As the knight and his goons grinned at me, my joy must have been visible on my face.

"Hahaha! Don't worry kid, if you stick to us, we'll get you out in no time!" One of the goons spurted out loud, and the others laughed happily.

"Of course! I will be by your side, and If you need any help, tell me!" I replied in an equally loud manner.

The perfect opportunity lit up in front of me. I surely couldn't just let this pass. Something like this is even better than trying to take out some guards in the mines.