Chapter 1: The Regression
Noverra, a world that once represented new beginnings, exploration, and a powerful burst of power, just like a supernova.
It was a new planet that everyone from Earth transmigrated onto in the year 2700 after their original planet ran out of its resources in the year 2500 due to greed and the endless pursuit of greater advancement, thus prompting everyone to abandon it in search of a new home.
However, just like Earth, over the years, Noverra's resources quickly dwindle under the regime of the great and powerful organization Nexus.
In the past, Noverra was a prosperous planet, thriving with boundless resources that seemed inexhaustible.
Fertile land, clear skies, clean water, advanced and rapidly developing industries and economies, which pushed its boundaries of technology, science, and innovation to the fullest.
However, everyone failed to notice that every great achievement must pay its corresponding consequences.
After years of constant abuse, Noverra started showing signs similar to Earth—dying.
Fortunately, earlier this year, Nexus announced to the entire world that they've found a solution to this problem, which they will be announcing this midnight.
"Solution? More like another planet to exploit!" Kael can't help but comment with a snicker on his face. He already knew what Nexus' so-called solution was—the Golden Apple.
It was an advanced technology that their predecessor had found when they were travelling to Noverra, which they had just discovered its purpose not so long ago. To be exact, last year.
The Golden Apple can connect their planet, Noverra, to a new planet called Avalon.
How did he know this?
Just yesterday, he woke up and realized that he had regressed ten years into the past—back to a time when the world of Avalon had yet to be revealed to the public, and he was still only twenty years old.
He doesn't know how and why exactly he regressed to this exact timeline. All he can remember is that before he regressed, he died at the hands of a high-ranking official of Nexus after being hunted down by their organization.
However, one thing was certain for him. " I can't waste this God given opportunity!"
Needless to say, he wasn't going to waste this opportunity just for the sake of revenge. He wasn't that shallow-minded. Albeit that's indeed on his list, but it wasn't his priority. Only when a chance appeared would he take that. Otherwise, he'd still focus on his original goal ever since coming to Avalon.
At this moment, after quickly adapting back to his life ten years ago, he is now going to start preparing for the opening of Avalon this coming midnight.
"No time to waste," Kael stood up from his seat.
With just five hours remaining until midnight, he had only a short window to prepare for Nexus' plan.
Not wanting to waste any time, Kael swiftly left his apartment in search of gears to use.
It wouldn't be easy, especially since he lived in Rustfall—the poorest of Noverra's five continents.
Noverra has five continents, namely Mechronis, Volthera, Bioforge, Synapse, and Rustfall. Each is named after its specialty.
Mechronis is the land of machines and automations.
Volthera is the land of energy and power.
Bioforge is the land of biotechnology and cybernetics,
Synapse is the land of communication and virtual reality.
Lastly, Rustfall is the land of Decay.
Rustfall was once a land of thriving industry and abundant resources. However, due to its vast size, all Nexus generals unanimously decided to designate it as the primary resource hub for development. In the end, the continent started dying, thus later on being called the Land of Decay.
The area he lives in was a huge apartment complex, at least it used to be. Right now, it could barely serve as one. Nevertheless, it could still be considered a good living condition, in Rustfall, that is.
Looking in front of him, countless piles of debris and scattered trash littered the area. Calling it untidy would be an understatement—it looked more like this place had just survived a war.
"If I remember correctly, there's a public junk shop not far from this place," Kael muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. He had already left this kind of life a few months later after he entered Avalon in his future life. But now, he's right back at this kind of life again.
Why exactly was he looking for a junk shop instead of a store or a shop?
In Rustfall, one could rarely see still-operational stores or shops that sell general commodities or products to the public. That's simply because in this kind of environment, such an establishment won't be able to survive. The only way for such a business to continue existing is if it's being protected by the so-called Local Landlord of the block, a part of a gang, or if it has a powerful backer in the Nexus organization or the government, which provides a deterrent to the citizens of Rustfall. If a business doesn't at least have one of those prerequisites, then one could expect that it would get raided by everyone as soon as it opens its store to the public.
As a matter of fact, there were even cases of shops or stores that got forcefully closed down by the crazy citizens of Rustfall even before their owners could open their doors to the public.
That's exactly how dangerous and difficult operating a business in Rustfall.
On the other hand, junk shops are essentially just landfills. Hence, anybody could just get in, find what they want or need, and get out right away.
After traversing the pile of debris and trash with great difficulty, Kael soon arrived at the entrance of Johnny's Junk Shop. This was the closest junk shop to his place.
"10 Caps to enter!"
A woman, unmistakably the clerk, with a large mole on her face, spoke with a tone of annoyance in her voice.
That's right—a simple bottle cap, the kind found on glass soda bottles, serves as the primary currency in Rustfall. It's essentially the continent's local form of money. While traditional cash still exists, it's rarely seen, as jobs that actually pay in real currency are almost nonexistent in Rustfall.
Naturally, with almost no businesses able to operate in Rustfall, jobs are nearly nonexistent. And without jobs, people have no money. That's why an alternative form of currency became necessary—just so basic transactions could continue at all.
Removing his boots, Kael took out exactly 10 caps from inside. He didn't dare to show anymore, as that would only attract unnecessary attention to him. "Here."
Since junk shops had become a regular stop for many Rustfall citizens, they naturally turned into lucrative businesses controlled by local gangs.
The lady swiftly took out the caps, and instead of putting them on a cash register, she simply gave them to a man who came out from under the woman's skirt.
The man then took off, disappearing to who knows where—clearly to secure the payment and keep it from being stolen by enemy gangs.
Kael hardly showed any reaction to what had just transpired in front of him, as he could still clearly remember that this was natural in any junk shop throughout Rustfall. Albeit not the part where a man came out from the clerk's skirt. As for what that man was doing there, he doesn't want to know. So, he quickly left.
After gaining some distance away from the entrance, Kael took out a list he had prepared yesterday. This was a list of items he would be needing before entering Avalon later this midnight.
"My flashlight should be somewhere around here," Kael started searching around him. Yesterday, he had hidden a flashlight around this place.
"Found it!" Kael smiled. Luckily, no one found it, otherwise he would have had a hard time looking for the items he needed.
He could have obviously come here earlier, while the sun was still out, which would've made finding the items easier. But there was a reason he chose to come at night instead.
As of this moment, other than members of the Nexus organization with a certain high clearance level, nobody else knows about Avalon.
Even if there's only a low chance that Nexus could find out he knows about Avalon before the day when it's opened to the public, he still couldn't risk showing any sign or evidence that they can use against him in the future.
Also, there's someone he has to save from this place from the local gang of this junk shop. And doing such an operation, he can't afford to have his identity found out. Otherwise, he'd be hunted this early on, which is quite troublesome.
Shining a light on the list, Kael muttered, "Let's see… I need a luggage for storage, a blanket, a tent, a flask, a pan and some cooking tools, a compass and paper, a fire starter kit and a rope, and lastly a few military grade knives and items that can be used for protection."
The piece of paper basically lists all the basic survival equipment that one should bring when they go out to the wilderness, which is what the setting of Avalon is going to be about.
"Time to start," Kael muttered to himself before finally beginning his search.