Poor little Reed had always thought of himself as a pitiful, unlucky wretch.

  His father had originally been a craftsman with his own leather boot shop, inherited from his father. But after Reed's grandfather died, his father began to indulge himself, leaving the shop to the apprentices and employees while he went out to have fun, even developing a gambling addiction.

  The gambling addiction quickly led to the loss of the entire boot shop. When Reed was not even seven years old, they moved from their not-so-large but clean and comfortable house in the inner city to a cramped and filthy hovel near Middle Street, which was also closer to the casinos.

  Reed's mother came from a well-bred family of merchants who sold saddles and horse tack. She and Reed's father had married when Reed's grandfather was still alive. Reed remembered that when he was little, his mother, though strict, also patiently taught him manners, to avoid swearing, and to be kind to others. These things were deeply etched in Reed's memory from his childhood.

  Later, after his father's complete descent into depravity, his mother argued with his father, only to be severely beaten. Reed was still young then, and he didn't know how to comfort his mother. He could only hug her and cry with her.

  His father, seeing him cry, grabbed him from his mother's arms and threw him to the ground.

  That was the first time Reed was beaten, and he was beaten more and more frequently after that.

  Because his father had borrowed money from Reed's mother's parents under various pretenses, when his mother wanted to take Reed and go live with her family, her family closed their doors and turned them away, treating the mother and son as burdens.

  Reed remembered that his mother cried heart-wrenchingly that day. After that, his mother fell ill.

  When Reed was nine years old and able to do some work, his father forced him to steal. Otherwise, he would not only beat Reed, but also threaten to beat his mother, who was bedridden.

  Reed had no choice.

  Even after his mother became bedridden, she rarely spoke to him. She just stared with tired eyes out the window, at the dilapidated and filthy streets of Purple City.

  But Reed knew that his mother was the only person in the world who loved him, even if that love was only a memory.

  So he obeyed his scum of a father and joined a local gang to steal.

  But he was clumsy and often got caught, and then he would be brutally beaten. However, most of the time, those people would think he was small and dirty, and didn't want to get their hands dirty by hitting him, so they would stop quickly. Therefore, the bulk of his earnings came from finding wealthier streets and begging on his knees. His pitiful appearance often earned him more money this way.

  This was Reed's advantage, perhaps.

  Many years passed like this. His mother's illness worsened. She coughed incessantly, as if she were dying, while his father was nowhere to be seen most days, only returning when he needed money, and even then, he was usually in a drunken stupor.

  Reed once calculated that after deducting the money he had to pay to Boss Pony each month and the money his father extorted from him, the remaining amount wasn't enough to buy medicine for his mother. He even had to frequently kneel in front of the pharmacy, begging for a discount.

  One rainy day while begging, he suddenly thought, 'How much better it would be if Mother died. Then he could get away from that father and find a way to escape Purple City and live somewhere else.' But when he realized what he had just thought, he was filled with immense pain and self-reproach.

  He cried. The mere thought of his mother dying made him cry.

  He cried because he was unable to take his mother away, unable to defeat his father, and even unable to afford her medicine.

  He cried for his own powerlessness.

  But that day, Reed earned more money from begging, because many people thought he looked like a pitiful golden retriever puppy sobbing in the rain.

  And Reed also had an idol, someone two years older than him named Lux.

  He greatly envied Lux. This young person was not only taller and more handsome than him (though 1.7 meters wasn't considered tall in Purple City, it was much taller than Reed), but also knew how to fight. He had heard that Lux once broke the hands of two thugs who were harassing his younger sister, which filled him with admiration. If only he were that strong, he would kick his bastard father out of the house and prevent him from ever crossing the threshold again.

  Moreover, Lux was good at making money. Not only could they often take their younger sister Mitty to the cake shop, but they could also afford to buy new clothes every year.

  When the small-time bosses invited Lux to become their enforcer, to collect protection money and debts, Lux refused, which made Reed admire them even more.

  He really wanted to become someone like Lux, someone who could take on responsibility.

  Then one day, he helped Lux pick up a blue silver coin that they had accidentally dropped on the ground, and that was how he became Lux's friend.

  Lux would toss him a loaf of bread when he was hungry and step in to defend him when other thugs surrounded and bullied him.

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  Reed had never had any friends before, because the thugs in Middle Street looked down on him for being someone who didn't even swear, who was so poor that he had to beg and steal, yet still cared about manners.

  Lux was his first friend, so he cherished them greatly. He was even too afraid to borrow money from Lux, no matter how desperate he was.

  And then, Reed encountered the missionary from the Holy Light Church, who displayed divine magic at his house, filling Reed with hope and leading him to join the church. Then he met Lux again and was given some money by them.

  Reed prayed for Lux, hoping that they wouldn't be as unlucky as he was and that they could live a happy life.

  At that moment, Reed felt that today was definitely his luckiest day. Maybe his mother's illness would finally be cured, and then he could take her to the Holy Dawn Empire, where the God of Light was worshipped. Maybe he could even become a Blessed himself. Even if he couldn't, becoming a leather shoe apprentice wouldn't be bad. Though Reed had never learned how to make leather shoes, he had always yearned to become a skilled leather shoe craftsman like his grandfather, whom he barely remembered.

  Thinking this, he bought enough medicine for less than a full course of treatment and went home.

  "Mother, I'm home," Reed said as he opened the door. But he was instantly terrified.

  Three or four gang members were sitting on his mother's bed, while his mother had been thrown to the floor.

  "Mom!" Reed fearfully tried to help his mother up, but one of the burly gang members kicked him in the jaw, making Reed's head spin.

  "Your trash of a father owes us too much money. And now we don't know where he's hiding," the burly man squatted down in front of Reed and said, revealing his yellow teeth. "So, including the interest, let's round it up. Four shining gold coins. And make it quick."

  "I don't have that much money. Please, let me go. I really don't have that much money," Reed cried and pleaded.

  "Oh? Then I won't be polite," the burly man chuckled. He actually knew that Reed couldn't possibly come up with that much money, so he was just trying to scare him for fun.

  "I'll sell your mother to a brothel. Even though your mother is sickly, she still has some looks. Maybe some people will be into that," the burly man said, and the other gang members around him laughed lewdly.

  "No, please don't. I beg you, please don't," Reed's voice was hoarse from crying. He kept kneeling, displaying the most pitiful posture he could muster.

  "That's not up to you," the burly man chuckled, then grabbed Reed's mother's hair and said, "Lady, take one last look at your son's pathetic face."

  When the burly man lifted Reed's mother up, he suddenly looked puzzled. He felt her nostrils and shouted, "Damn, she's dead!"

  "Mom!" Reed was stunned. His mind went blank. All he could do was cry out, "Ugh! Ugh!" He felt like he was crying himself to death, his face twisted in agony.

  "Damn it, Wayne, this is all your fault. Who told you to throw her so hard just now?" one of the thugs nearby cursed.

  "How was I supposed to know this woman was so fragile?" the accused thug said, also feeling helpless. Then they all turned their eyes to Reed.

  "Damn, now all we have is this dirty, short, and poor bastard," one of the burly men said angrily. He grabbed Reed's messy hair and lifted him up. "Take him away. Let's see how much he can fetch."

  Reed didn't remember what happened after that, because he had truly fainted. When he woke up, he found himself lying in a cage, a gray cage, and he had been stripped naked, left with nothing.

  "You're awake?" a guard outside the cage said.

  When Reed tried to ask what was going on, he found that he could only make "ugh ugh ahh ahh" sounds. His voice had become hoarse from crying.

  "This is the underground arena," the guard answered Reed's unspoken question. It wasn't surprising, as only illegal establishments like the underground arena would use colors other than purple for their buildings.

  "Young man, you're really unlucky," the guard said with ill intent. "You're scheduled for the first fight, to kick things off with a brawl against a pack of giant dogs."

  Then the guard lowered his voice and said, "Those dogs are incredibly vicious. They'll tear at your limbs, rip open your stomach, and only then will they bite your throat. You have no chance of winning. You're set up to die as horribly as possible to get the spectators excited."

  The guard finished speaking and eagerly watched Reed's expression. But he didn't see fear or screams, only numbness and silence.

  He found it boring and turned his head away from Reed. He even thought that if this kid didn't scream loud enough later, the boss would probably lose money. But that wasn't his problem.

  Reed was staring at the ceiling. Later, someone brought him water and food to give him the strength to scream later.

  He ate a little, and then he continued to stare at the ceiling.

  Reed was waiting to die. He felt like he was the most unlucky person in the world, the one treated most unfairly.

  But he didn't complain. He didn't even pray. He just kept looking at the ceiling.

  As evening approached, the guard looked at Reed and thought he was the strangest person he had ever encountered in his career. But there was nothing to be done. The arena fights were about to begin.

  Just as he was about to take out the key to open the cell door, he noticed that it felt a little hot. While the ventilation here wasn't great, it shouldn't be this hot.

  Then the guard noticed that his clothes were on fire.

  Or rather, everything purple was burning.

  Reed finally reacted. He was astonished and terrified to see that the guard had suddenly burst into flames. He was screaming and trying to tear off his clothes, but he couldn't take them off. They seemed to be glued to his body, despite being simple garments. The guard burned to death without being able to remove his clothes.

  Reed tiptoed and peered out of a narrow vent. He saw hell, a burning hell.

  The entire Purple City was filled with flames, screams, and despair.

  Reed was finally afraid. He didn't have the Holy Light Church's triangle pendant on him, but he still began to pray.

  He didn't know how long passed, but it felt like longer than Reed's short life.

  Eventually, it became quiet outside.

  Reed stopped praying. He mustered his courage to reach out and pick up the keys dropped by the guard, now reduced to ashes, and opened the door.

  He was free. It was a freedom he couldn't believe.

  Reed slowly and cautiously groped his way out of the arena's prison cells.

  He came into the outside world.

  A world that was all ruins, a very quiet world.

  Reed was dazed and bewildered.

  But he quickly found an explanation.

  That this was all a test from God.

  This sinful city had been destroyed by divine fire, while God had protected Reed, a believer who had joined the faith less than two days ago.

  Reed immediately knelt down and prayed towards the sky.

  Though he was very sad that his mother had died, he believed that she must have ascended to heaven.

  There was nothing in this city that he longed for, except for a few good people.

  And Lux.

  "I really hope Lux and his younger sister passed the test too," Reed prayed.

  Then he stood up. Though he had no clothes, he felt his body filled with energy.

  "God, thank you. I love you!" Reed shouted. Now he was going to head to the Holy Dawn Empire.

  But just as he took his first step, Reed felt something pierce his chest - a golden-colored blade.

  "Seriously, just a regular person," he heard a voice from afar say before his consciousness faded. "I wasted 10 blue silver coins using divine power."

  Reed lost his balance and fell to the ground. As he fell, he used the last of his strength to utter the first curse word of his life.

  "What a fucking world."