Time passes, this is the greatest power in the world, whether it is a prince and a general, a farmer or a merchant, whether it is the rise of a great civilization or the dissipation of a fallen civilization, nothing can affect the long time ahead.

It is like a torrent sweeping through the whole world, nothing can stop its washing, under the washing of time, all past existence will become pale, and no matter how eye-catching victory, no matter how painful defeat, will lose its original meaning.

And in the tempering of time, the immature life will also become sophisticated, and in the decreasing years of life, you will one day know that only a meaningful job that can enrich yourself and make yourself better is a career worthy of all your energy.

"Drop"

The shrill whistle sounded punctually in the residential area of Darkhearth, marking the beginning of a day of endless work, and before the second whistle sounded, the awakened people had 45 minutes to wash up and eat breakfast, and then, the day's work would begin.

And the entire peaceful Dark Furnace City seems to be awakened by the whistles that sound everywhere, just like a huge mechanical creation, between the collision of gears, it began to operate again.

Some poets of the Federal District will liken this whistle to a horn to wake up the steamy beast, or the first rays of morning light that shine on the earth every day, in short, poets are always so romantic.

"Today's newspaper."

In the small residence at 134 Volcano Avenue in the civilian area of Darkfurnace City, Oryx, a third-level apprentice, was awakened from his sleep by the sound of a whistle, he yawned and finished washing in the bathroom, and by the time he changed into a black apprentice uniform, his friend who shared the apartment with him had already fetched the packaged milk and a roll of newspaper from outside the door.

And Oryx also took out the beef pie that the two of them hadn't eaten last night from the mechanical refrigerator in the corner of the room, put it in a steambox with boiling hot water, and about 3 minutes later, the pie that had become hot again and a piece of fresh apple that had been cut were brought to the table.

This is the breakfast for the two of them, simple and not rich, but it can meet the nutrients that the two young people need for a morning's work.

"I said, John, after work today, I'm going to go to old Figo to pay this month's gas bill, I may have to work overtime tonight, you go."

While munching on the spicy pie, Oryx said to his companion who was reading the newspaper:

"Anyway, you'll be on your way from work."

"Not today, Oryx, I'll drop by tomorrow morning."

John put the newspaper on the table, the young man with freckles on his face was a little depressed, and when Oryx heard this, he subconsciously glanced back at the calendar on the wall behind him, and on the calendar made of hard paper, next to today's date, there was a red five-pointed star symbol, representing today's difference.

Oryx hurriedly swallowed the food and apologized to his friend, saying:

"I'm sorry, John, I forgot, it's your parents' today..."

"No, nothing, Oryx."

John looked up, smiled at his companion, and stuffed the apple slices into his mouth, but the sadness that flashed in his eyes meant that he wasn't at peace inside.

And this episode also made the atmosphere between the two young people a little awkward, until after Oryx finished eating the pie, he stood up and poured some wine for the two of them, but he didn't dare to pour too much, and he went to work drunk, and he would definitely be discovered by the dwarf overseers.

John is already a second-class craftsman, and he belongs to the indispensable middle class in Darkhearth, so it doesn't matter to him to deduct some wages, but Oryx, who has just been here for half a year, is still an apprentice, and his meager salary is already very tight to pay the monthly rent and odd expenses.

"Come on, drink a little, and tell me if you're not happy."

Oryx put the wine glass in front of John's eyes, he leaned himself against the cabinet behind him, under the bright gas lamp overhead, the skin of this young man in his twenties looked abnormally pale, he took a sip of wine, the spicy taste was completely different from the wine he remembered from his hometown, Oryx looked at his companion, he whispered:

"Say, John, we're from the same place... We had the same thing, you know, in that disaster, I also lost mine..."

"Say no more, Oryx."

John took a sip of wine, the spicy taste stimulated his senses, so that his tears flowed out of his eyes at this moment, through this spicy stimulation, John, who was hiding sadness in his heart, simply stopped hiding it, he covered his eyes with his left hand, but salty tears still flowed from between his fingers.

"Don't say it..."

His voice became choked:

"Don't let me remember that hell again... My home, my loved ones, my farm, oh my... O Holy Light! ”

As if to vent, John tilted his head and poured all the wine in the cup, he tilted his head and looked at the painted white roof and the cyan mechanical fan hanging on the roof, and the pent-up pain in his heart gushed out at this moment:

"I hate that place, Oryx, I hate Stratholme, I hate Lordaeron... That day I rode to Andorhar as usual to watch the knights train, the smoke, the poisonous smoke, I remember clearly, the plague... Damn the plague, I fainted in front of the Prince of Arthas, and by the time I came to my senses, everything I had was gone, swallowed up by that damn place. ”

"I've lost everything, Oryx, I'm left with nothing..."

Oryx empathized with the pain of his companion, and he sat down beside John, patted John on the shoulder, and his voice was also a little hoarse, and he said:

"Well, it's all over, brother, it's all over, and if Uncle Darson has a spirit in heaven, he will surely feel relieved to see that you are now starting your life again."

"My father... He was rude, an orthodox redneck, always yelling at my mother and me, and loved to drink. ”

With tears on his face, John turned his head and tried to smile at his companion, saying:

"I still remember the day he talked to me and said he was going to send me to the Black Iron District as a mechanical apprentice, he knew that I liked to tinker with these gadgets, and he actually liked it too, I secretly saw him clumsily touching those bulky harvesters, and I knew that if he were still alive, maybe in the Black Iron District, he would also choose to be a mechanical worker, just like you and me... But he never had that chance again. ”

"Now I'm here, Oryx, I'm in the Black Iron District, and I'm going to be the best craftsman I can be, no matter what! I want to fulfill my father's humble ideals... I'm going to keep the Darson bloodline alive and mix it up in the Federal District to comfort my parents and what I've lost. ”

John touched his eyes with his sleeve, held up the empty cup, and said to Oryx, whose eyes were red:

"To my father, to our new life!"

Oryx snorted, divided half of his glass to John, and then clinked glasses, and between the sound of glasses, the two young men laughed and drank the wine, and then, as usual, with their bags, went out, and parted in both directions.

—————————————————

John. Darsson is a survivor of Darsong Farm in Stratholme, one of the survivors of the undead plague unleashed by the cultists of the Cult of the Damned God years ago, and had been living a difficult life in Stratholm until the Hammerfire Bands regained the entire city of Stratholme, and the young man was transferred to the south with the immigrants.

He signed up for the apprenticeship recruitment in the Black Iron District, he is a talented young man, in less than one and a half years, he became a second-level craftsman in the Black Iron Mining Company, in the business model of the Black Iron Business District, he has a very bright future and future, and there are many more energetic young people like him in the Black Iron District.

Most of them came from humble backgrounds, in the original society, they could not enter the middle of society in their lifetime, and their humble bloodlines limited their way forward, even if they joined the army and exchanged their lives for their future, it was difficult to break through the shackles of their own class, but in the Federal District, their future road became incomparably broad and bright.

Regardless of what they have been through in the past, these younger generations have now become one of the most central supporters of federal rule, and they are full of disgust and hatred for the feudal civilization system of the past.

With the Speaker of the Federal District, Edwin. Mr. Van Cleeff famously said:

"Only a backward system will need blood and talent to determine what a person can do; Only backward civilizations will regard a certain rare ability as the overall characteristic of civilization. ”

John. Darsson's good friend Oryx is one of these young people, but he comes from a different background than John and others.

Oryx rarely says his last name... But it was a very famous surname.

His full name is... Oryx. Rivendell, the only son of the former Lord of Stratholme, Baron Rivendell, has been suffering from a strange disease since a few years ago, and almost died of this disease, his father, Baron Rivendell, even did not hesitate to exchange his soul for evil in order to save his son.

Baron Rivendell's end was tragic, as he became a Death Knight under the command of the Lich King, was defeated and purified by the Prince of Arthas, and was nearly exhumed by the cultists of the Cult of the Damned God at the end of the Stratholme evacuation to perform an evil resurrection.

Oryx, who was on the verge of death at the time, was also captured by the cultists, but he was lucky enough to meet the Death Lord Rogerio, who was saved after Roglio killed the Dreadlord Marganis, and his strange illness was also detected to be the work of the Dreadlord's dark magic.

In short, Oryx is burdened with a very heavy story, half a year ago, this recovered young man refused the preferential treatment offered by the Federal District Council of Defiia, he chose to go incognito, came to the Black Iron District as an apprentice, he abandoned the rich historical surname of Rivendell and chose his mother's surname, and now, he is an ordinary citizen of the Federal District.

His name is Oryx. Berkeley, a highly gifted third-level apprentice, due to the complete aristocratic education that Orix experienced in the first half of his life, he comprehended the obscure mechanical principles very quickly, which made him look at differently by many craftsmen, and several mechanical companies have issued invitations to Orix, but the new young people have their own goals...

He wanted to enter the famous Owarsback Tech Lab, and after accumulating enough experience, he wanted to open his own lab.

He even had the name of the lab in mind, and it was called "Norbert & Anna Tech Labs"... Those were his father's and mother's names.

"Bang"

The moment Oryx stepped into the foundry where he was currently working, he collided with a hurried guy walking across from him, and the strength of the guy was so powerful that Oryx was dizzy and the engineering books he was holding were scattered everywhere.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

But the man was polite, he pulled Oryx up from the ground, and at the same time hurriedly helped Oryx pick up the books that had fallen on the ground, and after saying goodbye to each other, the man turned away without hesitation, but he didn't notice that behind him, Oryx's eyes had narrowed as he looked at his back.

Orix had seen this tall, ordinary-looking man...

In Stratholme, the man had visited his father as an envoy to the king, and he remembered that day because of the death of his kitten.

He was sure that this man was the man he remembered wearing the armor of the Kingdom Guard, who should have been a royal agent of the Kingdom of Lordaeron!

But... How could the royal agent of the Lordaeron Kingdom appear in an ordinary factory in the Black Iron District?

Oryx was at a loss, not knowing what to do until he saw the engineering books he had borrowed from the library, the wonderful things he had never learned before, the life he had now lived to the fullest, and his hatred and disgust for the bad past.

Eventually, the young man took a deep breath and walked to the foreman's office of the factory...

He loves life now, his parents have paid for the old times that went by, and now... He will not allow anyone to ruin his planned future! No one is allowed to destroy the ideals he has so hard found...