The Cursed Soul Reaper

The young body was slowly becoming something that Harry would be more comfortable using, but Harry never forgot his most important mission of finding out what had brought him here. Harry read religiously and tried to write out as much of the information as possible so that he wouldn't forget them. Veronica was worried about her grandson and wondered why he was reading so much, but she never complained because he was doing something productive, and she left him to his devices.

On the eighth day in his new world, Harry finally found something obscure in one of the old textbooks that also had a G.B. initialed on the spine. The book spoke about the elements that the 'Yofou' could control, and in the book, there was a side note that read:

'…Although there is no proof of their existence, I believe that there are other elements aside from the most important five: fire, water, air, earth, and lightning, that would allow us to control even more of the world. But any and all research into this fact had been lost hundreds of years ago.'

Harry turned the book over to look at who the author was, and he saw the name 'Fredrick Gustav' written in the author's block. The publishing date was 820 AD, and Harry cursed as he realized that the man might be dead already. That was nearly a hundred years ago. Even if the man was alive, Harry had no way of getting to him.

Harry continued to read the book in hopes of finding something else that could serve as a lead.

Thonk! Thonk! Thonk!

The sound of a stone hitting his window brought Harry out of his focus a few minutes later, and he turned around and looked out the window to see a boy standing there. It was early in the afternoon, and the sun was still high in the sky. The boy was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a light top, and he had brown hair and an innocent face. His name was Jude, but everyone who knew him called him Judy.

Judy was a shy, unassuming person around strangers and also the one who had introduced Harry to the world of Carriers for scavengers. He was Harry's closest friend.

"Harry! What are you doing!? I sent you a message days ago!"

Harry blinked in surprise at the shout before he remembered that this Harry had a phone. Harry had been so engrossed in everything the past few days that he forgot! The phone was something that the child Harry had gotten in secret with his Collector money because his grandmother wouldn't allow him to have one. It was mainly used for contacting his friend, but when he was alone, the old Harry also used it to watch low-quality blue films.

'Can't believe the porn industry lasted for more than a thousand years.'

Harry opened the messaging app on his phone and saw a message from Judy that read:

[Scavenger job in two days. 1 pm. Don't bail on me like last time.]

Harry was about to tell Judy that he wasn't going to come, but he remembered that he hadn't seen a lot of this world other than in books. Over the past few days, Harry's days had been preoccupied with trying to learn as much as possible about the world and helping his grandmother around the house. Although it was good to learn through books, Harry wouldn't be able to do anything if he never went out and learned what the world was really like.

So Harry stuck his head out of the window and shouted back at Judy.

"I'll be right down!"

…

"Digger's for sale! Just three Sol for a digger!"

"Hey, are you heading into the ruins!? You'll need a torch to light the way! Just five sol for a torch! It's the best on the market!"

"I have a sale on new boots!"

The city was more vibrant than Harry thought it would be.

The shouts of ware-peddlers echoed through the crowded streets as they called on passersby to buy their goods. The chatter of young boys and girls moving through the streets reminded Harry too much of his own childhood.

There were a few of the youths and older men and women who wore different attire from what the others wore. These people wore tougher-looking clothes, thick cargo pants, and leather jackets over t-shirts with strong-soled boots that left deep imprints on the sandy floor wherever they walked.

They carried pickaxes, hoes, and chainsaws on their utility belts as they moved, and Harry's memories provided him with information on these people as he recognized them. They were Scavengers.

The role of a Scavenger was one of the simplest ones in the city, but it was also one of the deadliest.

During the period of war, there were many precious items that were lost in the many battles between humans and the Yofou. From precious metals and rocks to precious paintings and ornaments. Even something as simple as leather was no longer as common as it had once been because of the war.

The role of a Scavenger was to go into the ruins of buildings, skyscrapers, and museums that had fallen years ago. In there, they worked together to retrieve as much of the previous world as they could and bring it back to this market to be sold for the highest price.

The job was not very popular because of how volatile the pay was. The worth of anything found in there was completely up to the buyers to decide. You could find a vase that looked beautiful, but it would be sold for nothing because it was made from simple glass which was very common. And you could find a dirty old rug that didn't look like it would be worth anything and end up selling it for a very high price because of the print pattern. It was completely up to your own luck.

The only things that constantly sold for a high price were precious metals like gold and silver, and precious stones like quartz and diamonds. But the likelihood of finding something like that in the ruins was slim to none.

After so long, most of the ruins had already been cleared out, and the only places that might have those impressive collectibles were the unexplored ruins that were in the territory of dangerous beasts.

That was the second reason why the job of a Scavenger was so frowned upon.

The war between humans and Yofou didn't just allow humans to evolve. It also gave animals all over the world a chance to evolve and change. The animals all gained awareness of their own souls as well, and with that awareness came unprecedented growth in size and strength, as well as the ability to control the elements, just like the Yofou. Humans were able to tame many of these animals, and they became invaluable in the fight against the Yofou, but there were those that refused to be tamed and ran wild through the world without any care for what they hurt. These creatures were referred to as Soul Beasts.

After years of peace, most of the common Soul Beast had been hunted down using advanced technology and there hadn't been any sightings of one in close to a century now. The only place to find Soul Beasts was in the Graveyard of Heros on the other side of the world.

"Hey, Harry! What are you doing!? This way!"

Judy called on Harry from the side when he turned around and noticed that Harry was just standing in the middle of the street and looking around.