Rise to Power: The Miraculous Liam Regan.

“It’s two o’clock! Time for breakfast!”

The instructor’s voice echoed from the entrance of the tunnel, loud through the microphone, bouncing against the hard walls and shaking the dust loose from the ceiling.

At that moment one by one, the miners began to step out of the tunnel. Some dragged their feet. Some stretched their stiff backs as they walked.

A few laughed weakly, already talking about food like hungry children that had been kept too long without eating. Their helmets looked dull under the weak afternoon light as they moved toward the exit.

Inside the tunnel, Liam Gael did not move.

The sound of metal striking rock continued from where he stood, deep inside the narrow path where the air felt tight and heavy.

He swung his tool again, and the sharp sound cut through the silence that had followed after the others left.

Sweat rolled down his face, cutting clean lines through the charcoal that covered his skin. It slipped past his jaw and dropped to the ground, mixing with dust and crushed stone. His chest rose and fell fast, but he did not slow down.

At that moment, hunger pressed his stomach, but he ignored it.

Then he paused only to adjust his helmet that had shifted forward, pushing it back firmly on his head before tightening the strap under his chin. Hearing the faint voices of the other miners outside, he gripped his tool harder and struck the wall again.

The company had made it clear on the first day if they reached the target before two weeks, every one of them would receive double pay, including double overtime bonus. The promise had entered Liam’s ears like a lifeline.

Double pay, that was the only thing sitting in his mind now.

He worked harder than the others because he had no choice. His mother had been lying in the hospital bed for two weeks already. The doctors had spoken in low tones, using careful words, but he understood what they meant. If money stopped coming, treatment would stop too.

More than once, fear had gripped his chest when he thought about it.

She would have died by now if not for his wife who stayed at the hospital day and night, without complaining. She not only takes care of his mother, she also brings him breakfast everyday.

He did not even know what he had done in this life to deserve a woman like that.

In a world like this one, where E‑level citizens received nothing but dust and insult, people like him were not supposed to be loved like that. The world had changed into something cold and unfair. Every citizen was graded like goods in a market. A, B, C, D… and then E.

E was the bottom.

E citizens had no right to vote. No right to proper hospitals. No access to clean estates. No fair salary. Even the air in their areas smelled different, thick with smoke and neglect. When benefits were shared, their names never appeared. When decisions were made, their voices did not count.

However Liam Gael belonged to that last line, but yet Emily chose him.

Her family had warned her. They had shouted. They had begged her to think about her future. Some even mocked her openly, asking why she wanted to throw herself into a life of suffering. Still, she stood beside him, quiet but firm, her small hand holding his like she had already made peace with whatever would come.

Two years had passed, and he still did not know how to repay a heart like that.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Not only in face, but in spirit. Sometimes he would just look at her when she was not watching, and a soft smile would come to his lips.

Every single day, he thanked his stars for her.

At that moment the sound of metal against rock begins to slowed.

Liam stopped working, the tunnel felt tighter as thoughts of Emily filled his head.

He imagined her at the hospital, sitting beside his mother’s bed, adjusting the drip, speaking gently to the nurses even when they looked down on her. He knew the kind of struggle she was facing now. The bills. The long hours. The silent pressure.

Then his jaw tightened again.

Once his mother became stable, he would take her somewhere far from this dust and noise. A real vacation. They would explore places meant for the middle class, clean streets, bright lights, working elevators. Even if they had to pay extra because of their E status, he would pay it. He did not care. She deserved to see beauty without being chased away.

Immediately he lifted his tool again and continued working with fresh strength, as if every strike was a promise he was making to her and his mother.

Time passed without him noticing.

When he finally stepped out of the tunnel, the sky had shifted color. It was exactly four o’clock, with only a few minutes left before the break would be over. Dust clung to his clothes. His hands were shaking slightly from stress, but his eyes remained steady.

“Liam!!.”

“Liam!!.”

Everybody was calling Liam’s name. His voice carried weight among them now, not because he shouted the loudest or talk the most, but because his actions spoke before his mouth ever did. Many of the miners had begun to admire him not for his own gain, but because every strike of his hand gave them hope too. He did extra work not just for his benefit, but for theirs as well.

Whenever their families came around, he would always bend low to greet the children, pat their heads, crack small jokes that made them giggle.

He had become something like a big brother, even a father figure to some of them. When he spoke, people listened. When he smiled, they felt lighter, even inside the dark tunnel.

Now, as he sat down on the rough wooden bench, wiping sweat from his forehead, the old man sitting among them turned toward him with a small grin. His face was wrinkled and tired, his voice deep and rough from years of breathing dust.

“I don’t know how you do it, boy,” the old man said, shaking his head in slow wonder. “During my prime, I couldn’t even work as hard as you do.”

A few of the men nearby chuckled quietly. The old man leaned back a little, still eyeing Liam with a mix of respect and disbelief. “In my time, we worked strong, yes

but not like you. You carry this job like the ground offend you.”