Lush Barrier City

Alaric was at a loss for words watching the man in front of him. He had already tried explaining that he wasn't a kid, but the man didn't even care to talk.

"What is this Lush Barrier City, and where am I? Am I still on Earth? If so, what year is it? What is so dangerous about this forest? Who are you guys?"

Alaric became more and more nonsensical as he asked the questions. It was like back in the white space when he first met Orion.

The man looked back and was starting to get confused.

'Is this kid not from Lush Barrier City? If he is, why doesn't he know anything?'

Seeing Alaric ask question after question, the man's head started to hurt,

'Fine, fine, I'll just act like he lost his memory and explain some stuff to him'

The man thought this before talking to an Alaric.

"Hey, kid! If you keep on asking questions, I won't answer any. So be quiet so that I can explain."

Alaric shut his mouth and decided not to speak yet.

"This is the outskirts of Lush Barrier City. And behind us is Lush green Forest. My team and I were tasked to protect the boundary."

The man looked at Alaric's expression and could tell he was still confused.

Thinking of Alaric's combat prowess, he was a little surprised.

'Kids at his age should still be forming a core, so how can he be using magic?'

This was the thing that the man was most confused about. The man didn't sense any core within Alaric.

'Could he have a unique physique? If he did, then how could he learn techniques?'

"Hey kid, how did you get here, and why do you know those magic techniques?"

Alaric was a little stunned at the question. He knew that if he met other people, he would have to explain his powers, but he hadn't thought of what to say. He had too little information.

"I don't know. I remember waking up and being in this forest. And I just knew the techniques. I can't explain it well."

Taking advantage of his apparent young body, he feigned memoryless. The man looked at Alaric suspiciously but didn't say anything more. They were already coming to the city anyway, so he didn't ask any more questions.

Alaric stopped asking questions when he saw the vast city in front of him. The walls were at least 30 meters high and seemed to go out forever. Looking at the gate in front of him, he saw a line of people awaiting entry.

The man passed all of them and directly went to the front. The people at the front desk doing the registry all stood up quickly.

"Lieutenant, I thought you guys were on patrol."

One of the guys at the front asked the man.

"We were until we saw this brat hanging around the border. He almost entered the Lush Green Forest."

Hearing this, the crowd all quieted down.

"The Lush Green Forest! That place is scary. Even the Lieutenants don't dare to go there recklessly."

"Yea, I heard recently that the Tranquil Tiger a the depths of the forest just had a cub."

"For real! Imagine how much a tier 8 beast cub would be worth."

"Shh, don't say crazy stuff. That Tranquil Tiger is alarmed a tier 7 beast; even the City mayor is only tier 7 and doesn't dare to provoke it."

Hearing the noise, Alaric became quite intrigued. Tiers? Lieutenant? City Mayor? Beasts? This is just getting crazier and crazier! What kind of world did that old geezer send me to!

Listening to everything going on, Alaric could only stay quiet.

"Check if there is anything related to him in the civilian documents. If you don't find anything, give him to Blue Orchid Orphanage."

"But, Sir, that orphanage."

"Yes, I know what that orphanage is; if he doesn't even have the requirements, then who does!"

The man rolled his eyes as the guards and people at the desks were startled.

"And once he gets there, get him into the Lush Academy. If his talents are wasted, it would be a crime."

"Yes, sir, that will be done right away." The man in the front saluted before grabbing Alaric and leading him into the city.

"Hey kid, don't cause too much trouble in there." The man sighed before walking back into the forest.

Alaric rolled his eyes; what kind of stuff could he do here. The guards around him felt like they would jump at him if he stepped in the wrong place. He could only sigh as he took in the views of the city.

It was slightly less modern than the cities before the evolution, but it still looked beautiful.

After 15 minutes of silence, Alaric was led into a lovely building that looked like a government office.

"Pull out all of the lost children's data." The man in front of him showed something to the woman before waiting.

Only after a couple of minutes did the women finally come back. She had quite a big stack of papers and gave them to the guy.

The man thanked the women before going through each paper.

Alaric saw that the man was doing his own thing, so he checked his stats.

<Name: Alaric Droy

Species: Inferior Human

Level: 1 (0/100)

Stage: No stars

Stats: (Strength: 9) (Speed: 9) (Stamina: 8) (Intelligence: 10) (Mana: 25/50) (Mind: 6) (3 Stat Points)

Skills: (Wood wall) (Water Ball)

Quests: (Expandable) >

'Hmmm, it looked like I used half of my mana in that exchange. Not bad considering all of the stuff I did. But it is still quite a lot. I was brilliant at saving those points. I think I will save these for now until I know what kind of world I am in.'

'It also seems that stamina truly did help; I wasn't as tired as I was the first time doing the quest.'

After thinking, the man beside him finally had some movement.

The man let out a sigh. The man could not find what he was looking for in that thick pile. But of course, he wouldn't; a literal constellation just teleported Alaric; how could he have lived in this city!

"Alright then, it seems that we should try heading over to the orphanage and see if you do get in."

The man stood up and grabbed onto Alaric. Before he could react, Alaric was already being dragged away by his hand.

After another 15 minutes of walking, they arrived at what looked like a big parlor. A signboard on the top said the words "Blue Orchid Orphanage."

Opening up the doors, the man walked up to the girl at the front desk.

"Sister Sue, the Lieutenant has found this kid out on the border. He said he didn't have any identification to take him here. He wants the kid to take the test and be under your guys' care."

Looking at the little boy in front of her, Sister Sue sized him up. He looked to be 12 with darkish blond hair. His eyes were a deep green and seemed to have a particular mystery.

Alaric also looked back at the lady. When he first heard the man refer to her as the sister, he thought she would be a nun, but that wasn't the case. The girl only looked 17 or 18 and had long black hair. Her purple dress complimented her alluring pink eyes.

Sister Sue nodded and said, "You can take him back to Sister Greta; she should be in the training hall now. She should explain the trial. And you, little boy, you better pass it because sister here thinks your cute."

That last part was directed to Alaric, but when he heard it, he felt a chill ran up his back. He didn't know why but he had a bad feeling in his heart while looking at her.

'Well, let's see how bad this test is.'