Seperate space

After checking the address again he took a deep breath and pressed the bell on the gate.

He didn't have to wait for long before a screen above the bell lit up and a young woman's face appeared on it. She was wearing a blue cap and it was possible to see the collar of a white shirt, but nothing indicated who this was. He only knew that it wasn't the face of Mrs. Lucia. He could only speculate that it was a servant or someone working here.

To his surprise, the woman didn't ask him anything but directly greeted him. "Hello, Mr. King. The madam is already awaiting you. Please wait for a while, while I come and receive you."

He barely had time to nod, when the screen already went dark. Leaving him wondering what had just happened. How had the woman known who he was so fast? Even if Mrs. Lucia had shown her a picture of him, shouldn't she still have made sure that it was truly him?

He had some time to think about these questions since it took some time for the woman to arrive at the gate and open it. When the gate swung open he could see that she was wearing a blue uniform, that looked similar to the military uniform. It didn't seem to be one of a private security service but instead one for a special division, deepening his question as to who was living in this area and who Mrs. Lucia truly was.

The woman who he now realized was a head bigger than him came closer to him and pointed something at him. It seemed like a handheld variant of the scanner used to get system information about a person or item. There was also one of them in the orphanage and everyone had to be scanned at least once when they were nearly sixteen.

But the one in the orphanage was much bigger and from what he had heard was still extremely expensive. If not for the Corporation fearing that they would let through talent and thus wanted to ensure that they had every information concerning the people leaving, they would never have bought it. A handheld variant should be even more expensive.

The scan seemed to affirm the expected data, so the woman put the scanner away and came closer to him.

"Mr. King. The madam asked me to escort you to her home, so if you would please follow me." She spoke in an emotionless voice. There was no indication of her trying to be friendly to him, but there was also none that she was looking down on him, even though she could clearly guess that he wasn't anything special.

Ivan liked her professional attitude, so he too responded in kind. After a simple, "Ok.", he waited for her to move and then followed her to a parking space near the gate. There a few small cars were parked, which he guessed were used to move around in the area, surrounded by the wall, making him once again wondering how big it was.

He followed the guard into one of the cars, and they sped off.

The drive was extremely comfortable since the seats were well cushioned and made of high-end leather, which gave him a great feeling. And this only seemed to be a car used by the normal guards and employees. He didn't think that those living here would use the same car. Especially not since it was only a two-seater and everyone who held something on himself would only sit on the back with the driver sitting in front.

After a short drive along the well-maintained street surrounded by old large trees, they arrived in front of a small villa. The building was ultra modern-looking and didn't seem to be more than two years old. He had once seen this style in a book and it had only come up around three years ago.

The guard, who hadn't spoken even one word to him ever since the one sentence at the gate, went towards the door of the villa and opened it, leading him inside.

They entered a large living room, which was lit out well and that was filled with expensive furniture and works of art. But what really pulled his attention to it, was the view through the floor to ceiling windows making up one side of the room.

Through them, one had a spectacular view on a large lake, which opposite side wasn't even visible. " How can there be such a large lake here?", he couldn't help but exclaim. In a city as densely populated as the capital and especially Hestrow Street, it was impossible for such a large lake to exist. And it also didn't appear on any of the maps he had seen.

A peal of sudden laughter from behind him made him turn around hastily.

Behind him, the woman who had invited him here had appeared noiselessly. Unlike the other times he had seen her, she was dressed in simple clothes which looked extremely comfortable. Still, they couldn't hide her great body, with which he intimately knew. In fact, there was nothing about her body he didn't know. Seeing her, he couldn't help but fantasize about how it would be to slowly remove one piece of clothes after another, but he hurriedly got his thoughts under control.

Not realizing his inappropriate thoughts, Mrs. Lucia smiled at his shocked look. She then stepped beside him and explained, "Ever since you entered through the gate you are in a separate space."

Ivan knew what a separate space was. It was a space that was separated from the normal universe and was created either artificially by expending a lot of rare materials and energy, or by the System and was then called a natural one. Most natural spaces were dungeons, but he had read that some sects or families had found spaces that were large enough to house them but weren't filled with monsters like the dungeons.

Artificial spaces were much smaller than natural spaces, or at least everyone he knew of was. They were used for storage and often had limits such as the inability to contain living things. In exchange, they could be moved together with their anchor, and as such could served as great mobile storage solutions. Of course, they had a great price as well.

"Impressive.", he said. For Mrs. Lucia to live in a natural separated space, was something to be proud of.

"That it is.", she agreed. "I'm always in awe when I enter here. At the center of the city, there is such a large space where there is so much space to live in such comfort.", she smiled.

"But I didn't ask you to come here just to show off how great my home is.", she then continued while sitting down on one of the white couches.

The guard had taken a position near the door and was looking straight ahead. Still, Ivan could feel that she was focused on him, ready to take action as soon as he made a wrong move.

Mrs. Lucia then gestured for him to take a seat opposite of her. His behind had barely touched the cushion when a maid came in carrying a tablet with two cups. She positioned one in front of him, and he could smell the aroma of coffee. It was black just as he liked it and he was sure that there was also a piece of sugar in it. After all, the woman in front of him knew his exact taste.

"I'm sure you have guessed that me inviting you here isn't just to give you a present.", she started the conversation.

This was something he had already guessed. If the goal was only to give him a present than she wouldn't have asked him to come over. So he only nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Of course, there will also be a present, but which one will depend on your answer to my offer.", she didn't look hurried, as she relaxedly sipped at her tea.

Ivan copied her and also took his time to enjoy the coffee, waiting for her to continue. This way they sat there in comfortable silence, enjoying their beverage. He had to admit that the coffee was even better than the one she had brought for him back in the orphanage. Not to mention the stuff provided by the orphanage itself, which could barely be called coffee.

Finally, the woman sat down her cup and opened her mouth to tell him, why she had wanted him to come over.