Chapter 44 Ethan's Handling of Things After Turnas Left Ethan first...

Ethan first went to find Mary and the others to apologize, saying that all five of them had worked for nothing, and that their hard-earned mission points for three months had been deducted.

The others didn't think anything of it. They knew Ethan's other identity and knew it wasn't appropriate to reveal it under those circumstances. They asked him not to disturb their mission, and he was just trying to save Feng Chen without knowing it.

They're too enthusiastic. I wish they could actually go and save the others instead of pretending to stand there and even taking their companions away.

Seeing Ethan's guilty and somewhat uneasy face, everyone decided to ruffle his hair.

This is certainly not a big deal. You can earn more points. How can everything go smoothly when doing tasks? It's normal to fail a few times. There's no need to feel guilty about it.

“But,” Trek said sadly, “we can’t let Ethan come on this kind of mission next time. Let him stay with Sister Mary. What if some kind-hearted person suddenly comes along?”

Minors are a no-go, it's too easy to provoke people's kindness, and sending Ethan to school is just too scary.

Trek, who had just graduated from Germany with great difficulty, shuddered.

The four years he spent studying in Germany were the most wonderful six years of his campus life and the most unforgettable ten years. So why did he suddenly decide to skip a grade and study in Germany? Thinking about it now, he still feels so unlucky that he wants to cry.

Ethan watched as Terry, whose face suddenly turned pale as if he had remembered something bad, silently walked to a corner and sullenly retreated, looking so gloomy that it seemed like mushrooms were about to grow there.

But everyone was used to his occasional, impulsive behavior of pretending to be a mushroom. Terry's thoughts were rather unpredictable; one second he would be talking about one topic, and the next he would jump to another completely unrelated one.

Ethan made an appointment with them to do another mission before returning to the alternate dimension. He was eager to change his identity, but he forgot that he was still an unregistered person.

Ethan logged into the system directly, entered his name into the Starfall population database, copied his birthday and other basic information, and then racked his brains trying to figure out how to make his identity more believable.

Ethan would also look for inspiration, look at other people's information, and combine it to make the story more realistic. But halfway through, he felt something was off.

How strange, why is he so naturally creating a fake identity for himself now? The system and his front door can be closed whenever he wants, isn't that illegal?

Ethan fell into deep thought.

This would be illegal in other cities, but Starfall City is different. So you can't just blatantly hack into the system and start building like this. This way, even undocumented immigrants can buy population information here, including those who have smuggled themselves in from other countries. This way, you can make this city the most populous city in a short time.

Ethan is already thankful that the population system is hard to hack. Money can be earned again, and that's no joke. People want quality, not quantity. Speaking of which, isn't his position and power a bit unusual?

Would a guardian do something like that? While they might be able to help create a fake identity, could someone just open their computer and make one up for themselves like he did...? Is that even possible?

Ethan was unaware that he didn't have a good relationship with the other guardians, rarely chatted with them, and it was even less likely that they would discuss such sensitive topics.

But the guardians... don't seem to be like him, wanting to control the city.

Ethan saved his information and turned to Starfall, who had nothing to do next to him, asking, "Is this normal?"

Starfall, who was so bored that she broke her own hand, cast a questioning look at him.

"Does the Guardian have that much power?" Ethan had already become accustomed to ignoring Starfall's behavior, and this wasn't the first time he'd been so surprised. He looked at Starfall with particular seriousness: "Please tell me, Lord Starfall, why do I feel like I control this city?"

"Of course not. What misleads you into thinking you can control me?" Xingyun casually took her hand back.

“That’s not what I meant.” Ethan immediately explained that he didn’t have that kind of bottom-up thinking: “I was just wondering why this kind of confidential system is like it has no password in my hands, and I can easily modify this important information.”

Oh, so that's what it is.

Xingyun remembered; it was indeed true.

When he handed over the reins to Ethan, he also gave him this part of the authority. Anyway, it wouldn't be of much use to him. He would never give it to those people below him. There was no guarantee that some fools would flood his city with a bunch of useless people just for money. So the more important powers were all in his hands. The powers held by the mayor and the higher-ups were just something he let out to keep them in check. He felt more at ease keeping them in his own hands.

Starfall doesn't really like talking to others about how much power he gives to the Guardians, and other cities won't bring up this topic with him either. Nobody wants to chat with him at all. People are terrified of him, and if they accidentally make eye contact, their eyes will dart away and avoid his gaze, as if looking directly at him is a terrifying thing.

He didn't particularly like this cowardly companion; there was a large group of people he couldn't get along with except for Novigrad, but she was also a little afraid of him.

Xingyun dislikes socializing, especially this kind of useless socializing, so he doesn't compare his situation with others. He has no idea how much authority the other city wills have delegated to their guardians.

But Ethan is to his liking, so what's wrong with giving him everything? Doesn't he know Ethan? He's not the kind of person who would sacrifice a big gain for a small one. On the contrary, he's overly polite and cautious. He's been working hard for a year, only to find that his authority seems a bit too high. Even Xingyun was amused by him.

Looking at Ethan, who was staring at him expectantly, Starfall simply couldn't connect Ethan with the people below.

First of all, Starfall was so rich that Ethan could hardly imagine it. Over the long years, the least valuable thing he had was the wealth he had acquired at will, and the books he had collected that he could not see at a glance. The room that Ethan played in back then was less than one ten-thousandth of his wealth, but even so, Ethan was unwilling to spend it.

Secondly, even though Ethan's relationship with his wizard colleagues improved and he was invited to parties and missions every day, often staying away from home for long periods, he did not restrict Ethan's freedom. Instead, he allowed Ethan to go from being timid at the beginning to being somewhat nervous when facing outsiders, but he was no longer as socially anxious as before.

Third, Starfall rarely gives evaluations of others, and most of his comments are negative. However, he occasionally praises Ethan, because that's what the book teaches. Insecure children need more praise to become more outgoing and confident.

When Ethan was praised, he didn't vehemently refute him like he did at the beginning. Instead, he looked at him with sparkling eyes, seemingly a little proud.

Even Starfall seemed to see Ethan's non-existent ears standing up high and his tail wagging happily.

Compared to the original Ethan, Starfall prefers the current Ethan. How about giving him some rights? Apart from not being able to see his mother often, the child seems to be doing quite well in other aspects.

"I've only granted you some permissions." Even though a flood of emotions flashed through Xingyun's mind in an instant, he uttered words sparingly: "I have more permissions in my hands."

It's fake, but he has the ability to take it back at any time.

"Oh, I see." Ethan looked relieved and much more relaxed. "I was so scared. I thought I had so much authority that I could control the whole city."

The falling star remained silent.

"Lord Starfall?" Ethan, receiving no response, looked over curiously again.

Starfall remained silent.

"Lord Starfall..." Ethan seemed uncertain: "You're not responding to me because the authority you gave me is really enough to control the operation of this city?"

Seeing Ethan's obvious unease, Starfall keenly sensed his tension. It seemed that admitting it would have too great an impact on him, with too much responsibility and power involved.

"No," Starfall finally denied.

Of course, you were lying to him. You should have realized it much earlier. The other city guardians didn't push through any laws, so they probably didn't have the authority in that area. You had control over many things in this city much earlier than you knew.

Of course, he himself has never been controlled or misled in this city. He only has the power to change some aspects of the city. If he doesn't cooperate, Ethan can't change anything.

Although he was very cooperative, that's not important.

"Don't think so much." Starfall patted Ethan's head. "If you're so prone to overthinking, why don't you let me see your recent potion-making skills or your physical abilities?"

Ethan: "..."

Ethan and Starfall went to check if he had been slacking off lately.

Then he was instantly knocked out, kneeling down smoothly, just like when he was first trained to fight. It felt like he had returned to a year ago.

The pain was excruciating. The intense pain was so palpable, screaming at my very existence and constantly reminding me that I was no longer a fighter, only capable of providing support. When would I ever be able to become a physical mage like Cassie and the others?

They can unleash powerful magic and possess a strong body, allowing them to beat enemies even without magic. Even when their magic is suppressed, like during the first beginner quest, they can still easily defeat their opponents.

Ethan lay down at Starfall's feet, pretending to be dead, when Starfall's honest reply came from above: "Not bad."

Then, Starfall, carrying him who was pretending to be dead, easily carried him like a child or a small animal into the room where he usually mixed potions.

"The potion on page 799 of book 31 in column 480." Starfall waved his hand casually, and a countdown timer made of magic floated in front of the two of them: "Prepare it within half an hour."

Here it comes, Lord Starfall's random test. Ethan thought for a full minute before remembering what kind of potion it was, and then he raced against time to prepare it.

Fortunately, he was not rusty and had already completed the allocation by the time he reached 24 minutes, and received a fair and positive comment from Xingyun.

Ethan opened another portal and walked in, saying, "Then, Lord Starfall, I'll be going now. I was accidentally rescued by my Guardian colleague during the mission, so I might have to stay in his house for a while to create some traces of habitation."

"Wait, what? Save Feng Chen? Stop! Ethan, tell me why you were saved by Feng Chen?"

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Author's Note: I really wanted to post some of my recent artwork, but it involves later plot points and I'm afraid of spoilers. I wish I could skip the current chapter and just go straight to that part—the character designs are so appealing! [crying emoji] I kept seeing videos on Hongshu (a Chinese social media platform) about meal replacements, and I kept recommending that world...

Please come back, Teacher Jun! [Praying]

Lately, I don't know if it's because of my period and my weakened immune system, but I've also been having headaches. Otherwise, I would definitely be updating daily if I wanted to finish this part sooner. If I keep putting it off, June is my final exam month, and I won't have time to update then [crying emoji]. Not updating makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't know why this is happening as soon as I start writing this story. I'm starting to wonder if it's a problem with my writing style.

My friend drew me a character who appears later in the story. He's handsome, but his hair should be longer. But that's okay, I'll spoil him. I'll let his hair get cut off during the battle!