Chapter 1 New Life and Guardians "You are already dead." ...
"You are dead." Ethan heard this as soon as he regained consciousness.
He opened his bewildered eyes. Standing beside him was a long-haired man in a suit, staring at him expressionlessly.
Ethan sat up abruptly, instinctively touching his neck. He felt a wetness on his hand and looked down to see the glaring scarlet blood clearly visible on his pale, scarred hand.
It was blood, and it was still flowing. Ethan thought, his last memory was the physical blow his father had struck him, so he really was dead… But what about his mother?
Starfall watched as the boy's eyes turned into fried eggs, and he found it absurd: "Aren't you curious about where you are? Aren't you curious about who I am?"
So the fried egg puppy cooperated and asked, "Are you the Grim Reaper?"
"...No, I am Starfall, the embodiment of the city's will." Starfall frowned: "Do you know the city's guardian?"
Ethan knew this; it was common knowledge that every city had its own guardian to maintain order—this was a mandatory requirement, usually chosen by the city's will, and most of them were local residents.
He also knew that the last guardian of the previous batch had died in a battle against alien monsters a few years ago, and the current active ones were all new guardians who had just debuted. The only one missing from this batch was Starfall City. Generally, only guardians could directly contact the city's will.
This is the first time he's seen what the City Will looks like. Wait, could it be what he's thinking?
“Ethan Nix.” Starfall’s brows relaxed. “Congratulations, you have become the new guardian of Starfall City.”
Ethan froze, then began to deny it: "No, I can't do anything, Lord City. I can't do anything right, and besides, I didn't agree." His voice dropped considerably at the end, and he looked at him timidly, as if he felt that his impulsive refusal would anger Starfall.
“Oh right, it was my oversight. I forgot to ask for your opinion.” Starfall seemed to remember something and smiled, which looked so malicious to Ethan: “You can remain conscious because I’m choosing you as my guardian. If you don’t want to, I will take it back.”
Ah, here it is: the demand to die if you don't work.
Ethan was deeply moved. With tears in his eyes, he slid down to his knees and hugged Starfall's legs: "Lord City, it is the greatest honor of my life to be your guardian. Please let me take on this role."
No one wants to die for no reason, so being able to walk in this world is his goal. As for what you said about guardians dying young? He's already dead, what does he have to fear? His mother is still waiting for him to save her.
Starfall was satisfied. He snapped his fingers, and dozens of books appeared out of thin air, stacked together and landing next to Ethan. He snapped his fingers again, and Ethan could clearly feel a fine, dense pain and itching on his neck. He tentatively touched it; the bleeding had stopped. Was the wound healing? The wound on his hand was also disappearing.
"Get up," Starfall commanded. Ethan obeyed instinctively, but when he stood up, he found that the pile of books was taller than him. He was filled with despair, unable to imagine how he could possibly memorize so many.
“Even I can’t save you. I’ve managed to keep your blood flowing and your heart beating, but your stomach can’t digest your food. Remember to come to me every month for a check-up.” Starfall gestured for him to look at the books: “You have excellent magical aptitude. Here are 40 introductory books. You need to master them within a week. Ask me if you don’t understand.”
"Thank you, City Lord." Ethan glanced at him, then at his book, forcing a smile. "I'll try my best." Why is it that the starting point for beginners is 40 books? Can he really do that? He has to try, even if he can't.
Thus began Ethan's miserable learning journey. It felt like his last time studying was a lifetime ago. He even mispronounced some grammar rules and was reprimanded by Starfall.
“I can’t believe you’re asking me something so simple.” Starfall closed the book. “I mean you should be asking me when you’re learning a spell but can’t get it working.”
Ethan's voice was barely audible, his face flushed red: "I'm sorry, City Lord, I haven't been to school since I was eight years old."
Xingyun: “…”
Ethan: "QAQ"
Starfall: "Let's start with our studies and university courses."
Alone in the middle of the night, Xingyun pondered: No, have I been neglecting that child? Should I find some parenting books?
After two weeks, Ethan finally finished the university curriculum and thoroughly mastered the 40 books on introductory magic. Congratulations!
"Well done," Starfall praised. Ethan's eyes, which had been listless, lit up visibly.
The most important thing in parenting is to give children appropriate confidence, encouragement, and affirmation. It really works.
Starfall recalled the book's contents and, remembering the occasional reward for the child, took Ethan to his private library. Several previous guardians had begged him to let them in, but he hadn't allowed them to set foot inside, because the books were precious, some even unique copies, so he was confident Ethan would love them.
So he opened the library door: "You can browse through them all without damaging them." Looking at the endless rows of books, Ethan's legs went weak, and he knelt down.
"What's wrong?" Xingyun helped him up. "Are you too happy?"
"Yes, I'm so happy..." Ethan's hands were trembling. "Can I ask how many books are inside?"
Starfall held up a number, and Ethan asked, "Ten thousand?" Starfall shook his head: "Ten million."
There's a downside to being a living dead person: you can't truly pass out unless your body suffers extensive damage.
The library wasn't mandatory for Ethan to complete all the lessons; it simply contained more knowledge, more advanced magicians' concepts and ideas, allowing him to refine his magic from different perspectives. Although Starfall said it was better to see and learn as much as possible, Ethan was relieved that it wasn't a mission, and enthusiastically went to select magician-related notes that he had seen in introductory books and found interesting.
For example, he saw a magic book that could be used more efficiently and effectively with arrays. Ethan wondered if he could have it engraved on his combat suit. Without hesitation, Ethan took the indestructible Buko provided by Starfall and began experimenting.
Starfall didn't know what was wrong with him. He was paying too much attention to the current Guardian, even though he had always been indifferent to the Guardian. He didn't need the Guardian at all. Didn't he know how bad his city was? He was even afraid that Ethan would be harmed after saving someone.
Starfall City breeds selfish and wicked people. The selection of guardians requires a certain level of kindness. For countless years, it has been looking for outsiders. Its residents are the kind who are thanking you for saving them one second and stabbing you in the waist the next. Therefore, the probability of its guardians dying or being killed by hostages is 65%.
But Ethan was different; he was a child whose good and evil values were all above average, so he chose a local the first time, although it was a little late when he discovered it after the person died.
Starfall couldn't help but compare Ethan to the previous guardians in his mind.
My ex-guardian accidentally boiled a potion, and without a shred of remorse, blamed the pot and told me to get a new one. My ex-ex-boyfriend was a gambler and always wanted money. My ex-ex-ex-boyfriend was obsessed with dating, and was completely love-struck. They have a whole host of flaws, far worse than my current boyfriend, although some of the problems stem from him neglecting them.
So here's the question. Starfall thought seriously, the book says that doing crafts with children is good for building a bond, but Ethan is already very busy. Should he interfere?
Finally, Starfall joined in and sewed Ethan's uniform—a cloak that only revealed the lower half of Ethan's face.
A large five-pointed star sits atop his head, taken from the star of Starfall City; moons adorn his cheeks, taken from his mother's surname, Nix; the bottom of his cloak features rhombuses that blend with the collar; the array patterns are predominantly blue-gray, which, combined with the black cloak, give him a somewhat mysterious air.
Starfall knows Ethan is socially awkward and hasn't left his house in years, let alone socialized. If you asked him to speak to anyone other than his family, you'd find he's practically a mute, especially with strangers—he's practically voiceless. The reason they treat him normally is because he's the embodiment of the city's will, possessing maximum resident affinity, allowing them to communicate normally. If he were to go out, everyone's impression of him would only be that the current guardian is mute.
Ethan wore a suit with not a single hair showing, and it was clear he really liked it—he was practically adorned with little flowers. Oh well, as long as the kid likes it, that's fine. Although he'll definitely be seen as a weirdo, Starfall believes Ethan is already prepared.
You can wear anything under the cloak, but Ethan resolutely chose a bodysuit and inlaid it with sapphires that can store magic. There isn't much time to drink potions to replenish magic during battle, and it can save many people when necessary.
Do you know what the requirements are to become a Guardian?
“Yes, Lord City Lord!” Ethan replied energetically: “Do not harm innocent people, minimize damage and losses, and if necessary, sacrifice some to obtain a better solution! Do not let personal emotions interfere, be fair and just to everything, and do not be arrogant just because you have the ability.”
“Excellent.” Starfall looked at him approvingly: “Just make sure the residents of my city follow the above rules and don’t get fooled by the old, weak, sick and disabled. Children are especially cunning.”
Because children are purely evil, they don't know that their behavior is wrong. They just do it because they think it's fun. They can call white black and deceive people with their age. An ex-ex-boyfriend was deceived by a child and became an ex-ex-boyfriend.
Ethan: "Huh? Okay." Although he didn't understand, he obeyed.
“In our city, there’s one more crucial thing.” Starfall patted Ethan’s head, his voice unusually gentle for the first time: “Erase all traces of your existence. Now let’s go erase your mother’s memories.”
I almost forgot about this. There was a time when someone accidentally let others know the whereabouts of her family. She was then retaliated against by a vengeful criminal. When she returned home, she found that none of them had survived. Her parents, husband, children, and even her dog had been killed.
After handling the funerals of the culprit and her relatives, the guardian chose to reunite with her family on a sunny afternoon. She was the guardian that Starfall remembered most vividly, and Starfall began to implement this rule after that.
A note from the author:
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