— Sergeant Skull's POV —
After slaughtering the beast, I watched the boy dig up a small grave in front of the building he once called home and bury his sister there, even though I offered to take her to the city with us and give her a proper burial.
"I will not have my sister buried in a city built on our blood." I couldn't help but mutter his exact words.
But it wasn't just his words that rattled me—it was the look in his eyes. When I met this kid in that mining facility, he seemed a bit proud for a slave, but also cautious and slightly fearful.
However, his eyes looked empty now. There were no emotions in those eyes, and his gaze seemed distant—like he was looking past me even though his eyes were on me.
But what can I say?
Losing his only surviving family member must have broken him. This is a wound that will take some time to heal.
"Let's go." Lucius's voice snapped me out of my reverie, but before I could look at him, he had already walked past me.
I watched him enter the vehicle while William rushed over to my side with my phone.
"Did you get everything?" I asked as I snatched the phone away and began going through the recordings.
"Don't worry, my recording skills are way better than my fighting skills." William nodded with a sheepish smile.
Paying little attention to his words, I focused on the videos, and after browsing through them, I nodded in satisfaction.
'It seems he wasn't lying. His recording skills are much better than his fighting skills.' I couldn't help but admit.
The angles he recorded from were something only professionals could achieve.
At this point, I was finding it hard to hold back my excitement. If I turn this video in while delivering Lucius to the government, I'm certain I can milk out more benefits from them and maybe even get a double promotion!
I had to admit that my initial evaluation of Lucius was terribly wrong. Initially, I believed Lucius just had superhuman strength, but after his fight with the mutt, I was certain that this kid possessed true super strength.
Yes, I have seen more capable guardians with greater levels of super strength, but he was definitely beyond the level of ordinary superhuman strength.
That, combined with his quick regeneration—which I noticed after the dog's bite wound closed up—meant this kid should be rated at least A in terms of talent!
"Come on, William. Wealth, fame, and fortune await me!" I laughed and ran toward the car.
I just couldn't hold it in anymore.
—
With all the beasts in the region dead and the few survivors hiding, there were no complications in our journey back to the city. It took us nine hours to get back to New York, but for me, those nine hours felt like nine days.
During this time, Lucius didn't say a single word. He just leaned on the door and watched the scenery. However, as we approached New York City, the kid's eyes flickered with some emotion as he saw the 100-meter-tall wall stretching for miles in every direction.
I noticed his interest wasn't in the size of the wall but in the blue aetherium circuits snaking across all corners of the wall. What he didn't know was that the wall was built with aetherium crystals, which in turn powered the translucent blue dome that covered the entire city.
"Impressive, right?" I asked with an exaggerated smile, hoping to use this as an opportunity to engage the kid in conversation and create a good relationship with him before he gained fame.
Just banking on debt wasn't enough. It would be better if I became the first friend he makes in this city.
"I guess it's alright…" Lucius shrugged his shoulders and returned to his initial position like the wall didn't mean anything.
'Is he crazy or something?' I was seconds away from ripping my hair out. 'This wall is taller than the Statue of Liberty!'
"Alright?!" I blurted out, unable to accept his response. "Within the confines of the dome, the climate is regulated to ensure optimal conditions for human habitation. Temperature, humidity, and air quality are all monitored and adjusted as needed. It is the ultimate paradise any man can ask for!"
I was not going to let a peasant who has never known luxury talk down on America's achievements thirty years after the Blue Death event.
This time I expected some sort of excitement or shock, but what I saw on Lucius's face was annoyance.
— Lucius's POV —
I'm not sure what this fool was expecting from me. Am I supposed to clap and grin ear to ear over a technological marvel that can only be accessed by barely one percent of America's population?
I was about to ask my question when the voice and texts returned.
[The reason we Xenovians grew to become one of the strongest races in the universe is our inability to express our emotions. It allowed us to shield our thoughts, and to make this even more effective, we learned how to speak less. This man is trying to get on your good side, so why not use him to get some information about New York and the world in general?]
My brows knitted slightly at the voice's request, but it made sense.
Since the man was eager to be of use, why not put him to work?
It's not like I have anything to lose.
"Tell me about the city…" I asked, and the sergeant's face lit up with a smile.
"The city is divided into three sections: the residential district, the central district, and the nobility district," Sergeant Skull began his explanation without hesitation.
"The residential district is located at the edges of the city, next to the walls. It's filled with lucky Americans who have no ability but work to keep the city running. We can't have venerable guardians working 9-to-5 jobs, can we?" He laughed, and from the look on his face, I guess he expected me to laugh as well, but I only gave him a dry nod.
Ahem!
Sergeant Skull faked a cough before glaring at the rearview mirror. I was confused at first, but I traced his gaze only to realize the driver and the soldier in the front seat were observing us through the mirror.
"The central district belongs to most guardians within the E to B ranking. It's filled with interesting characters and can be considered one of the safest places in the city," Sergeant Skull continued.
"And finally, there is the nobility district. As the name suggests, it's a district reserved for only nobility. To become nobility, you must be at least an A-ranked guardian, or at least have an A-ranked guardian in your family. Once you make it to that level, a lot of doors open for you. If you're lucky, you may even get to meet the Big Four or even the President."
I listened in silence as the sergeant spoke, nodding in understanding occasionally. Everything made sense to me, but what I couldn't understand was how it's possible to segregate people living in the same city.
"Does this mean people from the residential district can't enter the central district, and those in the central district can't enter the nobility district?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Yep…" Sergeant Skull responded casually.
"How is that possible?" I asked again.
Sergeant Skull chuckled as our tinted windows lowered, giving me a clearer view of the stunning wall in the distance.
"You see that wall?" Sergeant Skull asked.
"Yeah…" I nodded. "What about it?"
"Imagine two more of those within the city."
Huh?
I was taken aback and quickly looked back at the towering wall.
"Consider New York as a ring city with two more rings within…" Skull explained further. "Each ring is manned by intense security and has its own barrier to prevent people from flying over the walls. You need a certain level of security clearance or an ID revealing your identity and social status to pass."
"So a noble can go anywhere, but a normal person living in the residential district can't go anywhere?" My voice trailed off as I asked that question to myself.
However, the sergeant seemed to believe the question was for him.
"Bingo." He chuckled.
'Humans are trash.' I concluded.
[Of course… They are primitive creatures controlled by insatiable greed for power, wealth, and status.] the voice commented.
Pushing the thought aside, my attention returned to Skull.
"Tell me how guardians are ranked." I shoved my emotions away, and it was surprisingly easy.
"Amongst the guardians, there are six ratings: E, D, C, B, A, S, and SS," Sergeant Skull explained. "Currently, there are only ten SS-rated guardians in the entire world, and the United States has two."
I noticed the proud light blazing in his eyes when he spoke about the rankings. It seemed the United States having two SS-ranked guardians was a big deal.
"Before you join the academy, your abilities are put to the test, and based on your performance, you will be given a potential rating, which basically means your expected peak—but don't think too much about it because it's not always accurate," he added.
I asked for more details about guardians and their duties. To my surprise, there were two types of guardians across the world: the ones who stayed within the safety of the walls and played heroes for civilians, and then there were a few who left the walls of New York and joined soldiers in military operations to capture more territories lost to beasts.
They were called Heroes and Hunters respectively.
Hunter-type guardians usually end up becoming the peak-ranking guardians because of their massive contributions. In terms of overall power, these guardians—even with weaker abilities—can defeat heroes of equal ranking due to the abundance of experience they've gained from risking their lives beyond the wall.