Ethan made a halt, and he finally looked around the area he was walking at.
Beneath him was a road that went as far as the big wall he had seen first toward where he was going. It took a few turns here and there, but for Ethan, the frontier boards were the ones he was meant to follow.
All around, people were walking together. They all wore clothes way different from the usual he saw where he lived.
It was a basic cotton shirt and pants made from basic-level raw materials from the looks of it.
Whenever he passed a group of such people and they saw him looking at the frontier boards and moving toward it, they all stopped talking and murmured to each other while staring at Ethan.
Ethan had a feeling that it was not so much the place that was weird, but the people living in it.
There were several open buildings that resembled shops; it was definitely a good enough human settlement, but there weren't many people to see.
Ethan kept moving forward while ignoring everyone that he saw. Soon, when he had walked for another few minutes, a huge wooden board inscribed with 'Frontier Development Department' was close enough to him.
He saw the board wanting him to make the first right turn, and then he did, only to find that all the buildings around him had finally stopped, and there was a little chance for the trees and plants to grow.
For the minute Ethan walked, he saw all kinds of tree shapes, some definitely felt quite old, while some were too young. Even some of the small plants had berry-like growths out of them.
At the back of his mind, Ethan knew he shouldn't try eating them, but why it felt like that, he didn't know.
'Something is definitely wrong with my memory…' He thought while trying to think of anything of the past, only to be left blank.
But he didn't stop walking, and soon, there was a big single building in front of the road after a steep turn.
Ethan marvelled over its make. It felt like it was cut around in the most inefficient places and made with total output in mind.
But it was such a weird thought to have after looking at such a beautifully made building, he didn't realize what was the reason he thought like that.
He reached out to the gigantic door of the building; there was no one around outside the building.
BANG BANG BANG
With the size of the door, instead of politely knocking, Ethan banged it three times with his hands.
'It is so thick, it's only right to bang it this loud.' Ethan thought, but then felt weirded out. How could he tell it was a thick door? Weird.
After less than a minute, he felt a slight push to the gate, and then it moved back, finally letting him see inside.
"Why are you here?" A man looked at him with skepticism.
When Ethan looked at him, he could tell he may have been slightly older than him. He was wearing a set of leather safety clothes that felt strong enough to let him be safer for whatever he was up to.
"Lorial sent me here… she said I have been selected for the Frontier Development Department."
When Ethan let him know that, the man's eyes flashed in understanding, and he made the way for Ethan to enter with a huge grin.
"You're welcome inside, man why didn't you say that before?" He spoke with an excited voice.
Ethan just stared there for a second before he made his way inside. The people in this place were definitely weird.
"Who did you think I was before?" Ethan asked him out of genuine curiosity, seeing how the man reacted.
"Ah, you don't need to know about that. I should have looked at your clothes before judging," The man spoke with a chuckle.
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Ethan looked all around, only to feel they were all fine-looking.
"Hahahaha, Earth clothes are only to show fashion, they do nothing more than that, which is not suitable for this world. You will see."
"Oh, on that note, that… Loriel told me something similar to that. Are we not on Earth right now? Are you a parasite alien controlling the human brain?"
"Woah, where did that come from? I am as Earthner as you are, man. It's just that…" The man spoke, only to halt.
"No matter how long I try to explain everything to you, it will only be a mess. You will be allotted a place to live soon and given a book with all the details. Make sure you read the book before you sleep, it helps with the memories."
"Memories…" Ethan's mouth went to awe listening to it. Was he going to get his memories back?
"Anyways, my name is Garrick. Depending on where you are allotted, let's have some great work together." Garrick offered a fist bump that Ethan responded to almost instinctively, as if it was muscle memory.
"Anyways, wait here. I will get your process started." Garrick spoke again and went inside a room.
Right now, Ethan was in a grey-carpeted lobby-like area. There was a reception right in the front, yet no one to greet from there.
There were a few seats to the side just like any lobby, except the cozy sofas. Ethan didn't take long to sit on one of them, and his butt felt better on the cushion after a long time.
This place had not been kind to him since he came here.
'But a different world huh… that has such a ridiculous feeling around it, maybe it's all a dream?'
CLANK
"Ethan Smith, I presume?"
Upon opening of the gate that Garrick had gone in, a woman came out. Ethan got up to go toward the reception.
When he saw the face of the girl, he couldn't help but get a wild, nature feeling from her.
"You're the next trash they sent to us, huh?" She blurted out with sharp eyes and a wild grin. "Welcome to the Frontier Development Department!"