“Since you don’t have any proof of ID, we’ll have to do things the old fashion way. There’s a kit downstairs that tests your mana purity and density. Depending on what we find, the level of security around you will vary.” The man huffed as the older Shiro nodded her head with a slightly afraid nod.
Narrowing his eyes for a moment, the man eventually turned back around and started to lead them downstairs.
During the walk, the atmosphere was rather awkward as ‘Ori’ would be startled by every sudden movement that she saw.
Seeing her body tense up at everything, Zaun couldn’t help but wonder what her life was like before for her to be this fearful of everything.
Sighing softly, he could only pray for her safety.
Upon arriving at the testing floor, Shiro could see large steel supports lined up along the walls while heavy reinforced gates surrounded them.
Seeing this, she could understand that it was extra fortification.
‘There’s probably more people that have tried the same so I suppose when they’re found out, they would try to either get out or kill as many as they could.’ Shiro mused to herself as she could see the guards standing alert despite her older self’s dainty appearance.
Even though she seemed weak from all angles, their weapons were ready to attack at any moment.
*Krrrr….
Pushing aside the heavy gates, they could see a reinforced room with terminals on the side and a seat in the middle.
“I’ll need you to sit on the seat. When you do, I’ll begin testing your mana to see how powerful you are.”
“What about my daughter?” The older Shiro asked with a worried gaze.
“She’ll have to go through the same. Don’t worry though, this is nothing harmful for the body. We’re just making sure that she isn’t a groan person disguised as a child since you’ll be surprised at how many of them, we’ve encountered.” The man replied.
Biting her bottom lip, ‘Ori’ eventually set Shiro down by one of the seats near the door.
“Behave ok? Mommy will be back soon.” She said with a forced smile.
However, seeing this, Shiro only rolled her eyes discreetly.
Walking over to the testing chair, Ori started to fidget with her hands nervously.
“There’s no need to be nervous Mrs. Ori. The test shouldn’t take too long.”
Flicking a switch, a tier 6 magic circle slowly appeared around the room before slowly constricting towards Ori.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she held her breath and waited.
Soon, faint glowing lines could be seen hovering above her body as Shiro recognised them to be mana links.
But the moment she looked towards the center; her pupils constricted in surprise.
‘My links are broken again???’
Sitting in the centre, was an entangled mess of links that were either fractured or snapped.
Looking at her in surprise, the three guards couldn’t believe that this woman was actually alive.
‘Since her links are broken, there’s probably a low chance of her being someone that can bring great harm to the city. However, there are still methods of repairing the links so she’ll need level 2 security as well as a body search to make sure she isn’t hiding anything.’ The man thought to himself while writing down a few notes.
Flipping the switch once more, the tier 6 magic circle faded away.
“Ok Mrs. Ori, you can get up now. It’s your daughter’s turn.”
Hearing this, Ori ‘sighed in relief’ and stood up from the chair.
Walking over to Shiro, she picked her up before placing her in the chair.
“Behave now ok? These kind people will do a quick check up and then we can rest.” She said with a smile but Shiro was more focused on the fact that her links were broken.
‘How the hell did she use a tier 6 spell if her links are broken? Wouldn’t that just kill her straight away? Plus, when I sensed her mana in the house, it was still normal? How- Wait a f*cking moment. Did she break them herself to pass this test???’ Shiro thought with surprise.
While she was still thinking to herself, the man had already flipped the switch and a tier 6 magic circle appeared around her.
Much like what happened to her older self, faint blue lines started to appear, representing her mana links.
However, compared to the tangled mess that they saw in Ori, Tia’s mana links were like they were made from the finest crystal. Each link was heavily reinforced and despite her lack of mana due to being a child, they could tell that her future was going to be bright. Each spell would be highly efficient and her mana usage will be minimal.
Seeing this, the man could help but blink twice just to make sure he was seeing things correctly as this was a very rare sight.
“She is your daughter, yes?” He asked curiously since he couldn’t imagine a woman with broken links giving birth to a daughter with so much hidden potential.
“Yes, she’s my daughter, why do you ask?”
“Nothing.” Shaking his head, he started to write down some notes.
‘From what I can see, the daughter is not a person in disguise. Her potential is very high so it’s probably good if I tip the council off about this. Plus, she’s wanting to stay in this city so it’s good to have her daughter become someone that can protect us. Since her daughter is quite important, I should probably tell the security to make them feel more accepted. That way, they’re more inclined to help us in the future.’ Thinking about this, the man nodded in satisfaction and wrapped his notes up.
Snapping his fingers, a tier 5 magic circle appeared in front of him as he placed the note on top. Teleporting it elsewhere, he looked towards Ori and Tia.
“Both of you have passed but we’ll need to assign some guards with you if that’s ok. They’ll keep you safe during your time here. In addition to this, we’ll provide you with a flat for you to stay in until you’re able to work and pay for your rent. Would that be ok?” The man asked. after turning off the equipment.
“Yes, that would be great! Thank you very much!” Ori bowed enthusiastically as the man was a little taken aback by her attitude but dismissed it. After all, safety was quite hard to find if you’re not strong in this new age.
“Follow Zaun and you can go collect your pseudo citizenship. We’ll need to watch your behaviour over the course of a few months to see if you’re eligible for a full citizenship.”
“Ok, I understand.” Ori smiled.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, she followed Zaun and collected a passport of sorts with her picture and some basic information.
Bringing her down from the wall, they started to make their way through the mountainous city.
“The flat that they gave you is around the halfway point of the mountains so that you can access most of the facilities easily. There isn’t much you need to keep in mind since everyone’s pretty friendly but do note that there are wealthy and powerful people near the top. As long as you don’t annoy them, your time here should be fine.” Zaun explained with a smile.
“I see… ok. So, I need to be friendly with the people up top so they don’t hurt me?” Ori asked just to make sure.
“Well you don’t exactly need to be friendly with them. You can probably get by through just minding your own business. You never know what might piss them off after all.” Zaun shrugged.
“So. I ignore them?”
“Yes.”
Explaining a few details to her, such as where she can go buy some stuff along with where most things are located, they eventually arrived at the flat.
“Your room is 13 B and it’s on the second floor to your right. Just make sure you don’t disturb your neighbours since they may file a complaint towards you.”
“Ok, thank you.”
Watching Ori walk up the stairs, Zaun shook his head and hoped that she would be fine. Seeing as how she was quite fearful of everything, he guessed that her life might be a bit difficult unless she got over her fears.
###
“Fuu… f*cking finally. There aren’t any guards just yet and I’ve already silenced this room so we can talk now.” ‘Ori’ sighed as she stretched her body.
Snapping her fingers, a tier 6 magic circle appeared on her finger tips. Tracing it along her stomach up to her chest, she smiled.
“Man, breaking my links and repairing them again is such a pain. Makes me feel sluggish as sh*t.” She complained before laying on the bed that was placed in the room.
“Well that pretty much answers my question. But how did you even fix your links so easily?” Shiro asked.
“Mn? Oh, nothing too serious. My skills improved over time and naturally, the limits of what they can do increases as well. For example, Grace heals everything right?”
“Uhuh.”
“I just improved my control over the skill after the system was gone and made it so that I can focus it on a specific area. That way, I can heal it no matter how dangerous.” She grinned.
*Sigh
“Figures. So, what now?”
“Now we wait. We’ll integrate ourselves into this society and get their trust.” The older Shiro chuckled.
