"Sit down," Raymond cut in, stretching his hand towards one of the two white roller chairs in front of the table.
"Thank you," Lukas said, pulling the chair out. He bent backward and rested his butt in the soft embrace of the cushion.
Raymond let Lukas stay for a while longer before he continued speaking.
"You will be on probation for a year. We can’t let someone awakened by a rogue god run around the city just like that."
Raymond’s voice was direct. It wasn’t a request; it was a threat wrapped in a command.
Lukas also understood this. He could only sigh in exasperation. Even though probation hadn’t come to mind, he expected a clause given his situation.
’If only I could switch the signature of my divine energy, I wouldn’t be in this situation.’
Seeing that Lukas did not try to argue, Raymond smiled. ’At least, he is smarter than the average person.’
"What is the probation about though? Am I getting locked in a room or what?" Lukas asked.
His analogy was just a joke. But he wanted Raymond to understand him well.
"Nah, it’s not that serious," Raymond replied, waving his hand in dismissal. "It is more of a mandatory service."
"Mandatory service?" Lukas echoed back with raised brows.
"You are to serve as a police officer in the association for a year."
Before Lukas could speak, Raymond continued.
"I have assigned you to a squad, you resume next week."
He did not even wait for Lukas’s approval.
"So fast? Shouldn’t I be given at least a month to prepare?"
"No," Raymond replied in a cold tone. "Till then, I will be holding this."
Lukas watched with wide eyes as the card he was holding disappeared from his grasp.
It reappeared on a stack of documents. Lukas squinted as he looked at the documents and the card that now lay on them.
"You can go," Raymond said.
The documents Lukas was looking at vanished in the next second, alongside the ID card placed on them.
Lukas was snapped back into focus as the documents disappeared. He looked up to meet Raymond’s piercing gaze.
With a wry smile, Lukas spoke. "Thank you."
He ran this hand through his hair, unsure if that was a good parting word.
But Raymond seemed to accept it, waving Lukas off and turning his face toward the monitor on his desk.
"Oh, and I am sure you met Maria, cause she would be the one receiving you next week, and for your one-year term. In simple terms, she is the leader of the squad you have been assigned to."
Raymond said, making Lukas stop for a while, before he nodded and continued walking.
He checked the time on his wristwatch. "I spent over four hours," Lukas sighed as he walked into the elevator.
The next few minutes moved quickly for Lukas and he soon found himself outside the association building.
Standing in the street of Astria, his gaze drifted through building after building.
In the next second, his umbrella appeared in his hand, pulled out of his divine storage with a thought.
The wide canopy shielded him from the burning rays of the sun.
’Such a weird temperature,’ Lukas thought as he moved.
’Yesterday, it was cold and rainy, but today was scorching.’
Lukas continued down the street, the tip of his umbrella tapping against the pavement every few steps.
The thought of going back to his room crossed his mind, but he brushed it aside.
"It’s just a bit past midday, I should explore the city while it is still empty."
’At least, I don’t have to worry about money or shelter while serving,’ he thought.
Then he stopped.
The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air.
His eyes moved toward a small shop by the side.
That triggered instincts that he had forgotten about. His stomach growled.
"I have not eaten since morning," he thought, his gaze lingering on the building for a while longer before he decided to take a look.
By the time Lukas stepped out of the bakery, he had a small paper bag in his right hand.
He opened it and took a bite as he continued walking.
"Now this is delicious," he said with a wide grin.
He stopped once again, his brows knitted together as he turned back.
There was no one, just the same slightly busy street of Astria.
He shrugged and continued walking.
The day was spent exploring most of the city.
Lukas pushed through his door and entered his room.
For a while, he only stood there, eyes plastered on the bed before he began scanning the entire room.
With a tired sigh, he placed his umbrella against the desk and sauntered in before collapsing into the bed.
A wave of tiredness washed over him as all the fatigue of the day caught up to him.
After the assessment, he had taken his time checking around the city, from public spaces, to private spaces, to secluded areas. Lukas had checked as much as he could.
"Hopefully, having all this information would make it easy for me as a police officer in the future," he muttered in a tired tone
With a sluggish movement of his hand, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it with his face.
He opened the app labeled Youtok and began scrolling.
’This reminds me of some apps back on Earth,’ he thought, still scrolling.
Most of the things there were just videos from the Void battlefield, with a few comedic ones from daily life.
But less than ten minutes passed before the same video began to play over and over again.
The phone slipped out of Lukas’s palm, dropping onto the bed after a while.
Lukas had fallen asleep, eyes clenched tightly