Star Forge Titan

"But the other party just rejected you, right? Why do you have to have this person?" Ka Yang still asked with some confusion:

"Honestly speaking, if I just want to get a high ranking and enter the Linde Magic Technology Talent Training Program, I can just find someone at random. Even if it's a monkey who can only drive." A confident smile appeared on the corner of the boy's mouth, and he said something that sounded very arrogant in a calm tone.

"You're so confident." Ka Yang held his forehead with a headache but was not surprised at all.

He already had some understanding of this guy's nature. He wasn't the arrogant type, and to some extent, he was just speaking the truth, but to others, it could sometimes sound particularly harsh.

"But what I want is first place." Alvin shrugged.

"So it can only be her."

Chapter 27: Downtown Orphan

"Okay." Ka Yang shrugged. He learned this action from Ai Wenwen.

"Then I'll have to go back alone in the carriage." The young wizard acted as if he was abandoned.

"Okay, I'll leave the identity matter to you." Alvin rolled his eyes and threw out a large bag of gold coins, which were all won from the previous gambling.

"As long as you have money, it's fine." Ka Yang made a gesture that it was all right, took the gold coins with a smile on his face, and almost sprained his waist because of the weight of the purse.

"..." He looked at Ivan, who was carrying the same bag of gold coins in one hand, with a look that said, "Did you do that on purpose?"

But seeing that the other person had an innocent look on his face, he could only secretly swear to find time to exercise when he returned.

"I will try to contact that woman as soon as possible." Ka Yang said in a low voice:

"By the way, if you don't come back today, where will we meet after we find that person?" The young wizard suddenly thought of this.

Palladia does not have convenient communication tools like mobile phones, so the two must fix a meeting place.

"There's a coffee shop called 'Blue Bird' on Central Street. If nothing goes wrong, we'll meet there at 12 noon tomorrow." Alvin thought for a moment and gave an address, suddenly feeling particularly nostalgic in his heart.

That coffee shop was also a regular place where he and his teammates met when playing games.

"Central Street, Bluebird...Okay, I'll remember it." Ka Yang nodded.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned around and said to Alvin with a strange expression:

"Please don't do anything to let Fulei down, Mr. Married Man."

"Bah, do you think you can call her Frey?" Ivan immediately glared at him in return.

"Tsk." Khayon made a rude gesture, turned around, jumped onto the carriage and ran away.

"Guna!" Alvin waved his fist threateningly at the departing carriage.

Then, he returned to the magic car.

"Can we set off now?" Diana asked in a cold tone:

"Anytime." Alvin nodded, feeling a little strange.

The other person's future personality was definitely different. Could it be that Diana at this stage encountered something major, which transformed her into the exceptionally heroic, bold, and competitive person she remembered?

However, a few minutes later, Alvin reconfirmed that at least in terms of his competitive spirit, the other party had never changed.

"Hurry up!" Diana looked at the road ahead with burning eyes.

"No problem." Alvin held the magic wand in one hand, and the violent raw magic power was firmly controlled and output in an orderly manner, making the magic engine work at its maximum power.

"Great!" Little Betty shouted excitedly.

Then, Diana overtook another magic car by sticking close to its body, causing the other party to lean half of its body out of the car window and shout curses.

Diana turned a deaf ear to it. She had never experienced such a smooth driving experience. The roar of the magic engine was like an undulating and flowing sonata, and every beat was perfectly matched with her driving movements, as if the vehicle and she were completely integrated.

The silver magic car left the other cars behind and drove into a street in the downtown area, leaving fallen leaves and dust flying all the way.

Diana then slowed down because the roads here were much narrower than those in other urban areas, and there were many stalls set up on the roadside.

There's a barber shop with a spinning pinwheel hanging on its head, where many people come to get their hair cut and shaves. There's also a food stall selling questionable barbecue, where several children drool over it. Besides that, there's also a variety of small vendors, giving the street a vibrant atmosphere.

"Diana!"

"It's Diana back!"

"Did you win today too?"

"Is there any need to ask? Our Diana is always number one."

Seeing the iconic silver magic car, people enthusiastically greeted Diana.

For the first time, a smile appeared on Diana's face. She waved to everyone and drove into an old courtyard at the end of the street.

It was a rather old building, with a sign reading 'Marilyn Orphanage' hanging on the front. It was clear that the original builder had been quite well-off, as the entire compound occupied a considerable area. The two-story building, each with ten rooms, occupied a large section of the street.

However, due to its age, the exterior has begun to peel, revealing the interlaced red bricks and stones within, which contrast with the emerald green groundcover that covers a large section of the exterior wall. Also known as Parthenocissus pedunculata, this plant, also known as creeper, belongs to the genus Parthenocissus in the grape family. Its dense foliage and numerous, slanting branches create a look like a green tapestry hung on the wall.

At the entrance to the small building, you can see a statue of a goddess, old but very clean. It is Juno, the queen of Jupiter, the god of light. In the beliefs of the Linde people, she represents heaven and women, and is also the patron saint of marriage and newborns.

Obviously, this is a very traditional orphanage, or rather a nursery.

"We're here." Diana turned off the magic engine, and her voice became a little cold again.

"So?" Ivan held his chin with one hand and looked at the other person with interest.

Judging from her performance, Diana was clearly unaffected by [Power of Power], but that wasn't the point. He was looking for a partner, not for any other reasons.

The key point is that this, from another perspective, demonstrates that the opponent possesses at least a remarkable talent in the realm of perception. This is why they can easily see through the charismatic aura and see their true nature. And perception is precisely the most important attribute of the emerging professions after the Magic Revolution.

Because the original sources of most professions are warriors, knights and mages, this sequence, like many similar sequences, has the nickname of Magic Knight.

"So it's time for you to leave." Diana frowned, wanting to take out some of the bounty from winning the game as a reward to get rid of this guy who was sticking to her.

"Sister Diana is back!"

Suddenly, a burst of cheers came from the door of the small building. A dozen children, no taller than half a person, rushed to Diana like an overturned bag of potatoes and surrounded her.

"You are very familiar with them." Alvin looked at the other person in surprise.

In the game, he and Diana don't have much contact. Most of the time, the other party is just a popular character issuing various orders. The only interaction with the player is speeches in story missions and fighting side by side on the battlefield.

So, seriously, Ivan doesn't know Diana's past.

"..." Without paying any attention to this guy, Diana picked up a little girl who was still running a nose with a headache, and as a result, other children also started shouting for hugs.

At this moment, the aura of keeping strangers away disappeared completely. The short-haired girl now looked particularly approachable, without any trace of her previous coldness. Instead, she gave people an extremely real and full of life feeling.

"Diana?" Just when she felt she could not move forward, a kind and old voice came from the second floor of the small building.

The second-floor window was opened from the inside, and a warm white mist floated out. At the same time, an old woman dressed in a nun's uniform, as round as a large potato, leaned out and looked down.

"You brought friends here? I just made some steamed potatoes. Come in and eat together!" When she saw Ivan standing next to Diana, she immediately widened her eyes and said happily.

"Mammy, no, he, uh..." Diana, who was attacked by the old woman and the naughty child, was at a loss and stammered:

"Come in quickly!" the old woman said in an unyielding tone.

"Ah~" Diana cried out with a headache on her face.

Chapter 28: Little Orphans

'Ahem.'

As night falls, workers who went to work in the factory return one after another.

In the intricate streets of the lower city, various sounds full of life could be heard more and more clearly, occasionally mixed with a few heavy coughs.

Marilyn Orphanage is an orphanage located in the Lower Town. Originally built with funding from the Temple of Light, its architectural style has a certain religious overtone, and even the director is a nun from the Temple of Light.

However, due to the sheer number of orphans in the Lower Town, the initial investment in the Temple of Light was quickly depleted after the completion of the buildings. Currently, the Temple relies mainly on subsidies from the Government Office and a small amount of donations from various sources to maintain its operations.

Time flies, and even the originally young nuns have reached the age where they are called nuns.

Despite these difficult conditions, she raised hundreds of orphans until they were at least sixteen years old, old enough to go out and become independent.

At Linde, sixteen was considered adulthood by most people. However, when the factory recruited workers, it only paid half-pay to those under eighteen, apparently believing that there was a significant gap between them and adults in terms of physical strength and other aspects.

Even so, a large number of child laborers continued to enter the factories every year, earning only half the wages while doing the same work as adult workers. This was the tragic characteristic of Linde during the early days of the Magic Revolution.

Aware of the orphanage's difficult situation, Alvin didn't say anything righteously. He simply calmly pulled out twenty gold écues and slipped them into the donation box as he passed it. Having robbed the vampire Count, he could certainly afford to give more, but that wasn't a good idea.

If the orphanage in the downtown area received too many donations, it might cause unnecessary trouble. That's why Diana didn't give all the prize money to Mother Teresa immediately. She would mail some of it periodically, or simply buy supplies and bring them over.

After seeing this scene, both Diana and Betty looked at him with a much gentler look.

This performance may be too realistic, but it is the most authentic performance of the people in the downtown area.

Diana, surrounded by a group of children, held one in her left hand, one in her right hand, and one wrapped around her foot. It was extremely difficult for her to enter the orphanage. On the way, Ivan had to help her carry a few lively and active ones.

Although the children's minds were young, their intuition was similar to that of wild animals, so they quickly realized Ivan's friendliness. So, when the little ghosts discovered his strong and tall body, they were like cats finding a cat climbing frame, either riding on his shoulders or hanging on his arms to swing, like a group of noisy kittens.

Alvin was not annoyed by this. Although he was an only child in modern society, he had always had experience in helping the tribe take care of children younger than himself on the ice field, so he was particularly patient in this regard.

"Okay, you guys go eat."

Among a group of little girls who were just over a meter tall or less, Betty, who was only twelve years old, could be considered the big sister. She had taken off her beret, revealing her chestnut hair, and no longer pretended to be a girl.

After hearing Betty's words, the children quickly lined up obediently, put their hands on the shoulders of the children in front of them, and sang nursery rhymes a little out of tune as they lined up to enter the restaurant.

Although it is called a restaurant, it actually looks more like a spacious room converted from an old warehouse.

During the orphanage's most difficult period, they had to rent out part of the building as a warehouse, so the once tidy restaurant became the mess it is today.

In the room, several disassembled empty wooden boxes were put together to form a simple large table. In order to prevent the children from being hurt by the splinters, the nanny used pieces of strong coarse cloth to sew a large tablecloth to cover it. At first glance, it has a pastoral beauty.

"Dinner is ready!" The nanny's voice came from outside the door. An old woman with a round figure, not much taller than the children, and looking like a big potato, walked into the dining room carrying large plates of cooked potatoes.

The nun, called "Mammy" by the children and Diana, wore a pair of oven-proof gloves she had sewn herself, and her name, Theresa, was embroidered in colorful thread on her dark blue apron that had been washed so much that it turned white.

"Mother Theresa, let me do it." Diana took the hot plate, her face showing some joy, and she didn't care about the high temperature at all.

"I'm sorry, the conditions in the orphanage are poor, and we only have boiled potatoes and vegetable soup for dinner." Sister Theresa looked at Ivan apologetically, glancing at his clothes and appearance from time to time, and soon showed a look of satisfaction.

"Please don't mind me, I'm sorry for disturbing you." Alvin gently bent down and spoke to the old woman.

After all, his height was too high for Sister Teresa, who had to look up with great effort.

After chatting for a while, the old woman took the children's hands when she saw that they were all seated.

"Let's start praying." Sister Teresa nodded to Alvin to let him do as he pleased, and then she and the children began to pray before the meal.

In terms of faith, the Light Temple had more regulations than the Storm Temple, from pre-meal prayers to weekly prayers, covering every aspect of daily life. Therefore, the Lind people were more particular about this than the Elrond people. However, the latter were somewhat dismissive of this.

The people of Elrond believed that the great god Odin did not need his followers to kneel before the statue and talk nonsense. Bravely farming (considering the harsh natural environment of Elrond, this is indeed a kind of bravery) and bravely opening up the wilderness are the most pious sacrifices to the great god.

After looking around and finding no suitable stool for him, Alvin picked up a broken brick and a few wooden boards.

[Reshape the World] was activated, and under the surge of dark golden light, the broken bricks turned into various stone parts. After using them to fix the wooden board, he quickly rubbed out a stool on the spot.

He casually turned the remaining half of the stone into the shape of a stone pony and placed it on the table. Only then did Alvin notice that the children who had just finished their pre-meal prayers were looking at him with glowing eyes.

"What's wrong?" Putting down the stool, the black-haired boy asked in surprise.

"One more!" A little kid jumped onto a small stool, holding up half a potato and shouted loudly.

Just as one husky barking inevitably leads to another, cries of "One more!" quickly fill the restaurant.

The nanny laughed. Born in the Temple of Light, she was naturally familiar with extraordinary people. So she picked up the youngest child and started feeding him.

The other kids came up to Ivan with their bowls, eating and shouting for more. They mistaken him for a street magician. But that wasn't an insult. For the kids in downtown, a street magician was the most prestigious person in the world.

For a moment, even Betty, the leader of the children, couldn't control them. In fact, she herself started shouting "One more!"

Diana was so stunned watching the scene that she forgot to eat the potato in her hand even when she brought it to her mouth.

"There's really nothing we can do about you. But only the good kids who have finished their meals can come and watch the show." Alvin couldn't help but smile and ate his portion of potatoes in one bite.

Then, he patiently took the various pieces of wood, bricks and even scrap metal that the children had found, and turned them into small animal-shaped toys according to their wishes.

After the meal, all the children's faces were filled with bright smiles. They held cats and dogs made from various materials and were herded into the room by Mother Theresa like chickens. Soon, innocent words such as "My stone tiger will definitely defeat your tin frog" could be heard from the room.

"You are different from those guys." Diana, who had not spoken much to Ivan the whole time, took the initiative to come to him.

By this time, she had changed out of the clothes she wore for racing. She was now wearing a well-worn but very clean white shirt, a pair of overalls with suspenders, and her short hair made her look like a tomboy with a dash of masculinity.

"Those guys?" Alvin looked at the short-haired girl beside him with some confusion.

"Occasionally, there will be lucky people in the orphanage who become extraordinary people." Diana shook her head with a hint of coldness on her expression.

"But most of them have become annoying. Even if they come back occasionally, they have that condescending look."

"Maybe it's because of the different environment." Alvin shrugged and said nothing.