30 minutes later, Lax exited the bath and put on his clothes; he was wearing a black shirt, black pants, black and white shoes, and the bracelet Nia gave him.
Afterwards, he walked towards the city, but this time he left his bag at home, and by using minimal mana on his legs, he was able to arrive at the city faster.
'Mana is really useful' he rejoiced as he entered the city.
The city was still the same as when he left, except that there were now many tents put up all over the city.
Lax looked around the tents, and as he expected, there were many military personnel around the place.
Some of the tents had doctors tending the injured, and most of the patients were heavily wounded soldiers.
'It seems that the fight has already escalated to the degree that soldiers are now evacuating the people in the city.'
'And there might even be a big fight soon." was what he thought when he saw what the military was doing.
His thinking was correct because the military planned to make the city their base for their temporary retreat to tend to the wounded soldiers while waiting for reinforcements to arrive for the big fight.
And the reinforcements they were waiting for weren't just normal soldiers but elite ones who knew how to use mana a little in a fight.
It seems that other than Lax, there were also some people who figured out how to use the mana inside their bodies to fight.
The reinforcements were people who are great in close combat fights because guns weren't really that effective as the bullets will just be deflected by the enemies shields.
Also, because guns wouldn't work, they used explosives, and the result was good because the grenades were able to blow up the weaker ones.
However, this is just a short-term solution. Supplies are limited because most of them are much more needed on the front lines, where the main battle is happening.
That's why they're sending off people who knew how to use mana, because in the long term, they knew that they would be relying on it more just by seeing its effects.
This is the information Lax gathered when he asked around some random people in the area.
And after hearing about the front lines, he wanted to go there as soon as possible, but he knew that he was still weak, and although it might make him grow faster, he knew that he would just be cannon fodder as he is right now.
So he wanted to grow stronger first. Lax then ran back home to prepare everything he needed and put it all in his bag.
Because he was planning to join the military now and he won't be able to return to his home for a long while.
3 hours later, Lax wondered around the camp looking for something, and after a while he found the place where they were recruiting people.
He headed to that place and found a man sitting on a chair and listing the names and ages of the people who had been recruited.
The man had a cool mustache above his mouth, and he looked like he was in middle age. After a few minutes of waiting, it was then Lax's turn.
"Cool mustache." He complimented as soon as it was his turn, hearing that the middle-aged man smiled, having already formed a good impression of Lax.
"What are you here for, boy?" He asked even though he already knew the answer.
"I'd like to join the military, sir." Lax answered.
"Are you sure, boy? You're still quite young, you should be enjoying your youth and spending some time with your family right now."
"They're dead." He replied in an indifferent tone as he looked at the man with an expressionless face.
"Oh, tell me your name and age, and then sign here, boy. After that, someone will guide you to a place where the new recruits are gathered." He changed the topic, as he was at a loss for words to reply when he heard what Lax replied.
"Lax Yandear, 16 years old, and..." He waited for the man to finish writing to sign his signature, and after that, he was guided by someone to the said location.
As he arrived, he saw many people aging, from young adults to those in their 30s and 40s. He stood and waited with them until a man in a military uniform appeared.
When he appeared, the entire place suddenly went silent just by his presence alone. Then, looking at the people below him with a fierce gaze, he spoke.
"I think all of you already know why you're gathered here, so I'll get straight to the point."
"As for how all of you are right now, you will only be useless cannon fodder if we send you to fight against the invaders." His words cause a lot of murmuring to happen, and clearly some of them are dissatisfied with what he said.
And the term "invaders" is used for the ones who emerge from the gates that are humans, and "monsters" for the monsters that also emerge from different gates.
"Silence!" He shouted, and the place once again returned to being silent.
"I am not lying when I say you people will be useless, and in the first place, do you people even know how to use the energy inside your body? No, right?, that's why we will be sending you to Los Angeles City for training."
There are many people and instructors there who know how to use mana, so you will have a lot of opportunity to train with them, and not only that, but there are also a lot of monsters there for you to fight and grow with."
"So prepare yourselves, because you will all depart by tomorrow morning." He then left immediately after saying those words.
The silence in the area once again faded. The people then talked about how they were excited to learn how to use mana and stuff. After a while, everyone scattered—well, except for Lax.
Who is now being hit on by a woman who seemed to be in her 20s. She had black hair, two seductive brown eyes that looked at Lax, and a nice curvy body that went with her somewhat beautiful face.
"Wanna come and have fun with me, little boy~?" She said in a seductive manner as she leaned her body forward toward Lax.
And as for Lax's reaction, well, he just ignored her words as he looked at her eyes, which were darting around as if looking for something.
He was wondering who she was looking for when she said those words at him, but he found the answer to his question when his eyes moved to look in another direction.