Inigo and Garrick walked toward the entrance to the capital city of the Kingdom of Eldrath.
As they got near the growing line of people and caravans waiting to pass through the towering main gates, the scope of the city truly came into view. Elandra was massive—larger than anything Inigo had ever seen. The outer wall loomed over them, reinforced with both stone and iron, and guarded by dozens of sentries in burnished armor. Watchtowers flanked the gates, their archers standing over and kept watch.
But it wasn't the city's size that caught Inigo's eye.
It was the people.
He watched as a pair of tall figures in cloaks passed ahead of them. As the wind tugged their hoods down, he saw furred ears twitch from beneath the fabric—beastmen. One had a short feline tail, the other long, lupine ears. They weren't alone either. A burly merchant in line ahead of them had scales along his neck and a forked tongue that flicked out while he counted his coins. Further down the line, a young girl with pale blue hair and eyes like glass crystals giggled as she juggled pebbles in the air with magic.
Inigo blinked.
Beastmen. Demi-humans. Magic users. Colored hair. Anthropomorphic features. All of it was straight out of the fantasy games and anime he used to binge.
He really was in another world.
He let his gaze drift, taking it all in—the colors, the variety, the strange energy in the air. The people here weren't bound by the sameness of his old world. Pink hair, silver hair, azure skin, even floating familiars—everything was possible. Everything was real.
This was the beauty of another world.
But beauty didn't mean safety.
Inigo's smile faded as his mind drifted back to the bodies in the woods. The blood. The screaming. The sound of his rifle. The faces of the fallen guards and merchants.
That reality hadn't changed.
This world had its magic and wonder, but it also had death, cruelty, and chaos. He had experienced it firsthand—and no amount of strange hair colors or beast ears would erase that.
They waited in silence as the line slowly moved forward. Occasionally, a guard called someone forward for inspection. Some were let through quickly. Others were pulled aside for questioning or baggage checks.
When it was finally their turn, a pair of guards stepped forward, halberds in hand, one of them raising a gloved hand.
"Halt. State your name, purpose of entry, and show identification."
Garrick didn't flinch. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a worn parchment.
"I am from the Village of Valebrook. We were supposed to arrive here with caravans carrying grain for tax and trade. We were attacked on the Southmoor road—ambushed by bandits. This one," he gestured toward Inigo beside him, "he is part of the escort as well."
"Ambushed by bandits?" The guard looked behind them but he saw nothing that indicated that he was coming with a caravan. "Where are they?"
"They are dead," Garrick simply replid, shocking the guard.
"I see—you may now enter," the guard said, though his expression had tightened. "But first, you'll both need to come with us. Captain Elias will want a full report on the incident."
Garrick nodded without protest. "Of course."
The guard raised a hand and signaled to another nearby. Moments later, a soldier in lighter armor appeared, exchanging a few words with the first guard before gesturing for them to follow.
"This way. The Guard Post is just through the inner gate."
Inigo and Garrick stepped past the towering city walls and into Elandra proper. The noise of the capital—vendors hawking wares, the clatter of hooves, the distant chiming of bells—grew louder as they followed their escort through a side passage off the main avenue. While the main crowd flowed toward the markets and residential roads, they turned left, heading down a quieter lane lined with government buildings.
Soon, they arrived at the City Guard Post—a two-story stone structure with iron-banded doors and red banners bearing the insignia of Eldrath's watch: a winged lion with a sword in its jaws.
The escort opened the door and led them through the main hall, then up a flight of stairs into a modest but orderly office. A large desk sat near the center, papers neatly stacked beside a few maps pinned to a board behind it. Sitting at the desk was a man in steel half-plate armor with a red cape draped over one shoulder.
His eyes lifted from a ledger.
"Captain Elias," the escort announced. "These people were from Valebrook who were attacked from the Southmoor road. They were the only two survivors and the rest were killed."
"I see, I will take it from here. You two sit down."
Garrick and Inigo took their respective seats and waited for the instruction of the captain.
"So, you guys survived an ambush attack by bandits?" Captain Elias asked, straight to the point.
"Yeah…we killed them," Garrick replied, not wanting to gain unwanted attention towards Inigo who was the one responsible for taking all the bandits.
"You must be skilled for doing such a feat, and I apologize for your loss. Rest assured that we will look into it immediately by sending a team to the place where the incident happened."
"Thank you," Garrick lowered his head and Inigo did the same.
"Now, what's your business here?"
"I am supposed to escort a caravan here but since we were attacked my job shifted to escorthing this young gentleman here in this city," Garrick answered.
The captain glanced at Inigo. "You are not part of the escort huh?"
"He is more like a normal citizen, a wandering one to be exact," Garrick chimed in Inigo's place.
"Where are you from?" Garrick asked, his eyes not leaving Inigo.
"I suffered from memory loss so I don't know where I am from," Inigo replied, not wanting to reveal that he is from another world. "I just want a place to stay to recover from the shock I have gotten into and I believe that this is the perfect place to recuperate."
The captain listened to his story and was seemingly convinced. He hummed in thought.
"Very well, we will let you in, you just have to fill up some documents so that we can create an identification that you are a visitor."
"Can I be a citizen here?" Inigo asked.
"You will have to ask the immigration bureau for that," Captain Elias replied, adjusting the papers in front of him. "But that's a long process. For now, we'll register you as a visitor under temporary residence. It'll give you enough freedom to move around the capital, work small jobs, and, if you're serious, register with the Adventurer's Guild."
Inigo nodded. "That's fine. I'll start with that."
The captain pulled out a blank form and slid it across the desk along with a quill. "Name, age, origin—put whatever you remember. If there are blanks, we'll mark it accordingly. You'll get your temporary ID within the day."
Inigo picked up the quill and began writing, his penmanship neat, though his heart beat a little faster with every word he filled in. For a moment, it all felt surreal—sitting here, in a new world, writing out his name like a normal person applying for residency. No one here knew about Earth. No one knew about the system he had access to. No one knew what he was capable of.
And for now, he wanted to keep it that way.
When he finished, he slid the form back. Elias looked it over, stamped it with a hot seal that left the insignia of Eldrath burned into the corner, and passed it to one of his aides.
"This will be processed within the hour. In the meantime, you're both free to move around the city, but stay out of trouble. We'll notify the Guild and the immigration office of your presence. You'll get a visitor's emblem on a leather cord. Wear it at all times."
Garrick rose and gave a short nod. "Understood."
Inigo stood beside him, tucking the stamped form under his arm. "Thank you for your time, Captain."
Elias waved them off. "Welcome to Elandra."