A pair of stationed sentry soldiers stood at attention by each side of the gates, while there was another one keeping the order of a route of horse wagons and people leaving and entering the city. It was truly reminiscent of the medieval times. 

He took the regular queue, and after about ten minutes it was his turn. White removed the hood partially and approached the soldier guarding the gate.  He was a large and broad-shouldered man. His brawny arms and dark skin stood in direct contrast to the warm and friendly smile on his face. 

The soldier eyed the young man from head to toe, and seemed to be rather surprised by something. He had taken off his visor and took a closer look, as if concerned that his eyes were deceiving him.

"...Uhm... is there something wrong?"

"Ah... no. It's just rare."

The soldier put his helmet back on properly and murmured with a burly voice.

(Rare?)

"Never mind that, your permit please."

The soldier quickly diverted to the topic on hand professionally.

"Right, ...here."

White handed the soldier a single silver coin and continued as he was instructed to before. Before the soldier gave him a suspicious look, he quickly continued.

"That's enough for a temporary permit right?"

The soldier took the coin with a nod. After confirming that the money was real, he asked again.

"What is your reason for entering the city?"

"It's adventurer registration, sir."

Willing the intent to display his status window, the translucent blue screen appeared before the soldier. This was apparently a way to show that one was an Ascendant.

As he had confirmed that White was a low-level individual, the soldier then gave White a leather tag.

"Your entry is permitted. However, please return this to me after you have obtained your guild card before the day ends. ...And, don't cause any trouble."

"I understand."

No longer interested in him, the soldier took on the next person in line. It looks like everything turned out fine. White moved forward in line and proceeded further into a straight tunnel, arriving at the other side.

Stepping into the city brought White quite a familiar sight. 

A picturesque medieval city, filled to the brim with life. The countless lamps filled the bustling roads like fireflies, illuminating them with pastel lights.

Businesses flourished everywhere, from hawkers to street performers-----Rows of buildings that extended in all directions, and wagons pulled by strange, domesticated creatures.

It was like what he had envisioned an otherworld city to be, quite different from its gloomy exterior. 

When he came closer to people who were trying to attract customers at the roadside, White slowed down his pace and observed the things being sold. Stopping by a random stall, White squatted down and picked up a few objects that caught his interest. Amongst them was a row of necklaces made with some peculiar-looking seashells-----

〚 Aquacone Necklace ❙❙❙❙❙❙❙❙❙❙ ♦ Common Grade ✠ Equipment - Necklace ♦ 20 Defense 〛 

 ⤷Aquacone I: Spells consume 4.3% less MP.

(Hmm... this is another equipment I've never seen before.)

Unlike his knock-off isekai equipment that barely gave an improvement to his overall stats, White was considerably surprised at the trinket before him.

(An MP-friendly item it seems. Somewhat shabby, but it's pretty decent for around Level 7 Magicians. But I should hold off spending anything more than necessary until I figure out my expenses.)

Seeing that a potential customer was eyeing one of his more popular merchandise, the uncle tending to the store was about to come over to him with a grin, but in the next moment the young man quickly placed the necklace down and walked away after noticing his approach. That apparently gained the ire of the shopkeeper.

"Tch, don't waste my time if you're not buying anything... brats..."

(S-Sorry...)

In the first place, one required money to be a customer. White was simply unaware of the expenses he could and could not afford after all. He didn't know how far money would stretch in the near future, and he didn't want to take any chances. The young man sighed helplessly as the unfriendly shopkeeper shooed him away. Perhaps he would return here when he became more successful.

White wandered around interestedly like this while keeping a low profile, looking at a few things here and there before moving on to the next stall. Most of the stall owners didn't seem to mind him window-shopping, but would occasionally give him a good glare since he didn't look like a customer. White was sensitive to the fact that he was an 'otherworlder', so he would knowingly move away before a dispute happened.

He was satisfied after taking some time looking around. 

Although there was many more places he would like to explore right away, White decided to settle the official necessities first. These distractions could be pushed aside for later. 

First, he took out the map and looked for the spot that marked the Adventurer's Guild. After gaining some semblance of bearing, the young man headed towards a certain direction with hastened steps.

 

---

 

Halvan City was separated by districts according to Shinri's map. He had now arrived in the inner district, where the wealthier, western-influenced establishments were. The paths were wide and straighter with evenly-laid concrete blocks.

People were more kemptly-dressed, indicating the higher standard of living in this district.

The lampposts, mailboxes at the side and clock towers lined up neatly along the streets. But in the alleyways that were out of sight, he could still see traces of the slums there. 

He saw a familiar-looking four-eyed cat nestled at a corner. Demure Felines, a common creature which could be turned into a pet in the game. As he had surmised, some creatures in the game still existed, although they were now a minority.

Since it looked like he could save some time by passing through his place, White walked towards it with his hood down. When the creature realized that it had been noticed, it hurriedly scuttered deeper inside and disappeared. Since White wasn't that interested in it, he simply moved through the bleak passage without stopping. 

...How long did he walk for... Was the shortcut this long...?

Just when he was wondering how much more he would walk for, a light appeared at the other end. After a bit more walking, he saw people again. He had finally arrived back outside on the streets.

(This is the place.)

And the building he was looking for, was conveniently centered before his eyes. The shortcut had taken him here immediately.

The Adventurer's Guild----It was a large building with three floors that was visible even at a distance, the entrance had a double-leaved door with a marble white exterior carved with sigils of swords and lions, this was the crest of the Luna Empire.

Feeling a great amount of pressure from beyond this point, he gulped down a mouthful of saliva, and slowly pushed open the doors with a throbbing heart.

 

---

 

The first floor area of the building appeared to be a place where adventurers traded and sold their inventory with each other. In other words, it was a community-based floor. Shinri had also informed him to go straight to the second floor as that was where his business was for now.

As he climbed the stairs up to the second level, White spotted some unfriendly gazes. A bunch of guys who looked like thugs, glaring at the youth as he passed through. He thought that this kind of 'newbie-crushing' trope was to be expected, but fortunately, no one seemed to be causing trouble here. In fact, the establishment was pretty organized than what he had expected. However, he still couldn't help but be afraid if those people would mess with him once they were outside.

After climbing up the stairs to the second level, he realized that this place looked more a city bank. Rows of receptionists behind the glass panels received the adventurers who were queuing orderly for their turns.

The longest queue belonged to a glace brown-haired woman who seemed to be in her 20s. She was handling papers for a blonde-haired man equipped with flashy golden armor, and his appearance seemed to be 2 to 3 years older than White. The guy was obviously trying to impress her, grinning with a full set of perfect teeth while flashing poses towards the receptionist. However, it seemed like his efforts were futile, as the receptionist simply continued with her job without showing any emotion on her face. This caused the young man to have a cramped expression, but he didn't give up. 

---But as White was concentrating on that particular blondie, he had unintentionally bumped into someone since he wasn't paying any attention to the path in front of him. 

Clink---He thought he heard the sound of metallic objects jingling underneath their cloak. The person who had collided into him quickly retreated a few steps from White, so he was unable to identify what they were carrying.

"S-sorry! Are you okay?"

As White gave his apology almost instinctively, he saw that the person had a rather petite figure as compared to the average adventurer around here. Most of their features were hidden under the hoodie, so it was hard to distinguish their gender.

"..."

That person too stopped upon noticing the youth, but he did not particularly seem to mind it. Heaving a sigh of relief that he had not come across someone unreasonable, White bowed and decided to slide off the incident when-----

White suddenly felt a strong gaze from that person.

"..."

He felt those eyes behind the hood moving about his entire body, as if they were surprised at what they had seen. He could sense astonishment from that paused expression. However, that person started to talk again after a momentary silence.

"...Here, dropped this."

With a small voice that he could hardly hear, the person flung a silver coin towards him. 

White had caught it just barely in the air.

When he was about to thank the mysterious person, White realized that he was already gone.

(...What?)

It was a little discomforting as much as it was confusing, but White brushed it off as the eccentricity of adventurers. Maybe that person didn't like to stand out, like me...

In any case, White thanked the person in his mind and when he returned the coin into the pouch, he felt that the pouch string had been looser than before for some reason. He could've sworn that it had been closed tightly before.

 

When he returned to look at the queue he had been mindful of, White realized that the blonde-haired adventurer had finished with his business. He had left the queue with a dejected look, it appears that his attempts at the female receptionist had fell out of favor.

From the bits and pieces he heard at a distance, White could understand that the woman acting as one of the receptionists behind the counter was called "Heinesia". After watching her work for a few more minutes, White decided to take this line. He thought that her way of handling adventurers was quick without compromising on professionalism. 

There wouldn't be a problem if he were to leave the registration process to this person.

As he had anticipated, even though there were more people in this queue, the line moved faster than the rest because of her efficiency.

"Next----"

it was soon his turn.

The receptionist spoke while she was about to put some papers away. And when she raised her head, her eyes widened for a short second before it returned to her usual, collected demeanor. Again, he thought that everyone was looking at him strangely. Did he look different from everyone else?

The receptionist adjusted her spectacles, and narrowed her eyes.

"Hello, I don't think I've seen you around. How may I address you?"

Her cold and business-like attitude had suddenly softened to White's surprise. He could tell that she was being polite towards a newcomer. Thus White quickly responded.

"W-White, is fine."

Her bright orange eyes stared at the young man before her, and echoed that name a few times under her breath. When she seemed to have memorized it, the woman wetted her lips and cleared her throat with a dry cough.

"White-sama, correct? I understand, so what will be the purpose of your visit?"

"A-Ah... I'm here... uhm, to register as a... new... a-adventurer... if it doesn't trouble you."

Hearing that, the woman's eyes relaxed considerably.

"Hm, a new adventurer? So that was the case, you should have said so earlier."

Saying so, the receptionist placed both of her elbows on the counter and held her chin, looking at the young man interestedly.