If not for the mental anguish that I was feeling at the time, knowing what I was going to force myself to do, flying above the landscapes of Mensch would probably have been an amazing experience.
Below me, I could see a mixture of well-developed cities, lush forests, and green fields passing by as I continued to use my little black wings to guide me forward. Mensch was truly a very beautiful country and it was hard to believe that these lands had a history of constantly waging war, as well as a number of violent internal conflicts.
Feeling the warmth of the sun on my feathers, my mind was currently going through the plans I had. At first, I had been thinking of using the weekend to get to Essen, a smaller city not too far from the Great City of Mensch, where Ainu was located, but desperation had gotten the best of me.
A sense of desperation that I consciously could determine stemmed from stress and impatience, something I quickly wanted to rid my body of. It wasn't as if this feeling had just suddenly occurred, it had been present for almost the entirety of the time I spent on Tella, the planet of this world. I had just persistently shoved it away by filling my time, never letting myself stop to reflect and analyze my own feelings.
However, after Mr. Laufeyson's words, the memories came flowing back, and with them a knowing of just how much work I had left to do in order to assimilate into this world. There was no way I could continue to hide, not from other people, but from myself. As Essen came into my sights, I steeled my heart once more. It was time to become a fully-fledged inhabitant of Tella.
==========
'Woah...'
Essen was not like the Great City of Mensch at all. Whereas the capital was modern, filled with skyscrapers and nights illuminated by neon lights, Essen looked a lot like I expected a fantasy world to look like.
Walking on the dirt road my vision was filled with houses made from piled-up stones, wooden inns, and hunters walking around wearing armors or robes, all having their weapons close at hand.
Even more surprising, though the city was mostly filled with other humans, this was the first time my eyes got to see both the short but stout, bearded faces of dwarves, as well as the fluffy fur, feathers, or leathery skin of beastmen.
The biggest difference from this city being like a village in fantasy was the fact that it was too big for that to be the case, and there were also two very contrasting buildings stretching up far into the air, one of which I assumed to belong to the hunter associating. This was coincidentally also the place I had to visit first, before I could make my way to the dungeon I had plans of diving.
Thanks to the power of technology, there was no need for me to ask for directions as my smartwatch was already showing me the way, thus it didn't take long before the automatic doors of the office building opened up, showing me yet another contrasting sight to the outside.
An incredibly modern space where people in suits were running around, talking on their phones, and carrying briefcases. In front of me was a line of hunters, obvious by their very fantasy-looking clothes, with some wearing big metal armors, some clad in hardened leather, and some of them having robes falling down their bodies.
For some reason, my social anxiety wasn't even triggered in this situation as I took my place in the line to the reception where I wanted to get the information I needed. My mind was still too muddled with the intrusive thoughts that wouldn't leave me alone. Therefore I just impatiently waited for my turn to talk to the lady standing behind the counter. Thankfully, the line moved quickly, as no one appeared to have the time or the want of dragging things out.
"Oh, a student from Ainu? What can I help you with, Sir?"
"I need to know if there is a way for me to get into the Kobold Cave dungeon."
All I had been able to find out from the internet was that in order to do a dungeon dive, you needed to talk to the hunter's organization located in the city responsible for the dungeon, which in this case was Essen. The kobold cave was one of the only F-ranked dungeons close, and it was the only one that fitted the criteria that I had in mind.
The young woman's face paled as she heard my question, quickly leaning forward and whispering to hide our conversation in case someone was listening. "Don't you know that the Kobold Cave is unofficially the property of the Bat guild? Even though I would want to help you, you would be risking your life. Now leave quickly so no one finds out what we just talked about."
It was a very rapid exchange, my visit to the office hadn't even taken me more than 20 minutes before I was sent away. 'So, corruption is a core part of this world as well, huh... Not like it was unexpected.'
Her words also explained the second skyscraper in Essen, naturally, as it should belong to the Bat guild which I assumed was the only prominent guild in this small town. Still, I wouldn't let something as silly as that keep me from entering the dungeon, after all, I had a lot of tricks up my sleeve that I could use.
'But first things first, let's find an inn to stay at. Hopefully, I have enough money for the week...'
==========
"...700? Can't I get some kind of discount as a student of Ainu?"
The plus-sized catwoman in front of me was ruthless, but this was the last inn in town. Located on the outskirts of Essen, I had found this cozy small tavern that supposedly had the cheapest rooms in the whole town. Somehow, this would still cost me 700 USD just for a room, without breakfast, lunch, or dinner accompanying it.
"Haha! Sorry, young man, no discounts. Shouldn't you have a lot of money anyway? If you are attending Ainu, aren't you a noble or the child of some prominent hunter, or something?"
'A chance!'
Making myself as small as possible, I found an opening to use another one of my secret techniques, a technique I call 'The pitiful boy who really doesn't want to spend all his money'."
"No, I'm actually just a commoner... An orphan actually... But I'll try my luck at another inn then...'
Turning my back to her, I started to drag my feet to the door, waiting for the voice I knew would be coming. "Wait!" 'Bingo!'
"Come back... Let's see what we can do..."
Now having completed a full rotation, my eyes were laid upon the fluffy woman once more. It truly did trigger my nerd senses seeing the tail coming out from under her apron, but I kept my focus on the task at hand.
Pinching her nose, she seemed conflicted. On one hand, she was a businesswoman who tried her best to keep the company afloat. On the other hand, she was a mother who couldn't stand to see the pitiful young man try to find a cheaper inn as it would be a fruitless effort. She knew very well that her inn was the cheapest in Essen, that was after all one of her marketing tools.
"So, how much money can you spend on a room then?"
Taking out my smartwatch, I pretended to check my balance before responding, "If I cut down to only eating every other day, I should be able to spend 563 USD..." There was no way I could let up on my act when the fish was about to get hooked.
Even still, I didn't want to lie. Thus, I made a quick calculation of how much it would cost me to eat if I were to buy groceries in town, not feeling a need to tell her that my inventory was full of food I brought with me from the academy.
Her eyes started to waver but she did a good job keeping herself from letting out a tear, knowing weakness was a trait to be shunned in her line of work. "You can have the room for 500 USD... Also, breakfast is on the house..."
Letting my face turn into a bright smile, I looked up at the fluffy (in two ways) woman and finished the theatre I had set in motion, "Thank you! Truly, thank you so much!"
Throwing my room key at me, she just waved me off, "Just go already. You can pay after you have gotten your room sorted."
****
"So, this is a dungeon? It's actually a freaking portal!"
I was currently hanging out in a tree next to the mine where the dungeon was supposed to be located in, but instead of just being an ordinary cave like I thought, there was a bright blue vortex of energy that was obviously a portal.
Outside of it, there were several armed men making sure no one could enter without their permission, all of them looking a lot like bandits as their heads were all adorned with bandanas, all carrying a symbol of a bat.
*Pling!*
'Hmm?'
Having gotten a text on my watch, I quickly opened the holographic screen and checked what it was about. It was a text sent by my former teacher, Ms. Turner.
*Mr. Jackson, I heard you are absent from the academy this week. I just wanted to let you know that even though I'm officially not your homeroom teacher anymore, I'm still here if you need help. Also, I need to talk to you when you get back. Take care of yourself.*
'What is she on about?'