Will gasped as space unfolded around him.

  “Oh I’m sorry Will, did I forget to say you should hold your breath during the travel?”

  He glared at her. “No, you missed that part.”

  Taleya laughed and started walking away.

  I thought adults were supposed to be serious and overbearing, not pranksters.

  Will followed behind the two women. The travel didn’t feel like a lot of anything really. A heavy blanket warping and compressing around you is maybe the best way to describe it. Not uncomfortable, just weird. It only lasted a few seconds, but all the same it would have been a lot easier to bare if he hadn’t been in the middle of taking a breath when Taleya had initiated her magic.

  They had appeared in the middle of more trees and for a second Will thought they hadn’t traveled at all. But then he noticed that this forest had more light, the presence of the forest less oppressive. This wasn’t a forest of monsters, it was just another forest. Light and airy and full of normal wildlife.

  They walked for about a mile before breaking out of the trees and on top of a small hill. There, about a mile away, was what Will suspected could only be the city of Dunham.

  It wasn’t massive, although his only comparison was earth cities, but it was certainly different.

  Just like in fantasy books he had read and movies he had seen, the city had a wall around it; this one being square. Though this thing was massive. Maybe the true size of city walls gets lost in translation when only seeing them in movies. And, looking at the wall, Will had to agree with that. Movies just didn’t do these things justice.

  The wall was about sixty feet high if he had to guess. He couldn’t tell how thick it was yet, but a wall that high had to be decently thick to make the build worth it.

  From their vantage point they could see that there were four entrances into the city, each one at each cardinal direction. The roads leading up to each gate continued through the entire city, effectively dividing the city into four parts. The only difference was what appeared to be an absolutely massive mansion smack in the center of it all. Also, the buildings seemed to raise slightly as they got closer to the center. Will could only guess the entire city was built on top of a decent size hill, with the mansion being at the highest point.

  It was hard to tell from a distance, but it seemed like the city must be at least a couple miles across. So a decent size.

  “Interested but not amazed.” Taleya commented as she observed him looking at the city.

  Will shrugged. “A cities a city. Am I supposed to be impressed?”

  He realized it came off a little douchey, but what was he supposed to say? Once you see videos of New York City or Tokyo, what could top that?

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “Apparently not.” She said.

  She didn’t say anything else after that and just started walking toward the city, Alea and Will following close behind.

  They were off to the left side of the road closest to them, so they slowly made their way over to it and then continued their journey on the hard packed dirt.

  Before he knew it they were upon the gates. There were two guards posted outside of it. One asking questions of all who came through, and one with a clip board writing things down.

  The line wasn’t terribly long, just about a dozen people or so, and it moved quickly.

  As they got to the front the soldier called out “Next!”

  They walked forward.

  “Names?”

  “Taleya, Alea, and Will.”

  “Business?”

  “Recreation.”

  The man lifted an eyebrow, then looked at the two younger ones that were following behind the pretty woman. “Signing up the brats for the lower realm tournament?”

  Taleya smiled a disarming smile at the man. “Right on the money. I thought to open their eyes to the wider world slightly.” She then leaned in slightly toward the soldier, whispering loudly in a mock conspiratorial sort of way. “Trying to humble them a little by letting them see how big fish in a small pond stops when you get to the ocean.”

  The soldier laughs in a knowing way. “Ah I remember those days. Don’t worry kids, the burn of realization fades quickly. The trick is to use it as fuel to get stronger. Good luck and have fun!”

  He looks back at Taleya. “Enjoy your stay at Dunham miss. Please feel free to visit any guard station if you or your young ones need any assistance.”

  “Thank you sir.” Taleya leans forward slightly to lay her hand gently on the man’s arm. Seeming to unknowingly reveal just a little bit of cleavage. “You are too kind.”

  He blushed slightly and did his best not to look down. “Not at all miss, not at all. Please carry on and enjoy your stay.”

  Taleya gave him another charming smile and made her way through the gate.

  “You’re horrible.” Alea said after a couple minutes had passed.

  “This is a lesson to both of you. Leaving a good first and lasting impression upon the guards of a city will help you out of many potential issues.”

  “Like what?” Will asked. Still slightly flushed from the show of easy manipulation that Taleya had shown.

  “Like the guards immediately being on your side and thinking there’s no way you could be guilty if a situation were to arise. As to what kind of situation, well, pick pockets are clever. Sometimes when they are caught they try to call the guards and accuse the ones they tried to rob of robbing them. It’s why they target unknown newer people in the city. Or let’s say you need to apply some pressure to a seedy underground character.” She smiled that same evil smile again. The one where Will became certain he never wanted to find himself on Taleya’s bad side. “And when the guards show up, they think you were attacked and defended yourself, not that you were the aggressor.”

  “Oh.” Will answered simply.

  Taleya left it at that as they continued walking.

  Will looked around as they walked, his head on a swivel. All sorts of questions popped up in his head as he saw his first real example of civilization in this new world.

  How did they keep warm in the winter? Is insulation a thing here? Is it all just drafty houses with soot from fires in every building? Is plumbing a thing here? How much does magic take care of? Do they only eat and drink mead and bread or is there actual food here? Does this world even have cows?

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  The questions went round and round until he finally just allowed himself to enjoy the sights.

  When he saw his first elf he almost stopped dead in shock. He caught himself in time and kept walking. But he couldn’t stop his wide eyes from staring.

  The elf was tall, lithe, with shoulder length silver hair. He had high cheek bones and high arched eyebrows. Will couldn’t stop the thought that the elf looked like an anime character come to life.

  The elf noticed his starring and glared back at him before quickening his gait and walking out of Will’s line of sight.

  Will started looking around, this time people watching, and saw a few other elves walking among the crowd. How could he have missed them? I guess if you don’t expect to see something, you’re less likely to.

  And then he noticed something that brought him up short just as drastically as the elf.

  Is that…is that a beastkin??

  They were rare in anime culture. Only popping up in novels or anime here and there.

  But here they were, and the further they walked the more he saw.

  He had to guess on a few of them, but there were definitely some wolfkin, foxkin, what he thought was a bearkin, and…is that a girl with cat ears and a cat tail?! No way!!

  Will felt his cheeks flush when he saw his first one.

  Focus Will. You’re here for a reason.

  He thought he saw Alea glaring at him out of the corner of his eye when he finally stopped staring at the people around him, but when he turned to look at her she was looking away from him.

  Finally they arrived at an inn about a third of the way into the city.

  “We’ll get ourselves situated into some rooms and then go sign you two up.” Taleya said.

  The inn was nice. Clean and sturdy walls. Exposed beams crisscrossing the ceiling and walls. A bar lined the left side, a massive fireplace dominated the right wall. Clean and shiny and expensive looking. Behind the bar looked to be kegs of either beer or wine, all stacked on top of one another.

  Which Will guesses solves the mystery of if these people only drink mead and nothing else.

  Although, it could all be mead, instead of a wide selection of different drinks.

  He laughed to himself at the odd guessing game he was having inside his head.

  As Will kept looking around, scanning the room, the exits, and the patrons, just like Amos taught him, he noticed some stairs in the back right corner leading to what he could only guess were guest rooms.

  Taleya walked up to the thin man behind the bar.

  He had on a black vest buttoned and fitted over a white linen shirt. He had a wispy goatee and a discerning look about him.

  The thin man took notice of them as soon as they entered the bar. He put on a small smile and greeted Taleya as she approached.

  “Good morning young mistress. How may I help you?”

  Taleya smiled pleasantly back. But Will noticed she didn’t flirt like she did with the guard. This time she seemed to put on a new face, almost matching the expression and bearing of the thin barkeep.

  “Hello sir. I am looking to purchase two rooms for the next week. Both rooms need to have two beds.”

  “No trouble at all. We can certainly accommodate that. The rooms come with two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. A third meal during the afternoon must be purchased separately. Will that be acceptable?”

  “Quite so.”

  Quite so? Since when has Taleya spoken in such a snobby way?

  “Wonderful. Would you like to pay now or at the end of your stay?”

  “Now will be fine.”

  “Very well. That will be twenty gold.”

  Local currency was one area Amos had neglected to teach Will anything about. In his master’s mind, if Will was able to defend himself and have basic street smarts, he could figure the rest out as he went. He said it allowed more time for the things that mattered, like training.

  Still, that seemed like a lot of money. It’s true Will has zero reference to determine what’s expensive and what’s not, but gold period had to mean pricey right?

  Taleya pulled the gold out of a pocket that Will couldn’t see and handed it to the man. He thanked her, and called over an employee to show them to their rooms.

  The rooms were pretty basic. A bunk bed with one mattress above and one below. A single cushioned chair to sit in, and a small area partitioned off to the side. In it was a wash basin placed on a tall pedestal in front of a mirror. Apparently the basin could fill and empty of water at whatever temperature you wished. To the right of the basin was what Will recognized as this world’s version of a toilet. Apparently Amos’s version at the cabin was typical else where in this world.

  After looking around, Will walked back down to the main room as he waited for the girls.

  After a few minutes of waiting and then an hour or so of a walk, Taleya led Alea and Will up to a colosseum looking building. It looked to be about the same size as the ancient colosseum in Rome that he’d seen pictures of.

  Inside the main entrance and slightly off to the side were a man and a woman sitting behind a desk. They were both looking down at a sheaf of papers, arguing with one another as they walked up.

  With these two, Taleya seemed to act with a little more bravado. Instead of silent confidence, her bearing spoke of a slight swagger and arrogance.

  With no preamble Taleya spoke up upon reaching the desk.

  “I’d like to sign these two up for the Lower Realm tournament.”

  The man spoke first. Even sitting down Will could tell the he was tall. He was wearing ornate metal armor with a red tint that had wide shoulders. A helmet sat on the desk next to him. His features were sort of bland and ordinary, but just by the way he was holding himself you could tell he knew how to fight, and probably well.

  “Sure, no problem. What tier?”

  “The boy will be competing in the Spirit Realm division, and the girl will be competing in the Mind Realm division. Is there any rules against participants competing in a division above their own tier?”

  Both Will and Alea’s heads snapped towards Taleya, confused looks on both their faces.

  “Not this year no.” The woman said. She was the female equivalent of the man next to her. She looked like she’d be a fierce fighter. Unlike Taleya, she more bulk muscle.

  “Fantastic!” Said Taleya. “Then Mind Realm for her and Spirit Realm division for him it is.”

  “You sure about this lady?” The man looked both Will and Alea up and down. Will felt a brief scan of the man’s aura pass over him as the man assessed him and presumably Alea as well. “They don’t look like much.”

  “I’m sure your mother said the same thing about you but yet here you are; running a tournament in Dunham.”

  “Ha! Fair point. They know the rules?”

  “They will.”

  The woman nodded. She seemed to immediately respect Taleya. “Good on you. I was lucky enough to be trained by a hard task master just like you kids got. You should be thankful.”

  “More than you know.” Said Alea.

  Both warriors smiled and motioned to a piece of paper.

  “This is the sign up sheet for the Mind Realm division, and here is the one for the Spirit. Sign your name’s and you’ll be all set.”

  Both of them did so and stepped back when finished.

  “Good luck kids! Every once in a while we get someone trying to punch above their weight class. Never fails to be entertaining. Ha!” The man said. He laughed and waved them off.

  Walking away and back out of the large building, Will decided to finally speak up.

  “Excuse me master Taleya? Couple questions here. One, I get why the guy said that about Alea, but why me? Also, why aren’t I allowed to compete in the Mind division? And finally, even if I was, is it wise for either one of us to compete in the upper division?”

  “First, there are high level referees present during the matches. No matter how fast or strong any participant thinks they are, the refs are faster and stronger. So death won’t be a risk. At least, not a large one. And if death isn’t a risk, then why not push yourselves?”

  She had a point.

  While Will was starting to grasp the fact that being in this world inherently held the risk for death, on an astronomically higher level than his old world, he still wasn’t that used to the idea yet. Call him old fashioned, but callous and wanton death made him uncomfortable.

  Still, Will actually looked forward to the idea of challenging himself against those that were stronger.

  “And the rest?”

  “I’m sorry Will. I think the Mind Realm division would be a good challenge for you, but think. Why would it be a bad idea?”

  Will frowned for a second before it clicked.

  His palm hit his face. “My element.” He said frustratingly.

  “Exactly. If you were able to utilize it, I would have made you sign up for the higher division. But unfortunately that’s not an option yet. And he said the same about you because most people who compete in these kinds of things are on the higher end of their tier. Some right at the cusp. Since you aren’t at that point yet, he considered you trying to hit above your weight class as well.”

  Taleya kept her eyes on Will as he processed everything. She noticed that with the changed perspective on the tournament, that he would still have a challenge, his resolve firmed and excitement grew. She smiled to herself. That kind of attitude would take him far.

  “Tomorrow you’ll get the chance to see how far you’ve come.” Taleya said.

  Will walked a few feet before he came up short.

  “Wait..” Will said. “The tournament starts tomorrow?!”

  I’m trying to make this a legitimate side hustle to help support my growing family and those three things will go a long way to making that happen.