Curse the Mainframe! 63 Welkton City

Alec smiled; his eyes cold. "You're letting them go just like that?"

Henry snorted. "I am. Though, I doubt they'll be alive much longer, if the way the creature they fought with has already marked them irreversibly."

Alec's eyes lingered on the way those fake adventurers walked away with their tail tucked between their legs. Indeed, they were all marked with claw marks and a faint lingering magic in the air that Alec presumed would lead the creature right to them.

Not to mention, the way that they weren't taking care of their wounds immediately didn't bode anything well for them.

The men all looked of the rough sort, and their armour didn't fit them either.

If Alec had a guess, they were previously bandits who robbed a bunch of armoured soldiers, then took the chance to try their luck fighting against a creature above their magic rank.

His eyes fell to the last person, who was dragging a small carcass with him.

Killing a child in front of their parent… it would not be amiss for him to say that they should have expected this sort of fierce retaliation.

Alec felt no pity for them. They got what they had coming.

The little episode was quickly put aside in favour of their dinner.

Alec secretly sent Bunbun after them to make sure that they were eliminated. He wouldn't want to leave any loose ends that would come back to bite him later on.

Bunbun came back and nudged his thigh. Alec patted him.

Sure enough, the bunch of bandits had met their end at the hands of the rank two creature's hands.

Shortly, there was the sound of sorrowful calls that echoed sadly in the middle of the night.

It took them a solid week of travel to get near Welkton City, even with the wolves pulling them. For a normal party travelling, it would have taken close to two weeks of travel or even longer.

On foot, Alec didn't even want to think about how long it would take.

They arrived outside of the gate, where they obediently got into line as the guards checked the various identification of the people coming into the town.

"Halt!" the guard called out, eyeing their wagon suspiciously.

It wasn't every day that you saw a group of canine creatures pull along a simple wagon like this. It was usually one of the rich scions who liked to pull things like this. However, the simplicity and crudeness of the wagon did not look anything like what those rich scions would like to be caught dead in.

Thus, the guard could not help but be suspicious about the identity of the wagon.

The wolves stopped themselves, growling at the unfamiliar guard, who took a step back.

The guard fingered the spear he kept at his side; his eyes wary. Beside him, his fellow guard was doing the same but looked calmer. What hadn't he seen as a guard at the gates? Nowadays, these rich scions loved to be eccentric.

"Calm," the guard heard, and the wolves that had previously been growling at him still eyed him cautiously but were comparatively more settled.

The guard couldn't help but look at the wagon with new light. The 'driver' looked nonchalant, completely unbothered about whether or not the unruly wolves would rebel.

Henry handed over the necessary identification, and the guard checked them over, finding nothing amiss.

However he felt, the guard still did his job seriously, telling them the obligatory rules about entering Welkton City.

"It looks like you don't have the necessary identification that allows you to bring around your creatures or familiars, so you will be granted a temporary pass before the city guards will come after you."

Henry nodded to indicate that he understood.

The guards parted way for them, and the wolves moved forward, tugging the wagon with them.

The city itself didn't look like anything special. Compared to the cities in the Capital, Welkton City was really nothing to look at. However, the populace was still at many times more of that of Mystik Town.

The people that walked around looked busier, and they looked less friendly. The traffic on roads were more congested as well, though not so bad that they couldn't move around freely.

The screech of a creature was heard from above, causing Alec to peer out from under the flap.

Winged creatures, in groups of seven, left the city carrying both people and cargo. With a few flaps of the wings, they were already long out of sight.

They stopped at an inn where they would stay for the night. The inn was on the outskirts of the city, where more questionable people stayed, but that also meant that it was easier to move around undetected.

The inn looked a bit shady, but when the owner showed them to their rooms, it was surprisingly decent inside. Though it wasn't anything fancy, it also wasn't as bare or dirty as he would have expected from the outer appearance of the rundown inn.

The owner laughed heartily, seeing their expressions. "Not what you expect, eh? But that's the way it works around here. Dissuades thieves, you see!" The man then left them to their own devices.

"I'll have to drop by the city hall to get a pass with either Elias or Alec to get a general pass for creatures brought into the city. Alternatively, you can always register with a guild that will allow you to bring one in," Henry said, rubbing his chin.

Elias instantly decided that he would go with Henry to get the pass, bringing Echo with him. They left the rest of the wolves at the inn's stable.

Bunbun, who had followed Alec into the inn's room, along with Fenrir, who was hitching a ride on the bunny, was content to stay within the inn and snuggle on the sheets.

Left behind with Philip, Alec thought about going to check out the guilds that Henry was talking about.

Philip stopped him before he left the room, however.

"Alec are you carrying around cash only?"

Alec nodded. "That was what I received from Stanley, yes."

"It's better to set up a bank account now sooner instead of later since you'll eventually need to do it anyway."

Alec agreed. That had been one of the things that he'd been looking to do during their stay in the city as well. With Philip going with him, he was sure that there shouldn't be any problem. Plus, they now had identification from Mystik Town, which would help out.

The man and System hitched a ride to the bank, which was located near the various guilds for convenience's sake.

The bank was large, yet it was smaller than the various guild houses located around it. However, it was a sleek white, and looked very modernized compared to the rest of the buildings in the city.

Alec made sure to widen his eyes and maintain his smile as he looked around curiously, taking advantage of the fact that he was considered a child in the eyes of many.

Arriving before the teller, a young-looking lady who had the perfect customer smile, Philip started talking to her.

"I'd like to get a bank set up for Alec here," he said, smiling back at the teller.

The lady looked at Alec, and her perfect mask softened somewhat at his bright eyes. "Of course. I can do it here if you wish. It'll only take a couple of minutes."

Philip looked at Alec, who nodded.

The lady's smile kicked up a notch at the cute display. Such a cute kid!

She pulled out a small crystal that hung on a piece of string. "Here's what you'll be using to access the money inside your account. It'll only ever work for you, so even if it gets lost or stolen, no one else will be able to use it."

Having said that, she pricked his finger, allowing a drop of blood to drip onto the crystal. The previously transparent crystal glowed slightly gaining a purple hue. She handed it to Alec, who stared at it curiously.

It appeared to work like a card, and there were tiny runes that were engraved on the crystal's surface.

Alec handed over the rest of his money to the lady, who inputted the numbers into his crystal using a larger, stationary crystal.

"All done. When you want to withdraw physical money, just come back to the bank and bring along your crystal."

"Thank you."

The two then left, leaving the teller behind sighing. She leaned over to her colleague, whispering. "Did you see that kid with his father?! I've never seen such a cute kid before! He was so calm too. I hope my child's like that next time."

Her friend snorted. "Knowing you, they'll probably be a little hellion."

"Hey!"

Alec waved off Philip saying that he wanted to explore a little and the man obligingly left.

Walking on the cobbled stones of the city, another kid lightly brushed against Alec, ducking his head low and hastily apologizing before moving away at the same speed.

Alec grabbed his hand before he could get further.

Chapter end

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