"HALT!"
A winged-man with handsome appearances flapped his pair of white wings with a spear in hand.
Xer Xai stopped in her tracks. Aldred walked out of her mouth with the others and waved at them with a smile.
"Sorry to scare you guys. This is just my pet. Don't worry he's tame."
All the winged-man was shocked to hear that.
'This gigantic thing is his pet?' The more they looked at the creature, the more fearful they became of it.
The leader of the winged-man frowned. "You cannot bring your pet inside the city. It's too big."
"We're fine with that."
Aldred and the others jumped off her mouth and then Xer Xai burrowed under the ground.
"She will be staying outside the city if you don't mind."
"Make sure she makes no trouble. If she does, we might have to kill her."
Aldred laughed. "Don't worry. She won't do anything."
The leader stared at him for a moment before leaving with his men.
"Xer Xai's presence will make them be on guard against you. The winged-man race is known to have great defense against air attacks and ground infantry, but they never fought against something that came from under the ground," Zafrina said.
Aldred laughed. "I don't come here to destroy their city. And since they have the bigger fist, let's just follow their rule."
Aldred and friends approached the city. There was an opening on the glass dome where merchants of all races brought their wagons inside. A lot of winged-man were guarding the sky, and some inspected the wagons for anything suspicious.
The inspections were stricter than any cities Aldred had visited before. They even checked the spatial bag.
When Aldred walked in, all of his friends were checked from top to bottom. Aldred let them do whatever they wanted since most of the stuff he had was stored in his divine dimension and inventory.
"You're all clear," the guard said with a slight doubt.
Aldred walked inside the glass dome and then he was given a sphere of glass.
"What is this?"
"It's your Identification Sphere. You will need that to do anything in this city. From renting a room, buying things, and the guards will check on you periodically. Do not lose it. If you do, tell the guards immediately or you might risk detainment."
"Alright."
After they walked a few meters away, Aldred looked at the crystal sphere in his hand. "Even Ruandeurtin Fort isn't this strict. And the fort was at the frontier, right in front of the enemy's face."
"Most of your battles there are skirmishes," Zafrina said. "The fight here could decide who will become more powerful or die trying."
"How do you know that the battles are only skirmishes?"
Zafrina smiled. "You have to study a lot when you are the daughter of a noble. Sometimes, knowledge is more valuable than power in our case."
"I see. Anyway, What do we need to do now?"
"Let's go register as an adventurer first. If you want to explore the Lair of Treasures, you have to become an adventurer and work for them. You will be tasked to enter the dungeon, and anything you get in there has to be submitted to the city. They will give you points and rewards before you are allowed to go deeper into the dungeon."
"How would they know how deep I went?" Aldred asked.
Zafrina shook her head. "I do not know. I think they used some sort of secret crystals. Don't try your luck. I heard that a lot of people are being punished for violating this rule."
Aldred nodded and then walked to the adventurer's inn. The building was not a building but a gigantic tree with a lot of glassless windows. Aldred saw a lot of people enjoying the scene from their room.
When they entered the giant tree, they were inside a large hall. People were bustling but it wasn't cramped because of how spacious it was. A wooden reception desk was in the center, and Zafrina led them there.
"How may I help you?" The receptionist asked with a sweet smile. She was a beautiful petite woman with a pair of small white wings. Sometimes they shook a bit which made her look cute.
Near the receptionist desk was a bunch of tough-looking guards with an eagle head.
"We would like to register as adventurers and visit the Lair of Treasures."
"Are all of you in one group?"
"Yes."
"Then I only need one representative to hand me an adventure card."
Aldred stepped in and handed his card.
The receptionist politely took it and used some sort of crystal to scan it. She was shocked, but she quickly hid her expression.
She cleared her throat. "I have confirmed that this is real. And may I ask if you have understood the rule?"
"Everything that I got from the dungeon has to be submitted here right?"
"That is correct. But don't worry, we will pay you fairly and accordingly. No adventurers have been dissatisfied with our price."
Aldred smiled, but inside, he doubted what the receptionist said. If the adventurer obtained a complete set of Battle Gear, no amount of gold coins would be enough to purchase it.
"We also want to get a few rooms for all of my friends."
The lady nodded. "Please put your crystal on this square stone."
There was a hand-size, square-shaped stone that glowed occasionally. It was placed on the desk, and Aldred put his card on top of it.
"The cost will be 5000 Gold Coins for a week of stay."
"So expensive!" Mary said.
"No need to worry, Mary. I have enough money for us to stay here a lifetime."
Aldred confirmed the payment and his balance went from 702,572,169 gold coins to 702,567,169.
It was barely a dent in his account. After they got everything prepared, Aldred and his friends entered their own room and rested.
Sleeping inside a giant tree with a beautiful view outside was definitely a first for him. Usually, in a metropolis-like city with tall buildings, he would be overwhelmed by the pollution, heat, and how the city was just crammed with traffic.
But not here.
The city almost had no traffic, the view was full of nature with trees, bushes, plants used as the building blocks of most infrastructures here. Tourist places in his world like Bali or Hawaii were incomparable to this experience. At least from what he saw on the internet.
Aldred smiled when his girls hugged him from behind as they all enjoyed the view together. A few cups made of roots filled with a beautiful and fragrant wine were ready on their table along with some fruits.
They cheered and sipped the wine before they made love and got some well-deserved rest.
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