The dirt path led us to another dirt path, but this was maintained and was seldomly used. A main road perhaps? The man continued on leading me towards an unknown place, and I was getting nervous by the second. I had the Dungeon Return Stone in case things go south, but I would like to at least reason with them so that they leave me alone.

During our walk, where the children finally got over the gruesome corpse scene and started taking with each other, I felt movement on my back. I looked behind and saw bright green eyes stare into mine. Then I went deaf.

If there was ever a high pitch voice that can shatter glass into the void, then this would be it. Not even the children and armored man was spared from the horrifying high-pitched voice of this maid. I slapped my hand on her face – not too hard mind you, she would die from that – as an attempt to silence that awful shriek that belongs to a banshee.

She looked at me with terrified eyes, tears leaking out of the corners. She struggled to escape my grasp, in which I promptly secured her in my grip. No way in hell am I letting her run, it would just add more work to my time. I just hope the armored man can calm her down so we can get a move on, that, and I think the children are more traumatized of the shriek than the corpse.

A few minutes later of soothing, calming, and explaining later, which I still had no idea what it was about, the maid finally relaxed, enough to stop that horrifying shriek. That didn’t stop her from being cautious around me however, the same could be said for the armored man. The children though… Yeah, children are still innocent, it seems.

After that fiasco, we finally had a move on again, this time, the maid walking behind the children, attending to their needs if need be. Me? Well, I stayed a few paces behind all of them, my loud footsteps an indication whether I ran away or stopped.

It wasn’t that long until we came across another band of humans walking through the path. The moment they saw me, they instantly had their guards up. It took some explaining from the armored man that I was friendly, but the glares coming from the humans still didn’t lessen. We parted, the band of humans went away to who knows where, while we continued on with our short journey.

About a 30-minute walk later, we came I could finally see something in the distance, it was probably our destination. It was a stone wall, about 5 meters tall, the current dirt path transitioning into cobblestone under a gate guarded under strict watch. Needless to say, the moment they saw me, all of the guards went into defense mode, most of them unsheathing their weapons, while others wielded bows and guns.

I facepalmed… hard…

It once again took another convincing from the armored man that I was friendly, but before I was allowed entrance to the city, I was to be shackled and chained, as shown by a nameless guard who held before me shackles, and a chain.

No, no way in hell am I being treated like a caged animal again. Follow our rules, or face the consequences. I’ve had enough of that in my past life. Grabbing the chains, I crushed it under my grip, the carefully structured iron turned into scrap metal.

The guard in front of me went pale, while the others took that as an immediate threat, causing them to get ready for battle. The armored man yelled again and brought attention to him, not before glaring at me for a slight second.

I waited while they sorted things out, and finally, they came to a conclusion… probably… Language barrier sucks balls when you’re the one on the receiving end of it. The armored man approached me, and in his hand was an armband, colored blue. Prompting me to wear it, I shrugged and wore it on my arm. The armband then turned white, and remained that color.

Seeing this, the guards within the station sighed in relief? I don’t know, maybe? Anyway, once that was done, the armband was taken off and I was given entrance, as long as I stuck to the armored man, children, and maid.

Actually, I had an idea that would make me even more docile looking. I hoisted the children up, the armored man and maid looking at with eyes full of murder if I try anything funny, and I put them on my back. They oohh’d and aahh’d as they began clamoring at my back, playing with each other, or even playing with my fur. They’re small, and I’m big, so it was no big deal.

Seeing what I did, the armored man and maid relaxed. The guards around in the station did too. Good, using the power of innocent children as buffer is too OP, pls nerf.

Jokes aside, this would make me look like something harmless, rather than intimidating and scary. I just have to bear with these children who like messing with my silver fur and back so much that I almost tripped and fell face first on the floor.

We continued on ahead. What greeted my sight next was something I would forever ingrain inside my mind, and if possible, make it a meme. It was like medieval and sci-fi melded together to fit one city, like… what the heck? Behind me were stone walls, then there were some brick houses, wood, then there were modern houses, hotels, and internet cafes all haphazardly placed within the confines of said stone wall. They were even on different elevations!

But most importantly, there were internet cafes? It seems internet isn’t far from my grasp after all.

I ignored the mental yelling inside my head that everything here was so damned wrong on so many levels. At least, the common populace was sticking to one theme, and that was modern clothing. Linen, cotton, jeans, until it came towards those dressed like mercenaries.

Either way, they didn’t bother me, so I didn’t bother them, even if 100% of the population here were looking at me like a stage animal. We continued onward, ignoring the piercing stares of child, man, and woman alike. At least the children on my back were having fun.

A couple of minutes walking later, we stopped. I looked over them and saw a huge mansion beyond some iron gates guarded by more well-equipped guards. They greeted the armored man with respect, while showed concern towards the children who were busy playing on my back. I then put them down since the armored man gestured for me to do so, which led to them pouting and sticking their tongues out at the man.

The iron gate opened, and they let us in. As usual, constant vigilance required the guards to check up on me in case I brought anything dangerous. Yeah, good luck looking, I have it stashed in my inventory so, bleh!

The gate closed behind me and I now stood within one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen in my life. I walked along the pathway made of polished brick, carefully maintained as far as I can see with my meager eye for architecture.

Some gardeners looked at me funny, while maids were glaring at me like I’m some ticking time bomb ready to explode.

The armored man stopped in front of the mansion door. He knocked, and a maid answered. Behind her, was a male and female couple looking within their late 20’s. They both hugged the children, and the children hugged them back. They then looked at me, and from what I can see in their eyes…

Yep… One wrong move and I can say bye-bye to peace and hello to war.