Kyrion had followed his nose while in the underworld, eventually coming across a house with lights all over the outside and large windows. The smell from the place reminded him of that small burger he’d had earlier. It wasn’t a pleasant smell per se. But he could take his food with him.

A stranger bumped into him before Kyrion could make it to the door.

“Oi watch! W-where… you’re going? Please?” The figure that had bumped into him hadn’t expected to encounter a tower of muscle. Nor did they expect said tower not to have a single wallet on them.

“You just tried to rob me. Didn’t you?” Kyrion looked down with an innocent expression. He appeared as though butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. But the body structure told the would-be thief that a punch was probably lethal.

“N-n-no sir!”

“A shame. I was looking forward to a fight. You dropped this, by the way.” Kyrion dropped the would-be thief’s wallet on their head before turning and walking away.

The would-be thief scowled. They kept their wallet in a hidden pocket on the inside of their jacket. Nobody could have just removed it by accident. A realization dawned soon after, the person he had just tried to pickpocket was a master of the art.

Kyrion’s dexterity came from his training to be a proper healer. Some work requires fine-tuned motions. Which he had practiced tirelessly. He could pull out a heart and replace it with a better one in less than a second without causing pain to the patient. Stealing the wallet off of a rookie pickpocket was child’s play.

“Back on track…” Kyrion immediately noticed that the small-time thug was attempting to tail him.

Entering the odd house proved difficult as he pushed against the door. In his irritation, he tried a little harder and felt the resistance. The place door was magically warded. Someone in a uniform came running.

Pull it! Not push!” Said the uniformed man.

Rion pulled the door and watched as it opened. “Why it no go two way?”

“Valued customer is this your first time at Dougall’s?”

“Yea. Gimme food.” Kyrion handed the man a crisp $100 bill. He felt as if he had six more on top of that.

“You want to spend all of it.”

“Yea. Gimme meat too.”

The owner raised an eyebrow, went to the counter, and said something to the clerk that sounded like. “One glutton’s demise!”

“I like the sound of that.” Kyrion entered the shop and sniffed it. It smelled much better on the inside than on the outside.

The owner turned around and eyed Kyrion. “So are you some type of new arrival?”

“Kind of. Came from place with big monsters.” Kyrion lied.

“You aren’t fooling anyone with that accent.”

“So what is a Glutton’s Demise?”

“A hundred nugg’s in a family sized popcorn bucket resting atop a bed of french fries covered in cheese. We then put five half pound beef patties atop of the nuggs then cover with vegetables so that you don’t just die. Then put our special sauce on top.”

Kyrion looked at the large bucket being prepared in awe. Kyrion couldn’t believe he had to come to a different world to find portions sized for someone like him.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s usually something enjoyed by groups of five. The smallest group was a determined trio.” The owner pointed to a picture of two young men and a lady on the wall.

“You expect to see me fail?”

“You look human but for all I know you have six stomachs to hold food. We have a regular who can eat half a portion and takes the rest home for another meal later.”

“Oh? You’ve never met a glutton like me.”

The tub of food looked much bigger in person. It was piled high and bigger than Kyrion’s torso. He fashioned a bib by transmuting a few napkins and made sure to stand while eating.

“He’s gonna eat straight from the tub?”

The food was messy, and his jumbo anti-break utensils were not in his domain, so of course, he had to use his hands. The next ten minutes proved quite disturbing as Kyrion ate handful after handful of the food. It was like eating a burger but more. Still, like a hurricane, Kyrion tore through the tub, leaving it sparky. His bib did have some sauce on it. The oddest thing was the look Kyrion regained.

“The tub could have used a few of those bread things. Aside from that it was quite filling. Is there anything special about that food?”

“No magic. If that’s what you’re asking. I’ll probably come back one day to document recipe.”

“Why not let us take your picture?”

“Is that how you put me on the wall?”

“Yes exactly.”

“Allright. Also, if someone asks where I went, tell them that I’m following from a distance. It appears that I have a stalker.”

Kyrion smiled for the camera as his picture was taken. Given his general nature and well-honed physique, his picture would prove quite popular among customers.

After leaving the restaurant, Kyrion decided to shop for less conspicuous clothing. Across the street from the burger place was a large building aptly named.

“The Ground Under Mall.” Kyrion said.

Entering the mall proved simple. What surprised Kyrion was the fact that various people with skin and fur colors of all shapes and sizes were moving about. There was a pink-skinned being with three eyes and six arms passing out pamphlets. A woman who had bear ears and an absurdly muscular frame. A man with no eyes or nose was examining a stall with various watches.

As Kyrion entered, he sensed something was off. Closing his prosthetic eye made everyone appear as though they were regular humans. Each of them had a unique bracelet on their arms. Kyrion focused on his prosthetic eye and commanded it to display the illusion to prevent further confusion.

Approaching the directory was easy.

“Welcome to The Underground Mall! I am De the Directory. Do you know where you want to go?”

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“I want clothes.”

“These shops are available.”

Kyrion decided to go to a place called Todd’s Tailored Goods. Having known tailors in his own world, this should prove quite fruitful. Clothes for his physique had to be made to order or altered.

Todd was a spider man, er, man spider. He had six spider legs and a spider’s lower body with the torso of a regular human. He wore a suit and tie on his torso, along with glasses.

“Are you Todd?”

“Yes, are you a customer?”

“Well I’m glad I don’t have arachnophobia. Todd, can you make form fitting battle wear that is cut resistant and piercing resistant? As well as keep up with high speeds of unprotected travel?”

“That’s a lot of requirements. But yes, although I doubt you can afford that tier of product. Are you calling me poor?”

“I highly doubt someone like you have been here long enough to earn more than 10k.”

“That’s a lot of burgers.”

“Dollars.”

“Ten thousand burgers worth of money for a simple battle suit?”

“They are not simple? Do you know how hard it is to make battle wear in this world?”

“Oh…Let me take a guess. You’re people eat mana, is that correct? You don’t produce your own? Then you use said mana to make silk through your webs.”

“Yes. Have you met one of the Ka Ruk Shik?”

Kyrion shook his head and sighed. “No… And no offense but that’s just how monsters work in my world. If not bound to a person’s core they require sustenance. Usually from people, until they form a solid core. Then people like me become shortcuts. I don’t recommend eating people here.”

“I think I get it.”

Kyrion pulled out a glass vial he borrowed from the lab and dropped some blood into it before drawing a simple enchantment. “Holding this should help you gain mana. It shouldn’t run out any time soon. Well, it should refill within a few hours. It’s what I call a mana condenser, it takes the energy in the air and turns it into mana. Now, you won’t be able to use said mana without forming a core.”

Kyrion pulled out two walnuts and placed them on the counter with five hundred dollars. “Now, I may not be able to afford a battlesuit, but some decent clothes I can move around without breaking would be nice. I want something that looks normal.”

“Normal where?”

“Normal above ground.”

“Did you already pass the test?”

“What test?”

“There’s a test I need to take?”

“You know the one that says you can blend in with human society above ground.”

“I mean. I kinda am human. What does fitting in have to do with anything?”

“I said blending in.”

“Oh, so like staying hidden and not making a scene.”

“More like living a normal life above ground without revealing magic to everyone..”

“Ohh… So this city is like a training ground.”

“Yes, and no, it is also a place for larger creatures like me to rest. No illusion can hide my size.”

“That’s fair. I’ll take the human test while you make the clothes.” Kyrion sighed.

“There is a long line for that test and you have to go to the Janitor’s HQ.”

“Where is that?”

“Outside the mall you’ll see a large gray building with various gates, protecting it.”

“Ah. And I just need to pass through these gates?”

“Yes, just be sure that you aren’t bringing any weapons.”

“Not like I have any on me. Seems most of my things are back in my own world.”

“Then you should be fine. They may try to place mana binders on you.”

“That, may not work as well as they hope.”

“I’m well aware. You’re like a walking layline to my senses, although quite subdued.”

“Is that so? Here I thought my seals were still in place.”

“They are, I noticed it when you put your own blood in that vial. The concentration of mana is very high, the average human would have grown into a grotesque aberration after containing a fraction of your power in their bodies. Don’t feed people your blood.”

“I didn’t intend–”

“You already did?”

“Almost did, although it was designed to run itself through the heart valves, fix the issue then filter through the kidneys. Healing magic.”

“So you’re a healer?”

“Mostly.”

“Can I go now?”

“Yes, I’ll start on your clothes momentarily.”

Kyrion felt a few more dollars go into his domain as fruits were withdrawn. Which made Kyrion wonder if Billiy’s experiments had been successful. It had been a few hours since Kyrion left, and his circadian rhythm had been off since he arrived in this world.

Suddenly, the lights in the sky began to brighten, and a large clock on what Kyrion assumed to be the ceiling read. 7:00 Am. It was odd, but he accepted it. Many places had been closed, but it seemed the tailor was nocturnal, and Kyrion walked in at the end of their shift.

As Kyion walked towards the Janitor’s HQ, he noticed quite a few people running out of the building and getting into cars. Kyrion wondered what was happening and felt he was getting patched into their database.

“We have a 6:2, an unidentified creature has gotten loose, it’s vaguely humanoid with horns. Potentially very powerful, lethal force is authorized if it fights back. It has red hair and green eyes.”

“I am not 6” 2. If anything, I’m 6” 8, and it says so on my ID.” Kyrion took out his ID and confirmed it. From there, he got in line. As the day had just begun, it was only a little long. After a bit of waiting, it was Kyrion’s turn.

He walked to the gate. “ID and reason for entry.”

Kyrion handed over the ID. “I want to take the human test.”

“What is your species?”

“Human, although some have called us Folis. I don’t know what that means though.”

“All right Mr. Mosley..”

“Huh. Can you put this in your system? My surname is pronounced (Moss-Lay) Where the moss lays, is what it means back home.”

“Not sure if I translated it right.”

“It says here that you’re sixteen.” Kyrion lied about his ID. Well, he partially lied. He was fifteen when he entered the realm of the Lost and seventeen when he left, but none of the physical time counted. If he was honest, he wasn’t sure how old he should be and decided to split the difference.

“That would be the closest description of my age.”

“You look fourteen.”

“Um…Thats a bit too young.”

“You still have a baby face, its also too smooth, with no signs of facial hair.”

“Would a fourteen year old be this tall and well built?”

“Not if they were from our world. But you aren’t and something tells me you haven’t finished growing.”

“You know, most of my siblings are shorter than me. I think It’s a miracle I got this tall.”

“Something doesn’t seem right about your age.”

“Fine. I told the people I was sixteen because I ended up in a place where time was wonky for a year and some change. I was fifteen when I went in and am not sure if my physical age matches.”

“So sixteen is a guess based on odd circumstances. I could see you as seventeen, is that why your hair is so long?”

“Oh that? No, the hair on my head and upper face tend to grow quite fast naturally. A while back, I halted further hair growth on my face after my eyebrows were extra bushy. The mana had to go somewhere so it went back to the top of my head.”

“Is fast hair growth common?”

“I have an ability in the beauty category of magic that tends to accentuate certain features. It also tends to keep me clean at all times.”

“Are all the people in your world, walkling models?”

“You mean, with near perfect features? No. I’m an exception. One of my spirits is a swan, and I’m sure swans here represent beauty, balance and grace as well.”

“Ah. So your type is just specialized in looking presentable.”

“Well I am a noble. It’s kinda expected.”

“I think I get it. If you can read the language then you should probably be able to do well. You may pass.”

“Thank you.” Kyrion walked past the gate, being relieved for all of thirty seconds. Then, as he walked through the doorway, he was immediately flanked on four sides by men in white suits, each armed to the teeth with magical weapons.