“Hail! Who goes there?” A gate guard called out to the approaching gaggle of knights.

“Knight Lief Argus of the Praxic Knight Order, we are in return from a mission and need a collections team. We have met with many losses.” Lief replied solemnly as the convoy slowed and stopped in front of the gate.

“Truly? My condolences,” The gate guard inclined his head to show his respect. “The barracks are situated in the middle city, bordering the North side of the inner wall. I don’t have anything to grant you entry through the middle wall, but they will likely be understanding and allow you in.”

“Your words are appreciated.” Lief nodded.

“Raise the gate!”

The wood creaked and groaned as heavy chains began to move. The gate rose slowly, shaking off bits of dirt as it rose up roughly halfway. Lief motioned for the party to move onward, and ushered his horse forward. The other knights followed. In the middle of the party, one thin-figured knight seemed concerned over something.

I don’t think I brought my royal pass with me. It was an inventory item, so where could it be? I really hope it’s just in the pockets of my robe… Isil thought nervously. If the plan worked as it should, there wasn’t any need to enter the inner city, but Isil wasn’t thinking about the plan. In both Endless Conquest, and what little of her memories she had experienced, King Darvos had been someone important to her. So much so, that she called him Samil, hardly ever using the proper form of address. He was one of the few people she really liked and respected.

“Isil.” The knight next to her hissed. “Focus!”

“I am.” Isil whispered back.

“So the last 3 times I called your name, you were choosing to ignore me?” The knight shot her a glare, then looked back forward.

“Yeah, because I couldn’t remember yours!” Isil returned the look and responded.

“Damien. Damien Grall.”

“Good name.”

“Thanks. But can we get back to work?”

“Not much to do but look stoic and forward, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Listen out? Y’ know, like you said you were going to do?”

Isil had brought up her Sound Enhancement spell during planning. She didn’t think it would be much use, but she thought she would mention it in case the group had any ideas other than listening for secret conversations. She was recommended to listen for rumors as well, but there was very little else she could use the spell for. After all, it was made specifically for listening for things.

“I’ve been doing that.” Isil lied.

“Whatever.” Damien rolled his eyes.

Isil held her tongue and casted Sound Enhancement. Thankfully, the spell could no longer raise sounds to damaging levels, but it was hard for her to filter through everything she heard. It was manageable, but it forced her to focus on the spell, rather than methods of getting inside the royal palace. She reluctantly dropped her personal planning to focus on her task. It wasn’t going anywhere in the first place, as there were too many magic devices preventing her from getting in quietly

Tyverra’s magic engineering – a more advanced and involved version of enchanting – was far above their general magic ability. This meant that even the greatest wizards would probably only be able to cast Master rank spells and a scant few Omega rank spells. There were two main factors that contributed to this discrepancy. The first was that most wizards’ minds were unable to handle the strain that came with casting the infuriatingly complex Master and Omega rank spells. The second was that a normal person’s mana capacity could only naturally increased so much before the person’s soul shattered due to over-extension.

Isil could circumvent these two restrictions easily because of the former nature of the world. When Kalixkto was still in Endless Conquest, having spells cause strain to the user would generate negative reviews and complaints, and not being able to increase mana simply wasn’t considered with a leveling system. After all, a game wouldn’t be fun if it was too much work. Even after a line was drawn between the game and reality to create a new universe, much of the game still lingered in Isil.

Despite how superior she was to the rest of the world, she couldn’t compete with their magic engineering. She knew there were handheld devices that could mark invisibility spells and their targets within a generous radius, and even more that could outright prevent certain spells. Even though these devices were already bothersome enough, there were even larger, more complex ones that could cover even the entire middle city. Granted, it wasn’t a dispelling machine, but it still worked with shockingly high effectiveness.

“Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.” Isil muttered, not caring if others didn’t hear.

“Hm?” Damien made a noise of curiosity.

“Smile and wave, you’ve got fans.”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.”

Although it was no grand gathering, some people were beginning to line up on the streets to watch the group make their way towards the middle city wall. Most of the spectators were mothers with their children, dressed relatively lightly despite the cold. Isil could only assume this was due to the stratification of the sections of the city. The people outside the city were the destitute laborers and serfs, the outer city was poor, but not horribly so, the middle city held the well-off and merchants, and the inner city held the nobility and royal merchants. The royal palace sat in the center of Ashiron, which would have made it the ‘center city’ if there was anything else in there.

“We’re coming up on the middle wall, look presentable.” Erickson barked in Isil’s general direction.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Is he always like this? Isil wondered to herself, but did as he said. The wall and gate of the middle city were smaller than the outer wall, but thicker. There were a few more guards stationed at the gate, and more on the walls. There was no difference in their uniform, however.

“Hail, gatesman! I beseech you for entrance!” Lief, the leader, called out to the guards.

“State your intents and coat of arms!” A guard returned.

Is it just me or are they speaking Old English now? Isil was puzzled.

“We are of the Praxic Knight Order, hailing from Burgeses. We arrive weary and seek respite. The good gatesman at the outer gate spoke of barracks behind these walls.” Lief responded.

I beseech thou that thee relinquish thy vigil and bequeath upon us ingress. Oh god, don’t laugh – they’ll notice. Isil struggled to keep a straight face while she mentally jested.

“Present to me the insignia of your order and the name of your commanding officer.” The guard ordered, stepping forward to receive the insignia.

“Our squad was headed by Baron Vernon Ulbos, who has recently met his end in glorious combat. His mantle of leadership falls to myself. Until then, I am under the direct command of Baron Suldar Hashlynn.” Lief handed his knight’s insignia over to the guard.

“My gratitude for his sacrifice.” The guard said offhandedly, which caused half of the squad to twitch.

The guard gave the insignia a cursory inspection, then handed it back to Lief. He then turned and motioned for another guard, who went into a door inside the gate. He came out a few moments later with a clipboard, a paper, and quill. Isil didn’t notice an inkwell in his hands, nor did she sense any magic on the quill. It seemed to be just a normal quill. Why the guard didn’t bring out an inkwell, she didn’t know.

“I require the names of your retinue, and you must submit to an inspection for any contraband or illegal items or substances. Your arms and armor will be returned to you after this inspection.” The guard said, causing Isil to tense up.

Can we go back to the days where I could just fast travel past these gates? Isil thought to herself, stiffening slightly. She took a deep breath through her nose and calmed herself down. They had already set up an identity for her. She was to be a wandering magician who accepted an offer to join the Order. It wasn’t uncommon for knights or any fighting organization to pick talented individuals off the side of the road and train them. There didn’t seem to be any reason to suspect her.

“Of course. It shouldn’t be a problem if we brought along a talented prospect, no?” Lief asked innocently.

“Prospect…? Who amongst them?” The guard’s eyes swept over the knights, trying to pick an odd one out.

“’Tis the lass, a fledgling magician with some talent in the sword.” Lief said, pointing her out.

“Greetings.” Isil nodded, managing to keep her voice from wavering.

“Give him your name, lass.” Lief ordered.

“Yes, what be it?” The gatesman asked, drawing closer.

“Isil. Isil Caligo.” Isil purposefully left out the ‘von’ that belonged to the higher nobility out of her name. It was something she had put in her name during character creation to make her sound important, but she had earned more than just a few noble titles.

“Yes, yes,” The guard said, scratching her name down on the paper. The guard who had brought him the quill offered him an inkwell from inside the gate. “Can you prove to me your magic?”

“… Of course. Any requests?” Isil asked, a certain spell already on her mind.

“I do. My wife spilt hot porridge on my side but a week ago, and the burn yet remains. Is it within your ability to heal?”

“Yes, please give me a moment to get down.” Isil said, dismounting from the horse.

She smoothed out her clothes and then turned back to the gatesman.

“Where is this burn?” Isil asked.

The gatesman pointed to his left side, around the lower back area.

“I need you to either remove your shirt, or lift up the cloth around the area so that I don’t accidentally fuse your shirt and skin while healing it.” Isil said, knowing that it could be a possibility without the perfect spells in Endless Conquest.

The gatesman paled with her words, and rolled up his shirt well away from the burnt area. Isil inspected it, and noticed it was almost gone already. If she were to put it into modern medical terms, it was probably a second degree burn, judging by the popped blisters and exposed skin. Isil didn’t bother saying anything for the spell, and simply cast an Apprentice Cure. The popped blisters instantly healed over with a new layer of skin, and the reddened area returned to its normal beige in a few seconds. Would it have been a request for any other spell, she would have gone with a Novice rank, but there were no Novice rank healing spells that could heal another person.

“Oh! Ohohohoh!” The gatesman practically jumped with joy. “Many thanks to you, madam healer!”

“You’re welcome. I suppose that should suffice for verifying my skills?” Isil asked, calm returning to her.

“Yes, I think that meets the guidelines...” He nodded, his joy simmering down as he checked over his paper.

“That is good.” Isil gave the man a small smile, and mounted her horse.

The gatesman returned to the inspection, barely keeping a smile off his face. While Isil remained nervous the entire time, the inspection went off without a hitch. The party moved through the gate and South, towards the inner gate. The middle city was vastly different from the outer one. The buildings were taller, more well-maintained, and made of better material. Isil could occasionally see a laden horse and cart passing by on the perpendicular streets in front of them. The people were dressed better, and the kids that stopped to look were more energetic and excited to see knights, even calling out and waving to them. Isil returned the gesture.

Although she detested the discrepancy in the outer and middle cities, she wasn’t an entrepreneur or finance minister that could uplift the poor. While she could give some money to them, there were simply too many people that needed help, and what she gave them wouldn’t necessarily guarantee them a better future. They would become a target for thieves, or greedy beggars. Charity was kindness, but that kind of charity would only be a cruelty. She sighed at the unfairness of it all.

“Here we are, then,” Lief said, bringing the party to a halt. “Runtil and Grall, you two take the horses to the stables. Everyone else, you know what to do.”

““““Yes, sir!”””” The knights saluted and went to work.

Isil didn’t bother saying anything, dismounting and walking up to Lief.

“I’m taking this armor off, you hear?” Isil stated, pointing at herself to emphasize her point.

“Well, don’t do it here! Have you any shame?” Lief growled, throwing her a look mixed with embarrassment and frustration.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m not taking it off here, I’m telling you I’m taking it off and need to know where to put it.”

“It’s Erickson’s armor, ask him.”

“… I don’t really want to.”

“I know the two of you got off on the wrong foot, but we are all working towards a common goal.”

“To be united by necessity is fragile at best.”

“Just talk to him, we have a job to do.”

Isil shook her head and put a hand to her forehead to nurse a budding headache. Lief ignored her pleading look and handed the reins to Damien. Isil whirled around and stalked towards Erickson, who was handing his reins over to Sandal Runtil, the other knight who was handling the horses. Seeming to notice her coming, he turned around to face her direction. Noticing the look on her face, he stiffened and his hand drew near his sword. Isil rolled her eyes.

“Calm down, I don’t even know why your doing that,” Isil gestured to his sword. “Your armor is uncomfortable and heavy, so I’m here to return it.”

“Oh...” Erickson relaxed slightly. “Just wear it for now, I don’t have anywhere to put it.”

“Okay then.”

Isil turned around and walked across the street, surprised that went so well. She made sure to look both ways before crossing, despite the fact that there were no cars or horses coming down the road. She calmly walked across, then slipped into the closest alleyway. She could dump the armor in her storage pendant, but she couldn’t go invisible to change without being marked, so she was forced to hide away instead. She turned into a dead end and pulled a large cloth out of the pendant. She hung the cloth up to cover the entrance and began to change.

She made sure that her mana sense was active the entire time so that there would be no repeats of her last incident. Her change passed by without an intruder. She puffed out a breath of air in relief, throwing on a tailored jacket with minimal enchantment. She was currently wearing a fine set of casual clothes, something a traveling noble would likely wear. She personally thought it was a good look for her, mostly due to the clothes than herself.

Isil paused for a moment, mulling over her current situation. She had to get into the royal palace, but how? She could easily break in, of course, but she didn’t need to cause a fuss at the moment. She needed to see the king, and, at the same time, not alert anyone else. She couldn’t sneak in to where she wanted without alerting everyone in Ashiron, and she couldn’t go in legally as she didn’t have a royal pass.

“… Or do I…?” Isil suddenly had a thought.

She turned her attention back to her pendant, searching for a specific item. She grinned slightly as she removed a hefty book titled “Isil von Caligo’s Grimoire”.