In a moment, the giant Mythical Wolf shrank into a small puppy-sized version of himself and jumped onto Mike's shoulder, sitting there proudly like nothing happened.

The guards' eyes widened.

"That's… convenient," the chief guard muttered.

Mike shrugged. "He likes doing that."

The chief guard sighed in relief, then stepped closer.

"Listen, wanderer. You should head to Valor City and get registered there. It's the closest major city. A normal person would take three days on foot, but with your mount, it might take less than one."

Mike nodded. "Got it."

The guard continued, "If you walk around without proper identification, you could get into serious trouble. Knights, guilds, and even patrol squads won't trust you."

"Thanks for the warning," Mike said.

The chief guard pointed toward the main road leaving the village.

"Follow that path. It will lead straight to Valor City. Just… try not to scare anyone on the way."

Mike glanced at Emperor, who barked adorably from his shoulder.

"He said it's humans' fault for getting scared of him," Mike translated with a sigh.

The chief guard nodded. "Fair enough."

He pointed down the main path.

"Anyway, I've shown you the way. It's your choice—rest here or head out immediately. Clover Village doesn't have much to offer… but Aunt Shen's pies are delicious. Her shop is that one over there, if you want to try it."

He gave a polite nod and walked off.

Mike waved. "Thanks again!"

He turned toward the small shop the guard mentioned.

"Well… doesn't hurt to try that pie," Mike mumbled as he walked over.

The moment he stepped inside, he saw a kind old lady serving warm pies to a bunch of happy children, all sitting around and eating with pure delight.

There were some adults in the shop too, but the children were definitely the majority.

"Welcome, traveler," Aunt Shen said warmly. "Here is the menu—order anything you want."

She handed Mike a menu as he sat at an empty table. He placed Emperor on the table too. The kids' eyes went wide the moment they saw the tiny wolf.

Mike chuckled at their reactions.

He gently picked up Emperor and set him on the children's table instead.

"Just don't dirty his fur. You can sit with him," he said.

Emperor shot Mike a betrayed look—as if Mike had sold him out to the enemy.

The children laughed.

"Thank you, mister!" they said as they happily gathered around the little mythical wolf.

Emperor sat there silently, letting the kids pet him while maintaining the dignity of a very annoyed emperor.

Mike sighed. "Can I pay with monster bodies? I don't have any money on me," he asked Aunt Shen.

She nodded. "You should go to Butcher Ray. He buys monster parts. After that, you can come back and eat."

Mike thanked her and stepped outside.

He found Ray's shop easily. The butcher—a muscular man with a thick beard—was chopping a Horned Rabbit on a wooden block.

"Do you buy monsters?" Mike asked.

Ray nodded. "I do. But I can't buy anything too powerful. I'm not that rich."

Mike took out one Etherfang Wolf corpse from his inventory.

Ray's eyes widened.

"That's an A-rank monster… Sorry, I can't afford that."

"I just need money. Can you at least buy some part of it?" Mike asked.

Ray hesitated, then nodded. "I can afford the tail."

He cut off the Etherfang Wolf's tail and handed Mike five gold coins.

"Thanks," Mike said, storing the rest of the corpse away.

As Mike left, Ray smirked to himself.

"Heh… I bought it for half the real price."Ray grinned to himself. He knew that in a big city, a tail like that would easily sell for ten gold coins.

Meanwhile, Mike walked down the road, looking at the coins in his hand.

"Hmm… so I'm in the continent of Alvaros," he mumbled.

Alvaros was one of the continents fully explored in the Origin World.He remembered studying it in their Origin Classes—just in case any of the students ever got thrown into a familiar region during an expedition or accident.

"Great," Mike sighed. "At least I'm not completely clueless about this place."

Mike returned to Aunt Shen's pie shop, the smell of warm pastry welcoming him like a hug. Emperor was still surrounded by kids, looking thoroughly done with life but too proud to complain.

Aunt Shen placed a steaming slice of pie in front of Mike the moment he sat down.

"Here you go, dear."

Mike took a bite.

His eyes widened."…Damn, that's good."

He finished the whole slice in minutes.

After a quick thank you to Aunt Shen and retrieving Emperor—who leaped back onto his shoulder with an offended huff—Mike stepped back outside.

Time to head for Valor City.

But first…

The chief guard approached him again, this time looking around nervously before whispering:

"Look, kid… you really should have some kind of identification. Without it, you'll get stopped at every checkpoint."

Mike dug into his pouch and flicked him a gold coin.

The guard froze.

In Clover Village, the average yearly income for a chief guard was one gold coin.Getting one in a single second nearly broke his brain.

"I—I understand!" he said quickly.

He ran into the guardhouse and came back with a small wooden card stamped with a simple emblem.

"Here. A temporary ID. It'll last until you register at Valor City."

Mike took it. "Thanks."

The guard swallowed nervously, then added,"Just so you know… the temporary ID is valid for one month before it expires. So make sure you get a permanent one in Valor City."

Mike nodded. "Got it."

He stepped out of the village gate, Emperor perched on his shoulder like a smug little furball.

"Okay then," Mike said, stretching his arms. "Let's go, buddy."

Emperor nodded and jumped down from Mike's shoulder. His small body glowed, expanding rapidly until he returned to his towering Mythical form. Mike swung onto his back with practiced ease.

"Alright, Emperor—Valor City."

The wolf gave a low woof and burst forward.

Wind slammed against Mike's face as Emperor accelerated, leaving a trail of faint blue flames behind them. The forest blurred, trees whipping past like streaks of color. Birds scattered. Small monsters dove out of the way.

Mike grinned."Damn, you're fast!"

Emperor flicked an ear back, clearly proud.

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