5 The Town of Dawn

"I know I said I'd go to the town, but how the hell do I even get there?" Astur said as she realised she didn't even know where in the forest her house is located.

'Hmm… historically settlements had been built around bodies of water, such as rivers, even my current house has a river flowing nearby which seems to be the source of the water used in my house. I can probably follow the river down to find the town and even if it doesn't lead to the beginner town like I think it will, chances are it will eventually lead to a settlement,' Astur thought as she began to follow the flow of the river.

Following the river, it took Astur about 30 minutes before she finally got out of the forest. During this time, fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, she didn't encounter any monsters on her way out. Although she did see a couple on the other side of the river, since she was both too lazy to deal with them and because they weren't directly blocking her path, Astur decided to let them be. And after another 10 minutes of walking since leaving the forest, her initial thinking was confirmed as she made her way to a town.

On her way in, Astur encountered a sign, indicating the name of the town to be, appropriately called, the Town of Dawn, a fitting name for what is supposedly a starting town. The town has a suburban feel to it, fitting with its location within the Kingdom, being in the middle between the Capital and the border. There are plenty of cars driving through the town, but only a fraction of them aren't just passing through. Within the town itself, most people either walk or use a bicycle to get around due to the small size of the town.

'The place isn't too different from a town from the early-mid 21st century from Earth, probably most similar to the standard from the late 2020s. First and foremost, I should probably ask someone for directions to a bank since I'll probably need to open an account for many things in the future,' Astur thought as she walked around the town.

Spotting someone on the sidewalk, Astur was about to walk up and ask them for directions before she realised that she might be able to just use the GPS on her phone. And sure enough, she was right, Akkre had changed the maps on not just her phone but for the other five as well to be able to provide a basic map of their starting locations. But upon further inspection, she found that it only showed her current position and basic layout of the area around the forest where her house is, and that the rest of the map has to be filled manually. But she can at least find her way to the closest bank without having to speak with more people than she needs to.

From her current position, it didn't take more than a few minutes before Astur arrived at the bank in the Town of Dawn. Much like the town, the bank isn't very large, with only meeting the minimum staff requirement to properly run the place. There are only a few customers here and they seem to be here mostly to chat with friends rather than doing any transactions.

Walking up to one of the unoccupied tellers, a woman who is lazily sitting behind the counter, Asrur was about to ask about opening a bank account, but the teller speaks first, saying, "let me guess, opening a new account?"

"How'd you know?" Astur asks.

"Pretty obvious, you're a new face and pretty much everyone in this town is at the very least familiar with each other's face. If you wanted to withdraw some money then you would have gone to an ATM. And if you needed a large transaction, you probably wouldn't have come to a small branch here and would have likely gone to one of the larger branches in one of the nearby cities. Since you're here, that means you're either a shady person in need of a new account or you've been living under a rock for most of your life," the teller curtly explains.

"You ain't exactly wrong since I live in the depths of the Sea of Trees. But, isn't your attitude a bit out of place for someone in your position? While I personally don't care, couldn't this potentially get you in trouble?"

"Perhaps if I were working in the main office or a different branch, but here, there are generally only two types of people who bother to come to the bank. Like I said previously, shady individuals who need a new start for various reasons, or guys like them in the corner over there who just want to chat with their friends who work here. One group are people I know and the other likely don't deserve any respect, but moreover, putting up a false smile is tiring. Anyway, I'll need some basic information and proof of identity, so let's hurry this up, my shift is almost over."

"I've got the proof of identity, so what else do you need?" Astur asks as she hands over the ID card that Akkre prepared for her.

"Just a moment… never thought I'd see one of these, this thing's ancient and authentic. Things have changed since IDs like yours were printed, so I'll need to ask a few things since the only information needed on this card is just your name and race, Miss Kojuuin. But I've never heard of an Infinity Wolf before and I must say, that tail of yours is fascinating to look at, it's as if I'm looking into the starry night sky yet I can see through it."

"I'm not too surprised that you've never heard of my kind before, but what else do you need?"

"Hold on, where was it again? Oh, right, here it is," the teller says as she places a small clear crystal orb on the counter.

"This is?"

"I should have expected as much from someone living in the forest. If you put your hand on it then the orb will change colour depending on whether you're lying or telling the truth. Red for lies and blue for truth, now put your hand on it and let's get started."

'This seems to be standard procedure so I guess I'll go along with it since declining will be troublesome and I just want to get my new bank account open so I can move on,' Astur thought as put her hand on the crystal orb.

"First off, is the information on your ID card is authentic and correct that your name is Astur Sera Kojuuin and you're an Infinity Wolf?"

"Yes," Astur replies causing the orb to shine a bright blue.

"And your age is?"

"... my physical appearance is that of my mid-20s," Astur hesitantly says.

"That wasn't what I was asking but I can understand your reluctance to share your age as a woman, but I'm gonna have to ask you again."

"*Sigh* 103," Astur says, deciding to give in since she knows things won't proceed otherwise.

"I see, you don't look a day past… what the hell! 103! What kind of makeup are you using, I need to know!?"

"None, I don't use cosmetics.

"How the hell can you possibly be that old and look as perfect as you do!?"

"Genetics," Astur says calmly, ignoring the teller's outburst.

"Bullshit! Is what I want to say, but the orb was blue this entire time, so you're not lying… but this still doesn't make sense."

"Can we move on? There are still things I want to do before going home," Astur says.

"Right, that was unprofessional of me, sorry, let's keep going."

'You haven't shown any professional standard since we've met,' Astur thought but decided not to share this thought since she felt it would cause this to take longer.

"We've only got a couple more questions before we're done, so let's talk about your financial situation. I'm fairly certain you don't have a proper job, coming from the Sea of Trees and all, nor do I expect you to have a guarantor. So what can you do?"

"I'm an Alchemist, I make stuff from other stuff," Astur says, giving the teller the most basic explanation she possibly can.

"Is that so, I've learned nothing. You're telling the truth, but can you explain a bit more? Like what's the difference between you and say some random artisan?"

"I can make nearly anything and my stuff is better," Astur says once again, keeping her explanation as simple as it can possibly go.

"You know what, that's good enough for me, I'm not going to question it anymore. You're telling the truth and that's what matters here."

'I feel like you shouldn't accept it that easily, but I ain't gonna complain.'

"So for the last question, how much are you going to deposit?"

"Half the cash I have on hand," Astur says as she puts ten 100 VD on the counter, adding up to 1,000 VD.

"Hmm… ok, I won't question where these came from, they're authentic and that's all my job description requires me to check. Since you don't have an address to send your debit card to, you'll have to come here to pick it up in a week. Here, take your ID card back, oh and for convenience sake, get yourself a PO box so people can send stuff to you in the future. After all, most people can't freely walk through the forest," the teller says, handing back Astur's ID.

"That was next on my agenda today. Now then, I suppose I'll be seeing you in a week, Miss…"

"I never did introduce myself, did I, I'm Krisha Lovenus."

Having left the bank, Astur sets her sights on her next objectives, getting a PO box and finding a way to make money.