Hanjun and Jayhon tumbled straight out of the sky, their bodies skidding across a patch of damp grass before rolling to a messy halt.
Grunting, Hanjun sat up first, shaking a clump of clover out of his silver hair.
He dusted off his coarse, rough fabric villager trousers and stretched his arms. Jayhon got up right beside him, blinking rapidly as he took in the overwhelming scale of their new surroundings.
They were inside the giant outer walls of the kingdom, but it didn't look like any normal human town they had ever imagined.
Before they could even gather their bearings, a short, bulky man with a massive braided beard and a heavy iron wrench stomped right past them, muttering under his breath.
"Stupid, brainless surface-dwarfs," the man growled, kicking a loose pebble into the gutter. "Think they can just outsource the steam pipes..."
Hanjun and Jayhon watched him waddle away, their jaws dropping slightly.
As they looked further down the cobblestone street, the sheer variety of the crowd made them freeze.
This kingdom was completely different.
Massive, thick-skinned orcs carrying heavy crates pushed past slender,. Stout dwarfs argued loudly over brass blueprints right in front of towering minotaurs who carried massive stone stone pillars over their shoulders like logs.
"Whoa,"
Jayhon whispered, his eyes darting
frantically.
"Look over there..."
Walking right down the center of the avenue were 4 walking skeletons.
Inside the center of their bare ribcages, a strange, pulsating core of glowing blue energy hummed silently, acting like an artificial heart that kept their bones moving.
High above them, leaning casually against the ornate balcony of a massive, wealthy estate, a wealthy-looking half-elf with long pointed ears and a velvet vest stared down at the lower-class citizens with an expression of pure, unbothered arrogance.
"Hey, look out!"
Jayhon suddenly yanked Hanjun's arm.
A tiny, green-skinned goblin with a long, pointy nose and greasy leather straps was slinking through the shadows.
The goblin had his eyes locked onto a local street vendor—a lady who was completely distracted, busily rearranging rows of bright orange fruits on a wooden cart to make them look nice for customers.
The moment the goblin crept close and extended his clawed fingers to snatch a handful of fruit, Hanjun just walked straight up behind him.
"Hey, green guy,"
Hanjun said bluntly, scratching his head.
"Do you know where the academy is?"
The lady at the fruit cart gasped, instantly spinning around.
"What? Who's there?!"
But before she could see anything, the goblin panicked.
Moving with blinding speed, the tiny green creature grabbed both Hanjun and Jayhon by their shirts, dragging them forcefully around a dark brick corner into an alleyway before the lady could spot them.
"What do you want?!"
the goblin hissed, his sharp yellow teeth bared in an annoyed expression. He rubbed his long ears and glared at Hanjun.
"And my name is not green guy! I'm a handsome goblin!"
Jayhon held up his hands nervously.
"We just wanted to know where the academy is. We're completely lost."
The goblin narrowed his eyes, examining them from head to toe.
Judging by their coarse, faded farmer clothes and dusty boots, they looked completely broke.
These stupid kids look too poor to even have anything worth stealing, the goblin thought to himself, completely irritated.
They just ruined my perfect strategy with their big mouths. Fine. I'll ruin their way.
The goblin pointed a sharp claw toward a random, twisting road leading into a completely different district.
"It's over there! Just keep walking that way!"
"Oh, thanks,"
Hanjun said simply.
Without another word, the goblin slipped back into the shadows, returning his focus toward the fruit lady.
Hanjun and Jayhon walked down the path for a solid twenty minutes, twisting through alleyways and grand plazas, but they found absolutely nothing that looked like an academy.
Exhausted and thoroughly confused, they finally collapsed onto a stone bench near a public fountain.