Official Identification

 The day had come for Ray to get a real identification. Walking down the street with his personal doctor by his side, he took a look at the fake ID. According to what she said, the real one would look the same as the one in his hand.

 It wasn't just a normal card. It was this world's equivalent to electronic. "Magitronic?" He questioned under his breath. It updated in real time and displayed his personal information in glowing lettering. Not much was filled in though.

 It had the basics. Name, age, gender, height and weight. Race was there, but in this world it would have been more accurate to call it species. It said human. Shortly after meeting with Dr. Arias in the testing facility, it had added Registered Dreamer and Unidentified to Magic Potential and Soul Type respectively, leaving Esper Status empty.

 His date of birth had been set to the closest thing to accurate. 20 years ago on November 3rd, but this world had 17 less days in one year and no July so it was definitely off. Place of birth was interesting. Alastar City. He made a note to visit it one day to make sure his backstory was set straight.

 And…that was about it. There were categories on the card that he didn't immediately understand. Tower Mastery, Adventurer Rank, Magic Stars and Soul Refinement were the four. He managed to figure them out for the most part with tropes though.

 This world definitely had its fair share of Earthlings before, that was for sure. This world followed the metric system for all standard measurements except temperature for some reason. Kelvin was odd. Who's ancient scientist grandfather decided that?

 He shook that annoyance off. Looking around, he quickly spotted something interesting.

 On the other side of the street he spotted a girl with dog ears walking down the sidewalk. It was a curious sight. She could immediately tell the breed just off her ears and hair. A Pomeranian. It made her hair look exceptionally fluffy and soft along with making her face look much more petite than most. Unfortunately, his staring turned out to be a mistake.

 Not long after looking at her, she turned to look and froze. Her ears tucked in fear as she maneuvered out of sight behind a building.

 Dr. Nara immediately jumped in as she saw this, "Ray, you shouldn't look at a beastwoman like that."

 "Oh, why is that? Is it rude or something?"

 She looked at him like she had just told him he doesn't know right from left. "Dr. Arias told me you actually come from some remote village but…even then. Did they not have beastmen there?"

 "Not where I used to live." His "village," the shithole known as downtown Los Angeles, wasn't exactly known for animal people running around. Although he guessed there were many who wished that were the case.

 "I see." She looked like she was processing some very complex data. "Then I guess there's no fault to you. It's not rude or anything. It's just not advised to do anything that looks threatening in any way."

 She stopped to think about what to say next. "It…gets uncomfortable." She took a small breath before explaining, "You see. Beastmen historically were used as slaves. They have higher stamina and strength than normal humans. They're comparable to demons in that regard, so it was exploited."

 "The hero worked to undermine the system over the course of his life but…he didn't completely succeed. Yiris and Yolan only recently abolished it during the Yigarian War so…it's still fresh."

 Yolan was the name of the country he was currently in. It had split off from Yiris as a consequence of that same war but not until after the slavery ban was set in stone, so both countries shared it now. He didn't know much more than that, even after a quick search on this world's top search engine, Queri. This world's governments were much better at hiding sensitive information than the mess that was Earth's.

 "Slavery, eh? Is it still legal in other countries?"

 "To my knowledge it's limited to the Ixarian Principality and Outlands Republic."

 "Not counting illegal slavery of course." He murmured. The Yigarian War ended 50 years prior to his own arrival. With the change being so recent, slavery was probably still very present in Yolan. He could understand why a beastwoman would become uncomfortable being stared at. Especially one with traits like a small face and soft hair like her.

 "Ray." Dr. Nara said to get his attention.

 "Huh?" He turned to the little doctor.

 "We're here." She pointed upwards.

 Upwards he looked as he studied the building itself. It was a large skyscraper with massive glowing lines running across it. Black with metallic finishes, it was an odd site. It looked much more modern than the other buildings nearby, even other skyscrapers.

 As the two made their way inside, he looked around at the people. Among the people he noted elves, dwarves, beastmen of various kinds and a few scattered people with draconic features. Dragonborn. From what he knew, that accounted for the majority of known standard humanoids in this world. Demons and full blooded dragons with humanoid forms also existed, but they were almost completely locked to their respective kingdoms for the most part.

 He made sure to not stare too long this time as he followed behind Dr. Nara. It only took a few more seconds to arrive at the central reception.

 "You need sleep." He muttered as he took a look at the guy in the front. He had deep bags under his eyes. He wondered how many hours he had.

 In a dead and muffled voice, the receptionist said, "Welcome to the City Center Reception Desk. What might be your reason to come in today?"

 Dr. Nara asked for the fake card from Ray before handing it over to the receptionist. He turned to look at Ray. "Your name is Ray Valia, correct?"

 "Oh, yes. That's my name. I am Ray Vallia."

 He looked at Ray for a few seconds before looking back. "Cool." He reached over to his side where a small ticket dispenser was found. Pulling it out and placing it on a machine that stamped it with something, he handed it to Ray who quickly looked it over. He recognized the stamp as the seal of the Yolan Royalty. A former group of Yiris nobility.

 "You are free to go." The receptionist looked back at the little doctor. "Is she your sister, daughter or…something more intimate?"

 "Daughter!?" Dr. Nara said, offended.

 Well, she was comically short. She barely even reached lower chest height next to Ray. It was the style of her long, green hair that gave away her real age. "She's my personal doctor," Ray explained.

 "Yeah!" The little doctor yelled. "I was sent here to confirm some details with his new ID!"

 The receptionist stared at her for a bit before turning back to the computer. "Alright. In that case I guess you can go in. You will be unable to accompany your assigned patient past a certain point in your visit and will be funneled to a separate room. I would suggest you prepare to answer questions regarding the specifics of his medical records that you are here to confirm." A different colored ticket came out of the dispenser which was quickly stamped. "You can go ahead and go."

 Dr. Nara snatched it and walked off.

 The receptionist turned to look at Ray as the little doctor left. "Just show your passes to the security guard in the main lobby and tell them your reason for visiting. Your doctor's pass is dependent on yours so make sure you are with her when she shows her own. They will not let her pass without you."

 "Oh, sure." Ray awkwardly turned and walked after her. Showing the two passes to the first floor's security guard, the two made it past the door separating the main reception room from the rest of the building. There was an elevator to the left.

 Walking in, he looked at his ticket. 30th floor.

 Ray did the honors of pressing the button and they were on their way. Halfway up the elevator, Ray watched as a strange girl with long, straight black hair entered along with them. In a tone of voice somehow even more dead than the worker from before, she muttered, "Good morning."

 Dr. Nara seemed a bit put off by her but Ray returned the gesture with one of his own. Ray noticed something. Is she a Soul Type user?

 Of the types, dark and light were unique in that they created a passive aura. Dark Soul Types made the users give off an air of dread at all times. He wasn't affected thanks to being a Dreamer but Dr. Nara. He turned to look. She definitely was.

 The next ten floors got awkward as the girl's aura filled the elevator, leaving with her as she got off on floor 23. Dr. Nara shivered to herself. "Scary."

 "Are you okay?" Ray asked her.

 "Huh?" She sighed. "Oh, yes. Doctors are given exposure therapy to these kinds of things as part of our training. I'm not completely immune though."

 "Makes sense. You're a bit stiff. Try to breathe."

 "Thank you." She took a few deep breaths.

 Getting off on floor 30. A short walk down the main hallway quickly brought them to the destination. A door marked as the Identification Department.

 Behind the door what Ray found was another reception room. A security guard walked up to the two and asked for their passes. They showed him the tickets and moved on. After a short talk to the main receptionist, she confirmed their identities and split Dr. Nara away from Ray. She was to be escorted to another room to get her own stuff done, leaving Ray to sit in the waiting room alone.

 15 minutes passed before he was called up, now sitting in front of a young looking receptionist with long, light blue-silver hair and curled bangs.

 The rest was self explanatory. She asked for confirmation on his name and date of birth. Questioned him on his reason for visiting and finally confirmed his ID Replacement. Afterwards, she asked him for his current ID, which he handed over and looked at it. "Your card doesn't have a picture."

 Ray almost flinched. Was that not normal? She looked at him with a blank expression. "We can get that fixed. There's a door to the back to your right. Come over here for your new ID picture."

 Ray nodded and got up. Being let inside to the back by the receptionist, he took a gander at the new room. It seemed like a normal office space. One which was populated by people in stuffy suits.

 "Follow me," the lady told him.

 He analyzed her. No emotion, eh? It seemed this world had its fair share of cliche character tropes. Near the back of the office, Ray looked at the small room with a large green curtain behind it. His escort pointed at it before explaining, "Step in there. I will take the picture. Look straight at the camera."

 "Oh, sure." He walked over and prepared himself. The little doctor had taken Ray on a quick shopping trip on the way here. He now saw why. His clothing was limited to what he was wearing when he died in the old world. Military equipment, and without the decency of the tools and weaponry too.

 Dr. Arias had confiscated them when he was being transported. Now though, he was wearing a normal looking shirt and pants combo.

 "Smile," she said with a blank face.

 He gave the camera a warm looking smile as it flashed. The girl pulled out a piece of paper from a shelf next to her. "This service gives the chance to add a backdrop of your choosing to your ID photo." She pointed at the different options on the paper. "You can pick one. In the event you choose to go with none, you will be given the standard backdrop."

 Ray looked at the options. The standard backdrop was just a solid tan color. Boring. He looked over the rest. "Uh, I'll take this cityscape."

 "Understood," she confirmed.

 She left the room and walked into one right next door where she began to fiddle with a computer from what Ray could hear. Coming back after about 5 minutes of waiting, she held up Ray's new ID, showing as it updated with his new picture. She stared at it for a bit before handing it over. With a small blush, she told him, "This is your new ID. This model will be good for the next 6 years. You will have to replace it once again when it expires." She stretched out her hand. "Give me the old one."

 Ray reached into his pocket and handed over the fake card. "I wonder how it'll get…" She silently walked over to a device labeled disposal unity and threw the card in. As it fell, the sound of metallic tearing resounded through the office. "…recycled." Ray finished with a slightly shocked face.

 "Well…I guess that solves one problem," Ray muttered under his breath. A few seconds later, a guy in what appeared to be his mid twenties ran over. "Mia, how many times do I have to tell you!? The cards are to be destroyed at the end of the shift! They are too loud to destroy in the day!"

 The now named Mia flinched as this happened. The guys froze. Ray watched in mild shock as he noticed something run down her cheek. Is she crying? "I-I'm sorry." Another appeared. Then another. "I-I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Please…"

 The guy raised his arms and tried to calm her down. "Wait, no. Calm down. It's okay."

 Ray watched as the girl broke down. Is it a good idea to have this girl as a receptionist? The guy quickly motioned the girl to a lady sitting in the back that quickly got to work on calming her down.

 By that point there was a river of tears running down her face. He looked at the fellow worker. She was a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair somewhere in her early 40's from what he guessed. Almost like a mother, she was able to get the younger girl to calm down, before politely running over to Ray. She awkwardly laughed, "Apologies. Mia's a bit…sensitive to scolding you see." She awkwardly motioned him to follow her.

 "Sorry you had to see that. I'll take you back."

 "Sure," he absentmindedly answered.

 On the way back, the woman noticed something and explained, "Sorry again. My name is Evelyn, by the way." She motioned towards an embroidered name on her suit. "You can call me that."

 "Oh, sure. You can call me Ray then."

 "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Ray."

 She seemed to be the mature type. Someone that would fit the role of group mother wherever she went. Or at least that was the air he got. "About that…" Ray began before he was cut off.

 "No need to finish that sentence. Anyone could tell you're wondering about that." She sighed, "You see, Mia's the youngest daughter of a Yolan noble family. The values of that family aren't the…kindest from what we know. Poor thing. She was sent here to work by her father but her upbringing isn't doing her many favors. She must have had quite the traumatic childhood to be as sensitive as she is now."

 "I see." Interesting backstory. Ray thought about that. He wondered what her family was like.

 "Sorry again. I'm sure this isn't what you were expecting of your visit."

 "It's okay." Walking out, he locked eyes with Dr. Nara as she looked up from her phone. He made his way over to her as he still thought about Mia.

 She seemed to notice. "Is something wrong?"

 "No. It's nothing." He looked at his new card and sighed. No point thinking about that now. He would probably never meet her again.