He is used to hair having black, blond, or red color. So this is the first time he is seeing blue, purple, and green hair color.
He would have thought that they had dyed their hair that color, but there were too many of them for it to look like a cosmetic reason. He had to consider that either the strange color of hair was a popular cultural phenomenon or it was a natural phenomenon.
When he looked more, he saw that these strange people had eyes the same color as their hair. So there were white humans with purple or green eyes.
He thought to himself, "This too can be cultural. There are contact lenses after all."
He was immersed in looking at the people around him, so he noticed that the tides of people were not endless. He has better eyesight now, so he can see that there is an end to the line of people.
They were all moving forward through the large room into a series of small hallways that served as funnels. He already knew what was about to happen, so he was ready for it.
It took a long time of slowly moving forward among the throng of people, but eventually he reached the small hallway that led out of the large room. It didn't take him much time after that to reach the registration counter.
He moved in a straight line and came up to the robot waiting there for him. Last time, he found the glass body and visible internal mechanisms of the robot to be weird, but this time, he was glad to see the robot.
The robot didn't seem to remember him. It is highly unlikely for it to be the same one, but it had the same voice and said the same thing to him.
It said, "Please, step into the registrar."
He did immediately. Then an invisible laser cut open his skin while a cloud of invisible nanoparticles surged into the tiny wounds on his arm.
In essence, he was being tattooed. It is why he felt the skin of his arm tingle in pain even though there are visible moving parts in the metallic box he was standing in.
But unlike a normal tattoo, the ink was high-tech nanorobots, and the image drawn on his skin was the highly important mark of the Yggdrasil civilization soldier.
The tattoo wasn't pretty when it was inactive, but it was a wonder when it came alive. And it could grant him access to the systems of the Yggdrasil. So it was much better than a tattoo, and the pain was worth it.
He stared at the tattoo for a while and said, "And to think I wanted to infiltrate you last time. What a time."
He chuckled in mirth as he moved on to the next section.
The next section was a wall. He pressed his arms against it but felt little resistance. The wall didn't block his path. Instead, he sank into it and appeared in the room on the other side.
The sensation was weird even though he had experienced it before and was ready for it. It felt as if something wet and slimy had crawled over his skin when he passed through the wall. Yet, his skin was dry.
It was much worse than that because there was only darkness when he passed through the wall. So something unseen that was wet and slimy might have really touched him when he was in the wall.
It could have been nothing, but his imagination won't let him believe that.
He looked back at the silver wall after passing through it. He touched it again and realized that he couldn't pass through it to the other side where he came from.
It made him shake his head in wonder and say, "I won't be surprised if this room is not on the other side of that wall."
He suspects that the wall he passed through is just a gateway to many rooms like the one he is currently in. It would explain why he can't use the wall to return. It is because the gateway has moved on to an empty room.
It was after wondering about the wall that he paid attention to the glass skin robot beside him.
The robot said to him, "This is the weapons and equipment room. Please pick what you need and equip it. You have five minutes to make your choice."
He was already moving on to the rows of shelves lining the walls of the small room before the robot finished speaking. He wasn't a novice to this experience, so he knew what to do and which weapons to pick.
As usual, there were rows of shelves on both sides of the room on his left and right. In front of him, at the other side of the room, was a door that led out of the room.
He wasn't looking at the door. Instead, his eyes roamed over the shelves as he examined the numerous assortments of weapons.
He rubbed his hands together in glee as he examined the weapons. He said in anticipation, "How I've missed you."
He didn't pick much, and he didn't waste time in making his decision either. After being on the foreign battlefield before, he knows exactly what he needs on the battlefield.
He still chose the armor even though its durability cannot compare to half of his own defense. It is because of its force field and cloaking capabilities.
The force field will provide energy for him and help him keep his body here, while the cloaking ability, while short and energy intensive, is also useful.
He undressed and began wearing his uniform. First was the tight-fitting inner wear. Next was the thick outerwear that feels like it is made out of the same thing as Kevlar vests.
The last thing he wore was the armor. All three of them were black in color. He had no choice in the color this time around. Command had decided that everyone wear black so that they will fit in the world.