"GO-WAAAH!" A fish with horns cried out

"DAMN IT!" Leon shouted as he did his best to aim using the crappy slider sight on his gun. "I ALREADY SHOT TWO OF YOU! How many more are out there!"

The flying fish without wings zigged and zagged until finally it came right at him. This finally allowed Leon to line up a shot.

Leon aimed, exhaled, and then squeezed the trigger.

The shot ran true and got the fish right below it's horn, in between it's eyes. It still kept it's momentum, even as it's body rapidly decayed into purple mist with odd pixels.

Leon spotted a lightly glowing object, and on instinct raised his right hand and caught the monster's core.

Monster cores were an imperfect oblong object that lightly glowed light blue with purple impurities shaped like veins within. It's a negligible thing compared to magical crystal ores that could be mined in dungeons, but it could be just as effective if enough were refined together.

Leon sighed.

"Great, all that effort and this is what it amounted to," the other monster he killed had their cores fall into the sea bellow.

Sadly, he couldn't relish nor gripe since he heard more coming.

"Shit, a school! Were they just scouts?"

The bad part about this particular monster is that, more often than not, they tended to be in schools. So unless you were up to to the challenge, you were better off avoiding them or running away if you could. Not the toughest mobs for groups. For a single adventurer on a shoe-string budget, however, they were menace.

He spotted the school that slowly closed in like heat seeking missiles.

Leon gritted his teeth in fear, anger, and frustration. His airship wasn't fast nor maneuverable enough to lose one, let alone a school. But there was one trick he could use.

He didn't want to do it.

As they creeped closer and closer, he shouted a curse. He knew he had only one way of getting out alive and unhurt. But he didn't want to do it.

Closer and closer they got until Leon cursed

He snapped the hammer back. He then violently snapped the rolling block back, the force strong enough to eject the spent metal slug without issue. With practiced hands, he grabbed his only remaining magic bullet and slid into the barrel and snapped the rolling block forward.

The entire reloading process only took him three seconds.

He quickly adjusted the sliding iron sight to an upright vertical position for aiming at long distance. He aimed for the center mass of the incoming school.

"Don't jam, don't jam, don't jam," he muttered, really hoping the gun jammed and the school left him alone.

He breathed out and squeezed the trigger, the hammer falling forward onto the firing pin that struck the primer!

BANG

The recoil from the magic bullet had a harder kick to it than regular bullets. It was louder too. It soared off like a crackling firework into the distance until it hit one of the monster fish in the school.

"Got 'em," Leon said as he took pride and enjoyment in his skill.

The magic bullet exploded into a shower of electricity that arched in every directions. It almost looked like rapidly-growling tendrils of vine that spread throughout the entire school. After experiencing the discharge, the school began to fall…before they recovered and scattered to the wind.

Leon reloaded another, regular, bullet into his rifle and took aim.

Patiently, he aimed at the direction the school was in, searching with the full weight of his senses for signs of an oncoming attack.

After a moment, all he heard were the soft roar of his tiny airship's engine and the two paddle wheels propelling his ship forward. He relaxed, pulled the trigger with his ring finger while using his index finger to catch the hammer-easing it forward to the rolling block, putting it in a semi-locked positions.

Had he been playing the game, the UI would have informed him that he "escaped" the school. Something he learned early on in the game was that there was a bug with certain monsters that gather in schools and electrical bullets. There's no way a single round could work on a school, but the few times he used it in the game, by accident, his party automatically "escaped" without experience points. Not all the time, but sometimes. In real life, the school had to be packed together for them to be effected enough. Like now.

With his adrenaline coming down, Leon quickly fell to his butt and breathed in and out. He let go of the gun, letting it rest on his lap as he grabbed his dark hair.

"DAMN IT!" He cursed with all his might.

Once he caught his breath, he relaxed. He ran a hand through his tired face, his eyes dark with bags underneath them. He made a mental check list, then he got to work.

He inspected the airship.

"Alright, looks like a few scrapes but nothing worth crying over," Leon said after he inspected the damage to his airship, doing his best not to cry over every dent, chip, nick, and scratch on the poor airship's weathered and beaten hull.

He sniffled.

"Bah, screw the ship, that was my last magic bullet!" He had to escape from schools a bunch of times.

He sighed and decided to belly-ache about it later.

He took out a spyglass and searched for a suitable place to settle down for the night. He had long since learned that flying at night with only the moon for light and his own eyes rely on was a bad idea. He nearly lost the airship doing so.

As he searched, he found a tiny floating isle with promising vegetation to use as cover.

----------------------------------------

"Ahoy! Anyone there!" Leon shouted.

He found a "beached" airship after he landed. A big one in the middle of the floating isle. It was beyond repair. Its hull had giant holes, the keel was broken as if it were slammed onto the isle, the paddle wheels were gone, and the wires indicated a gasbag-which was gone. Overall, it was trashed and abandoned. Ships came in all designs in the game, from total fantasy, to steampunk blimps, to airplane and spaceships. It was a whole mess of designs.

The state of the ship and lack of a reply or feedback made Leon think he was alone. But it never hurt to be cautious.

"I'm coming aboard!" He shouted as he moved forward with his bayonet fixed to his rifle.

He walked around until he found a hole he could squeeze through.

Thankfully he didn't need to light a torch or anything. The "roof" was gone. It was as if some monster had ripped the deck off the airship.

"More likely it was used for firewood, meaning the crew probably survived and took the valuables," he mumbled bitterly as he searched the empty ship.

He searched every speck of the ship, but he couldn't find anything of use or value. What he did find were a few journals that he suspected belonged the captain and some decorative glass windows. Everything that could easily be taken was taken. Even a lot of the nails were taken. He was actually surprised no one bothered with the glass windows fixed to the captain's quarters. They were amazingly detailed designs and were intact.

"I guess I could trade these…but it'd take time to get them out without damaging them…."

Calling it a day, he headed back to his makeshift camp.

He got a fire going with magic as he ate an apple he found on the island. The fruit was almost entirely yellow, bulbous, and tasted like sweet bile… but he ate it anyway while he prepared his dinner.

Using magic, he was able to filter drinkable water out of the sea water he collected earlier and boil it until he was sure it was drinkable. He put some in his canteen, then he put in some of his remaining portable soup pieces, some pemmican(of all things) he was able to barter for at an outpost, and some root vegetables he managed to harvest on the island that he was positive were edible.

As the soup cooked and his disgusting apple finished, he took the opportunity to take out his maps.

He marked off another failed location, but noted down the location of the shipwreck. The map had many Xs crossed on it.

"Where the hell are you," Leon couldn't help but mutter as he studied the map.

The maps were very similar to overworld maps of the game, and to his knowledge the island didn't move. He should have found it by now. But all he found were shipwrecks and monsters.

"Did Olivia already claim it?" He wondered out loud again. Then he'd remind himself that she wasn't in the academy yet. The game started there first, only after did players direct olivia to venture out to claim paid items. That was how the game played out every time he had gone to collect Luxion and the villainous looking Armor.

So Luxion had to be out here somewhere.

"Still, it doesn't make sense. I've been all over, but I still haven't spotted the signs, much less a clue of their whereabouts…. 'The compass goes haywire, there's a storm that looks almost self contained that no experienced pilot can fly through. And then, the glowing spot on the surface of the sea….'"

Those were the three signs, and hadn't found any of them.

"...fuck," Leon cursed as he grabbed his scalp and growled in frustration. It should've been an easy journey! He should have Luxion by now!

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

He tried to compose himself, assure himself that it was only a matter of time until he found Luxion.

But he started to lose hope.

----------------------------------------

"These are a beut!" The tall mantis like woman in yellow said as she cradled the glass windows Leon had harvested with a few guards standing behind her.

Leon just sighed after he was done counting the money he received. The wood around the glass had been rotted and weak enough for him to chip away with his bayonet. Of course he had to sharpen said bayonet on the ride over, but at least he was able to barter the salvage for some money.

"You know the rules, young man," The woman had said. Though they were basically at the edge of the kingdom, basically the frontier, she was still dressed immaculately well. Her yellow dress looked freshly pressed and her red hair was twisted upwards in a feat that could only be magical. She also wore a pin on her chest of a girl hiding between trees. "Although, if your flexible on-"

"Yeah yeah-I'll follow the rules," Leon quickly said as he made himself look busy to shut down her advances. The lady grumbled, but walked away, the guards went back to their little gun nest.

Leon sighed as he made sure his airship was secured properly to the much larger flying airship. It was basically the equivalent of a gigantic magic flying barge, only instead of wood and metal, it was a floating island with propellers attached to it. Small Flying Islands were a thing in the game, this particular one was known as a mobile flying outpost, but still classified as an airship.

There were other buildings on the airship as well such as a crappy hostel, a bar, modern sleeping quarters for those who matter, a couple of stalls, a paid camping area, and watch towers and gun nests.

In the game, this kind of ships were basically rest and refuelling points, and as well chances to get frisky with the male leads-the memory making Leon seethe with anger.

This particular outpost was controlled by an enterprising noblewoman. Likewise, the people managing the piers, hostel, stalls and bars were mainly women with male staff and paramours. A few adventurers could make some coin by working on the island, but the pay and working environment were abysmal.

There were only two ways to get to the outpost, on your own airship or hitching a ride. Leon being the former meant he had to rent a space. Sadly, a minimum of 4 hours had to be bought in order to dock. A rip-off if Leon ever saw one.

He did a mental tally of what he needed and what he could reasonably afford with the inflated prices on the outpost after buying fuel for his airship…he could either get more provisions, some ammunitions, or one special magic ammunition which he sorely needed….

He bit his lip, he knew what he had to do. He went up to one of the stalls he was aware sold magic bullets and haggled like his life depended on it. Mostly because it did.

Somehow he managed to get three magic bullets for the inflated price of one. One was the all important Electric Discharge Bullet, the others were bullets that weren't selling, the Flare Bullets. Most people preferred damage over subterfuge, Leon among them, but beggars can't be choosers.

After that, all he had left was the remainder of his time at the outpost and enough change for a proper cooked meal that wasn't rations or wild harvest.

He was served a small meat pie with mixed bean pottage and mashed potato and a glass of ale (minor alcohol content).

"Best in the frontier," the server behind the bar said with a well practiced smile on his lips.

"Yeah yeah," Leon said, having heard the phrase a few times already. "Say, whats with Daniel?" Leon asked as he nodded to a guy he recognized sitting at the bar with quite a few clay bottles around him. Cheap booze if Leon had to guess.

Daniel Fou Durland. The guy's skin was naturally tanned, sported short but messy blond hair, and green eyes, a sharp contrast to leon's own short dark hair and light skin. Daniel was one of the few people to offer Leon advise without asking for a thing in return. He was an outspoken and bashful guy, but now he looked like he could pass on to the afterlife any second.

The server frowned.

"Him…he gave up. Best I figure, he's basically out of time and is probably gonna drink 'til his money is gone, or until the cheap swill kills him. Then whatever's left is up to his family to claim."

"...Fuck," Leon cursed.

"You think that's bad, check out the four eyes."

Leon looked at where the server pointed. A guy with cracked glasses, dark shoulder length hair that came down smoothly straight, pail complexion, was unsuccessfully stabbing some rolling peas on his plate. He looked at his plate with a dark and gloomy expression. Raymond Fou Arkin.

Leon and Raymond had met almost shooting each other when they were foraging on the same same floating island.

Raymond was one of the few adventurers, like Daniel, who teamed up with others. But the guys Raymond traveled with ditched him, figuring him for dead weight. Leon didn't want to, but he put up with the guy for a night then gave him a ride back to the outpost. He wasn't a bad person and Leon did have a lot in common with him. Raymond even proposed working together.

Leon declined.

Selfish as it sounded, Leon wanted Luxion all to himself. Working with others while on search for the greatest cheat item in the game sounded like a recipe for disaster.

"In short, he's in the same boat. Same schedule to earn some money. It's obvious he doesn't have it. He's been on that plate for over an hour. I should honestly kick the guy out and clear the table, but I don't have the heart to kick a poor bastard when he's down."

"Shit," Leon cursed.

"Shit," the server agreed with a sigh. "See it every year. A tale as old as the kingdom. Young men, 'bout to be sold off, fly off to find any fortune they can. Best time for merchants to make a killing in Dias, or to nab a young husband. Then the poor bastards drink themselves to death, or try to before their hauled off to their new 'experienced' wives."

Leon didn't say anything. He just dug into his food. He downed his bitter ale and went back to eating.

It surprised him to see a second cup put in front of him.

"Homemade hootch I made in a little experiment," The server said with pity in his eyes. "Can't sell this crap for a proper Dia anyhow. Might as well give it to where it's appreciated."

Leon didn't say anything. He just nodded, using one hand to hold his head up while the other used the fork to play with his food.

When he felt comfortable, he took the home brew into his mouth. The guy wasn't kidding, it was crap. He nearly spat the bile out.

But he didn't.

He was on the same schedule as Daniel and Raymond too, and time was running out.

He swallowed, hoping it would ease his nerves.

Then continued on with his meal.

----------------------------------------

Leon sighed as he read the pilfered journals. The only thing he took and couldn't sell.

He had cleaned and oiled his gun, feeling comfortable to pull it apart in an area where monsters were unlikely to attack. Sure, that didn't mean the people around him wouldn't try to push their advantage, it was basically prison rules, but Leon's was quick with his maintenance.

With an an hour left before he had to pay or leave, he figured loitering around on a hammock was a well needed luxury. But the journals were either ineligible or just filled with stupid musings. His latest one was about a captain ranting on about his crew and growing suspicious of a mutiny.

Still, it was a pretty boring read. He decided to give up and just nap for a bit.

"UAAH!"

A voice caught his attention.

It was Raymond getting tossed out of the bar by a group of three guys. The scene drew not only Leon's eyes, but many others as well.

"Get lost, you and your defective ware!" The first guy shouted.

"D-d-defective? AH!" A solid object hit him on the temple, causing a nasty cut.

"Take back your broken compass!" The second shouted in anger after tossing said compass.

"The nerve of this guy! He sells us a broken compass and then tries to sells us some outdated muzzle loader! Honestly, who uses a hunting rifle out here? I'd never buy this outdated junk!" The third said in an astounded tone.

Leon couldn't help but agree with that. Guns that load from the breech load ammunition by the rear end of the barrel. With a smart design, you could easily reload quickly and then aim at a target. It's why many modern weapons loaded from the rear of the barrel.

Muzzle loaders, like muskets, are the opposite. They loaded ammunition from the front end, the business end where projectiles fire out of. Surprisingly the design used in this world was more modern, but it was still time consuming and cumbersome to load. There's more operations to reloading such as measuring out powder, putting in a primer, jamming a bullet down the barrel with a ramrod. It took minutes if you weren't practiced, at best half a minute if you were. Not to mention, it left you vulnerable. It was a cheaper alternative, but Leon still wouldn't buy it. As the guy had said, it was good for hunting, not fending off monsters.

"B-b-b-but the compass works fine," Raymond said in both panic and confusion as he held his bleeding head.

Daniel, in a drunken stumble, ran to Raymond's support. It would seem the two got chummy.

"T-there's no need for this," Daniel managed to say as he grabbed the compass.

"Look! See it's still works!" Raymond points at the inside, Daniel quickly show's the compass to the trio. Leon couldn't see it but he assumed it was pointing the right way.

"You forgot the part where it went haywired when we used it! Damn thing looked ancient to begin with! We almost didn't make it back." The second said.

That caught Leon's ear.

The group had been in the same area he was in. He knows because he was followed by them. At first he thought they were going to rob him. Turns out they just wanted to tag all the way back to the outpost, citing issues with their compass.

But he finally got it. His first clue!

Luxion was somewhere in the area, but he had to narrow it down. Then he remembered the journals.

Leon quickly stopped eavesdropping and rummaged through the last journal he looted. He quickly looked for the last written entry, hoping he guessed right. Then he found it.

Near the end of the journal, the last few pages:

…that's why I believe my crew might be plotting a mutiny. Still, praise these sods a little and give them an extra share and they'll be back in line. It's happened before. Far too many for my liking, but I'll survive. Personally, the most alarming thing I found was the storm.

Thankfully we didn't run into it, but it seemed stuck, frozen in place as we moved about. It probably also messed with our compass. The rapscallions accused me of losing it again, calling me cheap for not updating our equipment and buying enough for everyone. The ungrateful bastards!

Money doesn't grow out of thin air, you can't expect me to replace things that still work! Honestly, just use some elbow grease and everything works fine! I'm also the most experienced sailor! These lazy bastards should trust my word, especially when the lads are still wet behind the ears!

And I've seen weird weather and lowering skies before, but none like this. If that wasn't bad enough, the storm actually fell! I have no other way to describe it. The storm, cloud and all, just fell down into the ocean! And the sods still called me senile! No good ingrates!

Still there was this light they couldn't deny. A patch of glowing light appeared on the surface of the sea. The way it flickered dark and bright caused a few of the my crew to think it was a sea leviathan's eye blinking as it stared at us.

A living deep sea leviathan's eye, somehow visible by itself instead of it's entire head, holding still. On the surface of the sea. Near crystal clear shallows… fucking uneducated nitwits, the lot of them! Why is good help so hard to find! I'm not paying an arm an leg, but honest work requires honest hard working fellows, don't they? I mean these dunderheads don't even think when they do the job, their minds are constantly at sea instead of thinking about the best way to do their jobs! I'm replacing who I can when we get back to civilization.

I got the ones I'm thinking of cutting keeping an eye on the light while me and my best get our sleep. I'm going to order an investigation in the morrow and see what's that thing actually is. We got a few swimmers, it should be fine.

Maybe we can find treasure.

That was the last entry.

When he realized it, he was already making his way to his airship with his stuff in hand.

That journal gave him enough to put up an idea of what happened to the ship. In the game, the glowing surface was a warp device. If the captain wanted to investigate it and berate his crew at the same time, he probably had the ship land on top of it. Likely intended having people jump overboard to dive in and see what was going on below the waves.

But the warp device's function is to transport the protagonist to the paid item's location, allowing whatever lands on it to go through the storm! That's likely how the ship got beached considering it's broken keel. Then after that…the captain met his fate while his crew plundered what they deemed valuable.

Not that that was the part Leon cared about.

"It fell into the sea? The warp device was flickering on and off?"

It didn't make sense. That was nothing like the game!

Luxion's location was some dilapidated construction/research facility surrounded by robots on a floating island! Why would it fall into the ocean!? And the warp device? Was it losing power?

"Arrg! This doesn't make sense! This kind of setting doesn't fit that damn game! If anything it's closer to…closer to…."

Leon slowed to a stop when he got close to the makeshift pier.

He processed that last train of thought to it's entirety.

"No." He breathed out.

He shook his head as he made his way to his airship.

Dread filled him as he took off. Racing back to the little isle he found the ship on.

He tried to tell himself he was thinking wrong. He was in the Otome game, the version he spent hours on, learning every intricate detail to seduce all the rage-inducing male leads for a harem ending.

But he remembered what he did before he died.

He remembered the different version of the game he played where he was amazed at finding shipwrecks. He even remembered his last conversation he had at work with a coworker.

"A hint of the real game," his coworker had said. One Leon praised for its balance and holistic game design before he died. One that perfectly took its protagonist's and male lead's exponential growth into account.

A game where paid items were removed, where Luxion didn't exist.