"Welp... Ain’t this a bitch?"
He wandered around the desert while the night was still seemingly young. He took off his helmet to properly feel and smell the clear air, although it was a bit dusty with some shrubbery around the area, it was still clear compared to the recycled and filtered air found indoors and breathing equipment.
It was quite weird for him to see a desert that didn’t just contain radioactive waste dumps.
He had gotten bored some time afterwards. He didn’t mind being alone, even for a long time, but not having any idea if you're near a civilization, or far from it.
Plus, the idea of tasting good food!
Don’t get him wrong, he had tasted one of his consumables in his inventory; a delicious looking sandwich with a name he didn’t even remember, just because he wanted to know if it's delicious as it looks. And the result? It tasted better than the fucking nutrient paste flavored bullshit they made back in the Old World.
He would love to eat more of his foodstuffs in his inventory, but he would also love to try out this world’s food, delicious as it is. He felt like one of those higher-up pricks who were able to afford food that is hard for a mere office-worker to acquire.
But he needed to ration his stuff. He didn't have much of this in his inventory. Even with the Prestige Inventory for extra slots for things to put in, it's mostly ‘acquired’ items and gear that he killed off of Players. And he would rather not waste any of them meaninglessly.
He would admit (silently to himself) that he is not that good at managing himself alone with no guidance. He’d rather be with either one of his comrades or the folks in Ainz Ooal Gown.
But enough with worrying about the past! Now is the time to worry about the present!
To adapt is to survive, and surviving will keep him on living. . .
Or at least that's how it goes?
It didn't take him long to see some buildings, a town or a large village at least. Before he was about to step a foot onto the place, he saw several people waving guns around in their hands.
He had thought them soldiers of some kind, but seeing their casual outfits and the careless handling of their weapons, he saw them as amatuer gun-users.
As he was about to decide what to do next, he heard someone shouting. And it felt like it was directed at him.
And it sounded like… Behind him.
He turned around and saw a boy in dirty but fixed clothing with a 21st century weapon that he was holding, he could make it out as an ‘AK’, although he doesnt know which of the AK series it is.
Back in the Old World, whenever he was bored, he would read about types of weapons back in the 21st century and past before that and how they were used, their purpose and origin.
He was interested in exotic weapons of the past, even though they were common and uncommon enough back in the 21st century, where the world was engulfed in a planet-wide smog and being controlled by monopolies.
Oddly enough, he would have felt some kind of panic or a sense of danger seeing that this boy is pointing a weapon at him with almost no weapon discipline.
He snapped back to reality when the boy shouted at him again, although this time much louder and almost shoved the barrel of his gun at his chest.
“-you!”
“What?” He asked again. Since he was in his mind at the moment before.
“Put your hands up!” The boy spoke in broken english that seemed to be a latiuanian mix accent.
“Juan! What is going on!?”
An old man wearing a worn out brown beret shouted in intelligible language that he didn't know. From the tone and the looks of him, he seems to be the one in charge in this group of kids and older teens. Although some of them had guns and others had some sort of bag filled with what he seemed to notice were rocks inside.
From how the man approached, he had an aura of authority in the group. The confidence in his walk, the rough glare he was giving onto him was almost unnerving.
Only because he was taller than him by almost a head.
“...Who are you?” He asked in english while putting the AK in front of him, to quickly aim the gun at him in case something bad happens.
“A stranger. I don't even know who you are.” He said honestly. “I’m just lost around these parts and I need a map or something to reorient my damn shit around.”
“Are you no soldier?” He asked guardedly as he eyed for any weapons on him, he had none. “Are you Justice League?”
‘Wait, ‘Justice League’? Don't tell me that those idiot brats were called as such?’ He groaned. ‘Oh well, they are just kids so who cares.’ He dismissed them, as they are nothing but a bunch of weaklings pretending to be ‘Heroes’.
“No, I aint no soldier. And I’m sure that I’m not what you call them ‘Justice League’.” He answered honestly. What's the point in lying anyways?
“...Juan, put your gun down.”
“But-!”
“Now! Juan…”
The boy reluctantly pointed the gun to the ground before taking a few steps backwards.
“But Sir Carlos, what if-” One of the tall teens behind the old man spoke but was cut off by him.
“If you dare shoot at this man, I won't stop you from getting killed by him.” He snarled at the teen, making the teen shut up. He turned around to the other children. “That goes to any of you brats.”
“You, follow.” He turned around and walked back into the town.
Jason simply grunted as he passed by the child soldiers around him, following the man.
As they reached the town, the people around the streets stared at the newcomer. Some looked at him and thought he might be one of the superheroes but didn't recognize him, some were rather curious to who he was, while a few others glared at him thinking that he is a superhero.
One of the men who was standing nearby went to the old man in front of him and asked questions on who he is.
“Sir Carlos, you brought someone?”
“Yes, but do whatever you can to not provoke him.”
The man raised a brow. “What do you mean? He doesn't seem to look like a soldier, and he has nothing on him!”
The old man growled in response, making the man flinch. “That's what worries me, you idiot puta! Now, move aside.”
He didn't wait for the man to respond and shoved him lightly aside from the path, continuing on with the stone armored man following him.
The man asked one of the teens who had been following them as they entered the town. “Hey, Juan, you know that man?”
He shook his head. “No, I don't think so. Sir Carlos doesn't seem to know that man either.”
“He doesn’t? Sir Carlos doesn't let anyone into the town aside from anyone we know.”
“Well, he said that he was looking for a map.” Juan said.
“A map? Hmmmm…” He wondered for a bit before noticing Juan was slightly shaking. “Hey, are you ok?”
“...Brother Simon, I don't know why, but... I felt like I almost made a mistake when I pointed my gun at him.”
. . .
Arriving into one of the small buildings, he was inside what he would guess was a convenience store. For a place with people carrying guns around including children, it was surprisingly well maintained. There were some dust and patched up fixes here and there, but it was maintained well enough for it to be at least functional.
But he didn't mind those, because what greeted him was heaven itself.
Food, tons of different varieties of food on every shelf he could see. Though he couldn't understand what language was used here, he would definitely try a taste of every single damn one of them!
He would literally dive into them, but the Old man slammed the map onto a counter with no care.
*THUD*
“Map, here.” He said.
Jason decided he could try some snack tasting later, as he went towards the counter and examined the map.
The map was thankfully written in english, a language he could understand properly. Based on the label of the map, it only has the area of “Yucatan”.
“Where are we?”
The Old man simply pointed at the map with his finger, tapping it several times. He looked to where he pointed it, and it was a bit below and between the labeled names of “Merida” and a slightly small text of “Valladolid”.
“...No label?”
“Regional map and world map only, not very much details.” Old man said as he popped up a beer from underneath the counter’s minifridge, taking a good sip out of it.
“Mind showing me the world map.”
The old man paused and looked at him before pulling out the world map beside the regional map of Yucatan.
And true to his suspicions. He was in another parallel universe of the past where the Fallout Wars and Heroes with superpowers didn't exist. But he was not surprised about it.
“You will kill us?”
Jason paused as he processed those words before slowly looking at the old man, his face was hardened with a rough glare. But seeing his eyes, he almost saw anxiousness.
“...What makes you think of that?”
“You… You are no normal. You are… dangerous.”
“Yes… Yes I am.” He said politely. “But I am not a danger to you. I am merely a lost person just needing to find my footing. By the time I get what I need, I’m gone from this place.”
“...”
“...”
The two were staring each other down. Based on what Jason could see on the man, he almost seems to be a veteran of an old war, or at least someone who had fought in a battle a long time ago.
The old man broke the silence by pulling out another beer and placed it near to him.
“You, drink?”
Jason nodded, although he wasn't familiar with the brand of this country or world, but he could handle a dozen drinks before. And they were damn strong too.
“Then. Once you finish, I hope you go with your word.”
Jason nodded in respect to the man. He could understand why he wouldn't want someone like him staying around, as he too would do the same. Even that one certain guild would also do so.
He would ask how he managed to determine that he was someone dangerous, but he guessed it was some kind of instinct, or battle initiation type of feel. He would ask, but that was just disrespecting the man who is respecting him in a different way. It would seem to look as rude, but the lack of knowing the language, he understood.
Examining the map several more times, it seems he is in Mexico. Although East from Mexico City. He wouldn't go there, but he would use it as a landmark to make himself head to the US at least.
He is not innovative and resourceful like John or Alcatraz, but he knows one thing;
Fighting. The thrill of combat.
“Old man, are there any mercenary groups around?”
“...No. Only banditos.”
‘Bandits huh?’ “That's the reason why you got people around here guns?”
He nodded. “We use guns to protect, no more else.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Mind you tell me where they are located?” He noticed the Old man’s expression sunk almost in despair. He smirked. “Don't worry, I give you my word. I’ll repay you by destroying your bandit problem… That is, if you let me?”
For some reason, he may have imagined that the old man had just glinted in his eyes despite his rough expression.
. . .
Once the person left, Carlos just leaned back on his seat, contemplating on whether he had made his decision right or wrong.
He heard the door opened, followed by several more feet coming in.
“Sir Carlos, what did you and that man talk about?” Simon, the likeable punk in the streets that he has to deal with.
He could see that Juan and the others are also here.
“Bah, some lost roamer. He asks for where he is and I just tell him where we are with the map.” He gestured to the counter, making the others see that there is indeed a map, although two of them.
“Was he a soldier? A hero? Meta-human?”
Old Man Carlos huffed with his beer. “Hmph, I asked none of those questions to him.”
“But, what happens now?”
“Now?” He grinned, making the others in the room surprised. Old Man Carlos almost never smiled. “Those ‘Desert Demons’ won't be a problem no more.”
. . .
It wasn't long after he left that he managed to find where the bandits were located around. It was a bit far from the town, but he arrived at the place in almost a minute or so.
From what the old man told him, he managed to scout where the bandits kept coming from, but he wasn't able to find the entrance.
A small hill with some bushes and trees around. It would look normal as any other hill and would fool any authorities, putting out some heat from the bandits.
He used {Scan} and in return were the results of dozens of beings underground, roughly 30ft (9 meters) below him.
He had asked the Old Man if they would be needed alive or whatnot, but he just shrugged saying: “Just remove them, like pests.” (If you’re confused on the grammar, remember, broken english)
Fortunately, he was not restricted on not killing the bandits.
Unfortunately for them, they wouldn't be alive after this.
He inhaled a large amount of air before crashing down onto the ground, to a position where he would be able to get most of the targets instantly.
“LEEEERRRRROOYYYYYYY JEEEEEENNNKINSSS!” He shouted the ancient yet famous warcry as he divebombed the fuck down like a Stuka whistling up until 1500 meters from the air.
*BOOM!*
The ground exploded once Jason met the ground, causing a minor earthquake around the vicinity. A massive cloud of dust and smoke covered the crater, shadowing the destruction before fading away, showing the result of his own power.
Jason slowly got up from his kneeling position, dusting off the dirt from his shoulders. As if nothing major happened.
All he knows is that he got rid of the pests that the Old Man was talking about. A chore that he is merely conducting around this area.
“Wait… CRAP!”
He cursed at his immediate idiocy! He should not have done that!
He should have given them a chance to fight back, to know the limits of his strength. Oh wait, he did that when he fought those punk-teens from that island…
Speaking of them, he should have checked their stats. They might be weaklings, but who knows if their level is comparable to back in YGGDRASIL, or would it turn out to be different?
“Arghhh, fuck it.” He huffed frustratingly. “I hope there are others that I can enjoy a fight with.”
As he was about to fly back to the town, but his ears managed to catch a small noise of movement from the destroyed ground.
He turned around and saw that there were people who survived the collapse of the ground.
He waited curiously as he examined their roughed up appearance, they seemed to be one of those normal-looking folks. Except they look strange. And it was almost impossible for normal humans to survive such a collapse from 9 meters underground.
Although there was one among the survivors that differ from the others. He exudes an aura of superiority, and arrogance. Most likely the leader of the bandits.
Or whatever is left of them.
“F-Fuck, who the hell are you you bastard!?” The man shouted furiously while holding his injured arm.
“I don't know what you are saying, but if you want to live, fight me!” He opened his arms wide open, as if waiting for a hug.
One of the survivors roared in blind rage as they rushed towards the armored person, a man suddenly burst up into flames and fired them towards him.
It was something compared to the spell {Greater Fireball}, when it hit him he didn't receive any damage at all.
It wasn't surprising, he wore his main equipment that focused entirely on defense. If there was something he would be damaged by, that's the time when he should worry.
He did his best acting like one of those characters who looked very disappointed on what they witnessed and said.
“...Pathetic. Is that all you got?”
The man then got more frustrated and angry as he burst into flames of madness and fired balls of fire relentlessly.
This was followed with other survivors shooting their own strange powers.
One fired a laser beam at him, a huge ass boulder, while the others dashed around behind him. No doubt getting in for a close kill.
He didn't manage to hear what they said to the fireman, but he stopped throwing his flames at him, and almost immediately he felt a metal clang sounded behind him.
He turned around and saw a woman who had a strange dagger in her hands, no doubt trying to stab him but seemed too shocked as her dagger didn't pierce through his armor.
“Ha! As if you can pierce through my shit!” He back slapped the woman, but resulted in beheading her with blood spurting like a fountain from her now headless body.
“NOOOOOOO!”
He then sensed another attack coming in from the front, only this time he actually felt something. It was nothing dangerous, as it felt like a child smashing its tiny fists against an adult.
But he noticed that every punch he delivered brought in a shockwave. The force impact seemed powerful, but it felt nothing to him.
“Fucking pathetic.” He grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him up.
“Put him down you monster!” A voice called out, but this one sounded young. Too young in fact that he saw the one who shouted was merely a boy.
But he wouldn't be considered a normal boy because the ground he was standing on was cracking from an unknown pressure.
And his eyes, they were glowing white and flecks of lighting began to emit from his exposed skin.
He made a quick glance to the man he was holding who weighed nothing, and crushed his neck, beheading him in the process.
This caused the boy to gasp in disbelief before the pressure around him began to turn heavy. Really heavy.
‘Good, good, let the hate flow through you. Let me see if you can hurt me.’ He grinned like a mad man. ‘By the Dark Gods, bless me with- wait, what the hell is that about the Dark Gods?’
Almost then he felt pressure crushing down on him. Seeing how the ground looked like it got squashed multiple times by something heavy, to him it only felt like a heavy blanket wrapped around him.
He was greatly disappointed in this. Very disappointed.
“Is that all you got?” He said, eyeing the other survivors around, some within the vicinity of the boy were on their knees, some laying on their stomachs as if the pressure was so great that they couldn't even stand. That they look like they are unable to breathe.
The boy in question has his tears flowing out from his eyes, the mixed emotion of rage; sadness; shock; and the sense of revenge is coming out from him.
“You killed my friend!” He shouted in english, making Jason raise his brow in understanding what he just said.
“Oh~ So finally you speak,” He said, feeling a bit satisfied that he is able to talk to someone in a language he can understand.
“So… Boy, is that all you got?” He repeated, his lust for an equal battle not satisfied.
“SHUT UP!” He raised his hand towards him before sending a lightning strike at him. “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!!!”
He noticed that the other survivors around began to back away, or at least they were trying to.
He wondered what kind of ability this boy was able to use to put the pressure on anyone nearby to literally be stuck or as if anchored by something heavy.
He had gotten bored when the boy wasn't able to deal any significant damage on him. Taking a step forward, he immediately used {Blink} and appeared in front of him.
Almost without any response, he grabbed the boy and slammed him down with just one hand. And he felt the pressure disappear as soon as he did that.
The boy spat out blood, his face told everyone that he wasn’t expecting this.
“Come on boy, you literally got owned by just a simple attack like that?” He said, disappointed. “And here I thought bandits like you are tough.”
“W-We *cough* we are not b-bandits!” He replied, groaning in pain. “Y-You fucking monster.”
That made him confused. The rage in his eyes dissipated by his words. “Oh? Then what are you? Considering that a town from… the south of here has known of your reputation?”
“T-Town?” He asked before his eyes were filled with recognition. “T-They fooled you!”
“Oh~?” He said, interested and confused by what he meant. “And how did they fool me? Maybe you are the one trying to fool me instead?”
“Why the hell would I trick you!?” He shouted. “We did nothing wrong!”
“...” He frowned. As much as he loves the thrill of fighting to the death and killing himself, the way the boy said it was genuine. Either he is telling the truth, or the acting beneath his mask is too good.
If he indeed made a grave mistake for trusting the old man in the town, he really is confused on what happened between this group and the town.
“Why are you hiding then?”
“...” The boy looked at him, confused and agitated by his question, but he no doubt answered. “Because we were ridiculed by others.”
“For?” The boy then looked at him like he was dumb.
“Huh? Are you stupid or something? Because we are freaks!” He replied in frustration, temporarily forgetting that this person in front of him is able to kill him no matter how much he tries to resist. He could see that his friends are still moving and going away, although he could see some of his friends trying to sneak closer for a sneak attack behind this man.
Jason looked to where the boy is looking at and noticed the other survivors, or rather children upon a closer look.
‘Wait… children?’ He felt a tinge of disgust in him rising. ‘Fuck, have I been killing kids?’
“...It seems a mistake on my part.” He stood up. “I’ve been too trusting of the people in the town, my apologies.”
It took almost a moment for the boy to analyze his words before getting even more angry.
“Sorry…? You're sorry? You're sorry after killing my friends!? My family!?” He shouted with tears of frustration forming up from the edge of his vision.
The armored man shrugged. “I can bring them back if you want.” He said casually, as if it's nothing bad.
“W-What?”
WIthout any more words, he opened up his void inventory and grabbed the {Resurrection Wand} but then came the circumstances.
“Boy… There is a 50-50 chance that your friends will either come back, or not. It is their decision, and I cannot make them choose, only give them the option.” He said as if it were a fact. “Would you like to risk it?”
The child could only look at him in conflict and confusion. Unwilling to believe the thought of being tricked by this person is being shadowed by the thought of his friends being alive and well.
“Y-You… You lie.” He growled. Not wishing to be tricked by such unbelievable nonsense he is claiming.
“To see is to believe, that I get.” He sighed before going to the body he just recently killed. He hesitated whether the [Wand of Resurrection] in his hands would work. It requires nothing, and anyone else can use it, even for beings with negative karma.
Throwing the reluctance away from his mind, he raised it just on top of the body and said.
“{Resurrect}!”
The headless body began to glow bright green. And the process was so disturbing that any mere man would feel disgusted by the process.
But for him, he felt nothing but satisfaction that it worked. Not that it bothered him to see something out of normal in his entire life.
For everything he had thought of is entirely bullshit to live by.
The head was now reformed and the body of the man was now devoid of any form of injuries. Aside from the cuts and damages of the clothing, the wand worked.
He kneeled down, placing a finger on the neck, checking the pulse. Confirmed, the resurrection worked.
Humming with satisfaction, he then scanned around for any more bodies to resurrect. Plus, it irked him that it's the perfect situation to test the capabilities of the wand if it showed any difference in being in this world.
After gathering the bodies into one place to quickly resurrect the dead much more easier than going around and around.
“...”
Oh, and also the other children who survived are still wary, actually that would be an understatement of the year. They are scared to the fucking DEATH of him.
Suddenly crashing down into your home, killing most of the people you knew for a long time died. The whole world is crashing down. Then suddenly the killer of your friends and just brings them all back like he did absolutely nothing wrong!
It was absurd to think about!
Now he and along with other of his friends, are standing around with expressions of disbelief and shock of what they just witnessed.
He doubled checked, and all of his friends are accounted for. None of them are missing.
They don't know what or how to act after this. This… Monster simply just killed and brought them back. As if it was nothing!
“My fault to begin with,” He spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Many of you, I sense, will want vengeance upon me for such distasteful action of mine.”
No shit they would want to kill you for thinking that they are bandits, when they are just meta-humans in hiding from other people!
But none of them are dumb enough to get themselves killed by something powerful that could easily kill them. Even their most powerful of the group couldn't put a simple dent on his armor!
“For my apologies, I will attack the town instead.” That turned most of their heads to him, making a few of them to widen their eyes at such a statement. “For tricking me to attack you bunch, whom I thought are bandits.”
“You killed us, brought our friends back.” Gesturing on the unconscious and exhausted friends laying on the ground, being nursed and checked by their friends,“said sorry!? Is that all you're going to-!”
Several of the boys tackled him and covered his mouth. The children around looked on in horror, as if their friend just doomed them once and for all.
But it didn't happen.
All what the giant did was just standing there, staring at their friend who had the dumbest balls to retort back at something he couldn't even push back!
“My foolishness is enough to bring your friends back, punk.” He scoffed. “I only seek to fight, nothing more, nothing less.” He turned back to the child, who was supposedly in charge or leader of this little group of ragtags.
“Your word, do you want me to destroy the town? Or let them be and hunt you down still?”
Eyeing down on the boy, he noticed that he was trembling. Whether from his stare or the pressure placed on him, it's unknown.
“I…” Hesitation. But in such a thing he was given a question? It is hard to decide.
“You hate them, but you don't want them to be gone?” He guessed. Seeing the flinch from the boy, he was correct on that path.
“Little more, considering your appearance, you are from here are you?”
The boy’s eyes narrowed slightly, his body tensed up before later realizing that he couldn't even put up a resistance to this… monster.
“What's in it to you?”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing.” The boy almost stumbled on the immediate blunt reply. “And hopefully, we won't see each other. Not from this… foolishness of mine.”
“{Time Stop}” He casted before noticing that the spell worked, he released a sigh that he didn't realize he was holding in.
“Fucking hell, I just killed kids.” He grumbled in annoyance. “I mean death and all, but kids are not my thing... Actually, it depends.” He shrugged before pondering the boy’s words, eyeing the boy.
From the tone, he didn't seem to be lying. That or his acting skills are top notch.
But he did promise to rid the ‘bandits’ that the Old Man said, but did he take advantage of using him to get rid of these kids? Was there a story here? Something complicated?
He sighed again in frustration. Scratching his head, uncertain on which action should he decide.
Go back to the down and kill the old man for tricking him to killing the kids, or just leave them alone and assist the children?
Decisions, decisions. And he is certainly not fond of kids. He prefers to fight, kill and die. Not go shounen light genre drama bullshit on the world.
“. . . Argh, fuck it. It's not like destroying a town would bring in attention anyways.”
. . .
Later on in about 2 days, news spread fast that a small town in Mexico’s Yucatan region had been attacked.
Normally, the people would have assumed that it was just another bandit raid. But for a certain hero organization, they weren't.