As soon as he entered the tavern, with Edith naturally opening the door for him and walking by his side, he was greeted by the boisterous environment within; many men and woman, most of which were geared in variety of outfits: some leather, some steel, and even some of more draconic, bone-like armor, drank and ate happily.

‘...It really is a fantasy world,’ he thought.

Sitting down at a table, all he ordered for himself was a loaf of bread and some meat while Gunter chugged mead down the hatch without any restraint. Though he insisted, the silver-haired girl was firm on not requiring anything to eat at the moment.

“Ga-ha-ha! That’s good!” Gunter said with flushed cheeks as he slammed his mug down.

Still, after things had calmed down somewhat, Jett found himself bewildered by all of it again; especially the fact he managed to summon a wildly cute girl as his companion.

“You both are familiar with this world, right?” He asked.

All he got from Gunter was a booze-smelling belch and a nod, but Edith gave him a proper answer:

“Yes, from the past and future of Fantasia. It’s your call that gave us life in this era—in return, I pledge my undying loyalty to you, Jett Levine,” the silver-haired girl placed her hand over her chest, speaking genuinely.

He rubbed his head, feeling a bit bashful, “I didn’t really do anything, but I’m not going to reject your help. Both of you sure seem strong. Still…don’t you guys have anything of your own you want to do?”

“What do you mean, Master?” Edith asked.

“Well, I mean, do you have any dreams of your own? Both of you,” he asked.

His words seemed to catch the reserved, quartz-armored woman off guard as she was unable to form her response right away.

Gunter quickly had an answer of his own as he slammed down another mug of mead, wiping his chin, “A dream?! I guess mine would be to taste the booze of every city in this era! Ha-ha!”

“Of course,” Jett laughed before looking at the silver-haired girl, “what about you?”

Edith gave her answer to him, “…My purpose is simply to follow you and help you accomplish your own dreams, Master. That’s enough for me.”

“Be honest!“ Gunter demanded with a smile.

“What?—“ Edith leaned back, covering her nose as the words of Gunter were followed by his unruly breath.

“C’mon, ya can be truthful here! I get it–yer all about this honorable knight stuff, but everybody has dreams of their own!” Gunter said before taking another sip, “Tell her, Jett! What’s your dream?!”

As the question was flipped back on him, he found himself stunned for a good few seconds as both of his familiars were now watching him intently, waiting for an answer. It seemed they were highly interested in whatever his answer would be.

‘Dream?...Honestly, I’m good just living a pretty alright life, but I know that won’t do. With this ability at my side…I might just be able to rise to the top in this world–I don’t know much about it, but I bet these words will suffice…’ He thought with a smile.

Wielding a smile of his own, he looked at them with his bright-blue eyes, “I’m going to become the strongest in this world–I’ll defeat any demon lord, dark god, or whoever-whatever big bad you throw in my way.”

“Phew, nice choice of words. That’s the man I’ll follow,” Gunter whistled, raising his mug.

Edith smiled somewhat, seeming satisfied with his words as she tucked a strand of her silver hair behind her ear, looking down, “...If I had to speak of a dream of my own beyond following you, I guess…I’ve always been interested in the pastries of other regions.”

“Pastries?” Jett was caught off-guard by her words.

It was a surprisingly adorable goal set by the girl, but looking past her shining armor and sword at her hip, she had an innocent cuteness about her; that face of a princess was unmistakably cute.

“That’s a dream I can get behind! How about it, Jett?! We’ll visit every tavern and every bakery in each city we cross?!” Gunter asked.

“It’s going to hurt my wallet for sure, but alright–you’ve got a deal,” he agreed.

–

Though as another mug of mead was requested by Gunter in celebration of their summoning, Jett took the sack of coins from his pocket, or at least what used to house coins: not a single copper was left.

“Urgh…” He let out, feeling the familiar pain of brokenness once again.

“What’s the matter, Master?” Edith asked.

He looked up, shaking the empty pouch side-to-side for the two to see, “I’m all out of copper. I only arrived in Fantasia a few minutes before you both arrived, I wasn’t exactly made of cash, ya know…”

Those words of his were half-pointed at the booze-loving warrior, who blinked a few times, seeming to realize that it was indeed him that ran through all of Jett’s funds.

“That’s a problem, indeed,” Edith put her hand to her chin, “You have nowhere to sleep yet, do you? A single room at an inn will cost three copper, at least.”

He shook his head, “I don’t have a damn thing besides what I’m wearing.”

For some reason, the muscular, booze-smelling man stood up, running his fingers through his shaggy hair as he chuckled, “If it’s coins, dontcha worry about it!”

“Huh? What do you have in mind, Gunter?” He asked, looking up.

Gunter slapped his own chest, “Just sit there and watch–in one hour, I’ll have that sack filled with coins once more!”

It was definitely a declaration that he couldn’t ignore, even as doubtful as he was of the boisterous, clearly drunk man’s words.

“What’s his plan…?” He audibly wondered.

Edith seemed to have an idea, “If you haven’t checked, Master, I believe there is a hidden skill that Gunter possesses.”

“Hidden skill? What is it?” He asked.

Though he intended to ask the silver-haired spellblade, his question was answered by his own system as it opened up a digital screen in front of his eyes, which seemed to be seen only by him as he nervously glanced around.

It presented him the hidden status belonging to Gunter:

[(N) Booze-Lover Gunter | Special Traits: Smells like mead! | Hidden Skill: Booze Immunity SSS+]

“Huh?! That immunity is super high-ranked…but, it’s kind of useless, isn’t it?” He wondered.

Edith had a small smile, “I don’t know about that.”

Looking over, he watched what Gunter’s plan was as the boisterous drinker approached a table occupied by experienced adventurers, who were dressed in scars and weathered armor.

‘Wait a minute…is he going to…?’ He began to realize.

Gunter brought his own chair, slamming it down before sitting with a wide smile, “How about a drinking contest, friends?!”

“Yer on–!” A dwarven man with a braided beard accepted, already possessing flushed cheeks.

“Five copper, then!” Gunter proposed.

“Aye! Make it ten!” The drunken dwarf accepted.

“Ha-ha! Sure thing!” Gunter laughed.

–It was a massacre of a competition. After a few minutes, the crowd that had gathered around the table of drinkers were astonished to witness the burly dwarf passing out against the table whilst Gunter was still happily drinking.

“Drumen lost…?! I’ve never seen him lose in a drinking contest to anybody!” One of the companions of the dwarf remarked in astonishment.

“I’ll take that ten copper now!” Gunter claimed victory with a triumphant smile, taking the coins from the table.

“Incredible!” Jett remarked.

Gunter handed the coins to the confused man watching over his shoulder, placing them in his hand, “Here ya go!”

“Ten copper…Nice, this’ll get us each a room tonight,” Jett counted.

“There’s more where that came from–don’t worry!” Gunter assured him.

“Huh?! You can keep going?! Didn’t you just drink like twelve–” Jett tried to reason.

The booze-loving warrior interrupted him, “Who’s next?! Gunter The Drinker falls to nobody!”

Of course, those who already had mead in their bellies weren’t exactly much to reason as it was clear as day that somebody like Gunter would not be an easy one to triumph.

“...Just how much can he drink…?!” Jett let out in surprise.

Thirty minutes had passed and so had a dozen tavern patrons, who were now slumped over and defeated in the unwinnable contest of drinking.

“He’s a monster!” A middle-aged, red-haired patron remarked from the gathering audience.

“Ga-ha-ha!” Gunter boisterously laughed, letting out a belch that resembled the mighty roar of a dragon, “More! More!”

Jett was elated by this, holding a filled-up sack of copper in his hand now as he smirked to himself.

‘With this much, I can definitely do a lot more rolls…! I wonder which banners I should prioritize, though?’ He wondered.

By the end of the night, total victory was claimed by Gunter, who had now filled the tavern with mostly passed-out patrons, some of which had spewed out bile onto the wooden floorboards for the poor waitresses to clean.

“Is that all you’ve got?! I thought the adventurers of Merdlum were men who could hold their mead! Ga-ha-ha!” Gunter taunted, still sitting while happily drinking from a mug of mead.

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The table had been absolutely littered with empty cups and stained with many drops of the amber liquid, along with being occupied by the last challenger to Gunter, who was a burly elven man who was now fast asleep against the table.

“Alright…I think it’s time to check out for the night,” Jett said, patting the booze-loving warrior’s shoulder.

Though he was mainly motivated by getting into a room so that he could perform more summons, he was genuinely worried about the trouble the booze-smelling warrior was causing for the tavern.

“Hah? Alright, alright–I guess I’ve had my fill,” Gunter chuckled happily with flushed cheeks, wiping his mouth.

As they checked out from the tavern, it was Jett who leant an arm to Gunter, who was surprisingly not as drunk as somebody should be who outdrank an entire tavern, though his steps were certainly unstable.

Edith didn’t seem to be a fan of alcohol, often covering her nose around Gunter and holding a disturbed look whenever the tall, leather-armored man let out a belch.

“Three rooms please,” Jett said at the inn’s reception desk.

Standing behind the desk was a smiling, freckled receptionist who had curly, dark-blue hair and wore something akin to a maid’s uniform, only primarily green.

“Just two is fine,” Edith added in, stepping closer.

“Huh–?” He looked at the silver-haired girl.

Standing so close to her now, he found that she was surprisingly an entire head shorter than him. It wasn’t as though he was anything remarkably tall, though he was above average for a twenty-year-old American male. Still, it was shocking considering just how much strength was packed into that small frame of hers.

Edith looked up at him, “It’s fine if Gunter sleeps in his own room, but I must insist that you let me stay in your room.”

“Err, why…? I mean…” He nervously asked, rubbing the back of the neck.

As a youthful man who didn’t have all too much experience with girls, the insistence of staying in his very own room, especially from one with as breathtaking looks as Edith, made his mind race.

“It is my duty to protect you, Master,” Edith told him.

“Oh…right, sure then,” he sighed out in relief, letting his thumping heart cool down.

After paying the toll of six copper for both rooms, which neighbored one another on the second floor of the cozy, wood-built inn, he helped get the drowsy warrior to his own room, dropping him into the bed before checking into his own.

“...Alright, first day in Fantasia: survived,” he breathed out, sitting on the bed, “I still don’t have a clue what this world is all about.”

Edith was leaning against the wall, staying close to the door like a dutiful guard as she tucked her silver hair behind her ear, “I am not from this era, so I can’t truthfully answer your questions. However, if we visit this town’s guild tomorrow, you should find your answers there.”

“Good thinking. The Guild it is, then,” he decided with a nod.

Still, before he checked into bed for the night, there were some actions he wished to perform, taking his sack of coins from his pocket. Counting all of the copper up, Gunter had managed to win over seventy pieces for him in his drinking contests–a whopping amount for the man who had just transported into the fantastical world.

‘Seriously, good job, Gunter!’ He thought.

“Are you about to summon again, Master?” Edith asked.

He nodded, “Yeah. Is something up?”

There were already a few copper held in his hand as he bounced them in his palm, anxious to try out another usage of his unique system.

“If I may suggest…” Edith looked at him, “I would hold off on summoning more familiars for the time being.”

“I don’t mind doing that, but what’s the issue with that?” He curiously asked.

Edith had her arms folded over her chest, though looked to not be uncomfortable in her standing position, “Having a large number of familiars will make you stick out. It might draw the wrong attention to you, Master. I assure you my aid will be sufficient for the time being as you establish yourself in this town. As much of an oaf as he can be, I believe Gunter is reliable as well.”

“Good point. I suppose it would get crowded, anyway. With that in mind…I’d like to make myself useful,” he said, putting his hand to his chin.

As his mind was leaning towards performing another summon, the vibrant screen of his system appeared with the banners he could use:

[Current Selectable Summon(s): “Rookie Weapon Summon” | “Rookie Creature Summon” | “Rookie Ability Summon: Magic” | “Rookie Ability Summon: Skills”]

Seeing the selection of banners reminded him of the skill he had acquired from his first level-up, bringing him to swipe his finger across the personal screen seen only by him before finding it:

[“Temporary Summon: Perform a summon with double-rates, however, the summon result will only be available for a short time.”]

‘Ah…Well, that’s not something that helps me right now. I need something reliable to help me get my feet on the ground. I don’t want to be a burden that needs to be protected–hell no, I want in on the action!’ He thought.

Standing up, he took his jacket off, leaving himself in his plain, black tee while holding his hand in front of him with exactly three copper in his palm.

“Alright. C’mon and give me a summon on the ‘Rookie Ability Summon: Magic’!” He announced.

As expected, the solid copper vanished before his system responded immediately–

[Summon Initiated!]

Edith watched with a curious look in her amethyst eyes; it seemed she was able to at least see the digital screen that displayed the summoning animation itself that was brought into reality.

‘C’mon…give me something useful, at least!’ He hoped.

Even though he had become jaded by gacha over the years, the mystical one he possessed now made his heart race each time he used it; the sheer quantity of options, each of which could wildly change the course of his life, led him to anxiously await what would arrive.

What came to him was not a physical object, but a flow of knowledge that came as an aquatic light, moving like water straight into his mind.

‘Huh…? I can feel it. Is this magic? Spellcasting…It’s coming to me,’ he thought.

[New Spell Obtained: (B) Water Pistol | Special Traits: Wet!]

[ATK: 1]

[Pity: +1 | 1/100]

Obtaining his very first spell, he was enthralled by the magic at his very fingertips, looking at his hand as he could now, for the first time since arriving in Fantasia, feel mana flowing in his body.

“Alright! Let’s give this a shot!--Water Pistol!” He cast.

Holding his index finger in front of him almost as if wielding a gun, he pointed towards the wall: out from in front of his extended digit came a pressurized stream of water, shooting against the wooden wall with a tiny “thud”.

“Ah…It’s sort of weak, isn’t it?” He mumbled.

Though the potency of the spell was disappointing, it was overshadowed by his joy in being able to wield magic.

‘Actually, what it lacks in offense…it might make up for in utility. I mean, this one doesn’t seem to cost much mana at all–if any. Infinite water?! Maybe this is a cheat ability,’ he thought.

Still, he needed a spell to actually aid him when the time came for battle, so with that in mind, he grabbed another three copper while Edith watched quietly.

“--Alright, system! Let’s give it another roll on that magic banner!” He announced with a smile, holding his hand up with the coins held.

[Summon Initiated!]

Reawakening the inner child in himself, he anxiously pumped his fist in the air as he awaited the next spell, all while the silver-haired spellblade tried her best not to stare too hard at the embarrassing motions.

–It hit him harshly this time, like an abrasive wind amidst a storm pushing right into him; the knowledge of the summoned spell flooded into him through his pores.

‘Woah…! This one is…wild!’ He thought.

[New Spell Obtained: (N) Wind Burst | Special Traits: Uncontrollable!]

[ATK: 0 | SPD: 20]

[Pity: +1 | 2/100]

While it was instinctive in his mind how to activate the spell, it wasn’t clear to him what exactly it did, but the high [SPEED] stat intrigued him, bringing him to clench his fist as he stood at one end of the room.

‘Alright…This must be some sort of superspeed buff! C’mon!’ He excitedly thought.

“Wind Burst!”

Just as he invoked the spell, flexing his entire body, a powerful wind roared from his position, sending the papers on the nightstand fluttering throughout the room and causing Edith’s straight, silver hair to be blown back.

“Huh–?” Edith let out, not expecting such a spell.

“Woooooah–!”

In an instant, he hurled forward with such speed that he completely lost control of himself, unable to stop or shift his direction as he slammed straight into the wall like a cannonball.

SLAM

“...Oww…” He groaned.

Laying there for a moment, he rubbed his own head as Edith moved to his side, kneeling down to check on him.

“Are you alright, Master?...That did not look like a pleasant landing,” Edith asked.

“I’m fine…Man, that smarts,” he mumbled, standing himself back up.

Though he claimed to be alright, there was still a worried look given from the silver-haired spellblade to the black-haired man, though Jett brushed off his abrupt crash with a chuckle.

“Awesome!” He let out.

“Huh?” Edith tilted her head.

“It’s perfect! I can already see its use,” he said, half talking to himself, “--All I need is a good weapon, and a usable skill, and I think I’ll be able to hang in there!”

The excitement he held at the peak of night was momentarily interrupted as one of the managers of the inn knocked on the door, checking what the loud “crash” was, which he assured the kind woman was just a “tumble” he had–doubtful as it sounded.

As soon as he was clear of the inn manager, he grabbed a few more pieces of copper, preparing for another summon.

“Be careful this time, please?” Edith requested with a worried look.

“I don’t plan on launching myself into walls on purpose…but, sure,” he responded with a chuckle.

While it was definitely a wise choice to scope out the intricacies of his personal system by testing the banners and the individual returns he can get from summoning, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t doing it mainly out of his own addiction to the gacha itself.

“Let’s go! One summon on the ‘Rookie Skill’ banner!” He held the three coppers up.

[Summon Initiated!]

He wasn’t exactly certain of what to expect from the [Skill] summon, though from the sounds of it, it seemed to contain passive abilities of some sort. Though he didn’t get his hopes up, especially with the nature of the [Rookie] banner and its less-than-fancy options.

“--Huh?!”

It was a similar sensation to having the knowledge of magecraft imprinted on his mind, however, this was distinctly different; he could feel foreign mysticism shifting the very fibers of his muscles, altering his physiology in ways unknown.

[New Skill Obtained: (B) Flip | Special Traits: Forward, Backward, Left, or Right!]

[Pity: +1 | 3/100]

“‘Flip’?...Let’s see…” He muttered, opting to test out the newly-acquired ability.

While standing in the center of the room where there was enough space for movement, he began the motion to do a front flip before–

“Careful!” Edith called out.

“Woah!”

The world spun for a split-second as gravity swirled around him, yet he found himself back on his feet in the next moment. It was a perfectly-executed front flip.

‘...I’ve never done a flip in my life. What the hell? It was as natural as breathing for me–this is kind of scary,’ he thought.

Edith was close to him, having quickly stepped over when he first flipped in an attempt to catch him, but there was no faulty misstep to make up for.

“I did it,” he smiled.

“You did,” Edith nodded, looking somewhat surprised, but mainly relieved he didn’t snap his neck in a slip.

Though the abilities he gained from his test summons weren’t exactly flashy nor seeming to be instantaneous win-conditions in a fight, he already felt they had use in battle and outside of it. All that was left for him now was one thing before settling in for the night: acquiring a usable weapon.

“I’d suggest getting some rest soon. We’ll want to visit the Guild early before all of the quests are taken by others,” Edith informed him, sitting on the second bed in the room.

“Sure–just one more thing before I check out,” he assured her with a smirk.

–However, ‘one more summon’ was only applicable in his mind because he had become a bit too lost in his recent fortune.

“...Weapon Summon!”

[New Weapon Obtained: (B) Dull Dagger | Special Traits: Able to cut butter!]

[Pity: +1 | 4/100]

A terribly useless dagger without any sharpness to its edge; another dud weapon summoned once more.

“Another!”

[New Weapon Obtained: (B) Broken Long Sword | Special Traits: Half the weight!]

[Pity: +1 | 5/100]

A sword that was missing the entire upper half of the blade, the rest of which didn’t look any special either, dirty and somewhat dull and cracked.

–It took six more summons, all of which were [Basic] rarity, primarily useless weapons until he acquired one that met his satisfaction:

[New Weapon Obtained: (R) Frostfang | Special Traits: Ice Cold!]

[ATK: 5]

[Pity: 0/100]

The sought-after ten-percent summon was hit, and with it, a golden flash embarked from the digital display of his Gacha system.

“Yes! Finally!” He triumphantly announced.

In his hand was a spectacular dagger with a black handle and a blade that was forged of an ice as tough as steel, giving off a frosty air through its mystical length.

Edith yawned, “...Good job, Master,” she tiredly congratulated.

“Don’t worry, I’m heading to bed now,” he said with a satisfied smile, still enamored with the enchanted dagger he summoned.

All-in-all, he managed to leave himself with thirty-seven copper, reluctant to spend further as there were still essentials to consider, and perhaps better banners that would arrive with his own leveling.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll take whatever quests I can and level up…I’m going to take this life for what it's got,’ he decided.