3 months. 3 whole months. What the hell. He realised that this journey wouldn’t be a walk in the work. But come on, 3 months just to get to the starting line. How absurd is this! Shouldn’t all this stuff be taken care off by those guardians governing this world! And here I thought I had the protagonist’s luck on my side.

“HHHHhhhhhhhhuuuuuuaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhh”

The ghastly moan cut his thoughts off.

“Oh yea, I forgot about you guys. Sorry, my bad.”

He was surrounded by them on all sides. Their bodies composed of rotting green flesh hanging on to bones with the thinnest of muscle strands. Rancid stench emitting from their bodies, the empty gaze being shone in their eyes. Truly the definition of the word putrid in every sense.

Zombies.

The first one lunged towards him, like a rabid beast, the only thing it being able to comprehend would be the fresh meat in front of it. Thus, he missed it. Or it would be more accurate to say he ignored it. The small metal shard that made contact with his body. Ignoring the foreign object, it tried to move forward. But not a single step could be taken. For the zombie had already disintegrated.

There was a silence. Though, it only lasted for a mere second. The zombies were brainless, hopeless fiends that knew nothing other than the hunger for flesh. Yet, they still preserved a single instinct. The instinct of a pack. They realised that the zombie in front of them no longer existed. Thus, a single unanimous decision was created between the five zombies. Let’s gang up on the prey. If one could not reach the prey, then many should be able to do so. Truly, an act only capable of the mindless monsters. So, the group of zombies would descend on the single man.

Cyrus was not in a good mood. As if the 3-month setback was not enough, he had to take on meagre quests for the village in order to gain money. Taking on a pack of wild wolves attacking travellers. Scaring off bandits. A blood lusted bear. Today it was zombies. They had been emerging from the graveyard, north of the town. Apparently, some noob mage had been trying to practise necromancy, failed and then ran away and the village head had requested him to clean up the mess. What a pain.

The zombie lunged forward, his dead eyes focused on Cyrus. Yet he was not worried in the slightest. A single trigger was pressed and within half a second, the zombie disintegrated. Easy-peasy. But what he didn’t expect was the zombies would unify into a group. With a quaking cry, the group of five zombies ran at him. I see… so they decided to all gang up on me. Cyrus calmly focused on the frontrunner zombie and blasted him. There was a 2-second delay on the bullet regeneration so he had to avoid a direct confrontation.

————Gunslinger Art 2: Vitalize———

He felt himself reimbursed with energy, his entire body felt to get hotter, the adrenaline surging though him. With the boost, Cyrus dashed off, making sure the zombies were following him. Training his sight, he shot the zombie protruding out of the left side, and made way towards the half-collapsed oak tree on his left. Running up the diagonal crossed tree, he took a leap in the opposite direction, straight towards the zombies. Another bullet was released, and with it the third zombie fell. 3 down, 2 to go.

The two zombies, perplexed, took seconds to realise that their prey was now behind them, the direction they had came from. The time it took for them to turn around was the time taken for Cyrus to shoot another zombie. A snarl erupted from the final zombie as it ran towards Cyrus. He withdrew a dagger and threw it at the zombie, aiming for its legs. As the zombie fell, all he had to was release a final bullet, eliminating the group of zombies. He was not a fan of any of this but had to admit that these little quests were helping him get used to the gun and his gunslinger skills. In the beginning, he wasn’t even aware of his skills. It was the act of taking down the wolf that had caused them to initiate. It had been an extremely out-of-of-the world experience for him. It felt as if someone had just put fresh information inside his brain. All of a sudden, he just knew he could activate a special ability. He noticed how his reflexes had improved and how his body would naturally adjust to him when shooting or running. Later on, he realised what he was experiencing were probably active and passive skills. He remembered asking to be able to master the gun but didn’t expect himself to gain a class and skills. Man, if only we had such a system in the real-world, life would be so much easier. Giving the graveyard one last look, he head off back to the town, another task completed.

As he approached the village, he struggled to come up with a solution to this situation. He had been earning a fair amount of money with the jobs he had been doing around the town, but nowhere near enough for a 3-month journey. Collecting his payment from the mayor, he head off for Old Man Jerry’s farm. He had been kind enough to let him stay with him until he figured out what to do. Having nowhere else to go, he had graciously accepted his hospitality.

Man, I seriously need to come up with something. This is almost pathetic now, I thought I had everything figured out when I thought about wishing for this gun. Can’t believe this is all how it is coming down. With a sigh, he entered the home, hoping inspiration might hit him at some point. The moment he opened the door, his ears were hit with a very gregarious and booming laughter. What was the sound? What monster of a being could possibly have such a laugh! He entered the living room, and was greeted by the sight of an enormous man with a feisty beard sitting with Old Man Jerry, having a blast.

“Ah, welcome back, Cyrus. I would like to introduce you to my good friend, Gorgos”

“Hah hah, Nice ta meetcha lad. The names Gorgos as ya heard, head of the G-ARMS Merchants at yah service”

Cyrus’s hand was grasped by the man’s large burly hand and thought his arm would rip off at the sheer amount of force Gorgos was shaking his hand with.

“Hohohohoho, Jerry was just telling me about ya. What’re the chances you’d just walk in!”

Taking a seat, Jerry explained how Gorgos was his old travelling companion from back in the day and about the adventures they went on together. After Old Man Jerry retired and took over his old folk’s farm, Gorgos decided to start his own trading agency. He had came over to personally oversee a procurement of some rare herb that grew in this area.

“And that’s ma story, young Cyrus. Wah hah hah who’d have thought I still had it in me to make such a journey.”

I thought about this turnaround. Could this be a way out of my predicament? What if I asked him to take me with him? As I was entertaining this thought, Gorgos burst the bubble.

“Now then Cyrus, there ain’t no point of thinking about such things. Anyone could tell what you’re thinking with that expression ha-ha. Ol’ Jerry told me about your problem. However, my agency ain’t located anywhere near the central city.”

“Haha, well it was too good to be true.”

Seeing my disappointment, Old Man Jerry spoke up.

“Now now, while it’s true Gorgos can’t take you to the central city, all hope isn’t lost.”

“That’s right sonny, you can’t just give up so quick.”

What did they mean?

Old Man Jerry took out a map and spread it on the table. Tracing a route, he rested his finger on a city near the sea.

“Now look here, Gorgos resides in the northern trade city known as Asperios. However, the main route from here to Asperios utilizes the same road required for the Central City.” He concluded, pointing his finger to an intersection. This wasn’t bad. Around 3/4th of the journey could be carried out with Gorgos, and I would have to travel by myself the rest of the journey. The odds seemed pretty good.

“I see, so this way I can get go about the majority of the journey with Gorgos. And around the end, I’ll have to split off and continue on my own. This does seem doable.”

“Indeed, with the money you have collected, you can afford a horse, so you could go on about the remainder by yourself to the Central City.”

Gorgos stood up, stretching his back.

“See see what did I tell you everything would work out just fine. Oh yes, you will still have to wait two days for my crew to finish gathering and packing up the herb stock.”

“That’s fine with me. I’m already grateful that you would be willing to let me travel with you.”

“Any friend of Jerry is a friend of mines to be sure. Now, I have to go and check up on my crew. Twas good catching up with you Jerry. Cyrus, let’s meet again in two days.”

Two days. That’s more than enough time to prepare everything I might need. With the new boost of energy, I set out to make preparations for the journey.

____________________________

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Miss Clara was evaluating her current situation. She had never expected an anomaly like that to occur and whisk Cyrus away. It wasn’t like her to make an error like that. She was worried about the stability of their realm, the stress of all this summoning might be placing on their world. But the council wouldn’t listen. They would do anything to accomplish their goals, those stubborn fools.

What are we even doing?

They had summoned 7 heroes to this world so far. The first one, the person who helped them make the summoning system was currently investigating their world. However, it seemed that they were currently occupied in researching something about their world, marking them off the mission to kill the demon lord.

The second one had simply disappeared, and they had been unable to locate or contact him. It was extremely alarming in the beginning with the council panicking to find his whereabouts. But now they had given up. They simply gave up on trying and assumed he was dead. It was easier to deal with, after all when assuming the person is dead. Goodness, this divine council truly cared about nothing but themselves. As long as they could summon more heroes, who cared about the previous ones?

The third one was well…diligent to say the least. She had been watching her go on about her journey but it was as if she was enjoying the world too much. She would stop at every village, help them with anything, complete any requests. While she was glad that the girl truly wanted to help their world, she couldn’t help but wonder if she even remembered that she had a goal to take down the demon lord. Every time they would talk, she would tell Miss Clara with bright eyes to not worry and rely on her. How she would do everything she could to save the world from danger and protect everyone. However, her progress rate was too slow! But she couldn’t bring herself to tell the young lady to not help people and aim for only the goal.

And then those 3 came. They never expected 3 people to be summoned at once. But they had adapted extremely quickly. And they were ecstatic and full of passion. It was different from the girl before them. It seems these people were dedicated. And they were. They took on quests, climbing up the ranks of adventurers. Taking down some of the most powerful monsters and even defeating 2 of the demon generals, they had certainly made their names. However, their ethics were to say less than what was expected from heroes. From riches to rare items, they plundered all. They acted, to put it lightly, like total assholes. Especially their leader, the one who named himself as Matthias, was probably the worst offender. Hitting on women, boasting on how he was chosen by the heavens, he considered himself the strongest. At least I understand why Cyrus hates them so much.

And then came Cyrus. The man who had came here accidentally and had no interest in helping them other than to go back to his world. She was wary of him. There was no way to predict what he planned to do or how to do it. But Miss Clara reasoned with herself. Tya liked him, he’s the first human she had ever shown interest in. So, he couldn’t be that bad. Let’s believe in him and see what happens. She had been extremely happy when they had encountered Gorgos and found a way to reach the Central City. As it currently stood, only 4 of the heroes were actively planning to engage the demon lord. Cyrus had been right on that point, that summoning people here and entertaining them had made them believe in their own fantasies too much. She only hoped that Cyrus would be able to hold back his anger and compromise with the aforementioned trio.

Who knows, they might become good companions and build trust amongst each other. After all, is that not what a journey is about? Only a peaceful and kind woman such as Miss Clara could come up with such an optimistic outlook.

But Miss Clara hopeful wishing would remain exactly as that, just hopeful wishing.

____________________________

Emergency Rations. Check.

Snacks for Tya. Check.

Rope. Check.

Map. Check.

Compass. Check.

Knife. Check.

My Divinity EX++++ gun that can destroy anything in one hit. Check.

Everything was prepared. Gorgos and I had made a deal to buy one of his horses. When we would reach the intersection, he would hand over the horse. I had made sure everything was in check. No matter what, I did not want to deal with any other trouble. But I knew that was wishful thinking. As if life would ever be that easy. But that doesn’t I’m not gonna be prepared for whatever this world intends to throw at me. Bring it on, you accursed world.

“Oh, I like that look in your eyes young Cyrus. Hoho, it reminds me and Jerry, how energetic you youth are.”

“AWWRPH”

“And how could I forget about you, fierce and noble dragon”

Tya’s tail wagged furiously. She seemed really pleased by that compliment. I wondered if letting Tya come with me had been a good decision after all. She had grown so egotistical, I wonder if Miss Clara would even recognize her little cutie pie.

“Well then, Cyrus it would be best if you would get your stuff aboard and settle in the front caravan.”

Heading Gorgos’s words, I decided to make way to the front caravan. Placing my stuff and making sure Tya had a comfortable spot, I decided to take a seat, but heard a certain voice.

“Sir Cyrussssss!”

Looking outside, I noticed Jay and Old Man Jerry were walking towards me. Climbing out, I greeted them.

“Hey you guys! I guess this will be our last time talking to each other.”

“Indeed it is. It has been a fun two weeks, hasn’t it? An officer like you must probably be used to the large, glorious cities of the Capital but I hope you found our little town comfortable.”

“Sir Cyrus, I hope you tell everyone about how cool our town is! Sure, we may not be as sophisticated but I bet you won’t find any place that can serve us a shepherd pie as delicious as ours. And I’ve heard the city is always noisy and crowded, but our place is so calm and peaceful. And and–”

“Don’t worry Jay. I won’t ever forget this place. And you bet I’m gonna brag about that shepherd pie. Who knows I might even come back someday, bringing back more people with me to taste that wonderful specimen.”

“Thank you, Sir Cyrus. Oh, I also made this as a farewell gift for Tya. Do you mind if I can give it to her?”

Hearing her name, Tya flew out of the caravan immediately. Ever the greedy munchkin you are.

“Hehehe, here you go Tya, I spent a lot of time making this so you better take good care of it.”

It was a navy-blue bandana with her name written in a curved style at a corner. Jay gently tied it around her neck, in a neck-scarf style making her look like a little dragon bandit.

Tya was in surprise. She had never imagined that she of all people could wear clothes. She flew around in circles, amused at how the handkerchief would stay on and flutter in the wind.

“I didn’t know you could sew, Jay. Where were you hiding that skill?”

“Well…actually I can’t. I asked a friend to help me and in return she made me spend an entire day with her, catering to her wishes.”, Jay answered with a wry face. “But you know, seeing Tya enjoying it so much, it was worth the sacrifice.”

“Well, thanks on behalf of both Tya and me”

“Urrrpph” Tya showed her gratitude by constantly pecking Jay.

“Ohahahahaha stop it Tya, thaaahahat really tickles!”

Enjoying the sight of those two’s final play time, I turned around to thank Old Man Jerry. However, it seemed he realised what I was going to say and cut me off.

“Now now, I know what you’re gonna say and let’s avoid the sappy farewells. All I did was give you a place to stay and some food. Anyone would do that for any traveller.”

“INDEED, ANYONE WOULD DO THAT WOULDN’T THEY OL’JERRY! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

With a resounding clap on Old Man Jerry’s back, Gorgos burst out laughing. It was kind of scary that this giant man could pop out of nowhere like that.

“Don’t you fret about this old geezer, Cyrus. Truth is he gets too emotional at farewells, and gets embarrassed when he recalls them later on. You should have seen his face when he had to say goodbye to his momma back when we starting our journey. Hohohoho, that’s a memory I won’t even forget when I’m 100 years old.

With a twing of annoyance, Old Man Jerry retorted.

“Keep this up and you won’t make it to 70, you great, hairy goofball.”

It was quite the little scene. From Tya and Jay playing around, to the quippy banter between Gorgos and Old Man Jerry, I took one last look at this town. I would probably never come back to this quaint, little village. I felt bad about lying to Jay but I couldn’t be sentimental enough to care about everything in this world, least not some small village which I hadn’t even interacted with properly. At last, the time for arrival approached and the caravans started to move out. Me and Tya settled down in our caravan, making ourselves comfortable for the journey. That’s right, I probably would never come back to this village but I would also never forget it. After all, it was technically my starting town. Who knows maybe halfway through this whole thing, I might get some quest where I would have to return here. Yep and then I would find out how this little village is actually related to the whole plot and that there’s like some super-powerful artifact sealed here that we will need to confront the final boss. Hip-Hip Hooray for generic JRPG plot! Well whatever wants to happen will probably happen and I’ll be forced to go with the flow as usual. Three cheers for the life of the protagonist! Wow, I can’t believe I’m even calling myself the protagonist at this point. Feeling drowsy, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to take a nap at this point. Being in a near-sleep state, I couldn’t help but wonder. A 3-month journey, huh? Who the hell decided on making such a long prologue? Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could just skip this meaningless stuff?

____________________________

And so, it was 3 months later.

They finally faced each other.

3 men, dressed in high-tier armours, their strength and power emitting from their presence as they stood there.

On the other side, there was a lone man. He looked like a normal, everyday NPC from top to bottom. But what kind of normal, everyday NPC had a pet dragon, perched on his shoulder and could look at them with such a fierce gaze.

The deserted courtyard.

The sun gently settling down, signifying the end of the day.

The cold gust blowing through them.

Yes, this was a clear-as-day standoff.

Yet the man was confused.

So he turned towards his companions and asked.

“Hey, so who’s this guy and why does he look so mad at us?”

That was the ending point.

For the man could not no longer contain his anger.

With a glare, he took out his gun, raising it at the man in front of him.

“So first you assholes bring me to this dumb world AND THEN YOU FORGET THAT I EXISTED! YOU’RE ALL DEAD.”

Yet the final trigger was yet to come. He may have been full of rage but he also realised that murder was not a solution to his situation. That’s right, this won’t solve anything, he tried to reason with his desire.

“Huuuhh, lol You think could kill us. I don’t know who you are but a loser like yourself couldn’t even touch a brilliant and gallant knight such as myself.” said the idiot while picking his nose. He didn’t even pick up on the obvious hint the man had just told him about his identity.

However, his companions weren’t such idiots.

His two companions’ eyes opened wide and their mouths gaped open. Such an effect couldn’t have been obtained from mere words. Right in front of their very eyes, was a standard GLOCK pistol. How could something from their world be present here!

Yet that idiot ignored it all. What was going through the idiot’s head, no one could tell. Maybe the sun reflected its few rays in his eyes, making him unable to see the gun. Maybe he was too busy paying attention to the pet dragon. After all, dragons were pretty rare, and he probably had never seen a youngling dragon before.. Who really even cares? Certainly not the man who just picked his nose in front of a man threatening to kill him.

And perhaps that nonchalant idiocy could be considered to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Cyrus took a deep breath. Hey, Miss Clara I tried right? I thought that I might be able to compromise. So, you can’t blame me for this.

I’m definitely gonna kill that guy.