Less than a Hero, More than a Gamer

Chapter 7


Max was tapping his foot anxiously as the eighteen wheeler moved along the road. He wasn't the only one who heard the two grunts anxious blabbering. Several of his coworkers were fidgeting in their seats, the more senior members of the group looking more subdued than anything else.

Despite the anxiousness brought about the dark cargo space was relatively quiet with any stray coughs or mumbles being drowned out by the sound of the freeway.

Max glared in the direction he believed the front of the truck was, hoping to burn holes into his "bosses'" head through the thick metal.

'That bastard should've told us that he was working under the goddamn mafia,' Max internally growled. His glare lightened a little and his shoulders slumped slightly.

'Then again if I wasn't wasting time with the voice and arrived on time then I would've known hours ago. At least that way I could have mentally prepared myself.'

Max had known that his new job wouldn't be completely legal the moment Juniors asked him and the others to work for him.

The bar looked shady as hell inside and out. The job offer was given to him right after he left an underground fighting ring which operated under said bar. And any normal run-of-the-mill bar would never need so many bodyguards.

Knowing what he was doing wasn't the issue. Actually doing it however was very taxing on the silverette's mind.

"I told you that you should get out while you still could." Tanuki half whispered half shouted at the nervous teen.

Max's head snapped toward the older man's direction waiting for him to continue.

"But because you had to be so stubborn you've pretty much sent yourself to hell on Remnant," This caught Max's attention, "This isn't like the movies, those dumb comics you read or even The Cage. These people will eat you up and spit you out in a second, no fancy weapon is going to change that." Max's eyes narrowed at the subtle jab toward Alpha.

"It's way too late for you to leave, because if you do then you'll die, no if ands or buts about it."

Max was quiet for a few seconds, before speaking up, "You said that I'll die if I leave right," Max said in monotone, "Then I guess I'm staying right here." The boy's words caused Tanuki's eye to twitch.

"*Sigh* Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

The rest of the trip to the meeting point was spent in uncomfortable silence. The clock said that it had only been twenty minutes but it felt like a decade to the newer recruits.

The eighteen wheeler took many sharp turns before slowing to a halt. The doors opened quickly, forcing some to shield their eyes from the harsh light that entered. Max, wary of what could happen, was one of the last few to exit.

His eyes quickly adjusted, revealing a massive bunker-like warehouse. A heavy gate could be heard closing somewhere from behind. Stacks upon stacks of crates lined the walls. Dozens of armed men dressed the same as the men from the bar stood threateningly in front of the grunts.

The door to an office opened slowly, revealing MacRein with a false welcoming smile on his face. At the same time, Junior left the trunk, the grunts making way for him to speak with the Mafia boss.

"It is a delight to see that you are keeping your end of the bargain, Mr. Xiong. Ten Thirty, not a minute before or after, your punctuality is astounding as always." MacRein's words would've seemed congratulatory to the untrained ear, but the more experienced bodyguards and the bartender himself heard the underlining mocking in them.

"And with such a large stock of workers to our disposal. We will make ample use of them during your assignment." the aged man walked back to his office, beckoning Junior to follow him. Junior simply huffed in response and told the grunts to line up before walking away obediently.

A grunt with a machine gun strapped to his back, Junior's second in command, was given a set of coordinates and a sheet of paper.

"You are to head to this location and liberate the materials, weapons, and funds from our business associate's warehouse." The grunts were starting to feel more anxious than before, with Max almost rhythmically tapping his foot on the concrete.

"Should you fail, be spotted or leave behind any of the items listed your company will face severe repercussions from the MacRein shipping company including financial reparations, private imprisonment, embezzlement of personal and company-owned properties. Be mindful of Grimm and hunters during the retrieval and transport of listed items."

The man finished reciting the instructions, the not-so-secret meaning behind…certain aspects of them started to sink in.

'Damn it! What have I gotten myself in to!? No…no…just stay calm…calm.' A sharp breath escaped the silver-haired boy's mouth and the tapping ceased after a few seconds.

'I might want to bring Alpha along for this.'


[Quest Received Please Check the Menu]

[Quest: MacRein Pain]

[Primary objective: Successfully retrieve items from the MacRein's business associate]

[Challenges: Steal at least 10,000 lien from the warehouse, Defeat 15 Grimm]

[Primary Reward: 5,000 exp, Possible raise, Mafia Advocate 1]

[Challenge Reward 1: 12,000 lien, +1 Dexterity, Scam Adjacent 2 | Challenge Reward 2: 1,000 lien, 1,000 exp]


'Definitely going to bring Alpha along.'

Max heard someone walking toward him and turned around to see Tanuki hold his phone and staring at him.

"Something wrong?" Max asked the blonde man bluntly.

"Oh…I just wanted to tell you about this joke going around that I figure you of all people would enjoy. I mean it's pretty old by now but…"

"Is that fucking rat dragging that delicious looking slice of pepperoni?" Max's eyes became intense as he stared at the image.

"Yeah…what's the problem, it's just pizz-"

"Complete that sentence and it will stab you." Tanuki just stayed silent before slowly tapping the x button on the image.

"Well considering that you're already this deep down into the rabbit hole let's get to the trucks already."

At least twenty grunts had to stay behind so that the trucks would have enough space to transport them along with the goods. The final one was about to be closed off with three people walking toward it. Max and Tanuki jumped into the cargo hold as it closed, pushing the other people aside. The older of the duo smiled unapologetically at their coworkers as the doors closed.

The cargo lurched as the eighteen-wheeler began to move. It seemed as if the drivers were in a hurry, as they ran over several bumps and cracks without slowing down.

Max held the Xiong Sword in his left hand with his right hovering over The Pocket, having put Alpha inside an hour beforehand.

The truck lurched to a stop and the door opened, showing an entrance to an empty water well. Each bodyguard descended down a ladder into an empty sewage system.

Claw marks and large paw-prints lined the beaten ground. A trio of mobsters led the small crowd of workers down the tunnel.

The sound of shuffling feet and dripping water echoed throughout the waterway. The grunts moved forward briskly, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Max lagged behind the bunch slightly having seen a shadow move across one of the side tunnels.

The boy was about to play it off as the light, or lack thereof, playing tricks on him before he smelt a bloody sent charging from behind him. Max spun around and brought his blade up, having barely blocked a set of jaws trying to gnaw his face off.

The other grunts and the mobsters spun around in response, flashlights locked on Max's attacker.

Max grunted as he pushed the beast away, his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. Several rays of light focused on a black figure with a stubby bone plated head and two clawed hind legs. Roaring came from both sides other the group, identical monsters racing to their location.

"CREAPS!" A man shouted with wide frantic eyes as he drew his sword. Tanuki and the other bar workers following suit. The tallest of the mobsters cursed under his breath as he and his partners pulled out assault rifles.

The creep that Max pushed away regained its balance and charged at it's would-be-dinner. The silverette smacked the Grimm's head away repeatedly until it hit a wall, giving Max the opportunity to stab it's exposed underbelly.

The boy rolled out of the way as a small horde of creeps charged toward his fellow grunts. However, some targeted Max having seen their brethren slaughtered by him.

Several tried to pounce on Max, being cut in half or stabbed it the mouth in response. The boy backpedaled away from an older creep who tried to bite his leg off. He kicked it in the face and smacked it away with his sword, sending the Grimm onto it's back.

Before he could finish the downed beast off one of the slightly larger creeps jumped on him from the side, the force knocking Max to the ground and sending his sword flying.

Max tried to get up but found himself holding the creep's head away from him. Max slowly inched back feeling the handle of his sword. He prepared to stab his current attacker in the maw but found himself fending off a second creep from the left.

The Grimm on his left had its jaws clenched tightly on the flat side of Max's sword, cracks forming from the middle. As the silverette's grip faltered and his blade finally snapped the two beasts were riddled with bullets.

Max got to his feet as his attackers dissolved, silently feeling relieved for the mobsters' presence before his spite for them returned.

Max heard a shout of pain and clanging metal coming from behind him. He turned around the see one of his coworkers on the ground against a wall with his arm held tightly inside of a creep's jaws, the sent of iron filling the air. Max discarded his broken sword and snatched a replacement off the ground and bisected the creep's torso, ending its assault on the poor man's arm.

Max, having learned how easy a Xiong sword can break between a Grimm's jaws, prepared to pull Alpha out of 'The Pocket' before a mobster shouted, "All clear!" stopping Max in his tracks.


[Combat Ended 13 {Juvenile Creeps]}, 3 {Adult Creeps} Defeated: 1735 exp gained, 1735 lien gained, +1 str]


The grunts and the mobsters reconvened, assessing the situation. Five out of the thirty-two grunts were injured beyond function and two had their heads bitten off. The rest of the up and running grunts had some sort of scar bruise or damage to their clothes, Max, Tanuki and two others being exceptions. The mobsters were uninjured if a little winded.

The bar workers were forced to press on, the injured being helped to the truck and the corpses being left to rot. After nearly fifteen minutes they arrived at a pair of doors that led to the surface. The mobsters inclined their heads at Max and Tanuki, them being at the front of the group.

Picking up the silent message the two used their swords to break the lock on the doors and push them open. They exited the water tunnel into a large field with high grass and a small warehouse looming above it. A few dozen men wearing strange insignia were hanging around the main path and on watchtowers adjacent to it.

"Unfortunately our business partner's storage area was compromised a while back. One of the men hanging around here has a master key, your job is to find that key and give us cover. We'll take care of everything else." One of the mobsters instructed the group of grunts before running off.

One of the veteran grunts, Junior's second in command, said "Didn't you hear the guy? Fan out and look for those keys!" With that order, the bar workers raced off in different directions

Max was crouched low surveying the area for the key holder or at the very least someone to knock out. The boy suspected something was wrong. The orders to find the key along with the strange faction occupying the warehouse hinted at a possible battle. Max saw it fit to take out any extra enemies just in case.

The silverette listened closely for any footsteps when he caught the tell-tale scent of alcohol. Max looked around for any of his coworkers, making sure they wouldn't see him pull out Alpha as that would obviously raise questions. A fact that made Max mentally face-palm at trying to pull his true weapon out in the waterway.

Max revealed Alpha with the shaft retracted. He snuck up on the inebriated watchmen and smacked his head with the broad side of his spear, sending him to the floor. Max saw the man begin to get up and hit him on the head a few times until the man lost consciousness.

Max dug around the man's pockets, finding nothing of value except a few lien and a large pocketknife. Max growled in slight frustration and was about to storm off but noticed the symbol on the man's coat.

It was a white angular skull shape with three lines on each side and a red border. For some reason, it looked familiar to Max despite having never had the opportunity to see it up close before.

Max's musings were interrupted by a message from Tanuki


TANUKEY: FOUND THE KEY WHERE R U


Max quickly ran to the warehouse to find his coworkers standing next to a bound and gagged man with the doors to the warehouse slowly being pulled open.

The place had an ancient but oddly artificial sent to it. Pure white cobwebs covered every visible crack and the windows, despite the glaring lights outside, allowed little to no light inside.

The grunts surveyed the warehouse looking for any possible trapdoors or secret levers. Max was in the far left of the area when he saw a latch on the floor. He jimmied it open with Alpha, revealing a trapdoor with light shining out of it.

The silverette beckoned his fellow bodyguards over to him, some looking extremely relieved to be able to leave soon. Before they could jump down the trapdoor dozens of heavy footsteps came from behind them.

Several men wearing the odd skull symbol and carrying guns were gathered around the grunts. At the same time, one of MacRein's trucks crashed through the wall. This wasn't what shocked Max, however. The real surprise came from seeing the black and blue skull on the side of said truck, causing his face to turn white in fear.

MacRein didn't hire them to retrieve something from his "business associates".

He hired them to steal from a rival crime family.


Happy Dustmas-day

Date: December 25th

Max had just returned from the nearby grocery store, being me with the sight of Junior's decked out in red and green lights with miniature Santas hung in the windows.

Max looked disinterestedly at his inebriated coworkers singing badly to Jingle Bell Rock while descending to the basement.

Max had a slightly more forlorn expression on his face than usual. Reaching his private storeroom he set his small bag next to a box of half-eaten pizza.

He reached for the box, chomping his extra large pepperoni down at the rate of a normal human…or faunus, an extremely odd occurrence.

Slowly finishing the dinner off max brought out a small cake and a box of matches from his bag. His hand reached the final item, a candle with the number fifteen on it.

He carefully placed the now lit candle on the cake and took a deep breath. He let it linger for a few seconds with his eyes closed before blowing the candle out, taking away all the light in his room.

The silverette looked out the window for about a minute before drifting off to a dreamless sleep.


Merry early Christmas everyone, I just couldn't resist releasing this chapter early.