- Vesemir -

He was dead. After stabbing his knife into the elfish general, the general proceeded to snap his neck. His neck twisted from the brutal force, the old man fell to the ground, his vacant orange eyes staring at his last protege. The last thing he saw was her kneeling on the floor, sobbing at the sight of her dead mentor. Balling her hands into fists, tendrils of green eldritch energy rose from her body. The piercing scream reached his ears and he faded away into darkness.

For a while, he felt and heard nothing when he heard a distant voice calling him. A flood of sensations coursed through his body and his eyes snapped open. He found himself standing in a dark corridor and at the end of the corridor was a circular portal filled with light. He quickly patted himself, finding his steel and silver swords at his waistbelt. His pouch was filled with the usual herbs and potions he used in his dangerous profession. The only new addition was a gray metal whiskey flask, the symbol of the Wolf School engraved on it.

He could hear whispers coming from the door. Listening closely, it was more like a plea for help. Someone needed his help to train them. For a while, he ignored the whispers and he turned around to see the darkness behind him. He was tired of fighting monsters and humans. He wanted to rest. As he stepped toward the darkness, a whisper reached his ears.

"Do you regret dying in front of her? Didn't you want to see what her future would be?"

The grizzled warrior spun around, the steel sword in his hands. More whispers came from the glowing portal, beckoning him. "What could you possibly give me in return for my services?" he growled at the portal.

"A second chance, my friend. A clean slate and the chance to avoid repeating past mistakes. A chance to see through it properly."

The old man blinked at the portal, unable to hide his surprise. It sounded appealing to him, but he wasn't sure about trusting the ghostly voice. He did have regrets about his training method. There was no such thing as the perfect training regimen and there were scenarios that couldn't be anticipated. Waves of guilt and sorrow would overcome him when he heard the deaths of his students and he would break down in tears in his private quarters. The cold stoic mask was crushed by one who wanted redemption.

Sheathing his sword, he sighed heavily and stared at the golden portal in front of him. he didn't where he would end up or the situation he would find himself in, but he hoped it would give him a chance to be better. With that hope in his heart, he stepped into the portal.

- Junichiro -

"Hello there!" I say cheerfully. Immediately, three pairs of eyes lock their gaze on me. A chill runs down my spine as I try to smile at them. All three newcomers point their weapons at me. I can see the storm of emotions behind their eyes; distrust, fear, and caution mixed into one terrible concoction. Spreading my arms, I try to convince them that I'm harmless and that I mean no harm.

I can see their Profiles above their heads, which reveals basic information about them. The one wearing medieval armor is Vesemir from the Witcher series. As the oldest and most experienced Witcher, he trained dozens of neophyte Witchers, including Geralt and Ciri.

The one wearing the blue school uniform is Eugeo from Sword Art Online. A Flunctlight from Rulid Village, he accompanied Kirito in their journey to find their missing childhood friend, Alice Zuberg.

As for the giant, he is Artakha and hails from the BIONICLE series. A master craftsman and ruler of his own island, he can use his Mask of Creation to create objects or imagine a finished object from the raw materials and learn how to construct it.

"So you're the one who summoned us," Vesemir nodded at the markings on my hands. I smiled sheepishly at him and chuckled, "Yeah, I did. If your mind, can you please put away your weapons?"

Eugeo pointed his sword at me, its sharp tip touching my chest. "Where am I? Where's Kirito and Alice?" For a moment, I considered brushing away his sword, but he pushes it further into my skin, causing a bead of blood to flow from the shallow cut.

"You are in an underground bunker beneath my house. As for Kirito and Alice, they're not here." I flinched as Eugeo pushed the sword's tip deeper into my skin. "You're lying to me. Where are they?" the blonde teenager roared at me. I silently open my Inventory slot to access the King Rouzer blade and the Rouzer card deck, my fingers hover over them. I don't know why he

"I don't know where they are, alright? You're scaring me, right now." A small transparent window pops up between me and Eugeo, notifying me that the [Sly Tongue] perk activated. The contorted face filled with rage and distrust slowly disappears as he calms down. Backing away from me, he sheathes his sword into its scabbard and breathes deeply.

There is an uneasy silence between us until Artakha breaks the silence. With a rumbling voice akin to thunder, he spoke, "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves."

I quickly stammered, the words colliding with one another. "Ah, right! This way!" Following behind me, the freshly summoned heroes entered a rectangular space built within the stone ramp. LED strips of light blasted an intense brightness that I quickly turned down. A rectangular holotable flashed to life when we entered the room. On top of a white folding table were a coffee machine and a stack of paper cups.

As I poured the coffee into the paper cups, I heard a quiet remark from Vesemir, who was standing next to Eugeo, "A bit small for a map room". A soft chuckle came from Eugeo, who laughed at the witcher's comment.

"Careful, it's hot," I warned the trio and gave them their coffee. With refreshments out of the way, it was time for introductions. "I understand your confusion about your situation but bear with me. My name is Junichiro Marchosias and I am the one who summoned you." Without missing a beat, Eugeo quickly introduced himself to us.

"I guess I will go next. I'm Eugeo and I'm from Rulid Village. I am a student at the Sword Mastery Academy."

"Vesemir of Kaer Morhen, Master Witcher and swordsman." the grizzled monster slayer grunted.

"You may call me Artakha."

It was both strange and amusing observing their reactions to the coffee. Vesemir grimaced at the bitter taste of the coffee, while Eugeo and Artakha hid their reactions. Setting down the coffee cup, I interlaced my fingers together and took a deep breath.

"I summoned you because I need your help. I'm forming a team, you see..." From there, I told the trio as much as I could. Obviously, I omitted the parts that they didn't need to know, such as being a reincarnated person, the Gamer's System, etc. Vesemir seemed disinterested in my plea for help and distracted himself by stirring his cup of coffee. Eugeo seemed to have taken the bait and was hooked to every word I said. I couldn't tell how Artakha felt, but I assumed he was bored.

Taking a swig of coffee, the witcher sighed loudly, "I don't mind teaching you swordsmanship and the Signs. But I want to know is this: why us? Why did you summon us specifically?" Eugeo tried to butt in but the old Witcher continued, "You could have summoned someone else to fight alongside you. If I were you, I would have tried to summon my former student, Geralt of Rivia. He's a much better Witcher than I am."

"He might be limited by the type of Servants he can summon. Or it could be something else, like having a low Object Control Authority." Eugeo countered.

"Let me explain a few things. As Eugeo said, I am limited by several factors. I only have eleven pots left, so I have to be careful about which hero to summon. There are three categories of Servants I can summon: 'Second Chancers', 'Lost Neophytes', and 'the Willing'. 'Second Chancers' are people who died in battle and wanted a second chance to redeem themselves. 'Lost Neophytes' are those who had the potential to become a hero, but never got the chance to become one. 'The Willing' are heroes who decided to answer my call without being persuaded."

"Do you have any questions? If not, I will go over the factions and their powers," I asked. The blonde swordsman slowly raised his hand and spoke, "You don't need to explain it to us, sir. When I entered the golden portal, I was given knowledge about this world and its races." Both Artakha and Vesemir nodded their heads, confirming Eugeo's statement.

"Okay then. Then, let's make a schedule and follow it." Making the schedule was easy, but following it perfectly would be a different matter. After making the schedule, I led them to the main house and gave them a tour of the castle. As Vesemir and Artakha wandered around, I noticed Eugeo fidgeting with his fingers, his joyful face turned into a sullen expression. "Is something wrong, Eugeo?"

He flinched at the sound of my voice before answering, "I'm sorry for what I did earlier. I was impulsive and rash in my action." Bowing his head slightly, I tried to make him stop.

"It's alright, Eugeo. That's just a normal reaction to being summoned into a new world. I would have done the same thing if I was in a similar situation." His expression changed instantly when I forgave him. Nodding his head, he wandered off into the corridor.

"That was an interesting sight to see, Jun," I scowled at God's featureless face as he appeared next to me. "It was a misunderstanding that was resolved easily, God," I said.

"Just because you resolved it one time doesn't mean you will resolve future trouble easily," God warned. Snapping his fingers. a metallic gray bracelet formed around my left wrist.

"The bracelet I gave you suppresses your power to hide from the other factions. If you take it off, they will be able to sense it, but they won't able be to pinpoint your location. That danger will grow as you level up, so be careful."

"Any other gifts in store?" I ask.

"Not right now. Something just came up, so I will be gone for a while. Good luck with your training." Dissipating into motes of light, he left me alone in the corridor.

Each day began at 6:30 am. Following breakfast, we would begin swordsmanship training, which would last from the morning to the late afternoon (around 4:15 pm). After a ten-minute break, it was time for the craftsmanship session with Artakha, where he would teach both me and Eugeo the art of blacksmithing for six hours. For forty days, Eugeo and I experienced hell on Earth.

Vesemir was an unforgiving and harsh instructor. While he rarely yelled at us, his deprecating remarks on our forms and attacks crushed our morale. Somehow, Eugeo managed to create a hybrid of the Aincrad and Witcher sword styles. A combination of quick strikes and a fast tempo made him a terrifying sparring partner to face. My hands and arms would be covered in bruises and light cuts as we fought one another. Thankfully, he had one crippling weakness which I could exploit.

Despite his mastery of swordsmanship, he wasn't very skilled at magic. At first, Eugeo wanted to use his Sacred Arts, but it took too long to cast. The slim time difference between the Sacred Arts and the Signs was a critical aspect Vesemir ranted about. He could cast the signs, but they would be very weak and easy to brush off.

Alternating between attacking with my sword and magic, it was an easy combo that kept Eugeo away from me in our sparring matches. In one moment, I would be attacking him with a flurry of vertical and diagonal slashes, the next I would cast Igni at him while coating my sword with fire and attacking him.

Craftsmanship with Artakha was an interesting experience for both of us. I knew a few basic blacksmith techniques but never practiced them in real life. For Eugeo, it was surreal as he never had to create anything from scratch. In the forging room, we toiled away at our anvils, hammering the burning metal into shape. Belt sanders would grind away the hard rust-like surface to reveal the polished metal underneath.

The training was worth it as I received the traits Warrior Mage [ Novice ] and Blacksmith [ Intermediate ]. Warrior Mage was a combination of the Swordsman and Mage classes. While boosting the damage for my sword and magic attacks, it also increased my Power and Mana levels by two points. Blacksmith increased my chances of creating Common-level weapons while forging.

It was the day after our training ended when God returned. I had been checking the castle's inventory when he appeared next to me. "So, how was training?"

"It went well," I grunted and lifted a wooden crate onto a shelf. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I figured it was time for you to get some XP," God hooked his thumb behind him. "There are some troublesome spirits and magical beasts that need to be exterminated. Kill as many as you can before midnight and I will reward the entire group with some XP."

"No funny tricks? No surprise bosses?" I asked. God shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Anyway, I gotta go now. Bye!"

"Definitely a surprise boss," I grumbled as I headed to the bunker to inform my Peerage about our new mission.

AN

Sorry for the late upload! I'm a bit swamped with work, so I won't be able to update as much a possible. Slight editing in the last chapter to include the [Sly Tongue] perk and his unnamed Ultimate. Now to answer the reviews!

Rinalasha: Your guess is partially correct. While I don't like smut or lemons, it's mostly about how powerful most Gamer MCs became in the first few chapters. This Gamer story takes a realistic approach to how my Gamer gains power.

Also, the perks God gave Jun aren't that OP. If anything, they're slightly nerfed. Powerful enough to overwhelm most enemies, weak to certain enemies (ex: Ophis and other Gods/Dragons)

bigbrownpanda:

1. No harem unless I change my mind about it.

2. Evil to an extent. MC will manipulate events and kill people if he can. It also depends on morality and etc. Unlike other Gamer MCs, Jun will focus more on blackmailing villains and turning villains on each other rather than slaughtering them all in one go.

3. Ruthless to an extent. Depends on the person Jun and his peerage are fighting.

If you guys have any ideas on who you want to join Jun's peerage, post them in the reviews. I look forward to reading them.

As always, read and review!