"*Yawn*. Are we there yet?" Jim mumbled as he swapped out his hammer and started doing stretches. Both had become a morning routine ever since he was summoned here. If he forgot to stretch in the morning, Egrevaht would yell at him and force him to do double the stretches before they started.
"Almost. Come take a look," Amelia replied, beckoning Jim to the front of the carriage.
As Jim stepped forward, his eyes widened. The view before him was… the same as in Jarvesia, what the heck?!
"It's uh… unique… yeah…" Jim tried to reply to not sound rude, but Amelia glared at him. Or at least seemed to do so. It was hard to tell what she was feeling or how she looked since black clothes covered every inch of her body.
"This is just a small village on the edges of Starke. You will start seeing the difference once we get closer to the capital."
"Okay then…" Jim mumbled, trying to not anger her further.
Their carriage came to a halt and Amelia paid the driver.
"Thanks for the ride! So, where to now?" Jim questioned, as he looked around for any indication of a weapon shop. He could use an extra hammer or two.
"Now we go to the nearest food stall and stock up on some food. After that we'll have a carriage escort us to the castle. You can go ahead and get yourself whatever. And try to not draw too much attention."
Well, other than the breadsticks I filled my pockets with and the ration bars we really haven't had much to eat.
Amelia threw him a small bag of coins before diving into the shadows.
"Damn. Why does she keep batmaning me like that?" he muttered, tying the bag to his belt. He took a deep breath and began to walk through the village.
As he walked down the dirt roads, he noticed that he kept getting odd glances from people. It took him a minute to realize why.
I guess a red shirt from another world will stand out. I should have thought this through… ah whatever.
*BOOM*
An explosion rang out somewhere nearby Jim, and he felt a piece of wood smack him in the back. It bounced off harmlessly, and Jim turned around towards the source.
There, several people stood beside a carriage with a painting of the black skull on it, and an armored salamander in the front pulling the cart. All of the people were wearing black skull masks and a shirt with two bony hands holding knives under a black skull.
"Alright, none o yall try anything funny, and non o yall get hurt! Ya hear me? Load all yall valuables in da carriage!" one guy with a golden skull instead of a black one said from the top of the carriage. The masked men began to advance towards the people, some carrying weapons, some also carrying bags. "Load them up!"
"B-but you took everything we had last week!" an old man that looked like an elder replied.
"Well that's too bad. Tho, I suppose you can pay in other means," the black skull leader replied, licking his lips.
Sweet! I guess we're starting the black skull questline after all!
"How about a thunderbolt to the face? Will that count as payment?" Jim asked, transforming his hammer. Several people turned to him in confusion while the leader laughed.
"Looks like yall got a brave soul out here!" the golden mask yelled, pulling out a sword covered in lightning bolt symbols. "Let's see if ya lad got as much bark as ya do bite!"
Lightning type sword. I got something just for that!
[Lightning Resistance (Medium) from Rocket Hammer has been synthesized to Mutant Stone Golem Hammer]
Sweet!
[Mutant Stone Golem Hammer quality increased to Perfect]
Huh? Did it just transfer some of its quality? Well, the rocket hammers quality reset, so I guess it went somewhere. That's gonna be helpful later.
"Let's see what ya got, bigshot!" the boss yelled and lunged forward. Jim barely had time to react to the attack and pushed his hammer forward to block the attack. As the attack collided, Jim could feel his bones shake from the impact.
The leader smirked and jumped away.
"Heh, not bad, kid. But if all ya can do is stand there, I'd say ya won't last long. Now think fast!"
The man lunged forward again, his sword crackling with electricity and ready to stab Jim. This time he managed to move to the side and raise his hammer.
"MJOLLNIR!" Jim yelled, slamming his weapon into the man's mask.
"Ack! You brat!" he yelled and jumped back, rubbing his jaw. "You are faster than you look."
"You too. Mad Dash," Jim didn't wait for the man to recover and lunged at him. His skill connected and knocked the leader back.
But before Jim could get another hit in, one of the other men hit him with a club, knocking him away.
"This brat. Kick his ass bois," the leader commanded. Everyone who was in the carriage turned to Jim with their weapons raised.
"Shoot. Stone Guard!" He called out, raising his hammer. Instead of glowing like all the other skills did, the ground around Jim began to shake. The dirt and rocks below his feet began to float and form a layer of armor, raising his defense a bit.
Ok, that's what that skill does. Good to know!
"Get him! Make sure he doesn't run!" one of the men yelled as he ran forward. As they approached , Jim swapped his hammer and advanced forward.
"Rope!" He grabbed the furthest man and pulled him forward, knocking down the men in front of him. Then Jim swapped his to the Thunder Fenrir hammer and hit the man with paralyzing lightning. Unlike last time, it worked and the man collapsed to the ground. Jim followed up with a hit to the head and knocked him out.
He looked at the rest of the enemies.
7 vs 1. I can work with this.
"Hide hammer!" Jim yelled and disappeared. Before the men reached his spot, he swapped to the rope hammer and pulled himself onto the roof of a building.
"Where the hell did he go?" one of the men yelled, swinging their sword at the area Jim just left.
Alright, time to batman this fight.
"Split up and find that brat. I want that fancy weapon of his!" the leader yelled. His minions all turned into separate directions and began to search, pushing the scared citizens out of the way. One of them went to check on the paralyzed man, while another went behind the house Jim was on.
Let's see… how did that takedown go again?
Jim raised his rope hammer and grappled the man by his leg.
"What the f-," was all the man could let out before he was launched over the roof.
"Mad Dash!" Jim yelled, pulling the man over the building and slamming him into the ground so hard, he could hear something crack. All the enemies turned to where the man fell.
"Over there! On that building!" someone yelled and pointed at Jim.
Shoot! My invis skill wore off!
Jim swung himself over to another building, but at the last second his foot slipped and he fell into an alleyway.
"Surround him!"
The footsteps kept getting louder and louder while Jim looked around for anything he could use. It was then that he saw an open window. He swung himself inside using his hammer and sighed in relief.
"H-hello?" a woman's voice rang out. She looked at Jim with a terrified expression while clutching her child.
"Hey, yeah, sorry about that. I'll just climb out of that window and be on my way ok?"
"Are you gonna fight the black skulls?" the kid asked.
"Pretty much. How long have they been around by the way?"
I might as well get more lore out of people if I can.
"They have been pillaging our village for over 20 years. They show up every other week, take everything, and then leave as if nothing ever happened," the woman replied with tears running down her face.
"Why does no one do anything?" Jim asked. Around the room he saw several dirty articles of clothes, cracked walls, a broken window and an old toy. He was surprised the house was still standing.
"We tried. Several men, including my husband have gathered before with any weapons we could find. They fought back with all they had but…" she didn't continue, instead she covered her face and let the tears run freely.
"And the capital? Did they try to do anything?"
"We tried to call out to them but we never got a response," she sobbed.
"What about moving away? A different village?"
"We don't have the money to move anywhere. And most other villages nearby are also being ransacked," she replied with a heavy sigh. The kid in her arms hugged her back and turned to Jim.
"Can you stop them, mister?"
"Please, don't. If you value your life, don't. Each one alone can take out any of our people. You alone don't stand a chance against several of them. Just run while you can," the woman called out to him. Jim sighed and smiled.
"Good thing I don't value my life then. Thanks for the info," he replied and jumped out the window on the other side of the house.
He peeked out of the corner of the alleyway and looked at the men walking around.
"He's out cold, but breathing. I don't think he'll wake up for a while. Same with this one. He got dropped pretty far though," one of the men replied, checking his comrades for a pulse.
6 versus one. One is checking on the knocked out ones, the leader on his cart. 2 in the other alleyway, one ransacking a house, and-SHOOT- one is coming here! "Hide Hammer".
Jim's skill activated just in time for the man to round the corner and walk down the alleyway.
"This damn brat. Now I'm gonna be late to my daughter's rehearsal. Just great!" he muttered angrily. Jim waited for him to pass further into the alleyway and behind the house while he lifted his swapped and lifted his hammer.
"Mjollnir."
With a heavy crack the man collapsed to the ground. Jim swung himself onto the roof and looked around.
5v1. Those two are still together, the leader hasn't moved, the ransacker is going behind that building, I can get him next.
Before the invis skill could wear off, Jim swung himself over to the roof right above the ransacker.
"Rope! Mad Dash!" he yelled and launched the man into the air, before slamming him into the ground.
Four left.
"I found him! He's over here!"
An arrow flew past Jim's head, almost hitting him in the eye. Jim saw the archer start to load in another arrow and ran towards him. But another guy with a shield jumped between them. Jim jumped and used the shield as a platform, jumping over the tank and landing behind him.
"Mjollnir!"
Jim slammed the hammer down onto the man's head, electrocuting him. He yelled out in pain, but remained standing and tried to hit him with his shield. Jim swapped to the Fenrir hammer and slammed it into his hand, paralyzing it. The man raised his fist, but was met with a hammer to the face, finally knocking him out.
"Die you brat!" the tank yelled, shooting an arrow at Jim. He ducked under the attack and used mad dash to get out of the attack.
"You slippery little rat!" the tanker replied, charging another shot.
"Hide Hammer!"
Jim disappeared from view and moved out of the way. He waited for the archer's arrow to pass him and slowly walked up to the man.
"Where are you!" he yelled, shooting another arrow. He looked around wildly, trying to find Jim, but he was already raising his hammer behind the man.
"Erst Bash!" with a loud thud and crack, the archer collapsed onto the ground.
I should master this one and get the erst bash skill. Why did I get speed over this? Wait, I was going through a tunnel. Worth it. Two thugs left.
"OI! KIDDO!" the leader yelled. Jim turned towards the leader and his face paled. The leader was holding the child from earlier in his hands with a sword at their throat. His mouth was covered with the other hand, keeping the child in place.
"Hostages? I thought you were strong enough without cheap tricks." Jim said, glancing around. The other guy already came back and was standing next to the hostage.
"Don't try to be smart with me. Drop yar weapon and surrender," the golden skull mask said.
Well sh*t. I don't have any sneaky skills or remote controlled batarangs. If I was like 30 levels higher and had more skills this kind of mission would be easy.
"Are ya deaf?! Drop ya weapon! Get em mate," he nodded to the only conscious fellow to walk up to Jim. The man reached out his hand.
"Uh… I can't," Jim explained.
"Oh yeah, some special family heirloom or something. DROP IT!" the leader yelled.
"No like… I literally cannot. Like… it's magically stuck to me, I can't undo it," Jim explained, letting go of his hammer. Instead of dropping, the hammer hung off of Jim's arm by the handle. The minion tried to pull on it, but to no success. Both him and the leader looked at the weapon, dumbfounded.
"Undo whatever magic this is! Now!" he yelled, bringing the sword closer to the child's neck.
Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t! What do I do?
"Tick Tock!" the man said.
"Fast Boost, Mad Dash!" Jim yelled and ran at the leader at full speed.
DAMN IT, MAKE IT!
The leader raised his sword and swung at the child, while Jim was still a few feet away.
NO.
The man's hand stopped mid air, and the sword dropped out of his hand. Jim took this opportunity to hit him in the face at full power and threw the leader away from the child. The man dropped onto the ground and his mask shattered.
"Hey kiddo, you alright?" he asked the child, who just nodded. Jim reached out and helped him up. As soon as he got on his feet he quickly ran back to his house.
[Leveled Up]
[Leveled Up]
[Leveled Up]
OH SH*T! I didn't mean to kill him… I… wait, what's that?
Jim looked at the man's chest and saw a gaping hole where his heart was. Suddenly more notifications popped up and sent his level soaring from 40 to 48. Jim looked around and saw that a large shadow tentacle swarm dragged the men into the leader's carriage. Then a bunch of boxes were pushed out of the cart, and the cart with the men's corpses inside began to roll away into the forest.
An explosion rang out and a pillar of flame erupted where the carriage was, disappearing into ash.
"Follow me," a voice startled Jim. He turned behind him and saw Amelia gesturing to him to follow her.
"Thank you kind sir!" one of the villagers said. Others joined in, cheered and clapped for Jim as he continued walking. He raised his hammer and waved everyone goodbye, smiling at everyone before he turned to Amelia and walked off.
She led him into the forest, next to the incinerated area and stopped.
"So uh… how did transportation g-," he started, but was met with a heavy punch to the face.
"YOU F*CKING IMBECILE! What did I ask you NOT to do?!" Amelia screamed.
"Fight the black skull."
"AND WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She shrieked so loudly, that Jim could barely understand the words.
"Fight the black skull."
"WHAT EVEN WAS YOUR PLAN? YOU HAD ONE THING AND YOU -!" her screaming devolved into high pitched incoherent noises as she went on a tirade of screams and obscenities.
"Look, I'm sorry. I know that was dumb and reckless, but what was I supposed to do?! Not help them?!"
"You didn't f*cking help them, just delayed a storm. No, even worse, there is a high chance they'll be back next week and be even worse! Unless you plan to fight the ENTIRE black skull, then they are screwed! Those guys have buffs from hell knows what! And have been fighting everyone who came in between them and money for years!" she explained. "Anyone that tried to 'help', got f*cked either figuratively or literally!"
"Well, unlike those guys before me, none of them had wielded a legendary weapon that could be upgraded. So as long as I keep leveling up, like I did just now by almost a dozen levels, I'll be able to beat them sooner or later," he replied, shrugging. Amelia punched a nearby tree, shattering it to smithereens with ease.
"I really want to knock your teeth out to destroy that bright smile of yours. But my boss will be pissed if I bring him damaged goods, so get moving! We'll be at the castle by tomorrow if we hurry," she replied, melting into the shadows.
Jim followed her, trying not to draw too much attention as he went. They arrived at the prepared carriage, where several people were already gathered.
"Sir! Thank you so much for fighting the black skull! Those people have been robbing us for weeks!" the man on the carriage said. The carriage looked solid, reinforced by metal and monster hide.
"This isn't what we ordered," Amelia complained and turned towards the man.
"Don't worry, this is a thanks from our village as a whole. This is our best and most secure carriage we have in this village. It could take on any animal found between here and the capital with ease."
"I see. But won't it be slower due to weighing more?" Amelia complained.
"Do not worry. This one has been enchanted with weight reduction by my grandfather in his prime. Trust me, if anything, this will be even faster than the normal carriage.
"Thank you," Jim said, getting into the carriage next to a box of food.
"No no, thank you good sir. We can't thank you enough for saving our village," the driver said, getting a salamander ready to drive the carriage.
Well… I guess there are no horses. Both the rich thieves and the common folk have them. Unless there are pegasus here and are owned by the royal family, I guess I won't see a horse in this world.
Amelia crawled into the carriage and sat down on the softened seats. Jim looked at her and smiled.
"Hey, free comfort for our troubles. Oh sweet! This place has a table!" Jim got distracted by an unfoldable table that he lowered from the wall. As Amelia groaned, Jim pulled out some food and began to eat, completely carefree.
Spirits, give me strength to deal with this. I hope this hero won't spell the doom of our world.