"I'm not in the wrong, right?"
"This world has been treating me like shit. I have a right to be frustrated and angry, don't you agree, Mom, Dad?"
"You're right, Alex. If anything, you should just return what they have been doing to you, give them a taste of their own medicine!" Dad barked.
"But what about the innocent people caught in the middle? You know how the saying goes: 'Treat others the way you want to be treated.' Eventually, they should come around," Mom stressed.
"Well, maybe they should have thought of that before attacking me out of nowhere..."
"But, Alex, they might just not know any better. After all, whatever their upbringing taught already shows they are different; they might just be afraid, that's all," Mom implored.
"Honey, those beastly people, or whatever the hell they are called, have been roughing our boy up, more than that, they tried to kill him on multiple occasions!" Dad blustered.
"Still, it's not everyone's fault-"
"Listen, Alex was forcibly thrown into this hot mess of a world and is now supposed to save it? If anything, they should support him with all they have if they want to be saved and put his life in danger to protect them!" Dad abruptly interrupted.
"Not everyone in the world is aggressive, though! Kazen and Conrad are two prime examples of standup fellas who are just doing the best they can to get through things!" Mom defended.
The argument then began to devolve into back-and-forth bickering, to the point where I just drowned out their voices into nothingness.
"Not even in my own thoughts can I think of a proper response to all of this..." I mumbled.
I realized I had been sleeping not too long ago. I had been running scenarios in my head, trying to rationalize my next steps forward after the wave of calamity came across and destroyed the town. Though even mental images and conversations with my parents were not enough; after all, nothing can beat the real thing.
Still, there is a special tranquility in lucid dreaming, as now I am not burdened with the pain and struggles of my physical body. Before I got transported, it was pretty rare for me to do so. Now it has happened more and more often. I'm not sure why, but I enjoy the time I get to myself.
"If only this could last forever, but I guess eventually you have to wake up," I sighed to myself.
I waited a couple of moments in silence.
"Huh, that's weird. Usually, after I say that, I wake up. Eh, whatever, it's probably due to how tired I am that my body is just sleeping longer, no biggie," I shrugged.
The next thing I could do is probably plan what I am going to do once I wake up. I know for a fact my body is probably famished for food, but I guess sleep took priority, and even then, the muscle and fats I do have stored up do get used up, so I guess that's why it's not as urgent.
I have to stop getting sidetracked. I guess, as I said, I will get something to eat. After that, I should probably go and look over my new weapon methods, since if I recall correctly, I had modifications and something else I can't fully remember.
As I finished the last sentence, I felt the very plane of reality I was in begin to dissipate and fizzle out, and with that, I could assume I was waking up. With that, I could begin to feel some of the pain from my previous endeavors begin to bleed in, speeding up the process.
"Well, I got a little done at least-"
"Hero, Alex!"
"Huh...? Wha..?" I groggily responded as I rubbed my eyes open.
"I have urgent news, so I needed to wake you, my apologies," Kazen stated.
I opened my eyes to see Kazen in a worse state than when I went to sleep. I can only assume that he did not sleep, unlike me. I rubbed my eyes once more to get a clearer picture, as the crust that formed at the edges of my eyes was still preventing me from fully opening my eyes.
Judging by the sight of light going through the thin layered tent cloth, it was morning, at least. The makeshift bed I was using, of all the clothing I found, was also reduced to just the blanket I had, a fur jacket or something like that, which I was laying flat on the ground on.
"Ah, okay. Is it like right now, right now, or?" I asked him while trying to recollect myself.
"I have recalled all the men from their patrol posts. They should hopefully arrive in the next few minutes," Kazen explained.
I guess it's probably pretty serious if he is recalling every single last one of his men, though judging from the lack of extreme panic and screams, and instead, more of a somewhat chatter and calm commotion outside, I can deduce we are not being attacked at the minimum.
"I see. Would you mind telling me what it is, or are you waiting until everyone is back?" I asked curiously.
As I regained my focus, I could see that many of the papers he had on his desk were sprawled on the ground, and along with that, he seemed to have finally fully taken off his armor. I guess after a while of sitting in a metal oven while sweating, it will probably get to you. He was rather bulky, well, I couldn't really tell much due to his beast-person-like nature, but he definitely was fit.
"I'd rather wait. In the meantime, you should really grab something to eat. The food and water you brought back from the outpost helped tremendously. Some locals and other patrols have found more food as well. We have set up a food station outside, regulated by us to avoid mass frenzies for the food and ensure that proper rations are implemented," Kazen elaborated.
I tried to stretch a little but was hit with a sudden wave of pain once more. I guess the whiplash from yesterday is still rearing its head. Sort of like how the pain and aches from playing in a game don't really start until after it ends, but until the next morning when you wake up. Though I guess this world has its remedies with healing potions. Actually, now that I think about it...
"Hey Kazen, you wouldn't know where I can find some healing potions, would you?" I groaned as I painfully tried to get up from where I was resting.
"Um…," He rubbed his temples momentarily before responding, "I think we used all or most of them helping the survivors. If anybody has any, it would be our clerics, as they have most of the potions in general. The two that survived have been working overtime throughout the night healing people, so just go to them; they will give you an exception."
"Nah, it's alright. I'll just ask to be healed; it's nothing major anyways," I mumbled as I finally got up and began to walk to the exit of the tent.
"Alright… be sure to be back here in approximately an hour or so, since that's when I told everyone to be back here by," Kazen said before turning to the papers on his desk.
I was about to walk outside before Kazen called out again, "Alex! Please be sure to hide your weapon. I wouldn't want any confusion and panic to start erupting due to it," he asked.
"Oh right, sorry, I'm just not really operating at one hundred percent right now," I sheepishly chuckled.
"Same here… Same here, be sure to be back here as soon as you can if possible as well, I'm sure we have plenty of questions for each other," he lethargically said as he turned to his papers once more.
I looked to my side to see a giant… shotgun? Not sure what it was, but looking at its status, it was a blunderbuss of sorts. Either way, there was no way I was going to be able to hide it. I changed my weapon form from that to the starting pistol I got when I first got here, as that's the smallest weapon form I have.
Luckily my pants and shirt were not too horribly ripped up, so I was able to put it near the bottom of my backside, mostly concealed, other than an outline on my back, sort of like concealed carry back in the States but more obvious. It definitely was not comfortable, but it was better than creating a mass panic, as I remember Kazen stating how while guns do exist in this world, they are not like the ones I have and are also seen as "heretic weapons" or something like that; my memory is still pretty blurry and fuzzy.
As I walked outside, I could hear the muffled and garbled voices become clearer, along with that, the glare of the sun blasted my face and basically blinded me. I had to cover my eyes from the glare for a couple of seconds before blinking a couple of times to get accustomed to it. I guess even in another world, the sun blinding you after waking up in a darkish area is the same.
After eventually overcoming the blinding glare, I immediately noticed that the number of people at the camp increased significantly. I couldn't bother to try to count up the number of heads I saw as my headache remained, but I estimate that at least it rose from a few dozen to at least around 100, maybe more even.
Looking around, I could see many different types of people or animals; I still don't really know how to identify them. Some were young, some old, but something that was the same among all of them was a sense of dread and sadness that I could feel. Even with the bright atmosphere, the people clearly were demoralized. I can relate to that, though that might just be me being tired.
Many were slumped next to mostly intact buildings or huddled up in circles, standing or sitting. The same gloomy feeling of despair could be seen in a couple of their eyes, as most did not care or did not notice my gaze being on them. But considering how from the looks of it their town seems to have gotten mostly destroyed, I really don't blame them.
It kind of reminded me of one of my favorite movies, Killing Corepreal Adam. Though in this case, while in the movie it looked realistic, it was not. This on the other hand is real, the destroyed pillars, walls, and homes… just rubble. I shuddered slightly at the feeling I got when I found… the crushed.
My stomach then audibly began to grumble to remind me of what I should be doing. Somehow I did not lose my appetite but I was not one to complain. A couple of people turned their heads and began to give me weird looks, I took that as my cue to begin walking and seeming like I was doing something other than just standing around like a weirdo.
While my sense of smell was still waking up, I could somewhat recognize the smell of cooked food vaguely on my right, so I started to head in that direction. As I was getting all my senses back together while walking, I decided to check my menu on the way, as I have not gotten a chance to properly check.
While I will admit I did not really want to start reading with a headache, especially now in the morning, considering how something seems to be happening every few minutes, who knows when will be the next time I could check it out. Opening it initially, there was not much that was catching my eye.
I could see on the top left that Faith, Conrad, and Nickoli were doing fine with max bars in every category. Though for me, it seems that my health was a fair bit below max, nothing too crazy, but I should probably get it checked out by the cleric or whatever once I grab a bite.
Alright, next would probably be to check out the new power-up methods that I discovered among the clutter during the fight with the giant-ass worm. I know that one of them was modifications or something along those lines and whenever I first- my self-dialogue was interrupted by the abrupt feeling of something bumping into me at my side.
"Hey, watch where you're... Wait a minute, it's you again!" a voice suddenly called out.
I quickly closed my menu and turned to see it was the dog-human person thing. I really need an actual way to differentiate them. Conrad told me once but I forgot… Anyway, it was the guy who was very pushy on me yesterday. I looked around quickly, and I couldn't spot any of Kazen's men nearby, so continuing to walk away wouldn't accomplish anything.
Pushing him away or something similar definitely won't help, as looking around I could see a decent number of people's eyes were locked onto us, and considering how most seem on edge, it definitely won't end well.
"Did the debris make you hard of hearing? Speaking of which, what's up with your ears? They are not of any animal I have seen before," he questioned.
A few more people turned to see what the commotion was about. I guess I really only have one option.
"No, I'm not deaf; I was just avoiding talking to you," I bluntly stated.
His face changed from one of curiosity to annoyance, as well as his tone, "Why is that, huh? You are one to speak. I swear I know every single person in this town, and I have not seen you before this whole… crisis happened," he blustered.
Okay, now this guy is really getting on my nerves with that tone he has.
"Well, just know I came to help out and help out I did. I handled the situation, that's that," I grumbled.
"Now I know you are lying! The only people I can see helping out are Knight Kazen and the men under his command! I have only seen you, on the other hand, just walking back and forth… doing who knows what!" He accused loudly.
I did some quick glances to my side, and I could see that a lot more people have begun to notice the commotion and had turned to see what was going on. This isn't exactly getting any easier the more people come and take a look, but this might also work in my favor…
I turned to the dog person guy, and I met his eyes resolutely before responding, "For your information, I was actually the one to get a good portion of the food, and on top of that, I was the one who took out the giant monster which was rampaging near the center of town!"
I don't think my statement boded well with him, as his face seemed to turn red from anger, "I won't believe a word coming out of a person like you! You already were a shifty figure, which I really couldn't care less about, but now claiming to have felled the great beast and more, I can stand no longer at these blatant lies!" He spat angrily.
A small crowd of people began to walk up to where we were, surrounding us. This is quickly starting to get out of hand, fast.
"Looks like I can't just walk away anymore," I grumbled under my breath.
"What was that?!" the dog person angrily badgered.
"Nothing. How about you mind your own damn business?" I fumed as I tried to turn my back on him.
As I was half expecting, however, he quickly grabbed my shoulder, and due to his older age, he was able to stop me in my tracks. He was very aggressively gripping my shoulder, and I assume if I continued to try, he would just apply more pressure. I begrudgingly turned around once more to face him, however, this time I was met with a swift hit to my head as I got struck by his hand supposedly.
I quickly ripped myself from his grip on my shoulder and turned to face him as I rubbed my face to attempt to dull the pain a little. Now this little shit has pissed me off.
"What the hell is your deal?! The fuck am I supposed to say then?! You wanted the damn truth!" I angrily yelled at him.
"I'm putting you in your place, that's all, using now out of all times to claim false glory. I scoff at idiots like you, I bet you just stumbled upon here and were shivering and hiding whenever the worm came and wreaked havoc-"
I quickly moved forward as he was beginning to gloat and tackled him, shoving him to the ground in a chokehold. I know Kazen did not want me to cause a ruckus, but now I have to make an example out of this little shit.
"Get- Your- Damn- Hands- Off of me!" He shrieked as he attempted to free himself.
I was struggling to hold him down; I was still in pain and reeling from yesterday's events, but I could feel some of my strength return and the pain get nullified as some adrenaline was probably entering circulation again.
"How about, you learn, your damn place you little shit!" I swore.
He began to try to dig into my arms, in an attempt to rip them off, however, I was pouring every single drop of strength I had left to keep them there. A few moments passed, and I could begin to feel his struggle weaken as I assume my attempts to cut off his airflow was working, he continued to say something, but through my anger, I just could not, would not want to understand.
However, I was then hit with a swift blow to my side, knocking the wind out of me as a third party seemed to have joined in. I rolled to the side, letting go of my grip on the dog person as I tried to recover my breath from the hit. Before I could see who was the one who delivered the hit was, I was hit once more, this time to my head from a different direction as I got knocked back from the hit.
I rushed to get up once more, but I was dealt another blow to the back of my leg, then my side, then my back. I was getting pummeled. I attempted to shield my head, but some blows were still going through; I'm getting fucking dogpiled!
I rushed forward, head down in an attempt to break through, but I was immediately shoved onto my back, the assault continuing. The blows were increasing in intensity and power. I had my eyes closed throughout the whole ordeal, but opening them to get a quick glance, I could see my health starting to plummet down once more.
"These damn… bitches… are going to kill me," I spat out in between labored breaths.
I then remembered my phone. What if they break it? If they do… I can't, I won't let them touch my shit. I'm sorry, Kazen, but I don't give a damn anymore. I need these damn people off of me, now.
"Wire Bind X!"
I had no target in mind for wire bind; I just needed breathing room, so I targeted anything around me. Wires burst forth from the ground, and I began to hear the sounds of wrapping and snapping as the blows and hits began to slow down. Along with that, voices began to call out in panic, though I could not really tell as I could only hear some ringing in my ears. My vision was very blurry.
I got up as fast as I could and looked around. The dog person, along with lots of the other people who were watching, was now being held in place or tied down with wires. I loosened my shirt, or what was left of it, and grabbed my weapon, then changed into the Ore Viper Core Revolver. As I did so, I heard what I thought were gasps as I began to wave it around at the people tied around me.
I quickly scanned the people tied down until I found the dog person tied down, with both of his arms and legs keeping him flat on the ground. I walked up to him slowly, with a slight limp as they dealt a couple of hard blows, but I could not care less at the moment. As he turned his attention from the wires holding him down to me, his face went from confusion and anger to panic as he saw my weapon.
"Wait a minute- don't tell me- they have a mythic weapon?!" he hopelessly fretted as he struggled against the bindings.
I aimed my revolver at him, and I got closer. I squatted and leaned over his body, up until the barrel was touching his forehead.
"Listen, man, I'm sorry okay?! I didn't mean it, please, please don't kill me!" he begged as he began to break down into tears.
I pressed the barrel into his skull, moved my hand over the trigger, and was about to pull the trigger, but then I had a relapse. Why the hell was I going to kill this dude, over an argument? Does this really… justify such a response? I looked to my sides; the people who were not involved were looking on in horror and panic.
"I must look like a demon or something to them, huh," I moaned under my breath.
"H-huh, what?" the dog person sniffled loudly.
I'm not one to forgive that easily though. I delivered a quick kick to the side of his head, promptly knocking him unconscious as his struggle against the bindings went limp. Some voices behind me began to pick up after I did that.
"All of this, I… I just can't with everything anymore," I sighed audibly as I shook my head.
I turned to the others around me who were still tied down or immobilized and said, "Listen, I'm definitely not sorry for tying you down after you all tried to beat me to death basically, leave me alone. I won't kill you unless you try to kill me first; then it's fair game… capiche?"
They began to look around at each other in confusion. I was not sure what the hell they were trying to communicate amongst themselves, as I heard some low whispers, but I was not having any of it.
"Capiche?" I growled.
This seemed to have caught their attention as they all quieted down.
"Capiche!" they all squealed.
"Good, I want to eat now, the bindings should go away in a bit, just stay put and leave me alone," I snarled as I began walking away.
Now thinking about it, I highly doubt they know what capiche means… I mentally facepalmed at myself as I felt the adrenaline that was coursing through my veins begin to slowly fade away. Along with that, the pain from all their kicks joined in the chorus of the many bruises I already had to begin with.
I dusted off my clothes for any dust they might have gotten on whatever remains of my school uniform. I checked my phone to see it was still in one piece, the case as always coming in clutch, the best fifty bucks I've spent to boot so far.
My head was ringing to an extent still but nothing too crazy like when I was initially hit. Still, though, the hell is their deal? I'm just trying to grab a bite; I swear sometimes I don't know how my body is able to push through all this pain, but I guess it is a mental game I suppose. No one seemed to bother me, other than a few glances, as I now walked with my weapon proudly displayed on my side.
I eventually arrived at what looked like to be a soup kitchen of sorts. There was a couple of makeshift tables made out of loosely connected logs and other stuff, the line to get the food also was not short by any means, as I could roughly guess around 30 or so animal people or whatever lined up.
"I think I might have some leftover tac fruit, though by this point it might have become rott-"
"Hey, Alex! I was looking for you yesterday; where were you?" I heard a familiar voice interrupt me as I was talking to myself.
I turned to see Conrad sitting by himself at a small table. I walked over to him without responding, which I assume puzzled him as his head turned in confusion.
"Hey, uh, Alex, you alright? You seem pretty beat up," Conrad asked questionably.
I pulled a chair from an open table and brought it over. I then sat down and got as comfortable as I could on a basically cut-up wooden log before speaking up.
"No, I'm not alright, I'm pretty upset right now if anything. I'm just… tired, tired, and hungry, I really can't put up with the crap I'm going through right now," I sighed.
There was silence as I put my head down and closed my eyes. Then, I felt a slight tap at the top of my head, and for some reason, not sure if it was a reaction lingering from earlier, I immediately shot up and swatted whatever tapped me. I realized then it was just Conrad trying to get my attention.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm just really antsy right now," I apologized.
"Hey, it's alright. Listen, I'll grab some of the beef stew that they are serving, I'll be right back," Conrad said as he got up and walked to the line of people waiting for food.
"Great, thanks, I appreciate it," I mumbled as I put my head down once more.
It's still fairly early right now, and it wouldn't hurt to get some shut-eye… though I should also figure out these new methods… some sleep couldn't hurt when waiting for food… Before I knew it, I began to doze off in broad daylight.
…
"Yes, this was the guy!"
"Um, are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm certain! He used some weird magic on me and my friends earlier!"
I could hear people talking basically right next to me. I raised my head to see two of Kazen's men and… the dog person standing there. They all jumped back a little from me suddenly shooting up. From the looks of it, he tried to report me, but they are now confused or something like that. This day is just getting worse and worse.
"What do you guys want?" I grumbled as I rubbed my eyes.
"Lew here says that you attacked him, is that true?" one of the men asked.
"Yeah, I did," I blankly said.
"See, I told you all! Apprehend him!" He shrieked.
I got up from my head and cracked my back as best I could before turning to see Lew, the dog person.
"Yeah, I beat the crap out of you after you picked a fight with me, it's self-defense. Now please, back off; I just want to eat," I said with an exasperated sigh.
I had little to no patience left, I just want to eat and sleep, I swear it was worse than yesterday right after the fight. I guess it's true what they say about the comfiness of your bed increasing whenever you wake up but not usually whenever you actually try to sleep. But considering how Kazen told me to be back within the hour, I doubt I will get any time to myself.
"That's a blatant lie! This… guy, he was claiming to have slayed the great beast, we all know it was thanks to you!" He yelled as he shook the side of one of the men's arms before continuing, "He is just an impersonator trying to freeload off of the actual heroes!"
The man, however, pulled him off and responded, "Listen, Ahem, Hero Alex, was it?"
I nodded.
He then continued, "He was there when we felled the beast, he was the one who delivered the majority of the blows and the final blow to fell the great beast. If it was not for him, I highly doubt Kazen and even us would have made it. We owe him our lives."
Lew stood in silence as he was absorbing what he just said. He turned to the other man, and he nodded in agreement. Lew then turned to face me; he seemed to want to say something but no words came out of his mouth.
"Excuse me," I heard Conrad call out behind them.
They moved to the side as Conrad came and set down a bowl and a flash of water like the one I saw whenever I first checked out the crates earlier. The bowl was filled with some watery stew with meat and diced vegetables, nothing special, I suppose.
"You know you were supposed to get half of that, but once I told them who it was for they insisted. Though a couple of others made a fuss I just ignored them and headed straight to here," Conrad said.
"Oh great thanks," I thanked him.
I began to move the soup around with the small wooden spoon that was given along with it to cool it down.
I turned to Lew and gave him an angry glare before saying, "You know it's sort of rude to stare at someone when they are trying to eat."
"Oh sorry- um… Alex," he spluttered as he began to back away.
"It's Hero Alex, for your information," I scoffed as I ate a spoonful of the meat stew, it was decent a little chewy but whatever I'm hungry.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, Sir Alex," the two men bowed.
"Yeah, it's all good, you're only doing your job that's all," I said as I waved them off.
"I thought you hated being called Sir and Hero?" Conrad chuckled.
"It grew on me," I slightly grinned as I took a drink of the water.
"Whatever you say so, Sir Alex," he jested.
I gave a chuckle before responding, "Well it's weird when you say it now that I have gotten used to being addressed without it," I said.
"Alright then… Sir Hero," he joked.
"Okay, that's enough," I smiled.
"Looks like that got your spirits up again," Conrad beamed.
"Yeah, I guess so, can I eat now, though?" I said as I took another drink of water.
"Sure, dig in," Conrad shrugged.
"Great, finally an actual meal after… I don't even know how long since the wave was."
End of Chapter 18
[Other World Index]
[Modifications]
Modifications is one of the 4 power-up methods associated with the Legendary Ranged Weapons. The Modificaitons power-up method allows the user to use M-Points which they gain from passively killing monsters, leveling up, or through sacrifice of monster material. M-Points can then be allocated to certain aspects of a broad category of weapon form types, to reduce things such as Reload Speed, Bullet Dropoff, and Bayonet Damage.
Authors Notes:
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, It is rather laid back and shorter compared to the original draft I had planned, but I decided to split up what I had planned for this chapter, which made this part seem slower with a little scuffle with Alex and the locals, how ungrateful they are! Be sure to come back next week where Alex will finally see what Kazen needs to tell him about so urgently.
MWP Server: Dis co rd. gg / Bu ha 9 Qa Kz W
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[Data Expunged] Transcript:
"We seem to be making good progress to Klut town Sire."
"Great! How long until our arrival?"
"It should be in a few hours, my Sire."
"Good, anything new I should know?"
"Yes actually Sire, we have gotten a report from a scout sent out to get support, that supposedly the town has been heavily damaged."
"Don't tell me… Have they increased the range of the iron eagles?!"
"No Sire, luckily. It seems a calamity of sorts that could not be described had happened at the town, which resulted in the loss of a large portion of the population, along with that the town as well."
"Hm…. I have done some digging as we traveled and apparently, Klut town is desegregated, is this true?"
"Yes, yes it is Sire. The town mayor decreed a few cycles ago on the need for unity and not division, and so invited the… fallen to the town."
"Don't tell me I have to help… the Fallen… do I?"
"No Sire, while we may be in the Mattero Collective which has its laws protecting the Fallen, we on the other hand are contracted under the Imperium, so we have no obligation to help or even bat an eye at them."
"Excellent, notify me if any more reports come in."
"Yes, General Coalnobai."
Date Recorded: [Data Expunged]