It's been about a week since I was abducted into another world. It hasn't been fun, if "fun" is even the right word for it. It was bad enough being forcibly kidnapped, and things went from bad to worse when I was paired with an overbearing American who self-nominated himself as the captain. Then there's Nickoli, but I'll touch on him later.
Currently, it's midnight, or at least I'm not exactly sure when, but it's pretty late and I don't have a watch. I grabbed my supposed Vassal weapon attached to my back and began to inspect it. I've already double, triple, and pretty sure even quadruple-checked if it has anything to check the time with, but no luck so far.
I would at least expect a modern plane to carry one. Well, I guess I can't say too much, considering this thing looks straight out of a museum. What I'm holding in my hands and fidgeting with is my hero weapon—a plane. I've read books that mention legendary weapons or hero weapons, which the hero uses to slay a great evil. This isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind, does it? Yeah, me either. But at this point, with the stuff I've seen, this isn't exactly super surprising, well, to an extent at least.
"I don't even know why I bother anymore," I said as I put the ancient-looking biplane onto my back.
Another thing I should probably mention is how these accursed things attach to your person with no intention of letting go. While normally I would find this annoying but not super crazy to worry about, it gets worse. Turns out I can't use ANY weapon other than the small biplane that is currently attached to me.
"Well, I might as well do something else than bring my already horrible mental state down any further," I said as I got up from where I was sitting.
As stated earlier, it's nighttime, with the sky filled with stars from distant places far, far away. While the whole abduction thing was already pretty bad, this is one of the few upsides, I suppose. Back in New York, it was rare to even see the sun through the thick smog, while here the sky is always filled with celestial bodies that illuminate the sky.
A breeze passed by, reminding me of what I'm lacking—my cloak. While I would normally have it on as much as I could, for some reason, I decided to hand it over to the American who calls himself Alex. I'm not sure why I did it, to be honest, probably a spur-of-the-moment decision. Hell if I know.
Might as well check my level; I'm pretty close to 25 if I recall correctly…
Alex: LV 25
Faith: LV 24
Nickoli: LV 24
Damn, it seems even Nickoli has caught up to me. I'm still not entirely sure how this system works; I just know that killing things makes me stronger. Well, that's what Alex mentioned once, and I can pretty much assume that having a higher number means you are stronger. Well, that and leveling up – no power-up methods.
Nickoli and I only have 1 each, while Alex was somehow able to get 4. Maybe it's because he is a "Holy Hero" compared to Nickoli and me, who are Vassals. Alongside my level-up method, "Skill Rank," which is supposed to upgrade my skills... too bad I have NONE. So technically, I have no methods, which is just great.
Though in the case I do get skills, I do have some points to use for something, I suppose.
Unallocated Skill Points: 24
"Well, I have no way to use these points, so I might as well get stronger the only way I know… killing things," I said to myself as I began walking away from the fire where Nickoli and I were.
While normally it would be dangerous to leave a sleeping person by themselves, I've seen him do some things a normal person would not even survive. Also, he is inside a small miniature tank of sorts, making it unlikely he'll get into any massive danger.
Surprisingly, there was less commotion in the forest than usual. It's almost as if many monsters died in a short period of time around the area... It might just be a quiet night though; this happened last time with those wretched wolves. Luckily, I was able to slip away from one and practically give it a death sentence.
I tried to pat myself on the back but instead felt one of the Biplane wings, a constant reminder of my predicament. While a normal person would probably feel a heavy airplane strapped onto their back, turns out this one is extremely light and practically unnoticeable.
Well, unnoticeable until I try to sleep, which forces me to place it on my stomach or side. I've had my fair share of times when I tried to fix my sleeping position, only for the thud of the airplane to stop me. Another constant annoyance of having this thing glued onto me is that while I would normally seek help to get this thing off me, I don't think the denizens of this world like me that much.
I mean, other than maybe giving one a weird look the first time I saw an animal person or whatever they are standing, that's nothing. Either way, we have been imprisoned and attacked more than once by animals from wolves or dogs to lizards. This new world sure has a bunch of surprises.
I heard a slight rustling on my right in some shrubbery, "Speaking of surprises...," I whispered quietly as I grabbed the plane and placed it on my left arm.
The way the plane attacks is unique; it has two small turrets on its front that shoot out pellets of light or something in a straight shot. While before I had to use it with both hands to properly aim it, I now can hold it somewhat like a shield. Not that it would probably defend me considering how much damage monsters in this world do, but that's a whole other conversation.
I moved my left hand forward and stabilized it with my right, sort of aiming it in. I shot out a small stream of light projectiles from its turret forward, toward the direction of the rustling. There was no trigger or anything; I just subconsciously made it shoot when needed. Not sure how that works still.
The pellets quickly shot out and hit their hidden target; however, while smaller monsters would usually die instantly, I heard a low growl instead.
"Don't tell me-"
Suddenly, out of the shrubbery, a familiar-looking wolf burst out.
Dire Wolf
"I guess there's still some left even after we killed them a while back," I said as it began rushing towards me.
I continued firing, feeling no recoil from the turrets, which is something I learned pretty early on. While a good number of them hit their target, most missed somehow, and they didn't seem to do much damage to it as it continued its unwavering attack.
Before I knew it, it closed the distance, jumped up, and pounced toward me. However, I was able to quickly move under it and dodge. As it turned around and tried to recover, I continued to shoot it with more pellets.
Instead of pouncing this time, it just rushed forward, teeth bared, probably attempting to bite me. However, it left itself open for an underside attack, and I delivered a high kick under its chin, making it slam its mouth shut and jump away in panic. However, I'm not one to miss an opportunity.
I pointed the plane turrets forward at it, "Eat this, you overgrown dog!" I said as I unleashed another barrage of light pellets at it.
I seemed to have struck a nerve of sorts, as it began wildly rushing forward with no apparent sense of survival. I guess it's on its last legs if it's just thrashing around wildly, or maybe that's just how dogs fight – not exactly sure. Back when I was with Mama, one of my papa's friends had a dog, not as big as the one I'm fighting and definitely not as crazy looking.
I continued to shoot it, most of my pellets connecting and hitting him straight on, though with no major effect from the looks of it. I tried to pull the same maneuver with dodging, however, it somehow anticipated this and stopped right before lunging, waiting for me to jump to the side.
By the time I figured it hadn't lunged yet, I looked forward to seeing it now rushing forward. I was off balance, so I couldn't go for another dodge or a kick to shut him down. The last thing I could see was it moving its head forward, trying to headbutt me.
"Shit-"
It felt like a truck hit me as I was sent flying. I'm not sure how far I was sent back, but it was a good second or two of just flight before I slammed against what I assumed to be a tree. The pain was immense, though it had become a common occurrence, as this is not the first time I've gotten a heavy injury.
I struggled to get up as I tried to get my bearings. I couldn't make out much as my vision was blurry and hazy, but I could see a large figure moving towards me. I can only assume it's the wolf.
Another person in my situation would probably see this as the end; however, this is not the first time I've been faced with such circumstances... and it won't be my last. This bastard is going to learn not to mess with me.
The wolf tried to pull the same maneuver by stopping, assuming I was going to dodge, but now I won't be the one forced to dodge – it will. It slightly leaned its head forward after coming to a short stop, and I used that opening to move forward, clasped my hands together, and swung them down like a hammer with all my strength.
It worked as the wolf tried to back away, but it wasn't fast enough; it was hit, and its head slammed down onto the ground from the impact. With my hand already pointing in its general direction, I pressed on further and began to punch the damned dog over and over.
"Guess you're all bark, no bite! Oh wait, you can't even do that anymore!" I screamed nearly crazily as I continued to relentlessly pummel it.
It made some attempts to try to get up, but after a few seconds, it stopped moving, and then...
EXP +60
Which was followed by a pop-up in my field of vision, indicating my level-up. I continued to pummel the nonresponsive wolf for another short period of time until eventually, I felt the rush I normally get begin to wear off, and I started getting tired.
"That will teach you not to mess with me, you rabid beast," I said as I shook off the dust from my clothing.
My body was starting to throb and ache again, nothing I couldn't handle, but it was definitely being felt. Well, might as well check out the level-up, which I did by checking my status to confirm it.
Faith Weiss
Class: Plane Hero
Level: 25
Equipment: Small Green Konus Biplane (Legendary Weapon), Other-World Vest
Skills: None
Magic: None
"If I'm level twenty-five, then that means…," I quickly moved through my menu to my unlocked weapon forms organized in a tree-like structure.
Earlier in my previous encounters with the Dire wolves, I unlocked a weapon form that had been locked until I reached level 25, and now that I was…
Dire Wolf Biplane
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: +5 Agility
Equip Effect: Night Vision (Weak)
Well, nothing out of the ordinary, though night vision does seem rather useful, and considering it was night, I guess it doesn't hurt to swap to it. Switching to it, however, the weapon form that I was holding on my arm suddenly began to massively increase in size.
In a panic, I tried to drop the weapon, but of course, it remained glued to me even in its transformation, and before long, it finished. Now it was the size of an actual plane, albeit a small one, and still looked like it belonged to a museum.
However, considering the materials used to make the plane seemed to be made out of leather and bone, it looked more savage than anything I have seen before. I tried to walk around it; however, it just got dragged along, so I was forced to move my hand along it to see.
Looking at the front side of the plane, I saw what looked like a carving of a wolf head with its mouth open, which contained what I assumed to be the engine. I will admit it did look rather cool, but it still looked creepy in some sort of way I can't exactly pinpoint.
Continuing along the cockpit was an open-top one, so I guess this just confirms this thing is from the ancient past, pretty much. However, compared to before, this thing had what looked like a singular gun pod attached to the bottom. Alongside this, it would mean that I should be able to fly even if it does seem to lack a ton of things.
"I can already see it, me being able to leave whenever I want now with this thing. I won't need to basically follow that idiot Alex around anymore!" I quickly said in an excited flurry.
Though then that would mean me having to fend for myself, and it's not like I know any particular place to go per se. Everywhere so far has been extremely hostile to us… as much as I dislike Alex, I have to admit that it would be a death sentence to try to go out on my own.
"I guess that idiot can spout out some sense every once in a while," I said while clenching my fist.
Though while I probably can't leave, that doesn't mean that I can't go for a little test drive… I moved to where the cockpit of the plane is and hopped inside. It was rather comfy; I guess that's because the seat looks to be made of the fur of the Dire wolf. It was still a rather small cockpit due to the plane's size, but I did not care.
Surprisingly, however, there was no control of anything with how to fly it. Well, it's not like I knew how to fly a plane, to begin with; I've only flown with Papa a few times, and they used many different controls. Well, that's probably due to it being a modern one compared to this plane straight out of World War 1 if not earlier.
"Well might as well test the one thing that I know how to do," I said, beginning to mentally focus.
As I expected, the gun pod at the bottom of it fired once, though due to the angling of the plane, it went into the air.
"At least that works, so maybe it works the same way with taking off?" I said to myself questionably.
I again focused, and this time on turning on the engine and taking off, and suddenly the engine began to spurt to life. It was rather loud, but I did not care.
I grinned to myself, "Okay, now we are getting somewhere."
Eventually, the engine continued to speed up, and I could feel it tugging along the plane as it began to roll forward. It was slow at first, but after a bit, I was moving at around the same speed as Nickoli's small tank.
The main issue, however, was the trees; while normally I love to see nature and everything, trying to take off in a forest is not exactly ideal. I can see why they normally clear long runways for planes to land and take off. But considering I seem to be in a world straight out of a fairytale, I doubt they have one of those.
I continued pseudo-driving around in the plane, looking for any places open enough for me to take off. While the plane was rather small, I did not want to risk snagging a tree branch and being sent barreling down to the ground.
"That does make me wonder if that would make the plane explode from the impact of crashing… well, it's a hero weapon, so it shouldn't… Right?" I quietly remarked to myself.
Great, now a new fear has been added, though it's not like that would stop me. I want to see, I want to explore, even if it adds extra risks. I still need to mentally note the general area of where the resting place we set up is. I don't want to get lost, especially in the dark.
After what I think is around 5 or so minutes of just looking around, I did find what looked like an open enough area to take off. While the opening to the sky was rather smallish, I still don't have an exact grasp on the size of this plane. I don't care though; I have a chance, and I'm taking it.
Turns out I can also make the plane back up as well, which I did to get some distance and hopefully have enough time to take off. I've never flown a plane before, though I have seen plenty of airshows with my papa, so I know I need a decent amount of space to get airborne.
If my target was a decently sized opening a distance away, I started to power up the engines further. The change was noticeable as I began to be propelled further and faster than I thought before.
I began to speed up, now moving as fast as my car. I imagined myself taking off from the ground, and then I started feeling like I was lifting off. I was rising off the ground, the engine began to churn faster, and the plane somewhat leveled.
However, I didn't want to go higher, so I continued to sort of command the plane to tilt upwards and gain altitude. It did, but not as much as I thought by a long shot. I think I overestimated the rate at which these things can gain altitude; I wasn't rising that high off the ground.
Before I knew it, the opening was passed, and I was still rather high.
"Oh no, how do I turn this thing off?!" I said in a panicked frenzy as I was trying to figure out how to land.
A tree was ahead of me, it was a distance away, but I was on a collision course with it. I tried to focus in my panic to no avail; I wasn't able to calm my mind to do so. The plane did react as it made an abrupt attempt at a turn, dodging the tree. However, as it tried, it began to slow down massively.
There were no safety belts attached to put on, so I was wondering why I wasn't falling out for a second, before remembering it's attached to me basically. Though that was then overtaken by the thought of how I was not moving as fast and how I was still in the air. This was followed by the plane beginning to tilt downwards.
"Again?!" I said as the plane slammed against the ground, kicking up dirt, and I think even a few small monsters from the looks of the EXP I got.
Luckily, I wasn't going super fast, so the impact wasn't anything crazy. But considering my health bar or whatever that thing is at the top left is not full, I can assume it hurt me somehow. I rubbed my head as I was beginning to feel what was like another headache, this time not from Alex, surprisingly.
I took that as my cue to probably go back to the resting area. I was somehow able to make the plane level with the ground again, and I began to drive it, I guess, to where I thought I remembered the camp was. Other than some Ilumi and other small monsters that were attracted to the sound of the engine, it was rather uneventful.
Arriving back, I found Nickoli's small tank being swarmed with Ilumi, Tacts, and Konus, all trying to hurt him to no real avail considering his snoring could be heard echoing through the tank. I switched back to my smaller weapon form and began to take them out. They really did not put up much of a fight, to begin with.
I absorbed the remains, not because I wanted them or anything, but mostly due to Alex just forcing us to do so. He said something along the lines of "What if we need them for the future?" I'm not sure what a bunch of Ilumi pebbles could help with, but it's either that or him constantly nagging.
I walked over to where the now smaller fire was; I guess since I left it unattended, it just started to burn out. I tossed a few more sticks and small branches into it to reinvigorate it, which was followed by me feeling the welcoming heat from it growing again.
I gave a small yawn; I guess I was more tired than I thought I was. I was tempted to sleep; however, unlike Nickoli, I apparently got injured heavily from every little thing. I still don't understand why or how to fix it, but it's going to be a constant thorn in my side until I do.
"Well, since I have nothing better to do, I might as well do something," I said as I opened my menu and looked into the help menu.
Normally I don't bother with reading long manuals, but since there isn't much else to do other than eating, moving, and sometimes killing a small monster, there are long periods of downtime. And I have caught myself using more and more of that downtime to read the help menu, to see if I can find anything useful.
I looked through the many pages of information, skimming through them mostly until I saw something that interested me.
[Weapon Copy] Wielders of a Legendary Weapon can copy variants of their respective weapon for later use.
"Well, isn't that great? Let me just find a modern jet in a medieval world so I can weapon copy it," I sarcastically grumbled to myself as I continued looking through the menu.
[Translation] Legendary Weapons are able to translate any verbal language or dialect into the user's primary language. However, this does not apply to written language.
Another thing we found out pretty early on. With Alex being American and Nickoli being Russian, I can assume they are speaking English and Russian respectively. Of course, if these magical hero weapons did not translate, then I doubt we would have come to any agreement.
This does make me wonder if there is a way to turn off any of these features, though it's not like I would consider it since most seem to benefit me in some kind of way.
[Weapon Restriction] Wielders of the Legendary Weapons are not allowed to wield any other weapon other than their assigned one.
Another one I learned pretty early on, with me trying to stab Alex with my knife, only for something like this to pop up. Though I don't remember that much; the first few minutes of my transportation were more like a fast flurry of events in my head.
My headache continued to get worse, "Augh, I guess I'll stop now as this does not seem to be helping," I said as I closed my menu completely.
My head and body hurt, and I can't go to sleep just yet. Isn't that just great… If only there was a way to get out of this situation. Well, if anybody did know, it would probably be Papa. He was always called the most adaptive and innovative by his friends whenever I hung around them.
He would have surely probably found a way to get back home by now, well, maybe. I don't think his ideal environment is in another world. But then again, it has been a long while since I have seen him… Back when I was… 12? No, 13, years of age. Since that is when Papa decided it was safer for us to go into hiding with Mama.
Which then was followed by a period of time with us moving from house to house in District 4. Which eventually led us to end up in District 9 of all places… I don't want to recall being in District 9, but considering I have spent my last 5 years there, it's hard not to.
I mean, it's not like I had many friends… well, any friends for that matter. I guess I can count my partnership with Aldo as a friendship of sorts, though that lasted for less than a month as he was killed by the prowling Enforcer squads. I guess there is only so much a cocktail can do against a modern tank.
I gave a small sigh, "I just wonder how everyone back at Camp is holding up," I whispered to myself, reminiscing on my time there.
The Camp is a place where other people like me, though not exactly the same, more like fugitives, criminals, and robbers, stay in relative safety from the Enforcers who prowl the streets near daily. With the Camp being underground in some long-forgotten large basement, everyone there, while violent, is united in the fact that we know there are bigger threats.
Everybody gets a small area for themselves, which my little brother and sister used to stay in. It was fine; while it was nothing spacious or luxurious, with a few scavenged blankets and pillows, it felt like home. Though ever since that raid on the warehouse, I was transported to this place.
I still remember it clearly, me scavenging a couple of crates labeled CONTRABAND, where I found this weird book called, "The Hero's Mission to Stop the Sky Cracking." It caught my eye, as books are a rare find outside District 0-3. I was about to open it before I heard yelling behind me, and before I could react, it all went white, and I was here.
With me already pumping with adrenaline and in a bright new environment, I guess that can explain my sudden outburst at Alex… not that I feel bad. He wasn't exactly being helpful with how overbearing and commanding he is, but that's a discussion for another time.
Either way, I was sent here, and I need to get back no matter the cost. I left both of my siblings back at camp, so I can assume they are safe for now. However, it's not like it's a charity there; people bring their own food and supplies, and they don't exactly give handouts.
Though I think I have taught my little brother Felix enough so that he can fend for himself. Well, I hope so. I know how reckless he has started becoming sinc-
"I'm back, glad to see you guys are in one piece," I heard a familiar voice say.
I turned to see, and not to my surprise, I saw Alex walking over to the fire, looking... happy?
"What's up with you looking all gay-like?" I asked Alex.
"I met someone who actually did not want to kill me on sight for once," he happily remarked.
"Uh-huh, anyways, what did you bring back?" I asked him expectantly.
"I brought back some Jewley of sorts, some rope for a weapon form for you or Nickoli, and some healable," he noted as he began rummaging through the air.
"I see, anyways, could I get my cloak back?" I asked him.
"Oh sure," he said as he began to take it off and then handed it to me, "Here, thanks for letting me use it."
"You're welcome?" I said questionably as I searched through the pockets of the stuff I did not take out, making sure he did not take anything.
"Anyways, I'm sleeping, night," he said as he walked over to where Nickoli was and lay down.
Right before, however, he seemed to have changed his weapon form to what looked like a bow made of some weird colored glass, not sure how to describe it.
"Wait, where did you get that?" I asked him, rather confused, as he had stated he only had a rope for a weapon form, which he had not given yet.
However, to my dismay, there was no response. One of the things I dislike about Alex is he almost always falls asleep instantly. Like he has any right to be as tired as he is, even though I do most of the work here. It's annoying but a consequence of being forced to pair with people.
"Well, there goes my chances of sleeping. I guess I can wait till later, I suppose."
End of Chapter 11
[Other World Index]
[Plane Weapon Copy Requirments]
The Vassal Plane is only allowed to copy weapon forms that have the capability of sustained flight over a period of time. The said weapon form must also have the main way of propulsion be through an engine of sorts to power it.
Authors Note:
Hello everyone, I hope you all enjoyed this rather different chapter from a different POV. I plan on more of these different POV chapters coming in the future, but a majority will remain in Alex's so don't think this is the end of his POV. Anyways be sure to come back next week and find out what happens to Alex and Co next time!
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