LightReader

Chapter 50 - Bullet Tabern - Part III

I was outside, clutching my head in frustration, trying to come up with a solution, a theory, something...But nothing.Even with boosted creativity, it was like an old TV stuck on static.

And the worst part? After wandering around nonstop looking for this damned place — I looked with disdain at the tavern sign bearing the hidden guild crest — night had already fallen over the city. But only the Silver Moon was in the sky.It didn't resemble the night before, when Karen...Shit.

The breeze was cold, but not enough to scare off the drunk mercenaries stumbling out, hyped to hit a brothel from what I overheard.(Sons of bitches. No one feels sorry for me.)

For the first time since I arrived in this world, I had no ideas.At least not now...Tired of thinking, I sat on one of those wooden benches that creaked — probably from how old they were.

Even staring at the starry sky...

All it did was remind me... of Alice.She'd definitely love these views.

I slapped my cheeks rhythmically with both hands at once.I couldn't let nostalgia derail me from the problem I needed to solve.

—"Damn it... this is tough. I was so confident I didn't even keep a single coin...Shit, I lost 10 billion. What a waste...Okay, I can generate money, I can do it...But... how the hell do I apply what I know, if I'm just some random slave?!"

I rubbed my temples like that would solve something — like squeezing my brain might unlock a secret ability — and I thought:

"Come on, I got a damn skill just for singing, give me another one already, damn it."

But that didn't solve my dilemma.Even cursing wasn't helping, and the system window wasn't giving me any alternatives...

What happens if I sell future knowledge? What about the damn butterfly effect?

—"Quincy, any ideas?" —I asked, raising an eyebrow with a face full of frustration.

[Master, you could steal or scam using your Charm...but considering your attitude, your poverty, your slave status, and your common-looking child appearance...it wouldn't change much (¬_¬")]

A vein pulsed in my eye at the audacity of my assistant on her little pink screen...And inside, I thought:

"Don't rub in what I already know, you bitch."

Minutes passed, and I kept thinking...For some reason, Quincy stopped talking to me.So I did what a desperate kid would do in a shitty world:I went to that grumpy old bastard to try and convince him...

Because I was dead sure of one thing:

"If that damn geezer can't pity a kid like me...this world is officially garbage."

Inside Bullet Tavern – A few minutes later

The smell of sweat, beer, and despair hung in the air.

Behind the bar, old Bang was wiping a glass with the kind of face someone wears when they'd rather be dead… or killing.

I approached with the humblest attitude I could fake.

—"Good evening, Mister Bang... so, uh...You wouldn't happen to have a place where I could sleep, would you?"

Bang raised an eyebrow and looked at me like I'd just asked to borrow his life.

Bang:—"Got any money?"

—"Zero. Not a single damn coin... I escaped my masters, came here with nothing." —I threw that last part in to bait some sympathy.

But he let out a long grunt, scratched his beard, then spat into the rag bucket.(A beautiful scene. Really moving.)

Bang:—"I'll give you a bed... but you start working tomorrow at dawn."

—"Sounds fair. What kind of job?"

Bang:—"Did you forget, brat? You're the new errand boy...You'll do messaging. Gotta deliver a report to the branch in Faus."

—"Faus? What's Faus?"

Bang:—"What, you been living in a cave? Your masters were cavemen?Faus is the capital. It's a bit far... but you're heading there."

—"Far... how far?"

Bang:—"Huh... You'd have to use the Teleportation Station...Just so you know, the last messenger I sent took a week to complete one delivery.And he was Gold rank."

That made me freeze on the spot.

—"A Gold-level messenger? What happened to him?"

Bang looked at me with that sour seriousness that made him look even older.

Bang:—"Jack got killed...My star messenger got torn apart by a troll.Literally.Butchered alive.Some nobody saw it... puked. Then reported it to the 'Dark Sun'."

I swallowed hard.

If a Gold-rank merc (Rank B), which according to the system window typically meant level 500 to 799...was killed by a troll...then it meant that when I died like trash as Erling, it wasn't because I sucked...

This damn world has hardcore difficulty...The programmers are a bunch of motherfuckers.

Finally, breaking the silence, Quincy spoke up:

[Master... statistically, you have a 9999% higher chance of surviving than anyone...but sadly, Master is an idiot.]

—"Thanks for the motivation, Quincy."

[Always at your service, Master bastard (˭-˭)]

—"Shut up, you disrespectful AI..."

[Nah, leave me alone, Master, and go to sleep.]

—"Fine, but you're not the boss of me..."

But it was right then that I realized… Old man Bang's eyes said it all.

Bang:—"Who the hell are you talkin' to, kid?"

—"That's just how I am… I like talkin' to myself." (Shit, I forgot Quincy's existence is only known to me… wait, does that mean I look insane to everyone else?)

Bang:—"Alright then." (This kid's got a screw loose…)

I spoke with old Bang again, and he led me to the second floor.Finally, in a room with just a bed and a small window letting in some cold night air from outside.

I was alone now.I walked up to the window — the breeze was colder.

The night darker, even with the moon out.

And me...More aware than ever that my financial future now depended on:

Some report I knew nothing about,

A teleportation station I'd never used,

And a damn world that made me feel like...

I looked up at the starry sky again.Sighed.Clenched my fists.Exhaled.

—"Fine... if I'm gonna be a messenger, an errand boy, or whatever...I'll do it my way."

This was my new goal now.It had been a mentally draining day — too much information to process —And nothing would make it better...

than a damn good nap.

More Chapters