Chapter 7: The Conclusion?

"As long as it exists, I can shoot it, right?"

—Meisatsu Kanezuka

"GLOCK BACKHAND STRIKE!" Meisatsu yelled still holding a pose.

The crowd watching, was left completely stunned, flabbergasted, befuddled even, by the sudden turn of events, so much so that they were left in utter silence, trying to make sense of the spectacle they had just witnessed.

Suddenly—

WOOOOOOOOOOOOAH!

Spontaneously they all burst into cheers, completely thrilled at the stunt the Hero just pulled. Kids watching the fight chanting—

“GLOCK BACKHAND STRIKE!!!”

—as they struck the same pose Meisatsu, was still holding...

Their little eyes lit up with nothing but pure admiration for the Hero that stood before them.

Umare, who until now was arched like a bamboo shoot bending in the wind, slowly started to regain his posture, returning to his maximum height.

Now—once again—towering over Meisatsu, who quickly took aim at his forehead.

“Hmmph!” Umare raised his sword high in a fluid motion.

Shoot! I thought that last hit would definitely knock him out or something. Guess the title of Fifth Strongest ain’t no joke.

What the hell am I supposed to do now? Meisatsu thought as he suffered a mini panic attack.

“Meisatsu Kanezuka,” Umare grinned, slowly turning to face the crowd gathered before them.

“I, Umare Ikusade, hereby acknowledge you as a worthy member of the Explorers Guild.” He paused.

“Also, you have displayed strength that one can only deem suitable for a Hero, the one that would save the world, from the Demon King and his kin.”

Ehhh? Meisatsu thought, as he tried to make sense of his current predicament, his mind going blank from the shock.

“That’s my Satsu!!!” Ayame yelled—

as she grabbed the woman who had calmed her down earlier, by the shoulder, vigorously rocking her back and forth.

“Oh yeah, I never caught your—” Ayame looked in all directions but—

The lady had vanished without a trace.

Hmm...That’s weird—I could have sworn she was right—

Meh, what matters now is that my little brother has finally shown that cocky Umare his place, heh heh.

Meisatsu, who had finally caught on to what unfolded before him, turned to his right to see none other than Ayame running at full speed toward him—arms wide—getting ready to attack him with a bear hug.

“Oh SATSU!!!” she yelled as she dived in for the hug.

CRASH!

Ayame landed in the dirt, eyes swirling.

“Why did you dodge?” She questioned. “Don’t you love your big sis anymore, huh Satsu?”

Meisatsu could only scratch the back of his head, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“Sorry...” he said. “I guess I’m still on edge because of the whole, well... fight and stuff.”

Umare erupted with laughter, almost dropping his sword in the process.

“So, you’re related to this brat hmm?” He turned, sizing up Meisatsu who still looked like he was ready to throw down at any instant.

“Why didn’t you say so?” he said raising his shoulders in an inquisitive manner. “I would have pummeled him a lot harder.”

It turned out that, at the time Ayame Kanezuka, was a close contender for the fifth spot as the strongest member of the guild. Only by the smallest of margins, did Umare outclass her—hence their rivalry.

“Grrrr...” Ayame grumbled as her hair began to curl upwards and a dreadfully malicious expression slowly formed on her face—

THUD!

Sprawled out, laying on the ground was Meisatsu who had collapsed face-first, to the ground—showing no signs of consciousness—

“Oi! Kid?” Umare called out, as he crouched next to Meisatsu.

“Satsu? SATSU!!!” Ayame screamed—

DARKNESS.

In the familiar empty void, that Meisatsu found himself in, he saw the scroll shining—ever so brightly—

GUN HERO Level 2

UNLOCKED: GUN MARTIAL ARTS

UNLOCKED: RELOAD

So umm... is this like a list of abilities I unlocked from that battle or something? Doesn’t really go into much detail from the looks of it.

He then caught a glimpse of what appeared to be—a speaker icon, located at the bottom left of the scroll.

Maybe if I hit this icon, it’ll give me a better explanation. Can’t really make much of this writing

TAP!

Meisatsu felt a slight rumble throughout the entire space—

“Hello!” a voice echoed within the void. “I am your personal voice assistant, here to help you on your “Heroic Quest” to defeat the Demon King.”

Was it just me or did my scroll just give me sass—wait, before that, it spoke? Meisatsu pondered.

Wait, is this like that new update they added to ChatBPT back in my other world?!

“To make things easier, you can just call me Scroll, and I’ll address you as Satsu.”

“Now hold on a dang—”

“Ugh, fine, I’ll call you Meisatsu.” The voice replied. “Happy now?”

“Yeah, whatever...just tell me this whole unlocked this and unlocked that situation.”

I mean, it is kind of weird for some voice I just met to start calling me Satsu. Anyone other than Ayame calling me that is just...I dunno strange?

“I’ll keep it brief then,” Scroll cleared his throat?

“The text you see written on me, reflects your growth and any new abilities you pick up.” Scroll continued—

“The higher your level goes, the more powerful these skills become. You could say, they grow alongside you. This would happen at a proportional rate of course.”

“And I’m sure you could have some faint idea of how the new abilities work, right? Or should I spell it out for you?” Scroll’s voice sounding annoyingly taunting.

“I guess something to do with Karate with guns... and I can reload guns when I want?”

“Meh, close enough. Right now, your Level as a Hero is just too low to use them for extended periods of time. You’ll have to be a lot more cautious, so you won’t pass out due to using up too much magic.” Scroll replied bluntly.

“Wait, I passed out???” Meisatsu shouted.

“That’s right—pretty funny too!” Scroll snickered.

“Satsu? Hey, Satsu, wake up...”

GASP!!!

Meisatsu sprang up from the bed where he lay, startling both Ayame, Lysa and Umare who were all seated beside him.

“H-he seems stable now,” Lysa said sheepishly.

Ayame moved up close to Meisatsu, only to give him a light chop to the head.

“Don’t scare me like that next time, okay?”

“Promise!” Meisatsu said with his signature grin.