"Finally!" A surge of victory coursed through her as the last enemy's health bar hit zero. "GG boys," she typed quickly into the team chat.
With a happy sigh, she messaged her teammates.
[play again later?]
[yeah sure]
The curt reply didn't matter; they had won. She leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms high above her head with a satisfying pop. "All right, that's taken care of. Now, time for lunch."
She powered down her computer, the whir of the fans dying down.Grabbing her keys, the sound of the lock clicking behind her, she stepped out of her apartment. The afternoon sun was warm on her face, a welcome change from the pale glow of her monitor. Her stomach rumbled, a reminder of her sole mission: find a convenience store.
"Ah, there."She spotted a small shop on the corner and made her way toward it. A chime above the door announced her arrival.
"Welcome," the cashier greeted her.
She offered a brief nod in reply.
"Afternoon."
She headed straight for the ready-made food section, scanning the shelves. "Hmm, I'll take this one and that," she murmured, picking up a bento box and a drink before heading to the counter.
"Is that all, ma'am?" the cashier asked.
"Yep, that's everything."
"That'll be thirty-four dollars and fifty cents."
"Dang, that's expensive," she muttered, pulling out her wallet. She handed the cashier the money.
"Thank you. Come again!"
She left the store, the plastic bag with her lunch rustling gently in her hand. The plan was simple: get home, eat, and spend the rest of the day playing with the boys.
Ding.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, a little confused, and her eyes widened. The screen showed a message from an unknown account.
"What? Who's this?"
Lost in thought, her attention was completely on the glowing screen. She didn't notice the screech of tires or the rumbling sound of a large engine. A semi-truck, its driver frantically trying to regain control, veered suddenly, its massive side slamming into her.
As she fell, the world seemed to slow down. The plastic bag with her lunch flew from her grasp, the bento box inside tumbling across the asphalt. She saw the truck's logo, the message on her phone, and the blue sky above.
[thank for accepting transporting user now...] the message said. But she didn't read it as she was already falling.
"Well... I guess... the game was rigged from the start, huh?"
Her final thought, a quiet farewell, vanished as everything faded to black.
A flash of brilliant light, and a system window appeared out of nowhere.
[Forsaken System now activated.]
[Name: Chance
Lv:1
HP: 100%
SP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Strength: 3
Perception: 3
Endurance: 3
Charisma: 7
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 3
Luck: 10]
[Skills:
Chance's Favor: a coin flip that, on heads, grants charges for her other abilities and health. More charges make the shot more powerful when firing the flintlock.
Flintlock (one charge to infinity): With sufficient charges from Chance's Favor, Chance's flintlock can be switched to stun or to kill. It can use one charge instead of all of it.
Hat Fix (three charges): This ability allows Chance to recover her flintlock if it has been lost and makes her immune to damage for a short time.
Reroll (ten charges): This ability allows Chance to change her stats except her luck. It also changes her HP, MP, and SP. More charges mean a better stat change.
Character Change: when used, the user can change her character into the characters in Forsaken. This includes the killers as well but has a cost of money.]
A strange, almost nostalgic feeling washed over her as she read the system notifications. Reincarnated. And with a gun in her hand that felt as natural as a part of her own body.
"This is strange," she murmured, standing up to survey her new form. She ran her hands over the fabric of her new clothes. "So I got a suit? And a skirt?" A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"Well, it's better than nothing."
She focused on the Character Change skill, and a new window popped up, displaying a list of familiar names.
[Survivors
Guest 1337: cost 500 gold
Two Time: cost 500 gold
Shaletski: cost 500 gold
Elliot: cost 500 gold
007n7: cost 500 gold
[...]
Killers
1x: cost kill 500
Coolkid: cost kill 500
[...] ]
"Damn, for killers, I have to pay that many?" she said in disbelief before a wave of calm washed over her.
"Luckily, I played this game with my friends a long time ago, but..." She looked around, the dense, unfamiliar forest stretching out in every direction. "Okay, let's go."
As she started walking, her hand brushed against something metallic in her pocket. A small, gold coin. She pulled it out and, on a whim, flipped it into the air.
[One charge]
The system notification appeared instantly. "So, just flipping this, I got a charge. Nice." She flipped it again, and again, and again. It was a perfect heads every single time. A testament to her incredible Luck stat.
Eventually, the charges accumulated.
[24 charges]
"Let me test this out." She grabbed her Flintlock and aimed it at a nearby tree. "Bang!"
The shot didn't just pierce the first tree. It tore through it, then through the one behind it, and the one behind that, until ten trees were left with a smoking, fist-sized hole through their trunks. A small boom echoed through the silent forest.
"Wow! This fired like a tank shell or something. With 24 charges, this is powerful," she thought, admiring her gun.
She continued her journey, hoping to find a town or village. The forest was eerily quiet, the only sound the crunch of leaves under her boots. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, she spotted a horse-drawn cart headed down a dirt road toward a distant city.
"That was lucky," she thought, her heart soaring. She ran to get the attention of the coachman, a kind-faced older man with a weathered hat.
"Sir, can I please join you?" she asked, her sudden appearance startling him.
"Erm... Eh, okay. Get in, lady," he said, and she quickly climbed into the back.
"So, lady, you're headed to the city with me?" he asked.
"Yeah, I was hoping to hitch a ride with you 'cause I've been walking towards the town," she said, her voice full of relief.
"Man, you must've been walking forever. Anyway, where'd you come from?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"I can't tell you that if I could," she said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"Mhm... Okay then," he said, sensing her desire to change the subject.
The rest of the journey was quiet until they arrived at the city gates. Guards in polished armor stood watch, checking for identification.
"ID?" a guard asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her.
"Uhm..." Chance faltered. She had no ID, no documentation, nothing to prove she was from this world.
"She's with me, sir," the coachman said quickly, his voice surprisingly firm. The guard's expression relaxed, and he nodded, letting them pass.
"Thank you, sir," Chance said, her voice filled with gratitude.
"Don't worry about it," he said with a small smile.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
"Well, uhm... you look like a good person, and it's also nice to have connections with a noble," he admitted.
"Wait, a noble? I don't even look like one." she thought. Her eyes caught her reflection in a shop window. The glass showed a young woman in a fine suit jacket and a long, flowing skirt, her hat sitting perfectly on her head. Her features were delicate, her posture regal.
"Now I get why he said that." I am a noble, she realized, looking back at the coachman.
"Anyways, thank you for your help and the ride," she said, her voice full of genuine thanks.
"No problem, miss," he said happily, his cart rumbling on as she stepped onto the cobblestone streets of the city.