Aiden sat back on a half-burnt log, calling up his stat screen. The glowing panel flickered to life in front of him, numbers flat-out mocking him with how tragically below average they were.
[Status Window]
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 5
Magic: 4
Luck: 7
He squinted at the numbers. "…Wow. These aren't mid. These are charity case stats. I've seen NPC shopkeepers with better gains."
Dragging the points around, he dumped them in evenly across the board, watching the numbers rise like they'd just finished a protein shake.
[Stat Points Invested. Updated Status:]
Strength: 9
Agility: 10
Endurance: 9
Magic: 8
Luck: 11
Aiden leaned back with a smug grin. "Balanced, baby. Not overpowered, not pathetic—just survivable enough that I won't die from tripping over a tree root."
The system chimed again, a new line scrawling across his vision.
[Tip: Special Feature will unlock at Level 5.]
[Warning: The path of the Hero is absolute. If you abandon the Demon King objective, you will be erased.]
Aiden's grin faltered for the first time. "…Erased erased? Like, delete save file erased?"
Silence. The screen faded.
"Cool. Nothing like having the threat of total existence wipe hanging over my head. Love that." He slapped his knees and stood. "Guess first step is finding civilization before I get erased for being AFK."
He focused, picturing what he needed. His plain clothes shimmered, replaced by heavy military cargo pants, a green tactical vest, fingerless gloves. A Glock holster hugged his thigh, the flamethrower vanishing into his inventory with a flick.
To top it off, a pair of dark aviators slid onto his face. He rolled his shoulders, smirking at his reflection in the faint system screen glow.
"Call me Operator Aiden. Sponsored by absolutely nothin'."
He pulled out a crisp, branded cigarette pack, tapped one free, and lit it. The smoke curled as he blew it out slow.
"This world's not ready for me."
Holstering the Glock, he strode out of the smoldering clearing, boots crunching leaves. The forest stretched endless, but he scanned the trees with mock soldier seriousness until—
A packed dirt road cut through the woods ahead.
"Bingo." He adjusted his shades, cigarette glowing between his fingers. "Step one to saving the world: find a town. Step two: register as an adventurer. Step three… profit."
He flicked ash onto the dirt and started walking.
Aiden adjusted his vest, flicked the last ember of his cigarette into the brush, and started pushing through the trees. The forest was quiet now, just the crunch of his boots and the faint hum of the system menu he'd finally closed.
"Stats upgraded, loadout secured. Now all I need is Wi-Fi and a minimap and I'm golden."
Branches snagged at his cargo pants, and once or twice his shades almost slipped when he ducked under low limbs. He didn't mind. It gave him time to play soldier, sweeping his gaze left and right like he was about to clear a building.
Minutes turned to an hour. Just when he started to wonder if he'd picked the 'spawn in the middle of nowhere' difficulty setting, the trees thinned. Ahead, packed dirt cut a straight line through the woods. A road.
Aiden froze, staring at it like it was a treasure chest. "…Oh my god. Civilization unlocked."
He strolled onto the road, boots kicking dust. Adjusted his shades. Holstered his Glock with a spin.
He paused, looking both ways like a kid about to cross traffic. "Pretty sure I go… this way." He picked a direction at random and started walking, hands in his vest pockets, the smirk never leaving his face.
Aiden stopped dead on the road. He tapped his chin.
"Wait. Hold on. Why the hell am I walking?"
He glanced at his empty surroundings, then at his holstered Glock. His grin spread. "If I can summon pants, shades, and cigs… why not a ride?"
The thought alone made the system flicker. Blue text scrolled:
[Summoning Item: 2003 Toyota Corolla]
[Mana Cost: 80/80 remaining]
"Perfect," Aiden whispered, hands together like he was praying.
Light split the air in front of him, bending and sparking until the outline of a car slammed into reality. Metal thudded onto the dirt road, suspension groaning. A silver Corolla, paint scratched but faithful.
Aiden's grin widened—right until his system flashed red.
[Mana: 0/80]
His knees buckled, head pounding like someone had driven nails through it. He staggered, grabbing the car door for balance.
"…Motherf—seriously? Mana drain?!" He squinted at the dashboard message floating midair. "Of course summoning eats magic. Should've known. Still worth it."
He slid into the driver's seat, the familiar cloth cushioning him like he'd never left Earth. Fingers shaking, he shoved the key in, turned it. The engine coughed, sputtered, then roared to life.
Aiden leaned back, a hand over his heart, dramatic tears in his eyes. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially gaming. On-road DLC unlocked."
He rolled the shades higher on his nose, gripped the wheel, and slammed his foot down. The Corolla lurched forward, kicking up dust down the fantasy road like it belonged in a Fast & Furious spin-off.
"Eat shit, horses."
The Corolla rattled down the dirt road, engine coughing but still screaming like a champ. Aiden hummed tunelessly, one hand on the wheel, the other flicking through his nearly empty mana bar.
That's when the system window pinged.
[Quest Generated: Rescue the Captive.]
Description: A noble's daughter and her butler are captured by roadside bandits. Interfere and defeat them.]
Reward: ???]
Aiden blinked at the glowing text, then squinted at the horizon. Up ahead, a horse-drawn carriage sat at an angle across the road, wheels snapped, bandits circling like flies. A girl in a torn dress was shoved to the ground, an older man in formal wear tied beside her.
"Oh for fu—seriously? First main quest already?!"
He slammed both hands on the wheel. "Alright, fine. Fast-travel it is."
He pressed the brake, but the pedal went soft under his foot. The Corolla shuddered, but didn't slow nearly enough.
"Oh no no no—"
Dust and gravel exploded behind him as the car screamed straight into the carriage. The wooden frame splintered like matchsticks, bandits diving out of the way. One unlucky bastard was sent flying over the hood before rolling off the side.
The horses panicked, tearing free of the reins, galloping into the trees. The whole scene froze in silence—every bandit, the noble girl, the butler—staring at the dented metal beast idling in the road.
Aiden shoved the door open, stepped out, adjusting his shades with a dramatic two-finger push. His cargo pants and vest still covered in forest dust, Glock holstered at his side.
The bandits pointed at him, faces pale.
"The hell is that?!"
"Some kind of… metal golem?!"
Aiden blew out a long drag from his cigarette, flicking the ash on the dirt. His smirk was razor sharp.
"Metal beast? Nah." He patted the Corolla's hood. "This? This is called roadside assistance."
The dust hadn't even settled when the bandits started laughing.
One, with a rusted axe slung over his shoulder, spat on the ground. "Oi, look at this clown. Weird clothes, funny thing on his eyes… and he wrecked his own carriage tryin' to play hero."
Another kicked the broken wood of their victim's carriage. "Metal beast? Pfft. More like a drunk noble's toy. Bet it breaks if I kick it hard enough."
They all howled, blades glinting in the sun. Easy ten of them, maybe twelve. Confident as fuck.
Aiden just stood there, leaning against his Corolla like a poster boy for bad decisions. He raised his shades just enough to peer at them directly, smirk widening.
"You know… back home, guys like you are tutorial fodder. You pop up, shout some threats, then drop coins and weak gear when I'm done. Am I supposed to be scared?"
The axe-bandit sneered. "You should be. You're outnumbered, stranger."
"True," Aiden said, sighing dramatically. "But see, that only matters if you're… how do I say this…" He tapped his temple. "…in a game that gives a damn about balance."
They hesitated, then roared with laughter again.
"Madman!" one shouted.
"Take him alive, we'll sell him with the others!" another barked.
Aiden reached slowly to his side, fingers brushing the Glock's grip. He tilted his head, cigarette hanging off his lips. "Alright. Just so we're clear—don't blame me when the recoil makes this look messier than planned."
He drew the gun in one fluid motion, aimed at the axe-bandit, and squeezed the trigger.
BANG!
The shot cracked like thunder, echoing through the trees. The bandit's head snapped back, body collapsing instantly.
Aiden stumbled from the recoil, nearly smacking himself in the face with the kick. "Jesus—! This thing hits harder than the games." He steadied himself, shaking his wrist out, then leveled the Glock again.
The bandits, once cocky, were frozen, eyes wide.
"What—what was that?!"
"He pointed the… the tiny crossbow and—"
"Shut up and kill him!"
Aiden smirked, half-crouched behind the Corolla's hood, eyes burning with the mix of fear and thrill.
"Round two, boys. Let's dance."