Natsuki Subaru leaned against the alleyway wall, arms crossed, watching the people walk past.
'Can't believe this is real,' Subaru thought to himself.
"He really sent me here," he muttered, sighing as he regretted his choice of arguing with that being over his own opinion.
'I shouldn't have made that bet with him.' Subaru chuckled bitterly, his eyes closed.
Suddenly, shadows blocked the sunlight. When he opened his eyes, a group of thieves stood before him, a massive guy, a skinny one, and a small guy the size of a kid. Their nicknames were Ton, Chin, and Kan.
"Oi, hand over your stuff, pretty boy," Ton growled, trying to intimidate him.
*One of them has a knife, I think.* Subaru planned to strike the moment he saw an opening.
"Here, take it," he said, holding out the grocery bag.
Chin snatched it, but Subaru lunged, attempting to tackle him and seize the knife. Before he could, Ton intercepted him the massive man's fist slammed straight into Subaru's head, sending him crashing to the ground.
The impact was brutal. Subaru's skull struck the pavement, and something worse followed a concussion, slowly killing him.
He couldn't move. He could see, but his body refused to obey.
'I—I can't…'
Desperately, he tried to twitch a finger, to roll over, but his limbs betrayed him.
"Quick, before anyone sees," Kan urged.
The thugs rifled through his pockets, stealing his phone and wallet before abandoning him on the cold ground.
With each passing second, Subaru felt his life slipping away.
'I'm gonna die again… Unbelievable.'
Just before the darkness swallowed him, he glimpsed white socks and shoes.
'Emilia…?'
Then nothing.
The world began to reverse.
Within seconds, Subaru was standing right back where he had first arrived in this world in the middle of a road full of people.
But Subaru began twitching as the pain from his memories surged through his brain. He fell to his knees, clutching his head.
After a few seconds, he finally calmed himself, though his breathing remained heavy.
"I can't die again."
Subaru got up and took a deep breath.
'But I do need to save Emilia and the other two.'
He started asking around for the nearest trusted merchant who would buy a Metia. Once he found one, he headed straight to the Hoshin Merchant Company.
"I want to sell a Metia."
He was guided to a room with an appraiser and the merchant. Subaru presented the device he intended to sell.
The appraiser was skeptical as far as he could tell, it was just a glowing Metia.
But then Subaru demonstrated the camera and video functions, which instantly captured their intense interest.
Encouraged, he grew more confident and proceeded to show them more features: a snake game, notes, songs, voice recordings, and more.
"However, this Metia needs to be recharged using a small current of electric magic." Subaru pointed to where the energy should be directed and explained the battery system.
He continued, "Because of its many functions, it's also very fragile."
The appraiser leaned in and whispered to the merchant.
"Given what we've seen, this is likely one of a kind," the appraiser said.
"Yes," Subaru confirmed.
The appraiser nodded, and the merchant spoke up. "We're willing to pay 500 gold for it."
Subaru thought for a moment. "I don't need money, I need a durable sword. I'm heading into a fight."
The merchant smiled, realizing Subaru needed the weapon quickly.
"We do have a sword in our inventory made of adamantite, forged by a Kararagi smith using dwarven techniques."
"Let me see it first," Subaru said. Inside, he was grinning at the thought of wielding a reliable blade.
The merchant called an assistant to bring out the sword. When it arrived, Subaru tested its weight, it was slightly heavy, but not as much as a longsword.
(Image Here)
"I'll take it," Subaru said, offering a handshake. The merchant shook his hand. "Pleasure doing business with you."
"And one more thing, do you know where the slums are?" Subaru asked.
. . . .
In the slums, Subaru jogged toward the farthest house, his sword at his side. The scene was just as he remembered from the anime.
But when he arrived, he saw a beautiful woman gripping a petite girl golden-haired, with crimson-red eyes by the neck. The girl sobbed as a dead man lay on the table: a massive, muscular old man, his head split open.
The woman was gutting the girl's stomach.
Subaru ripped his sword from its sheath and slashed downward. The woman released the girl and parried with a dagger in her left hand. She closed the distance instantly, forcing Subaru to dodge and block her next attack.
His stance was sloppy. She flanked him, slipped into his guard, and kicked him square in the gut, sending him flying.
"How wonderful! A guard here to stop me?" the woman mused, grinning. "How did you track my steps?"
"I didn't," Subaru spat, rising and shifting into a fool's guard a stance he only knew from online sword videos. He was semi-decent at best.
Her grin widened. She rushed him again, this time with two daggers one freshly looted from the corpse.
Subaru, still a beginner, struggled to defend himself. His poor structure left openings, and every counter left him nicked. His blocks barely held.
Then, in a burst of rage, the golden-haired girl lunged at the woman only to catch a dagger straight through her skull. She crumpled, lifeless.
Subaru forced himself to look away. The woman's bloodlust and his own adrenaline were the only things keeping him from vomiting.
He charged again. And again. His body was a canvas of slashes, blood pouring from his wounds, exhaustion creeping in. After the second exchange, she saw his weakness.
She disarmed him. Despite his amateur skills, his sword had kept her at bay until now.
She feinted, making him flinch and raise his blade to block an attack that never came. Instead, she tackled him, knocking his sword free.
As she drove a dagger toward his face, Subaru tried to block her wrist like in the movies but she simply slammed the pommel downward.
The blade plunged into his eye.
"ARGHHHH!!!" Subaru screamed, tears and blood streaming from his ruined socket.
She laughed, her smile stretching ear to ear.
Thrashing wildly, he kicked her off, yanked the dagger from his eye, and hurled it aside as he staggered to his feet.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH!"