Gacha System: Reborn In The Hardest World

As his fists bled and his bones felt brittle, everything else was deafened. As his breath left like fire from his lungs, only hearing his heart thumping in his ears, he found himself staring down the court with seconds left on the shot clock, dribbling the ball. 

It was the same; seeking a game winner in the championships and fighting for his life. Both required the same thing from him: everything he had. 

At that moment, seeing the noble woman desperately weaving the spell, witnessing the warrior struggle to stand to help him, it was Dolus' fist that overtook his vision— 

[Chance Summoning complete…You've obtained…!] 

[Skill Temporarily Obtained: (UR) "Godspeed"] 

The knuckles of the unbreakable man remained in front of his eyes, not yet making contact. Did he stop? No—it wasn't that; that fist was still moving, slowly. 

'Everything has slowed down…? No, right now—I'm just that fast?' He questioned. 

Watching the fist approach, he simply stepped out of the way, watching it move right past him. It felt as though he was simply untouchable; invincible in a way different from the unbreakable man. 

'This skill…If I had something like this permanently, everything would be different,' he thought, stepping behind the slow-motion hunter. 

Using the surging speed flowing through his limbs, he pushed both hands against the side of Dolus' body. At that exact moment— 

[Temporary summoning over.] 

'Already?!' He thought. 

The slowed down perception vanished as everything was brought back to speed just as Dolus was flung across the ground. 

"Hah! Where were you hiding that?!" Dolus shouted with joy as he immediately hopped back to his feet. 

It was no use, it seemed; there was simply nothing he could muster that would keep the relentless hunter down. 

"Temporary Summon—!"

"I won't let you keep doing that!" Dolus shouted, pacing right for him. 

—There would be no time to get the next summon off as he watched the man sprint right towards him across the steel flooring. 

"Ars Grandvola!" 

Before he could find out the fate that awaited in another clash with the Venator, the voice of Blythe filled the chamber. 

A light expanded throughout the chamber, encapsulating his entire essence. It felt as though his body became weightless amidst that radiance, experiencing the air fluctuating around him. 

"Run all you like. I'll find you, Gael." 

[EXP: +150] 

[Level Up!] [5 -> 7] [10/100] 

[BODY: +3] [MANA: +3] 

[PERMANENT SUMMON: +2] 

The proclamation came from Dolus' lips as a promise before the grand spell was embarked— 

"Woaaaaah!" 

It felt as if his entire being was being siphoned through a tube, traveling along a stream of blue light. Though he'd wielded his fair share of magical abilities in his short time on Gaia, it was his first time truly experiencing it—"magic." 

There was no way of truly understanding what was happening, only that he was being moved far, far away. 

It felt like an intense rollercoaster, moving at mach speed before— 

"Ahhhh!" 

—It stopped. 

He dropped down, landing directly against solid ground as the warp met its destination. He laid there against the peculiar surface before picking himself up with a groan. 

'Where…?' He wondered. 

The unknown place he found himself in was a massive forest, though next to a rampant waterfall, hearing the water streaming downward. 

As he brought himself up to his feet, he glanced over to find the familiar sight of the silver-haired woman. It was rare to see Blythe with a perplexed expression of her own, though mixed with some annoyance. 

"It seems I miscalculated the spell, just slightly," Blythe admitted with a quiet sigh, folding her arms over her chest. 

"Where are we?" Gael asked, not knowing even the slightest sense of direction in the foreign world. 

The noble woman pointed down at the grass while looking at him, "A forest." 

"I could've told you that!" Gael responded without getting a real answer. 

"Well, while I'm not sure as to our specific coordinates, we shouldn't be far from where I intended us to go. That is, we should be within the territory of Galios," Blythe explained to him. 

All of it sounded like gibberish to him, scratching his head as he gave a look that was likely confusing as it brought the girl to continue. 

Blythe brushed the blades of grass from the frills of her dress, "Galios is the only kingdom left that is able to oppose Mastorn. It doesn't just not reject Outlanders, but it welcomes them." 

"So it's the only place I'm not hated in this world?" Gael asked. 

"It's not as if other kingdoms share the same disdain for Outlanders as Mastorn. The truth of it is, they outlaw ones like you out of fear of Mastorn," Blythe admitted, beginning to walk along the narrow river, into the parade of old oak.

He followed by her side, getting more curious as a wind brushed past the wandering branches, "So, they all act in fear of Mastorn? That place is really that much trouble?" 

Blythe moved elegantly, though didn't seem to mind stepping through the walks of nature, brushing aside a low-hanging branch, "The strength of Mastorn is all that and more. It's not just the Venator they command, but the Brotherhood of Knights alongside the king's own elite force." 

"Like a royal guard?" Gael asked. 

"The Impervious Seven," Blythe informed, glancing back. "I wouldn't worry about them, though. They don't tend to leave Mastorn, fortunately for us." 

It all seemed like a bit too much as he chuckled nervously, "Mastorn has all of these monsters and you really expect me to fight them?" 

"I never planned on you doing it all alone. There are other Outlanders like you, transported from Earth. Along with others who share similar goals to our own," Blythe informed him, stopping for a moment to look at him. 

The idea of allies seemed like a faraway dream at the moment, alone in that forest across the world with nothing but the lady by his side. 

"Let's get moving. I'd hate to be stuck in this forest throughout the night," Blythe said with a small huff.