Gacha System: Reborn In The Hardest World

It seemed that the hallway simply didn't end, leaving him no choice but to try the one other choice from running: hiding. He opened the set of doors before quickly ducking a few earlier, sliding himself into the left doorway. 

'—C'mon!' He urged, attempting to stay silent as he hid in the randomly picked room. 

It seemed to be some kind of old storage area, stuffed with dusty, cobweb-covered crates piled high. 

"Puh…!" 

He breathed out, coated in sweat as the invisibility wore off. It was exhausting, feeling as though he just ran a marathon with a weighted vest on. 

The whole time, he could hear the loud impacts throughout the hallway—BAM. 

"Come out, come out! The more you make me look, the worse you're going to get it!" The voice of the stranger echoed with a playful, angered tone. 

It sounded like the intruder was slamming through each and every room, breaking apart the doors without any care. 

'I have to find the others…Blythe, maybe Norbert…What about Millonia? No, she wouldn't be of any help…' He considered. 

No matter how he looked at it, he was backed into a corner. All around him were old crates, leaning maybe a spot to hide, but that was another uncertainty. 

'I need a summon…a weapon, skill, or familiar? I have to decide—now!' He questioned as sweat dribbled from his chin. 

The loud bangs shook throughout the corridor, followed by larger impacts that continued from outside. Whatever it was, the danger wasn't solely on the fake butler. If there truly was a raid occurring on the estate itself, that changed things. 

'Right now, the others are probably held up by whatever is attacking the mansion…I can't expect them to come to my rescue,' he thought. 

"Come out!" The stranger's voice rang out as another impact echoed through the hall. 

Hearing that hostile voice was enough to force him to make a decision as he slowly breathed out, holding his hand out in front of his body:

"Temporary Summon: Weapon." 

[Temporary Weapon Summoning Initiated | (N): 70% | (R ): 20% | (SR): 7% | (SSR): 2% | (UR): 1%] 

The flash of light in front of his hand would take away any chance to hide, filling the dreary, dust-filled storage room with the colorful radiance. 

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

What appeared in his hand was a rather archaic gun, though in the fantasy world, it was technology of a different era. 

[Weapon Temporarily Obtained: (N ) "Self-Reloading Flintlock Pistol"] 

It looked made of shoddy wood with metal components, though a far cry from the first weapon he summoned. 

'A flintlock?! What am I supposed to do with this?!' He questioned, looking at the old-timey gun. 

A slam through the corridor brought him to concentrate, finding the shadow of the stranger lurking just outside of the room. It was only a moment away from being met with that nameless stranger who hunted him like a rabbit. 

There was no other choice but to put it to use, raising the archaic pistol, pointing the barrel right at the doorway. He sucked a breath into his lungs, closing one eye as he aimed carefully. Even then, hearing those stomps and the shouts of his pursuer, his hands remained unsteady. 

"Come on out, Gael!--"

Right then, the fake butler stomped his way into the doorway, slamming his shoulder through the threshold as the wood flew off. As soon as he saw that figure appear, staring at him with golden irises and a muscular figure that ripped through his own uniform, he pulled the trigger–BANG. 

The flintlock fired, striking directly against the left cheek of the intruder. 

"Ghh?!" The Fake Atlas gritted his teeth. 

A puff of smoke left the pistol as it clicked, though Gael was more focused on the man who still remained on his feet despite being shot in the face. To his dismay, it merely left a small gash on the man's cheek, bleeding lightly with a small bruise around it. 

'What the fuck? Is this guy even human–? No, his body…None of it is normal,' he thought. 

Seeing the physique of the intruder, it was as if he possessed zero body fat, flexing an unnaturally muscular body that seemed sharpened to stone. 

Right as the deceitful pursuer finally caught himself, breathing out in anger, Gael knew it was time to move–

"You piece of shit! You shot me in the face?!" The Fake Atlas shouted, stomping his foot against the ground as the room trembled. 

["Invisibility"] 

He sucked in another breath, ducking low as he moved as fast as he could while remaining silent. Ducking around the boxes, he took a left, intending to go for the doorway. Luckily, the man moved from the door, entering the room in search of him with veins bulging across his body. 

As he moved, the flintlock pistol felt hot in his hand like a pan freshly out of the stove. The mechanisms slowly moved, still not fully reloaded yet. Fortunately, it seemed whatever he held in his hands remained invisible as well, though it was merely a silver lining amidst chaos. 

'Reload already! Shit…it's slow as hell!' He thought, bolting for the doorway. 

All the while, he found the mysterious intruder thrashing through the room, lifting a crate in each hand before smashing them against the walls. 

"--Show yourself! I'll take it easy on you if you do! No, fuck that!" The unreasonably strong man corrected himself. 

Right as he stepped on the threshold, the flintlock released a "click", immediately bringing him to feel the ire of the intruder. 

"There!" The man shouted aggressively. 

Gael glanced back, finding the face-wearing stranger hoisting another crate up with a single hand, tossing it directly towards him. He pointed the gun back, hardly aiming as he pulled the trigger again–BANG. 

The impact struck the crate, causing it to explode with a cloud of flour that seemed to have been stored within it. 

"Gah–!" The intruder huffed, coughing as he was left in the middle of the flour. 

It was the perfect opportunity for Gael, pushing himself to sprint out of the room and back into the hall. For the moment, he gasped, relinquishing his invisibility as he let his aching muscles rest, though still using them to run with all of his might. 

'—This guy is different from the Venator I encountered before. Are they really the same? They were more subtle, but this guy, he's…!' Gael thought, glancing back. 

"Raaaaaah!" 

An enraged yell left the man's lips before the entire wall was burst through as though a bulldozer knocked through it. All he had time to do was quickly toss himself through the door to his right, using his shoulder to shut it behind him. 

It would buy him tens of seconds at most, but enough time to catch his breath. In the plainly-organized guest room, he watched the pistol's mechanisms click before–

[Temporary summoning over.] 

It vanished from his hand, leaving him without a weapon to his name. 

'Shit…I still have another permanent summon, and I can use another temporary now. Should I use both? Not enough time to think–I just need to survive!' He resolved.