Versatile: Alternate World

The unfortunate thug who singlehandedly receive the brunt force from Riko's throw immediately fainted after the frying pan landed on his face. It was a one-hit KO that I don't know what will happen to Riko if she ever receives the ability to use magic. Riko died before the development of magic was developed so she didn't experience the things I experienced. However, if she ever received the power of that, that frying pan earlier would be able to kill the thug without any chances that he will survive. He will die on the spot.

The other thugs who came along with the thug who fainted immediately took arms and pull out their guns and started aiming at us. Riko is still hot-blooded and wanted to rush in but Janus stopped her.

"The f*ck, Riko! Do you think you have superpowers that will allow you to be safe from bullets or deflect them? You are not a sponge that can take so many hits and still be fine! Don't be ridiculous and hold yourself before you die from being stupid!" Janus said with an angry tone.

"Don't stop me Janus! These bastards should know that even though they are armed to the teeth, as long as they are in the wrong, I will not hesitate to raise my hands and deal with them to let them know that we are not afraid of them!"

I stopped her too since it is risky enough. I don't want her to get injured or dig her grave earlier than expected.

"Calm down Riko. Tactics and timing are important, striking them when the time is right is the most ideal way," I whispered.

"You are not helping Manato!" Janus protested

"Although I wanted to rush in head-on, I still like that. Alright, you convinced me, Manato," the aggressive Riko calmed down and put down the things she was already ready to use to attack.

"What are you guys whispering at?! Raise your hands or else we will put holes in your foreheads!"

"WHAT'S WITH THE RUCKUS HERE, BASTARDS?!" the leader of the gang appeared and was pissed looking at us and his thugs.

"The woman over there just caused rookie to faint! She is willing to hurt us and beat us up after we spotted a woman you might like to play with boss!" the thug who threatened us said.

The boss of the group looked at the two girls behind us and grinned with an evil look on his face.

"YOU GUYS HAVE GOOD EYES. NOT ONLY WE WILL BE SWIMMING IN MONEY TONIGHT BUT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ENJOY SOME GOOD STUFF TONIGHT WITH THESE BOUNTIES. ALRIGHT, TAKE THOSE IMPS DOWN AND HAUL THE BOUNTIES IN!"

I gritted my teeth and was about to summon my weapon when someone came into our rescue and that is Pops carrying a cleaver on his right hand and a metal skewer used to grill meat on his left hand.

"You bastards sully this izakaya and now you all are trying to abduct women? You bastards a disgrace to the human race!"

Pops was already ready to fight back but he didn't. He was just using those as a way to threaten them. However, these bastards seem like they are not going to even let go of Pops from that.

The boss of the group grinned like crazy and raised his hands.

"KILL THIS BASTARD!"

I gritted my teeth and can no longer hold it. Who cares if my friends will see me use powers in public and who cares if anyone knows I can use abilities? If it can save someone important to me, then I would gladly use it.

"Now you guys should be the one to die!"

I jumped in between Pops and the thugs and materialized my Versatile Weapon. I didn't wait for another second to pass and the moment the Versatile Weapon is ready and is in my hands, I changed it to a shield and spear and blocked all the incoming bullets that were meant for Pops.

PAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAPANG!

All the bullets that were meant to kill Pops, I caught and blocked them all using the shield. Once the guns run out of bullets to shoot, I flick the bullet shells on my shield and raise my hands to zap their hands, causing them to release the guns in their hands and temporarily paralyzing them.

"RESTRAIN THEM NOW!"

Riko immediately went to the leader and hit his neck, causing him to pass out. I took care of the other guy and the guy who threatened us earlier by bashing them with my shield on the face which also caused them to pass out. The other two were subdued by Pops and Janus, allowing us to stop them from the attacks and allowing us from dealing a casualty and deal the least possible injury to these guys. As much I want to deal with them, I can't do it because even if we kill them in self-defense, we will be charged with murder instead. This was the law in Japan.

Pops asked his wife to fetch a rope and we tied up them all to stop them from moving and do something nasty. Even those who were unconscious were tied up.

"Khhh... If I can only beat them up in the process, then I will make sure that these guys needed to prepare life insurance."

"You can't do anything about it Riko. If we don't abide by the law, we will be charged with murder, and even if the criminals will be the ones who needed to be punished, we will also be punished along. It would be a real bad thing. Maybe if this was in US, you can do that but since everything is strict here, better abide by the rules to avoid trouble," Janus explained.

"Tch," Riko clicks her tongue while watching the criminals tied up.

The wife of Pops already called the police and asked to bring a few people to deal with the gang. In a matter of minutes, the police arrived and the criminals were handed. As for the robbery, due to the arrival of the police much earlier than expected, the hostage-taking that was about to happen here didn't occur since the people immediately escaped before they get captured. Of course, it failed and everyone was detained.

Before we were questioned by the police, I asked everyone to stay quiet about what happened and how I managed to disarm them all. Since they were trustworthy enough, I told them about my ability. They didn't hesitate to agree on that and didn't bother to ask me about it. I quickly made an alibi that everyone can quickly adapt in their story so that the testimonies won't be inconsistent.

As for the other customers, no one saw the whole incident because they don't want to be in trouble and was just hiding in different corners of the izakaya and are waiting for the rescue to arrive.

After the incident, the police asked us what happened and how we managed to capture them. Since we didn't kill any of them, they applauded our efforts of capturing one of the notorious syndicates that deal too much trouble around for the last few weeks. Riko also got away from further trouble after she revealed that those guys were threatening us so she decided to use full force to deal with the guy.

Since the guy that Riko assaulted was only injured on his mouth and has a nosebleed, the police accepted the testimony.

I checked up on Pandora and realized that Pandora was calm all the time without even showing any signs of panic on her face.

"Wow, you are so brave, Pandora! To think you didn't get fazed even when those bastards already threatened us!" Janus said.

["Because I believe everyone can do it and will protect everyone so I just keep myself calm all the time."] Pandora said using her sketchbook.

"Ah! That's right! You bastard Manato! I didn't expect it to be you!"

Yep, if it is Riko, she is very sharp about it. However, I have to deny it and act as if I am not aware of everything that I already knew she was Dolly.

"W-what are you talking about?!"

"Don't deny, Manato. You used some sort of weapon earlier and it just materialized out of thin air. Based on the design, it looks like a shield in Alternate World."

"Alternate World? You mean the VR full dive game, Riko?" Janus asked.

"Yes. And there was one person who has that kind of shield design from all the players who used shields before. Also, the stance you made when you used the shield is very similar. In fact, I can tell that it was not just similar but identical. Tell me, did I hit the spot? Bladeheart?" Riko grinned.

"What the f*ck? How did you know I was Bladeheart?" I asked though honestly, I want to applaud myself for being a good actor. Maybe I will get an award if it was how genuine my acting was.

"I knew it. This is me, Dolly. You bastard, to think the guy who is the strongest player in Alternate World is none other than you, Manato!"