Versatile: Alternate World

A few more hours later, the four finally arrived, now fully geared that would make them look like proper warriors. They no longer looked like they were fresh chicks who were just learning how to walk.

"You guys took your precious time huh?" I looked at them one by one.

"We are sorry, Mr. Bladeheart. It took us a bit of time to get everything on our side done especially the items that we have sold. It took quite some time before they were done counting so we ended up taking a bit longer than usual," Shana explained.

"Not so surprising with all the items you guys have plus those things that you all have hunted before. But since you guys are already done, we should go and do our quest. The faster we are done, the better."

"Yes! We are now ready to perform the quest. So where should we go first?" Gin opened his map and frowned.

"While you guys have been busy with the materials and gearing up, I got in contact with one of the targets. I already eliminated the target, leaving us with 4 targets left to defeat."

"Wow, you already defeated someone already? That is awesome!"

"Since this quest is originally my quest, I don't need for you guys to assist me in the battle. But since you guys have yet to experience and have attacked any dungeons, perhaps the battle against the targets will allow you all to learn how to deal with an enemy."

"So we are not gonna fight?" Yna seems disappointed.

"Based on the enemy from earlier, you guys would die before you can land a single valid hit. But if the enemy is a pushover and easy to kill, I can pass the baton and let you guys kill the target, how about that?"

The three looked at Gin who is the acting leader of the group. He didn't think twice and he nodded.

"It's not a problem. You already helped us a lot so observing a higher leveled player fight might help us gain some epiphany on how to properly fight with a VR game like this."

"Then it's settled. Atlas, Lucia."

In a blink of an eye, Atlas and Lucia appeared before me causing the four to get startled. Out of the four, only Gin and Shana were quite fast at pulling at their own weapons and ready to fight.

"Don't be alarmed. They are my followers, you can say they are my companions that are with me all the time and that assist me in my battles against different enemies and even with some players. They are loyal and can protect all of you so don't be afraid to depend on them when it is dangerous around.

"Nice to meet you all. We already know who you are so you guys don't need to introduce yourselves. I am Lucia and this guy in armor is Atlas. You guys don't need to worry about a single bit of thing. You all will be safe with us."

"Uh, nice to meet you too. But uh... are you an NPC?"

"NPC? Ah, you mean the natural denizens of this world? The answer is yes, both Atlas and I are denizens of this world. If you guys still have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask us."

"Wow, holy crap. I thought the internet is just joking about NPCs being sentient enough that they can hold a conversation with you but damn, they really can and they even talk like real humans too!" Koji is clearly amazed.

"Mizuchi."

Mizuchi appeared out in the woods and approached us. Since Mizuchi is a snake, the group is once again surprised to see a new entity once more.

"Is that your pet still, Mr. Bladeheart?!" Yna trembled as she pulled out her revolver.

"Yes. This is Mizuchi. We will be riding on his back to traverse and locate the enemy nearby enemy."

"Wait, Mr. Bladeheart, are you going to summon a dragon next?!" Koji tried to guess.

"Huh? I don't have a pet dragon and even if I have one, there is no way I would just leave it out of the play and let the others have the fun. Besides, Dragons are one of the rarest pets you can get, I doubt I will be getting one without getting lucky in a dragon's nest or a reward on some random quests."

...

...

...

And with that, we departed from the Capital as we venture into the nearest town where the tracker for the second target is glowing. It's a place where notorious criminal NPCs and some of the heinous gangs gather. An outlaw town.

"It's similar to the slums huh?" Gin commented when I explained the town we are about to go in.

"It's similar except that all inhabitants here are all people who have at least more than 3 times kind of crime committed. It's not an easy town to enter into."

"Then it's a very dangerous town then?"

"Not necessarily. Not all NPCs that are living there are necessarily bad, they are just people who have lost their way and have nowhere else to go. And with the town as a place for outlaws, it was somewhere they can hide without being persecuted by the law."

"But that doesn't change the fact that this place is filled with criminals right? Are we gonna be fine here?" Shana is worried.

"Yes. But you guys don't need to worry. If they try to mess with us, even Lucia alone can defeat them without any problem."

As I am explaining more about the town, Mizuchi arrived not too far from the town's outskirts. I already commanded him to stop not too far from the town to avoid alerting the guards that will also alert anyone else in there.

"Are we really gonna enter there? Can't we just not go in and wait here?" Yna is clearly trembling.

"Yna, I know you don't like to be near ruffian people but this is just a game. You don't need to be afraid of them," Koji reassured her.

"Does she have some sort of trauma that made her like this?" I frowned. This is the first time someone is hesitant to even enter a game's outlaw area.

"Yeah. She had been abducted by some people and was brought to an area similar to the outlaw town that we are about to go to."