Visitors of Old Rocky Town were welcomed with a cracked and faded sign. The letters were barely legible. The sign stood slanted as it balanced on two rotting logs. Zein and Wu waited by the signage, daydreaming about the future. "Gold. Gold. Gold."
"Sorry to keep you waiting." The bartender called, wiping his sweat with the towel around his neck.
"It's alright. It wasn't long." Zein assured.
"No need to be so-" the bartender paused, irises rolling to the corner of his eyes. "What's the word," he snapped his finger repeatedly. "Forgivin'?" The bartender landed. "Anyway, I got your bullets right here." He tossed a pouch with cartridges to Zein. "All 42 of 'em. 30 for the single-action. 12 for the double. Some fine metal you gave."
"Thank you very much." Zein slotted 12 of the bullets into his belt loop and stored the rest in his inventory.
"Oogie!" Wu saluted.
"Alright then, you take care now. I'll be headin' back to the bar." The bartender pulled his pants up, covering his bulging stomach.
"Sounds good. I'll see you around."
"Oogie oogie!"
The three of them waved goodbye. Zein and Wu watched the bartender jog to the saloon, huffing and puffing. Shouts of encouragement poured in from the sidelines as he returned to his establishment.
"So, are you going to show yourself?"
Behind one of the rotting logs, a man, level 27, with sweeping blonde hair, heavy denim jeans, and a red scarf tied around his neck hid horribly.
"Oops."
"Hello there…" Zein read the man's name. "JohnnyTheCowboy?"
"Yessir that's me! Nice to meet you, partner." Johnny tipped his hat. "That duel was crazy! The way you swung your gun out like-" WHAPOW. He imitated a gun being drawn. " and shot him in the arm was awesome! I could never beat him no matter how many times I tried!" Johnny said in awe, his overdone Western accent cracking. A recognisable crack.
"Is that right?" Zein smiled. "I guess I got lucky."
"Gie-gie-gie-gie-gie!" Wu laughed, peeking from Zein's scarf.
"Really? I wanna get lucky too." Johnny whinged.
"Hmm… well, I can't make you lucky, but tell you what, there's a dish at the saloon called cacti
stew. It'll make you stronger." Zein offered a solution.
"Is that what you did too, Mr. Cat?" Johnny asked.
"No, since we won't get it here," Zein replied. "But, if you travel to Copperton, you'll find it in abundance."
"Oogie!" Wu flashed a smile.
"Woah… Copperton…" Johnny dreamed of a town made entirely out of copper. "Thank you, Mister!"
"No problem." Zein readjusted his long black scarf. "I'll be heading a little ways away from there, so, take care of yourself alright. See you around." he turned to walk.
"Um, Mr. Cat, can I come with you?" Johnny asked. "You seem to know more than my brother and he already knows a lot!"
Zein stared at the cowboy, in thought. "Sure. Let's get going."
***
In a dark room lit by the white of a computer, eyes glowed.
"Did you load it?"
"Of course I did! Just play it, just play it. Come on Jorah, come onnn."
"You got it."
A loading screen. A video, shot from the eyes of a cat, detailed the interior of an armoury, complete with bows, swords, spears, and shields. Behind the counter, an old man conversed with an elf and the videographer.
"Of course. Maybe this will be the pair to get The Giver's attention."
"The Giver?"
"Yes! There's a legend which states The Giver would appear… its strength by The Giver."
Jorah had his hand over his mouth. "This is… Oh my god?" he said, half in shock, the other half in awe.
"Isn't my Zeizei the best!?" Clark said, beaming. "We got information on the wind dungeon now! And an idea on how to get info on the rest of the dungeons."
"Oh my god." Jorah still couldn't believe it. "Are the boots a key?"
"Yes yes yes yes yes!" Clark shook Jorah violently.
"Holy shit, I can't believe it." Jorah held Clark's arms, getting him to stop. "How has no one else figured this out yet?"
"Welll it has only been a couple days, so, they'll figure it out soon enough. But until then-"
"We're the first." Jorah interrupted.
"We're the first, baby!" Clark howled.
"I-I'll get some of our people to Aria and the other beginner planets."
Jorah rushed to the door, toppling chairs in the process. He slammed through and let it swing. Clark leaned back in his chair, unable to contain his joy while the video replayed in the background.
***
"See that rock over there? Try aiming for the centre."
"But my bullet!"
"I'll give you one of mine since we have the same type of gun."
"Ookay Mister."
Johnny took his stance and aimed his revolver, shaking. Uncontrolled. BANG! The shot goes wide.
"Aw man…" Johnny pouted.
"Hm…" Zein stared at the wounded soil. "Hand me your gun."
Johnny passed his gun to Zein, depressed. A double-action revolver made from a mix of Copperton's copper and an unknown metal.
"73 strength? Who made this? What's your strength?" Zein asked, perplexed.
"Like 60? I think?" Johnny answered, unsure and choosing not to check.
"This gun is too heavy for you. It's way too heavy for me as well." Zein blocked the sun with the revolver, examining the cylinder's chipped grooves. "Where did you get this from?"
"A man at the train station."
"A man at the train station?"
"Yep. A man at the train station."
"Johnny… You got scammed."
"Scammed?"
"You-uh-" Zein stumbled over his words. "Got a bad gun from the man?" he ventured.
"What! But he said it was the best gun!" Johnny said, appalled.
"Yes! That's what scammed means!" Zein replied, proud of himself. "Try shooting this instead." he retrieved Dutch's gun from his inventory and handed it to Johnny.
"Woah… Dutch's gun!" Johnny's eyes sparkled. Nedline Brass finished to perfection with a coated wooden handle.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Zein smiled. "Try shooting it."
Johnny took his stance and aimed Zein's revolver. Stable. Controlled. BANG! The shot hit dead centre.
"That's so cool! I hit the rock, Mister!" Johnny turned to Zein. "I didn't miss this time!"
"That was some nice shootin', Johnny." Zein tried his best at a Western accent. "Why don't you keep the gun until we reach Copperton? Let's get you something new there alright?" his voice couldn't keep up with the accent any longer.
"Sounds good Mr. Cat! Thank you!" Johnny spun the gun around his finger.
"Hell yeah." Zein replied. While caught in the moment his ears perked. Vibrations were felt under his feet. With a hiss, a lv. 24 Nedline scorpion, a creature the size of Zein's paw with its tail and pincers tinted gold and body-coloured mauve, pounced at Zein from the ground. Zein drew his gun and shot, stopping the scorpion in the air and letting it fall to the ground. It twitched. It twitched. It crumbled to dust, dropping a yellow gem and Nedline Pincers. "Shall we keep moving?" Zein blew imaginary smoke from his barrel.
"Yes!" Johnny exclaimed.
The more the trio ran, the larger their assailants' numbers grew. Using the dark to their advantage, the scorpions aimed for the ankles, attempting to grab, slice, and stab. Yet it was to no avail for their gold glowed. Ding. Their dreams of a feast were shattered one by one by Zein's hands and Wu's support. Johnny on the other hand couldn't hit a shot.
"AGH! I keep missing! It's too dark and this gun sucks!" Johnny complained while smacking the gun.
"Don't give up, Johnny! Mark" Zein cocked his gun's hammer and shot, nailing a scorpion in the head. "Try to aim for where they will be, not where they are at! And watch their tails!"
"Oogie oogie!" Wu pointed at a scorpion.
"What does that even mean!' Johnny cried, unloading two more rounds into a charging scorpion. He missed both. An opportunity at last. The scorpion leapt at Johnny's thick cowboy boots, latching itself to them. It began its assault.
"EEEK!"
"Mark!" Click.
BANG! All beginnings come to an end. But none this abrupt. The arachnid collapsed from Johnny's boot, turning to blue pixels, gems, and items.
"Johnny, listen to me, we are only a couple minutes away alright? So just run. Mark." Click. BANG! "Shoot them while they latch on to you. Here are some bullets." Zein grabbed a bunch from his inventory and passed it to the scared cowboy. "Don't worry, Johnny, I'll keep healing you." Zein reloaded his gun- the cartridges around his belt down to an abysmal amount.
"Oogie. Oogie." Wu encouraged, yawning.
"Grrr." Johnny growled. "Alright, mister! I trust you! Even if my mom told me not to trust strangers."
"Mark! A little late for that isn't it?" Zein laughed, mind still racing.
Johnny ran, and ran, and ran- crushing any scorpions who dared latch onto him. Anytime his health reached half-
"Heal: JohnnyTheCowboy."
A green glow, a healthy gunslinger, and a town in sight.
"The town! I see the town!" Johnny pointed to an orange dot in the distance.
"Good! Start using your dashes! Dash!" Zein commanded.
The final stretch. Zein refused to use any more bullets and mana on the scorpions. An exception was made. Zein dealt with any on Johnny's leg, a must for his young companion's survival. Wu, exhausted from the constant application of buffs, passed out in Zein's scarf as the orange dot grew.
"Come on. Come on. Come on."
Stamina starting to run thin, Zein's strides got longer, and longer, and longer, until the dot grew no more, splitting into multiple little lights. Guarding these lights, an older man, dressed in slacks and chewing on some straw, sat in an armchair.
"Welcome to Coppert-"
Zein breezed past the townsman. In front, Johnny sat with his knees held against his chest, breathing as heavy as copper. Zein barely brought himself to a stop in front of the cowboy, ensuring he didn't trip over himself.
"Are you alright?" Zein asked.
"That. Was. Awesome!" Johnny huffed, adrenaline running through his veins. "You're so cool, mister!" How did you do that!? Even my brother isn't that good!"
Poor brother.
"I'll tell you what, head to the saloon and I'll let you know alright?" Zein said through breaths. "I'll be right there." he pointed to the saloon.
"Okay!"
Johnny raised to his feet and made for the saloon while Zein took his spot. His hands fiddled with the air, opening a blue chat screen addressed to a certain armourer.