Awakening

Daniels awoke under the shade of a large sprawling tree. He looked about himself and confirmed that he was indeed in some form or another of a forest.

He took stock of himself and discovered a belt with a holstered M45, three mag pouches, and an M6 bayonet. He drew the weapon and pulled back the slide just enough to confirm there was a round in the chamber. Satisfied he holstered it and drew the bayonet. It was a descendant of the M3 fighting knife introduced in '57 for use with the M14 rifle. He grasped the blade appreciating the sturdy feel and comfortable grips. He carefully sheared a bit of hair off his arm to test the sharpness and was happy with the results.

He put the bayonet back into its sheath and set about trying to access the abilities given to him by Gabriel.

"System. Status?" he spoke to thin air with no result. He furrowed his eyebrows and tried the same phrases again but in his head. Nothing

"Modern Warfare!"

Bingo. A large system-esque screen appeared before him. On the immediate area of the screen were basic stats. All stats were average except for weapon handling. It read as follows.

Daniels:

LV:1 (0/100)

HP:100/100

MP:100/100

Skills:

Modern Weapon Mastery

Modern Warfare 1.0

Item Box

"Pretty basic stuff..." he muttered to himself.

He checked the descriptions of the skills. The first one was rather self-explanatory, a skill that grants complete mastery over all modern weapons and weapons systems. The second was more interesting. Modern Warfare 1.0 read as follows:

An all-encompassing suite allowing access to all systems provided by Gabriel. Version 1.0.

-Version 1.0 allows the summoning of semi-automatic pistol-caliber sidearms (including pistol magnum cartridges up to .44), limited access to equipment, and no access to motorized vehicles or [REDACTED]

While the third was a standard fantasy-style item box storing items in a pocket dimension-like place.

"Fuckin' A," he said to himself.

He navigated to a tab labeled firearms and navigated the filters to what he had available. An enormous list of pistols dating back to the days of the Wild West was presented to him. Everything was priced in mana, the cost differing by caliber. He looked down at his holstered weapon and felt satisfied with his current armament, leaving the firearms tab. He navigated to ammunition and found compatible ammunition for his weapon.

Boxes of .45 cartridges and magazines greeted him. Boxes were 15 MP for 20 rounds and 25 MP for 40 rounds, meaning it would be best to buy in bulk. Additional magazines ran 5 MP for a 7 round magazine and 8 MP for 11s. He checked his rigging and confirmed that his extra magazines were 11s, as was the one in the weapon evident by the boxy fixture extending past the base of the pistol.

The equipment tab had a survival kit including a backpack, sleeping bag, one-man tent, small hatchet, canteen, purification pills, and a few "lesser healing vials" for 60 MP, MREs for 10 apiece, a light chest rig for 40, and a drop leg pistol mag pouch for 20. He spent 60 MP to get the survival kit and left the remainder in reserve. After a quick check of the equipment, he rigged it all up in the backpack and put it on.

For safety's sake, he unholstered the sidearm keeping it at a low ready as he walked. It didn't take long before he found an intersection marked with signs. Feyreightor to the north, Heartwell to the south, Larton to the east, and Thalkan to the west. He sat there contemplating which direction to go when he heard the sound of hoofbeats pounding in from the west.

He squinted and could make out the shape of a wagon being chased by what appeared from a distance to be rough-looking horsemen. As they neared he confirmed the situation. The rough dirty looking horsemen were chasing down the wagon. Unfortunately for the wagon's driver, it threw a wheel on a pothole. The wagon driver spotted Daniels and cried for help. By then Daniels was already on the run towards the stricken wagon.

One of the horsemen charged past the wagon and yelled to Daniels, "Leave it be if you know what's good fer ya," the man brandished a blade towards Daniels.

Now Daniels did not appreciate being threatened. The other riders were circling the wagon and the driver of the wagon gave Daniels a pleading look.

Daniels gave the man a blank look, "You are about 300 ish years too soon to threaten me."

The man gave an amused look as Daniels razed a strange object towards him. The man's instincts started roaring for him to run, but by the time the smirk was melting from his face a thundering boom resounded and the man felt a heavy impact hit his chest.

Daniels proceeded to fire two more .45 slugs into the bastard's chest. The horses reared threatening to buck off the riders. The recently shot and dying man was thrown to the ground.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Daniels shot one of the men. With the aid of his new skill and previous experience with a similar style firearm, his shot cleanly hit its mark. The targeted man was hit in the neck and fell to the ground clutching the wound gasping before his horse stomped in his head as it panicked.

The other two reacted immediately, which he had to give them credit for. Not too much though, as one made the mistake of attempting to charge him down with a sword. He took two rounds to the chest for his effort. One must have struck the man's lung as he lay gurgling on the ground.

The remaining man Was in the midst of drawing an arrow, being interrupted by a shot to the shoulder. The man cried out in pain but was cut short as one last round canoe'd his head. Daniels approached the drowning man and stomped his throat ending him.

He was partially amazed at the ruthless efficiency he had killed the men with but felt nothing for killing the men. As they were bandits his morals didn't take any hits. He was, however, disappointed that he used 8 rounds in the process. He replaced the over half spent magazine with a fresh one and stuffed the used mag in the newly emptied mag pouch.

"Thank you, thank you," The Driver told him almost in tears. "One of the bastards was the guard I hired. Well, apparently he had other things in mind as halfway through the trip the other three approached, and instead of fighting them off, he joined them as their leader. I thought I was a dead man. Thank you, sir, truly thank you.."

Tom scratched his head and cleared his throat, he wasn't exactly used to being thanked, "Uh, yeah of course. It wasn't an issue," he replied.

"Say, are you out here in the middle of the woods all on your own with no transport?" The driver asked him.

"Yes, it appears so. I've made my way here from a VERY far away land," Daniels replied.

"Could I offer you a ride into Feyreightor? I could use a new guard you see, and if you come with me I will handsomely reward you for saving my life." the man said.

Daniels nodded and offered his hand, "Much obliged sir. I go by Daniels."

"No, it is I who is much obliged to you for you saving me and offering me a guard. My name's Arthur," Arthur shook Daniels' hand with a good firm handshake, Daniels was impressed. You can never truly trust or respect a man who gives out limp handshakes.

"I'll be in your care it seems."

Arthur spent the next half hour repairing the wheel to working order. After a couple of short tests, he was satisfied and invited Daniels to join him in the driver's seat. Daniels climbed up and they set out.

Along the way Artur spoke up, "You use quite the peculiar weapon, I've heard of magic tools that allow caster's a boost in power or some that provide magic attacks to nonmagicians, but I've never heard or seen one that looks like that. In fact, my brother is a salesman of magic tools and I guarantee he's never seen anything like it either. May I ask what it is??"

"Ah, well it's an improved version of the tried and true 1911 designed and used by Marine Force Recon. The newer models like what I have here are basically upgraded Colt 1911 railgun models. It features a dual recoil spring system, 5-inch match grade barrel, 3 point night sights, ambi safety, rail, and a dessert finish." Daniels ranted off to the bewildered Arthur.

"What?" Artur asked.

"Oh, sorry my bad, it's an M45."

"Alrighty then." Arthur nodded not understanding anything said other than the name.

"What kind of place is Feyreightor?" Daniels asked.

"Well, it's a very prosperous city guarded by a magnificent wall second only to the capital. It houses various merchants, a lavish guild, many taverns and inns, fine artisans, and a strong legion of guards both on the walls and in the town. It's really one of the most wonderful places in the kingdom for a merchant and a rather nice place to live as a peasant or artisan."

"What kingdom are we in exactly?"

The merchant looked at him kind of funny, "Uh, it's the kingdom of Whitekrest. It's generally a merchant and artisan kingdom, but with a sizable defense force."

"Are you a merchant?"

"Ah yes. I'm bringing fine silks and food that is only sourced in the kingdom of Nihon. It's a rather popular dish and even though it's only sourced there it's sold in such quantities that even the poor can purchase it. They call it 'rice'."

"Ah, so I assume it's a place like feudal Japan then," Daniels thought out loud.

"Japan?"Asked Artur.

"It's a culturally rich country in the land I come from."

"I've never heard of japan. That and your strange equipment, you are an odd one huh."

"I suppose you could say that, yeah."

"It looks like we're only about a couple of hours to Feyreightor from here," Arthur reported.

Daniels was very much looking forward to the start of his grand adventure in this world.