Tip! Tip!
Water droplets touched the floor of an old garage. The garage had been abandoned for a decade. The metal used to make the garage was all rusted out. The water supply had been cut, but still some droplets always stayed there.
In a corner of the garage, several men were sitting on the ground, and on a chair was sitting a man, the leader of that gang, Michael Darson. He took out a cigarette and lit it with a matchstick, then took a drag and asked the men in front of him,
"How many... were they?"
One of them spoke with fear in his voice, "Six.. Master."
Michael Darson ran his hand through his black hair and gazed at the men with his brown eyes. "And you all were eleven. Even after that, you all lost and came back running?" He took out a gun from his pocket and rolled the cylinder.
"Tell me, what is the bounty on our head?" he asked the men.
"F-fifty Silver Sigils, Master," another man replied.
"You know why?" he asked again. Seeing the intensity in his eyes, the men were shaking in fear.
"No... Master," a shaking man replied. He couldn't meet Michael's eyes.
"Because in a range of fifty miles, whenever a kid cries, his mom says, be quiet or Michael Darson will come." He raised the revolver high and took a deep breath.
"And you all are rubbing my name in dirt!" Michael kicked one of them and shoved his revolver in his mouth. "Tell me, will you kill yourself or should I kill you?"
"Master.. fo-forgive me.." the man with the revolver in his mouth begged Michael.
Michael smirked and tapped his finger on the revolver. Sweat clung to his forehead. His hand was losing its grip on the revolver because of the excessive sweat. He wondered why that was happening. He rubbed the sweat from his forehead, then rubbed his hands on a rough surface.
Whistle.
Michael, who was looking away from the men, felt irritated by the sound of the whistle. "Death is in front of you, stop making it more angry." Then the whistle went silent. Michael took another drag from the cigarette, but he was still feeling an unnatural fear and was sweating excessively.
Whistle.
"Shut up, I said."
Whistle.
"Do you want to di—" Michael turned his head back in anger, but he went silent after seeing all his men dropped unconscious. "W-what happened here?" he asked, but there was no one to answer.
He walked toward one of them and touched him to check his pulse, but he was already dead. Not only him, but every man there was dead, and all of their necks were turned in an abnormal way, like they were twisted forcefully.
He was extremely puzzled. How did they die without making any noise and in the same way? All of their heads were turned in the same direction. "T-there is someone here." He pointed his revolver in a random direction. But soon he lost his grip after realizing something.
All of them died without noise, maybe at the same time. A single person can't kill this many people at the same time. It must be another gang.
"You bastards, come out. I accept my defeat!" He yelled and threw his revolver on the ground. "Come and get me. Kill me already!"
Whistle.
Tsk. Again?
Michael turned his head toward the sound, then he saw a shadow. No, it was a person walking toward him.
A man wearing a magician-like black tailcoat. By the fashion of that coat, it looked like it was from the gothic era. Slowly, the face of the man came into view, but it was hidden beneath a black masquerade mask. He had a grey revolver in his hand. The hair of the man was completely black.
"Who are you? Are you the leader of them?" Michael asked, staring at the guy in front of him. He turned his head around to find the others of that gang.
"Answer me, you bastard!" Michael yelled at the guy in fear. He instinctively picked up the revolver he had dropped and pointed it at the man who was there just a moment ago. "Where did he go?" Michael turned his head in every direction, but there was no way to find even a trace of that strange man.
This is my chance to run.
He stared at his gang members corpses for a second, then started running toward the gates of the garage. But before he could reach the gates, someone appeared in front of him.
Bang! Bang!
Michael shot multiple bullets at the guy, but he dodged them without any effort.
"Don't try, you can't kill me with that toy." The man suggested. His voice was deep enough to make anyone fear or admire it, depending on the situation. And for someone like Michael, it was terrifying.
"J-just who are you?" Michael asked, still pointing the revolver at the man.
The man raised his hand, pointing his grey revolver at Michael. "Let's shoot each other, whoever survives wins."
Michael gritted his teeth and shot all the rounds at the man. But none of them hit him. He vanished from in front of Michael and appeared behind him, his revolver touching the back of Michael's head.
"You asked me who I am, right?" the man asked.
Michael didn't say anything, just nodded his head.
The man whispered in Michael's ear, "I am.. The Jack of All Trades, Ace."
Bang!
A single round pierced through the head of Michael Darson, and he dropped to the ground. The man blew the gunpowder smoke above the muzzle. Then he spun the revolver and put it back in a window that appeared in front of him.
***
Year 1998, Modern Era.
Behind the most prestigious hospital of the Molan District, an awarding ceremony named Honors of Molan was going on. There was a big stage on which two hosts were standing in black suits, one a man and the other a woman. Ahead of the stage was the sitting area, where many men and women were sitting, talking, and laughing.
All the men and women there looked noble. Their attire was refined and luxurious. The men were wearing black and blue suits, and the women were wearing similar gowns with jewels on their necks.
"So now, moving on to the most anticipated award of every year. The Best Surgeon of the Year!" the male host announced, and all the people's attention shifted to him.
Then the female host spoke, "The Best Surgeon of the Year goes to... Mr. Daniel Marcus Smith!" All the people there started clapping, and from between those people came out a man wearing round spectacles. He was wearing a grey suit that matched his hair, which had gone greyish-white from aging.
Daniel walked up to the stage and received the award from the founder of the hospital. They gave him a mic to say some words, which he did, and with that he walked down from the stage and left for his car.
Ring!
His keypad phone started ringing. He pressed the button and picked up the call. Then from the other side came a young girl's voice, "Dad, is the ceremony over? Can you come pick me up from the school?"
"Yeah it's over... I'm coming, you just wait there." Then he hung up the call and took out his key. He stepped inside the parking lot and reached his car. It was an average car produced at that time. He opened the car door and got inside.
He pushed the key inside the ignition lock cylinder and started the car. He drove the car out of the parking lot, then toward his daughter's school.
It's been a month since I got transmigrated here, in the body of a forty-two-year-old man who has a daughter. This world is behind in time and completely different geographically from my world. But the inventions and intelligence are the same.
Like god, I'm just a twenty-three-year-old virgin in my previous life. And in this world I'm not a virgin anymore... physically at least.
Daniel gazed out of the car window and saw a street magic show. I was once a great young magician, Jonathan The Invincible Magician... I don't know why, but this self-made title feels so corny. But I was a great magician. But here, I'm a surgeon.
Then his eyes caught some random guys beating a single man with rods and pipes.
At least in the daytime, because in the night, I'm a murderer. It is because of that system that only appears at night, and at that time I have to do as it says, otherwise I will die. I do quests and earn money through it as a part time, but it is very risky.
He stopped his car because of the traffic. Around him were many cars, including his own, that would be considered vintage in his previous life and would sell for millions.
Suddenly, a knock came on the window on the other side of his car. He pulled the window down and saw a man who had many newspapers in his hand.
He smiled at Daniel and said, "Read the news about a new vigilante killer in the district, named Ace. This news is currently very hot, sir. We are providing it to you before any other newspaper. Buy one for only 2 Copper Sigils."
Daniel nodded and gave him two copper sigils and took the newspaper. The currency here, Sigils. They are called that because they have a symbol like a magic circle printed on them. It was the symbol of the Royal House of Mao Family. Copper, Silver, and Gold Sigils are coins, but the last one, Crown, is a note and is the highest in hierarchy.
Daniel closed the window and said, "Let's read what they write about me." Then Daniel read the headline of the Molan Times newspaper. It was about a murderer who was killing many gangs of the Molan District alone. Some were calling him God's man, and some were calling him a psychopath who considered himself above the law.
"I'm not a God's man, it's just that system making me do stuff." Daniel smirked after reading for a moment, but then he heard horns from behind. "Shh, I forgot I was in the middle of traffic."
***
Daniel stopped the car. He had reached the high school where his daughter studied. It was a prestigious academy of the district, T. Vinlet Education Academy. It ranked in the top ten of the Molan District Education Committee report.
Daniel stood outside the academy with many other parents. He was admiring the beauty of the campus garden of the academy through the gates, but slowly they opened and many youngsters came outside.
One of them was his daughter, Abigail Margaret Smith. She had jade hair that she got from her mom and hazel eyes that came from Daniel. She had a neutral expression on her face as she came out, but as she saw Daniel, she smiled and ran toward him.
"Dad!" she said and hugged him.
"How was the day?" Daniel asked, playing his father role perfectly.
"It was good, how was the ceremony? Did you get any award?" she asked with shining, starry eyes.
Daniel smirked in a performative way, showed her the certificate, and said, "See, your dad got the Best Surgeon of the Year Award." Then he let out a childish laugh.
"What, really? You are the best, dad!" She hugged him more tightly.
[Congratulations!]
A window appeared in front of Daniel's eyes. He nodded to it, then looked down at Abigail and said, "Let's go, today we will have dinner at a restaurant."
Abigail smiled widely and held his hand. "I will eat Cypius Meal Pack!"
"No, we are going to have a proper dinner, not a snack party."
"It's not fun, then." Abigail pouted, but Daniel smiled and took her away toward his car.