"…Why'd I ask for zombies…?" Nathan muttered weakly. "—I miss Mom and Dad already…"
His voice barely carried past the nearby bushes.
I hope they find happiness even after my death… they deserve a lot better than me.
Maybe they could try for another kid? They're not that old… thirty-eight, I think?
And without my expensive medical bills, I think they'll have a much better life.
As he pondered about his parents, the forest suddenly felt quieter.
Too quiet for his liking.
Then—
*Snap.*
Another sound of cracked branch comes from somewhere to his right.
Nathan froze instantly, every muscle locked and tense.
His grip tightened around the handgun, arms stiff like badly programmed animation.
—What the hell was that?!
Every nerve in his body screamed at him to run and 'get the hell out of there,' but he forced himself to stay calm — or at least tried to.
Alright… don't panic.
Panicking is how horror movie extras die first.
Slowly — very slowly — he turned his head toward the sound.
Leaves shifted.
Something moved behind a cluster of trees.
He swallowed audibly.
Okay… assess the situation calmly.
He carefully stepped sideways and pressed his shoulder against a tree trunk. The bark scratched lightly against the light-green patient suit he'd came with.
He peeked out… reluctantly, grips trembling.
He prepared for rotting flesh and glowing eyes—
Instead, a small deer stood in the clearing.
It blinked at him.
And Nathan blinked back.
They stared at each other for three long seconds.
"…Oh."
Relief hit him so hard his knees nearly gave out.
He let out a heavy sigh — it came out much louder than he intended.
The deer jolted as if personally offended and bolted deeper into the forest, vanishing in seconds.
Nathan winced.
"…Sorry about that, buddy."
He lowered the gun slightly, shoulders relaxing.
"I think," he muttered to himself, "it's better to find a hiding place, o-or at least some covers. Just in case z-zombies actually show up."
The word still sounded ridiculous out loud.
Yet the system window earlier had felt very real.
He began walking cautiously — although aimlessly — through the forest with deliberately slow steps. Every rustle made him glance sideways. Every shadow demanded inspection.
Years of being bedridden had made him observant, if nothing else.
His senses felt sharper now — the crunch of leaves beneath his bare feet, distant insects humming, wind threading through branches.
I'm really walking…
The thought still felt surreal.
His gaze drifted toward the pistol in his hand.
He examined it more carefully this time.
Compact.
Matte black finish.
An angular slide with clean edges.
The grip fit surprisingly well in his palm, textured just enough to prevent slipping. The metal felt heavy but balanced — not overly large, yet undeniably dangerous.
So this is a real gun…
He had always thought firearms looked cool in games and movies.
But holding one in reality?
His shoulders stayed tense without permission.
Every instinct screamed: this thing can end lives with a simple pull.
"I always admired these in games," he murmured. "But actually holding one… yeah, this is very stress-inducing."
Right on cue, a translucent blue panel appeared beside the weapon.
[The Revenant — W/ lv.2 Barrel]
[Bullet: 15/15]
"Such cringy name…" he squinted slightly. "this just a Glock 19 isn't it? Was isekai afraid of commiting copyright infringement…?"
"Also…" Nathan tilted his head. "Level two barrel?"
Another window overlapped the first
[Lv.2 Barrel
• Allows installation of muzzle attachments.]
"Oh… so it could fit a muzzle device?" he muttered. "Suppressor or compensator, maybe."
He nodded slowly.
"Make sense. If my limited gun knowledge is correct, a standard Glock 19 doesn't normally support muzzle devices without barrel modification."
He looked impressed despite himself.
"That's… actually pretty neat."
A pause.
"…Not that I have any muzzle attachment or anything."
He continued walking — then come into an abrupt halt.
"…Wait." a realization hit him. "How did this thing even appear in my hand in the first place?"
The mentioning of zombies made his mind went everywhere but the gun — whose just materialized without any apparent causes.
He looked at the pistol again.
It had just… there.
It came without a holster, or a bag, nothing.
Nathan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmmm… every fantasy protagonist has that one thing, right?"
His eyes widened.
"...Storage skill. That's basically mandatory…" He nodded firmly, convincing himself. "Man, saying that myself makes me cringe…"
He cleared his throat dramatically.
"Nah, there's no one around that'll judge me anyway, so I'm gonna test the protagonist privileges."
He raised a hand dramatically.
"…Status open."
A familiar blue window appeared instantly.
—————————————
Name: Nathan Nightshade
Class: Hunter
Level: 0 (EXP: 0/10)
Condition: Fine
HP: 12/12 | Stamina: 12/12 | Mana: 10/10
———
Vitality: 1.2 | Strength: 1.1 | Agility: 1.3 | Magic: 1.0 | Dexterity: 1.8
SP: 0
———
Skills
Hunter's Mark (Lv.1) | Hunter's High (Lv.1)
———
System Features
Shop | Storage | Quest | Hunter's Gallery | Weapon Tuning | ???
—————————————
"Woah—! It actually works." Nathan leaned in closer. "But… how am I a Hunter class?"
He gestured at himself.
"This is literally the first time I'm holding a firearm— well… Hunter had broad interpretation, not just some dude with a gun."
He squinted at another detail.
"And why do I have mana?" a grin slowly crept across his face without him realizing. "…am I gonna shoot fireball-infused 9mm rounds?"
He nodded approvingly.
"Honestly… that'd be really awesome."
His eyes moved to the skills.
"Then… what are these Hunter's Mark… Hunter's High?"
As if responding to him, another window overlapped the first.
—————————————
Hunter's Mark (Lv.1)
Marks a visible target.
• Marked target takes 10% increased damage from equipped firearms.
• Displays a pointer above the marked target.
• Only 1 mark may exist at a time.
• Mana Cost: 1
———
Hunter's High (Lv.1)
Enters an accelerated state.
• Thought process accelerated by 50%.
• Mana Cost: 10
• Duration: 5 seconds.
• Cooldown: 60 minutes.
• After killing 10 monsters in a row with a critical hit using a firearm, Hunter's High will activate automatically (this effect has no cooldown and cost 0 mana).
—————————————
Nathan hummed thoughtfully.
"Hunter's Mark sounds quite useful," he said. "Minor bonus damage and target tracking."
He tilted his head.
"But Hunter's High…"
He imagined it.
"If my thought processing speeds up but my body doesn't… that might be a bit uncomfortable."
He stopped walking.
"Well," he said decisively, "science requires experimentation."
He aimed at a nearby tree.
"Hunter's Mark!"
Nothing happened. Just leaves rustled awkwardly.
He blinked.
"…Did I do it wrong?"
He checked his mana: [Mana: 10/10]. Still full.
He cleared his throat.
"Hunter's Mark!"
Silence… yet again.
The tree remained unmarked and emotionally unaffected.
"…Okay."
He lowered the gun.
"Maybe it only works on a living target…" he mused quietly. "that makes sense. It is called 'Hunter's Mark,' after all."
He nodded sagely.
"Alright. Next experiment."
He inhaled.
"Hunter's High!"
Instantly — he felt something drained from him.
A strange pulling sensation, like warmth leaving his chest.
Was that… my mana?
And then — the world changed.
Leaves drifting through the air slowed, a bird crossing the sky crawled forward unnaturally slow, even his own movements felt heavy and delayed.
Nathan's eyes widened.
No… I'm faster — my mind, at least.
Everything else feels slow.
His thoughts sharpened dramatically.
Details exploded into clarity — individual leaf rotations, distant insect wingbeats, airflow patterns brushing his skin.
He began counting instinctively.
One… two…
Five counts later—
Reality snapped back, sound rushed in, motion returned to normal, and Nathan's body staggered slightly.
"…Whoa."
He exhaled slowly.
"So five real seconds, I suppose — I started counting after about two seconds into my accelerated mind," he concluded. "…Perception acceleration, huh?"
A grin spread across his face.
"That might be insanely useful. And it's only level one, it could still be improved… probably."
He resumed walking, curiosity replacing fear little by little.
Menus opened and closed as he explored the system interface, skimming descriptions like a real gamer reading patch notes.
Then — he tapped something labeled Clock.
A small panel appeared.
[09:51 AM]
Then his eyes moved downward.
And he froze.
[Monster spawning will begin in: 8 hours, 8 minutes, 21 seconds…]
Nathan stared.
The number ticked down.
[20 seconds… 19… 18… 17…]
A cold chill crawled up his spine.
"…Oh."
He slowly looked around the peaceful forest again.
Birds chirping.
Warm sunlight.
Gentle breeze.
Everything felt so calm.
"…So this," he whispered, "is the countdown before the actual hell starts."
He swallowed.
"In the name of everything holy…"
A long pause.
Then he sighed deeply.
"…I should've asked for a slice-of-life— or maybe a romantic-comedy reincarnation."
<•>~<≈>~<★>~<≈>~<•>
Author's Note:
I'm not a firearm experts — heck, I've never even held one (in my country, it's illegal for civilians to have one), so take everything gun-related in here with a big grain of salt.
This is a fantasy story—
With guns…
Maybe some hope—
…And a lot of dreams.
Unrealistic gun upgrade will also be added later.
So…
If you're in — then good 👍
If not — understandable, which is good 🤝
Can't decide — also good 🤌
All are good in my list 💪
I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.