Chapter 4

    The Profession of Möbius

    "Giggle, giggle, giggle."

    Gumiho laughed delightfully as she walked to the large bed. She ran her hand over the soft bed and then, with childlike exuberance, jumped onto it, rolling around carelessly without minding the state of her clothes.

    "Miho, what are you doing? It’s very late, we should go to sleep."

    Möbius swallowed hard at the sight before him, before asking the fox girl in front of him, unsure of what she was thinking.

    "This? Oh, my mother taught me that you have to do this before you can sleep."

    Möbius immediately opened his mouth in surprise before smiling at her endearing behavior while internally berating himself for letting his thoughts wander. He then decided to sleep on the floor for his own peace of mind, using the boar hide bag as a pillow before lying down next to the large bed where the fox girl was resting.

    "Aren’t you coming to sleep up here with me, Möbius?"

    Gumiho popped her head out from the bed in front of him and tilted her head cutely. He felt he needed to clarify the situation given they might have to share a room like this for an unknown period.

    "Miho, even though we are partners and can’t cross certain boundaries, it's improper for an unmarried man and woman to share a bed," Möbius said earnestly, opening his eyes to look at her seriously.

    "Oh, I understand."

    The fox girl’s form shimmered slightly before transformed back into the golden nine-tailed fox he had first met. She curled her tails around Möbius, pulling him onto the bed, compelling the young man to accept the inevitable. He blinked rapidly, resigned to the situation but reasoned that if it was this way, it might be alright. He watched as the golden nine-tailed fox curled up into a fluffy ball beside him.

    (My mother said male humans are not to be trusted. If we are in human form, we must be careful. But from now on, I’ll trust you, Möbius.)

    The fox girl glanced at the young man beside her, now breathing in deep, steady rhythms, signaled that he had already fallen asleep. It wasn't surprising given their exhausting day. She too could no longer resist the heaviness of her eyelids.

    ‘Mr. Möbius, the affinity level of your partnership has increased to 30/100."

    The system whispered softly, as if to let the two companions rest through a night as fleeting as a breeze.

    Even though the sunlight outside is intense, signaling the high position of the sun almost at the center of the sky, the curtains of the expensive room manage to block both the light and the heat of the sun, allowing only a little in for the comfort of the guests.

    Knock, knock, knock.

    A strange noise sounded in the room where both were sleeping. It was Möbius who woke up before the fox girl, under the condition that Gumiho, who was sleeping in her fox form, had used her soft golden tails to cover Möbius as a blanket to keep him warm. Möbius gently moved the golden tails aside before getting up to find the source of the strange noise.

    Knock, knock, knock.

    The noise sounded again, and this time he realized it was coming from the window, as if something was tapping on the glass. Möbius immediately went to the source of the noise and opened the curtains to see what was on the other side of the glass. He saw two envelopes with small wings at their tips, both fluttering outside the room and seemingly asking to be let in. Möbius then opened the window to welcome the two envelopes that easily flew down into his hands before the wings disappeared, turning them back into regular envelopes.

    The young man flipped the first envelope back and forth. Seeing no text on the front, he hurriedly opened it to see what was inside. The letter contained a single piece of paper with the message:

    "The young man who forgets all about the war, in one year hence, will decide.”

    “Your victory must be true, and all that was once yours will return."

    Möbius was puzzled by the message in the first letter. Did it imply that if he won the next war, his memories would return? If the content in this letter was true, why would winning a war bring back his memories?

    Since he had no other clues about his memories, his only option was to try to win this war. Difficult as it seemed, he wouldn't know unless he tried. Anything could happen in a year. As Möbius finished reading the letter, it turned into a mist of light and vanished into the air.

    'You have received a message window,' announced the system.

    The second letter was marked as being from Real Dream Company, titled ‘Welcome, New Players.’ Inside was another piece of paper.

    "This letter will reach all players who have entered Gateway Town and reached level 10. The company thanks you for your interest in our services and offers you a gift. However, now that you have reached level 10, you will need a profession to advance to the next level and enhance the enjoyment of your adventures.

    Please contact the New Players Information Center at the heart of Gateway Town to receive your gift and guidance on changing your profession. Be assured of the justice of our system and the quality of our services.

    With justice, Real Dream Company Limited."

    Möbius, who was feeling distressed by his own lack of combat skills, was already intent on changing his profession. He was finally given justice by the system along with a gift. Möbius organized his belongings in the room to prepare for a visit to the information center as suggested by the company's letter. As he finished packing, Gumiho was just waking up.

    (Good morning, Möbius.)

    Gumiho yawned widely before greeting the young man after waking up. In truth, the fox girl felt like sleeping more because she had not slept at all while chasing the person who had kidnapped her sister. But perhaps she woke up early because she was hungry.

    "Growling..."

    That familiar sound rang out again. Möbius smiled at Gumiho before he took out the grilled wild boar meat he had stored in his bag, placed it on a plate, and carried it to Gumiho on the bed. He then took another piece, put it on another plate, and sat next to the large fox on the bed. Just as he was about to set his own plate down on the bed, she told him beforehand.

    (Don’t put down your plate, Möbius. Hold yours for now. Bring mine up too.)

    Möbius held both plates at the same level, not understanding why the fox girl asked him to hold them, but soon he understood.

    The fox girl breathed hot air onto the plate Möbius was holding, causing the oil in the meat to start releasing a fragrance as if it had just been grilled. She then told Möbius:

    (Eat it hot, use serving spoon, wash hands.)

    Before she started devouring the grilled meat, Möbius felt like he had heard this phrase somewhere before.

    "Where did the serving spoon and washing hands go?"

    Möbius asked the fox girl, who was happily enjoying the delicious wild boar meat, before receiving an answer that confused him for a while.

    (I don't use my hands at all. How would a fox hold a spoon?)

    Möbius just blinked again before he got up to wash his hands and then quietly handled his own grilled meat. If he argued too much with her, she might change her mind and eat him instead.

    When they both left the hotel, it was precisely when the sun was at the center of the sky. The atmosphere of the beginner’s town was completely different from when they had arrived. Shops on both sides were fully open.

    The wide plaza not far from the hotel was orderly with players selling their own items. Most of the town's people, who were not merchants, wore simply tailored hemp shirts received at the start of the game. The multitude of shops and the crowd made the town very lively.

    "Hey, look at that man over there, he's walking with a golden fox, and it even has nine tails."

    Ever since Möbius stood in front of the hotel, he began to attract attention from those around him because his companion, Gumiho, belonged to a celestial fox tribe, a partner no player had ever managed to have before, and her nine tails indicated a very high rank among the foxes. He thought, whether as a fox or a human, Gumiho was always the center of attention.

    "Let's go for a walk first, shall we, Miho?" Möbius asked the fox girl, who was already leading the way. For Möbius, despite his memory loss, he still remembered that certain shops and banks existed in the real world as well. But for Gumiho, she was interested in everything around her. Möbius let Gumiho wander as she pleased, but after only a short walk, the fox girl stopped in front of the streetside stall that sold colorful potions.

    (Möbius, we've eaten meat but haven't had any mouthwash yet. I want that blue bottle, and I've never tried the red one, the yellow looks tasty too.)

    Gumiho told him before rubbing her head against Möbius's hand as if pleading. So, Möbius bought 6 bottles of blue potion, 6 bottles of yellow, and 2 bottles of red from the seller, who mentioned that the yellow potion was for fatigue, and then handed 1400 reals to the vendor before giving Gumiho one bottle each of the red, blue, and yellow potions.

    (Just wait a moment, Möbius.)

    The golden fox dashed into an alleyway so swiftly that no one could see her. Shortly after, a beautiful woman with golden hair and emerald green eyes, wearing a short white kimono, emerged from the same alley that the golden fox ran into and approached Möbius, then picked up the yellow potion to sip with her left hand while holding the red potion in her right.

    "Ah~~ this is tasty, this is tasty."

    She continued to sip both potions as she walked towards the eight-story building in the city center that housed the New Players Information Center, and naturally, all along the way, people stared at Gumiho and sent murderous glares at Möbius as usual.

    "Welcome to the New Players Information Center, how may I assist you?"

    The receptionist asked with a smile.

    "I'm here to inquire about changing professions as per the letter."

    The receptionist nodded, then called a long golden line that trailed along the floor leading into the building.

    "Player, please follow this golden line."

    She instructed Möbius skillfully.

    Möbius slowly walked, admiring the surroundings. The building housed various departments, from the Lost & Found Center, which handled reports about unfair dealings, staffed by employees dressed as police officers ready to take reports. Before he could explore further, the golden line led directly to a room labeled 'Career Counseling Center.'

    Inside the room, a middle-aged man with a kind demeanor sat behind a desk, which was covered with career invitation letters. Seeing that Möbius was not alone, unlike others, he stood up and fetched another chair to place across from his desk for the beautiful woman to sit.

    "Hello, I'm here in response to the company's letter."

    Möbius handed the letter to another man for inspection before the employee summoned Möbius's status window. Then, an event similar to yesterday occurred, mimicking the angel-like figure from yesterday who had inspected Möbius's extraordinary status several times.

    "It's quite an unusual status indeed."

    That employee remarked, to which Möbius could only smile and give a dry laugh in response to that harsh reality.

    "Are there any professions that someone with my unusual status can switch to?"

    Möbius immediately asked, voicing the question that lingered in his mind.

    "If we exclude covert professions, your status, Mr. Möbius, qualifies for only one profession."

    The employee paused to let Möbius have a moment of suspense.

    "That profession is a gunslinger."

    The employee smiled, thinking because it was the only profession without a minimum requirement. Möbius, who had a history of firing 20 rounds and hitting only 3, felt quite heavy about the profession recommended to him before he dejectedly walked out.

    If you thought an eight-story building was the most unusual structure in town, you'd be wrong. Möbius and Gumiho now stood in front of the most peculiar building yet. It was the only wooden building in town, with a wooden sign that read 'saloon' offering a profoundly old-western atmosphere.

    Möbius and Miho looked at the map provided by the career advisor for the fifth time, which simply instructed to find the wooden building with a 'saloon' sign, an incredibly simple yet easy-to-use map. Möbius decided to open the door immediately.

    Creak...

    The sound of the creaking wooden door echoed so loud that it made the young man grit his teeth, but inside the building was not a saloon as the sign outside suggested. On the left wall was a gun museum filled with firearms of unusual shapes from all eras. Möbius even saw round-shaped guns with rounded ends at the barrel tip, equipped with three rings instead of the usual round holes.

    The right side held enough ammunition for a potential fourth World War. There were a few people in the building, all dressed differently—some as soldiers, some as cowboys, others as if they were astronauts. What they had in common was that they all carried many bags, seemingly stuffed full of something.

    "Look, look, I think I've seen that man in the picture."

    The fox girl pointed out to Möbius a large picture of an old man wearing a white hat, a large cigar clutched in his mouth, his hands clasped in front with large rings on nearly every finger.

    "Little brother... came to take the gunslinger test?"

    A tall, thin middle-aged man with a short beard, dressed in cowboy attire fitting the venue, walked from the back of the store to the front of Möbius.

    "Yes, I'm here to take the gunslinger test."

    Möbius responded, his eyes still fixed on the picture.

    "Huh... He is the founder of the gunslinger profession, and my name is Watson, the gunslinger profession tester."

    Watson said as he tipped his hat slightly in greeting before walking back inside.

    "Come in, little brother. Bring your girlfriend too."

    Möbius was slightly startled by being addressed as having a girlfriend standing next to him, which Gumiho did not contest, leaving him feeling somewhat peculiar.

    The hand of the fox girl held Möbius's before she led him to follow Watson without saying a word.

    On the other side of the door Möbius had just entered, it was a completely different scene: an opulent lounge with dark brown, glossy wooden walls and floors, contrasting greatly with Watson's persona and attire. A mini-bar laden with various colored drinks filled the area. Watson sat down on a short single-seater sofa, signaling the two guests to sit down on a longer sofa opposite him, separated by a small table.

    Watson summoned Möbius's status window to view, and upon seeing Möbius's extraordinary status, Watson grinned before bursting into loud laughter.

    "Ha, ha, ha..."

    Möbius looked puzzled, wondering if Watson was laughing at him or mocking his dismal status.

    "You've already passed the preliminary test for becoming a gunslinger."

    Watson informed Möbius after his laughter subsided, leaving Möbius utterly confused about how just viewing his status could mean he had passed.

    "A gunslinger, well, nothing is set in stone. Let's just say that if you're destined to be one, you'll pass. Next, the system will randomly assign you one ability, so get ready."

    Watson said, seeing the confused look on Möbius's face. Möbius began to think that finally, the system was granting him some justice, hoping the randomly assigned ability would be beneficial to him.

    'You have been randomly assigned the ability: lucky shot.'

    The system's voice rang out, which both Gumiho and Watson also heard, before Möbius summoned his ability window to check.

    Ability Window

    No.

    Name

    Ability

    3

    Lucky shot

    Guarantees a shot that will hit the enemy's weak spot, with a chance of ??? (???)/10%. This is a passive ability.

    "Ha, ha, ha... You've randomly gotten an ability that suits you quite well, little brother."

    Watson stood up and clapped Möbius on the back in good spirits.

    "And what exactly does the status ??? (???) mean?"

    Möbius asked, remembering it was the only status he had that was as high as 100.

    "It represents your luck, of course. As for the part in brackets, it's up to you to discover. But if you perform well in the next three levels of the test, I might give you a hint."

    Watson revealed one secret that Möbius was most curious about, while raising his eyebrows.

    Meanwhile, Möbius could only think, was he just lucky? Why then had he hardly ever encountered good fortune before? However, he did have some luck with the beautiful girl sitting next to him, sipping the blue potion, alleviating her boredom. Meanwhile, Gumiho's gaze was fixed on the colorful bottles on the mini-bar, not looking away.

    "Alright, let's proceed to the second test right away, follow me, little brother."

    Watson walked towards a door opposite the one they had entered through. The next room was a shooting range painted entirely white, with a very high ceiling about the height of a three-story building. The range had numerous targets, some near and some far. Möbius looked around before Watson tossed him a standard pistol.

    "In the gun, there are 5 bullets. For every round you hit the target, you will gain a new ability. The further the target, the better the ability. The closer ones, less usefulness. And if you hit a target with a red dot in the center, you'll even get a move for final blow."

    Möbius thought this test seemed like it was mocking him—how could someone with zero accuracy like him ever hit a target?

    "Alright, shoot the closest one first," he aimed the gun at a target right next to the barrier. If he missed at such close range, it would be embarrassing. At least he hoped to gain some kind of ability.

    The sound of a gunshot rang out, and the first bullet hit the target easily. Next, he lay down to shoot for better accuracy at a target only 5 meters away from the barrier, taking his time to aim. The gun fired again, and he watched the target intently.

    Given the unlimited time to shoot, he had ample opportunity to aim, and lying down helped improve his accuracy, allowing him to narrowly hit a target 5 meters away. The edge of the target showed a mark less than half a circle, but it counted as a hit. Feeling tired from lying down, he stood up and stretched lazily, still holding the gun.

    That's when he noticed that the bottle in the fox girl's hand was one from the mini-bar, a square-shaped bottle with a label of a walking person.

    “Miho, you can't drink that water."

    Möbius shouted out to the fox girl in alarm, and in his surprise, he accidentally discharged all the rounds in his gun.

    Everyone in the room was startled. Watson immediately looked where the bullets had gone, while Miho frowned, upset at being interrupted before reluctantly setting the bottle down on a nearby table. Möbius froze, slowly looking up where the barrel of the gun was pointing—straight at the ceiling where there were no targets at all.

    "The second test is over, Möbius, and you've gained two abilities."

    Watson clapped for Möbius, then shook his head with concern as Möbius hung his head in disappointment for not having earned any special moves for the final blow. Miho, just realizing her mistake, also hung her head and shuffled her feet.

    "Möbius, I'm sorry," the fox girl said with a sense of guilt.

    "And one special move."

    Watson added before pointing up at the ceiling. There was a hole in the center of a plain target on the ceiling, its white color blending into the ceiling with just a tiny red dot barely visible, and he explained,

    "You hit it because the lucky shot activated just right. You really are lucky, little brother. Not only is your girlfriend beautiful, but you also got a special move that I myself designed. It's so lethal that the system had to place it in a spot out of plain sight."

    Watson continued speaking before the system announced the new abilities that Möbius then immediately checked.

    'Player Möbius has acquired the ability Gun control'

    'Player Möbius has acquired the ability Repeat shot'

    'Player Möbius has acquired the ability Cool shot'

    Ability Window

    No.

    Name

    Ability

    4

    Gun control

    Allows you to control any gun within a 10cm×player level radius as if you were holding it yourself, even if someone else is holding it (Uses magical power equal to gun level×distance) (No delay). It is an active skill.

    5

    Repeat shot

    Allows shooting at an enemy repeatedly at the spot where you've previously hit (Uses magical power equal to gun level×5) (Delay 3 minutes). It is an active skill.

    6

    Cool shot

    The power and accuracy of a single shot depend on how cool the user is at the moment (Uses all available magical power) (Usable once per day). It is a special move that must be activated.

    "What kind of abilities are these?"

    Möbius gripped his forehead. The abilities seemed good at first glance. Consider Gun control, it could be used to help someone else aim his gun, like letting Gumiho hold the gun while he aims. But what use is it if his own accuracy is very low, and the effective range is only a short distance?

    As for Repeat shot, if he doesn't hit the target the first time, how can he shoot it again? And what even is this special move that Watson designed? What does 'cool' mean in this context? Where is the justice the system promised?