Gacha System: Reborn In The Hardest World
Chapter 27: Jack of All Trades

Chapter 27: Jack of All Trades

As he took his leave, he walked through the lawless sector of the rich city. With a pocket full of more money that he ever held in his life, he felt like a rabbit among wolves.

’Right now, I’d like to use these new summons...Problem is, I definitely don’t want this many eyes on me,’ he thought, glancing around.

Having enough fill of action for the day, he opted to head towards the pristine building that Blythe was at. Still, navigating his way proved to be a challenge.

In fact, he was completely lost, finding himself glancing around at less-than-legal seeming businesses:

A rugged man running a shop with shady-looking blades; a vendor with jewels that were claimed to be taken from the bodies of adventurers.

"Do you remember the way, Pucha?" He asked the capybara on his shoulder.

Of course, the small animal had no answer for him besides a curious twitch of its nose.

"Right...Totally lost here," he mumbled.

As he looked around at the ominous alleyways of the grim sector, trying to decide his way—

"Ah?"

—Right past him, a hooded figure dashed. He immediately noticed a shift in weight in his right pocket.

"Wait—hey! Give that back!" Gael shouted, following the thief.

Straight into a foreboding alleyway, he watched the hooded figure swiftly hop over trash. While they were inhumanly nimble, he was surprised he was keeping up.

Everything about his body felt improved, hopping over the discarded, moldy food like a track star.

’Leveling up—it’s definitely doing wonders for my body! I could trash the Olympics now,’ he thought.

As he got closer, reaching his hand out—

A glint caught his eye, moving his head to the side out of reflex. The air hissed as he watched something sharp narrowly miss his cheek.

"Woah—hey!" Gael called out.

Out the other end of the alleyway, he pursued the thief, watching them hop right over the edge of a wall. He didn’t hesitate to follow, finding it dropping to an area of the sector at least ten meters lower—

"—Ah!"

To his surprise, he landed with a bend to his knees, only feeling a warmth in his legs before immediately dashing again.

The hooded thief glanced back, seeming surprised he was still on their tail. Quite literally, as he watched a black, cat-like appendage flick from beneath their robes.

’A cat person?’ He observed, sprinting with his full might.

Into another alleyway, he pursued the thief, nearly catching up before–

The hooded figure came to a sudden stop, spinning around with a dagger clearly meant to slash the throat of the one behind her. Yet, the perplexed cat burglar found nothing behind them, only the small capybara standing there in the quiet alley.

"What are you...?’ The feminine voice left the hood.

Hiding within the unseen, Gael grabbed the thief’s arms from behind, taking them down to the ground before they could retaliate.

"Hey!--" The cat-eared thief yelped.

"Gotcha," Gael claimed, holding them down against the stone ground.

As he tugged the hood down, the cat ears that popped out matched the very same black hair and small, surprisingly cute face he’d seen earlier.

"Hold on...You’re the girl from earlier, aren’t you? That got into that duel?" Gael recalled. "Kiri, right?"

The smaller demi-human huffed, attempting to struggle though the young man held a firm grip on her arms, "You know my name, so what? Are you going to kill me now?"

Gael patted the cloak of the thief, finding the bag of coins before stuffing it back into his pocket, "Kill you? That’s a bit extreme. I’m not from Galios, so I’m a bit more lenient than you guys."

"If you’re not going to kill me, then let go already," Kiri huffed.

"You could ask a bit nicer," Gael playfully said. "If I let go, you aren’t going to use that dagger of yours again, are you? I gotta warn you, I’m pretty strong."

The cat-eared girl was silent for a moment on the ground before responding, "...I likely won’t."

"Likely?" He repeated, squeezing his grip a bit.

"I won’t," Kiri fixed her answer.

Carefully, the hold was released on the nimble thief as he watched her quickly jump up to her feet like a feline. It was impressive enough to put any acrobat he’d seen to shame as she practically backflipped, immediately placing a few meters of distance between them.

"I don’t know who you are, but if you’re going to be hanging around Paradise, you’d better become more perceptive," Kiri warned him. "Or I won’t be the only one snatching your coins."

"Anyone is free to try. If they’re not as cute as you are though, I’ll have to be more rough," Gael said, waving his hand.

The remark brought a scrunch to the cat girl’s nose as if unsure what to think of the unexpected compliment before she suddenly took her leave. He stood in the alleyway, watching the thief hop to-and-from the walls of the neighboring buildings, vanishing into the foggy atmosphere of the sector.

’I never thought I’d meet a real life cat girl. If I told my past self a week ago that, he’d lose his mind, probably,’ he thought.

As the capybara hopped back onto his shoulder, he found himself in the exact same predicament–being completely lost. Looking around, he found himself completely alone in the narrow alleyway, free of prying eyes.

’...I could try summoning somebody now. When I leveled up earlier, I think I acquired the ability to have one more familiar. An extra head would help out, otherwise, just having backup is good enough,’ he decided.

One more glance to confirm nobody was watching brought him to hold his hand out:

"Summon: Familiar!"

As he called upon the system at his disposal, witnessing the pillar of light fill the gloomy alleyway, he recalled the minor wounds still aching through his body.

’I’m still hurt...My summoning odds should still be improved,’ he remembered.

From the mystical light that faded, a man slightly taller than himself, with shaggy, dark-brown hair appeared with a yawn.

[Familiar Permanently Obtained: (SR) "Jack of All Trades, Matteo"]

The summoned man adjusted his round-rimmed glasses that sat over his amethyst irises, looking at the one who called him into the world. Judging by the beige uniform worn by the "Jack of All Trades", strapped with belts and pouches that contained assortments of tools, he was certainly a well-prepared individual.

"I see," Matteo said. "So, you’re my master. I wonder how long I’ve been dead, or if this is a time I’ve yet to be born. Intriguing."