"Alright, Natsu," Nathan said, keeping his tone calm despite still sitting half-bound on the dirt floor. "Let's make a deal."
"I won't make a deal with a human," Natsu replied far too quickly.
The speed of that rejection was honestly impressive.
Nathan blinked once.
Wow. Didn't even let the sentence finish loading.
"I don't know why you hate humans so much," Nathan shot back, irritation slipping into his voice, "but I've done nothing wrong to you. And I can promise I'm not planning to — as long as you treat me as an equal, not some kind of long-wanted fugitive that absolutely needs to be shackled to the ground during my goodnight sleep."
He paused.
"…Morning sleep, technically."
For the first time since they met, Natsu's expression flickered.
Guilt.
It was brief, but unmistakable.
Nathan immediately pressed the advantage.
"So tell me," he continued, voice sharpening slightly, "how exactly is this treatment supposed to make me think of you?"
Natsu looked down.
His ears drooped just a little. "I—I…"
Nathan cut him off before hesitation could turn into another defensive wall.
"It'll end with me despising you," Nathan said bluntly. "Just like how you despise humans. Congratulations — you'd officially become the same as the people you hate."
The words landed harder than Nathan expected.
Natsu flinched.
"B-but—" he stammered.
"How could I… trust you?" his voice trembling "I've never seen a human treat one of us as equals! They spit at us, call us filthy, and—"
"Have I done any of that to you?" Nathan interrupted, genuinely annoyed now.
Silence.
Natsu couldn't answer.
Honestly, Nathan thought, I could probably break out of these bound if I really tried… maybe.
He wasn't entirely confident. But the bigger issue wasn't the vines that bind him.
It was the relationship — how Natsu would see him afterward.
He's probably not evil, just broken, Nathan concluded. And extremely stubborn.
"I-I'm sorry," Natsu said suddenly, voice trembling. "I— can't… what if you're just sweet-talking me?"
"My previous owner died recently…" he added reluctantly. "Rendering the state of my slave collar ownerless… what if you just wanted to overwrite it and enslave me again?"
A slave collar??
Nathan glanced at Natsu's neck — an iron collar clinging there, and it looked… uncomfortable.
Ah, slavery. Such cliché isekai tropes.
Natsu's hands clenched. "I finally gained freedom… what if you take it away?"
A faint shimmer gathered at the corner of his eyes.
Nathan froze internally.
Oops… did I just trigger trauma dialogue option?
Why do people keep crying around me lately? Is this a hidden passive skill? Emotional Damage Lv.MAX maybe?
And then—
*Grrrwwllll…*
Natsu's stomach growled loudly.
The fox-boy's entire face turned red instantly. The emotional tension shattered like cheap glass.
Nathan just stared.
Then his own stomach responded.
*Grrrrrrl.*
"…Well," Nathan said dryly, "it seems we're both hungry."
Fantastic. Two starving idiots arguing about philosophy.
"How about you free me," Nathan continued, "and I'll get us something edible. It won't taste great, but nutritionally; it'll keep us alive."
He remembered the Emergency Provisions label clearly — eating three packs should be enough for someone's daily nutritional needs.
But the taste?
crime against humanity.
"I-I'm sorry," Natsu said again, shaking his head. "I just… can't. I'm used for being hungry, this is practically nothing."
Well I'm not.
He studied Natsu carefully—
Thin frame.
Slight trembling.
Rusty sword.
Empty stomach.
How bad were humans in this world to make someone as nice as him this distrustful?
Nathan sighed.
"Alright then," he muttered.
Sympathy remained — but irritation was winning.
Time for Plan B.
"…Store."
The vines binding his wrists vanished instantly, sucked into his Storage inventory.
Nathan sat upright, flexing his freed hands. "You really didn't hold back when tying me up."
"What—?!"
Natsu jumped back, sword drawn instantly.
"Don't move!"
His stance shifted smoothly, even in Nathan's amateur eyes, it looked balanced — disciplined.
Okay. Definitely trained fighter.
Nathan touched and calmly stored the vines around his ankles before stood up. With another thought, his pistol appeared in his hand.
He raised it.
"If you don't lower your weapon," Nathan warned, "I'm not lowering mine either."
Natsu frowned, unimpressed.
"You call that a threat?" he said, gesturing at the handgun. "And what kind of toy is that?"
Nathan's expression hardened.
If words didn't work—
Actions definitely would.
"Don't blame me if you get hurt," he said quietly.
Natsu sighed. "In the end… humans are all the same — always looking down on us."
"I'm not looking down on you," Nathan replied. "I'm being very serious right now."
"Then I will not hold back either," Natsu mocked lightly. "Since you let your true color as just another one of humans scum slipped, I won't feel bad for breaking your leg until you cannot move."
Nathan felt something snap internally.
Okay. I'm officially offended.
I've been polite, respectful, even emotionally supportive.
What more do you want, a therapy certificate?
Natsu moved first, he lunged forward without warning.
Fast.
Far faster than Nathan expected. The rusted blade cut through the air in a clean arc aimed straight for Nathan's leg.
Nathan barely had time to register the motion.
He's fast—!
But he had already prepared for this.
Nathan side-stepped sharply to the right.
"Hunter's High."
The skill activated instantly.
The world bent.
Sound stretched into a low, distorted hum. Falling dust slowed midair. The motion of Natsu's charge dragged as if reality itself had suddenly become thick syrup.
But this time—
Nathan wasn't just thinking faster. His body moved with him.
Earlier, while arguing with Natsu, he had quietly opened his System window and spent an SP. The level up requirement had already been fulfilled during last night's fight.
The result appeared briefly in the corner of his vision.
—————————————
Hunter's High (Lv.1 → 2)
Enters an accelerated state.
• Thought process and movements accelerated by 50% → 55%
• Mana Cost: 10
• Duration: 5 → 6 seconds
• Cooldown: 60 minutes
Automatically active after killing 10 monster in a row with a critical hit using a firearm (this effect has no cooldown and no mana cost)
—————————————
Okay… everything feels smoother.
Nathan's heartbeat thundered — yet calm clarity filled his mind.
Natsu's eyes visibly tracked him, the fox-guy could still see him moving.
But his body couldn't keep up.
Nathan raised his pistol.
Without hesitation, he aimed not at Natsu—
—but at his sword.
To disarm, not to injure.
He focused on the hilt.
Finger tightened on the trigger.
*Bang!*
The gunshot cracked like thunder inside the slowed world.
The bullet struck near the guard of the blade. Metal rang sharply as the impact jolted Natsu's grip sideways.
Shock spread across Natsu's face, his expression frozen in stretched slow motion.
But he didn't let go.
Nathan adjusted instantly.
The pistol cycled, and another round chambered — not in slow motion like before, but in normal speed, in Nathan's accelerated state. Hunter's High upgrade seems to effect his weapon as well.
*Bang!*
The second shot hit the weakened section of rusted steel. The blade warped slightly, the shock finally breaking Natsu's hold.
Nathan didn't wait.
He fired again.
Again.
And again.
The sword slipped free, shoved to the side.
With one final shot, Nathan struck the falling weapon midair, knocking it spinning away across the ground — beyond Natsu's immediate reach.
And then—
Time snapped back to its normal flow.
Sound rushed in all at once.
Natsu staggered forward, hands closing around empty air where his sword had been a heartbeat ago.
He blinked rapidly, confusion overtaking his features as he looked down, then around, trying to understand what had just happened.
Nathan lowered the gun slightly.
"Checkmate," he said evenly. "Willing to hear me out now?"
Natsu stared at him, completely stunned.
His ears trembled faintly.
How…? his eyes seemed to ask. He's weak… I could tell he was weak…
His gaze locked onto the strange metal object in Nathan's hand.
What kind of weapon hits without touching…?
Nathan himself swallowed quietly.
…Okay, how did I actually pull that off? He thought. That such a badass, Hollywood worthy move…
Adrenaline finally caught up to him.
His hands trembled slightly — though he hid it well. That had worked far better than expected.
Unfortunately—
Natsu's expression hardened again.
"I will never listen to a human!" he shouted, voice shaking but defiant. "Even if it kills me!"
Nathan's eye twitched.
Seriously? After all that cinematic effort?
He exhaled slowly.
Alright.
Words clearly weren't enough.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Nathan said, voice turning cold.
He adjusted his aim downward with one hand — trying to look as intimidating as possible.
Then he fired a single controlled shot.
The bullet struck Natsu's calf.
"Hnnh—!"
Natsu knees buckled as he hissed from the sudden pain.