Chapter 1: Our neighborhood is filled with gunfire every night.

The sun sets.

When the sun goes down, travelers passing through the West must make a choice.

Should they stop and spend the night in a nearby village, or…

Wheee-o.

Pass through the wilderness filled with outlaws and wild animals in the darkness.

“…Damn.”

Jake decided to choose the former.

While the urgency of his journey was real, passing through this dark night path was far too dangerous.

“Is there a village nearby… Huh.”

At that moment, he noticed a village sign.

Justice Town

“What a ridiculous name…”

The sign was old and didn’t inspire much confidence, but with no other options, Jake turned his horse toward Justice Town.

Before long, the village appeared.

‘…Oh.’

Contrary to his expectations, Justice Town was quite a large village.

Of course, just because the village was big didn’t mean the rejection of outsiders would be any less…

Jake kept his guard up as he searched for a place to spend the night.

And…

[Deaf Tavern]

He stopped in front of a tavern with a strange name.

‘A tavern, huh…’

“Food and lodging available.”

The Deaf Tavern happened to be a place that provided both food and lodging.

So, Jake tied his horse and walked in without hesitation.

“Wahaha—!!”

“Drink! Drink!”

It was a shabby tavern, but the Deaf Tavern was no different from any other tavern.

“Cool… hmmm.”

A drunkard already passed out on the table, lost in his cups.

“Damn it! Why is an 8 showing up here?”

Gambler’s in the corner enjoying a card game.

And a mysterious man blowing smoke in a chilly atmosphere.

And they all…

Creeeak.

The moment Jake, the new customer, walked in, they fell silent and shot wary glances at him.

This level of vigilance towards outsiders was common in the West.

Jake shrugged at them and moved toward the bar.

“Welcome!”

A middle-aged man, presumably the tavern owner, greeted him with a toothy grin.

“It’s your first time in Justice Town, right? Hehe, don’t mind the reactions of the people too much. Outsiders tend to cause a lot of trouble around here.”

“Ah…”

“You look like a good guy, so I doubt you’ll cause any trouble. So, what can I get you? Oh, and please speak loudly. I’m hard of hearing.”

So that’s why it’s called the Deaf Tavern…

Jake nodded and spoke in a loud voice.

“I need a warm meal, horse feed, and a place to sleep tonight!”

“Got it. Oh, and…”

Before entering the kitchen to prepare the food, the tavern owner pointed at the rifle Jake was carrying over his shoulder.

“We don’t allow weapons in our tavern. Please leave the rifle over there in the corner.”

“I’ll bring your food right away. My wife makes a mean bean dish. I think you’ll like it, hehe.”

Watching the owner head into the kitchen, Jake set his rifle down in the corner.

The other customers…

Watched Jake carefully.

They were staring at him so closely that it felt like surveillance.

Even if they were wary of outsiders, wasn’t this a bit excessive? Just then…

Jake recognized the faces of the men smoking cigarettes and flinched.

‘The Marcos Brothers!’

They were infamous Mexican outlaws.

They were notorious for selecting wealthy travelers among those flocking to the West to rob and kill, and here they were in this little village tavern…!

The reason Jake recognized their faces at once was that he was a former bounty hunter.

As far as he knew, the bounty on each of the Marcos Brothers was around several hundred dollars.

Though he hadn’t come to Justice Town to hunt bounties, seeing their faces now left Jake in a dilemma.

Even more so because the famous Marcos Brothers, known for their exceptional shooting skills, were defenseless without their weapons.

This was the same for Jake, but…

He actually had a trusty revolver hidden inside his coat.

“Bro, stop smoking and have a drink.”

“…Okay.”

Just then, the Marcos Brothers were not overly cautious of him…

This was a golden opportunity that no bounty hunter could miss.

“Wahaha—!”

“Let’s drink and see who dies first!”

“Why is a 6 showing up here again? You cheating bastard!”

As Jake remained quiet, the tavern grew noisy again.

‘3, 2…’

Waiting for the people’s vigilance against him to ease, Jake mentally counted down…

…1.

Bang!

As he counted to himself, he took out his pistol from inside his coat.

And when he turned his body to aim at the Marcos brothers, what he faced was…

“I knew it. You bastard.”

It was the sight of the Marcos brothers also taking out their guns and aiming at Jake.

Bang!! Bang!!!

Bang!!

The Marcos brothers pulled the trigger before Jake could react.

Fortunately, Jake’s quick reflexes allowed him to hide behind the bar before the bullets hit.

Bang!! Bang bang!!

The Marcos brothers fired wildly, and with a deafening noise, a gunfight erupted in the deaf bar.

“Ahhh! You crazy outsiders!”

“Sheriff! Call the sheriff!”

“Forget the sheriff! Wake up that ‘kid’ first!”

“Damn it!! My bar!!”

Despite being surprised by the sudden gunfire, the patrons of the bar quickly hid in safe spots.

Only the owner of the deaf bar, who had come out of the kitchen late, looked on helplessly as his bar was being destroyed.

Bang! Bang!

“Marcos brothers! If you stop here, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see anything!”

From the moment he failed the ambush, Jake had no chance of winning.

Thus, Jake pretended to be tough and proposed negotiations to the Marcos brothers, but…

“Shut up, you idiot.”

“Come out! Shoot him and let’s get out of this town.”

“Wait a minute, guys. I’ll go get my rifle.”

The Marcos brothers only scoffed, as if finding it amusing.

‘If he brings a rifle, it’ll really be hopeless…!’

They were outmatched in terms of both weapons and numbers.

‘Damn it… I should have just ignored this and eaten my meal.’

Just as Jake was regretting his choice born from greed, it happened.

Bang.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.

“What the…?”

“Suddenly, what…?”

Jake naturally thought it was the Marcos brothers who shot, but their reactions suggested otherwise.

And the gunshot…

Bang.

Once again, it rang out, filling the deaf bar with darkness.

It wasn’t aimed at Jake or the Marcos brothers; instead, it was aimed at the lanterns that brightly illuminated the deaf bar, shooting them out.

‘What the…!’

What an absurd shooting skill it was.

In surprise, Jake peeked out from behind the bar to see where the shots were coming from.

And what he saw just before the light went out was…

Bang.

A customer, whom Jake thought was just a drunkard, was sprawled over the table, aiming solely at the lanterns of the deaf bar.

“Crazy!”

“Turn on the lights!”

As the deaf bar was completely enveloped in darkness, Jake heard the Marcos brothers panicking and yelling.

And in the midst of that…

“…$220.”

A hoarse voice from a drunkard echoed.

“…$250, $315.”

Jake immediately figured out what was happening.

It was the bounty on the Marcos brothers’ heads.

“Ah… Some strong ones came while I was sleeping.”

“Which crazy bastard…!”

Perhaps the Marcos brothers realized this too, as furious voices erupted, but…

Bang.

“Cough!!”

Thud.

“Bro, where are you? Are you okay…!”

Bang.

“What, what?! Stop joking around, brothers…!”

Thud.

With each gunshot ringing out, the sound of something hitting the floor could be heard…

Eventually, what remained in the darkness was a suffocating silence.

“Damn it… what the hell is happening…”

Jake had to hold his mouth shut and stay silent in the pitch-black darkness.

No longer could he hear the voices of the Marcos brothers.

‘Could it be that the drunkard killed them…?’

Could someone have killed the Marcos brothers in this pitch-blackness with just three shots…?

He couldn’t believe it.

But the one who accomplished this unbelievable feat calmly called out from the darkness.

“Owner.”

As he didn’t get a response, he called out again in annoyance.

“Hey! Bob! The deaf guy!”

“Uh? Oh, I’m here.”

“It’s all over! Turn on the lights!”

“Got it!”

Bob, the owner of the deaf bar, finally relaxed and started to turn on the lights after hearing those words.

Soon, the deaf bar was brightened up, and as Jake saw the surroundings illuminate, he gasped.

“Gah!”

The Marcos brothers were lying on the ground.

And above them, a man was casually drinking whiskey straight from the bottle.

Gulp gulp.

He seemed to have just crossed into his early twenties.

His body was agile like a jaguar, and his face was quite handsome.

But…

His gaze is incredibly filthy…

The man’s ferocious and dirty gaze made one forget all about his attractive features.

The dark circles under his eyes made him look even more haggard.

Jake stared at the man in a daze and then asked the owner, who came out to clean up.

“Um, owner, who is that person? Is he a sheriff…?”

“Oh, he’s not a sheriff. He’s a bounty hunter, quite renowned in our town. His shooting skills are exceptional.”

“Ah…”

Indeed, the way he had eliminated the Marcos brothers in the darkness just moments ago was almost miraculous.

To precisely break the lanterns with the first three shots and then hit the Marcos brothers between the eyes with the next three…

What an incredible sharpshooter…

He looked young, and it seemed obvious that he would become the best gunslinger in the West in the future.

Thinking it would be good to remember his name, Jake asked the owner again.

“Owner, I think people called him ‘Kid’ earlier. Is that the name of that bounty hunter?”

“Well, it’s not his real name… but his actions are so reckless that we call him Kid.”

Wow, just how reckless must he be to have a nickname like Kid…

His filthy gaze certainly didn’t suggest a good personality.

Then I should just keep my mouth shut to avoid unnecessary trouble…

***

In the West, a small misunderstanding could instantly lead to a shootout.

Moreover, since Jake was an outsider, he turned to avoid drawing Kid’s attention.

But then, something unexpected happened.

“Hm…?”

The man, who had been drinking whiskey straight from the bottle, suddenly seemed to feel something and turned his head, staring at Jake strangely.

Ugh… Is he wary of me because I’m an outsider?

In an effort to ease the tension when their eyes met, Jake took off his hat and expressed his gratitude, but…

“Oh, I didn’t get to thank my savior for sparing my life. Thank you. I’m here for the first time today…”

“…Who the hell is this guy?”

“Uh?”

The man suddenly spat out a curse and chuckled.

Clack. Tap.

Click,

“$410.”

“Wha…?”

Bang.

He loaded his gun and shot Jake right between the eyes.

“Ahhh—! Kid!! You crazy bastard! Why did you shoot him! He’s…!”

“This guy is a criminal.”

“Huh? Really?”

“You’re just unlucky, man. I just received the bounty on this guy today, and how did he end up right in front of me?”

With the flustered owner of the deaf bar, Bob, I pulled out the crumpled bounty notice I had stored in my back pocket and showed it to him.

[Jake McGuffin]

[Age: 31]

[Bounty: $410, dead or alive]

[Charges: Mass murder of an entire family and three cases of assault on women]

“…This guy looks so mild-mannered, but he’s a total villain. What kind of town is this, where outlaws show up every other day?”

“Well, this is a haven for outlaws.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“Never mind. It’s not something an NPC needs to know.”

With that, I waved my hand at Bob and, letting my body succumb to the alcohol, lay down on the floor of the bar.

“Bob! I’m going to sleep, so gather up the corpses and stash them! I’ll exchange the bounty tomorrow.”

“Hey, you reckless bastard! What do you mean sleeping in a place that’s still open for business! And I’m not your servant; why should I clean up…?”

“In return, you can keep whatever comes out of the corpse bags.”

“Heh, I’ll clean up after myself, so sleep comfortably. Should I bring you a blanket?”

…That selectively deaf bastard.

He clearly heard me say something quietly, but as soon as money was mentioned, he understood me instantly.

“Seriously, NPCs… always so greedy…”

I muttered as I fell asleep on the bar floor like a bum.

My name, while working as a bounty hunter in Justice Town, is ‘Noah,’ but the NPCs in this village call me ‘Kid.’

But they’re all mistaken.

“I’m neither Noah nor Kid…”

I wasn’t even from here in the first place.

This wasn’t the real world; it was a world within a game.

“What a damn pathetic world.”

My name is Dokgo Young.

I was a regular soldier about to discharge when I got possessed while playing a western game in the barracks…

“I want to go home, damn it…”