Preparations

Ethan walked out of Le Kene with a sense of finality. His past was now officially behind him.

No more Claire, no more Noah, no more remnants of the life he had built from scratch only to watch it crumble.

Now, he had to prepare before being thrown into a completely unknown realm, expected to survive on nothing but his instincts and whatever the System decided to grant him.

First things first, I need a place to stay.

Ethan checked into a hotel near the city center. A small room, nothing fancy, but clean and functional.

It wasn't home, but he wasn't exactly planning to settle down here. This was temporary—just a place to sleep until he stepped into the deep end of the Explorer job.

Entering the room, Ethan slumped onto the bed, his mind already working through a list of necessities. He needed supplies—things that would help him survive his first 24 hours in an unknown world. His gut told him that the Explorer's Initiation Pack stored in his Inventory wouldn't be enough.

He was about to go in blind, into a random world.

The least he could do was go in fully stocked with food and armed to the teeth.

________________________________________

The next few hours were spent shopping for essentials.

Non-perishable food; energy bars, instant meals, and bottled water.

Medical supplies; bandages, antiseptic, painkillers—basic first-aid gear, just in case.

Survival tools; a flashlight, a multi-tool knife, a portable lighter, and duct tape.

Clothing; a few sets for all seasons.

Ethan stored everything inside his Inventory.

The outfit sets had been the point of worry for Ethan because if they counted as singular articles, they would take up a lot of useless space in the inventory. 

But to his relief, the clothes got stored as a seasonal outfit.

For instance, the jacket, thermals, gloves, scarf, snow goggles, boots and thick socks all labeled as,

[Seasonal Outfit: Winter]

After the shopping trip, Ethan made one last stop—a gun store.

________________________________________

Ethan wasn't stupid. He had never handled a gun in his life, and he knew that without proper training, he wouldn't be hitting anything beyond ten feet. But cold weapons were worse.

He wasn't going to magically become a swordsman overnight. Swinging a blade properly required training, strength, and technique. If he had to rely on close combat, he was already dead.

Firearms, on the other hand?

They had range. Even if he had terrible aim, he could at least threaten something or suppress an enemy from afar or scare them away.

Walking into the gun store, Ethan was immediately met with rows of displayed firearms, from handguns to full-sized rifles.

The sheer variety of weapons was overwhelming. How was he supposed to know which one was best for surviving whatever the hell he was about to be thrown into?

The owner, a grizzled old man with sharp eyes, leaned on the counter and gave Ethan a once-over.

"Looking for something specific?"

Ethan, not wanting to look completely clueless, nodded seriously.

"Yeah. I need something that can, you know, lay down a bear."

The old man raised an eyebrow.

"You hunting or something?"

Ethan paused. "Uh. Something like that, I guess."

The owner rubbed his temples. "Alright, let's try this again—are you looking for self-defense, hunting or… uh, dealing with large, aggressive wildlife?"

"Let's go with aggressive wildlife."

The old man shook his head but started pulling options from the shelves.

"Alright, most hunters go with bolt-action rifles. Good accuracy, solid stopping power."

Ethan frowned. "Bolt-action? You mean those slow, one-shot-at-a-time rifles?"

He shook his head.

"I don't want to be fumbling with a bolt-action. I need something with good ammo capacity and full-auto capability."

The owner raised an eyebrow. "Hunting with an automatic? Kid, a bolt-action is slow but all you need is one shot with accuracy, after all you gotta preserve the hide and horns of your trophy right?"

"Nope. I figure 'spray and pray' is better for my case than 'take a shot and hope I don't miss'."

The old man sighed, "Alright whatever the customer wants. You want something reliable, high capacity, and full-auto capable. That narrows it down. We'll set you up with an M4 carbine—lightweight, solid mag size, and won't jam on you. If you are looking for sidearms, the Glock 19 is your best bet. And since I'm guessing you still want to knock something big on its ass, we'll throw in a semi-auto shotgun."

Ethan nodded along. "That's more like it. Now, give me as much ammo as I can legally carry. Actually, scratch that—give me more. And while we're at it, I want five of the M4s, fully loaded."

The owner squinted at him. "Five? What the hell do you need five automatic rifles for?"

"To hunt? If I run out of bullets, I'll just pull a fresh one out of my bag and keep firing", said Ethan as if it was the most normal thing to do. 

The old man gave Ethan a once over, thrice.

"Umm not be rude or anything, but you do realize that you have to be able to carry all of that, right?"

Ethan's eyebrows twitched.

"I am stronger than I look."

The old man shrugged and began packing Ethan's purchase.

"Oh and could you show me how to umm, use these? Just the basics, I'll pay you for your time."

The old man exhaled slowly, probably wondering if this sale was worth the headache.

But money was money.

"Alright, backroom range. Let's make sure you don't shoot yourself or others."

The next hour and a half was a crash course in basic firearm handling—loading, reloading, aiming, and proper stance.

Ethan discovered that he was not a natural.

At one point, he nearly dislocated his shoulder trying to shoot the shotgun, and his first few handgun shots went nowhere near the target, from a 30m range. But after enough repetition, he at least knew how not to embarrass himself—or shoot his own foot off.

Once everything was packed up and paid for, he left the shop armed to the teeth, still not entirely sure he wouldn't die horribly in five days, but glad that at least he would die struggling.

________________________________________

By the time he returned to his hotel, the sun was beginning to set. He tossed his bag onto the bed and sat down, exhaling slowly.

His eyes flickered to the System interface.

[Time Remaining: 4 Days, 6 Hours]

The preparation and the purchases had helped ease his nerves—at least slightly. He wouldn't be without food or at least a little bit of means of self-defense.

With a sigh, Ethan pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and dialed a familiar number.

After a few rings, a cheerful voice answered.

"Ethan! Finally, my son remembers he has a mother!"

He couldn't help but smile slightly. "Hey, Mom. Been busy. Thought I'd check in."

"Busy, huh? You didn't even tell us about such a huge development at your company! I swear, your father and I were wondering if you were off on another work trip, we tried to reach out to Noah to congratulate him but he didn't answer, perhaps he's been busy—"

"I've just had a lot going on," Ethan said, running a hand through his hair. "Things are changing at work, and I needed to sort some things out."

"Oh? Yes son, I get it, huge changes. How's Claire?"

His throat tightened for half a second. He had called intending to tell them, but hearing his mother's voice so excited and blissfully unaware? He didn't have the heart to ruin that for her.

"She's... doing fine," he said instead, keeping his tone neutral. "We've both been busy."

"Ah, you young people and your careers! Speaking of which, your father's been wondering what's happening with the company after all the changes. Are you still handling things?"

Ethan exhaled, choosing his words carefully. "It's doing fine, as for me I am looking to expand my horizons," he said truthfully, though not in the way they thought.

"I'm focusing on the stepping out of my comfort zone—new dimensions, new markets. Noah's handling most of the same old boring work."

"Oh, that's good! You always did have a mind for the bigger picture!"

Ethan chuckled nervously.

The guilt tugged at him, but there was no immediate need to explain the truth.

Not now.

Maybe not ever. Stop. 

Not now, no pessimism.

Mentally smacking himself on his head, he turned his attention back to the call.

"Anyway, I just wanted to check in. Make sure you guys are doing okay."

His mother sighed. "We're fine, honey. Just don't be a stranger. You work too much—take care of yourself, alright?"

Ethan smirked. "Yeah. You too, Mom. I'll call soon."

Even though he had reassured his parents, a nagging thought sat in the back of his mind.

What if I don't come back?

It was a real possibility. He wasn't arrogant enough to assume he'd make it through unscathed. He was not a light novel protagonist and if Galen's words were true, facing dragons and demons was not an impossibility.

Yeah, right. I am pretty sure I'm not even at handling Goblins level right now.

With a sigh, Ethan grabbed a notepad from the hotel desk and a pen.

He wasn't the type to leave behind dramatic farewell messages, but he figured a letter was the least he could do.

Marcus,

If you're reading this, then I probably won't be found. Don't ask where I went—I don't know either at this point. You probably wouldn't believe me even if I explained it.

I need you to do something for me. Break the news to my parents, but don't make it sound tragic. Make up some excuse. They don't need to know the details. Just let them believe I went off chasing something bigger.

And while you're at it, just look after them, alright? I know they're tough and self-sufficient, but still.

Thanks bro.

-Ethan

He stared at the letter for a few moments before folding it and scribbling Marcus' name on the front, tucking it under the lamp on the nightstand where it'd be found easily enough.

Ethan leaned back and exhaled. The weight on his chest had lifted slightly now that everything was handled. He had done whatever little preparation he could, said what he needed to, and left instructions in case things went south.

Postponing the inevitable? That was pointless.

He opened the System Interface and navigated to the Quests Tab. His eyes landed on the pending First Steps of a Seeker quest.

[Would you like to begin the Quest now?]

[Yes]

[No]

(Automatically begins in: 4 Days, 6 Hours)

Ethan hovered over the options for a moment before shaking his head. "No point in waiting. Let's get this over with."

He selected [Yes].