The Man Without a Name rose from his bed with relentless exhaustion. Opening the nightstand, he took a small bottle of tonic that was practically empty.
Taking the final gulp, he stood up instantly.
Even the heavy dark circles under his eyes vanished, but after that the tonic was completely gone, causing the bottle bearing the Mitchell brand to disappear as well.
"Maximum Energy Tonic Mitchell, depleted. Replaced with a copy of the item. Search the nightstand."
"New spatial ring recipe added. Check the repository for more information."
—Another one?— he said as he stood up and walked toward the kitchen, taking a meal from the breakfast chest.
This time it was a few grilled cheese sandwiches with a cup of coffee. Eating quickly, holding both items in his hands, he headed toward the repository.
—New recipes— he said calmly as he took a sip of coffee.
Immediately, the table split in half, revealing a small red-covered book with what appeared to be a silver lock.
It opened wide, and the pages flipped rapidly until they displayed the names of the new recipes in silver gleam.
"Hidden steel plate: 2 soft steel, 3 cow leather. Resists a lethal shot from all directions, as long as it is a small caliber."
"Basic spatial ring (wood): 3 pine wood, 3 oak wood, and 3 maple wood. Allows storage of 3 items."
"Reinforced spatial ring (iron): 6 black iron, 7 malleable iron, 2 spiral iron. Allows storage of 10 items."
"Advanced spatial ring (tungsten): 20 raw tungsten, 9 malleable tungsten, 2 spiral tungsten, 1 obsidian carving tool. Allows storage of 20 items. Can store small machinery."
"Wendigo Colossus leather ring: 6 Wendigo Colossus leather, 6 common Wendigo tendons. Allows survival inside a temporary safe world within the ring for 6 hours. Can be broken to teleport to a safe zone within a region. Allows storage of 15 items."
Looking at the new recipes, he let out a sigh of regret. Even though he didn't want to, the Wendigo Colossus leather reserve was at a very low point.
—Create an advanced ring. Use a rare coupon to speed up the process— he said, taking a sip as the table closed and the tools began moving on their own, along with the system notification in his mind.
He decided to ignore it while preparing to leave, speaking to the system.
—Give me a Mexican Damascus curved machete, three steel axes, three tungsten pickaxes, a mythical-grade sawed-off shotgun, a pack of mythical pistol ammunition—150 rounds—and 12 silver bullets, along with 6 silver shotgun shells.
Immediately, his inventory filled with the requested items, automatically emptying what had been stored in place.
—The green demon Grinch… give me a legendary candy cane staff spear, along with 20 Apache maximum healing salves and 20 Mitchell maximum status tonics. Equip Blackie with 40-slot luggage bags— he said calmly while taking his hat from the coat rack.
—System, give me the smoke pistol. I need the beeswax candles—
Immediately, a pistol that looked like old steel, with a small lid slightly lifted by the smoke inside, appeared and vanished into the inventory.
Casting a glance toward the area where the Luck Training Field was, he thought of Hui Cao for a moment before whistling loudly, calling Blackie.
The horse looked annoyed by the bags hanging at its sides, gazing at its owner heavily before sighing.
The Man Without a Name leapt onto the saddle, landing atop it. The map appeared in his hands and, in an instant, as if they had never existed, both vanished into blue particles.
Moments later, they appeared in an oak forest that seemed locked in eternal autumn.
As the leaves fell, small mushrooms could be seen on the ground, barely noticeable among the acrid leaves.
As if struck by an invisible force, The Man Without a Name was ejected from Blackie's mount and landed on his feet once more.
—Alright, first let's find the lynxes—
The Man Without a Name crouched and began walking deeper into the forest.
He seemed to float; none of the small, fragile brown leaves cracked beneath his steps as he observed his surroundings.
Finally, spotting a lynx feeding on a deer with visible enjoyment, he calmly approached from behind.
With a slow movement, once he was only a few meters from the bobcat lynx, his eyes glowed ethereal, and immediately a portion of his spirit was consumed.
He rose from his crouch and approached the lynx at a normal pace. It behaved like an ordinary cat, purring and weaving between The Man Without a Name's legs.
—One down. Only six left to maintain the perimeter— he said while stroking the bobcat's fur.
The lynx's fur was softer than silk, though it still retained rough characteristics. Despite looking cute like a kitten, its whiskers stained with deer blood revealed its true nature.
"Spiritual expenditure: 10 points. Animals available for control via Spiritual Control Contract 694. Animal vision cost reduced due to energy analysis of the invited entity."
—System? Since when did you become so generous?— he said calmly, his eyes turning ethereal once again.
The lynx's eyes became just as ethereal as
The Man Without a Name's.
He could see faint variants of the electromagnetic spectrum in the air, but accustomed to it, he calmly asked:
—What has the per-minute cost been reduced to?
"The cost has been reduced from 5 spirit points to 3. Integration of qi energy control into spiritual energy is under analysis."
He commanded the lynx to search for others of its kind. As his ethereal vision faded, he looked toward the surrounding trees.
Drawing an iron axe, he began chopping rapidly. Each strike sank deeper; after twenty blows, the tree gave way. But when it fell, as if automatically processed, it produced three oak logs nearly ten meters in diameter.
Grabbing them with his hands and storing them in the inventory, he once again looked through the lynx's vision. When he saw the bobcat a few meters away, another portion of his spirit was consumed.
He let out a small sigh as he took up the axe, before noticing a human figure through the lynx's eyes.
Clicking his tongue, he had both lynxes move in unison, rapidly searching for more of their kind.
He continued chopping calmly while his vision filled with multiple lynxes at once. When the number reached ten, the man was only a few meters away from his position.
Counting the seconds until the man revealed himself, he kept chopping until the voice rang out.
—Today's not your lucky day, friend. Hand over everything you've got or I won't be polite—
The revolver's hammer rose, and the figure of the man—wearing a coarse leather vest and black eyes—appeared.
The Man Without a Name raised his hands, the axe at his side, while mentally directing the bobcat lynxes to draw closer.
—Throw your belongings over here slowly— the bandit aimed between his eyes, the barrel trembling—. And don't even think about using that revolver.
—Easy— The Man Without a Name said, keeping his voice neutral—. I need to take it from my right side. So let me.
He didn't wait for a response. He made a clean lateral leap behind the nearest oak, and by the time his back hit the bark, his mythical revolver was already in his hand, hammer cocked.
In that instant—an order as fast as a blink—three bobcat lynxes attacked. Not from one direction, but from three simultaneous angles. They tore into the bandit's arm with ferocity, shredding sleeve, skin, muscle, and tendon in seconds. Ligaments snapped and gave way.
The bandit screamed—a mix of pain, shock, and raw rage. He managed to pull the trigger—an errant shot that flew into the sky between the branches—but before the echo faded, the fourth bobcat, crouched in the shadows, leapt.
Its jaws found the throat. There was a wet, slicing sound, then silence.
The bandit fell, dead before hitting the ground. The lynxes withdrew, satisfied. The Man Without a Name exhaled deeply as he stepped out from behind the tree.
—Good work— he murmured.
Ten pairs of golden eyes blinked in unison.
He took his axe, stored it in the inventory, and calmly searched the body.
Fresh stains of alcohol—a common desert whiskey—reached his nose. Examining the weapon more closely, he saw it was well maintained, but noticing the lack of kill marks, he began mobilizing the lynxes to scout the area.
—An initiate… which bandit group? The Marion? No… they use Colt Python pistols as a symbol— he said while searching the bandit's belongings.
Examining the corpse more closely, he noticed fresh sauce stains on the shirt. The smell of burned wood and charcoal clung heavily to the fabric.
—Some idiot's trying to get clever and claim the oak grove as a camp— he said calmly, mentally splitting the lynxes into two groups of five.
—Find as many as you can. I want to see how long they survive before realizing they're being hunted— he said, lighting a cigarette and continuing his chopping.
The work continued as his handmade cigarette burned away. After felling ten oak trees, the iron axe shattered in his hand, turning to dust.
Taking another, he continued chopping steadily until the lynxes found the bandits' camp.
They had a small pot full of beans and meat, along with several cans on the ground labeled Mac and Teresa, the best from the can. The whiskey bottles scattered around had labels so worn they looked like ancient relics. Only two more men remained there.
Unable to hear their conversation and limited to reading their lips, he took the revolver from the corpse and calmly walked toward them.
Seeing yesterday's Wanted: Dead or Alive poster, he smiled faintly.
—These idiots… Jeremiah Blackwood. Looks like I'll be collecting a 7,000-dollar bounty and a favor from the Sioux very soon— he thought calmly, imagining the expressions of the wealthy protectors as the criminal died at the hands of natives.
Walking through the grove, he asked the system in his mind:
—Tell me, do you know the name of the girl's world?
Pushing aside a tree branch, he glanced at the blue sky for a moment before refocusing.
"Xian Dao. That is the name."
—It's strange… I never thought I'd see a man fly through the skies on a sword, look down at the blue sky without a machine or a hot air balloon. They live in peace thanks to these powerful beings— he said calmly.
"The world of Xian Dao is just like any other. There is war and death."
—So much power… yet I don't know. I always thought that in a world where you can see the sky from above and live forever, there'd be something beyond the same old cycle. In the end, even if they rise against death, they're still human— he said, gazing at the sky with sorrow in his heart.
Aiming his pistol, he hesitated for a second before launching his attack and asked:
—Is there kindness in that girl's world?
"There will always be hope in any host world. You may never see a figure rising into the skies to save people, but there will always be someone who tries to be good."
—System… are you really comforting me?— he laughed, a sense of calm settling in his heart.
—Stupid machine… in ten years, this is the first time you've said something different from your usual dryness. It's a good change— he said calmly as he launched the attack along with the lynxes.
The man with the Winchester rifle fell first, face hitting the ground. The younger one drew his weapon in terror.
Unaware of the animals around him, he focused on The Man Without a Name aiming at him. By the time he realized, the lynxes had already surrounded him completely, tearing him apart with their fangs as he emptied his pistol into the air.
It was over in an instant. The Man Without a Name searched the belongings and, taking a watch bearing a family crest, let out a simple sigh.
With the threat eliminated, he continued chopping calmly, occasionally glancing at the blue sky.
Walking slowly, occasionally stroking the bobcats, he felt time pass. With his eyes still fixed on the sunlight, he sat on the ground surrounded by golden gazes, pulled out a canteen, and took a drink of water.
—System, do you think my world would turn into an arid wasteland just because of greed?— he asked while stroking the cat resting in his lap, its paws extended.
"How would I know, host? I only have your memories of nearly empty continental vaults. Water regulation was already the first indicator. Although the resource consumption volume you remember is not the same as what likely exists now, it will always continue to grow."
—Even if they dislike the treaty, government leaders know exactly what will happen. If Wendigos and spiritual animals had existed in my world, they might have thought twice before doing whatever they wanted— he said calmly, lighting another cigarette from his personal stash.
"The host may rest easy on this matter. The world of the Old West will never reach that point."
After some time, the bags on Blackie's sides filled with oak logs. With inventory slots still empty for what was to come, he stared at the sky a while longer, the sun high above.
—Midday. I need to go to the iron mine and then to the city to investigate the family crest protecting Blackwood— he said, mounting Blackie and bidding farewell to the bobcat lynxes of the grove.
Touching the mine icon, both vanished into the air in an instant.
"Random event: robbery of train 662 of the Masoner Company. Entering event. Save the train and earn three silver ingots. If unable to save the train, rescuing the captured passengers will reward one silver ingot. The tungsten spatial ring has been completed. Transferring to inventory."