Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 188 SKIPPING AROUND

I was in the red room again. No time to waste I moved to my 2 o’clock door. Stepping in the dark void slowly illuminated to reveal I was on the deck of a ship. People all around me they were all dressed differently. From those with weapons openly displayed on their person to a fat kid with a briefcase. Normally that wouldn’t catch my eye, but he was familiar. His black hair slicked to the side, her wore a white shirt and suspenders. A red bow tie around his neck he opened his briefcase to reveal it was actually a laptop computer. 

“Oh shit,” I mumbled, understanding which world I was in. An open water barrel near the main mast I walked to it. Looking inside at my reflection the memories poured in. 

I was Weston Watanabe. 16 years old I grew up with loving parents. That was until last year when my dad’s business went under and their marriage went on the rocks. They struggled to make ends meet. As the oldest son I thought it best to leave to help them not have to worry about me. I left home in search of adventure. That’s when I decided to become a Hunter. 

I huffed, sitting on the deck next to the barrel. Hunter x Hunter was a good choice if I was looking for strength. Not so much if I needed Challenger Slots. The story had no end, and got pretty repetitive after the video game. 

As the pain assailed me I noticed it was less than the last world. This body was strong but not near as strong as this body needed to pass the test. I had severely underestimated what it took to become a hunter. 

“Of course,” I said, letting out a sigh. I could have sworn it took them at least a month to earn the license. I wasn’t sure if I had enough time to do it. Looking over my status screen I had Increased Intellect, Tough Organs, and Increased Vision. I would use my 1 challenger slot on Tough Organs. But I didn’t think I actually needed the other 2. I was going to stick to my plan of jumping around for now until I found a world I could learn a good skill more easily. 

“Move,” a big gruff man said as he walked up to the water barrel. I got up with a groan. Using new muscles my body was restricted by the now small clothes. Walking to the fore I looked out onto the water. 

“Storm’s coming,” I mumbled. It was just on the horizon. 

“Huh?” A girl asked. I turned to face her. She was about my height. Short cut brown hair in a pixie cut she had no meat on her. All skin and bones. But she had a pretty face. Wearing a simple shirt and trousers she appeared to be about my age. 

“There’s a storm coming,” I said. “Weston.” I reached out my hand. 

“Jill,” she said shaking it. She leaned against the railing beside me. “How do you know a storm’s coming?”

“Clouds,” I said. But mainly because it was canon. Some big storm would assault the ships that had the hunter candidates. I hadn’t seen Gon, and the smart kid wasn’t on his ship so I doubted he was on the boat. We were quiet for a time. 

“My first time on a ship,” she admitted. 

“Oh yeah?” I thought back. “Me too. Taking the hunter exam?” 

“Of course. Aren’t we all,” she said with a scoff looking to the other people on the boat. “So many freaking people. Low lifes one and all. I thought the hunter exam would have standards.”

“Oh it does,” I said. “The test already started.” 

“What?” She asked, turning back to me. 

“I said the test has already started. These people will begin dropping like flies soon enough.” 

“How can you know that?” She asked. 

“Because I do,” I said. A bell was rung and people started gathering for dinner. Mid-way through the ship lurched causing people’s food to spill. Heading outside the rain had started. I stepped out onto the deck as the waves began slapping against the ship. Sailors ran around trying to bring up the sails. All the while a gruff man stood at the helm. I made my way beside him and waited out the storm with him. 

—

“You 4 made it,” the captain said. It was the smart kid with the computer and briefcase, Jill, and a rough looking guy with a long scar across his face. “Everyone else is laid up after the storm. We are about to reach port. You 4 pass onto the next stage of the Hunter Exam.” 

“As my calculations predicted,” the fat kid said in a haughty tone. 

“When you get to port, head East out of town. You will come across a cabin. From there you will receive further instructions,” the captain said in a bored tone. 

“That’s it?” The man with the scar asked. 

“That’s it,” the captain said. 

“Listen man, I am not up for these sort of games you-” 

“Too bad,” the captain said. “This is the way it works. So either shut up and do it, or get off my ship.”  

The man’s nostrils flared but he stupidly made a move for the captain. Grabbing the idiot’s neck the captain turned and threw him overboard. He yelled and sputtered but the ship passed him by without care. “Anyone else want to push it?” The captain asked. 

“Nope, I’m good,” I said, turning around and walking away. Once at the fore the shoreline was straight ahead. Jill soon walked up to stand beside me. 

“Not what I expected,” she whispered. 

“Never is,” I said. I turned to her. “Why do you want to become a Hunter?” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” She asked. “With a license you can go most anywhere. Get paid lavishly. People respect you. Hell, I could sell my license and live the rest of my days in comfort…You?”  

“No idea,” I said. “Adventure maybe? Become stronger.” 

“Shouldn’t you be strong before getting a license?” She asked. 

“Oh no, there are a hell of a lot of things to learn after becoming a hunter. It is a big world out there.” I had heard some about the Dark Continent or whatever in the story. Some kind of outer world beyond the map, but I didn’t understand it. “The exam is going to be hard.”

“Duh,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

“Really hard,” I warned. “You’ll have to be able to run at your top speed for hours on end. Survive against other strong people. Complete puzzles. Trust teammates. Fight against teammates. Even a stupid ass cooking contest.”

“How do you know?” She asked, a little worried. 

“Insider information,” I whispered. She frowned but we quieted again. 

“Do you uh, want to become partners?” She asked. “For the test.”

I studied her. She was quite pretty in her own way. I was always up for some eye candy on my adventures. “Sure,” I decided on. “But no slacking. I’m not carrying you the whole way.” 

“Fuck you, I’m not carrying you,” she said nudging me away. 

“What?! But I might need help,” I said quickly. “What if I stumble. I thought that was what partners are for?” 

“But you said-” She stopped, seeing the smile on my face. “Fine, then we carry each other.” 

“Perfect,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’m very light.” She rolled her eyes and we watched straight ahead. Getting off the ship we ran into a few roadblocks, had to solve a few riddles, were tested by a group of bandits, and walked mile after mile. It took another full day to reach the exam location. 

In the back of a small food place Jill and I happened to catch up with Nicholas, the smart kid. He had said that he knew a shortcut, but apparently it wasn’t that short since we arrived at the same time. Jill and I laughed at him, dirty and disheveled from our journey there. 

Nicholas received a white tag with the number 287 on it, Jill received 288, and I received 289. Hundreds of people were already there waiting. I noticed the Rookie Crusher making his way toward us. As I looked around I did what I had been putting off. “World Escape.” 

—

I didn’t hesitate and stepped into the 3 o’clock door. As the light appeared I was sitting up in a bunk bed. Looking around there were others sleeping near me in similar beds. In a wood room I couldn’t tell what time period I was in. The mattress wasn’t comfortable, but the wood of the building was well made. 

Sliding off the bed I walked out of the bunk house. Finding a water barrel I studied my reflection on the water. Information began pouring in. 

I was Weston Watanabe. My entire family had died during the fall of Wall Maria. A Titan had broken through causing them all to storm the city. I barely escaped. Living with a very distant cousin in Wall Rose I had spent the last few years farming. 

Only now that I was old enough to join the Survey Corps did I feel like my life had any meaning. The boot camp had only started the day before. I just so happened to meet the 3 main protagonists in the story that day. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. As well as the people that had attacked the wall. And who I thought was the secret queen or princess or something. 

I cursed, sitting down in front of the barrel. Attack on Titan was a pain. Honestly, a titan form could be a godsend. But there was a catch, you could only live for about 10 years after receiving the form. I didn’t want to risk that if I had more challenges. There had to be a way to get past the 10 year lifespan restriction. Also I didn’t want to have to eat anyone to earn the form. 

Pain assailed me as my World Lasting Physique kicked in. I ignored it thinking about what to do. I was easily strong enough to take on a Titan. But I could use training. I wasn’t positive my water could cut through their necks. If I could speed run it however, maybe I could earn a quick Challenger Slot before my next challenge. 

Grinding my teeth I thought long into the night. When morning came I decided on waiting to challenge the world. There were too many moving parts. I knew where I could gather 3 Titans. And I was sure I could talk some people into taking the forms. I sure as hell didn’t want the Titan form for now. Not until I had a solution to the lifespan issue. 

Getting up with the other recruits we did a morning run. Ate breakfast. Walked through tactics on fighting Titans. Did an exercise on foraging beyond the wall. Most of the time I was quiet. Watching everyone I wasn’t sure where to go from there. I wanted to save Potato Girl. I didn’t think there was any reason Eren really needed to destroy the whole world. There had to be a way to end the war peacefully. Whether that meant killing a bunch of Nazis or not, we would see. 

As night came everyone went to bed. I stayed up thinking. When it was time I said, “World Escape.” 

—

In the red room it was finally time for the last door I didn’t know. “Come on, Pokemon,” I said. Praying that my past self brought some joy to my life in this stupid ass room. I stepped through the door into blackness. 

The area around me brightened to reveal a sunny day. A hoe in my hand I looked around, hopeful to see some sort of Pokemon. I cursed when I didn’t see any. Just more and more fields. Grumbling, I dropped the hoe. In some sort of field I had been tilling it. Wearing a thin shirt and shorts the scorching sun overhead beat down on me. As I continued to walk I received a notification. 

“Damn,” I mumbled. It would have been good to know this was here back when I was trying to learn the sword. Taking a few more steps the pain hit. Once it passed I kept walking to the end of the field. A small bucket of water set out I looked at my reflection. 

I was Weston Watanabe. Son of a poor farmer, I was the middle child. An older sister, she ran away to live in the city. My younger brother died last year from an illness. My parents worked hard. But now my father was ill. Worried about the harvest I was working it day in and out to try to bring some money in. 

I grumbled. “Where are my royalty backstories?” I asked no one in particular. 

Heading back to the small hut my parents lived in, my father got up from the bed with great effort. My mother turned to me as she continued cleaning. 

“I found a bunch of gold while digging,” I said, throwing gold coins from Berserk on the floor. 

“What?!” My mother asked, running over. She picked up the coins. “This-where did this come from?” 

“Out in the field,” I said with a shrug. 

“What is this design on the coin?” She asked. 

I frowned, I knew enough to realize that there would be a lot of questions if some foreign currency was found. I grabbed my mother’s arm, moving her out of the way. I sectioned the gold out and with a wave of my hand melted them into 8 puddles. 

“There,” I said. “Use that to get you some medicine for dad. Maybe retire. I am off to the city to join the Demon Slayer Corps. I’ll be back with more money when I do.” I walked over grabbing a straw hat.

“What?! Weston, what is going on?” My mother asked. My father coughed, unable to say much of anything. Sweating so much I was sure he thought he was having a fever dream. 

“Don’t worry about it. Get some medicine. I will come back with more money when I have time. Maybe find my sister. Love you ma, dad. I’ll be back in a few months,” I said and was out the door. My mother chased after me but I was running toward the nearest city. 

In Demon Slayer there were demons that came out at night that would eat people. There was a group called the Demon Slayer Corps out there somewhere. Basically a secret group of people that hated demons. They were masters of the sword. Training with some weird breathing technique I wondered if it would be useful. 

Since my parents were fine I doubted some random demon would stumble upon us. But the main people were all distinct. It would be easier to find them in a big city. I ran through the forest directly toward it. The miles eaten away easily I found the biggest city and planted myself in the city square. Stealing a few purses I realized that Yen was used. Cursing myself for wasting gold I pulled some yen out of my status screen. It automatically changed to the correct look of the currency. 

Sitting down I jumped up to the top of the building, watching the throng of people. No one looked familiar. I got some food and waited. Considering where else I could try to look for them. Nothing came of it and my World Escape timer ran out. I decided to hold off on this place for now. “World Escape.”