Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Moments ago.
A somewhat disheveled man with a tired gaze could be seen walking along a path.
"Truly hell on earth," said the man in a tired tone.
Alex had been walking for about 10 minutes and was just now seeing the village. Although he had only been walking for a few minutes, he felt like hours had passed under this sun.
He didn't have a hat or anything, the only thing he was wearing was a black T-shirt, his pajama pants, and flip-flops.
If he had known he was going to be teleported to another world and would have to walk under this sun, he would have bought a hat and sunscreen.
That's not to mention his not-so-good physical condition. He hadn't exercised in several years, the most he did was walk to catch the subway, although sometimes he had to run to not miss it.
"I guess that counts as exercise, right?" he muttered.
Although the man had told him that the village was a 15-minute walk away, he supposed that this was a fact for people of the present day.
Seeing that he was somewhere in the 19th century, he thought that there would still be a lot of livestock and abundant crops, which would put more physical stress on people.
After letting out a small sigh, he dispelled all his troublesome thoughts about why it was taking so long to reach a village. Complaining would not help at this moment.
The only thing he could do was keep walking steadily, hoping that the village would be closer than it seemed.
After a couple of minutes of walking, he finally saw that he was getting quite close to the village.
Seeing that the village was getting bigger as time passed, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
How would the people of this village treat him?
Would he be welcome?
Wouldn't he look weird because of his clothes?
Alex couldn't help but let all sorts of worries run through his mind. After all, he knew himself that being a guy who didn't belong to this time period was bound to have clashes in his way of being, dressing, and even eating.
Thinking about this, he approached a nearby tree, a little on the outskirts of the village, to rest in the shade and calm down a bit.
After standing for a few seconds, he finally decided to enter the village.
As soon as he entered the village, he found himself met with several gazes from the people, some curious, others surprised, and others a little malicious.
The latter seemed to belong to the somewhat chubby man who was quickly approaching him.
"Hello, young man! Welcome to the town of Valentine, the best town in all of New Hanover and Ambarino. I'm John, a great merchant who travels around the world. Whatever you need, I'll have it."
The man said before extending his hand in greeting.
A little surprised by the sudden introduction of the man, I instinctively extended my hand to return the greeting and said my name.
"I'm Alex."
The man smiled at the response before sweeping me with his eyes, giving me a slight chill. It seemed as if he were looking at a juicy piece of meat after 'evaluating' me.
"I see you're not from around here, young man. You can easily get lost in this big town. Let me guide you."
After saying that, the man turned into a talking advertisement machine. He boasted about having the best products on the market for clothing, guns, and food. He even told me that he could introduce me to a couple of ladies.
Feeling somewhat dizzy from all the man's talk, I was about to open my mouth and reject him, but just before doing so, a voice interrupted the chubby man.
"Hey folk"
The chubby man and I turned at the same time upon hearing the voice apparently directed at us.
After turning, we saw a man in his forties, with a robust body and a somewhat scruffy and dirty beard. He wore typical western attire, with a somewhat worn black cowboy hat. His black hair was tousled, with some gray strands peeking out from under the hat. He had brown eyes that matched his gun holster, also brown.
The man had a tired look, as if he'd rather be at home lying down doing nothing.
"Hey, fatty, keep your filthy hands off my cousin," said the man.
John, upon receiving a sudden insult from the man, immediately got angry and retorted.
"Who are you calling fatty, you damn bastard?"
John raised an eyebrow before turning his head to the side and nodding slightly in agreement before responding back.
"Clearly, there's no other pig here besides you."
This only fueled John's anger before he grabbed the handle of his gun and looked the man directly in the eyes.
"Repeat what you said if you dare."
The man shifted his previously tired gaze to a serious one and, like John, placed his hand on the handle of his gun.
The people around, upon seeing this exchange, immediately stepped a few steps away from the duo. Some even went into the nearby bar to watch the spectacle from the window. The bravest even started betting on who would win.
"I bet five on the fat one."
"I'll put eight on the skinny guy."
The atmosphere between the chubby and skinny duo was so tense you could cut it with a knife.
And in the midst of this exchange was Alex, who was already soaked in cold sweat at the prospect of being involved in a duel.
Alex couldn't imagine that just this small exchange of insults would make people draw their weapons directly to kill each other, even before engaging in a conversation to resolve the issue.
In an even worse turn of events, it seemed he had been the trigger for this situation!
However, just as the duo was about to draw their weapons to start the duel, a deep voice laden with authority interrupted them.
"Hey you pair of bastards, stop what you're doing right now!"
A man approached calmly, his brow deeply furrowed as he lightly clenched his teeth to hold the cigarette in place.
The man wore a golden star badge on the left side of his chest. The duo, seeing the sheriff's intervention, clicked their tongues in unison before holstering their guns, which had already been partially drawn.
The sheriff's brow relaxed a bit upon seeing that the duo had calmed down a bit, before taking the cigarette with his left hand and warning the two 'duelists'.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside of town. Removing a corpse is quite a hassle."
The sheriff said before taking a deep drag from his cigarette. After that, he focused his gaze on the skinny man before giving him a reminder.
"Scott, stop causing trouble in town. If another situation like this happens again, I'll throw you in the cell once more."
Scott nodded slightly as he respectfully responded to the sheriff.
"I'm sorry, officer, but this man was bothering my cousin."
The sheriff, upon hearing this, briefly glanced at Scott's cousin and John before exhaling a cloud of smoke and saying.
"Sure, your cousin or whatever. Just behave yourselves. Now, scatter."
The sheriff said as he put the cigarette back in his mouth and headed back to the sheriff's office.
Seeing that the sheriff had intervened, Scott and John naturally couldn't continue their little 'game'.
John looked at Scott with some resentment before huffing, turning around, and walking away, clearly forgetting all about Alex's 'guidance'.
Watching John's back as he walked away, he focused on Alex before putting his hand on his shoulder and giving him a small smile.
"Hey, cousin."
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Trivia: Can you guess which tree Alex leaned against before reaching the town? Upload an image of the tree. (Provide an Image of the tree)
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