Author Notes:
It's a not-so-surprising OBOM release, but hopefully it's a welcome one. After this OBOM chapter, I will start working on the next GSS chapter before jotting down yet another OBOM chapter for Early Access.
Speaking of Patreon related stuff, shoutout to Private Vochel who is now the newest member of the Belkan Imperialis family! Hope you enjoy your stay and the Early Access chapters pal!
Additionally, loving hugs to you all who have shown support for OBOM and my other fics! You all are the best!
Before I move onto copy-pasta my links (lol), I'd like to announce that I am thinking about setting up a Discord server with some volunteered helpers. Nothing too serious, of course, but hopefully it's another channel that you'll be able to join and see if I'm alive or not. This will take some time though, as I am a literally technological caveman (even though I could somehow bootlegged Stable Diffusion to run...).
Links to my Patreon and other Fics:
https://www.patreon.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko_fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
Actual Monthly Income Goal 790/1500 USD (The bare minimum number I can think of to sustain our safe haven is 1500 USD a month)
Income Counting Yearly Supporters 1000 USD (It will be a long road, but I won't give up. For my Mom. For all of my loyal readers.)
https://www.webnovel.com/book/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich_23809095505377305
https://www.webnovel.com/book/in-the-grimdark-sector-with-a-system_31596105108346205
https://www.webnovel.com/book/my-soul.-occupied-body---please-the-other-me...!_35377211308783905
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
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"This should do it." I say while propping up a thick chunk of bark that I pried from a fallen tree onto a piece of rocky outcrop.
The piece of bark I found is carved with a rudimentary shooting target. As for why I have to make a shooting target... Well, it's because I am bored after trekking inland, from the beach to the jungle, and from the jungle to the untouched hills of green. It has been more than thirty minutes of exploration, judging from the rugged watch-and-compass combo that I got from the Military Survival Kit. While I can appreciate the near-tropical atmosphere of the biome, I am in the mood for a change of pace. I have already spied from afar what seems to be a good place to set up camp, up on the hilltops. So, other than finding sources of proteins and water, I think it's time to check what my gear is capable of.
To be more specific, I am itching to try out the Q Fix bolt-action short-barreled rifle and RSh-12 Assault Revolver. More than doing it for shits-and-giggles, I am hoping to familiarise this new, untrained body of Aurea and me with the handling of firearms. It's also why I have been wearing the acquired vest and belt with all the ammo that I can reliably carry for the two firearms on my body. And I have one thing to comment on before going on to the fun stuff:
Shit is heavy as fuck!
Even though I am wearing a light vest and the long gun is made to be an SBR, the ammo and field kits I have on hand still weigh down this untrained body of ours by what seems to be a ton. It has been a pain in the ass to navigate the jungle that is thankfully not entirely sprawling with root outcrops. I can only imagine just how out of breath I will be when I get to the spot I eyed up hill, but it's something I have to get used to now, rather than later. Is this a good idea to exhaust myself in moderation so early into the game, and after this body of ours received life-threatening injuries?
Maybe, maybe not, but the potion from Mobius sure gave me one heck of a fix that made me think it's ok to continue on like this.
After making sure the shooting target is squarely secured in place, I stand up from my crouching position, dusting my hands, before walking away while uncapping my technically infinite canteen. As I down the cool liquid in a couple of small, controlled gulps to keep my hydration in check, I count my steps to make sure I am exactly 50 meters away from the shooting target, give or take a couple due to elevation differences. Once I have reached the chosen spot, I put away the canteen before turning around to face the shooting target, my legs digging into the ground in an attempt to brace my body for what's about to come.
I take a deep, calming breath before looking around with quite alertness. For this brief shooting interlude, I have picked a peaceful spot just halfway up the hill where the vegetation isn't as dense as the jungle beneath me. Other than some insects and a couple of curiously colorful birds, there's nothing here that screams danger, but I have to be really sure, you know, just in case?
Anyway, mild paranoia aside, there's nothing to be alarmed about, at least not yet. So, braving myself, I make sure the Q Fix is slung properly in front of me before reaching out to my Gunslinger Combat Belt, which is actually an attempt at a modern Cowboy belt with integrated quick-draw holster and speed loaders holder for my revolver. As I mentioned, the RSh-12 is designed to be paired with its matching toolkit.
Feeling the cool grip of the RSh-12, I can't help but marvel at the ease of it when I swiftly draw the hefty Assault Revolver and aim it at the target at a distance for a normal pistol. My memory kicks in, allowing me the knowledge of how to best lay the ironsight of my revolver on the center of the target. Yet, our body immediately protests. Even when I have swiftly used both hands to maintain a stable grip on the hardy hand cannon, I can still feel how swiftly my limbs are tiring out, causing more minute sway in the once stable sight picture.
"I bloody need more cardio after this..." I complain to no one in particular before lowering the revolver and holstering it.
Afterward, I train on the drawing motions, pulling out and aiming the RSh-12 a few more times to get the proper feel. Once I am comfortable that the chunk of metal and composite won't be flying out of my grip without even firing it, I flip the cylinder open. It flops out with surprising finesse for something holding five massive .50 caliber cartridges. Slowly, I remove four bullets, leaving only one in the chamber.
What, you don't expect this inexperienced body of ours to suddenly know how to handle a fully loaded hand cannon, right? The last thing I need is to somehow land myself a Darwin Award from Brandon Herrera of all people when the massive recoil of the RSh-12 ends up flipping the backward toward my head with my finger pulling against the trigger, and there's another live round in the chamber... Yeah, I know, it's a very, very specific scenario, and I am making damn sure I won't land myself in that situation.
Once I make sure that there's only one subsonic cartridge left in the cylinder, I close it promptly with a soft, but tasteful metallic click. Taking yet another deep breath, I then level the loaded hand cannon at the shooting target once more. For the very first time firing this beast, I opt to go for the double-action trigger. With both hands gripping the beast of a revolver, I squeeze the trigger, and feeling it travel ever so gently before the hammer falls.
Ka-clink
BOOM
Although the 509-grain bullet has a subsonic velocity, it still completely pulverizes the shooting target faster than one can blink and craters the rocky outcrop behind it. Honestly, I don't even know if I hit the 10-point zone of the crude target I made because everything got turned into fine wood chips and dust! But...
"Holy Jesus on a bike! What the fuck did you give me, Viola!?" I curse very crudely as I struggle to hold the RSh-12 securely in my right hand after the whole frame recoils above my head.
As I shake my numbed left hand, I exclaim in both amazement and chilled dread.
"Thank whatever divines that are out there that I have the mind to load only one round in this thing. Christ almighty, it still hurts..."
Biting back further complain, I load another cartridge into the revolver. This time, I opt for the 277-grain supersonic armor-piercing bullet. I should have thought better than to start off with the hand cannon for the zeroing shots; now I am left without a shooting target. So, aiming at a nearby tree stump, I pull back the hammer first with my left hand before squeezing the trigger with noticeably less effort than before.
Clink
BOOM
"Goddamn...!" As expected, the tree stump and whatever is behind it still got obliterated by the supersonic shot. And the revolver still hurt my hands like a truck. "Seriously, this is too much firepower for a mortal lady to handle!"
But hey, at least I got to know the recoil patterns and trigger pulls, right? Better get used to it now than finding it out the hard way when shit somehow hits the fan.
I sigh before swinging the cylinder open. I remove the empty casing, but instead of discarding it carelessly onto the ground, I deposit it into the System's Inventory. Who knows, there may be a way for me to load the empty casings up in the future. After that, though, I top up the revolver with all things armor-piercing.
Why not load the 509-grain, harder-hitting subsonic, you may ask? Well, it's because I already have a subsonic weapon in the form of the Q Fix. That SBR will be my go-to weapon for any target that can be defeated with a 350-grain hollow point. The RSh-12, however, with its armor-piercing bullets, will be my last-ditch weapon for anything that has even a lick of armor in a danger close situation. Or at least, that is the plan.
Holstering my hand cannon, I unsling my Q Fix, readying myself to test the SBR and its fancy LPVO scope. But right before that, though...
"H-Hello... Other Me?"
My body halts as my mind churns to answer the sudden, quivering mental voice of my Other Me in my head.
"Oh, hi, Aurea~! How was your sleep? Did I wake you up with those loud booms earlier? If I did, then my apologies for that." My voice turns a notch gentler. Gone are the crude words I spoke earlier.
"N-No! I-It's fine, Other Me... Uhm... You're U-Umbra now, right?" The meek voice of Aurea is spoken directly into my head once more.
I nod, directing a kind smile toward her in our shared mental space.
"Uhm, for ease of identification, I am Umbra, while you're Aurea. Don't forget that, Other Me~! Now, what should I do for our sleeping beauty today? Have you digested my memories yet?"
"Y-Yes... I-I have... Ehm, Umbra..." Aurea starts unsuredly. "Are you ok?"
I pause, but then I giggle when I get what Aurea is insinuating. "You saw it all, right? Don't worry, I am fine and dandy. At the very least, I am doing better than you are right now."
"O-Oh! Ok! That's a relief... A-And, can we just talk?" I can hear Aurea exhaling gently in my head before she continues. "Ehm... I don't know what else to do other than see you... Doing what you're doing? My talents... My skills... They aren't much help to you right now... I-I am useless, aren't I?"
I point a mental finger at her.
"Now, don't you dare say that about yourself, Aurea! If there's one thing you and I are good at, it's not being useless, ever! Even with your memories, this is still unfamiliar ground for me, after all! I don't have your familiarity, so I must trouble you with being my stalwart guide from here on out!"
Aurea pauses for a bit, seemingly surprised by my sudden task delegation, but I can feel her happiness through our mental link. Girl, you have no idea how important you are to me, right now.
"O-Ok! I-I will be your guide then, Umbra... I-If you would have me, of course!"
"You jest! Of course, I would love to have you as my guide, Aurea!" I smile before continuing on with what I have been doing. "Now, how about we have a little chat while I mess around with this gun. You know, getting to truly know each other, the world, and the System and so on."
"U-Un!" Comes Aurea's meek, yet assertive reply, seemingly trying to make herself more confident.
You know, a sleep can fix up many things, but from a mental mess to a girl that is actively trying to move past her trauma that fast... Yeah, that's still a bit impossible. Aurea is probably keeping her trauma locks in a corner. It's why she can actively communicate with me now instead of passively responding to stimuli and defaulting to whatever option will give her the least trouble. We both will have to cooperate and slowly work on Aurea's PTSD, but for now, there's no need to open up her wounds when the volatility of our circumstances is yet to be determined.
I will still drive a 509 grains through the skull of that one girl who put Aurea into this situation, though.
Ok, enough digression. Back to familiarizing myself with my firearms. To ensure our livelihood, I have to understand what my hot stuff can bring to the table.