The Mechanical Era

Chapter 147 Getting A Gun (1)



As the sun rise from the horizon, it covered the city of Hoverdam with its rays of yellow light. A farmer, going by the name of Kyle Moneymaker, got his face hit with the sun's light beam, forcing him to wake up from his pleasant dreams of living as a royal prince, and ruling over a kingdom.

Kyle Moneymaker was an ordinary farmer, with medium-long black hair, and deep brown eyes on his average oval face. He lives in a wooden house with his wife and three kids. Contrary to his name, he was what someone would consider poor, at least for now.

As he is forced to move out of the place he had called home all his life, the king had decided to award him a plot of land on the other side of the pixie river, away from the island, where he can do whatever he wanted as long as it was nothing illegal.

Kant had decided to give him, and many other farmers like him, a plot of land to incentivize them to stay connected with the main city of Hoverdam, where they can grow excess food and sell it off to the city, which would allow it to sustain a growing number of civilians.

In less than a week, he was going to be taking a boat to the other side of the river with his wife and kids, to where his own plot of land was. From what he knows, he will be shown around and told what land is his, and what land is not, to avoid conflict and confusion between his neighbors.

However, before he does so, he needs to get one thing from the city before he makes his great journey to the other side. A revolutionary new weapon that had allowed any normal farmer like him to wield unprecedented firepower; a firearm.

Being the owner of the land far away from the city, also meant that he was going to have to protect himself and his family from any threats they encounter as it would take them a long time for the city to respond.  Though it struck fear in many farmers to live so dangerously, it also inspired a sense of adventure and wonder, one in which that they had longed to experience in their youth.

Upon waking up that morning, Kyle's nose found the air around him to be strange. It was rather dense, with a very smoky and sulfurous odor. Curious to know why he got off the bed and looked out of the window to see if this was the case outside his home.

It was then that he figured out why the air was so strange today. On the large stone buildings that have been popping up over the month, their long large chimneys can be seen spewing out large amounts of grey smog into the environment, making the air around him dirty.

"Bah... those pesky merchants and their... chimneys. Wonder what the fuck they are doing in there. Well, it is going to be their problem anyways..." he mutters to himself.

He soon cleans his teeth and makes his way to the dining room where he has his breakfast, freshly prepared by his dear wife. After he is done, he changes into his cleanest clothes, which were a reed flower green hemp tunic, acorn gray breeches, and calfskin shoes, places the necessary paperwork in his pocket, and heads outside.

Instead of walking the entire way there, Kyle decides to take the tram to the city. From what he heard, it will be faster and cheaper to do so. Kyle makes his way to the station, gets a card to where he needs to go, and waits out for the tram, along with a few farmers, by sitting on the wooden benches.

The tram soon arrives at the station and makes a stop. As soon as the door opens, allowing a dozen or more people to leave the tram, he gets up and stares at the giant alien machine. As it stands right in front of him, Kyle hesitated to board. Although he has seen the tram move from afar, there was still suspicion around the machine, as if it was some kind of new demon infesting the land.

Regardless, knowing what he has to do, he takes a deep breath and walks inside the tram. Kyle takes a seat near the window and holds on to the seat for dear life. After a few minutes, he hears a bell ring and feels the tram move. As the tram moves through the rails, wobbling around, Kyle wonders if this thing was going to fall apart and kill him in an instant. However, as time progress, he gets a little more comfortable with the ride, even taking some time to look out the window and enjoy the scenery.

The tram soon makes it to its destination, in Lower-East Middletown. He gets off the station there and walks another 25 minutes to the west of the city. Kyle soon arrives at a refurbished wooden building, with hay roofs and a large sign featuring a small gun. He takes out the card he was handed a few days ago and compares the two symbols. Noticing that the symbols were similar, he enters the place.

From his brown eye, he sees a few receptionists separated by a wooden plank wall and some iron bars, talking to a bunch of farmers individually. The men appear to be giving a piece of paper, answer a bunch of questions, and then being handed another piece of paper, before leaving the compound.

"Next!" one of them says. Seeing that a spot opens, Kyle walks up to the receptionist, who appeared to be a young man bored out of his mind.

"Hello sir, how may I help you today?" he asks in an unenthusiastic tone. Kyle takes out the papers and hands them over to the man.

"Good morning. I am here to pick up my weapon. I am a farmer who was given a plot of land on the other side of the river," Kyle explained.

"Hm... I see. What is your name?" The man asks as he takes the paper and reads it through silently.

"Kyle. Kyle Zent Moneymaker," Kyle replies.

"Hm... I see.? The man takes a file out and scans through it using his finger. The paper appears to have a large table, filled with names and numbers which Kyle didn't fully understand. Then, he suddenly stops, saying, "Ah... there it is," before looking at Kyle.

"Kyle Zent Moneymaker. Age 30. Lives in 'Industrial District 1'. Soon to move out. Is that information correct?" the man asks. Kyle nods in agreement.

"Yes. That is correct," Kyle answers.

"Alright then. Give me a minute." The man takes out a piece of rectangular paper and starts writing something down on it with a quill with black ink. Once he is finished, he stamps a seal on the paper before handing it to Kyle.

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom "Make your way 20 minutes south from here, where you will encounter a shooting range. You will be given your rifle to train and use. Once you have completed the basic course, you will be given a location where you can buy more ammunition and gunpowder to operate the weapon.

However, whatever you do, make sure you don't lose that paper until you get back home. You are going to need it to safely get and use a gun. You got that?" the young man asks. Kyle nodded.

"Yes. I understand. Though, I have a question. How do I know if I come to the right place?" Kyle asks, not wanting to mess up getting the only weapon that could protect him on the other side.

"Just listen to see if you can hear miniature explosions. Besides, there should be a knight guarding the entrance, so you should be good."

"I see. Thank you."

"Good. Next!" the receptionist yelled. With that, Kyle takes the rectangular beige paper and leaves the building. He turns southward and walked straight ahead. He soon leaves the city, and into the more rural area. In the distance, he can hear the sounds of what he thinks to be claps of thunder, in the middle of a sunny day.

The sounds seem to come from the other side of the wooden wall. The entrance to which appeared to be guarded by a tall knight, holding a large sharp sword, ready to cut down anyone who dares enter the shooting range. Taking a deep breath, Kyle appeaches the knight.

"You there! What brings you here?" The knight asks Kyle, who gets a little spooked.

"I am here to get my gun, sir knight!" he responds.

"Do you have the slip?" Kyle hands him the paper he received. After the knight examines the paper, he hands it back to Kyle, before moving out of the way.

"You may go inside," he says. Kyle thanked the knight and makes his way in.


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