Surviving as the Second Main Lead: Second Lead's POV

After Horas had woken up, he had been taken to the lab and then made to wait for Mark. Mark had also informed Horas of his new living arrangements in a hurried manner.

In short, Horas had been abandoned in front of the lab door as soon as he had been picked up. And it was as disappointing as was expected by him.

‘Mark should consider himself lucky that I am not an ordinary child. Otherwise, he would have a crying kid on his hand.’

Horas did not have a lot of experience dealing with children but even he knew five years old were terrors and could drive a person insane if they wanted to. Horas was not looking ahead to ‘socializing’ with people his age.

“Hmmm, now that I have time, I should take a look at my system properly. I know I made this system but I don’t have any idea how it works.”

Horas was slowly realizing how different it was to write about a thing and experience a thing in real life. He felt like a fifty-year-old who was looking at a computer for the first time.

He did not even know how to bring up the system screen properly and he was convinced that the last time had been a fluke.

[[[User name : Horas Spencer, 5 years 6 months old

Affiliation: Unknown

Stats:

Strength: 1/10

Stamina: 3/10

Luck: 5/10

Mana: 1/10

Intelligence 7/10

Speed 2/10

Additional Skills: None]]]

Horas could tell that his stats were only basic right now and all because was a child. He was disappointed to see that he had no additional skill available to him.

‘I guess I am not the protagonist so I will not have any additional skill. But did I not give the second lead anything?’

Horas only realized what a big oversight he had made when writing the novel. He had developed the villains and the main cast but forgot to consider any other person. And that even included the second lead such as himself now.

“It doesn’t matter. I am the author and I know all the cheats. I can just snatch some buffs for myself later.”

Horas sounded determined to have a good future and he was willing to study hard for it.

“Hoh, are you talking to yourself right now? Do children your age generally do this often?”

Mark exited the lab with a tired expression. He had a big folder in his hands and his back was hunched.

But Mark had alert eyes which took in everything he saw and analyzed it all for future usage. He was truly a frightful person and Horas did not remember writing about such a person.

“Anyway, now that we are done here, It’s time I took you to pick a weapon. Hey, don’t look at me like this. It’s all the principal’s fault for forcing you into this position.”

Horas knew that but he still could not help it. It was easier to show his displeasure to the man in front of him than to the principal who was not there.

‘But isn’t it too much? How can you expect a five-year-old to handle a weapon and not hurt yourself?’

From Horas’s perspective, it made perfect sense why he should ‘not’ get a weapon. But no one else apart from him seemed to be normal and it looked like he was getting a weapon now.

…………………….

The weapon hall was empty at this time of the day and this was the first stroke of luck Horas had all day. He was sure that he would have become a subject of rumors had people been in the weapon hall at this time.

Mark lead him to the weapon selection aisle and they stopped in front of the buffest man Horas had ever seen in his life - the weapon instructor.

“Wow, isn’t this a rare sight to see in here? Did you finally decide to embrace the superior field that is weaponry and give up your pathetic technical lab, Mark?”

Every word the weapon instructor spoke shook the surroundings. The man was not only loud but oblivious as well.

He ignored Horas’s existence and did not take a clue when Mark rubbed his ears in pain. Instead, he began to pick out weapons left and right. He even ignored Mark’s protest which finally caused Mark to curse.

“Lieutenant, I am not here for myself today. We have a new ‘student’ who needs a weapon. Now, don’t be surprised because it’s the principal’s order, and do not yell.”

Mark warned the instructor but even then he braced himself for the loud noise that was about to erupt out of the instructor’s mouth.

“Huh, what do you–Mark, I respect you as a human being, but why did you bring a kid in here? No, why is there a kid in this facility in the first place? Don’t tell me-?”

It took some time for the weapon instructor to put two-on-two together but Horas could not even blame him this time. This was a ridiculous situation, to begin with after all.

“Mark, have you lost all of your brain cells while looking at the screen? This is a kid, no not even a kid right now. Surely you are not asking me to-”

“Oh, believe me, that I am asking you exactly that right now. This kid is the one we need to find a weapon for.”

The look of disbelief on the weapon instructor’s face was priceless right then. His eyes looked ready to bulge out of his skull and his hands seemed to have become cold as well. Horas felt sorry for the man, but he felt sorry for himself a little more.

That was why he decided to look around for a weapon that suited him. If he was going to get a weapon anyway, he wanted something easy to use.

‘And let’s not go for a sword this time. I don’t need to be compared to the main character in the future.’

It was not because Horas was petty and wanted to not be first. He just wanted something he was familiar with and easier to work around. Also, something with tactical distance would be better for him.

‘I need a gun. Maybe it’s because I’m from a different world but a gun feels like the best weapon out of everything here.’

Guns were easier to use and load and Horas’s brain just defaulted toward them. It did not matter that they were an outdated choice for most people.

“Hey kid, stop walking around. You could get yourself hurt if you are not careful. Just what are you looking around so curiously for?”

The weapon instructor asked as he watched Horas almost get nicked by a sword he had not seen. The kid was shaving off years from his life currently.

“Ah, I wanted to look for a gun. Somehow, I have a feeling it would suit me the most.”

The weapon instructor had a sorry look on his face as he watched Horas look for a gun. A gun was generally not a weapon that was looked upon favorably.

“Hey kid, I know the movies make guns look cool but maybe you should look for something more practical and future-proof. Maybe a weapon that can conduct mana will be better?”

The weapon instructor seemed to be having a hard time accepting Horas’s decision as he looked between the kid and the weapon aisle.

“Instructor, he’s a kid. I don’t think he can even handle a mana-infused weapon yet. Now that I think about it, a tight gun might be the best choice of weapon for the kid. It even has safety mode.”

Mark seemed to be on Horas’s side at least which was fortunate. He could argue for his case since it looked like the weapon instructor was not going to budge.

“Kak, a gun? Never in my life have I ever taught anyone to shoot. But I guess you do make a good point. Alright, a gun it is.”

The instructor moved toward the back side of the room and pulled out a small briefcase. He opened it to show a light gun model and pulled it out.

“This is the only model we have for now. Make sure you do not lose it and look for me when it’s time to train. I will personally teach you to-”

The instructor patted Horas on the back as he let him go. Horas barely managed to correct his landing before he could hurt himself on another sword.

“Instructor, it was nice to meet you but I think we should get going now. There is too much to do right now and I am afraid that we will be late if we did not leave right now.”

The instructor looked a little taken aback at the sudden departure but he let it not show on his face. Horas was all but valued out of the room by Mark and then deposited in front of the lab door.

“Do not spend too long with that instructor or you will become a muscle head as well. You have got a good head on your shoulders kid so I want to train you as my successor. Do not fall for other’s sweet lies.”

Mark sounded annoyed and Horas almost let out a laugh. His new life seemed to be turning interesting all of a sudden.