Firepower Testing is a Serious Matter
Suddenly shattering the clear record in record time left me in a daze as I headed back home. After stashing the emergency rations I'd prepped meticulously—but hadn't touched a bite of—into my one-room fridge to keep them from spoiling, I figured it was time to fire up the community and give those hunter uncles who'd been mocking me a piece of my mind.
But the moment I opened the community...
Are they insane?
"...Huh, impressive."
Everyone's reactions to my new record were pure bewilderment, spilling out in droves. Watching that, it hit me differently than I'd thought—unlike how the goblin shaman's shield popped like nothing with the autocannon, it was actually way tougher than it seemed.
"I see."
It felt completely underwhelming to me since it shattered so easily, but these posts revealed the goblin shaman's shield as a seriously frustrating pattern for early hardcore climbers. Reading them, I felt a smug surge of pride swelling in my chest.
But my gleeful lurking as an internet ghost didn't last long.
"Hmmm..."
One hunter's question got a better explanation from some nameless drifter than ExplainerBot. It dawned on me that I'd blasted everything with the autocannon from the start, so I hadn't tested the rest. Instead of rushing to the next floor, I re-entered floor 6 to test how far my gear's ammo could punch through on those goblins.
And a little later.
The new floor 6 had dozens of goblin minions guarding the shaman, just like before...
"Say hi—this is Mr. Ki, our exclusive lawyer."
-BRRRRTTT!
"Kipiyaaak!!"
"Kerruk!"
"He was there... but now he's not."
Minus the shaman, the rest got turned into Swiss cheese by my preemptive strike strategy with 20mm and other rounds. During the test, the shaman dropped his shield to curse me or whatever and flailed around, so I politely educated him with a pistol bullet each to one shoulder and one leg.
"Ready, shaman dude?"
"Ke, Kerruk!"
With all preps done, the shaman nodding eagerly—eyes sparkling unlike last time—I started the shield-busting test with my weapons.
Obviously, the strongest 20mm had already seen real combat, so I skipped it lightly. Instead, I tested from the weakest pistol upward, one by one.
About 20 minutes of thriftily firing 5-10 rounds per gun and ammo type later, I realized my weapons' power varied wildly—some matched original specs, but projectile size, gun scale, and such made big differences.
Take the first test: 9mm pistol rounds. Even landing all 5 predicted shots left the shield barely scratched—way tougher than expected. Pumping 10 full still left it at ~70%, closest to original power.
Then proper stuff: 5.56mm rifle rounds barely poked a hole after exactly 10. 7.62mm penetrated solidly at 6-7 shots. The bigger 7.62mm machine gun rounds—same diameter but longer—pierced reliably after just 2-3 of the first 5.
Finally, the stars: 12.7mm and 15mm heavy MG rounds. 12.7mm varied by shaman's condition but barely blocked one lucky shot. 15mm punched through regardless.
"Gotcha—your defense levels."
"Ke, Kerruk?"
"This is so boring I could die."
"...!"
From the test, main weapon stays 20mm autocannon. But for sub-weapon, swap the K3 7.62mm LMG for the 15mm heavy MG from the armored car.
The shaman who'd suffered through all my full-arsenal testing deserved credit, so...
"Great job on the test, shaman soldier."
"Kerruk!"
"No doubts on your loyalty."
"Ke...rruk?"
"So rest easy now—no pain."
"Kebop?! Kek, kek?!"
-BANG!
After gifting his retirement pension—a 20mm to the gob that thought it'd survive—I headed home. Nodding in satisfaction, next floor should be a breeze.
Set all these records, then hit a hunter measurement center to certify? Could score more accuracy-boost items, maybe even get the Hunter Management Bureau to hook me up with better gear via military ties.
Drifting into sweet dreams of that, I wrapped up for the day and crashed on my cost-effective mattress for some honey sleep.