Chapter 60
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: 8th Floor - Lv. 159 Brigade Headquarters (5)
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The Gun Ranger was a class that was extremely dependent on gear.
There were no masteries, and hardly any related skills.
The few skills that did apply weren't even dedicated gun skills—they were general-purpose ones that worked with bows or even thrown weapons.
The only support from the Mind Map was the ranged weapon bonus from the Agility stat itself.
In other words, the class's performance was absolutely tied to its equipment.
In a way, it mirrored real-world trends. As time passed and science advanced, reliance on individual ability diminished.
The world of swords and magic faded, leaving swordsmen and mages powerless before guns.
Of course, since this wasn't pure reality, those elements survived in niches.
But not in this era.
The fairy mage hurriedly unleashed [Fire Bolt], then recalled some of it.
Even if they had projectile weapons in mind, they probably hadn't imagined an assault rifle.
The vampires didn't know what guns were, so they charged right in. I used [Dash] to create distance while dodging the incoming flames.
Even in the haste, it had homing capabilities—she was controlling it directly.
Singed in several places by the skilled guidance. My Intelligence stat and the angel feather padding provided ample magic resistance.
The magical flames couldn't catch hold.
My outer cloak burned away, revealing the fluorescent green padding underneath.
Bang! Bang!
Seeing some [Fire Bolt]s hit me, they must have rushed in. Bullets cut through the flashy flames.
Flames even coiled around the rounds as they pierced a vampire's heart.
These weren't creatures where the head was a weak point, but the heart was non-negotiable.
Burst fire from the selector switch.
Unlike single shots, the overlapping bursts rat-a-tat-tatted as the vampire guarding the mage like a shield dropped from a distance.
I targeted the mage without pause, but a barrier sprang up to block it.
Magic cast without relying on skills.
A skilled practitioner. Mages of this caliber would survive into the future, preserving their lineage.
I emptied the remaining rounds, and the barrier couldn't hold.
The hairs on my body stood on end.
I rolled my body swiftly and locked the bolt back.
The magazine dropped out as I slammed in a prepared replacement.
One drawback of guns: unlike bows, where skills or gear could eliminate the reloading step entirely, guns required manual reloads every time.
No infinite magazines here.
A discharge erupted upside down where I'd dodged to.
I timed it perfectly, closing my eyes and plugging my ears.
Lightning flashed down.
I immediately racked the bolt forward.
Full-auto on the selector.
Firing at the mage's position while controlling recoil.
Right then, I knew something was wrong.
A flash lit up behind me.
An eerie blue line connected to the spot where the lightning had just struck.
[Chain Lightning]?
I tossed the gun and gestured, channeling mana. Pre-manifest mana moved at light speed within my field of view.
The fairy mage's setup dispersed under my interference before it could become lightning.
At the same instant, a chill crept toward my neck.
I drew and parried with the Coatl longsword like an iaido strike, sparks flying.
The dagger gleamed with a dangerous green sheen.
The mage deftly slid the dagger along the longsword and thrust again.
I leaned back to dodge, then dropped into a dropkick position,
[Dash] forward.
There should have been weight behind my toes, but there wasn't.
Instead, the opponent scattered like a shadow.
[Stealth] was a cheat skill in the early game. It steadily drained the opponent's mana for tracking, while momentarily obscuring movements.
A dagger flew through that gap. No throwing motion visible.
Unavoidable speed—I just raised my arm to block.
The angel feathers glowed, deflecting the dagger.
Better than most bulletproof vests or defensive mage robes. No wonder angel cards were rare.
Another dagger hidden in the shadow of the dripping poison one came flying.
Deflected by the padding again.
I swung a full-force punch at the dagger.
The mage, who had [Blink]ed in, took it clean and flew back.
But lightning arced from her fingertips in the process.
Magic resistance or not, a direct hit couldn't be shrugged off.
Numbness spread through my body, and I dropped the longsword.
My knees buckled involuntarily.
A split-second passed, and we both launched back to widen the gap.
"Damn it all, how do you fight this well? And what's with the gun? I called in vampires thinking it'd be easy."
"I thought I could end it with gunfire too. You're quite seasoned."
Anyone anticipating a sudden gun ambush in this era wasn't a master—they were an idiot.
Accounting for every possibility meant you couldn't take a single step.
"I've died a ton like that, you know? Now there's no next run if I die, so what choice do I have?"
We panted even as we talked.
Neither of us had invested heavily in Strength. Close-quarters brawling wasn't our specialty.
"Let's see how well you handle magic."
Flames erupted in all directions with her words.
Lightning was the most effective element in PvP.
If you didn't spot and disrupt it instantly, it hit.
But that meant it had tells.
I spread mana detection while disrupting the lightning strike.
At that moment, her mana surged wildly.
Big spells had even a slight delay.
I snapped my fingers too. A self-suggestion trigger for manifesting my magic.
Lightning, flames, and ice rose up.
From all sides.
"What the hell."
The mage grimaced.
Attacks I'd manifested, without regard for my own safety.
She'd disrupted every spell in her sight before manifestation, but frost that froze her feet lingered.
Lightning manifested once more.
She tried her best to disrupt it, but I resisted.
This face-off in magic manifestation came down to who shaped mana flow more effectively.
If I'd started forming a [Lightning Strike] flow, it would manifest even if slightly disrupted, by inertia.
Her mana stretched out relentlessly, hammering my flow to prevent completion.
The principle was entirely different, but it resembled movie hacker battles in form.
Yet as with all things, the defender had the edge.
The mage abandoned interference and raised a barrier.
Lightning struck.
Disrupting pre-manifest magic favored defense, but blocking manifested spells with defensive magic was a loss.
Elemental magic fused with ambient mana, outputting several times the invested power.
A barrier was pure personal mana.
The fairy mage took heavy damage and dropped to one knee.
The hasty barrier failed to ground the electricity properly.
Her robe hem burned, body convulsing from shock.
She forced words through unresponsive lips.
"Fine. I surrender. Impressive skills worthy of crushing Kakrish before the kingdom does. It's been ages since I lost to combat magic."
"Pardon?"
"I surrender. I'll cooperate from now on, so spare my life."
"No, what's this Kakrish?"
Confusion clouded the fairy mage's face too.
"Wait, weren't you the one who unleashed [Meteor Swarm] near the northern rock dwarf village?"
"That was me."
"You killed Kakrish?"
"I thought he was your senior?"
A brief silence, then both scowled deeply.
Our voices overlapped.
""Then who did?""
"This guy's seriously high-level, huh?"
The Hunter muttered. A glint of gold flashed in his eyes.
The effect of his sight-enhancement active skill, [Hawk Eye].
With the leader—who handled the mage role—absent, only the Hunter could detect stealth here.
"Hold on."
The Girl closed her eyes, pricked up her ears, then leaped with [Dash] mixed in, stabbing at something.
[Stealth] effects scattered, revealing a goblin that crumpled.
The Girl's dagger was soaked in blood.
"How...?"
"I've guarded VIPs before. Hehe."
Once she came of age, she'd handle human assassinations instead.
That's why she wanted to stay a kid outside.
"That explains it... No, I'd be the fool for questioning it."
Unreasonable beings existed: the fixed named exiles. Thinking like them made it simple.
"But how far do we need to shine here?"
With no leader, the Hunter took charge.
After deliberation, he decided to consult the goddess.
No response.
He called again, a couple times.
「Ah, ahem. Sorry. That side was too thrilling.」
The Girl jumped up.
"Something wrong?"
「Your 'Uncle' won, so relax. It's nothing big—just fun.」
The goddess awkwardly cleared her throat with divine words.
「Ahem, well, your leader says to give it your all. Make yourselves super noticeable for extra pay.」
"Money matters."
The youngest nodded solemnly.
The Hunter chuckled wryly and nocked an arrow. Guns were a shame to waste, even so.
"Rampage, got it?"
「Yeah, you're already at war with the God of War anyway. Might as well get friendly with humans.」
Solid logic.
The goblin raids continued, heedless of life.
For a war god with savage suffixes, Greenskin faction goblins were treated like tools.
If you weren't a proud frontal warrior, you weren't even a proper societal member.
Unfortunately, goblins lacked talent for warriorhood.
If the emperor commanded and the commander relayed, goblins would target foes silently unto death.
Greenskin accessories denied even cheers.
They charged into flames like moths, knowing they'd burn.
Too early for dawn, peace returned amid piled corpses.
"Ugh."
The Girl covered her own eyes.
Areas with stationed combatants resisted, but civilian and farmer zones were different.
The few guards lay gruesomely torn.
Scarce living souls where defenses lacked.
"You're a wonder, miss. Fine with intact corpses, but mangled ones..."
"Ah, don't say it."
The sight made "mangled" seem polite.
The youngest squinted and spoke.
"This isn't just to win now—it's that."
"To crush civilian morale, not soldiers'."
War ravaged all lives. Yet non-combatants sustaining daily life were as vital as frontline troops.
Where else would supplies for feeding, clothing, housing troops come from?
Greenskins might not be smart, but they knew victory in strife better than anyone.
News traveled fast without legs.
These events would spread wide, invoked as anxiety and terror in every siege.
The brutality clearly aimed to stoke that psyche.
Survivors left deliberately.
Would the lord silence them?
Futile—rumors would spread among soldiers and mercenaries.
"Phew, found you. Everyone okay?"
The leader's voice.
The Girl ran and hugged...
No, tackled him.
The leader, nearly impaled on the wall, spasmed.
In the Hunter's ear, the Girl whispered—though furious, it came out loud.
"Take me if you're fighting. Do this again, and I'll break you for real."
"Ow, it's already broken! Broken!"
The mage beside laughed. An acquaintance. Night Crow emblem unhidden.
Hair singed and ragged from fierce combat, evidently.
The Hunter thought little of it.
Probably spotted and stopped an infiltration squad.
Even so, he agreed with the Girl.
The leader needed to rely more on party members. He shouldered too much alone.
"Are you the exiles?"
A voice called.
A weary official and a torch-bearing soldier.
Quill, parchment, and build gave away the official—armor and weapons were standard.
Blood splattered everywhere, spear shaft dripping too.
The keep had seen fierce fighting that night too.
Rawrraaaar!
God of War!
Cheers echoed beyond the walls.
Pre-battle ritual: announcing themselves, seeking honorable clash.
The official paled further.
Greenskins would assault at dawn's break.
"The lord summons! Urgently! Extremely urgently!"
Less spoken, more blurted in tone.
His face screamed on the verge of collapse.