Firing the Beam! The Name Is... Black Line!

Firing the beam! The name is...! Bang. Bangbangbang.

In the game I used to play, the weapon known as a gun was an unfortunate one that never received much attention. The simple controls that even beginners could handle without any issue. The overwhelming damage that had no rivals in the early stages made it a balance-breaking weapon that was hard to think of as a starting weapon. Everyone secretly acknowledged it. Looking at it this way, it seemed packed with advantages, but the problem was that those advantages ended right there.

Bang. Bang.

It was strong in the early game, but once skills built up, the damage wouldn't work against named bosses or the players known as rankers in PvP. Of course, if you used bullets made from special materials or enchanted with magic instead of ordinary ones, you could deal significant damage. But considering the price of those bullets, each shot came with a heavy burden. Guns were seen as nothing more than a money pit—a real headache.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Yet for one user, the demerits of guns I'd just described didn't apply. With his special class, he could instantly create attribute-infused bullets on the spot.

Bangbangbang.

Nickname: Crossgun. The only player to earn the title of top ranker, an honor granted solely to the top 0.01% in PvP while using guns as a weapon.

Many people took interest in his unique traits, and soon they pieced together the information. The part that drew the most attention was none other than his class.

The Incarnation of Light. A class everyone had experienced in the tutorial. That's why everyone knew exactly how broken it was. As one of the rare users who possessed the Incarnation of Light class, he once again proved to the world just how overpowered it truly was. Some people, inspired by him, even chose the so-called reroll path—deleting and recreating their accounts countless times just to obtain that class.

Why am I suddenly telling this story? Because it's absolutely necessary for the current situation.

Though it was only for a fleeting moment, I had reached the number one spot in PvP rankings, and in the process I fought countless users. Crossgun was among them.

His combat style, the skills he used—every detail was stored in my head. And right now, watching the doppelganger's attacks, I felt more confused than I had at any point so far.

'Just what the hell are you?'

Why was that thing using the exact same fighting style as Crossgun? The skills, the attribute bullets from my memories—everything. I couldn't understand how the doppelganger before my eyes was replicating Crossgun's techniques, but there was a way to find out.

The fact that the doppelganger fought like that meant the original it was mimicking—Mir—could fight the same way. And I had made a bet with Mir beforehand. Whoever defeated the doppelganger first would get to make one wish.

'Now I have a reason I must win.'

Until I learned about that change, winning or losing hadn't mattered much. Now I felt I absolutely had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to win. I needed to take down the doppelganger faster than Mir and ask her how she knew that fighting style.

Bang. Bangbang.

"Kugh!"

But how could the shooter allow me to close the distance? The doppelganger refused to give me any chance to narrow the gap that had opened at the start. My breathing grew rougher by the second. If I simply held on, I might win by mana exhaustion alone. The thing kept pouring mana into its gun and firing nonstop.

There was no time to look up. An eerie sensation shot down my spine and I threw myself backward. At the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment, countless rays of light poured down from the sky. These weren't ordinary bullets—they were thick beams of energy, like lasers raining from above.

'It's even using Pure White?'

Pure White was one of the area-of-effect techniques available to Incarnations of Light. When Crossgun used it, the characteristics of a gun fused with the skill and transformed it into something that looked like a barrage of lasers. Its traits were a wide attack range and a debuff that ignored a portion of the target's defense.

'He can't spam Pure White that often. At least I've bought myself a breathing window.'

"Huu..."

Then I needed to use this short gap to finish him off and recover my stamina. I'd already revealed my full power during the earlier spar with Garein anyway. There was no one here who would notice if I held back. As for Alkest... she'd already seen me fight once, and even if she witnessed my full strength, she wasn't the type to turn hostile.

'No reason to hesitate, then.'

I would use every card I had. Fox's Grudge, plus one-hundred-percent ghostly qi body reinforcement pushed to its absolute limit.

The ghostly qi that had lain dormant until now reared its head and rampaged violently through my body. A silver fox silhouette rose behind me, and the familiar tattoo of nine tails etched itself onto my arm.

"Huu..."

Crack. Crunch.

My body screamed in protest. But in exchange, it became tougher, faster, and stronger than ever.

'Should I add this on top of it?'

Honestly, I still lacked practice, so using it in real combat was still uncharted territory. But if it worked, it was a hidden card that could end the fight in an instant.

Crack. Crunch.

"...Kugh!"

The gruesome sounds echoing from inside my body were different from normal ghostly-qi reinforcement. I clenched my teeth and endured the entirely different flavor of agony so my body could adapt. Hoya stared at me with fed-up eyes while Cheonma watched with something like pity.

It wasn't as if I wanted to do this. There simply wasn't a better method to take him down in a short time.

"Huuuu...!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art rampaged through my insides, creating chaos while simultaneously activating recovery. Paradoxically, even though my body was suffering enormous damage, an impossible contradiction occurred where I took no actual harm.

"...Self-destruct? Or... is this the end...?"

"It's not."

That guy was speaking much better than before, wasn't he? Listening to his steadily improving speech, I kicked off the ground with all my strength.

Boom.

"!!"

"Surprise!"

The doppelganger was startled by a speed that couldn't even be compared to before. The distance closed in an instant. Before it could react, my fist drove forward powerfully.

Thud.

"Kugh...!"

At some point the doppelganger had turned its gun into a shield to block my punch. Even though it had blocked, its face twisted in clear pain.

"Making that face already? We still have two more hits to go."

"Haa!"

"!!"

Boom!

With a shout, an explosion erupted where fist and shield met. The doppelganger flew backward in shock. Its shield had a hole punched clean through it, and the damage had reached the body behind the barrier.

Crack.

"Ow, that stings!"

Of course my own fist—the origin of the explosion—wasn't unscathed either. It was covered in wounds. However, thanks to the special nature of this place, the pain I felt was nothing more than a mild stinging sensation.

But that wasn't all. With that single strike, Fox's Grudge had already stacked three tails' worth of stats.

Hoya was appalled at the power I had used. It seemed this method wasn't to Cheonma's taste either; her gaze toward me grew even stranger than before.

A technique created by taking full advantage of the effects granted by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. It didn't have an official name yet, but as long as my mental strength held, it rapidly stacked Fox's Grudge while dealing explosive momentary damage to the enemy.

"Kwaak... You crazy bastard...!"

The doppelganger that had flown far away clutched its abdomen and shouted.

"Wow, your vocabulary has improved a lot."

This space might not hold up, huh. Then unfortunately I'd have to be satisfied with my current state.

The three stacks of Fox's Grudge released and the accumulated power flowed into me.

"Alright. Shall I try making a long-range attack as well?"

With my current strength, it should be possible. Since I was emitting power directly from my body I couldn't hold a weapon, but if I shaped my hand like a gun and concentrated the power at the tip...

Ziiiiing.

The power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art gathered at my fingertips. Shooting it like this would be fine, but I decided to use the explosion bursting from within my body as the trigger.

"How arrogant. You dare suggest a ranged fight in front of me?"

The doppelganger, having figured out the nature of my attack, frowned and took up a counter position. It transformed into what looked like a sniper rifle and aimed at me. Goddess's light gathered at the muzzle while darkness-like Heavenly Demon energy coalesced at my fingertips.

The two beings had at some point turned Hoya's tail into a makeshift chair and were lying down, watching the situation with keen interest.

"Burst."

"Die!"

Attacks fired from both sides at the same time.

"White Light!"

'That guy actually shouted the skill name?!'

Then I might as well do the same.

"This side is Heavenly Demon Dea—"

"No, Heavenly Demon—"

"Go! Black Line!"