I'll Put a Bullet in Your Head
Through the virtual glasses, as I watched the F-class representative selection match, one of the officials let out a sigh.
“Hah… Looks like there’s a student who awakened as a blacksmith over there.”
As one man spoke, the others chimed in right after.
“To think there’s someone in F-class who awakened into a production class. That’s worth paying attention to. Especially since he’s using a furnace, there’s no doubt he awakened as a blacksmith.”
“What was that student’s name again? Lee… Hyunseung, was it?”
“I heard he was in A-class until recently… Hmm…”
Coincidentally, Jeong Minseok—Jeong Eunseo’s father and the guild master of the Teore Guild—was also present. He muttered quietly to himself.
Combat classes received fairly good treatment, but those in production classes were also treated with considerable respect. The reason was simple: producing weapons and items was far easier than obtaining them from monsters. On top of that, the convenience of being able to craft exactly what you wanted, exactly when you wanted it, was another major factor behind the high evaluation of production classes like blacksmiths.
Jeong Minseok observed the man working alongside his daughter through his virtual glasses.
Since Jeong Eunseo was the daughter of the high-ranking Teore Guild, she was always surrounded by talented people. Even though blacksmiths were a favored profession, the man didn’t seem talented enough for her to form an alliance with.
-Swish
Jeong Minseok scanned Lee Hyunseung with slightly displeased eyes, then suddenly noticed something strange.
What had caught Jeong Minseok’s eye was the pistol hanging at Lee Hyunseung’s waist.
There was one clear rule for this F-class representative selection match: aside from the basic weapon corresponding to your class, you were not allowed to bring any other weapons or items. The fact that he was openly carrying a pistol at his waist could only mean one thing.
Simultaneous awakeners were extremely rare worldwide. Jeong Minseok’s mouth fell open in shock at the mere realization.
Satisfied, Jeong Minseok continued watching Lee Hyunseung. He had no idea.
That Lee Hyunseung was not some mere Epic, but a Legendary-grade simultaneous awakener.
Inside the virtual stage.
“Ah, did I not mention it? I’m a simultaneous awakener. Blacksmith and gunner.”
When Lee Hyunseung spoke, Jeong Eunseo jumped in surprise.
“Wait, then you’re a Legen—”
-Grab
Jeong Eunseo tried to ask if he was a Legendary-grade simultaneous awakener, but Lee Hyunseung covered her mouth. He shook his head at her wide-eyed, gaping expression and signaled her to keep quiet.
Right now, Kim Yuri didn’t hold much goodwill toward him. Revealing that he was a Legendary-grade simultaneous awakener in a situation where any variable could arise carried too much risk.
Lee Hyunseung knew how to awaken Kim Yuri as a mage. And once he helped her awaken, she would treat him like her savior. To Kim Yuri, magic theory was something she valued as much as her own life.
Incidentally, mages were the class that could engage with magic theory most directly.
Kim Yuri, who had been standing beside them, also asked in surprise.
“You were a simultaneous awakener… and a blacksmith and gunner at that.”
Kim Yuri hadn’t even considered the possibility of Legendary grade. She was simply shocked by the fact that he was a simultaneous awakener.
“Well, I wasn’t trying to hide it, but anyway, enough with the small talk. Let’s hurry up and make some potions. And if you see any stones or mana stones around, gather them for me.”
The mana stones Lee Hyunseung mentioned were like universal materials that existed inside the virtual stage. Using a mana stone could substitute for most crafting ingredients.
“Hoo…”
Some time passed. Countless mana stones had piled up around Lee Hyunseung. Thanks to Jeong Eunseo, an Epic-grade mage, they had been able to collect a massive amount in a short time.
-Whoosh-!
-Whoosh-!
As Lee Hyunseung began tossing mana stones into the furnace, light flickered, and the Orb of Creation emerged.
-Clang-!
-Clang-!
After striking the Orb of Creation several times, item crafting began.
Fire-attribute Magazine — 30 seconds remaining
Thanks to the blacksmith class trait, or perhaps because he was using mana stones as materials, the magazine was being completed at an incredibly fast pace.
Lee Hyunseung looked around and said, “Everyone seems to be staying put for now, so let’s finish making our materials here before we move.”
The rest of the group all agreed. If they didn’t do it now in the very early stage, they would barely have any time to craft weapons or items during the class representative selection match.
More than several dozen minutes passed while they focused on crafting items and weapons.
“Hoo… This should be enough for now.”
After making various potions and a large number of magazines, Lee Hyunseung finally straightened his back and stood up.
Kim Yuri asked him, “Are you done?”
“For now, yeah.”
Lee Hyunseung checked the message window floating in his vision.
[Epic] Random Automatic Pistol — 1 hour 20 minutes remaining until completion
‘One hour… The weapon is random, and the crafting time is pretty long.’
Incidentally, any weapons made inside the virtual stage would disappear the moment they left. In other words, they were essentially one-time-use items. Even so, the fact that it took over an hour was astonishing.
Still, it didn’t matter. Even if it took over an hour, the weapon would come with magic power stats attached, and he still had one crafting slot left.
Just as Lee Hyunseung was about to leave with that thought, he sensed a presence in the distance.
-Rustle-!
He made a quick judgment and shouted, “Jeong Eunseo! There’s someone by the bushes to the southeast. Bind them with magic right now!”
-Whoooosh-!
In an instant, a binding spell was cast.
-Ting-!
But it was met with the sound of something blocking it.
-Tap tap tap-!
Lee Hyunseung quickly ran over to check. A man was inside a large barrier.
Lee Hyunseung aimed his gun at the man. The man, seemingly delighted by something, smiled as he glared back at him.
“Kuhuhu… You’re not seriously thinking of breaking this with a gun, are you, you idiot?”
Without hesitation, Lee Hyunseung fired at the barrier.
-BANG-!
The gunshot rang out, but the barrier remained intact.
A barrier this powerful couldn’t be crafted here. Possessing something like this meant it was at least an artifact made by an Epic-grade or higher mage.
He wasn’t using any magic right now—just firing a plain old-fashioned pistol. Even with the Legendary additional damage effect, piercing an Epic-grade or higher defensive artifact was difficult.
Of course, if he could use magic, he could tear through a barrier like this as easily as ripping paper. The moment he used magic, the gun’s power would multiply several times over, and the Legendary trait’s effects would scale accordingly.
The man inside the barrier continued giggling and mocking him.
“Idiot, after acting so tough, you can’t even break a single barrier? Why the hell did you mess with Lady Yoo Heeyeon like that? Those items you were crafting earlier— if you leave me here and run, I’ll tell my entire team everything you made. Starting with the gun, all those potions, and everything else. You made quite a lot, didn’t you?”
-Flinch
Lee Hyunseung stopped in his tracks as he was about to leave.
With that thought, Lee Hyunseung fired his gun once more.
-BANG-!
-Ting-!
The man inside the barrier cackled and shouted.
“Fuck! Do you even know what kind of barrier this is? You stupid bastard. Stay here jerking off for the rest of your life. Go ahead and see if I leave. And if you keep shooting that gun, people will hear the noise and come running soon enough. Then I’ll tell them everything you’ve been doing. Especially you, Lee Hyunseung. You seem to be making a weapon that takes a long time to craft. If that gets out, the entire F-class will gang up on you. It’s impressive that you’re a simultaneous awakener, but you only have one crafting slot, right? Since the blacksmith is already using a slot, you can’t make other weapons, and once an Epic weapon is made, it’ll be impossible to fight it. So the kids will team up, you idiot. You didn’t even think you’d get caught, which is why you did something so pathetic.”
Suddenly, Lee Hyunseung walked over and pressed the gun right against the barrier.
-BANG-!
“You son of a bitch! I told you that shitty gun won’t break it!”
-BANG-!
No matter how much the man yelled, Lee Hyunseung ignored him and kept firing.
-Bang bang bang bang-!
Before long, he ran out of bullets.
-Click-!
-Click-!
When the gun stopped firing, the guy inside grew even more cocky.
“You stupid fuck. How many times do I have to say it? That gun of yours can never break this!”
Ignoring the sneering man, Lee Hyunseung turned his head toward Jeong Eunseo.
“Give me all the magazines you made.”
-Swish
When Jeong Eunseo handed him a bag, Lee Hyunseung flipped it upside down.
-Clatter clatter clatter-!
Dozens upon dozens of magazines poured out.
“Huh…? W-what…? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re gonna use up all the bullets here? You… you don’t even have any crafting slots left, you crazy bastard—!”
-Click-!
-Clack-!
While reloading a magazine, Lee Hyunseung looked at the man who was stupidly groaning and spoke with a spine-chilling smile.
“Whether I have crafting slots or not is none of your damn business. I’m not moving a single step from here until I put a bullet in your head.”
-Swish
-BAAAAANG-!
Lee Hyunseung’s bullets continued to hammer the barrier.
Then—
-Crack-!
Cracks began to form across the barrier.