No Need to Drag It Out – Let's End It in One Go
On the opposite side of Lee Hyunseung, Shin Yuseon was casting a flame spell. Strung tight with tension, she shouted at the people around her.
"You all know what happens if this falls apart, right? Lady Yoo Heeyeon won't let any of us off the hook. That includes me, and none of you will escape either."
Staring at the flickering orb of fire, she raised her voice even more. "Draw in more mana! Pour out every last drop you can!"
Shin Yuseon. Born without connections or backing, she had nothing but her own body. She had fought for everything with desperate effort. Without any innate talent, she had clawed her way into the academy through sheer grit, eventually earning admission to the prestigious Broad Academy. In her life, opportunities had never come for free.
The people around her were all equally powerless, so she couldn't rely on networking or favors. The only results she ever achieved came from effort that still fell short. Just looking at her placement in F-class made that clear.
Shin Yuseon trained more than ten hours a day. She didn't just study magic theory—she searched for, practiced, and mastered every possible magical training method she could find. Thanks to that, she had surpassed the limits of a Normal-grade mage and displayed remarkable skill. Even so, it wasn't nearly enough to cover the inherent disadvantages of being stuck in the lowest mage class.
If things stay like this... I'll never be able to save my little sister, no matter how long I live.
Shin Yuseon's only sibling, Shin Yuna, suffered from a terrible incurable disease. After enduring excruciating pain for about ten years, she would die. It was a horrifying illness with no known cure through magic, medicine, or any other means. A rare disease whose very name hadn't even been properly identified. And somehow, her sister had contracted it.
Sis... it hurts so much...
The sight of her sister writhing in agony, the knowledge that she would eventually die—none of it was easy to accept. She needed money. Money to buy painkillers that could ease her sister's suffering. Or money to purchase any artifact that might cure her disease. She knew it was incurable. Still, she clung to the slim hope and researched every possible artifact.
In this world, there were many artifacts and holy potions capable of curing even incurable diseases. The only problem was that their prices were astronomically high. And there was no benevolent person in the world willing to donate such things to a poor girl.
The artifacts and potions needed for treatment were clearly worth more than she could earn in a lifetime of work. She had tried everything—backbreaking labor, restaurant work, part-time jobs. None of it was enough to cover the cost.
In the end, she needed a lot more money for her sister. When she heard that graduating from the academy would give her the chance to earn a fortune, she enrolled. After all, once she graduated and entered the Labyrinth, there were plenty of rare artifacts and items that could be obtained from monsters.
That was when the opportunity came to her.
Shin Yuseon looked at her phone.
Balance: 30 million won
It was the money she had received from Yoo Heeyeon. Thirty million won as an advance payment for the request to interfere with Lee Hyunseung. If the job went well, another seventy million would be paid, and additional bonuses were promised for meaningful results.
It was money she couldn't earn even if she worked without breathing for an entire year. Money that could buy enough painkillers to keep her sister from suffering for a long time. Money that would let her search for and purchase an artifact or potion capable of curing her sister's mysterious disease.
Every won was meant for her sister, yet the need burned inside her. Shin Yuseon truly loved her little sister Shin Yuna with all her heart.
If this job goes well, that's 100 million. With that much money, Yuna can live comfortably for a while. If I'm lucky, I might even find an artifact that can cure an incurable disease...
Thinking that, she poured even more power into enlarging the flame orb.
I'm sorry to that kid named Lee Hyunseung, but...
She gazed at Lee Hyunseung in the distance, who was talking with some woman. He didn't seem to have noticed that the flame orb was still being prepared. Guilt washed over her. The shame of attacking someone she barely knew from behind—and using such underhanded methods—made her feel sick with self-loathing.
She looked down at the artifact in her hand. It was an external artifact given by Yoo Heeyeon, an amplification-type item that could push the user's magical limits far beyond normal capacity. Even at a glance, it looked extraordinarily expensive.
She bit her lip hard. Blood trickled from the wound.
I didn't want to use such a dirty method, but...
When Yoo Heeyeon had handed her the artifact, she had honestly wanted to refuse. Attacking each other in the Class Annihilation Match was only natural. She hadn't thought much of simply fighting. But she hadn't wanted to eliminate him by using an outside artifact that was explicitly banned from the event.
For some reason, Lee Hyunseung seemed to genuinely want to become the class representative.
I can't afford to think like that. With this money, I can buy more than enough painkillers for Yuna.
She shook her head from side to side and shouted.
"Gather more mana! Push it to the absolute limit!"
The people beside her were also F-class members who had taken Yoo Heeyeon's money and joined the plot. Shin Yuseon was acting as their leader. After all, she was the only one among them who had awakened as a mage.
She might be a Normal-grade mage, but judging by her combat ability alone, she was easily Rare-grade. With a generous evaluation, she could even be considered Epic-grade. Of course, the gap in ranks meant she would be mercilessly overtaken by higher grades as time passed.
Regardless, the enormous flame orb she was currently manifesting was not something a Normal-grade mage should have been able to create. Even with the artifact and the mana supplied by those around her, it was an impossible feat without exceptional talent.
The flame orb began spinning wildly in place with a tremendous roar. It meant the orb had absorbed so much mana that it could hold no more. From this point on, what she had to do was simple and clear.
She simply needed to extend her hand and guide the flow of mana to launch the flame orb.
She raised her hand upward.
And fired the flame orb.
"I hold no grudge... I'm sorry."
At Shin Yuseon's gesture, the flame orb shot forward, hurtling rapidly toward Lee Hyunseung.
Or at least, it tried to.
At that moment—
-BANG!
A gunshot rang out from far away.
"What? A gunshot?"
Shin Yuseon knew Lee Hyunseung was a gunner. But they were a full five kilometers apart. At that distance, an ordinary bullet could never reach them. Even if it did, the power would be so reduced that the flame orb would simply melt it.
The bullet flying in from afar distorted like a laser, streaking forward at blinding speed.
What... what kind of speed is that? Is this even possible?
Shin Yuseon could swear she had never seen a bullet move so fast in her entire life. She hadn't even had time to blink before the bullet reached the front of the flame orb.
It's fine. It will just melt anyway.
The moment that thought crossed her mind—
Upon contact with vast mana, additional damage will be applied.
Due to the Legendary Gunner class's job-exclusive trait, additional damage is granted.
A massive explosion will occur.
-KABOOOOOOM!
A deafening roar shook the area as the bullet struck the flame orb.
"Cough—!"
Shin Yuseon coughed painfully as smoke billowed around her. Did the flame orb make it through?
The moment she tried to check—
A blinding light erupted from the point of impact between the flame orb and the bullet. The entire area was swallowed by flames as a tremendous shockwave ripped through the battlefield.
"Aaaaaargh—!"
"Kyaaaaah—!"
"S-save us!"
Although death wasn't real here, the pain was. They all screamed in agony before being forcibly reverse-summoned by the magic.
Just now, over ten members of the allied force have been eliminated in a single strike! This is something you have to see to believe. A single bullet. One single bullet completely neutralized that massive flame orb. Is this even possible? The power displayed isn't even inferior to what we'd expect from an A-class representative elimination match! No matter what anyone says, the protagonist of this representative selection is the gunner. All the spotlight will be on that student! He is undoubtedly a strong candidate for champion!
In an instant, more than twenty survivors had been wiped out. When you subtracted those who hadn't been bought off by Yoo Heeyeon and had simply fought each other and been eliminated, only about ten people remained inside the virtual stage.
Lee Hyunseung briefly scanned his surroundings. People were rubbing their eyes repeatedly, unable to believe what they had just witnessed, while others stood there muttering blankly.
"W-was that really a gunshot? No way..."
"Don't lie to me... that magic was a giant flame orb, right? And a gun destroyed it?"
The people around them were too stunned to close their mouths. Gu Da-yoon looked at Lee Hyunseung and asked,
"Just what on earth is going on...? No matter how high your rank is..."
Lee Hyunseung covered her mouth with his hand.
"We'll talk about the details later. First, I need to end this tedious battle. Looks like I overestimated the F-class trash. At this level of skill, I won't even need to use an Epic-grade gun."
"What do you mean..."
As Gu Da-yoon tried to ask another question—
-Click.
-Clack.
Lee Hyunseung swapped out the magazine.
◈ When this cartridge is used, the bullet will explode with a massive sound upon reaching a certain distance.
◈ Lethality is nearly nonexistent.
◈ Special Effect [Transformation]: The bullet and cartridge transform to match the equipped firearm.
◈ Contains 33 rounds.
Lee Hyunseung then fired wildly into the sky.
-Bang!
-Bang bang bang!
-BAAAAANG!
Fireworks began exploding madly across the sky.
-Boom!
-Boom boom boom!
-BOOOOOOM!
-Boom boom boom boom!
Turning to the dazed Gu Da-yoon, Lee Hyunseung spoke quietly.
"No need to drag it out. Let's end it in one go."
In an instant, waves of mana began rushing in from every direction.
"The gunner bastard is over there! Kill him—!"
Voices shouted from afar. Gu Da-yoon cried out in disbelief.
"What the hell are you doing?! After using that insane technique earlier, shouldn't you be completely spent? What are you even relying on to—!"
Leaving behind Gu Da-yoon, who had mistaken his ordinary attack for some ultimate technique, Lee Hyunseung loaded another magazine and said,
-Click.
"Just stay quiet. It'll be over soon."