First Blood
The gunshot rang out with a sharp -psshk! Pyo Nagil, the man who had been brimming with confidence, utterly convinced of his inevitable victory, knew it the instant he heard the sound.
‘I blocked it.’
He had heard the rumors that Lee Hyunseung had recently stopped the rampage of an Epic-grade Berserker. A few people even claimed to have witnessed it firsthand. But Pyo Nagil hadn’t seen it himself, so he hadn’t believed a word of it.
‘Bullshit… they should at least make it sound believable. The whole lot of them must be crazy.’
Pyo Nagil had been in the same A-class as Lee Hyunseung for several months. He couldn’t deny that the guy’s written test scores were outstanding. But his practical exam results had been pathetically low. The kind of grades that made you wonder if he could even beat a middle schooler. And now people were saying that in just a few months, this same guy had overpowered an Epic-grade swordsman with the Berserker trait?
‘He must have used an artifact.’
It only made sense to assume he had cleverly avoided prying eyes and relied on some expensive artifact. After all, there were rumors that Lee Hyunseung had connections to Jeong Eunseo, the daughter of the Teore Guild leader, and even Tak Woohyun, president of the Blacksmith Association.
That was why Pyo Nagil had dismissed it. Dismissed Lee Hyunseung’s combat ability entirely. Gunslingers were never truly strong, after all. No bullet could ever pierce the mana-infused body of a martial artist. An unbreakable spear, an uncuttable sword—those were nothing but rusty junk.
That was what he had believed.
But then—
-Bang!
The moment Lee Hyunseung’s bullet left the barrel, Pyo Nagil rapidly circulated mana through his body. It was purely to defend against the shot. As the mana flowed, he thought to himself: the instant he deflected the bullet, he would charge forward and slam that arrogant bastard’s face into the ground.
Just moments ago, this guy had been nothing but a bottom-feeder in A-class—a pathetic bookworm who could barely speak properly. The second the Class Annihilation Match began, he had the audacity to fire his gun into the air and provoke everyone. Pyo Nagil had sworn he would make him pay dearly for it.
That was the plan.
But—
-Psshhk!
-Drip, drip, drip.
Something was wrong. There should have been a crisp, metallic sound of a bullet being deflected. Instead, a sickening noise reached his ears. It sounded exactly like a heavy chunk of metal sinking into a slab of meat. And from that spot came the disgusting, sticky sensation of blood pouring out, along with a burning heat.
-Swipe.
Pyo Nagil looked down at his shoulder with an expression of utter disbelief.
“F-fuck—! AAAAAAAGH—!”
What he saw was a horrifyingly brutal hole. His arm hadn’t been severed, but the bone in his shoulder, along with every bit of tissue and flesh, had been completely blown away. When he hadn’t looked, he hadn’t realized how severe it was. But the moment he saw it with his own eyes, an insane wave of agony crashed over him.
-Thud!
Pyo Nagil collapsed to the ground, clutching his ruined shoulder.
“Ughhhhh… fuuuuuck—!”
Tears streamed down his face as he gripped his mangled arm. Inside the stage, the pain participants felt was somewhat dampened for safety reasons, but it wasn’t completely removed. If the real pain was 100, they would feel roughly 20 to 30. Even at that reduced level, the agony was enough to make Pyo Nagil sob uncontrollably and collapse to the floor.
The people around him fell silent. Even those who had been rushing toward Lee Hyunseung stopped dead in their tracks.
“W-what the…?”
Yoo Heeyeon wanted to say something about how absurdly powerful that shot had been, but she swallowed her words. Just by looking at everyone else’s faces, it was obvious they were thinking the exact same thing.
-Hiss.
Smoke curled from the barrel of Lee Hyunseung’s gun.
From a distance, Cho Eunbi watched. As a fellow A-class student, her eyes met Lee Hyunseung’s. But he only frowned and turned his head away.
‘Ah…’
Cho Eunbi’s heart ached as she stared at him. He had once been the man she admired. The one who studied magic theory with more passion than anyone, shining brighter than anyone. The kind of person who found happiness in the smallest things.
But the expression on Lee Hyunseung’s face now was so cold, so cruel, that it was impossible to see even a trace of the innocent, kind-hearted young man from back then.
The Lee Hyunseung she had known was gone.
She couldn’t fully understand how deeply he had been wounded. But one thing was certain—he had already traveled too far to ever return to the way things used to be.
‘……’
She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. After all, when he had been falsely accused, she hadn’t said a single word in his defense. She hadn’t even listened to his side of the story.
Lee Hyunseung had always shared information about the written exams freely, without asking for anything in return, even though the other students tried to hide and hoard it. And she—the one who had been closest to him in class—had betrayed him. How much pain must that have caused him?
She didn’t know.
-Swipe.
Lee Hyunseung brushed off Cho Eunbi’s gaze as if it meant nothing. He then raised his pistol and calmly aimed it at Pyo Nagil’s head.
Pyo Nagil trembled violently, mumbling through chattering teeth.
“N-no… h-help… everyone, please help me…!”
Even as drool spilled from his mouth and he screamed for help, the time it took for Lee Hyunseung to aim and fire was less than a single second. They could have helped him if they wanted to. But the others stood frozen, as if paralyzed.
And then—
-Bang!
-Thud.
Pyo Nagil was struck and collapsed. Blood poured from his body. After a moment, a white light shimmered around him, and he was forcibly teleported out of the stage.
The first elimination has occurred.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed across the arena.
“Hooo…”
From far away, Tak Woohyun watched with a rather pleased expression. The reason was simple: one of the A-class students had just been thoroughly crushed.
‘Yoo Heeyeon’s face is a masterpiece right now.’
Tak Woohyun harbored a deep, burning resentment toward Yoo Heeyeon. She had completely trampled on the pride he held as a blacksmith.
He recalled the words she had once spoken to him.
-Grind.
Not only had she tried to put a price on the weapon he had poured his heart and soul into crafting, but she had also casually suggested throwing it into a warehouse as if it were worthless. It was nothing short of an insult. An act that thoroughly crushed the dignity of a craftsman.
Even so, Tak Woohyun hadn’t been able to step forward aggressively.
‘The Artemis Guild…’
It was because Yoo Heeyeon was the daughter of that guild. As president of the Blacksmith Association, Tak Woohyun had the power to artificially manipulate the supply and pricing of materials needed for the Artemis Guild’s upcoming expedition. If he chose to exert that power, he could deal a massive blow to them both financially and logistically.
In other words, he wasn’t completely in a position of weakness, but he wasn’t in a position of absolute strength either. The moment the president of the Blacksmith Association restricted supplies or raised prices unreasonably against the Artemis Guild, he would have to be prepared for direct confrontation.
If he wanted revenge, he could only do so subtly—slightly lowering the quality of goods or raising prices within the bounds of normal inflation. Anything more would be too obvious.
Of course, even that would deal a significant blow, but it wasn’t satisfying.
But now—
‘As expected… choosing Lee Hyunseung was the right decision.’
Watching Lee Hyunseung dismantle Yoo Heeyeon’s class in real time right before his eyes filled him with vicarious satisfaction. That arrogant woman who had insulted the spirit of a craftsman. Tak Woohyun hoped even greater despair would befall her. With a satisfied smile, he lifted his gaze back to the screen displaying the interior of the stage.
-Whoooosh!
Pyo Nagil was forcibly teleported out of the stage. The damage he had taken was so severe that the system judged him “eliminated” and sent him outside for safety.
No one had expected it. How could they? Who would have imagined that one of the A-class elites would be taken out first while chasing after a single F-class student?
That was why a brief silence fell over the arena.
Lee Hyunseung was the one who broke it.
“You were all frantically searching for me earlier, screaming about where I was. What’s wrong? Now that you’ve seen what happens, you’re scared?”
At Lee Hyunseung’s blatant provocation, Yoo Heeyeon ground her teeth and shrieked.
“T-take that insolent bastard down right now—! Don’t you dare be afraid of some pathetic gun—! If you don’t move—!”
Her face twisted with pure venom as she spoke in a chilling tone.
“You won’t be safe once you leave here either.”
The moment those words left her mouth, the A-class students charged forward as if possessed.
In response—
-Click.
Lee Hyunseung swapped out his ammunition with practiced ease. He immediately opened fire.
-Flinch!
The charging students froze for a split second. But the gun wasn’t aimed at them. Lee Hyunseung’s barrel was pointed at the ground.
-Baaaaang!
The gunshot echoed. The instant the bullet struck the floor, a thick, unpleasant white smoke began to billow out wildly.