Overwhelming Power
“Aaaaaaaaagh—!”
Shin Junho, who had been writhing in agony ever since Lee Hyunseung’s bullet struck him, finally regained his senses and stared at his opponent.
What… what the hell is this…?
Shin Junho was utterly bewildered to see Lee Hyunseung standing there as if nothing had happened. He had every right to be. After all, he had watched with his own eyes as the man took a direct, undefended hit from his attack and suffered a clearly fatal wound.
Lee Hyunseung was supposed to be nothing more than a gunman. It was shocking enough that he had survived the blow with no armor whatsoever, but the orange weapon now gripped in his hand—what on earth was that?
Only basic weapons were permitted inside this stage. So how was it possible for Lee Hyunseung to be holding a Unique-grade pistol?
“You bastard… you resorted to cheap tricks.”
Shin Junho had drawn his own conclusion: the man must have smuggled both recovery artifacts and the pistol into the stage from the very beginning. He had no idea why Hyunseung had waited until now to use them, but it was the only explanation that made sense.
Lee Hyunseung met the contemptuous glare and quietly recalled the events of just moments earlier.
“Ugh…”
Lee Hyunseung was bleeding heavily. He had taken Shin Junho’s mana-infused attack head-on. It felt like his organs had ruptured. Several bones were definitely broken. His head throbbed, and moving any further seemed impossible.
He coughed up a thick clot of blood. Yoo Heeyeon approached the struggling man and muttered under her breath.
“Why…? Why on earth…? Even without you… I would have survived anyway…?”
Looking at her, Lee Hyunseung thought coldly, That ungrateful bitch. I knew she’d act like this.
Yoo Heeyeon was the kind of person who would use any means necessary to achieve her goals. She had even framed him as a stalker just to steal the top written-exam spot. Her character was ugly enough that no further explanation was needed.
That was why he had expected her lack of gratitude after he saved her life.
Whatever. I only saved her to keep myself alive.
If he had used her as bait and then let her die, the backlash once they left the stage would have been more than he could handle. The situation had been too sudden; he’d had no choice but to throw her. He needed proper justification for that action. Saving Yoo Heeyeon had been his insurance policy against Yoo Hanbeom and Kim Heera. Even if they tried to blame him for nearly getting her killed, he could simply say, I saved her in the end, didn’t I? They would have no response.
But separate from that logic, pure rage boiled up inside him.
Why does she have to act like this…?
Regardless of his intentions, he had saved her life. Her attitude was unacceptable.
Damn… I feel dizzy…
He had already lost a lot of blood. The sudden rush of anger made the world spin as if he were anemic.
Maybe I’ll just… rest for a bit…
His consciousness was slipping. I still need to deal with Shin Junho and rescue Han Seonggil…
Han Seonggil was an extremely useful asset. He had only just begun to properly control his Berserker trait today, yet he was already fighting so well. With proper training, he could become a true monster later.
But against his will, Lee Hyunseung’s eyes closed.
Step. Step. Step.
Yoo Heeyeon stood over the unconscious man and whispered, “Why…? It doesn’t make sense… You didn’t even take my money…? We never agreed on any reward, so why…?”
Tears streamed down her face.
It was the first time she had ever received genuine goodwill. The feeling was completely foreign to her. People had always approached her with calculations of money, artifacts, or power. If she promised them sufficient compensation, they performed exactly as much as that compensation was worth. Bow if she told them to bow. Crawl if she ordered it. There were plenty who would happily lick the ground if she demanded it.
But no one had ever risked their life to protect her.
Because no matter how enormous the reward, it meant nothing if they died.
Why would you…?
She had nothing to give him. In fact, she had labeled him a stalker. Even if he saved her life, Lee Hyunseung would gain nothing. Their relationship was already irreparably broken—would the Artemis Guild really grant him any favors just because he saved her? Of course not. And the top written-exam student would know that better than anyone.
She couldn’t understand his intentions no matter how hard she tried. The action itself was incomprehensible.
He coughed again. If things continued like this, Lee Hyunseung would die.
Yoo Heeyeon reached out with her arm. She drew up every last drop of mana left in her body.
A low hum filled the air as her mana flowed into him. The wounds on his body began to close, one by one. The pained twist of his face gradually softened into peace.
“Ugh…”
She had already depleted much of her mana by using several spells in quick succession. Fully healing him with what little remained was nearly impossible. Yet she did not stop.
Why am I doing this…?
If he died here, the top written-exam spot would be hers. The practical exam would likely end in her favor as well. After all, Lee Hyunseung had been the one who contributed the most in this stage.
But her body moved on its own.
“Just… a little more… just a little more…”
She squeezed out even more mana and finished treating his external wounds. Yet his internal organs must have still been damaged, because his eyes remained closed.
My power… isn’t enough…
Just as despair washed over her—
“You! Get away from him right now!”
Jeong Eunseo came running from a distance. She saw Yoo Heeyeon with her hand stretched toward Lee Hyunseung as if preparing to attack.
Jeong Eunseo’s voice was ice-cold. “You really are trash. How can you try to attack the person who just saved your life?”
“Th-that’s not—”
“Shut up! If you don’t move away immediately, I will attack you.”
Jeong Eunseo’s expression twisted ferociously. Yoo Heeyeon glared at her for a moment, then retreated far from Lee Hyunseung.
Jeong Eunseo hurriedly checked his condition. “Hyunseung-ssi…”
There weren’t many visible external injuries. Given the incredible ability he had shown so far, that wasn’t surprising. He must have used some unknown skill again to reduce the damage. Thinking that, she poured every ounce of her own mana into healing him, just in case.
“Cough…”
Only then did Lee Hyunseung open his eyes.
“Jeong Eunseo…?”
She threw herself into his arms.
“Why…? Why would you do something like that? You could have died! If something happens here, you could really lose your life! Why do you keep saving me, saving other people, without even taking care of yourself? Why?!”
Tears the size of mouse droppings rolled down her cheeks as she rubbed her face against his.
Lee Hyunseung looked at her and said calmly, “Thanks for healing me.”
He gently pushed her away, brushed the dust off his clothes, and stood up.
“Wh-where are you going now? You’re not planning to fight Shin Junho, are you? You can’t push yourself like this.”
“Han Seonggil is fighting in my place. I have to go.”
“But… what can you even do? What can you possibly do against that monster…?”
When Jeong Eunseo spoke with a gloomy face, Lee Hyunseung gave a small smirk and reached a hand toward the sky.
“Perfect timing. It’s ready.”
◈ A relic cherished by the goddess Arne in her lifetime.
◈ Increases the user’s mana by 15.
◈ Infuses all gun attacks with divine power.
◈ Grants an overall stat-buff while held.
◈ Allows use of any desired A-grade Gunner-exclusive skill while equipped.
Lee Hyunseung read the weapon’s description and murmured, “Jackpot.”
Jeong Eunseo stared at him with dazed eyes. “U-Unique…”
A Unique artifact—something even money could hardly buy. Its beautiful orange glow testified to just how priceless it was.
She could no longer stop him. The man had already displayed absurd power with nothing but basic weapons. Now he possessed an absurd weapon to match.
Lee Hyunseung began walking toward Shin Junho with steady steps.
“You bastard… you played dirty.”
Shin Junho, convinced the pistol had been smuggled in, muttered the accusation, but Lee Hyunseung paid him no mind.
He simply raised the gun.
Shin Junho burst into laughter and roared, “You think adding one more pathetic weapon will change anything? I wield demonic energy. The Demonic Orb absorbed the mana of dozens of people, and that unknown power of yours will be healed by my regeneration—”
He tried to restore the arm that had been shot off by Lee Hyunseung’s bullet. The greatest advantage of his monstrous body was its rapid recovery. As a demon, he could regrow lost body parts using demonic energy.
At least, that was how it should have worked.
But the severed arm did not regenerate. Instead of healing, the flesh around the wound began to necrotize, as if a faucet had been shut off.
A brilliant light poured from the injury.
“This… this is impossible…”
Divine power. And not ordinary divine power—power so pure it made healing through demonic energy impossible.
“Aaaaaaaaagh—! This can’t be—! This cannot be happening—! Why does a mere gunman possess this kind of power—!”
Screaming, Shin Junho charged at Lee Hyunseung.
Lee Hyunseung raised the pistol once more. This time he did not fire.
Amplification — Temporarily increases the power of all skills. The boost scales with job grade and level.
Gunslinger’s Agile Steps — Movement speed rises dramatically while armed. Evasion also increases due to Gunner Job Level 2.
Mana swirled around Lee Hyunseung. His movements became impossibly fast and light.
He dashed straight toward the charging Shin Junho.
Gunblade Technique — Additional power is applied when attacking or defending at close range with a firearm. Scales with job grade and level.
Shin Junho swung his remaining arm.
But unlike before, Lee Hyunseung dodged the blow with effortless grace. He stepped on the attacking limb, used it as a springboard, and launched himself into the air.
Spinning like a top, he accelerated downward with tremendous force.
The moment Arne’s Automatic Pistol—driven by gravity and rotational speed—connected, Shin Junho was slammed into the ground.
Legendary-grade bonus applied — additional damage inflicted.
“Aaaaaaaaagh—! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh—!”
The pain of every organ, every bone, every inch of flesh being torn apart flooded his senses in real time. A bizarre, nauseating agony surged through him like a tidal wave.
Lee Hyunseung looked down at the man now embedded in the earth and spoke in a chilling voice.
“I’ll give you one last chance to kill yourself. Reflect on your sins and slit your own throat.”
What answered him was, of course, another attack. Tentacles erupted from Shin Junho’s body and shot toward him.
Lee Hyunseung merely twisted his torso slightly, dodged the strike, then severed the tentacles completely.
The shredded remains rained down from the sky.
“You just missed your final chance.”