Gatling Gun Unleashed
The Gatling Gun. A firearm boasting absurd destructive power and firing rate compared to ordinary rifles. But due to its immense weight, it was typically mounted on fighter jets or bunkers rather than carried by hand.
In 21st-century Korea, even those who served in the military rarely saw one in person, so most people only knew it from movies. And now, that very weapon was emerging from Yeong-sik's back.
"W-what the hell is that?"
The underlings who had been holding A-ra stared at Yeong-sik in bewilderment. The sight of a person's back splitting open was shocking enough, but a Gatling gun coming out of it? They gaped at him with dumbfounded expressions, unable to comprehend the situation.
Before they could even collect their wits, the weapon protruding from Yeong-sik's back spat fire.
"Aaagh!"
"F-fucking insane! What is this?!"
As the black muzzle belched flames, chaos like a disaster descended upon the forest. Massive trees turned into Swiss cheese in an instant and toppled over, the overwhelming firepower sweeping through the surroundings.
Amid that devastating barrage, the men screamed and tried to dodge, but there was no escaping the rain of bullets with mere evasion. Blood sprayed everywhere as their arms and legs were torn from their bodies.
In less than three seconds, all of Nam Gi-tae's underlings surrounding A-ra were annihilated. Astonishingly, amid the hundreds or thousands of rounds tearing through the area, neither A-ra nor Gil-su suffered so much as a scratch.
"Gah, urgh."
Nam Gi-tae had thrown himself flat to the ground the moment the Gatling gun from his back opened fire, dodging the attack. The horrific screams of his dying men echoed in his ears.
"W-what? What the hell just happened?"
Nam Gi-tae trembled in terror. He was so plunged into confusion that he couldn't even think to flee from this apocalyptic scene. He regretted not running the instant Yeong-sik's right arm had "launched." That alone should have tipped him off that Yeong-sik was no ordinary human.
He should have realized the man was an unpredictable anomaly. And yet, he'd let his guard down after seeing Yeong-sik get beaten down helplessly by his men.
The Gatling gun's flames ceased.
White smoke rose from the barrel. Nam Gi-tae, huddled on the ground and shaking, cautiously lifted his head to look up at Yeong-sik. Red light gleamed from Yeong-sik's eyes, fixing on him. At that gaze, Nam Gi-tae flinched and froze, his voice trembling as he pleaded,
"P-please... spare me..."
A pathetically wretched plea escaped his lips. Yeong-sik didn't respond, merely staring at him with eyes flickering red.
With an ominous hum, the red light from Yeong-sik's eyes intensified. Nam Gi-tae watched in desperation, a foreboding premonition flashing through his mind.
"No way...?"
An absurd hunch struck him. It was ridiculous enough to dismiss, but Yeong-sik's actions so far had been too freakish to ignore. Trembling, he stared at the increasingly brilliant glow in Yeong-sik's eyes.
"No, even so... there's no way..."
Denying the thought in his head, his face drained of color as he whipped around and bolted, glancing back at Yeong-sik while fleeing at full speed. Yeong-sik's gaze pursued him like a predator.
"A laser? That's impossible...!"
The laser fired from Yeong-sik's eyes toward Nam Gi-tae's back. The superheated beam cleaved his body in half. The acrid stench of burning flesh filled the forest.
Gears meshed inside Yeong-sik's body once more. The Gatling gun retracted back into him. The red glow faded, his eyes returning to normal.
A heavy silence blanketed the area like a shroud. Gil-su and A-ra stared at Yeong-sik in stunned silence, the awkward air even thicker than after the Rocket Punch.
"Hah, hah..."
Yeong-sik exhaled raggedly, looking down at his body. He was just as shocked. He felt utterly alien to himself.
When he'd used the Rocket Punch, he'd thought only his right arm was mechanical, the rest feeling human enough. But no one could call him human after this.
"What the hell is..."
His mind reeled in chaos. Gil-su rose cautiously and approached with tentative steps. That's when it happened.
"Argh! Urgh, aaaargh!"
"Yeong-sik!"
"Mr. Yeong-sik!"
Blue electricity surged from Yeong-sik's body, engulfing him in excruciating pain. Clutching his head, he endured the maddening torment.
A mechanical voice droned in his ear.
Due to overload, physical functions will temporarily decline sharply.
Recovery time: 4 minutes 57 seconds.
"Aaaaaagh!"
Yeong-sik screamed as his mind burned white with agony. Collapsing, he writhed on the ground. The suffocating pain seeped into every fiber, like electricity pumped directly into his veins.
Trembling violently, he clawed at the dirt. Gil-su and A-ra rushed to him with frantic expressions.
"Yeong-sik! You okay?!"
Gil-su reached out to touch him. Amid his thrashing, Yeong-sik realized the lethal current coursing over his skin would kill anyone who touched him. He rolled away, rasping through gritted teeth,
"Don't... touch... me."
He forced the words out. Gil-su's hand froze. He looked at Yeong-sik with helpless regret, a heavy sense of powerlessness weighing on him.
"Ah... ugh."
Yeong-sik curled up, enduring the torment racking his body. The five minutes until overload cleared felt eternal. He squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip bloody.
A forgotten memory fragment flashed by—a glimpse of himself seated on a massive throne, surrounded by tangled machinery. His past self stared deeply at something with sunken eyes.
A hazy figure looked up at him and spoke.
"Why did you do such a thing?"
The figure sounded baffled. From the throne, his voice replied coldly, like a blade scraping stone,
"Because it failed."
The figure fell silent. Tension hung between them. After a long pause, static crackled like a broken radio in his ears.
The memory shard vanished like lightning. Lost in thought despite the pain, Yeong-sik pondered it. The grand throne. The machinery. The "something" addressing him.
Too fragmentary to reveal his identity or why he had this body.
What the hell am I?
A parched thirst burned in him, like being adrift alone in an endless ocean—sightless, touchless, filled only with void.
The blue electricity subsided, gray smoke wafting from his body. The pain lifted. Yeong-sik slowly stood.
"Mr. Yeong-sik? Are you alright?"
A-ra asked worriedly. He nodded wearily.
"Yeah. I don't get it, but... seems fine now."
He gazed at his hands, voice faintly trembling. They felt profoundly unfamiliar. Gil-su glanced around and spoke.
"Let's get out of here first. We can talk about today later, take it slow."
His words considered Yeong-sik's confusion. Yeong-sik managed a faint smile. Gil-su's kind face and A-ra's worried gaze eased the emptiness a little.
"Yeah. Right now... I need some rest to sort my thoughts."
Too much had happened. Even fragmented memories had surfaced. He needed time to process.
"Sounds good. Let's head back to the cave quick."
Gil-su smiled in relief at Yeong-sik's apparent recovery. Yeong-sik nodded and turned to walk—then A-ra, lost in thought, called out.
"Mr. Yeong-sik."
"Yeah?"
"...Thanks for saving me. And sorry for... misunderstanding earlier."
She looked down shyly. She felt ashamed for not seeing his true intent and hurling curses at him. Yeong-sik chuckled softly.
"No need. Your reaction actually made it easier to exploit their gaps. Sorry for hitting your stomach so roughly."
His tone was refreshingly polite. A-ra looked faintly wistful and replied,
"...You can drop the formal speech."
"Huh?"
"I said, drop it."
She glared lightly at his incomprehension, voice low. Yeong-sik looked awkward but nodded.
"Got it. You too, A-ra—loosen up."
"...Y-yeah."
She ducked her head bashfully, mumbling. Gil-su watched them fondly.
"Alright, let's go."
Yeong-sik cleared his throat and turned. Then—
Summoner Cheon Tae-hwang has defeated Orc Chieftain Kroll.
The Tutorial will now end.
A blue message window appeared, and the surrounding landscape warped dramatically.