Black Market (1)
Following Barrett's guidance, we arrived at her shop.
The place was at the eastern edge of F Block, occupying an entire commercial building as a full-fledged gunsmith.
"…Bigger than I expected?"
"What'd you take me for? It's a pretty famous spot, you know."
Barrett grumbled indifferently at my reaction. As we approached the entrance, the part-timer spotted us and greeted us.
"Haa… Manager, you're finally here? You dumped all the cleaning and shelf stocking on me—why show up so late?"
"Hey, I can be a little late sometimes. People gotta live a bit more relaxed. In my opinion, the world's gone to shit 'cause everyone's so uptight. So shouldn't I balance it out by taking it easy?"
Shrring— We passed through the automatic doors into the interior.
"What kinda… Your talent for bullshit just keeps growing. How about spending that time on some shooting practice instead?"
"Salary cut."
"Sorry."
Despite the words, both were grinning—they seemed pretty tight.
"Anyway. This here's my new buddy, our very own mage."
Barrett introduced me.
"…Hi."
The part-timer and I shook hands.
"Hey. Kyle, the one and only employee. I wanna quit so bad, but I stick around 'cause I worry this place would fall apart without me. Cut some slack for our airheaded manager, yeah?"
"Haha, that's hilarious."
Was he really saying that? I couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Barrett shot back in an indignant voice.
"What bullshit? What're you gonna do if you quit? You should be grateful I'm even employing your ass."
"Back in my prime, I was a solver with a name in the underworld. I can still hit 1500kg on the big three, y'know?"
"What 'prime' you talking about, you 21-year-old rookie? Wanna die?"
"Geniuses only live to 27 anyway. At 21, I'm basically in the twilight of my life."
"Fucking hell…"
Stuck between their banter, I felt my sanity slipping, so I stepped forward.
"Uh… You two can keep fighting, but could someone explain the shop? First time here."
They both turned to me mid-argument.
"Sure thing, leave it to me."
"Nah, I'll do it. Who the hell are you? Don't you know I'm the owner?"
"Oh. Right. Manager's giving the tour. I'm off to grab some food then. Later…"
Kyle slipped out with a smirk.
"Hey…? Wait, dude!!!"
Barrett realized too late and flailed, but he was already gone like the wind.
"Haa… That little shit… Shouldn't have brought him along."
"You two seem close."
"Whatever. I'll show you around. Starting with the first floor…"
Thwack.
Barrett tossed off her goggles.
Her Latina skin was a warm tan, contrasting sharply with her striking golden eyes. Up close, she had a stunning, model-like face.
Just hidden by her wild fashion sense.
Barrett's tour of the first floor continued.
It was your standard gunsmith. Guns lined the walls, display cases of reinforced glass ran down the center.
But in a world where magitech was commonplace, the weapons all had wildly unique designs.
"First floor's for your everyday guns. Mostly… decent value picks—not top-tier, but not junk. Oh, and we charge for recharging depleted mana batteries too."
"…Hmm."
Truth be told, the first floor held zero appeal for me.
Energy weapons running on mana batteries were made for 'normies who can't use magic.'
To a mage who could just hurl a fireball, they were bulky nuisances.
Reading my expression, Barrett grinned and continued.
"Obviously, I didn't drag a mage here for this crap. C'mon."
We headed upstairs.
Second floor for melee weapons, third for explosives… She skipped both, so the fourth was probably the shop's real draw.
Beep-beep-beep—click.
Unlocking the door, we entered the fourth floor.
"…Whoa."
Weapons were arranged in bizarre patterns on the floor and shelves, clearly not meant for civilians.
"Ahaha, yeah, it's a total mess inside. Sorry. Told that fucker Kyle to clean, but he skips this floor… Haa…"
…Wait, it was just uncleaned?
"Hang on a sec!"
Bouncing with excitement, Barrett scurried to the counter.
I sat in a rickety chair in the corner and took in the room.
The vibe was worlds apart from downstairs.
Weapons scattered haphazardly, but every one screamed high-end.
Exotic guns and blades straight out of a hyper FPS game. Some didn't even look like weapons—made me wonder what they did.
Clink-clink-
Rummaging sounds from the counter, then Barrett called out.
"Found it! C'mere!"
Thud!
She plunked a metal case in front of me.
Click!
Nestled in black padding inside: a single handgun.
"Here… This is it. The weapon I wanted to hand over to you."
A massive silver revolver. Thicker barrel than usual, with elegant engravings on the body.
"My masterpiece. The Revolving Axis Gun Mk2 [Opus]."
Barrett lifted it delicately with both hands, like it might scratch.
I took it carefully.
First thought holding the Opus revolver:
…Heavy.
Like hefting a 6kg dagger—it far exceeded expectations, startling me.
"Why's it so heavy?"
"Ah… Kinda packed in a bunch of features, so it got a little chonky. Haha…"
Barrett scratched her head.
Especially in this petite girl's body—it felt heavier than the guns I'd handled in my Earth days in the military.
Still, manageable with two hands. Magic could assist anyway—no big deal.
I gripped the Opus gingerly.
"So… you're giving this to me?"
"Yup. No one else fits it, so I couldn't even test it till now."
"What kind of gun can't even get tested?"
Her eyes lit up as she launched into explanation.
"Wanted to show mages the beauty of guns. For you lot who don't get it, this is the masterpiece Kyle and I twisted ourselves into knots to create."
"What."
According to Barrett, Opus was a mage-exclusive firearm. But that very exclusivity—no other mages to test it—had her stumped.
Hearing about a mage popping up in the lower districts must've thrilled her.
Now her instant friendliness made sense.
"So, what advantages does it have for mages?"
A gun for ability users like us needed real merits.
Barrett smirked, curling her lip.
"Seeing is believing. Try shooting it. This way."
* * *
Barrett led me to the shop's underground special shooting range.
A sealed chamber walled in thick mana-shielded metal. Opposite us: a grotesque dummy target made from tank armor plates.
"Go ahead, fire a casual shot."
"…No ammo?"
"Grip the handle and channel mana. The resonance absorber will sync with your ether and handle it."
Half-doubting, half-expecting, I gripped the hefty Opus handle tight and drew up my inner mana.
Memorize: Wind Cutter
Vrrr—! Instantly, the geometric engravings on the gun blazed with light.
At the same time, complex processes condensed mana in the empty chamber, forging a solid bullet on its own.
3D-printing ammo via mana.
'Oh. Infinite magazine…?'
No time to marvel—I pulled the trigger.
BAAAAANG!!!
A deafening rupture tore at my eardrums.
A purple mana bullet streaked straight, obliterating the dummy's upper half.
Shhh…
Molten metal scattered like rain.
"…!"
A basic mana clump shot packing this punch? Barely any recoil, yet power beyond imagination.
Barrett's excited voice rang in my ear.
"Barrel and hammer are ritually enchanted parts. Even plain mana rounds get amplified tenfold passing through. Pretty badass, right?"
"This… isn't all, is it?"
"Obviously. Spin the cylinder."
Click. It rotated smoothly at my touch.
"Special magic circuits engraved on the cylinder. Nanoscale precision lets it memorize up to six spells."
As she said, I engraved a simple spell on the cylinder.
After re-aiming, I fired.
KAAAAANG!!
Hundreds of razor vacuum blades whirled along the bullet's path, shredding the half-destroyed dummy into minced meat.
No chant needed. Just pulling the trigger cast the spell instantly.
"This…"
I gaped in awe. Insanely overpowered.
No wonder chantless casting is OP in mage stories.
Memorization was required, but click-to-chantless was nuts.
Barrett added that the gun itself was a talismanic artifact—works through anti-magic fields or mana null zones.
Then she explained the final feature.
"Last highlight. Holster it and wait three seconds."
I followed like I was entranced. As Opus slotted in:
Whirr, whiiiir.
The gun sucked in ambient mana like it was breathing. Compressed energy prickled my thigh.
"Draw!"
At her shout, I whipped it out and unleashed a barrage.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOOM——!!!!!
Exploding condensed mana. A massive purple beam pillar blazed from the muzzle.
Sizzle…
It vaporized the dummy and melted a hole through the range's thick barrier like taffy.
"UHAHAHAHAHA!! Perfect! Gotta brag to that prick Kyle my theory was right!"
Barrett cackled wildly at the sight.
…She just wrecked the range wall. Was that okay? She was drunk on her creation's power.
She patted my shoulder.
"So? Decent toy, huh?"
"…What the hell did you make…?"
"Haha! That's the answer I wanted!"
I fiddled with the barrel, voicing one concern.
"But… really free? No strings?"
Handing over something this valuable for nothing? In this hellhole world, pure goodwill was rare—doubt was natural.
Barrett nodded vigorously.
"Yup. Who else could use it? Who knows—maybe you'll inspire other mages to dig guns. Shop goes viral, monthly billions rolling in… Heh heh."
"…"
Sneaky motive after all. Still, cute by dark fantasy standards.
"Oh, and visit often. Spend big, even better."
I agreed readily.
"…Sure. I'll drop by."
"Great. Oh, right. You had a question about paperwork earlier?"
Finally, the main topic.
I explained my situation: isekai illegal immigrant with no ID—banking, transactions, all blocked.
Barrett's eyes turned serious.
"Yeah… Tricky spot. But I can help."
"Really?"
"High risk, high reward. Might solve it easy."
Key info. I leaned in, eyes wide.
"Black Market. Ever heard of it?"