Chapter 18: One-sided Battle.

Gunmage. What does that word mean?

[Someone who wields a gun and uses magic.]

The fundamental meaning of a Gunmage is thus. So why is such a name given to a Gunner, who does not have a base magic stat? The reason is simple. Originally, a Gunner cannot penetrate any mana or magical creature without magic.

• The reason a Gunner cannot penetrate living beings without magic is fundamentally because all creatures that exist in Broad Academy Online defend or enhance their bodies using their own mana. Furthermore, for those who deploy various defensive magic using mana, it is only natural that the bullets from modern firearms would lack power.

Thus, a Gunner must use magic to enhance their insignificant pistol. Of course, thanks to the additional damage effect of the [Legendary] Gunmage, I was able to penetrate the shield without using magic, so one cannot say that magic is absolutely essential for me. However, utilizing magic made it possible to possess an even higher level of combat ability.

When a Gunmage equips a [Magic Stat-Enabled Pistol], it becomes possible to use mana. For example, like the handheld pistol I currently possess.

[Epic] Worn Pistol

▶ A worn pistol with no particular features.
▶ A total of 15 bullets are loaded.
▶ Increases magic stat by 3.

Generally, firearms are granted magic stats starting from the [Epic] grade. Of course, not all Epic-grade firearms are granted magic stats, so when a firearm has a magic stat, its price skyrockets. For a Gunmage, obtaining a magic stat is essential, as the most efficient method to gain it is through the additional effects of pistols. However, as it is expensive, the efficiency is certainly guaranteed, even if the magic stat is low.

[Equipped]

• You have equipped the [Epic] Worn Pistol.
• The additional effect of the weapon opens the magic stat.
• The opened magic stat rises from 0 to 3 due to the weapon’s additional effect.
• Ding-!
• You can now use the sealed magic.
• Class-specific skills are unlocked.

“Uaaahhh!”

From a distance, the excited Seong Hyun-wook was running over, and I quickly opened the status window to check my current status.

[Status Window]
▶ Name: Lee Hyun-seung
▶ Class: [Legendary] Gunmage / [Legendary] Blacksmith
▶ Strength: 5
▶ Stamina: 9
▶ Luck: 7
▶ Endurance: 6
▶ Agility: 5
▶ Dexterity: 11
▶ Magic: 3 [Temporary Unlock]

Traits: None
▶ Skills: None
▶ Remaining Stat Allocation Points: 3

‘The stat allocation points I earned from achieving the blacksmith accomplishment…’

I hesitated for a moment but soon poured all 3 points into Agility.

• You have used 3 stat allocation points on Agility.
• Agility stat has risen from 5 to 8.

“Done.”

Before I knew it, Seong Hyun-wook had approached me and swung his sword down.

“Die!”

Despite being a simple one-on-one duel, the sight of Seong Hyun-wook rushing at me as if he were really going to split my head open was intimidating and fast. I might have had difficulty evading a close-range swordsman if I couldn’t use magic.

After all, a Gunmage using a ranged weapon and a swordsman, regardless of grade differences, would inevitably have physical capability disparities.

But not anymore.

With my magic stat raised to 3, I quickly utilized my mana to execute a skill.

[C] Gunmage’s Agile Steps – Temporarily increases movement speed while equipped with a firearm. The increase in movement speed is influenced by the current class grade and class level.

• Whoooosh!

A whirlpool of mana began to swirl around my feet.

‘Indeed, it’s a low-grade skill, but with the legendary boost, I can move at quite a fast speed now.’

Seong Hyun-wook, who had reached my front, swiftly swung his sword.

“Uaaahhh!”

However, his sword did not touch me. I slightly turned my body to the side and dodged.

• Crash-!

The sword plunged into the ground, and Seong Hyun-wook quickly retrieved his sword and swung it at me again.

• Whoosh-!
• Whoosh-!
• Whoosh-!

His rapid, swinging sword was honestly astonishing. It was systematic, neat, and flawless swordsmanship.

‘As expected… although he hasn’t been awakened for long, a swordsman is still a swordsman.’

At that moment, I truly felt why these classes, such as the S-class magician praised at Broad Academy and the swordsman who followed, were highly regarded.

Gun Mage. What does that word mean?

[A person who uses a gun and magic]

The fundamental meaning of a Gun Mage is this. So why is such a name attached to a gunner who doesn’t even have basic magic stats opened? The reason is simple. Originally, a gunner cannot penetrate any mana or magical creature without magic.

The reason a gunner cannot penetrate a living creature without magic is fundamentally because all beings existing in Broad Academy Online use their own mana to defend or enhance their bodies. Moreover, for those who can deploy various defensive magic using mana, it is only natural that modern firearms would not hold any power.

Thus, a gunner must use magic to enhance their meager handgun. Of course, I could penetrate barriers without using magic thanks to the additional damage effect of being a [Legendary] Gun Mage, so I can’t say that magic is absolutely necessary for me. However, using magic allows for an even higher level of combat ability.

When a Gun Mage equips a [Magic Stat-Existing Handgun], it becomes possible to utilize mana. For example, just like this portable handgun I currently possess.

[Epic] Worn Handgun

• A worn handgun with no special characteristics.
• It has a total of 15 bullets loaded.
• It increases magic stats by 3.

Generally, firearms receive magic stats starting from the [Epic] grade. Of course, not every Epic-grade weapon has magic stats, so if one does have them, its price skyrockets. For a Gun Mage, having magic stats is essential because the most efficient way to obtain them is through the additional effects of a handgun. However, the efficiency is certainly proportional to its high price, even if the magic stats are low.

[Equipped]

• You have equipped the [Epic] Worn Handgun.
• The additional effect of the weapon opens magic stats.
• The opened magic stat rises from 0 to 3.
• Dding-!
• You can now use the sealed magic.
• Job-exclusive skills are unlocked.

“Uaaaaaah—!”

From a distance, the excited Seong Hyun-wook was running toward me, and I quickly opened my status window to check my current state.

[Status Window]

• Name: Lee Hyun-seung
• Job: [Legendary] Gun Mage / [Legendary] Blacksmith
• Strength: 5
• Health: 9
• Luck: 7
• Endurance: 6
• Agility: 5
• Dexterity: 11
• Magic: 3 [Temporarily Open]

Traits: None

Skills: None

Remaining Stat Allocation Points: 3

‘The stat allocation points I got from achieving the Blacksmith achievement before…’

After a moment of contemplation, I decided to pour all 3 points into Agility.

• You have used 3 points on Agility.
• Agility stat has risen from 5 to 8.

“Done.”

Before I knew it, Seong Hyun-wook had approached me and swung down his sword.

“Die—!”

Even though it was a simple one-on-one duel, Seong Hyun-wook’s charge, as if he truly intended to split my head with a sword, looked threatening and swift to anyone watching. I also thought it would have been difficult to evade a close-range swordsman without being able to use magic.

After all, there’s bound to be a difference in physical capabilities between a gunner using long-range weapons and a swordsman, no matter the grade disparity.

But not anymore.

With my magic stat at 3, I quickly utilized mana to use my skills.

[C] Gun Mage’s Agile Step – When equipped with firearms, your movement speed temporarily increases. The increase in movement speed is influenced by your current job grade and job level.

• Whoosh!

A whirlwind of mana began to swirl around my feet.

‘Indeed, it’s a low-grade skill, but with the Legendary boost, I can move quite quickly.’

Seong Hyun-wook, who had reached in front of me, swiftly swung his sword.

“Uwaaaaah—!”

However, his sword did not reach me. I slightly turned my body to evade it.

• Bang!

The sword struck the ground, and Seong Hyun-wook quickly retrieved it and swung it at me again.

• Whoosh!
• Whoosh!
• Whoosh!

His sword was coming at me with incredible speed. His swordsmanship was, frankly, impressive. It was systematic, clean, and left no openings.

‘As expected… even though he hasn’t been awakened for long, he is still a swordsman.’

In Broad Academy, they consider wizards to be rated S, and following that, the swordsmen. It was at this moment that I felt once again why these jobs were so highly regarded.

• Whoosh!

Eventually, one of his attacks landed deeply.

Lee Hyun-seung did not miss that moment.

“Ugh!”

Focusing mana in my hand, I dodged in and struck Seong Hyun-wook’s side with my right fist while digging inside his swing.

• Bang!

“Cough!”

“Cough! Cough!”

Seong Hyun-wook, perhaps thinking of it as an unexpected counterattack, repeatedly coughed and suffered.

“You… Seeing you use mana, that weapon isn’t an ordinary one, huh?”

On the surface, it looked like an ordinary basic handgun. However, this was a [Epic] grade basic weapon ripped from Jeong Eun-seo.

As I raised my arm, he glared at me and shouted.

“You coward! Did you use tricks to catch me off guard?”

Seong Hyun-wook charged at me again. But thanks to the effect of [C] Gun Mage’s Agile Step, I easily dodged his attack and this time tripped him by sweeping his legs.

• Thud!

Seong Hyun-wook’s face hit the ground comically.

He hurriedly got up and shouted.

“Damn it! Don’t just run away, fight properly! Are you scared now after being humiliated like this?”

• Swoosh.

Lee Hyun-seung replied to Seong Hyun-wook with a look of disbelief.

“What? Telling a gunner not to run away and to fight properly? Are you lacking intelligence? Or are you just not thinking?”

Then, Lee Hyun-seung pointed his gun straight at Seong Hyun-wook.

As the distance widened, Seong Hyun-wook, even in close proximity, was unable to touch even the hem of my clothes, and he had no choice but to feel anxious and uneasy.

On the contrary, Lee Hyun-seung was relaxed.

Although my magic stats were low, preventing me from using high-grade magic, the Gun Mage’s skills often had additional increases based on ‘job grade’ and ‘job level’ despite their various demerits. Because of that, even low-grade skills yielded remarkably strong effects. The efficiency was good relative to the mana used.

This was the reason why the Epic-grade swordsman Seong Hyun-wook was unexpectedly being outmatched by Lee Hyun-seung.

‘Surprisingly, the Gun Mage isn’t that bad, huh?… Is it really because it’s Legendary grade?’

Since I had been immersed in this game, it was my first time directly experiencing the Gun Mage’s job-exclusive skills in combat, but I could clearly feel how amazing the effects were and how significant the bonuses from being Legendary were. To be able to dodge a swordsman’s movements with an Agility stat of just 8—this was something that logically shouldn’t happen.

“Ugh… Damn it…”

Seong Hyun-wook glanced at Han Bo-eun beside him. Han Bo-eun was staring at Lee Hyun-seung in shock, her mouth agape.

• Crack.

Seeing that expression, Seong Hyun-wook lost his composure and began to concentrate mana into his sword.

The atmosphere around Seong Hyun-wook began to change, and the onlookers screamed in frenzy.

“Hey! Seong Hyun-wook! Are you crazy? If you use that magic in a one-on-one duel, you could really kill someone! How are you going to take responsibility for that?!”

The friends who had simply come to watch began to realize that the situation was getting serious. This was because Seong Hyun-wook was attempting to use sword energy.

“Stop it! Hey! Get someone here right now! We might actually kill someone! Damn it… this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Everyone expected that Lee Hyun-seung would die and began to panic.

Regardless of what anyone yelled, Seong Hyun-wook grit his teeth and madly drew mana.

“Stop? After receiving such humiliation?… Han Bo-eun is watching, and you’re going to let me take this crap?”

Eventually, a deep blue mana enveloped Seong Hyun-wook’s sword.

With a trembling voice, he shouted, “You… you did this… you know that, right? This is all your fault.”

“So… don’t blame me if you actually end up dead.”

He then screamed as he unleashed the sword energy.

“Uaaaaaaah—!”

[B] Crescent Blade – Uses mana to shoot sword energy, slicing through everything in front of it. The power of the sword energy increases proportionally to the job grade and job level of the swordsman.

• Whoosh!

A tremendous gust of wind whipped up as the deep blue sword energy sliced through the air.

• Swoosh.

Lee Hyun-seung stood still, watching the sword energy approach as he raised his gun.

Quickly, he changed the magazine.

• Click!
• Tap!!
• Magic Attribute Magazine Installed. The shape of the magazine and the bullets adjust to fit the firearm being used.

[Magic Attribute Magazine]

▶ When using this magazine, the bullets will be imbued with magic.

▶ Magic will deal additional damage upon contact with mana.

▶ This magazine is equipped with special effects.

▶ Special Effect [Transformation]: This magazine transforms the shape of the bullets and the magazine to fit the firearm being used.

Then, he activated his skill.

[C] Last Bullet – Consumes all bullets currently in the magazine to fire a single powerful bullet.

• Whoosh!

As he gazed at the incoming sword energy, he shouted, “Die—!!”

In that instant, as Seong Hyun-wook yelled,

• Creak.
• Bang—!

A bullet infused with overwhelming magic was fired towards the sword energy.