Chapter 44: Try to get back at a gunsmith or something.

“If we’re even a bit late, someone might die.”

Choi I-seul said urgently, and Choi Im-ho reacted quickly.

“Understood. I’ll assemble them right now.”

-BOOM-!

Then, Choi I-seul also kicked the door open and ran out.

‘I can feel the energy coming from the F-Class… Why is Han Seong-gil, who is in B-Class, in F-Class?’

Han Seong-gil, a B-Class student, went to F-Class and felt a life-threatening danger. If that’s the case, there were only

two people she could suspect.

‘Jeong Eun-seo… and Lee Hyun-seung… One of them must have caused a problem.’

Among the members of F-Class, there are some quite talented gems, but no one, at least at this point, could make

Han Seong-gil feel the threat of death. However, Jeong Eun-seo and Lee Hyun-seung were different.

Jeong Eun-seo was an epic-tier mage, and Lee Hyun-seung possessed overwhelming gun combat abilities. Even

though Choi I-seul wasn’t sure about Lee Hyun-seung’s exact job class, she judged that he had the same level of

combat power or even more than Jeong Eun-seo.

‘Please… Please, I hope nothing happens.’

She had summoned several teachers in order to prevent Han Seong-gil from being killed.

Once the Berserker trait manifests and enough time passes, the person loses the ability to distinguish between friend

and foe, and their physical abilities increase exponentially. If you don’t kill them in one shot and just try to suppress

them, they only get stronger and go wild. It’s a crazy trait.

‘I hope no one dies…?’

If he tries to kill someone else, there’s nothing she could do, but Han Seong-gil was still Choi I-seul’s student.

It would be easy to kill him outright and immediately subdue him, but she didn’t want that. If she could save him,

she would. That was Choi I-seul’s educational policy.

‘How much time has passed…? A minute? No… two minutes?’

Looking at the state of the artifact, it seemed that there had been a delay after the Berserker trait manifested. She

didn’t know why, but the energy of the Berserker trait was so strong it was unsettling, which made it clear that quite

a bit of time had passed since the incident. She hurried toward F-Class even faster.

“You… seem strong. Let’s fight once.”

Han Seong-gil’s eyes began to turn red. Lee Hyun-seung looked at his eyes and thought to himself.

‘No wonder… I thought something was off, but this guy has the Berserker trait.’

In the original game, Han Seong-gil had never shown any signs of the Berserker trait within the Academy. He never

had any major conflicts with Yoo Hee-yeon, nor had he fought anyone else outside.

In other words, Han Seong-gil was a character that strayed from the main storyline of the game, just a cameo passing

through. Yet, Lee Hyun-seung was still tense.

‘That trait… It’s very troublesome.’

Han Seong-gil’s raw combat strength, with the Berserker trait, was honestly not superior to Lee Hyun-seung, the

legendary gunfighter. Lee Hyun-seung knew this well. But the problem was the effects of the Berserker trait.

[S] Berserker

When you feel the threat of death, extreme amounts of adrenaline and dopamine are released.

▶Temporarily increases all stats.

▶Temporarily grants immunity to fear.

▶Temporarily reduces the feeling of pain.

▶The more blood is spilled, the longer the battle goes on, the higher all stats rise.

▶As the effect grows stronger, it becomes harder to maintain reason.

In short, it’s a crazy trait where a zombie-like person doesn’t feel pain, doesn’t fear anything, and grows stronger the

more they’re hit.

‘It’d be easier if I just kill him, but… killing someone inside the Academy…’

No matter how confidently Lee Hyun-seung acted, and how self-defense was easily accepted within the Academy,

actually killing someone was a different matter. Even though Han Seong-gil looked like a troublesome punk, killing

him inside the Academy wasn’t an option.

‘If it were someone like Hilleon’s crew, I’d just kill him.’

Hilleon. If it were one of those punks, Lee Hyun-seung would’ve killed them without hesitation. But Han Seong-gil

was a different case.

In fact, aside from the humanitarian side of things, there was another reason Lee Hyun-seung didn’t want to kill Han

Seong-gil. This reason might have been even more important.

‘If I can control him, he could be a huge asset.’

Though Han Seong-gil seemed hot-headed and full of inferiority complex, the Berserker trait was one of the most

overpowered traits in all of Broad Academy. Particularly, the downside of the Berserker trait, “becoming unable to

maintain reason,” could be eliminated by using a specific artifact.

In other words, someone who gets stronger the more they fight, and clearly distinguishes between allies and

enemies, could potentially become a mad combat machine on their side. Han Seong-gil’s wild personality made it

difficult to recruit him, but his trait was worth the effort.

‘I can’t let go of the Berserker trait so easily.’

Lee Hyun-seung’s eyes sparkled as if he had seen a hidden item.

At that moment, Jeong Eun-seo, who was next to him, looked at him with a serious expression.

“Hyun-seung, be careful. That person doesn’t seem to have normal abilities. There’s a very dangerous aura around

him.”

-Swish

Lee Hyun-seung pushed Jeong Eun-seo aside and spoke.

“You saw well. Stay back. I’ll take care of this.”

As Lee Hyun-seung was about to rush forward,

“You’re low on mana after the earlier fight, right? I know all about it, so just rest for a while.”

She was right. With a mana stat of only about 3, Lee Hyun-seung could barely use even one ‘Last Bullet’ before

running out of mana. The problem was that he had used several buff skills, including [C] Gunslinger’s Agile Step, just

to overwhelm Im Tak-ju earlier.

The fact that Lee Hyun-seung, a Gunslinger, had dodged every attack from Im Tak-ju, a martial artist, as if he had

memorized his every move, was thanks to that skill.

In other words, Lee Hyun-seung had used all his available skills and was in no condition to fight.

Had he known that Han Seong-gil possessed the Berserker trait, he wouldn’t have acted so recklessly. But no one

could have expected a punk like him to have such a ridiculous, broken trait.

‘Right. At least now, I’ll gather enough mana to use skills again before I can act.’

For now, all Lee Hyun-seung could do was land basic attacks. Though, with the legendary buff effects from his traits,

those basic attacks were far from ordinary.

“Jeong Eun-seo, I’m counting on you. Just hold out for a minute.”

“Leave it to me.”

Jeong Eun-seo began to draw magic into her magic staff. Lee Hyun-seung, seeing this, cautioned her.

“That guy has the traits of a Berserker. The longer the fight goes on, the stronger he gets, especially as he takes

damage. So, don’t try to defend with weak attacks. It’s better to either deal a huge blow that can cripple one of his

limbs or use a binding spell to restrain him.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Just then, Han Seong-gil, who had been standing at a distance, shouted with irritation.

“What the hell are you guys talking about?! Lee Hyun-seung! Get out here now!”

Swish!

Jeong Eun-seo stepped forward, blocking the path between Lee Hyun-seung and Han Seong-gil, and shouted.

“Hyun-seung, you’re already fighting your friend, so it’s only fair that you fight me first, right?”

“Tch.”

Han Seong-gil laughed mockingly, then immediately got serious, crouching his body in preparation.

“Brat. Do you really think you have the skill to challenge me? If you’re asking to die, I’ll grant it.”

Swoosh!

Han Seong-gil quickly launched himself off the ground and charged toward Jeong Eun-seo.

Jeong Eun-seo cast the magic she had prepared.

[Water Chain]

In an instant, a long chain made of water whooshed toward Han Seong-gil.

However, Han Seong-gil didn’t dodge. He charged straight ahead.

“Using such a weak spell! Are you looking down on me?!”

• Swishhh!

Han Seong-gil quickly sliced through the Water Chain with his sword. But the severed chain instantly reformed.

• Whooooosh!

The reformed chain swiftly circled around Han Seong-gil, restricting his movement.

• Bang!

The chain struck Han Seong-gil with a loud crash.

Still, Han Seong-gil sliced through the chain again with his sword.

• Swishhh!

Once more, the chain reformed and repeatedly struck Han Seong-gil, eventually wrapping around his ankle to limit

his movement.

• Slice!

Han Seong-gil sliced through the chain again and muttered.

“Dammit… so annoying.”

The same pattern repeated several times. Then, as if realizing something, Han Seong-gil charged toward the Water Chain.

• Thud thud thud thud!

“It’s useless!”

Jeong Eun-seo shouted, preparing to strike the Water Chain at Han Seong-gil once again.

• Crunch!

Instead of dodging or retreating, Han Seong-gil chose to charge straight into the magic.

“Arrghhh!”

In this unexpected situation, Jeong Eun-seo hurriedly double-cast, reinforcing her magic. She powered up the Water

Chain with a strong electrical charge.

• Crackle!

An unpleasant burning smell filled the air, as if flesh were cooking. Yet Han Seong-gil didn’t stop his charge.

“What is this… this is insane!”

Any normal person would have fainted or frozen solid after receiving such an attack. But despite the electric shock so

strong it seemed to burn his flesh, Han Seong-gil kept charging forward. He didn’t even try to slice through the

chain; instead, he slammed his body into it.

• Whoosh!

At that moment, Han Seong-gil leaped above Jeong Eun-seo, aiming to strike her with his sword, whispering quietly.

“I’ve won.”

“Ahhhhhh!”

Just before Han Seong-gil’s sword reached Jeong Eun-seo’s head:

• The Gunslinger’s Agile Step skill is activated.
• [C] When equipped with a firearm, movement speed temporarily increases. The increase is affected by the current job class and level.
• The Gunblade skill is activated.
• [C] Gunblade – When attacking or defending with a firearm, additional strength is applied. The strength increase is influenced by the current job class and level.

Whooosh!

Lee Hyun-seung, moving at an incredible speed, intercepted Han Seong-gil’s sword head-on.

• Vibration

Lee Hyun-seung’s arm trembled as he blocked Han Seong-gil’s sword, a swordmaster’s weapon, with his own.

‘Even with the Gunblade skill, this is still tough… He’s already a high-ranking swordmaster, and now he’s got the Berserker traits, so this is a real challenge.’

Han Seong-gil desperately tried to push his sword toward Lee Hyun-seung.

“Damn you… aaahhh!”

But the sword wouldn’t budge. Even though Lee Hyun-seung’s hand was trembling, the gun and sword were locked

in place, as though they were glued together.

“Dammit… why the hell am I fighting a damn Gunslinger?!”

• Creak

Han Seong-gil gritted his teeth, continuing to press Lee Hyun-seung.

• Thud

Jeong Eun-seo, her legs giving out, collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the scene.

Lee Hyun-seung, sweating, quietly whispered to Han Seong-gil.

“Try dying once, you damn fool.”