Chapter 62: The Gunsmith’s Counter Attack

Lee hyun-seung aimed his gun at his chest and fired.

“What… what…!”

In that instant, chaos erupted in the arena.

A heavy silence fell over the spectators, including Artemis Guild Leader Yoo Han-beom, Deputy Guild Leader Bae Gi-

young, Blacksmith Association President Tak Woo-hyun, and many others.

Yoo Han-beom thought to himself.

‘What is he doing? Has he given up on the match?’

It was an incomprehensible action. Why would someone fire a gun at their own heart unless they had decided to

forfeit the match?

But soon, as he saw the green smoke rising from Lee hyun-seung’s chest, Yoo Han-beom quickly realized.

‘Status effect recovery?’

A healing effect, usually reserved for mages, was enveloping Lee hyun-seung’s body.

‘That bullet…’

It was a bullet with a status effect recovery.

Here’s what happened:

Right after the match started, when his teammates moved to the capture points, Lee hyun-seung was left alone and

checked his crafting slots.

• [The Artifact of the Ancient Knight’s Vengeance: Crafting time remaining: 00 hours: 59 minutes.]

‘That’s too long.’

The Artifact of the Ancient Knight’s Vengeance was a device that could control Han Seong-gil’s [Berserker] trait. If it

could be crafted quickly, it would allow Han Seong-gil to make a significant impact in the match. It was, essentially,

the core artifact for winning. But the problem was time.

‘Can I last 59 minutes?’

A pistol typically has a 30-round magazine, and since the gun and magazine are treated as a set, Gunmages like Lee

hyun-seung are usually given this setup. But he thought that even with a basic magazine, it would be impossible to

last an hour.

‘Maybe I could push myself to last, but there could be other variables.’

Since the main objective was not fighting but escaping, and he would only fire when absolutely necessary, he didn’t

need many bullets. After all, he wasn’t planning to engage in direct combat but escape, so he wasn’t too concerned.

Yet, the thought still made him uneasy.

‘Yoo Hee-yeon might be up to something again.’

Even during the F-Class qualification tournament, Yoo Hee-yeon had bribed people to smuggle in external artifacts

to sabotage Lee hyun-seung. It was rational to believe she would do something suspicious again in this match.

Yoo Hee-yeon would likely go to any lengths to win. But the problem was, it was impossible to predict what tricks she

might pull this time.

That’s why he needed to minimize the variables.

• [Do you wish to cancel the crafting of The Artifact of the Ancient Knight’s Vengeance? If canceled, the crafting material will be refunded.]

With a wave of his hand, Lee hyun-seung canceled the crafting process.

• [The Artifact of the Ancient Knight’s Vengeance crafting was canceled, and the crafting material is refunded. Breaking the material will allow you to restart the crafting process at any time.]

Lee hyun-seung quickly began crafting bullets.

• [Craft 5 Magic-attribute Bullets?]

A standard magazine contains 33 rounds, but crafting the entire magazine would take too long. To save time,

Lee hyun-seung decided to reduce the number of bullets per magazine.

• [Craft 5 Magic-attribute Bullets. Crafting time: 10 seconds.]

As a result, Lee hyun-seung was able to craft the magazine in a very short time. He quickly created several useful

attribute magazines, each filled with only five bullets. The process didn’t take long at all, as he kept the number of

bullets per magazine low.

‘This should be enough to prepare for any sudden situations.’

Lee hyun-seung wanted to craft more magazines, but he decided against it.

‘If I waste any more time, the A-Class guys will charge straight for the capture point. If we fight against the same

number of people, we’ll be at a disadvantage.’

With that thought in mind, Lee hyun-seung crafted one last magazine.

[Healing Magazine]

▶When this magazine is used, the bullets will have a healing effect.

The healing effect scales based on the job rank and job level.

▶As an additional effect of the legendary Gunslinger rank, the abilities [Status Effect Recovery], [Health Recovery],

and [Wound Recovery] are activated.

▶This is a magazine with special effects.

▶Special effect [Transformation]: The bullets and magazine will transform to match the weapon being used.

▶The magazine contains 5 bullets.

The bullets inside the Healing Magazine were infused with healing effects. Therefore, when they hit, instead of

inflicting wounds, they provided healing.

Such healing magazines were not only difficult to craft, but they also usually only healed minor wounds, like scrapes

or slight cuts, making them quite ineffective for most Gunslingers. As a result, many Gunslingers rarely used them,

even if they had one. However, Lee hyun-seung’s case was different.

Thanks to the [Legendary] rank, it was equipped with powerful additional effects, not only recovering status ailments

but also healing health and serious injuries. It was comparable to a potion and, perhaps, even more powerful than

one.

‘This many bullets should be enough.’

To be honest, it wasn’t enough. But he figured that with what he had crafted, he could last for at least an hour.

Lee hyun-seung broke the previously set crafting barrier.

• [The Will of the Primordial Knight] Item crafting begins.
• Item crafting wait time: 01 hour:00 minutes.

Then, Lee hyun-seung resumed crafting the Will item that he had planned to make earlier. There was a slight delay, but  he felt that this approach would be more worthwhile in the long run.

He thought to himself, and then equipped a basic magazine.

[Worn-out Magazine]

▶This is a plain, worn-out magazine with no special traits.

▶It contains a total of 33 bullets.

Lee hyun-seung raised his hand high and fired the bullet into the sky.

• Bang!

The sound of the gunshot echoed across the sky, and Yoo Hee-yeon’s group began to chase Lee hyun-seung.

• Bang!

Lee hyun-seungused a skill to escape from Yoo Hee-yeon and the A-Class members. However, without the help of his

Epic-grade weapons, he needed mana to use his skill.

He decided to consume a Mana Stone to replenish his mana. By doing so, he could use his Gunslinger-specific skill to

move quickly. But soon, one of the side effects, [Paralysis], began to appear.

‘Don’t panic.’

Lee hyun-seungquickly swapped the magazine and fired a bullet into his chest. As expected, he used the [Healing

Magazine].

• You were hit by the Healing Bullet.
• The healing effect is applied.
• Your lowered health is restored.
• [Status Effect: Paralysis] has been removed.
• Your wounds are rapidly healed.
• Your breathing stabilizes.

“F*ck… that bastard shot himself in the chest…?”

The A-Class members watching from a distance couldn’t bring themselves to approach Lee hyun-seung, bewildered

by his strange actions. The [Healing Magazine] was considered an inefficient item for regular Gunslingers, and not

many people even knew about it. Therefore, it was rare for anyone to use it.

Therefore, the A-Class members had no choice but to think that Lee hyun-seung had committed self-harm by

shooting himself in the heart. They were stunned by the geometric and brutal scene and couldn’t bring themselves to

speak.

But as soon as they noticed the green light flowing around Lee hyun-seung, they began to snap out of it.

“He’s healing right now! Get a grip and attack him—now!”

The first to realize the situation was Yoo Hee-yeon. As soon as she saw the healing aura emanating from

Lee hyun-seung’s body, she immediately deduced that he had somehow tampered with the bullets. But it was a little

too late when she realized it.

• Tatatadadad-!

Lee hyun-seung, who had been crouching down, suddenly sprang up and made his escape.

“Catch him! Or shoot some magic at him—right now!”

Yoo Hee-yeon shouted in panic. At that moment, a fighter rushed forward to engage.

A man wearing knuckles. He had been waiting for any sudden situation, crouching and observing, his eyes locked

onto Lee hyun-seung’s every movement, like a predator watching its prey.

Thanks to that, the moment Lee hyun-seungmade a move, the man was able to rush toward him a step ahead.

• Tatatadad-!

The man began to run madly. Lee hyun-seunghad just gotten up, and he wasn’t yet fully propelled forward. The man

was certain that he had caught him.

“You little rat. Gotcha…”

The man grabbed Lee hyun-seung’s collar at that moment.

Clank!

In less than 0.5 seconds, the sound of the magazine switching was heard, and a cold aura began to radiate from

Lee hyun-seung.

[Magic-Attribute Magazine]

▶When this magazine is used, the bullets are infused with magic.

▶The power of the magic increases according to the job rank.

• Whoosh

Lee hyun-seungquickly turned his body and aimed precisely at the man’s shoulder.

The man, wearing knuckles, just laughed in disbelief.

“Are you trying to play tough with basic weapons? Do you want to die? Get a grip. You’re a Gunslinger, aren’t you?

Did you lose your sense of reality just because you killed a few F-Class punks in the selection? You were always at the

bottom in practical exams—what can a bug like you possibly do…?”

With extreme concentration, Lee hyun-seung ignored the man’s words and pulled the trigger.

• Bang!

With a huge sound, the magic-infused bullet was fired.

“Huh…?”

• Pwoooosh!

The man, who had considered himself the strongest in close combat and prided himself on being an excellent fighter,

had a huge hole torn in his shoulder.