Chapter 7: Post-Apocalypse pistol is an artifact in my world(3)

“That’s ridiculous.”

The blonde, mixed-race girl, An Roze, stared straight at the teacher with wide eyes.

“I don’t believe it either, but what can we do? Yuhwa passed the test.”

“She must have used some kind of trick!”

“So what are you saying?Are you saying that our academy teacher took a bribe from her?”

“It’s not that… but when you think about her mother-“

Roze recalled the past, stained with humiliation and sadness.

-Huh?Why aren’t you coming to class? Why, isn’t that something only incompetent people like you, who aren’t confident in getting points in practical training, do?

-That won’t make you a great hero? Huh~ I don’t care~ I’m the one who kills monsters anyway~

Shin Yuhwa’s past could be said to be the height of rudeness and arrogance.

The ‘students who diligently attend school’, led by Roze, were always jealous and resentful of Yuhwa.

So when they heard that she had miserably failed the ‘field hunter training’, everyone was happy.

They thought they wouldn’t have to hear Yuhwa’s annoying voice anymore.

But, she passed the expulsion test.

She remained in the academy.

“…If you really don’t believe it, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll show you.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll show you how Yuhwa passed the test. This isn’t a violation of the privacy act.”

The teacher shook his head with a deep sigh, thinking that his workload had increased.

However, it wasn’t something that would end by ignoring Roze’s words.

There must be many students who were thinking the same thing as Roze.

“Here, look.”

Roze glared at the video.

There was Yuhwa.

She hesitated for a moment, unable to shoot, but after a few tries, she splendidly shot down the bats.

“See? It’s not perfect, but it’s not bad enough to fail.”

“This… is a trick!”

“The gun Yuhwa is holding, no matter how I think about it, it’s not a standard issue gun!It’s an artifact!”

“Using artifacts in the expulsion test is allowed.”

“Th-That’s true, but!”

This was a loophole in the rules.

It was not uncommon for hunters to use firearms, who rely on artifacts for hunting.

But generally, they used artifacts to increase the firepower of the gun.

Because that wasn’t something that could be done with normal training.

There were almost no hunters who used artifacts to ‘shoot better’.

It was taken for granted that one could shoot the holographic bats that appeared in the academy’s expulsion test with ‘their own skill’.

“Still, it’s cheating…”

“It’s not in the rules.Then, what should our teachers do?”

Conversely, the teacher began to push Roze.

“Let’s expel Shin Yuhwa because it seems like cheating, even though it’s not in the rules?You know what kind of person Yuhwa’s mother is, right?”

It wasn’t impossible to expel Yuhwa according to the principles and rules.

But it was virtually impossible to expel Shin Yuhwa with the wordplay of ‘it’s practically cheating’.

“…I’m going to officially report this to the higher-ups.”

“What?”

“She used a private gun.”

“It’s clear that she got it from that ‘Brother’!There must be some kind of incriminating evidence-“

But Roze hadn’t given up yet.

“Well.”

“I thought Yuhwa’s mother might have given it to her…You can figure that out later.”

“Ah, okay.”

Roze clenched her fist.

To re-establish the justice of the academy.

****

“Thank you again for today!”

“Yes. Is everything alright?”

I was facing Lisa and conducting today’s ‘water supply’.

“Yes.Thanks to the support you sent, we were able to cooperate with the local settlers… and we also prevented the raiders’ attack.”

“That’s good.”

Lisa seemed to be gradually increasing her scale and developing her forces.

‘Good, good.’

It’s good for me because I can get support right away when I need something.

It’s also good for her because she can get a stable supply of ‘water’, a resource essential for expanding her forces.

‘It would be even better if I could get something useful…’

“Are you satisfied with the item I sent this time?”

“Well, I’m always grateful.”

I said that, but I wasn’t really that grateful.

‘The necklace option… what is this.’

I looked at the necklace Lisa had just sent.

‘Evasion +2 when not wearing other equipment’

Evasion +2 itself is not a bad option.

If you plan to fight with only this necklace on and no clothes.

It would have been better if it was a non-combat option like ‘Health +2’ or ‘Intelligence +2’.

But evasion is a completely meaningless option in a non-combat situation.

There was no way to use it.

‘If that option was applied to a suit or robe, there might be a use for it…’

That wasn’t it.

I shook my head.

“It seems like it’s not enough.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Lisa also sent me a new Gremlin pistol and bullets.

All of them were useless items.

“Don’t think about what to give me, focus on your survival.”

“Ah…”

“You’ll need more items than I do.”

I forced a good-natured smile.

It was half sincere.

‘Even if those people go out of their way to get items for me, there’s almost no chance that they will be useful.’

Whether it’s food, minerals, or guns.

Most of them were like that.

‘And, this transaction is profitable just by ‘maintaining it’.’

I looked at the status window that appeared in front of me.

[You have accumulated enough transaction performance. Choose a reward.]

[1. Expand transaction warehouse size]

[2. Reduce transaction mana consumption]

[3. Activate new dimension transaction (0/5)]

The results of the transaction were constantly showing.

‘Expand warehouse size.’

‘It’s good, but… I don’t need to press it right now.’

When I checked it in detail, the size that increased was not very large.

‘Activating a new dimension transaction… doesn’t seem to be done at once.’

Judging by the phrase (0/5), it seemed that it would be activated after selecting it five times as a transaction performance reward.

‘For now, the second one is better.’

I chose the [Reduce transaction mana consumption] option.

“The next transaction will be possible in 6 days, not a week.”

“R-Really?Then the water-“

“Of course, I’ll fill it up with water.”

I smiled faintly.

Lisa bowed her head, overwhelmed with emotion.

“Thank you so much!”

“Yes. Well, stay safe-“

Suddenly, the phone rang.

It was Yuhwa again.

‘She…’

“Something came up, so I’ll go first. Take care.”

“Yes, stay healthy!”

After receiving Lisa’s greeting and ending the communication, I immediately picked up the phone and answered the call.

“Hello.”

“Brother! It’s an emergency!”

“If it’s nothing again, I’m really going to block you this time.”

She was talkative.

To a certain extent, I could think, ‘Well, she’s pretty and cute, so she can be a little noisy…’, but she slightly crossed the line.

“It’s real! This time it’s really serious!”

“Be clear about the subject.Is it serious for you, or is it serious for me?”

“Both!”

“Really?”

Judging by what she said, it didn’t seem like it was a very trivial matter.

“What is it.”

“Th-The teacher… called you. She said she’d report it to the police if you didn’t show up…”

“Why me?”

“Where did you get that gun-“

It’s here.

I smiled bitterly.

‘Still…’

I didn’t expect to use the item I thought I wouldn’t need so soon.

I looked at a few Gremlin pistols and Gremlin pistol bullets.

The items Lisa had just sent me.

****

“This is the academy…”

I feel a tingling tension.

The mana concentration inside changes.

The academy.

A place that trains numerous hunter aspirants.

Among them, a place that trains hunter aspirants powerful enough to attract the attention of the guild.

 I took a step into a space so important that in the past,I wouldn’t have been able to set foot in it.

“Are you Mr. Jeong Isu by any chance?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Follow me.”

A normal-looking teacher guided me.

But she was also an Awakener of a certain level.

‘It’s definitely… an amazing place.’

The fact that they can use Awakeners as ordinary employees itself reveals the dignity of the academy.

Even non-hunter Awakeners, gatherers and miners, are raking in a lot of money.

Even more so, the people here are hunters.

Moreover, they are hunters who can earn ‘respect’ from the numerous students attending the academy.

Generally, such people just work as hunters.

Because that’s how they make more money.

So the teachers here were those who followed a sense of mission ‘a more important value than money’, and who were receiving a salary that would prevent them from feeling ‘too much deprivation’ ‘nevertheless’.

‘Well, it’s not important to me.’

I was guided and entered a room that seemed important.

“Oh Brother!”

“Hello.”

Yuhwa was inside.

And besides her, a few people with grim expressions were waiting for me.

“First of all, thank you for coming willingly.We didn’t want to call the police for an internal school matter.”

“That’s wise.It wasn’t a problem that required the police.”

I joked.

‘I didn’t really do anything wrong…’

Still, it was a bit uncomfortable to be in the same space with people who could kill me with a single punch.

“Sit down.Let’s hear it.”

I sat in a soft and comfortable chair.

“First, I’ll ask you a few questions. How did you meet student Shin Yuhwa?”

“While working as a gatherer, I found Shin Yuhwa’s lost item.Then… I helped her because she seemed to be in a difficult situation.”

“It was a coincidence?”

“It was a coincidence.”

A cold-looking teacher in a suit interrogated me.

I kept a straight face and endured the interrogation.

“You knew that student Shin Yuhwa… was a student.”

“I found out on the day we first met. She told me herself.”

“And, you gave the student a private gun?”

I smiled and shook my head.

“A private gun, how is that a gun? That’s a toy.”

“Are you trying to play word games with me now?”

The teacher glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.

“You gave an artifact to a student and you’re saying it’s just a toy?Hah.I doubt the police will think the same.”

“Even if the police don’t, you shouldn’t think this is a gun.”

“Why isn’t this a gun?Have you checked the power-“

“Have you checked the power of that gun?”

“Of course I checked it!”

“Other than Shin Yuhwa firing a flame bullet, have you checked what kind of power it has when a ‘normal’ bullet is loaded into it?”

“That-“

There was no way she had checked it.

Gremlin pistols are small.

And Gremlins don’t use human bullets, they use bullets made by them for them.

Naturally, that’s not something that exists on Earth.

“You probably don’t have it.Because you couldn’t get the bullets.”

“Ah, are you telling me to test the power?Okay.I don’t know what kind of bullets that pistol uses, but I’ll find it somehow-“

“You don’t have to.I brought it with me.”

I took out a Gremlin pistol and a few Gremlin pistol bullets from my bag.

“…Is this a confession?”

“It’s a proof of innocence.For example… it’s like this.This is just a toy.”

“Don’t just talk-“

I loaded a bullet into the Gremlin pistol.

As if to prove that this was the bullet for this pistol, the bullet fit perfectly into this pistol.

“Phew… yeah.Just talking is meaningless.”

Before they could react, I pointed the Gremlin pistol at my temple.

And, I pulled the trigger.