Chapter 32: Don’t drag it out, Finish it in one go.

On the opposite side of Lee Hyun-seung, a woman named Shin Yu-seon was casting fire magic. She shouted to those

around her, tension gripping her voice.

“If this goes wrong, you all know what will happen, right? Yoo Hee-yeon won’t let us off easy. I won’t be safe, and

neither will any of you!”

She shouted even louder as she focused on the swirling fireball.

“Gather more mana! Pour out everything you can!”

Shin Yu-seon was born without connections or a powerful backing; all she had was her own body. With just that, she

had put in tremendous effort. Lacking natural talent, she had worked hard to gain admission to the academy,

ultimately succeeding in entering the prestigious Broad Academy.

Opportunities had never come easily in her life. The people around her were all those who had fallen behind in terms

of power or authority, so she couldn’t rely on any connections and always ended up with disappointing results

despite her efforts.

Just being in Class F demonstrated this. Shin Yu-seon trained for over ten hours a day. She searched for training

methods not just in magic but in various magical talents, practicing and studying constantly. While she showed

outstanding skills, she was still stuck in the limitations of being a mere common-grade magician, often regarded as

the lowest tier among magicians, making it difficult to cover the class’s shortcomings.

‘At this rate… I’ll never be able to save my younger sister, even if I live my whole life.’

Her only younger sister, Shin Yu-na, suffered from excruciating pain, afflicted with an incurable disease that would

kill her in about ten years.

A horrific illness for which there was no known cure, whether through magic or medicine. A rare disease with no

clear name. Of all things, her sister was suffering from that.

• Unni… I’m in so much pain…

It was hard for her to accept the sight of her sister in pain, as well as the fact that she would die with time.

Money was needed. To buy painkillers that could ease her sister’s suffering. Or any artifact that could heal her sister’s illness, no matter what it was.

She understood that it was an incurable disease. However, because of a glimmer of hope, she was researching various

artifacts. In this world, there were artifacts and holy potions that could heal even incurable diseases. The problem

was that their prices were astronomically high. Moreover, there was no benevolent person in the world willing to

donate such artifacts or potions for a mere poor girl.

It was clear that the artifacts and potions needed for treatment would cost a lifetime of earnings. She had done

everything from menial labor to serving in restaurants and part-time jobs. Yet, that alone wasn’t enough to cover the

costs. Ultimately, she needed more money for her sister, and hearing that she could earn a significant amount right

after graduation, she entered the academy. After graduating from the academy and entering the labyrinth, there were

plenty of rare artifacts and items to be obtained from monsters.

Then, an opportunity came to her.

Shin Yu-seon glanced at her phone.

• Balance: 30 million won

This was money given to her by Yoo Hee-yeon. It was an advance payment of 30 million won for the request to

interfere with Lee Hyun-seung. If things went well, she would receive another 70 million won, and if she achieved

meaningful results, there would be additional payment as well.

It was money she could never earn even if she worked for a year without rest. It was enough to buy painkillers to

ensure her sister wouldn’t suffer in agony for a considerable time. It was money to find and purchase artifacts or

potions that could heal her sister’s mysterious illness.

Her only purpose for the money was her sister, yet she felt a deep yearning. Shin Yu-seon loved her younger sister, Shin Yu-na, sincerely.

“If this job goes well, it’s 100 million won. If I had this much money, Yuna could live comfortably for a while. With

some luck, I might even be able to find an artifact to cure her incurable disease…”

As she thought that, she focused on increasing the fireball even more.

“I feel sorry for that guy, Lee Hyun-seung…”

She looked at Lee Hyun-seung, who was talking to a woman from a distance. It seemed he hadn’t noticed the fireball that was being cast yet.

Guilt surged within her. Not only was she planning to attack someone she barely knew from behind, but the

realization that she was resorting to such underhanded tactics filled her with humiliation.

-Swish

She gazed at the artifact in her hand.

It was an external artifact given to her by Yoo Hee-yeon. A type of amplification artifact that could enhance the user’s

magical abilities. At a glance, it looked like an artifact worth a fortune.

-Crack

She bit her lip, drawing blood.

‘I don’t want to use such a vile method, but…’

When Yoo Hee-yeon handed her the artifact, she honestly thought she didn’t want to use it. In a class battle,

attacking one another was expected. She didn’t think much about attacking, but she didn’t want to eliminate him

using an external artifact that was banned from entry. For some reason, it seemed like Lee Hyun-seung genuinely

wanted to become the class representative.

‘I can’t afford to have weak thoughts. With this money, I can buy enough painkillers for Yuna to last her a lifetime.’

She shook her head from side to side and shouted.

“Gather more mana! To the maximum you can!”

The people next to her were also members of Class F who had received money from Yoo Hee-yeon to participate in

this endeavor. Shin Yu-seon was acting as their leader since she was the only one among them who had awakened as

a magician.

Although she was a common-grade magician, in terms of sheer power, she could be considered rare. In fact, some

might even view her as epic-level. Of course, as time passed, she would surely fall behind those of higher ranks.

-Whoosh!

Regardless, the enormous fireball she was currently conjuring was not something that a mere common-grade

magician could produce. Even with the artifact and the mana supplied by those around her, such an act was

impossible without extraordinary talent.

-Whoosh—!

Before long, the fireball began to spin wildly, making a tremendous sound. It indicated that it had absorbed all the

mana it could hold. From this point on, her task became clear and simple.

She reached out her hand. All she had to do was guide the flow of mana and launch the fireball.

-Swish

She raised her hand and fired the fireball.

“I bear no grudges… I’m sorry.”

At that moment, the fireball darted swiftly toward Lee Hyun-seung in response to Shin Yu-seon’s gesture. Or at least,

it was supposed to. Just then,

-Bang—!

A gunshot echoed from a distance.

“What? A gun?”

Shin Yu-seon knew that Lee Hyun-seung was a marksman. However, they were currently at least 5 kilometers apart.

At this distance, a regular bullet wouldn’t reach them. Even if it did, its power would be significantly diminished,

causing it to melt in the fireball.

-Whoosh—!

The bullet flying from afar twisted in the air like a laser, hurtling toward her.

‘W-What speed is that? C-Can this be real?’

Shin Yu-seon could confidently say she had never seen a bullet travel that fast in her life. Without even blinking, the

bullet reached the fireball head-on.

‘It’s fine. It’ll melt anyway.’

Just as she thought that,

-KABOOM—!

A deafening noise erupted as the bullet struck the fireball.

Cough-cough!

Shin Yu-seon coughed painfully, choked by the smoke surrounding her.

‘Did the fireball… hit properly?’

Just as Shin Yu-seon was trying to confirm,

-Wiiiiiing!

From the point where the fireball and bullet collided, an immense light began to ripple.

-Contact with vast mana grants additional damage.

-Triggered by the legendary marksman class’s unique job effect, additional damage is applied.

-A large explosion occurs.

-KABOOM—!

A tremendous vibration echoed through the venue as the area was engulfed in flames.

“Gah—!”

“Ahhh—!”

“P-Please… save me!”

While they wouldn’t actually die, they could still feel some pain. They all cried out in agony before being forcibly recalled by a summoning spell.

The announcer shouted.

[W-Wait! More than ten members of the alliance have just been eliminated at once! This is truly unbelievable! A

single bullet—a single shot has completely repelled the gigantic fireball. Is this even possible? It’s more powerful

than what you’d expect in a class A representative battle! Without a doubt, the star of this selection match is the

marksman. All the spotlight will surely be on that student! A strong candidate for victory!]

In an instant, the twenty survivors had vanished. Excluding those who had fought among themselves and were not

bought by Yoo Hee-yeon, only about ten people remained in the virtual stage.

Lee Hyun-seung briefly surveyed his surroundings.

People around him rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the enormous explosion, mumbling in shock.

“Is that… a gun? C-Can that be real?”

“Don’t lie… that magic was a massive fireball, right? With a gun?”

The onlookers were left speechless, and Gu Da-yoon turned to Lee Hyun-seung, asking,

“What on earth just happened?… No matter how high your rank is…”

-Cut off

Lee Hyun-seung covered her mouth and replied,

“We’ll talk about the details later. First, we need to finish this boring battle. I guess I overestimated the F-class. With

this level of skill, there’s no need to use the epic gun.”

“What do you mean by that…”

Just as Gu Da-yoon was about to question him,

-Cli-click!

Clack—!

Lee Hyun-seung changed the magazine.

[Signal Flare]

▶ When this magazine is used, it will explode with a loud noise when the bullet reaches a specific distance. *It has almost no lethality.

▶ This magazine is equipped with special effects.

▶ Special effect [Transformation]: The magazine will change the shape of the bullet and magazine to match the weapon used.

▶ Contains 33 bullets.

Then, Lee Hyun-seung fired into the sky.

-Bang!

-Bang-bang-bang!

-KABOOM—!

Suddenly, fireworks began to erupt wildly in the sky.

-Pow!

-Pababababang—!

-PAAAAANG—!

-Pababababababang—!

As Gu Da-yoon stared in daze, Lee Hyun-seung quietly said to her,

“No need to drag this out; it should end in one go.”

In an instant, the mana energy began to gather from all directions.

“That marksman is over there! Kill him!”

Voices called from a distance. Gu Da-yoon shouted in disbelief.

“What… what are you doing! If you used that ridiculous technique earlier, you shouldn’t be able to do anything else

now, right? What on earth are you trusting to do this…!”

Ignoring Gu Da-yoon, who was mistaking a simple attack for an impressive technique, Lee Hyun-seung loaded his

magazine.

-Clack!

“Just stay quiet. It’ll be over soon.”