Chapter 5: Post-Apocalypse pistol is an artifact in my world(1)

“You’ve been very diligent lately, haven’t you?You’re attending all your classes.”

Shin Yuhwa couldn’t raise her head at the words of the blonde mixed-race girl in front of her.

“….Yeah”

“Why are you so down?Why don’t you speak confidently like before?I’m going to get a perfect score during the practical training anyway, so I don’t need to come to class.'”

“I’m sorry! I was stupid! I won’t do it again from now on!”

It was all her karma, so she couldn’t deny it.

Until she experienced failure in practice, Shin Yuhwa was an arrogant student.

“Next?You can’t even use spells because of magic overload… next?”

The mixed-race girl who mocked her covered her mouth and giggled.

“There is no next.”

“Ah, maybe there is for you.Relying on your mother’s backing, you can enter the guild through connections-“

“I’ll pass the exam.”

There was no basis.

She just believed his words, ‘I might be able to find a way.’

“The academy’s teachers will grade fairly, no matter what your mother says.Well, dreams are free.”

“….”

“Well, good luck. Or… should I just keep sticking to the academy?”

The blonde girl left.

Shin Yuhwa clenched her lips and suppressed her anger.

The most painful and sad thing was that she couldn’t refute a single word of that nasty girl’s words.

‘It’s true…’

She was arrogant.

And now she was paying the price.

If she hadn’t met him, she would have collapsed without finding the ribbon.

With a broken heart, looking at her mother’s precious ribbon in an auction in the distant future-

‘Ah, no!’

It was too early to give up.

She was still young.

It was a story that the man told her, so she had to believe this.

‘Sigh…’

The class was boring and difficult.

In a situation where she couldn’t use spells, and all the students were mocking her, the class was even more boring.

But Yuhwa endured and endured.

‘I want to be… a hunter…’

After talking with him, she realized again how much she wanted to be a hunter.

A hunter like her mother, a hunter who is a strength to everyone.

She couldn’t give up for that.

“Phew…”

Class was over.

She packed her bag and left the school.

‘…Huh?’

And she found a text message she hadn’t seen during class.

-I’m ready.

-Can we meet for a moment?

“It’s Brother!!!!”

The other students murmured at her sudden outburst, but Yuhwa couldn’t hear them.

Yuhwa immediately called him.

“Brother!”

“BrotherBrotherBrother!”

-D-Did we get that close?

The man on the other end of the line shook his head with a sullen look, but Yuhwa started talking without a break.

“I’ll go now! Where should I wait?”

-A cafe near your school?

-It’s a bit far to come out, right?

“Anywhere is fine!”

-Then let’s meet at the cafe in front of the station there.

“Yesyesyesyesyes!!!”

Yuhwa smiled brightly.

She was leaving the school where everyone was mocking her and meeting the person who was on her side.

****

“Brother,I made a mistake then, and I was worried that I was an unqualified person, and I thought I should lose the ribbon my mom gave me-“

“Yeah, yeah .Uh. Right.”

I forced a smile and played along.

‘Do I… need to know all this?’

It seemed like she didn’t have any friends.

Poor thing.

I had to listen to Yuhwa’s story without even getting to the point.

An endless story.

How arrogant and foolish she was in the past, and how much other students are mocking her now.

What mistakes she made in the field training, what she lost, how she felt about it, and what it meant to her that I found it.

‘It’s draining…’

“So, what do you think?”

She looked at me with sparkling eyes, expecting some kind of ‘mature answer’ from me.

“So, uh…”

I thought harsh words would hurt her sensitivity.

I chose my words carefully.

“You shouldn’t connect things in a bad way…”

“What do you mean?”

“You lost your ribbon.It’s just that you lost it in a hurry, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then you just have to tell another employee, ‘I lost this, so please find it.’ Especially if it’s a precious artifact.”

“Ah…”

“You didn’t need to put too much meaning into it.A mistake is a mistake, and if you move around busily, you might drop something.”

“I see!”

She nodded with a bright smile.

“Besides that, even if it seems like every failure has a reason… sometimes it’s just luck.”

Of course, her magic overload was entirely Yuhwa’s own mistake, but losing the ribbon was just bad luck.

“It’s important to find the cause of failure and acknowledge it… but sometimes, just don’t worry about it.”

“Then, what should I do?”

“Do it again.”

I calmly continued my advice, just as it came to mind.

“Then, about good things?Shouldn’t we look for a grand reason for success?”

“That doesn’t matter.Jinx or whatever, you can attach anything to it.As long as it’s a positive emotion.”

“Why?”

“Even if you don’t do that, people react more strongly to negative emotions anyway.”

It wasn’t advice I gave after thinking deeply, but I didn’t think it was bad advice.

“I see…”

Yuhwa smiled brightly.

“Thank you!I’ll remember that!”

“Yeah. That’s fine too. And, I’m about to get to the point…”

“Yes! The point!”

I looked around for a moment.

It was an unexpected problem, but choosing a cafe as a meeting place might not have been a good choice.

‘Well, I can just give it to her in the bag.’

It was something I would get back anyway, so there was no need to be stingy.

I opened the black bag I was carrying a little and showed her the contents.

“Can you see?”

“Yes.”

“Gu-“

“Quiet.”

I hurriedly put my finger to her lips.

The Gremlin pistol itself wasn’t a very dangerous item, but it wouldn’t do any good to have the word ‘pistol’ being thrown around.

“I’m lending it to you.There are five, so practice with them and get used to one… no, no. Take about three to the test site.”

Yuhwa smiled awkwardly and shook her head.

“Th-Thank you so much for helping me like this…”

“Why?”

“I, I’m fine. The academy has practice pistols, and you don’t have to help me this much-“

I let out a hollow laugh.

The Gremlin pistol is not a very good-looking pistol.

It’s roughly made by adding iron plates and twisting wood in strange directions.

It wouldn’t be strange if a child made it as a toy in arts and crafts.

In fact, the gap between that toy and the Gremlin pistol might not be that big.

It’s a weapon that makes you think, ‘Can bullets even come out of this?’

In fact, there are many times when bullets don’t come out.

The lethality of those bullets is incredibly poor.

The gun itself was small, it couldn’t use standard ammunition, and the speed at which the bullets flew was also terrible.

“If you’re curious, try practicing with this.You can bring outside guns to the academy shooting range, right?”

“Yes. It’s allowed, but-

“Don’t practice too much just because it shoots well, and focus on managing your condition. As I said, take at least three guns when you take the test.”

“…Okay! Since it’s a gun from Brother, I’ll use it carefully!”

“Yeah.”

“Since I’m lending it to you, give it back if possible.”

“Yes…”

Yuhwa looked at the bag with a look of disbelief until the end.

“And you know. I went to class for the first time in a while today, and the teacher said-“

“I’m done here, so I’ll get going.”

“Ah, why! Just sit for a little longer!”

“It’s late. You should practice at least once before you go to bed. You have to pass the test, right?”

“Yesss…”

Leaving the disheartened Yuhwa behind, I left the cafe.

Looking forward to the look on her face when she sees the effect of the Gremlin pistol.

****

Yuhwa, who came to the shooting range, sighed deeply at the sight of the shabby and dirty pistol.

“What is this? It smells…”

If Jeong Isu heard that, he would have been angry.

He spent hours scrubbing the pistol to give it to her.

‘Still, I have to try it…’

Yuhwa sighed deeply and picked up the pistol.

‘Can bullets even go in this…’

She held the bullet with both hands and took a stable stance according to the manual.

Of course, with her hopeless shooting skills, even if she fired ten shots, she wouldn’t be able to hit a single one-

‘Here we go!’

She shouted vigorously, created a mana bullet, and used the crude pistol.

The minimum amount of flame that can be used even with a body unstable from magic overload.

It became a bullet and flew forward.

‘Huh?’

As she fired, she felt a strange sense of incongruity.

‘Did I hit it?’

It was strange.

It felt different from usual.

It felt like the bullet was going in the direction she intended.

‘No way…’

When she checked the target, it was a hit.

‘W-Was it… a coincidence?’

Yuhwa pulled herself together, took a deep breath, and started shooting again.

Ten shots were fired.

She checked the target.

‘Eight shots… hit?’

She knew her hopeless shooting skills well.

This was an unbelievable achievement.

With this, she might be able to pass the expulsion test with a little practice.

‘What is this? This pistol…’

Tilting her head, she grabbed the standard-issue Awakener pistol.

‘Hup!’

As soon as she fired it, she felt a huge recoil.

The impact created by the flame bullet she made.

“Ugh!”

“Eight!”

“Ugh!”

Again, she fired ten shots.

As she expected, not a single flame hit the target.

‘Is it really… this gun that’s special?’

Not believing the situation, Yuhwa started using the other guns he gave her alternately.

‘What is this? It’s really… a really good gun!’

No matter which gun she used, she hit the target at least eight times.

In the end, she achieved the feat of hitting the target with all ten bullets.

“Ah…”

Not believing the reality, Yuhwa tried various other things.

She tried more difficult courses and used other guns available at the shooting range.

But the reality didn’t change.

The pistol he gave her was much more incredible than she thought.

With this, she could pass the test.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Yuhwa immediately called him.

“Brother!BrotherBrotherBrother!”

-Uh… yeah.

-Yuhwa.

-Did something happen to the gun?

“No! But, this gun is too accurate! It’s so good! Where did you get it!”

-That’s a secret for now… I was about to go to sleep.

-Shouldn’t you be going to bed soon too?It’s 12:47 AM?

Hearing the word ‘sleep’ from his sleepy voice, Yuhwa’s cheeks turned red for a moment.

“You gave me such a good gun, I have to practice! Practice!”

-What did I say when I gave you that gun? “Don’t practice too much, and manage your condition…”

-Yeah, I did.

“But I can’t help it! When I shoot the gun, it hits the target!”

-Don’t you have class tomorrow?

“I do, but…”

-Didn’t you say you really can’t miss any more classes when we talked?

“Yes…”

-Go to sleep.

His words were firm, but Yuhwa’s brain was already accepting it as warm affection for her.

“Yes, I’ll go to bed now!”

“Good night, Brother!”

-Yeah, don’t shout…

Yuhwa, with her voice lowered, said her last goodbye to him.

“Goooood niiiiight…”

The call ended.

With a satisfied smile, Yuhwa glanced at the target.

“J-Just one more shot, no, just one more set, and then I’ll go to bed?”

After that, the sound of flame bullets firing echoed in the shooting range for a while.