Chapter 101: The Price of Arrogance

Shim Jaewook quickly examined Lee Hyun-seung.

A youthful face, and the gun held in his hand.

There was no doubt about it—this was the very target described as having a deadly grip.

At Broad Academy, there was only one person who could pull off such madness with a gun.

Lee Hyun-seung.

Shim Jaewook looked at Lee Hyun-seung and spoke.

“Have you lost your mind? I thought you were with someone else, but you’re just messing around on your own. You should know when to stop looking down on people.”

He tried to sound calm, but inside, he was anything but.

‘He blocked my attack…? A mere Academy student…?’

It was unthinkable.

The Arm of Berther.

One of Shim Jaewook’s most prized high-tier spells.

But the moment it made contact with the bullet, it vanished.

As if he had never cast a spell at all—disappeared into nothing.

‘Was it a coincidence?’

No, it couldn’t be.

He couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

This was the result of true skill.

Even with a stroke of luck, there was no way a high-tier spell could be neutralized in an instant.

‘I need to revise my assessment.’

Shim Jaewook had completely underestimated this mission.

All he had to do was sneak into the Academy and kill one measly student.

As someone affiliated with Hilleon, he’d carried out missions far more difficult and painful than this.

This was supposed to be nothing.

But—

“Why’d you go quiet all of a sudden? You were all hyped up attacking me just a second ago.”

Lee Hyun-seung shouted confidently as he aimed his gun.

Seeing him now, Shim Jaewook corrected himself.

This mission would not be easy.

“I’ll deal with you properly.”

Then, Shim Jaewook flung his robe high into the air, blocking Lee Hyun-seung’s line of sight.

He cast a spell from behind the robe.

The spell: [Sandstorm].

As soon as he completed the incantation, sand began to whip outward in all directions.

“Urgh…”

Everyone nearby closed their eyes against the intense onslaught of sand.

Shim Jaewook’s reason for using [Sandstorm] wasn’t just to block vision.

More importantly, it was to interfere with Lee Hyun-seung’s gun.

The air was thick with swirling sand, completely filling the potential paths of flying bullets.

That meant Lee Hyun-seung’s gun attacks would likely lose both accuracy and power due to the interference.

But—

“Pointless move.”

Lee Hyun-seung swapped his magazine to [Water Round].

[Water Round]
▶ When this magazine is used, bullets unleash powerful water jets after flying a certain distance.
▶ The force of the water scales with class grade and class level.
▶ This is a magazine with special effects.
▶ Special Effect [Morph]: The magazine and bullets adapt to the firearm being used.
▶ Contains 33 rounds.

He pulled the trigger.

–Bang!–

After the first shot, Lee Hyun-seung fired bullets in all four directions—north, south, east, and west.

All in less than two seconds.

The bullets scattered through the air, and waterfalls of water erupted in all directions.

–Swaaaaaaah–

Water gushed out and began sweeping away everything around it.

–Shhhhhhh–

Even Shim Jaewook’s body was pushed back by the force of the water from Lee Hyun-seung’s Water Round.

He tried to shield himself with magic, preventing the water from making direct contact, but the water pressure was just too strong.

It felt like being struck by a high-powered hose—an overwhelming, aggressive force.

‘He’s using… using a gun to overpower magic…?’

Shim Jaewook was in shock.

Lee Hyun-seung wasn’t casting spells like a mage.

He was simply swapping out magazines and pulling the trigger.

And yet, the result was something that rivaled, or even surpassed, conventional magic.

Water burst in every direction.

The forceful streams swept away all the sand suspended in the air in an instant.

Lee Hyun-seung grinned as he watched it all unfold.

“You’re weaker than I thought?”

Was Shim Jaewook truly weak? Absolutely not. He was an executive of Hilleon. Even if he wasn’t at the top in terms of combat power, he was still far beyond the level of an ordinary person or some academy student.

Without even realizing it himself, Lee Hyunseung had steadily grown stronger through numerous battles—against Han Seonggil, during the class representative selection match, and during the class annihilation match where he fought the demonized Shin Junho. These experiences had not only sharpened his fundamental combat sense and ammunition usage as a Gunmage, but also raised his battle instincts and job level.

When it comes to combat, risking your life a few times is far more effective for growth than doing hundreds or thousands of small sparring sessions. In a life-or-death crisis, a person can unlock strength beyond their limits—and once they learn to control that, they surpass their maximum potential.

-Clack-!

Lee Hyunseung had learned through experience. How to strike fear into his opponent. How to face someone stronger than himself. The extent of power his ammo could exert, and the kinds of synergy that could be created when combined properly—he had felt and mastered all of it with his body.

That was why this was now possible.

-BANG-!

After switching his magazine again, Lee Hyunseung fired his gun into the air. The bullet soared upward before exploding with a powerful flash, flooding the surroundings with blinding light. The flashbang’s power was enough to make Shim Jaewook squint in pain.

-Tatatatat-

While Shim Jaewook was squinting from the light, Lee Hyunseung rushed toward him.

But Shim Jaewook wasn’t stupid enough to just stand still. Even though his vision was impaired, he could still sense Lee Hyunseung’s footsteps and energy closing in—and that was enough for him to react.

Shim Jaewook summoned large orbs of mana into the air. Dozens of massive spheres, each the size of a bowling ball, charged at Lee Hyunseung as if they intended to pierce straight through his body.

-Whoooom-

Lee Hyunseung counted the number of incoming orbs. Around twenty. Their speed wasn’t particularly fast. That meant he could dodge them. With that judgment, he activated the skill [Agile Footsteps of the Gunmage].

– Temporarily increases movement speed while wielding a firearm. The increase scales with the current class rank and level.
– Due to the effect of [Gunmage] Class Level 2, evasion ability also increases simultaneously.

With the added boost from his recently awakened Gunmage Level 2 evasion enhancement, Lee Hyunseung felt his body become many times lighter than usual. He suddenly burst forward with explosive speed.

“You idiot. You really think you can dodge all that–?!”

Shim Jaewook shouted, but Lee Hyunseung didn’t answer. He simply stared down the incoming orbs of mana with laser focus. The first orb closed in.

-Whoooosh-!

-BOOM-!

Lee Hyunseung narrowly twisted his neck and dodged the first orb, continuing his charge forward. Another orb came flying toward him.

–Pause–

This time, he ducked low and dipped his head completely beneath it. One orb passed over him, and another immediately followed. Still crouched low, Lee Hyunseung slammed his foot into the ground, using the rebound to dodge the new orb and launch himself toward Shim Jaewook.

“D-Don’t come…! I said stay away from me!”

Even as he weaved through dozens of orbs with movements that bordered on supernatural, Lee Hyunseung’s speed never slowed. His relentless advance made him look like a raging bull. He wasn’t just strong—he possessed a jaw-dropping level of combat instinct.

If his face touched one of those mana orbs at that speed, his skull would cave in. If his body made contact, it could easily be torn apart. But Lee Hyunseung moved with complete confidence, as if he was certain he could dodge every last one.

And then.

-Zzzzzzzing-!

He began swinging his firearm to bat away the mana orbs hovering in the air.

Clangggg!

Boom!

The mana spheres that struck Lee Hyun-seung’s firearm scattered in all directions like cheap bouncy balls. Only when they hit the walls did they explode with a thunderous roar.

The mana spheres exploded without serving their purpose and vanished into nothing.

By then, Lee Hyun-seung had already closed the distance and was standing right in front of Shim Jaewook.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Shim Jaewook tried to draw upon his mana to cast the most powerful spell he could muster.

But—

“If you had a hidden spell, you should’ve used it earlier.”

[Amplify]

[Last Bullet]

Bang!

Lee Hyun-seung’s bullet was faster than his magic.

Thwack!

A single bullet pierced Shim Jaewook’s heart. He tried to defend himself, but it was no use. Even though his body was shrouded in mana, the bullet tore right through it—and his heart.

“Ah…”

It was unthinkable.

He was an executive of Hilleon, and yet he was dying to a mere student, to a mere gunmage.

He couldn’t accept it.

But—

Bang!

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!

Ten more shots followed in rapid succession.

He didn’t even have time to realize the cause of his defeat before he fell, riddled with bullets.

Outside Broad Academy.

One of Son Himgyeol’s subordinates cautiously asked the instigator of the incident,

“Sir, are you sure it’s okay to just watch like this without handling things personally? I’m just feeling a little uneasy.”

“What’s there to be uneasy about? That bastard Shim Jaewook might be greedy to the bone, but he’s still competent enough. I even sent him along with some expendables. There’s no way he’ll lose.”

Expendables—he was referring to the guild members numbered instead of named.

“But… if things go wrong, this won’t end with just us. We need to kill Lee Hyun-seung as fast as possible, erase the evidence, and flee—”

“You worry too damn much. It’ll be fine, alright? It’s not like we haven’t offed idiots like him before. This much is more than enou—”

Just then, the artifact held in the subordinate’s hand began to glow with a sinister red light.

“S-Sir…”

Son Himgyeol snarled irritably.

“You little sh*t, didn’t I tell you I’d rip you apart if you started freaking out again?”

But the subordinate couldn’t even respond.

He just stood there, staring blankly at the ominous glow and muttered,

“Executive Shim Jaewook… is dead.”