Chapter 105: Water Ghost

Lee Hyun-seung first looked straight ahead.

The world appeared green.

But everything was clear and sharp.

It was the effect of his night vision goggles.

“Where are you—! Where the hell are you—! Show yourself right now—!”

Meanwhile, the members of Hilleon’s group couldn’t locate Lee Hyun-seung.

The swordsmen swung their swords blindly in all directions.

The mages, aware that the mana in the area was being distorted, couldn’t recklessly use their magic.

‘Hoo… I don’t have much time.’

The blackout rounds only served to block out surrounding light.

They didn’t completely eliminate all light, but with over 90% of it blocked, the human eye couldn’t perceive anything.

However, just because the light was suddenly cut off didn’t mean people would remain blind forever.

‘Dark adaptation.’

When a person is suddenly plunged into darkness, their eyes gradually adapt to it.

Everyone has likely experienced this while playing in a dark playground as a child—how things slowly become visible over time.

That’s called ‘dark adaptation.’

What Lee Hyun-seung had was the time before they successfully adapted.

-Tadadadak

Lee Hyun-seung began to run.

As expected, the members of Hilleon tracked his location by the sound of his footsteps.

“That way—!”

Son Him-gyeol, the swordsman with the sharpest senses, was the first to detect Lee Hyun-seung’s presence.

He hadn’t used detection magic or anything of the sort.

After all, thanks to the [Mana Distortion Rounds] Lee Hyun-seung had fired, no one here could use magic right now.

Of course, the effect radius of those rounds was quite small, so had this been a battle in an open area, they might not have been very useful.

They could’ve just stepped out of the area and cast magic freely again.

But this was indoors.

And even the light had been completely cut off.

On top of that, they were in a situation where they had to capture Lee Hyun-seung as quickly as possible.

They couldn’t afford to take even a single step away from where they were.

Lee Hyun-seung understood all of this.

That was exactly why he had used the Mana Distortion Rounds.

The results were spectacular.

The mages were nothing but blind men with their eyes open.

The swordsmen had no choice but to rely solely on their senses.

On the other hand, Lee Hyun-seung could see the entire interior clearly.

Not with magic, but with his night vision goggles.

He could see the outlines of people like he was using a cheat code.

-Clack-!

Firing his gun consumed no mana.

That meant that in this world, using guns wasn’t treated as magic.

Naturally, it wasn’t affected by mana distortion either.

Even if he were using magic-enhanced bullets.

[Magic-Attribute Rounds have been loaded.]

Magical energy immediately began to coat the bullets.

Lee Hyun-seung aimed at the man in front who was furiously swinging his staff.

-BANG-!

-Thud-!

A single bullet struck his head dead-on.

They couldn’t even tell where the shot came from.

They couldn’t cast a single defensive spell.

All they could do was try to protect themselves with their bodies.

“E-Everyone gather—! I said get together—!”

The moment one of them dropped, Son Him-gyeol shouted.

The reason he barked that insane order in a situation like this was simple.

He didn’t want to get hit himself.

By yelling like that, Son Him-gyeol revealed his own position.

His subordinates all gathered around him.

Then, he had them form a circle around him like a shield.

A human shield.

‘Fcking disgusting piece of sht.’

Even if they were enemies—even if they were officers of the criminal group Hilleon—he couldn’t overlook that kind of vile behavior.

He didn’t care if others died as long as he lived.

He treasured his own life, but regarded the lives of others as less than ants.

He pitied the subordinates.

To be stuck with a boss like that.

Of course, that didn’t mean those b*stards’ sins were going to disappear. They were all the same kind of scum—willing to do anything for money.

–Bang–!
–Bang bang bang–!

–Thud–!
–Thud–!

Each time a gunshot rang out, another person collapsed.
They died without even having the chance to scream in pain.
Even if they had defensive magic prepared, Lee Hyun-seung’s bullets were too powerful.
In a situation where they couldn’t block or even see the attacks, the men standing around were nothing more than easy targets.

Son Him-gyeol trembled with fear as he thought.

‘F*ck… what the hell is going on here?’

He watched as his subordinates fell one by one.
Even if they were just numbered guild members, they were still people who had gone through hellish training and earned their positions.
They weren’t supposed to be taken down by something as simple as a gun.

‘Why the hell is a gun this powerful…?’

In this world, guns were considered weak weapons.
You had to pull the trigger before firing, giving mages and swordsmen more than enough time to prepare.
By the time a gunslinger pulled the trigger, a mage would’ve already activated a defensive spell, and a swordsman would’ve reinforced their body with mana.
Standard bullets could never pierce mana.
Which was why guns were often seen as useless weapons.

And even then, you had to reload after just a few shots.
When the bullets barely worked and there was reload delay on top of that, what a trashy class it was.
It wasn’t just some gunslingers who had this issue—no, almost every gunslinger.
In fact, every single one Son Him-gyeol knew had these same drawbacks.

But Lee Hyun-seung was different.

‘Mana doesn’t work at all… damn it…’

Even when you defended with mana, his bullets pierced right through.
It didn’t matter if you had time to prepare.
It felt like being skewered by a razor-sharp spear.
And the reload delay? Barely even noticeable.
Lee Hyun-seung swapped out a magazine in less than 0.3 seconds with blinding speed.
Was that a trait? A skill? He didn’t know.
But what he did know was that Lee Hyun-seung was unlike any gunslinger he had seen before.
He needed a countermeasure—anything to turn this around.

“Everyone, try casting your spells! Still not working?!”

At his shout, the others around him tried casting their magic all at once.

“I-I’m sorry! We still can’t use anything!”

Mana still wasn’t flowing properly.

‘Damn it all…’

For now, he just had to hold out.
If they failed to kill that guy, there would be no future for him.
He’d be ripped apart by Hilleon’s guild master, Bae Nam-gyu.

No—truthfully, even surviving this situation was already hopeless.
Son Him-gyeol and his subordinate, Kwon Young-seok, had already been seen by Artemis Guild’s elder, Baek So-yoon.
With one glance, she would’ve realized that the Artemis Guild wasn’t responsible and that Hilleon was behind this incident.
Son Him-gyeol and Kwon Young-seok’s faces were already widely known.
Which meant even if this whole thing ended, there would be no escaping responsibility for the terror attack.

“Haa… haa…”

–Bang–!

Another gunshot rang out, and more bodies began to fall.

“Kyahhhhhh–!”

Another subordinate screamed as he dropped to the floor.
Overwhelming power.
It felt like they were helpless prey being hunted.

And yet, unlike before, Son Him-gyeol no longer trembled.
As if the sound of his subordinates dying had become background noise, he muttered to himself quietly.

“It’s over… f*ck… no matter what I do, I’m dead.”

Even if they succeeded in assassinating Lee Hyun-seung and escaped, word would still reach the Artemis Guild master that Hilleon had terrorized Broad Academy.
They’d search for whoever was responsible, and Son Him-gyeol’s name would come up as the one who led the operation.

The guild master of Hilleon, Bae Nam-gyu, would deny involvement and cut ties.
To prove his innocence, he’d punish Son Him-gyeol himself.
And that punishment would be death. No question.

“Puhahahah–!”

Of course, that didn’t mean the sins those b*stards committed would disappear. They were all the same—willing to do anything for money.

-BANG-!
-BANGGGG-!

-THUD-!
-THUD-!
*

With every gunshot, one person collapsed.
They didn’t even have time to scream in pain before they died.
Even with defensive magic, Lee Hyun-seung’s bullets were too powerful.
In a situation where they couldn’t even properly defend or see what was coming, the men standing around were nothing more than easy targets.

Son Himgyeol trembled in fear as he thought,

‘F*ck… what the hell is happening here.’

He watched as his subordinates fell one by one.
Even if those guys were just numbered guild members, they had still completed hellish training before being appointed.
They weren’t the type to fall over from something as simple as a gun.

‘Why the hell does a gun have that kind of power…?’

In this world, guns were considered one of the weakest weapons.
They required the trigger to be pulled before firing, giving both mages and swordsmen enough time to respond.
By the time a gunmage fired a bullet, a mage could already have deployed a defensive spell, and a swordsman could defend their body with mana.
Ordinary bullets could never pierce mana.
That’s why guns were practically useless.

And after a few shots, they had to reload.
When your attacks didn’t even work properly, and you had a reload delay on top of that, how garbage could a class possibly be?
It wasn’t just some gunmages who were like this.
Nearly all of them—no, every single gunmage Son Himgyeol knew—had these same weaknesses.

But Lee Hyun-seung was different.

‘Mana doesn’t work at all… d*mn it….’

Even when defending with mana, it got pierced.
Even if you had time to prepare, it was meaningless.
It felt like being impaled by a razor-sharp spear.
And as for the reload delay—it might as well not exist.
Lee Hyun-seung used lightning-fast hand movements to swap out his magazine in less than 0.3 seconds.
Was that a trait? A skill?
He wasn’t sure.
But it was clear Lee Hyun-seung was unlike any gunmage he’d seen before.
He needed an alternative. A way to survive this.

“Everyone, try casting magic! Can’t you still use it?!”

As he shouted, everyone around him attempted to activate their magic.

“S-Sorry, sir! It still isn’t working!”

Mana still wasn’t properly circulating.

‘F*ck….’

They had to buy time.
If he failed to kill that guy, he had no future.
The Guildmaster of Hilleon, Bae Namgyu, would rip him to shreds.

No—in fact, this situation was already hopeless.
His face and that of his subordinate, Kwon Young-seok, had been exposed to Baek Soyoon, the elder of the Artemis Guild.
She would have immediately realized that Hilleon was behind this incident.
Son Himgyeol and Kwon Young-seok’s faces were already widely known.
Which meant that even if this situation ended, they wouldn’t be able to avoid responsibility for the terror attack.

“Hah… hah….”

-BANG-!
*

The gunshot echoed, and once again someone fell.

“Kuaaagh!”

Another subordinate screamed and dropped to the ground.
Overwhelming force.
They were being hunted like prey—like defenseless herbivores.

But Son Himgyeol no longer trembled.
As the sounds of his subordinates dying played like background music, he muttered quietly,

“It’s over… f*ck… no matter what I do, I’m dead.”

Even if he killed Lee Hyun-seung and escaped, news would reach the Artemis Guildmaster that Hilleon had attacked Broad Academy.
They’d identify the one responsible, and Son Himgyeol, who had led this operation, would be named.

Bae Namgyu, Hilleon’s Guildmaster, would cut him off, claiming it wasn’t his doing.
And to prove it, he’d punish the one responsible—Son Himgyeol.
And that punishment would undoubtedly be execution.

“Puhahaha!”

He began laughing like a madman.

If he didn’t kill Lee Hyun-seung, then the mana trace analysis would begin, and the truth about Yoo Hee-yeon’s stalking case would be revealed—that it had been orchestrated by Hilleon.
Then they’d find the one responsible.
And again, Son Himgyeol would be punished.
Tortured to death.

“Hah… hah… hah….”

Either way, he was dead.
From the start, he shouldn’t have been seen by Baek Soyoon.
If he’d just killed Lee Hyun-seung faster, he could’ve escaped without ever being noticed.

-Crack
*

“Yeah… it’s all that b*stard’s fault….”

Son Himgyeol had kept his eyes closed this whole time.

-Slide
*

When he opened them, his vision had fully adjusted to the dark.
He could clearly make out Lee Hyun-seung’s face.

Across from him, Lee Hyun-seung sneered and said,

“Looks like you can see now. Too bad, though—your subordinates are all dead.”

When he looked around, he saw that in that short time, all 19 or so of his men had died.
To a mere gun.
To a single student of the Academy.
Hilleon’s elite, their numbered guild members, had all been killed.

“You… because of you… it’s all because of you…
If you had just shut up and taken the fall as the stalker from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”

He twisted his neck with an unsettling motion as he muttered.

“Yeah… it’s all your fault, Lee Hyun-seung.
I’m going to die anyway.
And it’s because of trash like you.
This isn’t fair.
I’ll take you with me.”

-Slide
*

Lee Hyun-seung aimed his gun at Son Himgyeol.

-Sneer
*

Son Himgyeol looked at him and popped a bead into his mouth.

A demon core.

As soon as the core entered his mouth, he infused it with mana and swallowed it whole.

Then, his body began to swell grotesquely.

“F*ck….”

-BANG-!
*

Lee Hyun-seung fired quickly.
But—

-TIIING-!
*

The bullet bounced off his hand.

Son Himgyeol chuckled as he said to Lee Hyun-seung,

“I’ll kill you.
I’m already a dead man anyway.
Might as well take you down with me.”