Chapter 25: Let me show you what the difference is between the levels.

    “Don’t fall easily. I won’t let you go without a fight.”

    Lee Hyun-seung spoke quietly to the collapsed Moon Cheol-woong. Moon Cheol-woong was in a state where he

    couldn’t properly comprehend the situation he was in.

    I… I’m down?

    His opponent was a gunmaster, the very one he had looked down upon and despised. He was a swordsman. Even

    though there was a difference in their ranks, the value of their professions was entirely different. The thought of

    losing was unimaginable to him.

    • Wincing

    However, the pain he felt in his foot constantly reminded him that the current situation was indeed real.

    “What on earth… what have you done?”

    Moon Cheol-woong had witnessed firsthand what had happened to him. Lee Hyun-seung had fired the gun, and he

    had been hit. But it was difficult for him to grasp the situation.

    The speed of the gunfire and the speed of the bullets were incomprehensibly fast. It wasn’t just about being fast; it

    was something beyond that.

    What kind of insane power is this? Damn…

    Moon Cheol-woong was protecting his body with mana. Generally, even at a low level, strengthening one’s body

    through mana provided a powerful defense. Therefore, it was normal for even explosive firearms to not cause

    significant damage.

    Defense through mana was typically penetrated by skills or magic using the same mana. However, Lee Hyun-seung

    didn’t use any mana; he merely pulled the trigger, and that was enough to pierce through Moon Cheol-woong’s

    mana.

    Watching the expression of disbelief and fear on Moon Cheol-woong’s face, Lee Hyun-seung responded with a laugh

    that conveyed disbelief.

    “Is it strange? A mere gun-wielder, insignificant as you are, inflicting meaningful damage on a swordsman like you

    and even piercing through your foot? You don’t get it?”

    Lee Hyun-seung shook his head and pulled the trigger again.

    “Don’t try to understand; I’m not trying to understand the ridiculous things you’ve done either.”

    • Creak

    With the sound of the trigger being pulled, the bullet was fired.

    • Taang!

    The fired bullet flew swiftly and hit Moon Cheol-woong in the thigh this time.

    “1000.”

    • The effect of the madness magazine did not activate.

    Not even glancing at the groaning Moon Cheol-woong, Lee Hyun-seung muttered while reading the system message.

    “I clearly remember the madness magazine effect being around 2%…”

    When a bullet hits an enemy, there’s roughly a 2% chance of causing them to fall into a state of madness. In other

    words, if he fires 100 bullets, about 2 of them should induce madness in the target.

    In games, probabilities are independent events; just because he fires 100 shots doesn’t guarantee that 2 effects will

    activate. He might hit once out of 10 shots or not activate any effect even after firing 300 times.

    But the clear fact is that the more he uses it, the higher the probability of success.

    “Well, it doesn’t matter how many times it takes to succeed. I just need to keep firing until the probability hits.”

    “What… what do you mean…?”

    Moon Cheol-woong clutched his leg as he spoke. Despite his massive build, he had maintained a calm demeanor

    even amid the intense pain, likely due to his rigorous training. Lee Hyun-seung found this composure incredibly

    displeasing.

    • Et!
    • Taang!
    • Taang!

    Whoosh!

    This time, the bullet pierced through his palm, forearm, and fingers.

    “Ugh! Damn it! Stop it, you crazy bastard!”

    Moon Cheol-woong groaned in pain but didn’t stop cursing.

    The thought that Lee Hyun-seung was a gunmaster and therefore inferior to him was deeply ingrained in his mind.

    Foolishly, he didn’t realize that his cries only served to provoke Lee Hyun-seung, escalating his suffering.

    Crack!

    • Taang!

    Lee Hyun-seung aimed to avoid hitting Moon Cheol-woong in a lethal way, instead targeting areas that would cause intense pain without killing him.

    • Drip drip drip…

    After dozens of shots, blood flowed from every part of Moon Cheol-woong’s body, and he no longer screamed. No, to

    be precise, he couldn’t scream anymore.

    • Tremble tremble…

    In extreme pain, it seemed he was in shock; his entire body shook like a trembling aspen. His eyes widened, and his pupils appeared to drift apart due to the intense stress.

    “Th…that… m…my…”

    Moon Cheol-woong begged for his life in a slurred, incoherent manner. He instinctively sensed that this wasn’t a

    joke. Lee Hyun-seung was genuinely trying to kill him.

    At first, he likely hadn’t expected such violent behavior. Naturally, a student attending the academy would fear

    suspension or punishment and act accordingly.

    But Lee Hyun-seung was like a wild horse, making a mess of everything without feeling any fear. His actions were

    unrestrained. Even as it seemed Moon Cheol-woong might die from excessive blood loss, he didn’t stop pulling the

    trigger.

    • Tremble tremble…

    Moon Cheol-woong, shaking and begging for his life. Yet, Lee Hyun-seung merely muttered incomprehensible words.

    “Damn it, independent events or whatever, I’ve shot about 100 rounds, but why hasn’t a single one activated?”

    The reason Lee Hyun-seung desperately hoped for the madness effect to activate was simple. When the madness

    effect occurs, it is accompanied by extreme pain and blackout symptoms. Notably, blackout means the person cannot

    accurately perceive what has happened to them. It’s like getting incredibly drunk, insulting a friend, and then waking

    up the next morning with only a hangover but no memory of the insults.

    The aim of inducing blackout was for ‘evidence destruction.’

    He had already fired dozens of bullets at Moon Cheol-woong. He was on the verge of death, and if he started

    spreading the word about what had happened, it wouldn’t just end with suspension from the academy. It was clear

    he would face national-level repercussions.

    But there was no problem. The CCTV had been rendered inoperable using the signal jamming artifact received from

    Jeong Eun-seo, and the remaining evidence consisted of Moon Cheol-woong’s memories and the countless bullet

    wounds in his body. That much could easily be managed.

    • Taang!

    Now, with a blank expression, Lee Hyun-seung fired another bullet. Then—

    • Ding!
    • The madness magazine effect is activated!
    • The target hit by the bullet is afflicted with madness!
    • Status Effect: Madness has activated!
    • Madness: The target will experience extreme pain for a certain duration. Furthermore, they will lose some memory of the events surrounding the pain when it ends.

    Nice, finally!

    Just as Lee Hyun-seung thought this, the horrific screams of Moon Cheol-woong echoed around.

    “Ughhhhh—! Daaaaamn it….”

    His suffering couldn’t last much longer.

    • Drip drip…

    He even lost control of his bladder, succumbing to unconsciousness.

    • Thud
    • Thud
    • Thud

    Lee Hyun-seung approached the completely knocked-out Moon Cheol-woong and whispered into his ear.

    “Your memory will be wiped soon anyway, but I’ll tell you this, so listen well. Don’t act up in the future. Next time, I won’t go easy on you like this.”

    “… I could kill you without a soul knowing, understand?”

    However, Moon Cheol-woong did not respond. No, he couldn’t answer because he had lost consciousness.

    Swish!

    Lee Hyun-seung raised his arm and struck down on his head.

    Crack!

    Phew… This should be enough for now.

    Lee Hyun-seung took a deep breath and pulled a potion from his pocket.

    [Advanced Recovery Potion]

    ▶ A high-grade recovery potion. When applied to the body or ingested, it heals physical injuries. An advanced recovery potion can restore even slightly severed body parts.

    He slowly poured it over Moon Cheol-woong.

    No matter how much memory he’s lost, with his body in this state, there’s no way there won’t be an investigation.

    Moon Cheol-woong’s current physical condition was a pitiful mess, barely human. His body was shredded from

    gunfire, and his arms and legs hung on only by shreds of flesh. He was in a state resembling a mummy, where it

    wouldn’t be surprising if he died at any moment.

    Hiss…

    As Lee Hyun-seung poured the potion, Moon Cheol-woong’s body began to recover rapidly.

    Now that his body is back to normal and his memory is gone, there won’t be any lingering problems.

    Additionally, although Moon Cheol-woong had lost his memory, the fear of Lee Hyun-seung would likely be

    ingrained in his body.

    Fear is rooted in the realm of instinct rather than memory. Because of the information that the body remembers

    rather than the brain, Moon Cheol-woong would come to fear Lee Hyun-seung in the future.

    Swish…

    Lee Hyun-seung packed up his things, casually tossed Moon Cheol-woong in a relatively deserted area, and left the scene gracefully.

    The next morning, in F Class.

    Instructor Son Sae-bom spoke to the students.

    “Today, Moon Cheol-woong is absent. He says he’s sick and will take a day off, so keep that in mind.”

    After organizing some documents, Son Sae-bom continued, “Also, today is the day for applications for the

    representative selection for the annihilation battle. Does anyone in class F want to be the representative?”

    As Son Sae-bom spoke, everyone hesitated and did not raise their hands with determination. At that moment—

    Swish!

    Lee Hyun-seung raised his hand.

    A murmur spread among the students.

    “What the…? Isn’t he a gunmaster?”

    “Why is a guy who uses a gun applying to be the representative…?”

    “No, even though this is F class, a gunmaster as the representative seems a bit…”

    As expected from the perception of being a gunmaster, there were expressions of disdain and dismissal from those

    around him. But it didn’t matter. They would all fall silent anyway.

    Son Sae-bom stated, “It seems there’s only one applicant. So, according to tradition, we’ll skip the voting, and

    everyone will fight together to select the last student standing as the representative. No objections, right?”

    When there are more than ten applicants, the representative is elected through a vote. However, if there are fewer

    than ten, the class representative is determined by having all members of F class engage in combat in the same

    space, granting the last survivor the qualification.

    Grin…

    Lee Hyun-seung smiled to himself, thinking, Now, there’s no need to hide my strength. Get ready. I’ll show you the

    difference in levels.

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