Chapter 74: Lead Shot is a Fine Tool for Excretion [R-18]

*

Essol Academy, Workshop A.

As I descended into the basement, Ms. Leida, the well-built woman from the blacksmith shop, greeted me.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Yuuna’s handsome boyfriend.”

“That’s what I’ve become.”

Standing beside the sweltering furnace, she looked at me with eyes that seemed slightly drunk.

Was she actually day-drinking?

“You remembered me.”

“Of course, I do. What kind of woman would see your face and forget it?”

Hearing a compliment phrased like that was a new experience.

“Hmm, so? Did you get your hands on some Magical Beast Steel already?”

Cutting to the chase, I pulled out the “Magical Beast Steel – Moonlight.” Ms. Leida approached, her interest piqued.

“You got ahold of something incredible. I’ll reforge it for you right away.”

“Can I shoot beams with my pistol?”

“No. But… this is more valuable than thousands of other pieces of Magical Beast Steel. We should be able to borrow a bit of magical power.”

“Magical power!”

Was that even possible?

Would my Glock evolve into a magic gun?

Is it a waste to put this in a Glock?

“You want it done on that pistol, right?”

“Well…”

I wanted a gun that could be combined with Personality Excretion to reliably take down high-defense monsters, like the Shark Giant I’d faced.

Shouldn’t I have thought of this from the start?

I had no idea. I didn’t think upgrading my pistol would still be insufficient.

“Have another weapon in mind?”

“Yes. For now, please just upgrade the Glock with this.”

I took out the B-rank Magical Beast Steel I had received from the party’s loot distribution.

“Hmm. To think you got such high-quality Magical Beast Steel from the academy.”

“I was lucky.”

“If your luck holds, it becomes skill. Let’s see if that’s the case for you.”

While the Glock was being upgraded, I visited the gun shop.

There, I ran into a familiar face.

“Ah.”

“Hm?”

Dale Hardnett.

He was the handsome S-rank hunter who had overseen the scarecrow assessment last week.

It was surprising to run into him at the academy since he wasn’t a student, but it made sense if it was at the gun shop.

Was he looking for something here?

“Decided to use a gun?”

“Ah, yes.”

“What kind?”

“A shotgun.”

Dale nodded.

“That’s better for a beginner, anyway.”

Come to think of it, wasn’t this a great opportunity to get advice from an S-rank hunter?

Dale happened to be a hunter who used guns. Even now, a black shotgun with a sling was slung over his shoulder.

“Monsters B-rank and above have incredible defense. Is there anything with good single-shot destructive power?”

“You want a recommendation?”

“I’d appreciate it. It seems you use one yourself, sir.”

Dale winced at being called “sir.”

“Drop the ‘sir.’ Just call me Dale.”

“Dale. For single-shot power, a shotgun is the best, isn’t it?”

“It has its advantages in a dungeon. It doesn’t jam easily, and its destructive power is high. In that regard, it holds its own against other special weapons.”

I bet he struggled with frustrating malfunctions when he first started, too.

I felt a strange sense of solidarity between people who stubbornly used guns in dungeons.

“What are you looking for?”

“Something big and heavy.”

I moved with Dale to the wall where the shotguns were displayed.

Unlike the pistols, the long barrels gave them a distinct sense of intimidation.

Before I started fighting those monster bastards that could casually deflect bullets, just having a pistol felt reassuring.

The fact that I was no longer satisfied with that probably meant I’d grown accustomed to exploring the academy’s dungeons.

“If you want strong close-range power, for the shells—the ammo used in shotguns—are you thinking 12-gauge?”

“Isn’t 20-gauge stronger?”

“To think you’d come to pick out a gun without even knowing that…”

I thought a higher number meant it was stronger.

“So 12-gauge is stronger?”

“The number represents how many lead balls you can make from one pound of lead. The smaller the number, the bigger and heavier the lead shot.”

“Oh…”

Dale looked over the various shotguns and spoke.

“Kim Sang-hyeok. Why are you so fixated on single-shot power? I need to know the purpose to recommend something suitable.”

Should I tell him?

I was a model inmate—no, a model student—who was following the “Student of Interest” process diligently…

A little hint should be fine.

“I have a skill that guarantees victory as long as I can land a solid impact.”

Dale glanced at me, seemingly trying to gauge if I was serious.

“In that case… a slug round?”

“A slug round?”

“It’s a single, solid lump of lead. It can kill an elephant.”

“Do you hate elephants?”

Dale let out a small laugh.

“If you want to stick it to someone you hate, buckshot is more useful—its fragmented pellets maximize pain. A slug isn’t suitable for that. They’ll just die.”

“Is it that strong?”

“Even if they’re wearing a vest that stops pistol rounds, a shot to the chest will shatter their ribcage. A shot to the stomach will rupture their abdomen. All their internal organs will be torn to shreds. Though even that doesn’t work well on A-rank and above.”

What kind of world did A-ranks live in?

If even a slug—a solid lead shot boasting the ultimate stopping power—couldn’t injure them, what was I supposed to attack with?

A grenade launcher?

Ah. That wouldn’t work either.

I recalled Isabella’s Devil Suit.

Considering that rifle rounds didn’t even scratch her before she put it on, it would be tough to take on our Student Council President even with an armored vehicle.

“Slugs sound good.”

Whatever it was, being decisive was best.

Excretion Slug.

It already sounded monstrously twisted.

“There’s a downside. Shotguns are fundamentally made to spray metal, so they aren’t rifled. But slugs need rifling.”

“Is the accuracy bad?”

“Once you’re past its effective range, it drops off so badly it’s ridiculous. It’s just a lump of lead, so you can watch its trajectory draw a rainbow.”

“…”

A rainbow trajectory…

Still, it was hard to change my mind after getting hooked on slugs.

“I like the sound of slugs.”

If a 12-gauge was like hitting something with a small dick multiple times, then a slug was one powerful “Big Dick.”

Could there be a more suitable weapon for an ultra-powerful Personality Excretion?

“It’s normal for guys your age to get fixated on destructive power.”

You’re not that much older than me.

At most, you’re in your mid-twenties.

“Should I look for a separate gun with a rifled barrel for slugs?”

“No. The biggest advantage of a shotgun is how easy it is to change ammo types. You should learn to use various rounds to suit the situation.”

Dale picked up a black pump-action shotgun and held it out to me.

“This is a Benelli M3. It’s the only model among Benelli shotguns that can use both semi-automatic and pump-action.”

“To kill an elephant, shouldn’t it be semi-auto all the way?”

“You hate elephants too?”

“I like them, so if I ever have to hunt one, I plan on using slugs.”

After only using pistols, the weight of the shotgun in my hands felt different.

As I shifted around, getting a feel for it, Dale said, “The Benelli’s semi-auto system relies on the recoil from firing for continuous shots. With non-combat rounds, the recoil might be too weak for it to load properly.”

“Ah. So that’s when you use manual loading?”

“It means pump-action is more effective when using non-lethal rounds.”

He did say the ease of changing ammo types was a shotgun’s advantage.

In other words, to clearly distinguish between lethal and non-lethal purposes…

This Benelli M3 was the answer?

From the perspective of a seasoned hunter like Dale, I must have seemed reckless, talking about wanting to slam in nothing but heavy, powerful rounds.

I was glad I asked.

Come to think of it, the shotgun I used didn’t have to be overwhelmingly powerful.

It just needed to be strong enough to overcome the target’s defense.

If I insisted on using only fucking huge lead shot, I’d destroy their personality, organs, and everything else before I could even excrete them.

It would often be better to carefully place each shot.

“Thank you.”

“Carry it on a sling over your shoulder like I do. Then, if a situation arises…”

Fwip.

Dale, who had the Benelli slung like a guitar, grabbed the receiver and spun it around, bringing it into a ready position.

Whoa! That’s so cool!

“You can switch to it like this.”

“I’ll buy it right now.”

“It’ll be pretty expensive for a student, though.”

2,500 Coins…

The Python wasn’t cheap, but this was easily more than double.

But for me right now, that was hardly an extravagant sum. After dropping 300,000 at home, no one could say anything about this.

I bought a collection of various shotgun shells, including non-lethal rubber bullets, and stored them in my inventory.

What’s this “Dragon’s Breath”…?

“That’s a shell filled with incendiary powder. It can set enemies on fire. Like I said before, rounds like this can interfere with a semi-automatic shotgun’s action.”

“So what might jam occasionally in the real world will definitely jam in a dungeon.”

“You catch on quick. That’s what the pump-action is for.”

Anyway, I never imagined there’d be a magical shell that could breathe fire.

Perhaps highly advanced technology wasn’t so different from magic.

I bought the “Dragon’s Breath” too.

I committed his advice—to practice switching between various ammo types on the fly—to memory.

I also bought a shotgun shell belt, loaded the thick rounds one by one, and moved my body around.

“I’ll take this too.”

Total expenditure: 5,844 Coins.

Shotgun full package purchase complete.

Having a lot of Coins is so convenient.

“You’ve picked everything?”

“What did you come here to buy, Dale?”

“A choke. It’s an accessory for a shotgun. I need to do some shooting at a slightly longer range.”

“With a shotgun? Can’t you just use a different gun?”

Dale sighed.

“I’m too invested in shotgun enhancements to do that. I have to learn how to twist what I have to make it work.”

A problem befitting an S-rank hunter.

He probably couldn’t expect the same level of power from other weapons as his A or S-rank shotgun that he’d already strengthened.

“If you’re going to embed Magical Beast Steel into a shotgun, it’ll be very difficult to add a long-range option to your combat style. Be prepared for that.”

“I’ve made my decision.”

This was the right choice, especially if I wanted to make use of the combat techniques I learned from the invincible Student Council President.

“Thanks for everything, Dale. I’ll buy you a meal sometime.”

“Sure.”

I finished with a classic Korean farewell and left the gun shop.

“Oh, Kim Sang-hyeok. Ms. Seridwen said she’s coming to see you tomorrow. Keep that in mind.”

Evelyn?

It felt like it had been a long time since I last saw her.

Well, she wasn’t someone you could meet through normal channels.

The thought of someone like that taking the time to come see me specifically was a strange feeling.

The Glock’s reforging should be done by now.

Before heading back, I went to buy some clothes.

The workshop area had quite a few clothing stores. It made sense, considering you could enhance clothes with Magical Beast Steel, too.

There was no rule saying they could only handle weapons.

Though I was a bit surprised to find a place that sold bikinis.

“What do you like, Kushina?”

Kushina peeked her head out of the Onaben.

“Something with a lot of exposure.”

“Definitely?”

“Definitely.”

Well, that was fine by me.

Taking Kushina’s feedback that the less fabric, the better, I chose a sexy black bikini.

It was an embarrassing piece that barely covered the essential parts.

It was a little humiliating to take it to the female clerk.

“Is this a gift for your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t exactly say, “Nope, it’s an outfit for my onahole,” could I?

“That will be 850 Coins.”

850 Coins?

Why was a bikini so expensive? It barely covered anything.

The female clerk, sensing my sour mood, quickly added, “I-It’s a piece by a famous designer… um…”

The clerk couldn’t look me in the eye and kept bowing her head.

“I’ll take it, then.”

“Thank you! Please come again.”

Before I could even put the bikini in the Onahole Inventory, Kushina’s hand shot out and snatched it away.

She must really like it.

Now, for my clothes.

It was about time I graduated from the clothes that smelled of the old Sang-hyeok.

I barely had anything decent to wear!

After buying clothes and some other necessities, I returned to the blacksmith shop and received the finished Glock from Ms. Leida.

[Glock 19 (Compact)] [B+ Rank]
[Owner: Kim Sang-hyeok]
[A compact version of the Glock 19. Holds 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition. Enhanced with Magical Beast Steel, increasing its accuracy, rate of fire, and power.]

“Please upgrade this one next.”

“Another gun?”

I handed Leida the Benelli M3 hanging from its sling.

“Please reforge it with the Moonlight steel.”

“It’ll be quick, so just sit there and wait.”

It really was quick.

I took the M3 that Leida brought back and inspected it.

It had a cool aura to it. It felt distinctly different from a normal gun.

[Benelli (Moonlight)] [A-Rank]
[Owner: Kim Sang-hyeok]
[A special weapon enhanced with the power of Moonlight. Every third bullet is imbued with the power of moonlight.]

The effect is simpler than I thought.

More importantly, why is it A-rank?

“Ms. Leida. Was it possible to get it to A-rank in one go?”

“Even I didn’t know it would go up that much. I don’t get many chances to work with such rare Magical Beast Steel.”

So it was that good of an item.

Yuuna must have known its value, yet she gave it to me without hesitation.

I really have a great girlfriend.

‘Every third bullet is imbued with the power of moonlight,’ huh…

I wouldn’t know for sure until I tried it.

“The reforging fee is 8,000 Coins.”

That’s expensive.

“Did you think it was free?”

A D-rank wouldn’t have that kind of money. Normally.

What was she thinking, doing the work on faith?

Leida licked her lips with her tongue.

“Don’t make that face. There’s a way to get an 80%, no, a 90% discount.”

“What is it?”

It was an offer I couldn’t help but be interested in.

“I’ll give you a discount if you have sex with me.”

“…”

It was a more aggressive discount approach than I could have ever imagined.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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