After the door clicked shut, Miyuki stood alone in the room, drifting her gaze toward the book she had been handed. A small squirt of frustration escaped her lips, barely audible.
Unlike the rest of the party, it seed her path would veer in a different direction.
Reading.
The thought alone made her grimace.
Who would want to sit around reading when the world had already ended? Surely, venturing outside to hunt monsters felt far more practical, and infinitely more exciting. But deep down, she knew she lacked the theoretical aspect that was just as important as the physicial aspect.
Miyuki replayed the mory of her battle with Luxuria over and over in her mind.
Without Viola's support or Soo Jinyoung-nim's tily intervention at the critical mont, the outco was inevitable.
She would have died.
That much was certain. It was a truth she had already accepted. In fact, the fight had occupied her thoughts relentlessly for the past few days.
She didn't want to be weak anymore.
And she certainly didn't want to rely on others forever.
What she needed was strength. And her strength was «Magic.»
If reading a book could grant her that strength, then she would do it, no matter how much she hated the idea.
'Ajusshi said that since I can balance both the practical and theoretical aspects, there's no need to stay confined to one place. Maybe I could test my theories on so monsters and earn coins. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?'
A small smile crept across her face at the thought.
It was an excited smile, but for all the wrong reasons.
Perhaps sothing within her had shifted after the Sixth Narrative. After all, a normal twelve-year-old wouldn't be thinking like this.
Clutching the book tightly, Miyuki climbed onto the couch and opened the encyclopedia.
† †
Leaving the room, I made my way downstairs.
The building itself was five stories tall. It hadn't always been like this, but Kim Hyunwoo had thoroughly reinforced and modified it to reach this level. It now served as the headquarters of Night Managent. The top floor housed the personal quarters for and the main party, while the bottom floor was designated for the survivors we had taken in.
Survivors could work their way up from the bottom floors to those below the fifth, as long as they accumulated enough contributions.
In the end, we operated much like any other company.
The main group would serve as the faces of Nightmare Managent, while the survivors would be the employees. Of course, there was no salary since I hadn't even added the main group as mbers of the .
The survivors were doing fairly well.
So had received help from party mbers, while others were trained by Soo Jinyoung, who taught them basic martial arts techniques. She had been serious when she said teaching martial arts was part of her duty, though her thods were... well, a bit painful.
...Ugh, let's move past that.
I nodded at a few survivors who greeted with a "Boss," then continued on my way further down.
At this point, I had reached the ground level, but my goal was beyond this floor.
There was a hidden floor below the ground level, known only to and Kim Hyunwoo, who had created it. The rest of the party remained unaware of its existence.
I hadn't shared its location with anyone because I didn't want to be disturbed while I was there. After all, that was where I had been conducting my 'experints.'
But before I could head there, I needed to use that 'item.'
Without hesitation, I crushed the stone in my right hand.
[The item "Silence Stone" has activated.]
[ssages from the Constellations have been blocked for two hours.]
[During this ti, you will not receive any ssages or be observed by the Constellations.]
«Silence Stone» The only item in [Link] capable of blocking the ssages and gaze of the Constellations. Over the past few days, I had used this item repeatedly to escape their watchful eyes.
Of course, once the ti ran out, the Constellations would bombard with ssages, but by then, I would have already finished with my business in the underground chamber.
The item was only available to [Golden Tier] or [Phantom Tier] mbers of the celestial channel.
The only downside was that each [Silence Stone] cost a whopping 50,000 coins.
It was an amount I could easily recover by hunting nightmares and selling their coins, but it was still a tedious process.
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'With this, I now have two hours of freedom. The only thing left is to make sure no one sees .'
That part was simple enough.
When the coast was clear, I headed left, where the entrance to the Testing Grounds was located.
I quickly unlocked the door with a key and descended.
Tap! Tap! Tap! My footsteps echoed through the dark, narrow corridor, breaking the otherwise profound silence.
The only source of light was the flashlight in my hand.
After walking down the long passageway, I reached the wide testing range.
The space was vast and dimly lit, with walls reinforced with steel to contain stray projectiles or mishaps. The floor was smooth and polished, but worn in so areas.
At the far end of the room, bullseye targets were arranged, scattered at varying distances. Scattered throughout were the remnants of previous experints such as bullet holes, scorch marks from spirit bullets, and even the occasional body of a nightmare that hadn't survived. The air slled faintly of gunpowder and the sterile scent of steel.
In the back corner, a cluttered table held a variety of ammunition and tools for modifications—small, seemingly insignificant objects, but essential for the work I did here.
What was there to say? This was my personal space, untouched by the prying eyes of the Constellations.
... Shall I begin?
I retrieved the revolver, Castor, and a box of brass bullets from the Watcher's Dinsion Coat's pocket.
The goal here was to improve my aim and shooting skills. To do so, I would deactivate the active skill [Marksmanship], which had reached Level 10, and rely solely on my own abilities to improve my natural shooting accuracy.
What if I wasn't talented enough to learn magic, martial arts, or even skills from others?
Even if I couldn't fight like the rest, I could still survive, so there was no reason to be depressed.
Ultimately, it was the survivors who would see tomorrow.
Not to ntion, I had my two trusty pistols with , so I can never be defeated ever so easily!
Pa!
I flicked open the cylinder and carefully loaded it with fresh brass rounds.
This ti, I didn't leave any empty spots in the cylinder, nor did I remove my coat. Today, I intended to practice shooting with it on. I wasn't about to waste ti prepping like I was in so old-fashioned Victorian setting.
If an enemy showed up, they wouldn't wait for to adjust my attire.
Click!
I closed the cylinder, and spinned it with my thumb for good asure.
I settled into a standard firing position, gripping the revolver with my left hand. Normally, I was right-handed, but today, I was focusing on improving my weaker hand's accuracy.
"Firing Sequence Number 47. Begin!"
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
The shots rang out, each one hitting the target. Drawing on my previous experience, and with enough strength that recoil barely made a difference, I fired six tis in quick succession.
Five out of the six shots hit dead center.
"Hmm. Not bad. This is definitely an improvent."
A small smile tugged at my lips.
Just a few days ago, I couldn't even get one shot on target with my left hand. Now, I was landing five bullseyes.
Lee Suhye would probably be jealous if she saw this.
Click!
I opened the cylinder again, letting the spent casings fall with a soft clink before quickly loading a fresh set of rounds.
Without delay, I aid at the target once more, still holding the revolver with my left hand.
"Firing Sequence Number 48. Begin!"
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
The sharp crack of gunfire echoed as the target shook.
I was intent on shooting the target. Shooting itself was becoming second nature, but the real challenge was reloading the firearm quickly. That was where I still needed improvent.
Over ti, I had experinted with countless firearms. When selecting a primary weapon, there were key factors to consider like reload speed, balance while swinging it one-handed, and how manageable the recoil was with repeated shots.
The table in front of was a testant to that experintation. It was cluttered with an assortnt of weapons: military-grade handguns, compact self-defense pistols, sports models, as well as heavier options like shotguns and rifles.
Beneath my feet, empty cartridges ford a chaotic pile, scattered like fallen leaves after a storm, and the variety of firearms I'd used was evident in the mix of shells.
Lee Suhye was proficient in shooting and reloading automatic rifles quickly while I was different.
Rifles and shotguns were more of a struggle for , especially when facing certain types of nightmares and opponents. For example, Demonic Nightmarish Terrors were nearly impervious to standard bullets and resistant even to [Spirit Bullets]. However, their defeat would co swiftly if struck by the [Evil Breaking Sword], which was capable of purifying the existence of anything «Evil» and severing their connection to the physical plane.
In such scenarios, adaptability was paramount. I needed to effortlessly transition between weapons, switching from gun to sword, using both simultaneously when necessary, all without wasting a single mont.
After all, the raw destructive power of a single shot was aningless if it couldn't finish the enemy in one decisive blow.
Therefore, a simple handgun or revolver would suffice.
Click! Click! Click!
Within monts, all the normal brass rounds had been spent. I opened the cylinder once more, and discarded the six empty shells.
Glancing at the ti on my smartphone, I saw that only 40 minutes remained before the Silence Stone's effects would wear off.
Had ti really passed that quickly? I must have been here longer than I realized.
'I think I still need more practice with my left hand. There's so ti left before the Silence Stone's effects wear off. Should I test the rounds I received from the kind High Priestess?'
I reached into the Watcher's Dinsion Coat's pocket and pulled out the box containing the new special rounds.
Sanctified Howl Bullets.
These rounds had been crafted by Moon Ji-yeon using the High Priestess Card. From what I gathered, she was a spiritualist with a deep connection to the manipulation of the «White» elent. Each bullet, as a result, was imbued with the purifying power of that very elent.
But nothing in this world ca for free. To acquire these rounds, I'd had to part with a hefty sum of 20,000C.
The real question, though, was how they compared to ordinary spirit bullets. One of the primary reasons I had co here today was to uncover the answer to that mystery.
I carefully loaded the sanctified howl bullets with complicated patterns into the revolver, leaving one spot empty to avoid any risk of misfiring.
With the revolver now ready, I set it aside on the table for a mont.
Reaching into the Watcher's Dinsion Star Coat, I pulled out the Silver Demon, Ivory. With a practiced hand, I focused my spiritual energy, channeling it through the silver handgun.
Once the power was flowing smoothly, I steadied the handgun and aid at the target.
Finally, I pulled the trigger.
Bang—!
In the blink of an eye, the spirit bullet rocketed forward, and struck the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy. The head of the dummy exploded on impact, and shattered the fragnts into all directions.
The power was certainly impressive.
Despite my relatively low stats, the strength of the spirit bullet was undeniable. As my proficiency in the [Spirit Bullet] skill grew, the output would increase accordingly.
Currently, the skill [Spirit Bullet] has been raised to level 9.
If my spirit power were higher, the output would be even greater. That was the nature of how skills worked.
Next, I set [Ivory] on the table and grabbed [Castor], the revolver loaded with Sanctified Howl Bullets, in my right hand.
I imdiately assud firing form and pulled the trigger, but I wasn't prepared for what happened next.
Bang—!! A trendous noise echoed!
A powerful jolt of shock rippled through my body, sending stumbling back from the recoil.
"...!!"
The bullet flew through the target with such speed that it seed like it passed straight through without resistance. With a ti lag of approximately 0.0001 seconds, the target's head exploded with a deafening crack.
But the destruction didn't end there.
The purification bullet continued its path, cutting through the air in the form of a brilliant, white-hot laser. It pierced through the wall, leaving behind a trail of shattered stone and dust, before disappearing into the distance.
The whole world of the building trembled violently.
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