[What do you want?]

I knew Yoo Yeonha would agree because she couldn’t stand one-sided favors.

Now, I wondered what I should ask for. Money didn’t seem right as Yoo Yeonha was still a minor. She likely couldn’t give out tens of millions of won.

[It’s simple. I need a weapon.]

After sending her the message above, I also sent her the link to Essential Armory’s Desert Eagle. Yoo Yeonha checked it and looked back at me. She didn’t seem to have any issues with it.

[I think it’s pretty cheap.]

[… I understand.]

Great, she agreed.

[Is it possible to get it by tomorrow?]

The quicker it was, the more money I would make. Even if tomorrow was too difficult, I hoped to receive it by the end of the week.

[Yes, I’ll take care of it.]

Surprisingly, she replied without hesitation even though her parents should still be in charge. Her decisiveness impressed me.

“Get back to your seats.”

The break ended at just the right time as the old professor resumed class.

***

Wednesday’s theory class ended and anti-personnel training began at 3 P.M.

Each cadet met with their sparring partners at the fairly large training field. Meanwhile, I pitifully looked for the instructor.

“Hey.”

A voice pierced my ears from behind. It seemed to be directed at me, so I turned and instantly froze at Chae Nayun’s terrifying glare.

“Spar with me.”

Her hostile tone bordered on killing intent. Gulp. I swallowed a mouthful. As the saying goes, A word causes a debt worth a thousand gold taels. I had made a dangerous enemy out of her with a single sentence. To live a peaceful life, I should mend our relationship even at the cost of kneeling and begging.

I fell in thought as I looked at her. Would she forgive me just because I apologized? Seeing me silent, Chae Nayun pointed at my gun.

“Your gun. Take it out.”

The first training gun broke when I fought the djinn. This was a new one. I looked down at my holster, then back at Chae Nayun.

“I don’t want to.”

“You scared?”

Those 2 words carried a great echo, causing all eyes on the training field to fall on us.

“Mmm…”

How should I act in front of Chae Nayun? Without a doubt, every cadet knew about her brother’s incident. The original Kim Chundong would’ve known too, so it might seem like an even greater insult if I apologized.

“No.”

It might be better to remain as a bad guy to her. The reason I worked so hard without resting was to kill her older brother within a certain amount of time.

My actions would only leave a cruel sense of betrayal even if I mended our relationship and became friends.

“I’m afraid you might get hurt. This thing uses real bullets, you see.”

Immediately, the atmosphere grew heavy. Chae Nayun clenched her bow with so much force I could see the veins popping out of her hand.

“I don’t think your bullets will even hurt.”

Chae Nayun forcefully suppressed her anger and sneered. I simply responded.

“You won’t get hurt. You’ll die.”

“Ha, say that again, punk.”

Chae Nayun approached me up close. She looked like she would explode at any moment. Technically, she was 165cm and I was 174cm, but she seemed much bigger for some reason.

“Really, who do you think you are?”

The atmosphere turned for the worse as more spectators gathered. At that moment…

“Chae Nayun, get back.”

The instructor stepped in as I sighed in relief. Thankfully, she came before it was too late. Chae Nayun turned towards the instructor.

“Why should I?”

“No one can spar with cadet Kim Hajin before he gets a gun for sparring.”

“But I don’t mind.”

“I mind.”

“Why —”

“Failure to heed an instructor’s order will be met with disciplinary action.”

“…”

An instructor’s words were absolute. Chae Nayun clenched her teeth with a bitter expression and glared at me one last time before leaving. The spectators dispersed and went back to training. Everything returned to normal.

“Take your gun out.”

The instructor spoke as she wrapped her hands in bandages. Her name… was it Park Hyun-Ah?

“Does a gun for sparring even exist?”

I asked the instructor.

“How the hell would I know?”

Crack, crack. The instructor cracked her neck and knuckles.

“Now, come.”

With a smile, she gestured with a finger.

This person… Did she enjoy this?

***

Thursday was the hunting club’s orientation, but I decided to skip it since it wasn’t required. Partly to avoid Chae Nayun, but mainly because I wanted to test out the new weapon I would be receiving.

“Ah, I can’t wait.”

I waited for the item at Angel Box, a coffee shop near Seoul. For the record, cadets could use portals 5-6 times a month as long as they filled out a form.

The time passed from 5:29:55… 5:29:56… 5:30:00. The shop’s door opened at exactly the appointed time. A man in a black suit and sunglasses walked in with a suitcase. His eyes met mine after looking around. I happily waved. His expression didn’t change as he strode up to me with his long legs.

“Kim Hajin?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

I felt like I knew this man. Only one person popped up when I thought of Yoo Yeonha’s attendant. Jin Sechan. The man presumed to be Jin Sechan placed the suitcase on the table without sitting down.

“Here’s the item. Please take a look.”

“Are you in a hurry? You can sit.”

I pointed at the chair in front of me. I wanted to test something before I received it.

“Hmm.”

He sat down without complaint. I took out the laptop from my bag. Yesterday, I made some changes after realizing I could use the laptop to modify itself.

“Are you doing something?”

“What do you mean?”

The man tilted his head.

“Why are you tapping in the air?”

“You can’t see this?”

I lifted my laptop.

“…”

He looked at me as if I was crazy. I see. I had a suspicion, but it seemed I was correct. Only I could see this laptop.

“Haha, I’m kidding.”

That was fine with me. I turned on the laptop with the additional setting I recently added.

[When Kim Hajin is within 50 meters of a target with an altered setting, the content and summary of the change(s) will be sent to Kim Hajin’s laptop. *Does not work on targets above a certain level of importance.]

I added this setting because I thought it would be more efficient if I was told about a change through an objective medium than having to notice it and being told by the co-author. Either the co-author didn’t care or encouraged it, but I only spent 200 SP.

[A change in the setting has been detected.]

An alert popped up on the laptop.

[Jin Sechan – His feelings for Yoo Yeonha have deepened.]

I didn’t mind this change.

“Anyways, I’ll take a look now.”

I opened the suitcase. Click. Click. It opened with a pleasant sound and a brilliant light shone from inside.

“Wow.”

A platinum handgun and magazine sat on top of fancy red velvet. It looked even more beautiful than the pictures.

“As promised, it’s the Desert Eagle with full attachments and a 60 round magazine of pinnacle grade magic bullets.”

“Thank you. You may leave now.”

I no longer cared about Jin Sechan. I checked my new weapon’s setting with the laptop.

[Desert Eagle] [High rank] [Metal attribute] A masterpiece. Contains several added effects. [Attack Power Amplification – 1/10] [Low rank Weight Reduction Magic] [Intermediate rank Recoil Control Magic]

[Magic Bullet] [Pinnacle grade] [Null attribute] .44 Macon steel mana bullet with condensed high purity mana. [Attack Power – 4/10]

I felt much better after reading the descriptions. I could easily kill a low-intermediate rank monster without even modifying the gun or bullets. I should be able to obtain aether from the Suwon Devil’s Nest.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Ah, yes. Take care.”

After sending Jin Sechan off, I checked my SP and had 250 left. Now, how should I spend this?

***

Jin Sechan contacted Yoo Yeonha after leaving. She asked as soon as she picked up the call.

— Did you deliver the item?

“Yes.”

— Was there anything special about him?

“That’s…”

There wasn’t anything special, but he did find something strange. No matter how much he thought about it, the young man’s demeanor wasn’t that of a 17 year old. Not to mention, it almost felt like he knew Jin Sechan.

— Yes?

“… No. There wasn’t anything in particular.”

He couldn’t conclude anything with just a short exchange. After all, the young man was a Cube cadet. Even Yoo Yeonha carried an air of dignity and elegance that didn’t suit her age.

— Yes, I understand. Thank you for your work, Sechan.

“My pleasure.”

With that, the call ended. He wanted to talk a little more, but remained content.