Chapter 19
As a morning exercise, I ran to the sundae soup restaurant near the Rogue Guild.
“Two soups, please! Ah! Hold the green onions on one.”
Looking at the empty seat, the events from the Tower yesterday naturally came to mind.
“I would never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
It had only been a day.
I’d been raising Hyun-jung, who would later be called a little monster.
But in just one day, she had grown unbelievably fast.
“Seriously, even if I helped, how could she reach Level 8 and Gun Mastery 2 in a single day?”
I expected rapid growth, but experiencing it firsthand made me understand why she was called a once-in-a-lifetime genius.
“I get it now… the realm of genius really exists.”
Just then—
“Uncle!”
Hyun-jung arrived.
I smiled faintly at the neat, freshly washed girl approaching me.
“You look so much better after washing up. From now on, you’re not a Water Rat anymore—you’re Choi Hyun-jung. Keep washing up and looking good, okay?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“Ah! By the way, where did all the bullets I gave you yesterday go?”
Yesterday, after winning our bet, she could have chosen anything she wanted.
But when I asked what she wanted, she said she wanted 200 bullets.
I didn’t know why, but knowing she wasn’t the type to do something foolish, I gave her all 200 on the spot.
I even brought them into the motel myself because they were too bulky.
“Are you keeping them separately somewhere?”
But she didn’t bring a single one, so I asked casually.
“Actually…”
At the mention of the bullets, Hyun-jung fidgeted in embarrassment.
Then she squeezed her eyes shut.
“I used them all!”
All 200 bullets?
“Don’t you have money now? Did you sell them somewhere?”
Naturally, I assumed she hadn’t used them.
I thought she sold them.
But that was my mistake.
“No, I didn’t sell a single one. I used them all.”
“Used them?”
“All 200… I shot them all.”
My hand froze mid-air.
“You shot them all… you said?”
“Yes… I’m sorry.”
Not 10.
Not 20.
Two hundred.
“P–Party.”
I immediately opened the Party Window like a man possessed.
And when I saw her Status Window, I had no choice but to believe her.
‘G–Gun Mastery Level is… 4!?’
I had spent the entire day inside the Tower and only raised mine by one level.
But she raised hers by two in the middle of the night?
A skill level that normally takes days for people to raise by one…
She raised to 4. In one day.
“Wh-where did you shoot them?”
“I couldn’t shoot in the middle of Seoul… so I went into the Tower alone last night.”
“What!?”
“Ah! I only shot them on the safe 6th floor. I didn’t go above the 6th floor.”
My eyes dropped to her hands.
Her small hands were red, blistered, and painfully swollen.
“I’m sorry…”
She shrank back, not knowing what to do, because she thought she had disappointed the person who rescued her from the gutter and treated her kindly.
“Did you.”
“Yes…?”
“Did you sleep?”
Her expression went blank.
“If you mean sleep…”
“I doubt you slept much after shooting 200 bullets.”
“Ah! I slept well. About four hours!”
“You shot them quickly, then.”
When I snorted, her expression brightened slightly.
While she ate her soup, she asked cautiously,
“Are… are you not angry?”
“Angry? Why would I be?”
“I thought you looked disappointed earlier…”
“I wasn’t disappointed. I was worried.”
I set my spoon down and took her injured hand.
“Ouch!”
Her skin was so damaged that even a light touch hurt.
Without a word, I pulled out a potion.
“U-uncle, that’s…”
She knew how expensive healing potions were.
But I applied the potion generously to her hand.
In an instant, her wounds vanished.
“All better.”
She stared at her healed hand in disbelief.
As I resumed eating, I said,
“Don’t think about the cost. Is the potion what matters? You’re what matters.”
“Uncle…”
“You’re my family now. Family takes care of each other. So when I do something for you, just think, ‘Oh, okay~’ and eat your soup.”
“…Okay.”
Her head lowered, shoulders trembling.
“Uh oh? Crying again?”
“I’m not crying. I’m just… just grateful.”
“Oh my? Eat up quickly. We’re going somewhere stronger today since you worked so hard.”
“Yes! I’ll go anywhere if Uncle goes!”
“You talk big.”
“I mean it!”
“Eat.”
“I really mean it!”
She quickly wiped her eyes and stuffed herself with stew.
Then, she slowly looked up at me with quiet admiration as I ate.
= = =
There was no denying it now.
The 200 bullets she fired at dawn changed everything in her Status Window.
== Status Window ==
[Name]: Choi Hyun-jung
[Level]: 14
[Job]: Genius of Guns
[Stats]
Strength – 25
Agility – 41
Intelligence – 23
Stamina – 20
Mana – 17
=======
[Gun Mastery] LV 4
=======
Her previously single-digit Stats had all doubled.
Her total Stats were already above 100.
‘At this rate… it might actually work.’
I opened my Inventory.
Looking at the remaining bullets, I told her:
“Let’s go to a Dungeon today instead of the Tower.”
“Dungeon?”
“Yeah. A Class C Dungeon.”
“…Yes?”
Her eyes widened.
As a Water Rat, she avoided anything above Class D.
But Class C…
Dangerous just to hear about.
Still—
Squeeze.
She clenched both fists.
“Let’s go.”
She overcame her fear almost too fast.
“I’m surprised you didn’t ask why.”
“Isn’t there always a reason when Uncle wants something? I’ll just trust you.”
“Heh. Thanks to the 200 bullets you shot, I got a really good idea.”
“Because of the bullets?”
“It seems your Skill Level goes up based on accuracy. I want to test it.”
“Okay.”
She balled her fists tighter.
‘She’s a natural Gunslinger… being able to shoot is making her happier than anything.’
I wondered if she’d still feel the same once we reached that Dungeon.
“Then let’s go right away.”
“Yes!”
= = =
Beneath the underpass near Seokgye Station.
A lone container sat in the damp underground.
“Hoo…”
She was still a child.
When we reached the entrance, she finally looked nervous.
I patted her shoulder.
After waiting a bit, an official rushed over with a key.
“Sss…”
He kept giving us suspicious looks.
To be fair, we were an odd pair.
Me with a rusty sword.
And a 13-year-old girl holding a pistol.
Click.
The container opened, revealing stairs descending into darkness.
A chill seeped out like we were entering a freezer.
“Excuse me, are you the one who called?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure you checked everything? You’re not joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
He scanned us again.
The rusty Immortal Demon Sword.
The small girl with a pistol.
“Ahem.”
I couldn’t blame him.
“I know everything. It’s a Class C Dungeon, right?”
“That’s true, but… can you really clear it? We’re in a hurry, but still…”
“Then we’re going in.”
No point arguing.
I held Hyun-jung’s hand and walked in.
The official shouted behind us:
“Please come back alive, no matter what!”
A vein popped on my forehead.
“Do I look like I’m going to die…”
But I let it go.
I’d show them.
Down we went.
Colder and colder.
Dark enough that even the faintest outline disappeared.
“I-Is this really the right place?”
Too dark.
Too cold.
And the smell—rotting corpses.
“This is the right place.”
I came to the right place.
This Dungeon was unlike any other.
“Get ready.”
“Yes.”
Whirr—
Torches flared to life.
Gulp.
Hyun-jung swallowed hard.
The Dungeon was filled with corpses.
Clatter. Clatter.
But there was no time for fear.
The moment the torches lit, the corpses rose.
Skeletons.
Yellowed and white, stripped of flesh.
“These monsters are Skeletons. More precisely, Goblin Skeletons.”
I kicked off the ground.
Bang!
My sword shattered bones in an instant.
Clang! Crack!
The skull exploded, scattering pieces everywhere.
But—
Thud!
Even without a head, the Skeleton grabbed my arm.
“Uncle!”
Hyun-jung shouted in panic.
But I continued calmly.
“As you can see, Skeletons are tricky. Even if their heads are gone, as long as their core remains, they revive endlessly.”
Skeletons rushed from all directions.
Hyun-jung raised her pistol—
But I was already beside her.
“They don’t get tired or die easily, but they lose most of their strength from when they were alive. Still annoying.”
Then she noticed my arm.
A reddish mark.
A wound.
“Uncle!”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”
Click.
Her eyes changed instantly.
Fear vanished.
Anger replaced it.
“How do you kill them?”
“Hyun-jung? Your eyes—”
“Tell me. How do you kill them?”
“Well… each one has a core inside their bones. If you break—”
“How dare they…”
Bang! Bang bang!
Somehow, she had already located the cores mid-movement.
The shots were rapid.
Skeletons trembled, but none collapsed.
“They’re tough.”
“It’s not easy. Even with Level 4 Mastery, their cores—”
Bang! Bang bang bang bang!
Five shots.
Thud.
One Skeleton collapsed into dust.
She had shattered the core.
“I got the hang of it.”
Amazing.
A level 14 girl broke the core of a Class C Skeleton alone.
Right in front of me.
“Seriously… you’re incredible.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“Regression Mode.”
I had brought her here to give her information for her innate combat sense.
Now strengthened, I launched toward the wave of Skeletons.
“I’ll block them. Focus.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let a single one touch Uncle.”
And so the battle began.
Bang!!!
I sent four Skeletons flying.
Bang! Bang bang bang!
I was fully absorbed in the battle—
[Zzzzzz.]
[Job change conditions… 92%…]
I didn’t notice the glowing light in her job slot.
Nor did she.
We were too focused.
Thirty minutes later—
Ting.
[Job change conditions met.]
[Starting job change.]
A brilliant light exploded from Hyun-jung’s body.