The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 510: Dogfight (1)

“Unfortunately, I only have bolt-action rifles.”

Meaning the ejection and loading of cartridges had to be done manually. In other words, the rate of fire was inevitably slower than automatic. The same went for pistols. The firearms I currently had were only equipment that could fit in the inventory Myungwoo had made.

At least the ammunition was compatible, which was fortunate—if it had been like the Lynx gun that only used mana, it would have become a gun model.

“I received a whole bunch from Shishio, but I didn’t have time to bring it.”

There were even state-of-the-art machine guns. Shishio easily handed over military supplies that I wouldn’t have even dared dream of in Korea. Since modern weapons from our world can’t go in the inventory, I’d stored them separately, what a shame. If I’d brought all of that, the match would be over immediately.

“There are no spare holsters or bandoliers either. Use a belt or something.”

Worst case, I’d have to put them in my pockets. At least wire and string types were plentiful. I placed the laundry basket in the center and packed useful items into it. Seong Hyunjae, having secured the pistol I gave him, slung the bow on his back.

“They’ll probably have at least a bow too. Song Taewon’s skill is quite good.”

“Yuhyun has one for support use, but the possibility he took it out is low. Unless it’s a main weapon, it’s normal to keep support weapons in the inventory.”

There was no need to make your body heavy when you had an inventory. Though you might equip simple things in advance to save time taking them from inventory, a bow was cumbersome.

“If the outside is wide open, it’ll end quickly. But if it’s an environment with many places to hide, it could flip over in an instant.”

Even becoming non-Awakened, the difference in physical conditions remained. Setting Seong Hyunjae aside, the moment it became close combat, I’d be at a severe disadvantage. Not only Chief Song but Yuhyun was also much stronger than me. Moreover, Chief Song was from the police, so he’d be familiar with combat as a non-Awakened too.

On the other hand, our Yuhyun didn’t serve in the military. He’s still young. Plus, I never even got to send him to a taekwondo academy.

“Just in case, it would be better if I face Song Taewon and Han Yujin faces his brother.”

“Yes. Above all, if you aimed a gun at Yuhyun, I’d unconsciously blow your head off too.”

My body would move before my head, so I couldn’t help it. I equipped weapons at my waist, thighs, and ankles. I also transformed and hid Grace.

[00:00]

Ten minutes passed, the timer disappeared, and a message window appeared.

[All Awakened will become non-Awakened.]

At the same time, my body… hmm. Not much change. It got slightly heavier though. Seong Hyunjae moved his arm lightly.

“My partner must have had a hard time normally.”

“I’m still an Awakened, you know?”

…Though I’d probably be weaker than non-Awakened Seong Hyunjae. I’d be stronger with equipment though. Then another message appeared.

[Your current body is a dummy, and your original body is safely asleep in a subspace connected to the dummy. Upon the dummy’s death, the teammate’s consciousness will also fall asleep, and the dummy will be moved to each team’s waiting room. After the match ends, the dummy and original body will be exchanged and you will awaken.]

It was similar to Japan’s dungeons. Since it wasn’t the real body, there would be no problem even if we died. Though we’d feel pain.

[The victory condition for the match is last survivor. If there is no contact between both teams for one hour, a penalty will be given to the more passive team.]

One hour. It didn’t seem like a small space. Just as I felt disappointed, one wall opened with a rattling sound. Cool air rushed in and the smell of wet grass stung my nose.

A forest—no, closer to a jungle. A narrow path could be seen running through it.

[All possessed items have also been replaced with dummies. A village is located in the center of the forest, and you can only move within a 10km radius centered on the village. Good luck.]

If there was a village, arriving there first was definitely advantageous. I was glad I’d brought the bicycle just in case. I tied the laundry basket full of items to the front of the bicycle with wire and turned to Seong Hyunjae.

“Hey, get on!”

Seong Hyunjae promptly climbed onto the back of the bicycle, and I felt embarrassed. No, I just said it unconsciously. I was fortunate it was only Seong Hyunjae. Yuhyun… even if he were here, he wouldn’t have understood, would he?

“…We’re ordinary people now, so hold on tight so you don’t fall.”

“Yees.”

“Don’t make creepy sounds.”

I pedaled vigorously. Since I often rode with the kids when playing, I could easily pick up speed even on slightly rough roads. As non-Awakened, bicycles were much faster than running. Moreover, the bicycle Seong Hyunjae gave me had quite good performance. Though bumping slightly, we quickly crossed through the forest.

“You don’t hear any sounds, right?”

“It seems there are no living creatures besides plants.”

There were no bird sounds, no insect sounds. At most, tree branches swaying in the wind.

“Meaning if there’s movement above a certain size, it’s definitely the two of them. If we see something moving, let’s shoot first and ask questions later.”

Close combat was disadvantageous, so we needed to at least injure them. The village should be somewhat open. The current environment was too good for hiding. There were also many wet trees to just set everything on fire.

Before long, a village appeared. It was a small village with a wooden fence, five houses, and a watchtower erected. It was much smaller than expected, but still not bad. If it were a bustling city, there would be too many places to hide, no different from the forest.

As soon as we entered the village, I got off the bicycle and lifted the laundry basket.

“Since there’s a limit to weapons we can carry, let’s hide them. But keep all the ammunition.”

Without bullets, firearms were nothing more than blunt weapons. Even if Yuhyun or Chief Song found them first, they’d be safe. Not knowing when the two would arrive, I quickly finished preparations and climbed the watchtower.

Seong Hyunjae headed to the only two-story house. I saw him stick his body out the second-floor window and climb lightly onto the roof as if flying. Even as a non-Awakened, his movements were no joke. He’d removed the coat that was just cumbersome without any ability stats and wore a vest with many pockets over his shirt instead. That vest must have originally been an item too.

Seong Hyunjae, leaning against the tall chimney, looked up at me. Why are you waving?

‘I should have at least hit his back while I had the chance.’

Now my hand would hurt too. I aimed the loaded gun toward the forest and carefully surveyed all directions. There was still no movement visible. To avoid the penalty, the two would definitely come toward the village.

Seong Hyunjae and I would be clearly visible, but they’d have no proper means to attack. Even if they were really lucky enough to have taken out a bow, they wouldn’t have arrows. Yuhyun didn’t even have a quiver. Unless a bow was your main weapon, you’d just take it from inventory when needed. I figured Chief Song was similar.

While quietly watching the forest for a moment—

‘That’s—’

Something black caught my eye briefly between the leaves. The Thunder Bird’s ceremonial robe. I immediately aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Along with a loud noise, tree branches snapped off thudding. The black thing quickly changed direction. I swiftly pulled the bolt, aimed, and fired the gun again. Right after the gunshot rang out—

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Something struck the watchtower’s pillar. As soon as I ducked below the railing, thud, another sound rang out and the wooden pillar dented. Wait, what?!

Song Taewon’s expression hardened for a moment. Messages appeared consecutively and the wall blocking the view disappeared. Feeling his whole body grow heavy, Song Taewon looked at the lush green forest spread before him.

“Even becoming non-Awakened, Han Yujin is—”

“Guns.”

Han Yuhyun said.

“Hyung has guns.”

“…Don’t they operate on mana?”

“S-rank ones do, but lower grades don’t. They can be used as ordinary guns.”

“Then…”

Silence fell between the two. Non-Awakening and firearms. If they’d simply become non-Awakened, the advantage still lay with the two of them. Since Han Yujin wouldn’t be much help, it was practically a two-on-one fight.

But if guns were added to this, it was a different story.

“The inventory won’t open either.”

Han Yuhyun said while attempting to take out a bow.

“Same for me. We have no ranged weapons.”

Neither of them had even thought to take out bows in advance. Han Yuhyun blinked while looking at the forest. He’d never felt this troubled before a battle.

“Hyung is really…”

A smile unsuited to the situation appeared on Han Yuhyun’s face. Though his mind felt blocked and hopeless, that made him even more excited. Han Yujin would have quickly finished preparations and be waiting for him.

Meanwhile, Song Taewon’s face was heavily shadowed. Instead of combat between Awakened, ordinary combat from before dungeons appeared appeared in his mind. Bare body without even a bulletproof vest. All possessed weapons were close-range. Meanwhile, the opponent had guns.

“First, to the village—”

“He has a bicycle.”

Han Yuhyun said. It was deep in the mountains. No matter how desperately they ran, non-Awakened feet couldn’t catch up to a bicycle.

“The possibility he didn’t take it out… is nonexistent, right?”

Song Taewon muttered with a slight sigh mixed in. Han Yujin must have already known about this current situation. He’d been prepared for environmental disadvantages. Still, he’d been confident that in simple combat, there was no way he’d lose to Han Yujin. Han Yujin had even suddenly proposed the bet without any preparation.

Yet like this.

“Then… there’s a high possibility he’s already arrived at the village and prepared. Since close combat is still disadvantageous, he’ll position himself high for sniping.”

“If we have to emerge from the forest belatedly and approach, it seems difficult to completely avoid gunfire with a non-Awakened body the moment we’re exposed. Is that correct?”

Han Yuhyun, unfamiliar with firearms, asked. Ordinary gunfights were something he’d only experienced on TV. Even that, lacking interest, he’d only glimpsed while beside Han Yujin.

“Is it automatic, I mean, automatic firing?”

“Pardon?”

“In the case of rifles, there’s a bolt like this…”

Song Taewon broke a branch and drew pictures on the dirt ground to explain. Han Yuhyun said it would be manual based on the firearms he’d seen.

“If it’s not automatic, the next round must be loaded manually, so the rate of fire will be slow. Without a scope, the accuracy will also be relatively low.”

Still, they’d have to rely on luck. The distance until leaving the forest and reaching where Han Yujin and Seong Hyunjae were was important, but the two would definitely hold out in a location not easy to approach. Even if the village was small, at least several minutes. That would be more than enough to hit them once or twice.

Song Taewon’s fists clenched tight. Wouldn’t it be okay to give up here? Such thoughts slowly raised their heads. But he. Not yet. His anxious eyes surveyed the surroundings. A single stone entered that gaze.

“…Sling.”

A slingshot. Primitive but a ranged weapon with considerable power. Song Taewon hurriedly removed his shirt.

“Please gather stones.”

“Stones?”

“Fist-sized with rugby ball shape is best, but round is fine too. It’s a weapon that holds stones in a line, swings them around and throws them.”

In the past, it was also used as an actual combat weapon, with considerable range. With Song Taewon and Han Yuhyun’s strength, the effect would be even better. Han Yuhyun searched the forest for stones while Song Taewon tore and twisted his shirt to make string.

After a few practice attempts, both accurately hit their targets. Especially Han Yuhyun’s slinging was extremely sharp. Before the one-hour time limit passed, the two headed toward the village. They walked along the path but moved quickly while sticking to the side to avoid being seen from above.

Before long, the village appeared among the thick trees. Han Yuhyun took off and held his ceremonial robe, while Song Taewon quickly cut down branches with a knife and wove vines to make a scarecrow.

“Hyung is on the watchtower, the Sesung Guild Leader is on that two-story house roof.”

“I’ll take Hunter Seong Hyunjae.”

Now that skills had disappeared, the difference in physicals mattered more than before. It was better for Han Yuhyun to subdue Han Yujin while Song Taewon held Seong Hyunjae. Song Taewon first quietly approached Seong Hyunjae’s side by circling around without leaving the forest. Han Yuhyun tied wire to the scarecrow wearing the ceremonial robe. Despite his lowered vision, Han Yujin’s figure clearly entered his eyes.

The fact that this side was disadvantageous remained unchanged. But Han Yuhyun felt even that sweetly as he extended the wire long and moved sideways. After putting appropriate distance from the scarecrow, he cleverly pulled the wire to make it slightly exposed. Right after that—

Bang!

The gunshot rang out. The corners of Han Yuhyun’s mouth couldn’t help but rise. Even knowing it was his own clothes, Han Yujin shot without hesitation. Pulling the wire with one hand to draw attention, Han Yuhyun’s other hand swung the sling. Putting full strength into his shoulder and arm, whoosh—the sling viciously cut through the air and shot the stone.

Then thud! The stone struck the watchtower and Han Yujin ducked. Not missing that gap, Han Yuhyun rushed out of the forest running. While running hard toward the watchtower, he didn’t forget to throw stones. Thud again, a stone hit the watchtower.

The pillar cracked and the watchtower made a creaking sound. But Han Yujin wasn’t just dodging either. As soon as the second stone collided with the watchtower, he rose again and identified Han Yuhyun’s position. The corners of Han Yujin’s lips also rose smoothly.