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Chapter 175

Bailey was definitely not fast. Of course, if you were to judge objectively, you couldn’t say they were just plain slow. However, considering that most sharpshooters had at least some speed to perform scouting duties, that was an undeniable fact.

Bailey’s legs were so slow that they could easily come in last even at the Freedom Academy.

Despite this, Bailey Crawford, the top student of Freedom Academy, was referred to as both a “Rogue” and the “Fastest.”

So what was the reason? How could someone with such slow legs be called the fastest in Freedom Academy?

Bam bam bam!!

The Colt Model M1877, a relic from the past sometimes called the Thunderer, spewed fire continuously from their hands.

Their ability for all-around shooting shone through as they perfectly executed shots even at invisible enemies in the most unstable positions.

Three bullets—a number that could be considered high or low, yet they efficiently restricted Yeon-woo’s movements.

Bailey leaped into the air as if to fly like an arrow, but at that moment, a ricocheted bullet from the tree behind them targeted Yeon-woo’s back.

Startled by the chilling trajectory, Yeon-woo hurriedly surrounded themselves with shadows to protect their back.

As soon as the bullet touched them, the shadows scattered. Yeon-woo, hit squarely in the back by the bullet, let out a grunt.

In that interval, Bailey swiftly and accurately twisted the revolver to reveal the cylinder, flicked up the spent cartridge, and reloaded again.

While their all-around shooting ability and reloading speed were remarkable, they weren’t abilities that would warrant the nickname of the fastest. Those were the skills of an excellent sharpshooter, but not fast by any means.

So why couldn’t the agile Yeon-woo catch up to Bailey, especially since they were essentially a non-threat?

This situation had been repeating itself since earlier. Due to Bailey’s slow legs, they didn’t stray too far, while Yeon-woo attempted to close in after blocking the bullets.

If necessary, Yeon-woo didn’t hesitate to sprinkle shadows to control the distance before closing in.

Yet, even after five minutes of battle triggered by Yeon-woo’s ambush, they had never once managed to approach Bailey to swing their sword.

“You bastard…!!”

Frustrated, Yeon-woo swung their arm. The intention behind the swing transformed into shadows, shooting forth with various weapons toward Bailey. The revolver’s magazine held six shots. To cover the overwhelming number of attacks, the shadows split into dozens.

But as the shadows lined up behind Yeon-woo to aim at Bailey, Bailey was already shooting.

“What, you want to challenge me to a fast draw? That’s my specialty!”

Yeon-woo wielded over twenty weapons. There was no way Bailey could handle it with only six bullets—at least that’s what Yeon-woo had thought just moments before.

But such common sense had already been shattered several times.

Bam bam bam!!

Gunshots rang out in succession. In an instant, Bailey had fired off all three bullets from the chamber. As Bailey twisted the revolver once more to reload, Yeon-woo’s weapons were already being shot down.

With only three bullets, the firearms collided with the weapons, ricocheting.

Watching the weapons swiftly lose their form, dissolving into pools of shadows, Yeon-woo nervously gripped their head.

This was it. It felt like Bailey could predict what actions they would take and preemptively block them. This was the reason why that boy was called the fastest and the origin of the nickname “Rogue.”

While covering up a somewhat lacking physical ability by anticipating and blocking the opponent’s actions, they became the master of the game.

A hunter, pressing down on their prey with near prophetic instincts. Perhaps it was this primal nature that had been nurtured while hunting beasts across the Western plains.

This was exactly why Bailey Crawford was praised as the best sharpshooter of Freedom Academy, even surpassing the freedom’s marshals.

Pure skill in shooting, the elemental mana of ‘Guns,’ and near prophetic predictive abilities.

All of these combined made Bailey Crawford the Rogue of Freedom. In the future, they would rise to prominence with the nickname ‘Gun God.’

“Well, it’s funny that I’m fighting someone like that.”

Thinking about it that way made the frustration of not being able to land a hit feel ridiculous. Before regression, Bailey was an opponent they couldn’t even bear to look in the face; isn’t it understandable that it wouldn’t work out?

“Stay calm.”

With a change of heart, Yeon-woo’s fogged vision cleared. They began to select between useful and unusable means.

Shadow magic would not work against Bailey. When Bailey fired ‘Magic Dispel Bullets,’ it vanished without leaving any impact.

Instead, they needed magic that could impact the physical world as much as possible. The strongest tendency for that was undoubtedly earth magic.

Attacking through walls would ricochet, but since the power would diminish upon ricochet, there was no reason not to use it.

“Oh, your eyes are looking different! Not bad. Good eyes!”

“Thanks, you brat. Well then, let’s give it a shot.”

Yeon-woo smirked as they tousled their hair, glancing at the grinning Bailey as they rolled their neck.

That back was aching just a bit, but the sensation of clutching their sword was vividly conveyed throughout their body.

As long as they had the strength to hold a weapon, nothing had ended yet.

*

‘They’re responding—’

Instinctively pulling the trigger repeatedly, Bailey broke into a cold sweat. The magazine they had just swapped out five seconds ago was already empty. Slapping the gun’s barrel with their palm, the spent cartridges flew out, releasing steam as they fell.

Click click click!!

In an instant, Bailey hurriedly loaded the revolver. Calm, composed Choi Yeon-woo was slowly walking forward, blood dripping.

Unrecognizable from just a few moments before, Yeon-woo wasn’t in a rush.

They calmly changed the situation. Starting with altering the properties of the magic they used, everything was acting as a means to change this situation.

Bailey instinctively sensed they were cornered. Such a feeling had been rare for Bailey.

The first instance was with the saber-toothed tiger they met in the grasslands as a child, and the second was from their instructor, Cassie Kanari.

Including the current Choi Yeon-woo, such feelings only arose from exceptional hunters.

‘Am I becoming prey from being a hunter?’

What a ridiculous thought. How many times had bullets pierced through that body? If they were needles and thread instead of bullets, they could have sewn a stuffed toy with how pierced it was.

‘This is why mages are more comfortable to deal with.’

Mages are generally weaker to pain than aura users. Even though Almerin, the Spirit Master, didn’t complain about losing an arm, you could still tell they were upset.

Of course, individual differences among aura users were immense, so it was hard to generalize, but considering the Yeon-woo in front of them, they could definitely be expected to possess an extraordinary mental fortitude.

“This is fun, you bastard!!”

“Glad it’s not only me having fun.”

Shouting excitedly, Bailey replied as Yeon-woo spit out blood onto the ground.

Bailey was undoubtedly an excellent sharpshooter, but they had weaknesses. In fact, there were more drawbacks than advantages, but the advantages were so outstanding that they could bury all the flaws.

However, there were certainly moments when the advantages faded, and the drawbacks emerged.

‘I need to time it right for a reload.’

It was merely a fraction of a second, but if they didn’t target that moment, there was no other way. This was the only gap created because Bailey was a perfect sharpshooter.

Bailey’s mind held a clear image of what a perfect sharpshooter looked like. This was why they insisted on using a revolver.

Due to that stubbornness, Bailey had risen to greater heights as a sharpshooter, but naturally, the drawbacks had also become evident.

The biggest drawback was that unlike the structure of a magic gun that fired bullets infused with mana, Bailey had to use real bullets to shoot.

The time lost, which wouldn’t have occurred if they were a magic gun user, took less than a second to switch magazines. This was the burden one had to bear to exist as a perfect sharpshooter, and they pulled the reloading time to its absolute limit in order to overcome it.

‘Even so, the difference between existing and not existing is overwhelmingly vast.’

For example, it’s like the difference between a limited-time five-star character in a collector game and a permanent five-star character. The revenue during that period varied greatly depending on whether one appeared or not.

To exist or not to exist. If it does not exist, there’s not even a glimmer of possibility, but if it does exist, then one can delve into it.

The profound darkness inside the barrel pointed at Yeon-woo caught Bailey’s eye. Their heightened concentration made time feel like it slowed down for just a moment.

Slowly, Bailey’s finger pulled the trigger as the hammer came down.

As the hammer clicked, the darkness inside the barrel cleared, and the bullet shot out in tandem with a flash.

Instinctively, Yeon-woo turned their head to the side. As time sped up, the bullet, which had previously been moving slowly, whizzed past their ear. A stinging sensation reminded them of the gravity of the situation.

They took a step forward. Time and visible space felt like they were elastically stretching and contracting.

The first bullet that had been fired was closely followed by three more, each taking different paths. It was almost unimaginable that they could be called a sharpshooter, as Yeon-woo leaped into the scattered trajectories of the bullets.

Even so, that was a bullet barrage.

The first bullet collided with a rock behind them, ricocheting toward Yeon-woo’s back. The second bullet bounced off a tree to their left and approached their stepping right foot.

The third bullet didn’t make just one sound—it ricocheted multiple times. It was a bullet from which one could not predict where it would target.

The most recently fired fourth bullet flew straight ahead, but the fear lay in what kind of bullet barrage would form if they dodged it.

There were two bullets left in the cylinder. What appeared to be a lackadaisical and spacious bullet barrage would be completed by the two bullets they hadn’t fired yet.

The remaining two bullets would adapt to Yeon-woo’s choices, blocking the paths they decided to take.

In other words, the four bullets Bailey had just fired were a ‘future’ that Bailey could ‘see.’

Pure shooting techniques and elemental mana-enhanced bullets forecasted the outcomes at least three moves ahead.

While the first bullet was diving into the back of Yeon-woo, if Yeon-woo dodged that, the bullet would ricochet, erasing yet another possible future that Yeon-woo could have taken.

And this wasn’t just the story of the first bullet. The four bullets clamping down on Yeon-woo with finely calculated trajectories were like the fangs of a predator.

Nonetheless, there certainly existed futures that Bailey could not foresee. To prevent that, the remaining bullets in the cylinder kept Bailey from reloading.

If they couldn’t create a perfect situation for reloading, they wouldn’t be able to reload at all.

Therefore, Yeon-woo’s immediate goal was incredibly simple. Create an unexpected variable and empty the cylinder.

And the easiest way to create an unexpected situation for Bailey was to reveal a technique they hadn’t used, simply because they deemed it unneeded.

‘Preferably something grand and flashy.’

With those conditions in mind, Yeon-woo just so happened to possess something fitting.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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