Vol 7. Chapter 59: Magic Bullets

“Not... one of the five base elements?”

That was something Leon and Rosvisser had truly never considered.

After all, in all the fields they knew, there had never been a proper "exception."

The Samael magic system was built on the five elements—that concept was like “1+1=2.” It didn’t need to be proven. It simply was.

Leon took a moment to gather his thoughts, then said seriously:

“Mm. What you’re saying... is worth investigating.”

Hera nodded knowingly.

“But detecting an attribute outside of the five base elements... won’t be easy. If such a magic attribute doesn’t exist in prior records, then there probably aren’t any known methods for testing it.”

Her point was fair.

Leon understood as much.

“I know. I’ll slowly work on verifying your theory. Probably once Muse finishes her training in the Empire and comes back, I’ll start preparing.”

Hera nodded.

“Mm.”

She paused, then smiled gently to comfort him.

“You always care too much about those around you when you hit a wall. But when the trouble lands on your own head, it gets hard for you to think clearly. Your mind stops being nimble. The two of you—your union was already a one-of-a-kind anomaly in all of Samael. It’s no surprise that your children might develop unique, unpredictable traits. But no matter what, never rush to a conclusion, Leon.”

Leon pressed his lips together, then stood and gave Hera a respectful nod.

“Thank you. I know how to face what’s coming now.”

Hera simply smiled and nodded.

She turned again to gaze out the window. After a moment, she sighed quietly and said:

“Ancestor Zeus created the five elements and laid the foundation of the magic system across Samael. And now, finally, someone’s about to shatter a structure that’s stood for tens of thousands of years... Little one, give it your all.”

...

Human Empire, Lionheart Order Indoor Range.

Rebecca and Muse sat across from each other at a table.

On the tabletop were two sets of disassembled handgun parts. Nacho stood on the far side, holding a stopwatch.

Nacho glanced at the two girls. Once he confirmed they were ready, he pressed the timer and called out:

“Go!”

At his command, Rebecca and Muse both moved with quick hands and sharp eyes, starting to assemble their handguns from the scattered pieces.

At the beginning, they were evenly matched.

But soon enough, Muse’s hands—too small to grip the larger components securely—began to fumble. Her nerves didn’t help either. One part slipped and clattered to the floor.

She bent down to retrieve it, and when she rose again, Rebecca already had her gun fully assembled, pointing straight at Muse’s forehead across the table.

Muse sighed and resumed assembling the rest of her weapon with deliberate, slow movements.

“Failed again...”

Nacho lowered the timer and reached over to pat Muse gently on the head.

“Kiddo, no need to get down just because you lost to this crazy lady. No one in all of Lionheart can beat her in speed.”

Before Muse could even respond, Rebecca calmly raised her prop gun—and smacked Nacho right on the forehead with it.

“Who’re you calling crazy? I’ve mellowed out a lot, thank you!”

Nacho said nothing. He just shot Muse a look that clearly said, See? Told you she’s nuts.

Muse, who’d been sulking just moments earlier, burst out laughing.

Nacho collected both of their guns and made a quick exit.

Rebecca pulled over two chairs and sat down beside Muse.

“You’ve done great these past two days. Real fast progress.”

As she spoke, Rebecca lowered her eyes to Muse’s hands.

“Your body’s still growing, and these weapons aren’t quite sized for you yet. You struggled a bit holding the gun just now. So next week, I arranged for someone to custom-make a set of ranged weapons just for you.”

Muse blinked her big eyes in surprise.

“Custom-made weapons? ...But Papa said I was only here to learn shooting techniques. He never mentioned getting actual weapons...”

Rebecca casually raised her hand and thumped her chest like a soldier giving a report.

“Bah, why listen to him? Just listen to Auntie. Everything Auntie gives you is top-grade stuff! You sound exactly like one of those married women trying to set up their best friend’s single little brother. The kind who drops by every day to help their daughter play video games and flirt with boys. Switching the pronouns just turns ‘brother’ into ‘uncle.’”

Still, Muse hesitated a little.

“Can I really... handle real weapons?”

Rebecca leaned her cheek against Muse’s and thought: This kid must’ve developed a bit of an inferiority complex from lacking an elemental attribute. She’s lost a lot of ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) confidence.

She ruffled Muse’s hair gently.

“Of course you can. I’m bringing in the best damn gunslinger in the Empire to train you. One month from now, you’ll be a master of pistols, crossbows, cannons, and bows.”

Muse’s pupils sparkled faintly.

“The best gunslinger...”

She pursed her lips and asked:

“Auntie Rebecca, why did you choose to become a gunslinger in the first place?”

Then, almost in a whisper, she added, “And I’ve never seen you use magic before... does that mean you don’t have a magic attribute either?”

Rebecca casually slumped into a chair and began to explain.

“Let’s answer one question at a time. First, why you’ve never seen me use magic.”

Muse nodded, fully focused.

“When I was a kid, I trained to become a regular magic user like everyone else. My innate elemental attribute was the most common one—‘fire.’”

As she spoke, Rebecca opened her palm, and a flickering flame danced briefly in her hand.

But in the next instant, she snuffed it out with a pinch of her fingers.

“But as I trained more, I gradually realized—I couldn’t control fire at all. Or rather, I could release magic, but I couldn’t use it for actual attacks. Things like Fireball, Flame Fist, all those spells—I couldn’t do a single one. Every time I tried, I’d just end up burning myself.”

Muse frowned slightly in confusion.

“Why would that happen?”

Rebecca shrugged nonchalantly.

“Who knows? I wish someone could tell me why I can’t control fire magic. After realizing that flaw, I started thinking about giving up on magic altogether. But then my mentor—your dad’s old man—found me. He saw how discouraged I was and got me transferred to one of the most popular schools in the Empire at the time—Saint Heath Academy. They had a special physical training division where you could fight and get hands-on experience. That’s where Pops discovered my shooting talent, and started connecting me to the affiliated Dragon Academy to train further. Say what you will—humans may start out behind in magic, but our creativity’s top-notch. The academy had specially designed weapons and guns that could convert magical power into bullets, massively boosting the combat power of a gunslinger.”

With that, Rebecca looked at Muse and asked:

“So yeah, that’s why I became a gunslinger—and why I don’t use magic.”

Muse listened intently, her eyes wide as she let out a long sigh.

“I didn’t expect Auntie to have a magic flaw too... Papa never told me that. But Auntie, how can you... talk about your flaw so casually?”

That made Rebecca pause.

“Me? Why wouldn’t I?”

“I mean...” Muse trailed off, unsure what to say.

Rebecca continued:

“Whether I can control fire or not—I’m still me. And besides, I’ve got more than just fire in me. It’s not a big deal! I found my own path by trying, failing, and trying again. Isn’t that what it’s all about, kiddo?”

Muse stared at Rebecca in a daze—at this bright, upbeat gunslinger.

Then she softly repeated the words Rebecca had just spoken:

“By trying, failing... and trying again, you found your own path... Mm-hmm...”

Just as they were about to continue talking, a voice rang out from the range.

“Hey, time for training!”

Muse hopped off her chair, full of energy.

“Okay! Auntie, what are we practicing today?”

Rebecca gave her a sly smile, then pulled a handgun from a nearby weapons locker.

“Something intense.”

“Intense? ...Like what?”

Rebecca handed Muse the gun. Muse took it and immediately lifted it up.

But then she frowned.

“There’s no bullets in this.”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow and answered coolly:

“Impressive—can already tell if a gun’s loaded just by holding it. That’s right, this one doesn’t have any bullets. Not even a magazine.”

Muse blinked, puzzled.

“...A gun without a magazine... then how do you shoot it?”

“With your magic power.”

As Rebecca spoke, she pulled out a second gun.

“This is what I just mentioned—specially-made firearms that convert your mana into bullets. Let me show you.”

She raised the gun, aimed at a nearby target—

Bang!

A perfect bullseye.

“Notice anything different compared to a regular gun?” she asked.

Muse’s expression turned serious, and she nodded.

“When it fired, there was no muzzle flash. And the damage to the target looked even stronger.”

“Exactly. That was just a pure mana bullet—no elemental enhancement at all.”

Rebecca suddenly paused.

She’d just used the word “elemental,” and it hit her a moment too late.

She’d long since come to terms with her inability to control fire. But Muse was still coming to grips with her own lack of attribute—she might not be ready to hear that word so casually.

Realizing her mistake, Rebecca quickly adjusted.

“Forget normal magic logic when it comes to mana bullets. The damage you deal depends entirely on your output efficiency and the weapon’s quality, got it, Muse?”

In other words: Sweetheart, this thing kicks ass. Even without elemental powers, it can make you one of the top gunslingers out there!

Muse nodded hard.

“Got it, Auntie Rebecca!”

“Mm-hmm. Then let’s get to practicing.”

“Okay~!”

The little one lifted the gun, focused her mana into it, and fired shot after shot of mana-formed bullets at the distant targets.

Rebecca stood behind her with arms crossed, watching the girl’s back—and silently thinking to herself:

No matter what flaws or shortcomings you carry, as long as you can still see your target... you’ll always find a way forward.