novelraw Chapter 57 : Chapter 57
Chapter 57 : Chapter 57
Chapter 57 : Verdict
"Dammit.... How long does it take to fire a few shots."
It had been quite a while since Blink and Watcher left.
Vila gritted her teeth and threw the dagger in her hand wildly at the ceiling.
The cracks in the ceiling were probably traces created every time she came here.
Sal wanted to see more of Watcher's reaction upon seeing the sniper rifle, but because of Vila's menacing aura, there was no leeway for small talk at all.
Even in the midst of this, Vanessa was the only one sitting leisurely with a calm demeanor.
To hide both their identities, Vanessa had to act as if she knew everything about the sniper rifle.
This naturally transitioned into the setup that 'Mythos deliberately didn't give her information to surprise her.'
Vila even brought up using Mythos's feelings for Vanessa if the rifle truly exceeded expectations.
"Are you kidding me? What did you just say?"
As Vila growled ferociously, Sal and Vanessa looked at her in surprise.
Fortunately, she was holding the earpiece, seemingly on a call with someone else from the Reavers Guild.
Just then, Vila jumped up.
"From how far away?"
Her jaw dropped open as if it would fall off.
Sal was amused by Vila's flustered expression, which he had never seen before.
"Tell him to come back right now!"
Vila threw the earpiece onto the table and approached the table with a sigh.
Sal and Vanessa also stood up from their seats following her.
Soon, Vila looked at the two with a bright smile and said.
"It was real! Right now, Watcher is shooting into the Red Zone from the top of our guild tower... hitting targets at a distance of a whopping 3 kilometers with single shots! He's killing them all, one shot each!"
She shook her head side to side as if in disbelief.
"That Essence Link function, he says there's not a single scratch even while penetrating barriers? How is that possible?"
Sal shrugged and pointed to the appraisal report.
"I just confirmed what functions it has. I don't know how it works either. I'll make sure to ask Mythos in the next class!"
Vila nodded firmly.
"Please ask him."
Sal was surprised by the sudden change in Vila's tone.
Since he hadn't expected kind words to come from her mouth, it felt like the atmosphere had completely flipped.
Now, rather, Vanessa seemed like the predator in this room.
"With a weapon of this level, how long would it take for the Reavers Guild to rise to Tier 1?"
Vanessa asked nonchalantly.
Vila covered her face with both hands and let out a sigh.
"You really show no mercy. Well, shall we tweak the deal conditions first?"
She gestured with her chin to a case resting on the sofa.
"This is a gift from the Reavers Guild, Sal. One of the items you appraised. We didn't need it and were planning to sell it anyway. Perhaps if it's Mythos, he might make this into something better."
Then she threw a meaningful look at Vanessa.
It was a look that seemed to say, 'I can be this nice too.'
Sal hoped it might be the broken helmet he had appraised, but it didn't seem to be of that grade.
It was probably a more basic item.
Since there were quite a few interesting things among the appraised goods, his mind began to race busily.
Opening the lid, a Rare rank sword capable of long-range slashing came into view.
A smile naturally formed on Sal's face.
Because Rust's rule that weapons could be used in combat came to mind.
With this, the possibility of survival would increase significantly.
At that moment, Vila's voice brought him back to reality.
"That is something we prepared because we wanted to express our gratitude for your appraisal work...."
"Thank you sincerely. I like it."
Sal closed the case and offered a sincere greeting.
At that moment, Blink appeared in the room with a sudden Essence explosion.
Watcher was wrapping one arm around her waist and cradling the sniper rifle in his other arm.
Vila sighed deeply.
"Finally here. So, what are your impressions? Blink passed on some information, but how was it using it yourself?"
All eyes in the room focused on Watcher.
He was holding the rifle preciously as if holding his own child.
"This is... by far the best weapon I've ever used. More than the stories my father told me about this weapon in its prime... it surpasses all of that. It's on a completely different dimension."
At Watcher's words, Vila looked at him with an expression as if she had heard something stupid.
"So... what are the numbers?"
Only then did Watcher seem to come to his senses, looking at Vila and correcting his posture.
"Apologies, Vice Guild Master. 40 shots fired, 34 confirmed kills. Among them, 3 shots were for distance measurement, and it hit accurately up to a maximum range of 5,200 meters. Most targets were moving, many were Vampires and Prowlers, and all were dispatched with single shots. For Hulkers, the first one took 3 shots, the second only 2. It felt like the gun was learning how to kill the enemy. Before, I had to use 12 shots to kill one of those."
Everyone in the room looked at Watcher with disbelief.
Vila exhaled heavily and voiced what everyone was thinking inwardly.
"Killing Prowlers in one shot is quite impressive... but Hulkers in two shots? How did you see that many Hulkers? They aren't guys who wander the streets in broad daylight."
Watcher pointed to the scope attached to the rifle.
"It's the Essence Tracking function. I can see all locations through walls. Plus, the bullets penetrate right through and hit. My existing vision device was actually a hindrance, so I turned it off completely. Thanks to the scope, I saw a large-scale gathering of Hulkers underground... it's highly likely to be an undiscovered Dungeon."
He looked at the rifle with a face full of happiness, as if boasting about his child.
Sal looked at the rifle with a newfound perspective.
The fact that the difference created by that weapon was to this extent was exciting but also chilling at the same time.
Then, he spoke the thought that came to his mind directly into the room.
At that single remark, the air in the room stopped.
"Then... what will happen when this evolves to Mythos rank?"
Blink and Watcher looked at Sal simultaneously with dumbfounded faces.
"Blink showed me a dagger with an evolution trait before. I told that story to Mythos, and he put that trait into this rifle. If the kill count piles up, it will evolve."
Sal turned his gaze to look at Vanessa.
Vanessa smirked and said.
"So... technically speaking, this isn't the finished form yet."
She turned her head to look at Vila and continued.
"So, what do you plan to do now?"
Vila gestured indifferently, signaling Blink and Watcher that they could leave.
The two nodded and waved lightly toward Sal.
Blink pointed at Sal with her finger and said sincerely.
"There's going to be a ton of stuff to entrust to you for appraisal in the future, Sal!"
Watcher lifted the rifle lightly and added.
"I kill, and she loots!"
And soon, with Blink's teleportation, the two disappeared.
Glad to have been able to see the two again, Sal smiled.
On the other hand, Vila crossed her arms and looked straight at Vanessa.
"Then... which of you two is going to play with me? Who becomes the link that can approach Mythos?"
Sal slowly raised his hand and pointed at Vanessa.
"If Vanessa says jump, Mythos would already be floating in the air."
Vanessa looked at Sal out of the corner of her eye and smiled.
"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Sal."
Then she looked at Vila again and nodded concisely.
"It's true. Mythos will follow whatever I say. So I am also seriously considering leaving the Credit Floor now and converting to a Broker managing him exclusively."
Vila bit her lip and looked at Sal.
"So, what does little Argento think about this situation?"
She crossed her arms again and looked at him as if waiting for an answer.
Vanessa maintained her polite smile as always and passed the gaze to Sal.
Sal shrugged and said.
"I agree with Vanessa's opinion. I'm confident in appraisal, but right now I'm also being evaluated on combat ability, survivability, and practical combat. For a student like me to make it to graduation... I'd need strong people helping by my side, right?"
Sal mixed in a bit of self-deprecation to soften Vila's heart even a little.
"You've already given me a Silver Token and let me earn Q-Credits. That money will probably all be used for survival this semester. So I have to earn more while cooperating with as many people as possible. If I appeared ungrateful, that was absolutely not my intention. I am truly grateful for your help so far."
Sal looked at the spot on the table where the Legend rank sniper rifle had been just moments ago.
And thinking he should lower Vila's expectations to prevent her from hoping for similar grade work every week, he added one thing.
"When I first appraised that rifle, it already had several Epic grade parts mounted. Mythos requested help from several high-ranking crafters during the work. Of course, his potential and skills are amazing, but he is a freshman who has only been enrolled for a week. So whatever investment you make, I hope you consider that he is still learning. I've been doing appraisals since I was young so I'm used to it, but Mythos only discovered his ability just last week."
Vila looked at Sal with a blank expression.
Sal's worry disappeared without a trace along with her reaction.
Vila shook her head slowly, seeming to struggle to accept reality.
Vanessa smiled and naturally joined the conversation.
"Even if it was a collaborative work, the one who made that weapon is Mythos. Creating such a weapon with only that much experience makes me even more curious about how much he will develop. In my prediction, Mythos will grow enough to freely adjust the characteristics of each part in the future. Because that's an ability seen much more commonly in the initial crafting stages usually."
Vanessa's tone changed from admiration to a businesslike tone in an instant.
"With the right investment and guidance, Mythos will become a central figure in the crafting world. Now, how does the Reavers Guild plan to support him?"
Vila looked down at the table with her arms crossed, then soon looked straight at Sal and opened her mouth.
"Quest clearly nailed it down. Guilds must not touch freshmen, and scouting is prohibited until the first semester ends. We don't have resources we can use for you right now, but that doesn't mean we'll sit completely idle either."
After glancing once at Vanessa, Vila continued.
"Actually, we received a few proposals for external practice opportunities this semester, but I rejected them. We aren't babysitters looking after kids. But thinking about it now, taking Sal and Mythos out wouldn't be bad. Not too dangerous practices, just light missions where we can train you a bit? Bringing a few top-ranking kids along to make it natural would work. Doing that will increase the probability of passing survival, practical combat, and combat classes. Plus, if we support you with some equipment, growth speed will be faster too."
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't want to send Mythos on external practices. We must avoid the risk of him getting hurt. But for Sal, such support could be quite helpful. However, that's strictly a story for up to the next 6 months... what do you plan to do after that?"
To most people, her trained tone and stable smile would have worked well, but Vila was different from most.
"You can just admit that your scheme is to prevent me from meeting Mythos. But we'll meet eventually anyway, Vanessa. You aren't worried I'll steal him then, are you?"
Vila snorted and stared piercingly at Vanessa.
It was a look daring her to refute.
After a moment of silence, Vila eventually sighed and turned her gaze to where Sal stood.
"As I said, we can't do anything until the first semester ends. But we can prepare for the establishment of a trainee guild. I could take on the role of mentor for that guild. Of course... I'd need to get approval from that Guild Master."
Her face plainly showed how much she disliked that idea.
Vanessa smiled gently and nodded.
"That could be a good start. Once you get approval, let's organize the details then. When the proposal is ready, we'll compare it with other proposals based on that. To produce results within this semester, I intend to contact Tier 1 guilds starting next week."
Sal looked at Vanessa as if surprised, but she showed no reaction.
Vila gritted her teeth and asked.
"Is there no way for us to proceed exclusively? Excluding other guilds?"
Vanessa slowly shook her head.
"Unless it's an overwhelming condition that can satisfy Mythos, Sal, and even me, it will be difficult.... Whether that is possible, only you would know. As a sign of trust, I promise not to contact other guilds until the end of this month. That should be enough time for you to sufficiently test the sniper rifle and make a decision."
Her smile grew bigger, turning into a mischievous expression, and simultaneously, Vila's shoulders noticeably slumped.