I Became an Illegal Cheat User

22 – Simulated Otherworld (2)

Before heading to the training ground.

Fortunately, thanks to some people who left their weapons in the dormitory, I ended up waiting in the classroom.

Then Kang Cheol-soo instructed everyone to check their weapon status and said we would depart in 10 minutes.

In response, I asked Kang Cheol-su if I could receive live ammunition during this opportunity.

Unfortunately, Kang Cheol-su’s reaction seemed awkward, as he absentmindedly traced the scar on his forehead.

“Chief, regrettably, the academy currently does not provide live ammunition. Well, to be more precise, it doesn’t handle it.”

“To be honest, the firearms in the training ground were equipped in the early days of the academy. They are truly ancient, with not a single magic engraving on them.”

“Nevertheless, those items haven’t rusted because some members of the production department, who are consistently interested in firearms, have been diligently maintaining them.”

“So, if you want live ammunition, after your practical training, go find the instructor in charge of the production department. She is one of the members interested in firearms that I mentioned earlier, and if you tell her you came for anything related to firearms, she’ll welcome you.”

“By the way, unlike rubber bullets produced as standard supplies, live ammunition needs to be specifically requested and made, so you’ll need money for that.”

…Certainly, I asked only one question: ‘Is live ammunition available?’

However, for the next ten minutes, it seemed like Kang Cheol-su had nothing else to do, suddenly becoming a talkative person and sharing all sorts of stories.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t entirely useless information. I quietly listened to the stories, eventually gaining the information to visit the instructor in charge of the production department for live ammunition production.

‘Getting information is good, but…’

In the hidden world, bullets used are ultimately rubber bullets.

No matter how the simulated world is created for the training of supernatural beings.

No matter how the real world’s supernatural beings are not particularly powerful.

They are still supernatural beings.

You can’t defeat them with rubber bullets.

‘It won’t work.’

Since it has come to this.

‘I’ll take the team bus.’

I become a passenger.

…Or so I thought.

But I had no intention of actually doing that.

‘I should do reconnaissance.’

If I can’t eliminate them, let my teammates do it.

With that in mind, I obtained permission from Kang Cheol-su and gathered several training firearms, rubber bullets, and various consumables from the training ground.

No, to be precise, I swept them all up.

‘The inventory looks much better now.’

Just a few days ago, the inventory was quite empty.

Now, it’s so abundant that just looking at it makes me smile.

‘The malicious surplus inventory has all been taken care of by this chief, so rest assured.’

However, why?

A feeling crept over me as if someone might scream.

For instance… like a supply staff member…?

“It must be a misunderstanding.”

Yeah, it must be.

&

“We’ve arrived.”

The training ground we arrived at, guided by instructor Kang Cheolsu.

Now, we stand in front of a dome-shaped building, isolated in a vast plain.

“Before entering the simulated world, we will form teams,” Kang Cheolsu said, opening the hologram on his smartwatch and manipulating it diligently.

“Each team will consist of three members, and the leader will be the highest-ranking member in the team.”

“Instructor, how will the teams be formed?” someone asked, raising their hand amid the group.

“I’ll arrange it appropriately, so don’t worry.”

Kang Cheolsu added, “I didn’t check your abilities first for nothing,” with a smirk.

The hand that had asked the question descended silently.

“Ah, I should have prepared it yesterday.”

Kang Cheolsu grumbled, having become too absorbed in exercising.

“Creating team schedules might take a bit, so everyone take a break in the meantime.”

He instructed a break under the name of rest.

Plop.

As Kang Cheolsu sat on the floor, the others followed suit, either sitting or creating some distance to relax and ease the tension in their bodies. They naturally began taking a break.

And among those, there was one person who stood out the most.

Click.

It was none other than Lee Seoyeon.

‘…What is she doing right now?’

Lee Seoyeon, sitting on a piece of leather laid on the ground from an unknown source, began disassembling a pistol.

Feeling a twinge, I approached her.

“…What are you doing?”

I know what she’s doing.

But… it’s so absurd.

As soon as I approached Lee Seo-yeon, I instinctively blurted out, “What are you doing?”

Upon hearing my question, Lee Seo-yeon lifted her head slightly, looked at me once, then lowered her head again, continuing to disassemble her gun.

While doing so, she answered my question.

“…disassembling the gun.”

“Why?”

“…to understand.”

Ah, she’s doing it to understand.

I watched Lee Seo-yeon quickly disassemble and reassemble the gun with bewildered eyes.

‘How should I deal with her…’

Should I tell her the truth?

Since you have a talent for the sword, you should wield a sword instead of a gun.

‘But will she believe what I say?’

Even if she believes, she would probably doubt how I know about her talent in detail.

Indeed, in this world, there’s no system like mine that allows people to easily know the detailed information about their abilities, talents, skills, and items.

Therefore, people in this world cannot know their own abilities, and the only ways to confirm their talents and skills are to realize them on their own or to use skills like “Insight” and magic like “Reading.”

However, “Insight” and “Reading” can only provide a brief understanding of the effects of the other person’s skills and talents; they cannot reveal the detailed names and effects.

For example:

────────────────────

『Transmission(F)』

Transmits owned items to the desired location.

– Transfers owned items to a location within a radius of 1 meter.

– Cannot transmit into the internal organs of living organisms.

────────────────────

If I check my skills through the system, I can know the details like this:

────────────────────

[Ability: Skill]

Transmits owned items to the desired location.

────────────────────

With the skill of ‘Insight’ and the magic of ‘Reading’, you can discern the skills in a brief manner.

Additionally, with the magic of ‘Reading’, you can also confirm items.

So, when primarily checking the effects of an item, one would use a scroll or equipment imbued with the magic of ‘Reading’.

Anyway, regardless of whether they are superhumans, villains, or corrupt individuals, they only know the approximate effects and variety of talents and skills they possess, but are completely unaware of their names.

No, they might make a rough guess. They just don’t know exactly.

And honestly, even I, who was an expert in the game ‘Arena Academy’ to the point of being a complete nerd, only knew this because of that. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have known the abilities or grades and effects of talents and skills of the supporting characters.

For items, you can know them thanks to the system, but you cannot read someone’s abilities, talents, or skills.

So, I need to purchase the ‘Insight’ skill.

Even if I consider myself an expert in ‘Arena Academy’, I don’t know all the talents and skills.

Therefore, the ‘Insight’ skill is not a choice, but a necessity.

“If I remember correctly, the ‘Insight’ skill was a B rank.”

And yesterday, the price for a B rank in the point shop was 80,000 points.

If I save another 40,000 points, I can make the purchase.

After organizing my thoughts like that, I finally made a decision.

“Yeah, let’s talk.”

I decided to tell Lee Seo-yeon about her talents and effects.

Now that I’ve made up my mind, the restless feeling vanished completely.

If I let her know about ‘Genius of the Sword’, she’ll understand why she shouldn’t use a gun.

“Lee Seo-yeon.”

“……?”

When I called her with a serious tone, Lee Seo-yeon paused assembling her gun and looked up at me.

“Do you know how to unleash your potential?”

“…Potential? Are you talking about the barrier of magic power?”

“Uh, yeah, that.”

“Yeah, I know how.”

“I have something important to tell you, can you activate the magic barrier for me?”

“…Sure, I understand.”

With a puzzled look on her face, Lee Seo-yeon obediently followed my request.

As she swung her hand infused with magic power toward the air, the space around us began to shimmer with intense heat.

And since the location where Lee Seo-yeon and I were a bit away from where the others were gathered, unless someone was using their talents or skills to eavesdrop, they wouldn’t be able to overhear our conversation.

“…As you said.”

So, sitting in front of her leather-clad with a gaze that asked, “What’s the important thing you wanted to say?” I brought up the thoughts I had been holding onto.

“Do you remember what I said in the morning at the training ground?”

“……”

A nod.

As if guessing roughly what I was trying to say, Lee Seo-yeon’s gaze, nodding slightly, turned towards the gun for a moment.

To Lee Seo-yeon like that, I continued speaking.

“Yeah, I’m glad you remember. What I want to tell you is still the same. You shouldn’t use a gun.”

“Why?”

In a slow and calm voice, Lee Seo-yeon’s voice, measured and steady, became slightly longer.

Then, from the last part, ‘Why?’ it sounded a bit blunt, indicating that beyond not understanding, irritation had set in.

Yes, rather than trying to make the opponent she defeated understand, saying, ‘You shouldn’t use that weapon,’ would probably sound like mockery.

So, this time, I would explain why she shouldn’t use a gun.

“Because the talent you possess doesn’t suit a gun at all.”

“My talent?”

[Lee Seo-yeon’s talent, “Genius of the Sword (S),” tilts its head.]

‘…What is this again?’

No, system, are you showing the talent expressing itself now?

I was perplexed by the sudden appearance of the system message, but still, facing Lee Seo-yeon, I continued speaking, suppressing my emotions.

“Yes, your talent. Do you know the name of your talent?”

“…The name of my talent? How would I know that?”

Lee Seo-yeon looked at me with eyes that completely didn’t understand.

But it didn’t matter.

I would continue talking, telling her the facts I knew, and convincing her why she shouldn’t wield a gun.

“The name of your talent is ‘Genius of the Sword.’ The effect is that when you hold a sword, it provides a significant correction to your actions, and through battles and defeats, you acquire and enhance the opponent’s weapon skills. That’s your talent.”

“……”

[Lee Seo-yeon’s talent, “Genius of the Sword (S),” is surprised by hearing its own name for the first time.]

…No, why are you surprised?

The system messages that constantly make people feel awkward almost made me burst into laughter.

But steadfastly suppressing my emotions, I awaited Lee Seo-yeon’s reaction.

“The designation of my talent… a genius of the sword.”

Lee Seo-yeon murmured the name of her own talent with a vacant expression, as if she had just found her identity.

I waited, refraining from calling her by that name.

“Is this really it?”

There’s a sense of relief.

Moments ago, my head was pounding, but now, it’s as if I’ve had a deep, refreshing sleep.

“I should have just told you in the morning.”

Why did I run away using the excuse of class time?

“No, it wasn’t an excuse. The class time was approaching, and what could I do?”

I ate, showered, quickly brushed Aska’s head, but I never realized time could fly by so quickly.

Anyway, judging from Seo-yeon’s reaction just now, it seems resolved.

“Yeah, Seo-yeon. The sword suits you best.”

How impressive you’ll be wielding the Blood Demon’s Lifebane against the Fallen and extraterrestrial beings in the future.

But you holding a gun? Absolutely not.

And if Seo-yeon’s use of firearms becomes known to the Swordsmen…

“Ugh, just thinking about it is dreadful!”

She won’t die, but life would become that much more arduous.

“…Ah.”

Seo-yeon, who was incessantly murmuring the name of a talent she didn’t even know she possessed, suddenly stopped.

Light returned to her previously hazy eyes.

“…Yujin.”

Seo-yeon called out my name, locking eyes with me.

Perhaps due to her realization about her own identity, a gleam shone in her eyes.

But somehow, that gleam is a bit odd?

“Thank you.”

“…Huh?”

I was taken aback by Seo-yeon’s abrupt gratitude.

More precisely, I was surprised by the change in her usual hesitant and drawn-out voice, which had become brisk and clear.

“…Thank you?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve come to know my true identity.”

“Oh, really? That’s great.”

I genuinely congratulated her.

At the same time, I was grateful that a gun would never be in Lee Seoyeon’s hands again.

“And I’ve found what I truly want to do.”

“…What?”

What is she talking about?

She found what she truly wants to do?

I felt uneasy about the subtle change in Lee Seoyeon’s demeanor.

No, not uneasy—worried.

“Until now, the sword has been my favorite.”

“No, you still prefer the sword. So…”

Don’t say strange things, please.

I tried to stop Lee Seoyeon’s words with a voice bordering on pleading, but…

“Now, just like the sword, I’ve come to love the gun.”

Since I hadn’t silenced her, I eventually heard the words I didn’t want to hear from Lee Seoyeon’s mouth.

And further.

[Seoyeon’s talent, “Genius of the Sword (S),” pioneers the path of firearms, acquiring the talent for guns.]

“…Wha-what?”

No, why is this happening? Don’t do this.

[Seoyeon’s talent, “Genius of the Sword (S),” absorbs the talent for firearms.]

…

…

[Seoyeon’s talent, “Genius of the Sword (S),” evolves into “Genius of the Sword-Gun (S+).”]

“No──!!”

It was a nightmare.