Battle Tank-V (Bound)
Grade: Platinum
Length: 10.4 meters
Width: 3.9 meters
Height: 2.9 meters
Weight: 68,325 kilograms
Primary Weapon: 120 mm smoothbore cannon
Secondary Weapons: 12.7 mm machine gun, 40 mm grenade launcher
Maximum Speed: 82 km per hour
Cruising Range: 430 km (requires Ether refueling)
Maximum Firing Range: 10 km
Accuracy:
100% up to 4 km
80% from 4–6 km
60% from 6–8 km
40% from 8–10 km
Skills:
All-out Attack: Fire all weapons simultaneously at 200% of the user's power. Cost: 50% Maximum Ether.
Invincible Shield: Generate a barrier blocking attacks below the six-star realm for 10 seconds. Cost: 50% Maximum Ether.
*
"Invincible shield," Kiara muttered under her breath, unable to suppress the flicker of awe in her eyes. "That is… absurdly powerful."
Her fingers hovered in the air as if she could touch the massive steel beast depicted before her. The memory of her past life surfaced unbidden. She remembered drafting armor thickness calculations, optimizing recoil absorption systems, and arguing with generals over engine torque ratios. She had once designed a main battle tank that pushed the limits of modern metallurgy.
And now, standing in a medieval world governed by Ether and cultivation, she possessed something even more outrageous.
A Platinum-grade weapon capable of erasing anyone below the six-star realm with a single shot.
For a brief moment, a dangerous ambition stirred within her chest.
"One day," she whispered quietly, "when Nexus stands above the Big Three, I will build a factory. Not a mere smithy, but a full industrial complex. I will reproduce every design I ever created and every idea that still resides in my mind."
The thought lingered like a promise.
Then she shook her head.
"Dreams can wait. Survival comes first."
She closed the interface and resumed walking toward Nexus, Zion trailing silently behind her as usual.
By the time she returned to the shop, the two temporary Luck points she had siphoned from Jareth had already faded from her character panel. According to the system, it would take him a full day to recover one lost point.
Two days in total.
Kiara felt no guilt.
If it had been a humble merchant or a decent soul, she might have spared a thought. But for someone who insulted strangers without provocation, she found no reason to worry about his temporary misfortune.
Life in this world was cruel.
She was simply learning to adapt.
*
Back inside Nexus, the atmosphere returned to its usual quiet emptiness.
With no customers in sight, Kiara immediately focused on her newest unlocked weapon.
"System. Create Revolver."
[Revolver successfully created.]
A sleek handgun materialized in her inventory.
*
[Revolver]
Grade: N/A
Description: A repeating handgun capable of firing six consecutive rounds.
Range: 25 meters
Price: 20 gold coins
*
"Twenty gold coins…" Kiara muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Five gold already scared customers away. Now this."
She leaned against the counter thoughtfully.
"If I sell it unloaded at twenty gold, they will complain. But if I sell it loaded with six bullets included… the perception changes."
She began calculating instinctively.
"Six bullets equal one gold and twenty silver in cost. My share from a twenty gold sale is two gold. Even after giving six bullets free, I retain eighty silver profit per unit."
Her lips curved faintly.
"That is acceptable."
With renewed determination, she began producing revolvers one after another, the quiet chime of system notifications echoing softly in the otherwise empty store.
*
Meanwhile, far away in the Bloodhill Forest.
Sector-8.
Nurwhir.
The region was notorious among adventurers. It served as the territory of goblins, a cunning race that did not merely kill their prey but scavenged and hoarded everything left behind. Armor, rings, coins, weapons, even scraps of fabric were stored in hidden nests like grotesque trophies.
Unlike mindless beasts, goblins possessed intelligence.
They set traps.
They coordinated ambushes.
They wielded graded weapons scavenged from fallen adventurers.
For those below the three-star realm, Nurwhir was a death sentence.
Yet for this particular team, danger was relative.
Five-star Knight Captain Ralph stood vigilant. A hidden five-star assassin remained unseen in the shadows. Four-star Mage Prince Kaelan monitored the battlefield. Three-star swordmaster Lucian moved like a streak of silver. Three-star swordswoman Sienna Vale kept a steady pace.
And then there was Arceus Silver.
One-star realm.
Self-proclaimed Pistol Master.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
The forest echoed with sharp detonations that shattered its natural rhythm.
Sienna carried a wooden box brimming with bullets, walking slightly behind Arceus like a dutiful attendant. Meanwhile, Arceus performed a seamless rhythm.
Draw.
Load.
Aim.
Fire.
Within three seconds, another goblin collapsed with a bullet piercing its skull.
The thunderous sound startled nearby goblins repeatedly. Several fled in panic, only to be chased down enthusiastically by Arceus, whose eyes gleamed with exhilaration.
The nobles treated the hunt as sport.
Ralph and the hidden assassin treated it as a duty.
High above, concealed among dense branches, four figures clad in black garments observed the spectacle silently.
One of them whispered under his breath, watching Arceus and Lucian cutting through goblins with disturbing efficiency.
"I cannot decide who the real monsters are."
An hour passed.
Then two.
Arceus slowed slightly, glancing into the bullet box.
More than half was gone.
Two more hours later, the bottom of the container became visible.
He slapped his forehead lightly.
"I bought too few bullets," he muttered in frustration. "After this hunt, I must visit that store again. Next time I will stock at least one thousand."
Sienna frowned faintly upon hearing those words.
More than a week ago, he had purchased the previous batch. Each bullet costs twenty silver coins.
She did the math silently.
Her expression darkened.
"That shop owner," she thought grimly, watching Arceus fire yet another shot with bright enthusiasm, "has turned this into an addiction."
She bent down, picked up a fallen bullet casing, and examined it carefully.
"Twenty silver per piece," she murmured to herself. "If this continues, thousands of gold will flow into her pockets. It wasn't just that. Arceus himself might sway to her tunes. Acting against her over unnecessary suspicion is a double-edged move. I can't hurt her..."
Her gaze sharpened.
"What if we reverse engineer it? Analyze its composition. Replicate it in our allied smithies. We can make money out of it and steal away her business too… Crush her before she gets to climb up..."
A plan began forming in her mind.
"I should speak to Father," she decided firmly.
As another gunshot rang through the forest, echoing over fallen goblins and trembling leaves, the future quietly shifted in more ways than one.
*
For the next hour, the group wandered leisurely through the outer edge of Sector-8, no longer chasing goblins with the same intensity as before.
Arceus Silver walked ahead with relaxed confidence, the pistol resting casually in his hand as though it were merely an ornament rather than a weapon capable of piercing skulls in an instant.
Sienna Vale followed closely, still carrying the bullet box despite her earlier resolve to discuss reverse engineering the ammunition with her father.
A four-star knight maintained a steady distance behind them, his posture upright and alert even as the nobles treated the excursion like an evening stroll.
Captain Ralph eventually raised his head and examined the sky.
The sun had already begun its descent, casting long streaks of amber light through the dense canopy. The forest shadows stretched like creeping fingers across the undergrowth.
"We should return," Ralph announced in a firm yet respectful tone. "The deeper sectors are not suitable after dusk."
Arceus nodded readily, for even he understood that hunting in darkness diminished the thrill and increased the risk.
Sienna agreed as well, and Lucian, along with Prince Kaelan, halted their movements without protest. The group gradually retraced their steps toward Sector-9, where the forest felt less oppressive and more forgiving.
By the time they reached the outer region, the sky had already surrendered to night. The canopy above concealed most of the stars, leaving only faint glimmers of silver peeking through gaps in the leaves.
Prince Kaelan blinked at the open clearing and then frowned.
He had forgotten the tents.
The realization dawned on everyone at once, and an awkward silence followed.
Ralph's lips twitched faintly, though he said nothing. The nobles had no choice but to sleep in the open.
The two knights gathered dry branches efficiently while Prince Kaelan conjured a controlled flame using his fire spell.
Soon, a modest campfire crackled at the center of their makeshift resting ground, its warm glow pushing back the darkness just enough to carve out a fragile star of safety.
On one side of the fire, Arceus and Lucian remained awake, their voices lowered into the soft cadence of late-night conversation.
"So," Arceus began lightly, twirling the pistol between his fingers before placing it beside him, "have you changed your opinion about Prince Kaelan?"