The Diamond Extra

"There."

We found our target when my legs nearly gave out. A giant cuttlefish was wreaking havoc near the beach. Its rigid back resembled a second head.

"I'm ready."

Mira Roodes lowered her body into the thicket while Jake Hose and Izuki unsheathed their sword and axe.

"Baby cuttlefish will pop out of its back when we charge. When that happens, the two of you should fall back until I kill them all. Warriors need to conserve their magic power as much as possible. Rigid back cuttlefish have high regeneration, so we must remove the back in a single strike…"

Mira Roodes continued explaining. Honestly, it made more sense to leave the baby cuttlefish to me. A handgun had a high base power, so it could kill any number of baby cuttlefish in a single shot. On the other hand, it would be difficult for me to damage the main body unless I landed a critical hit. However, Mira Roodes didn't say anything to me, so I just stood there.

"Then let's start."

The moment her words fell, Jake Hose and Izuki charged forward. Jake Hose let out a deafening roar upon closing the distance.

"Kueeeeek!"

"Kyaaak!"

My ears throbbed, but it had the intended effect. The rigid back cuttlefish lowered its head in response to the threat and pointed its cannon-shaped back at us.

BOOM!

A thunderous blast rang out as dozens of creatures were launched. Mushy lumps rained down upon us. Jake Hose and Izuki stepped aside as Mira Roodes brandished her whip, but I raised my gun before she could act.

"Hey, you don't have to…"

Mira Roodes tried to stop me, but I ignored her. This was the only moment I could shine. I activated bullet sense. Immediately, the blood in my body began to boil. My vision sharpened, and the world slowed down. I could clearly see and predict the trajectory of each falling cuttlefish. Their movements were far easier to track than the blue skittermites. I had 20 magic bullets loaded—now it was just a matter of aiming and pulling the trigger. The rest would be left to luck.

The magic bullets silently sliced through the air, leaving behind shimmering blue trails. One bullet per target. I emptied the clip in a second and reloaded instantly. I fired another 20, then another 10. After releasing 50 bullets nonstop, the world returned to normal.

"… Huh?"

The swarm that once darkened the sky vanished without a trace. The abrupt shift left Mira Roodes and the others stunned.

"C-Come on. Let's go."

"Ah, right."

"Yeah!"

Mira Roodes snapped out of her daze and scolded Izuki and Jake Hose. Only then did the two warriors charge at the main body. Mira Roodes's long whip shot forward and latched onto its rigid back.

A blue skittermite burst from the ground the moment she crushed the hump. Kieeek—It screeched and lunged at Mira Roodes. I fired my last bullet and struck it cleanly. The blue skittermite exploded, splattering blood across Mira Roodes. She immediately spread her magic power and formed a barrier, shielding herself from the mess. The blood slid off harmlessly after striking the barrier.

"Uk…"

Still, the barrier wasn't perfect, and some blood slipped through. Mira Roodes shot me a deathly glare, but she knew it wasn't the time to complain. Her whip lashed out once more, dancing between the sword and axe as they clashed with the monster's body.

---

[Mission accomplished. Time elapsed: 9 minutes 40 seconds.]

Mira Roodes severed its head cleanly without stepping more than an inch away from me. She had flawlessly fulfilled her duty of supporting the warriors and protecting the sharpshooter.

"…"

Mira Roodes closed her eyes and let out a sigh once the battle ended. The dried blood of the blue skittermite clung to her ankles and collarbone. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it away before turning toward me.

"Excuse me."

Her eyes smiled, but the expression wasn't kind. I silently stared back. The hidden anger in her gaze shimmered like blades. Mira Roodes was not someone to underestimate.

"You didn't need to do anything. I could have handled a blue skittermite just fine. And much more cleanly."

"…"

"My clothes got dirty because of you."

Two oblivious warriors approached at the worst possible time.

"Whew, that was swift thanks to you. You killed all the baby cuttlefish, right? Guns have their perks, huh."

"That was amazing!"

Jake Hose and Izuki were splattered in blood and ink. Mira Roodes subtly stepped away, clearly trying not to get dirtier.

***

[Team 5 — Total time: 56 minutes 56 seconds. 16/100]

We placed 16th out of 100 teams. Mira Roodes didn't seem too happy even though we placed high, but she didn't mind too much since grades were based on individual performances filmed through the drones. Saul Mayne and Louis Hall's teams obviously took first and second place respectively. She was bitter that Lila Dawn's team came in higher.

"Drones recorded everything. The footage will be sent to your smartwatches—analyze what made you fast or slow, your team's synergy, and how to improve. It will factor into your grades."

Park Leon gave a long-winded statement. Mira Roodes looked behind her. A dull-looking man yawned in a daze. It was entirely his fault they couldn't reach the monster sooner. What should've taken 10 minutes ended up taking 50.

However, they also managed to finish 16th thanks to him. His bullets quickly killed every baby cuttlefish in just 3 seconds. Mira Roodes had prepared to fight them for 15 minutes, so he contributed a great deal. Of course, she played the biggest role since she crushed the main body.

"…"

Mira Roodes held back her impulse to blame someone, but that only increased her envy towards the likes of Lila Dawn. She faced forward and glared at the back of Lila Dawn's head. She would've smacked the back of that head if she could get away with it. Mira Roodes's hands trembled towards Lila Dawn, but she only lightly tapped Lila Dawn's shoulder instead of doing anything extreme.

"Lila, how was it?"

"Hm? Ah, as you can see, 4th place. What a shame. I wanted to beat Louis Hall and Rachel. What about you?"

"I'm… 16th."

"Oh? Wow, you got 16th with that gun-using sharpshooter?"

"We got the rigid back cuttlefish, so we just had to remove the back."

"You were the one who did it, right?"

Mira Roodes nodded with a bright smile.

"Yep."

***

I worked out in the training room late at night. I felt like dying after I ran. It was necessary, so I focused on working out for 3 hours. Thankfully, the training equipment wasn't too different from Earth's, only that the weights were heavier. For example, the leg extension machine went from 15 kg to 500 kg.

"Ugh."

I fumbled back to the dressing room like a zombie and collapsed on a seat. I took out my laptop and a fatigue recovery drink after catching my breath for 5 minutes. First, I checked today's results on the laptop.

Ding! Quest Completed

Reward 30 SP

[Luck has been applied! Your accuracy has greatly increased because the enemy is low-ranked!] [All attacks have hit their mark! Your gift's proficiency has increased by 20%!] [Perception has increased by 0.03.] [Luck has been applied! Your eyes and ears seem to work better!] [You have gained 27 SP.]

As expected, I got lucky with my accuracy during today's combat training. I gained some SP too because I stood out to Mira Roodes and finish the quest.

[Your strength has increased by 0.02 after working out.] [Your stamina has increased by 0.02 after working out.] [Your vitality has increased by 0.02 after working out.] [Mana has mysteriously seeped into your torn muscle fibers! Your strength, stamina, and vitality have increased by 0.03!]

I received more stats from working out than I expected. Something like this would've been impossible without the system. My enlightenment and luck played a huge role.

I wasn't sure I could even get up tomorrow with sharp pains all over my body. Of course, I already had a solution in mind.

[Fatigue Recovery Drink] — Will restore your body from fatigue. Contains a tiny amount of temperate mana.

Current SP: 57

This was a fatigue recovery drink provided by Diamond. I planned on modifying its effect. Of course, something that completely restored the body probably wouldn't be possible. Even if I could, it would be a huge waste of SP. I could come up with a decent product with the right amount of restrictions. I added a line to the drink's description.

— If Paul Wayne goes to sleep within 3 hours of use, he will slowly recover from physical fatigue over 9 hours.

I added 3 restrictions: only Paul Wayne, sleeping within 3hours, physical fatigue only, but slowly over 9 hours.

[You can save the modified setting using 0.5 SP.]

The drink already had a similar effect, so it only required exactly what I gained from working out. I gulped down the drink after saving the modified effect.

Burp.

Now, I had to go back and sleep. Otherwise, the drink would be a waste.

"Agh, my joints."

I staggered away like a walking zombie.

***

At the same time, Mira Roodes analyzed the day's video from combat training. She could watch the battle from multiple angles with several drones filming each team.

"At least he's quick."

She became more curious the more she watched it. The rigid back cuttlefish fired a total of 50 babies, but the sharpshooter killed all of them before they could even touch the ground. Rigid back cuttlefish usually reabsorbed the babies they shot out to recover their energy. Then they'd shoot more out from their back. Mira Roodes had prepared for a drawn-out battle because of this annoying trait, but the actual fight ended in just 10 minutes.

"I don't remember seeing him in Military Academy."

This sharpshooter grew stranger the more she thought about it. He had abnormally low stamina and had also suddenly changed his weapon. That was all Mira Roodes noted down about Paul Wayne. Then she suddenly received a message.

[Yo What's up?]

It came from Louis Hall. Mira Roodes tapped away on the hologram keyboard with a grin.

[Analyzing the video from today.]

[Why are you doing that now?]

[I'm going to inherit a guild in the future, so I have to look for promising talents.]

[There are none in your team. They're all trash.]

Mira Roodes snickered. He was right, but also arrogant. She would've found such behavior detestable from anyone other than Louis Hall, but the fact that he was Louis Hall turned it into something intoxicating. It wasn't logical, but the reason she liked Louis Hall was far from normal.

[How's that gun-shooting guy?]

"Haha."

So he was curious after all. He had a pretty cute side.

[He's okay. He did a man's worth of work. Exactly what you'd expect from rank 930.]

In 2.78 seconds, he shot 50 bullets and hit all 50 in that short span of time. Mira Roodes pulled it with her index finger. Was it really possible to pull the trigger 18 times in a single second? Or did that handgun have an automatic firing function?

Ding Dong —

The bell rang in the middle of her thoughts.

[Ah, my room service is here.]

Mira Roodes hopped toward the door and opened it. Standing there was her neatly dressed butler, waiting with impeccable posture. He was the one her family had personally chosen for her, and seeing him brought a smile to her face.

"Thank you, Sacchan," she said warmly.

The butler bowed with respectful grace. Mira accepted the food he handed her and returned to her seat, still smiling.

[I'm back. Were you waiting?]

Mira Roodes lifted the ornate silver dome in a fluid motion, revealing the carefully arranged masterpiece resting beneath..

[No.]

She had ordered fast food. A hamburger with a side of french fries and a bottle of Coke, a meal only for commoners there say.

First, she munched on a fry.

[What did you order?]

Louis Hall asked. Mira Roodes casually replied.

[The usual — nothing but whole duck liver, of course.]