Chapter 2 ….

Lee Hyun was bewildered.

Awakening itself was a rare occurrence.

But it wasn’t something so rare that you’d never see it in your entire life.

Hunters who possessed levels were certainly rare, but there were actually quite a lot of awakened individuals like Lee Hyun who could only use mana after awakening.

That was why awakened people were also drafted into the military.

“But still…”

A gun—no, not just a gun, but an object awakening?

That was something he had truly never heard of before.

Was this even right?

Even if it was the power of tears, in situations like this shouldn’t the owner gain power instead of the gun?

At that moment—

A system window appeared in front of Lee Hyun.

[Item, ‘Choi Lee Hyun’s Sniper Rifle’ has awakened.
The system is bound and linked to its owner, ‘Choi Lee Hyun’.]

“???”

Even the system window displayed something he had never heard or seen before.

Item awakening?
System linkage?

What the hell was that?

However, Lee Hyun soon realized what it meant.

“…Status window?”

Carefully—almost as if admitting he might be going crazy—Lee Hyun called for a status window.

Originally, Lee Hyun had only awakened.
He did not possess a status window.

But now—

Choi Lee Hyun’s Sniper Rifle
Trait: Sniper Rifle
Lv. 1

Firepower: 0
Range: 0
Precision: 0
Stability: 0
Stealth: 0
Rapid Fire: 0
Mana: 0

Distributable Stats: 15

The status window that Lee Hyun himself did not have… had appeared on his mana-stone rifle instead.

“What the…!”

Lee Hyun couldn’t even close his mouth in shock.

First of all, the names of the sniper rifle’s stats were unusual.

Normally stats were categorized as Strength, Vitality, Agility, Intelligence, and so on.

But here—

‘Firepower, Precision, Stability, Stealth… what are these?’

The sniper rifle was completely different.

Well, it wasn’t a human—it was a gun—so maybe that made sense.

But 15 distributable stats?

Even among hunters who climbed the Tower and grew stronger through leveling, there were strict tiers.

And the standard was basically how many stat points they received per level.

Although the truth was that you could only distribute them yourself at level 1.

Normally people received around 3–7 per level.

If someone had exceptional talent, maybe 8.

If someone got around 10, they could challenge S-Rank, the so-called hunters among hunters at level 500+.

Among S-Rank hunters, those considered monsters or superhumans supposedly received more than 10.

To be honest, Lee Hyun didn’t know the details that well.

But this damn sniper rifle had 15 distributable stats.

“I-if that’s the case… that’s a superhuman… no, a super-gun?”

Lee Hyun muttered.

The power of tears.

Its effect was extremely clear.

But Lee Hyun didn’t yet know something important.

Even those he thought of as superhumans…
none of them received 15 distributable stats.

Lee Hyun stared intensely at one particular stat.

Mana.

‘I don’t know for sure yet, but…’

If he raised mana…

He might be able to overcome the curse of his tiny mana pool.

No—this was just a feeling, but he was almost certain.

He might be able to surpass not just two shots, but even three shots.

Lee Hyun closed the status window without distributing the stats yet.

He still couldn’t fully grasp what was happening.

“Inventory.”

The inventory he had never been able to use before suddenly opened like a miracle.

‘Wait… can this work too?’

Carefully, Lee Hyun lifted the mana-stone rifle and brought it toward the inventory.

Originally, mana-stone guns were not official items, so they couldn’t be stored in inventories.

Only things like monster drops or hunter-exclusive items could be stored.

But then—

Swoosh—!

“!!!”

Contrary to his expectations, the mana-stone rifle slid smoothly into the inventory and appeared as a small icon.

Lee Hyun stared blankly at it.

Then he checked the trait again in the status window.

Without any modifiers.

Simply—

Sniper Rifle.

Curious, he opened the trait description.

Choi Lee Hyun’s Sniper Rifle
Trait: Sniper Rifle

Description:
A sniper rifle.

“Pfft.”

The absurdly blunt description made him burst into laughter.

‘Well… a sniper rifle is a sniper rifle.’

Oddly enough, that explanation helped him regain a sense of reality.

If a gun could talk, it might really say something like that.

Anyway, one thing was certain:

His gun had drunk his tears and awakened like a miracle.

“…What do I do now?”

That was the problem.

A newly awakened gun.

And himself, on the verge of discharge from the army.

Should he report that his gun awakened and remain in the military?

The army would probably celebrate and keep him locked in service.

And Lee Hyun did want to protect people while in the military.

But—

‘Even with this power… I don’t want to do that anymore.’

Things were different now.

A soldier bound to a unit, only moving when given orders?

He wanted to look further than that.

A way to protect more people.

And the most reliable way to protect his own people.

That power belonged not to soldiers—but to hunters who acted freely.

Besides…

After enduring countless insults and disregard, the military had rewarded him with a semi-forced discharge.

He couldn’t bring himself to feel any loyalty toward it anymore.

“…Yeah. I’ll leave.”

Lee Hyun made his decision.

The Next Day

Early in the morning, Lee Hyun went straight to the battalion commander’s office.

“Sergeant Choi Lee Hyun reporting, sir.”

“Come in.”

The same calm voice as yesterday.

As soon as Lee Hyun entered, the commander asked:

“Here to report your leave?”

“No, sir.”

“Then what? If you’re going to say you can’t be discharged again—”

“I’ll be discharged.”

“…I knew you’d say that—wait, what?!”

Commander Jung Hwan’s eyes widened.

Just yesterday, Lee Hyun had insisted on serving as an instructor or even transferring to a regular unit.

And now he suddenly wanted discharge?

Jung Hwan narrowed his eyes.

“You didn’t eat something weird, did you?”

Lee Hyun looked baffled.

“Aren’t you the one who told me to get discharged, sir?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Jung Hwan gestured for him to sit.

“What made you change your mind so suddenly?”

Lee Hyun had expected that question.

And he had prepared the answer.

“Actually… I talked with my parents yesterday.”

“And?”

“When I told them about the situation in the unit, they told me to just come home. They said I should help with my father’s store.”

“Hmm.”

Jung Hwan nodded.

He had heard Lee Hyun’s parents ran a small neighborhood supermarket.

It was a common path for discharged soldiers.

Still…

The instincts of a battalion commander told him something was off.

“You didn’t reawaken, did you?”

“….”

It was just a probing question.

But Lee Hyun’s face remained perfectly calm.

Inside, however, he thought:

I knew it. You don’t become a lieutenant colonel for nothing.

Jung Hwan knew everything about the battalion.

Even when soldiers tried desperately to hide something, he often caught it.

How did he even think of reawakening in this situation?

Still, Lee Hyun laughed it off.

“Hahaha, no way, sir. How could someone live as an awakened person for four years and then reawaken on the exact day he hears about discharge? I’m not some novel protagonist.”

Even Jung Hwan thought it sounded absurd.

Just one day.

What were the chances?

Still, he said:

“Go to the medical unit.”

“…Excuse me?”

The medical unit had a simple mana measuring device.

It wasn’t perfectly accurate, but it could confirm whether someone had reawakened.

Especially since Lee Hyun’s mana pool had always been extremely small.

Jung Hwan repeated himself.

“If you’ve got nothing to hide, just take the test. The command sent an order last week—too many officers hide awakenings, get discharged, and then become hunters. So everyone must take a physical exam before discharge.”

‘You’ve got to be kidding me…’

When had such an order come down?!

Lee Hyun clicked his tongue at the cruelty of the military.

If someone with levels awakened, they were exempt from military service.

But if awakening happened in the army, the result was an automatic 5-year service extension and transfer to a hunter unit.

That was why people said:

Never awaken while you’re in the army.

If Lee Hyun were confirmed to have reawakened—

Five more years of service.

For someone who had just decided to leave, it was brutal.

But Lee Hyun simply stood up confidently.

“Yes, I’ll take the test.”

As if saying: Go ahead.

The test was simple.

Stand on the scanner—like measuring your height.

The military doctor checked the result.

“It’s the same. Just enough mana for two shots from a mana-stone rifle.”

The doctor spoke mockingly.

Normally Lee Hyun would have been hurt.

But today he smiled sincerely.

“Thank you for confirming, doctor.”

“Uh…?”

The doctor was slightly confused.

He said he’s getting discharged today… did he finally lose his mind?

But Lee Hyun’s thoughts were different.

Test me all you want. My mana hasn’t increased.

The one who awakened was the gun, not Lee Hyun.

So the test would never detect it.

After that, things moved quickly.

Jung Hwan contacted personnel.

Soon Lee Hyun’s discharge certificate was issued.

“You worked hard.”

Jung Hwan patted his shoulder.

But Lee Hyun thought differently.

Worked hard? Everything was already prepared.

If Jung Hwan truly cared, he wouldn’t have allowed even soldiers to openly gossip about Lee Hyun.

A commander who knew everything in the battalion?

There was no way he didn’t know.

Deep down, he wanted Lee Hyun gone.

Fine.

Lee Hyun would give him what he wanted.

“Leaving tomorrow? Or today?”

“Today.”

“Alright. You worked hard.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I have to go to brigade headquarters today, so I can’t see you off. Sorry.”

“It’s fine! Thank you for everything!”

“Remember—you’re still a soldier until today. Be careful.”

“Haha, I’m not a private. I won’t make mistakes.”

Lee Hyun saluted and left.

Even as he walked out, Jung Hwan watched him with suspicious eyes.

But he would never guess the truth.

How could anyone believe that a gun had awakened?

At best, he’d assume Lee Hyun preferred helping at his father’s store rather than staying in the army.

Back at the barracks, Lee Hyun packed his belongings.

There wasn’t much.

Some clothes and small items.

For the past year, he hadn’t really lived—so naturally he owned very little.

As he left the single-officer dormitory, he saw several NCOs he knew walking toward him, laughing.

“Did you hear? That premature guy is finally leaving.”

“About time. The commander made a big decision.”

“They say he wanted him gone anyway.”

“…Hey, look.”

They noticed Lee Hyun and cleared their throats.

One of them, Sergeant Park Gun-woo, raised his voice.

“Hey, he’s not even a soldier anymore. Why care? Say goodbye! Bye~”

Gun-woo waved mockingly.

They had enlisted together.

But Gun-woo thought Lee Hyun’s shooting ability had delayed his own promotion, so he openly ostracized him.

Special forces promotions don’t work like that, idiot.

Normally Lee Hyun would just smile and walk away.

But today—

He didn’t feel like tolerating it anymore.

Step. Step.

Lee Hyun walked straight toward Gun-woo.

Then he leaned his face right in front of Gun-woo’s.

Gun-woo, who was 10 cm shorter, flinched backward.

“W-what the hell, are you crazy?!”

“Whoa?!”

The surrounding NCOs tensed up, afraid a fight might break out.

Even if they were half-awakened, they were still special forces.

If punches started flying, it wouldn’t end nicely.

The tension was explosive.

But after staring silently at Gun-woo for a long moment—

Lee Hyun suddenly smirked.

“Take care of yourself, idiot.”

“W-what?”

Lee Hyun’s smile grew wider.

There was no point in saying anything more.

Why bother with trash he would never see again?