---
John reached into his bag, carefully, and set the firearm on the desk wrapped in cloth. He unrolled it slowly.
The gun lay there with quiet menace, runes etched into its structure with deliberate precision. It looked clean. Efficient. Dangerous in a way that does not need to shout.
Snake stared.
For a long moment, the headmaster did not speak at all.
Then he exhaled through his beard, slow. "What is this?"
"A mana tool," John said. "It fires condensed mana. It can be used by any mage who can supply mana input."
Snake's gaze sharpened. "How did you make it?"
John met his eyes and lied with a straight spine. "Luck. A special material. A set amount."
Snake's eyebrows rose slightly. "You are telling me you can only make a hundred."
"Yes," John said. "I found… enough material for a hundred. Only a hundred. After that, no more until I find more."
Snake's fingers hovered over the runes but did not touch them yet. "And the output."
