"…Okay," he admitted. "My feet might."
Natsu huffed softly, though the tension in her shoulders had already eased a little. The earlier incident — which Nathan had mentally labeled 'Attempted Friendly Fire: Episode One' — still lingered in the air.
At least neither of them had lost any limbs.
Yet.
"Alright," Nathan began, straightening slightly as he shifted back into something resembling competence. "Let's not repeat that."
"…Preferably," Natsu agreed.
He nodded, then made a decision. "I think you should practice with this first."
He held out his handgun.
Natsu blinked, glancing between him and the pistol. "…Is there a difference?"
"There is," Nathan replied matter-of-factly. "You've already held this one before. You've seen how I use it. And most importantly—" he pointed at her hands, "you didn't almost assassinate me with it."
"…That was one time only thing."
"That was one very important time."
She pouted slightly.
Nathan ignored it.
"This—" he lifted the SMG in his other hand, "—is new for both of us. I need to figure it out first before letting anyone who is unfamiliar with this kinda stuff using it."
Preferably before it tries to delete me from existence.
"…Makes sense," she admitted.
"And also," he added casually, "different ammo type."
That earned a blink. "…What does that even mean?"
"It means I don't have spare ammunition for it. So until I figure that out — this is the smarter option."
Reluctantly, Natsu handed the SMG back.
Nathan tilted his head slightly as he took it.
"…Wait," he said. "Can't you just… store it?"
"…Like you always do?" she asked.
"…Yeah."
She hesitated. "…How am I supposed to know how to do that?"
"Fair point." Nathan scratched his cheek. "Just… imagine putting it away. Like — into yourself or something. Then say 'Store.'"
Natsu stared at him. "…Like inserting it into my body?"
Phrasing…
"…Metaphorically," he said quickly.
"…You're not helping."
"Just try."
She sighed, closed her eyes, and focused.
"…Store."
The SMG vanished instantly.
She blinked once.
Twice.
"…This is gonna take some getting used to."
"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "I get that."
Natsu nodded back. "I guess the first time always feels weird."
A sentence that sounds significantly worse out of context…
—Please, brain! Think about something more productive!
He coughed lightly.
"Alright, now — just to test something. Try storing this too."
He handed her the pistol.
Natsu took it and repeated the motion.
"…Store."
Nothing happened.
She frowned. "…It didn't work."
Nathan hummed.
So she can only store her own weapon…
…There goes my dream of hiring a new employee for my logging industry.
"…Interesting," he muttered.
Natsu glanced at him. "…That sounded like you were planning something illegal."
"I wasn't," he said immediately.
"Anyway," he clapped his hands once. "Let's focus."
• × • × • × •
So the training began.
And surprisingly — or perhaps unsurprisingly — it went very well.
Maybe a little too well.
Nathan spent about five minutes guiding her through the basics. Grip, stance, trigger discipline, recoil control — or at least, the simplified version he barely understood himself.
And Natsu?
She adapted. Like she was born for it.
Her first few shots were shaky — which is understandable.
Then something clicked.
Her posture stabilized, breathing slowed, and her aim sharpened.
And then—
*Phew…*
A Walker dropped.
Clean headshot.
"…Okay," Nathan muttered. "You're actually really good at this."
"Really?" Natsu tilted her head. "This feels easier than using a sword."
"…That sentence is concerning."
Another shot.
Another kill.
"…Also," she added casually, "blowing their heads up is… kinda fun."
Nathan stared at her. "…You're a psychopath."
"Thanks to a certain someone," she replied sweetly.
"…I can't even argue with that…"
But the truth was—
She was good.
Like… really good.
Within minutes, she was landing consistent shots beyond thirty meters (33 yd) with smooth trigger control, minimal hesitation, and clean execution.
The kind of natural talent that made Nathan question his life choices.
"…You're making me look bad," he muttered.
"I thought you said you were good at this?"
"I was."
"…Past tense?"
"…Don't push it."
• × • × • × •
Eventually, Natsu got a little too into it.
Nathan stepped in. "Alright — pause."
She lowered the pistol reluctantly.
"…Why?"
"Because I don't have infinite ammo," he said flatly.
She blinked. "…Oh."
"Yeah. 'Oh.'"
He sighed. "You're good enough. From now on — focus on E-rank targets only, because they can be dangerous, Walkers are not."
"…Sorry…" Her white fox ears drooped. "I think… I understand how you feel now…"
Her small, dejected tone hit him harder than expected. A direct hit to his conscience.
"A-ah… don't worry," he said quickly, raising a hand. "When the dawn's getting close — you can go crazy."
Her eyes lit up. "…Really?"
"…I regret saying that already."
• × • × • × •
Time passed.
Less than two hours after she first held a gun—
Natsu killed her first Jumper.
Three shots — three clean headshots.
Nathan watched in silence.
…Yeah, she's terrifying.
Earlier, he'd also noticed something else.
His Hunter's Mark skill had changed. Now, it applied to all Pact members — as long as the damage came from firearms.
Which meant—
We're officially a ranged combat duo now.
God help anything within thirty meters (36 yd).
Another thing caught his attention—
The darkness.
It had deepened… and yet, he could still see.
Not as clearly as in daylight, but clear enough to fight without hesitation.
Even Natsu had questioned it.
"How are you seeing anything?" she had asked, genuinely confused. "Humans aren't supposed to see this well in the dark. A Beast-kin like me, sure — but you…?"
Nathan had simply shrugged. "Protagonist privilege."
That answer earned him a very specific look—
The kind that said 'I have no idea how to respond to that.'
He didn't even need a flashlight anymore.
And the answer came easily—
Lunarina's blessing.
"…Serve faithfully, and the night itself shall answer your call…" he recalled her words.
"…Huh," he murmured.
That's actually useful.
Meanwhile—
Natsu was practically vibrating in place, eyes scanning the darkness like an eager predator waiting for the next target.
"…Any second now," she muttered.
"…You're way too excited," Nathan said, a strained smile tugging at his lips.
I might've created a monster.
There was, however… a downside.
Letting Natsu handle most of the killing meant—
No EXP for him.
No progress on his Hunter's Gallery kill count.
I'm basically watching my own grind get outsourced.
He exhaled quietly.
Still, he glanced at her, watching the way her posture had changed — lighter, freer — almost… excited in a way that didn't feel forced.
After everything she'd been through—
There was no way he was going to stop her now that she'd found something she genuinely enjoyed.
Even if that 'something' was shooting zombies in the head.
Let her have this.
I can grind later.
…Preferably when she's not having the time of her life committing undead genocide.
Taking advantage of the lull, Nathan checked his new weapon.
—————————————
Storm Needle
W/ Lv.1 Suppressor
Firepower: 0.5
Ammo: 20/20
—————————————
"…Okay." he scanned it again.
Comes with a suppressor by default… nice.
He tilted his head.
Firepower's only half of the Revenant, though…
"…Yeah, makes sense," he muttered. "Smaller caliber, lower punch."
Still, a built-in suppressor meant no SC cost for that part.
That alone was a win.
"And quieter too…" he added. "I like quiet."
Less noise meaning less attention and more control.
Very nice.
Also… 4.6mm should be better at piercing light armor… if I remember correctly.
He stored the SMG and dragged it to the Weapon Tuning tab.
Then he paused.
"…Oh."
That was… a lot.
Stock. Barrel. Grip. Front grip. Sight. Muzzle. Magazine. Bolt.
Nathan stared at the list like it had personally offended him. "…That's excessive."
His pistol already had some upgrades.
But this?
This was a full tech tree.
I'm not even done with the first one…
"And now I've got this too," he muttered.
Then, surprisingly—
He grinned.
"…More progression." he admitted. "I do like progression systems,"
More parts mean more customization, more numbers going up… more dopamine for his brain.
And that was the problem.
Because while he was busy mentally min-maxing—
He stopped paying attention completely.
"Nathan—!"
Natsu's voice cut through the night.
Sharp and urgent.
Nathan snapped out of it and turned — color drained from his face. The world seemed to pause for a fraction of a second.
Behind him stood a towering figure — easily over two meters (6'5") tall at the very least.
Its body was grotesquely elongated, green rotten flesh clinging to its frame. The smell hit him a moment later — thick, putrid, suffocating.
Its arms—
Too long.
Its fingers—
No — claws.
Also long.
Curved and glistening faintly in the dark.
Worse, it was already moving.
Its arm drew back, poised and ready.
What in hell—?!
The creature lunged far too fast.
The claw tore through the air aimed straight for his head—
And blood splattered without warning.