The courtyard was silent.
Four bullies had become three.
Their leader lay on the ground behind them, unmoving, blood slowly pooling beneath his body.
Gun Seren stood a few meters away, greatsword resting against his shoulder, dagger spinning lazily between his fingers.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then one of the remaining bullies finally spoke.
"…He killed him."
The tallest one clenched his jaw.
"You little—"
Gun interrupted him.
"Relax."
He tilted his head.
"You guys started it."
The three exchanged looks.
A few seconds ago, they had been laughing.
Now there was a corpse on the ground.
And the guy responsible looked completely calm.
The one holding twin blades stepped forward.
"…We rush him."
The mace user nodded.
"Yeah."
The third one tightened his grip on his sword.
"Three directions."
Gun heard them.
He smiled slightly.
"Finally using your brains."
The next second—
They attacked.
Three directions.
Three weapons.
Three different timings.
Gun's eyes sharpened instantly.
His mind processed everything.
Left slash.
Front thrust.
Right overhead swing.
His body moved before the attacks even fully came.
CLANG
The dagger parried the spear.
CLANG
The greatsword blocked the twin blades.
CLANG
His dagger deflected the mace.
The sound of metal rang across the courtyard.
Gun slid backwards slightly.
"…Okay."
He rolled his shoulders.
"This might actually be fun."
The three surrounded him again.
This time they didn't rush blindly.
They moved carefully.
Slowly closing the circle.
Gun noticed immediately.
"Oh?"
He chuckled.
"You guys learned something."
The spearman glared.
"You're not escaping this."
Gun shrugged.
"I never planned to."
Then the attacks started again.
CLANG
Gun parried the spear.
CLANG
Blocked the mace.
CLANG
Deflected the twin blades.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Minutes passed.
The courtyard filled with the constant sound of steel colliding.
CLANGCLANGCLANG
Sweat ran down Gun's forehead.
His breathing grew heavier.
Three attackers.
Different angles.
Different timings.
It forced him to react nonstop.
But Gun's eyes were burning with excitement.
"…This is way better than Depths ganking."
The mace user growled.
"Why won't you go down?!"
Gun laughed.
"Because you guys are predictable."
Another attack came.
Gun parried again.
But this time he countered immediately.
His dagger flashed.
CRACK
One of the twin blades snapped in half.
The bully froze.
"What?!"
Gun grinned.
"Cheap weapon."
The fight continued.
Ten minutes passed.
Then fifteen.
Twenty minutes of nonstop combat.
All three bullies were exhausted.
Gun was too.
But his eyes remained sharp.
The next attack came.
Gun stepped forward instead of back.
CLANG
He parried the spear.
Then twisted his wrist.
His dagger struck the blade at a perfect angle.
CRACK
The spear broke in half.
"WHAT?!"
The spearman stumbled backward.
Gun smirked.
"Second one."
Now only the mace remained intact.
The two disarmed bullies stepped back in fear.
Gun exhaled slowly.
His arms trembled slightly.
That fight had taken a lot out of him.
He scanned the battlefield quickly.
Two enemies.
But…
Gun frowned.
"Wait."
He looked around.
"…Where's the third one?"
The courtyard was empty.
Gun's mind started analyzing instantly.
Did he run?
Possible.
They had been losing.
Seeing their weapons break could've scared him off.
Gun nodded slightly.
"Yeah…"
"That's the logical choice."
He relaxed slightly.
Then suddenly—
His instincts screamed.
DANGER
Gun's body moved instantly.
He twisted sideways.
A sword stabbed through the air where his neck had been a split second ago.
Gun jumped backwards.
The third bully stood there behind him.
Sword extended.
Breathing heavily.
Gun's eyes widened slightly.
"…You tried to assassinate me."
The bully grinned wildly.
"You killed our leader."
"I'll kill you the same way!"
Gun stared at him for a moment.
Then started laughing.
"Wait…"
He pointed at him.
"You tried to copy my move?"
The bully frowned.
"What?"
Gun wiped a tear from his eye.
"That wasn't even close to Avenger's Cut."
He shook his head.
"You're too slow."
The bully roared and attacked again.
But Gun's expression had changed.
Serious now.
That attack had been way too close.
If his reaction had been even slightly slower…
He would be dead.
Gun glanced at the three enemies.
"…Yeah."
He muttered quietly.
"I can't keep this up."
Three enemies.
Low stamina.
No armor.
One mistake would kill him.
Gun reached into his pocket.
The Common Ability Scroll.
He had been saving it.
But now wasn't the time to be greedy.
Gun crushed the scroll.
The system activated instantly.
Ability Learned: Flash Step
Information flooded his mind.
A short burst movement technique.
Fast.
Unpredictable.
Perfect for evasion.
Gun looked up.
The three bullies were rushing him again.
"Too late now!"
Gun smirked.
"…Let's test it."
The mace swung down.
Gun disappeared.
FLASH
He reappeared behind them.
The three froze.
"…What?"
Gun raised both weapons.
"New skill."
"Try to keep up."
The mace user turned around.
Too late.
Gun moved.
His body blurred again.
Greatsword swung first.
Then the dagger.
Then another slash.
Three movements.
One fluid motion.
A strange triple strike.
The three bullies froze.
Then—
Blood sprayed across the courtyard.
All three collapsed simultaneously.
Silence returned.
Gun stood there breathing heavily.
"…Okay."
He looked down at the bodies.
"That one was actually scary."
He wiped his blade.
Then glanced toward the girl still sitting near the wall.
Gun scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"…So."
"You saw that, huh?"
He pointed at the staircase.
"I'm heading to Floor Three."
Then he paused.
"…You can come if you want."
Gun turned and began walking toward the stairs.
But inside his mind one thought echoed clearly.
That assassination…
If I hadn't reacted in time…
Gun smiled slightly.
"…This tower might actually kill me."
And for the first time since entering the tower—
Gun felt excited.