Chapter 29 : Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Ryan’s Promise, Nika Practices Shooting
After hearing about Nika’s past, Ryan fell silent.
He had not expected her story to be so tragic.
Her father had been beaten to death, her younger sister was missing, and she herself had been sold off as a slave.
“Nika, then… do you want revenge?”
Ryan asked in a low voice.
“Um, Master… before my father died, he told me not to seek revenge. He told me to live well, and if I ever had the chance, it would be best if I could find my younger sister.”
Nika lowered her voice as she spoke.
The moment Ryan saw her expression, he knew that she did want revenge.
She simply did not have the power to take it.
The murder of one’s father was an irreconcilable hatred.
If she had possessed the strength, she would have wanted nothing more than to find that noble’s son right now and kill him with her own hands.
But she could not.
At present, she was only one of Ryan’s slaves. She had no right to act on her own.
And besides, her father had wanted her to live on safely.
“How about this? If the opportunity comes, I’ll help you take revenge, find your sister, and reunite the two of you.”
Ryan spoke calmly.
“W-What?”
Hearing those words, Nika immediately lifted her head and stared at Ryan in shock.
She had never imagined that Ryan would actually want to help her take revenge.
“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll help you right now. Once I become stronger, then I’ll help you get your revenge.”
Ryan spoke with complete seriousness.
He might have wanted Nika to acknowledge him, but he was not the sort of man who lost all sense the moment he saw a beautiful woman.
If it was within his ability, helping Nika take revenge was no great matter.
If it went beyond what he was capable of, then the matter of revenge could only be postponed for the time being.
After all, his current strength was still far from enough to openly stand against the nobility.
The nobles of this world had many guards.
And among those guards, there was no shortage of powerful Mages.
With Ryan’s current strength, if he went up against a noble, he would not be able to withdraw unscathed.
“Ah! Thank you, Master! Wuuu…”
Nika thanked him excitedly, then could not stop herself from crying.
She truly had not expected Ryan to go this far for her.
Even though he had not actually done it yet, just having even the slightest hope already made her incredibly happy.
It had to be said that Ryan was very skilled at painting grand visions for others.
There was no mystery to it. He was simply experienced.
In his previous life, he had swallowed more than enough empty promises from company bosses. Naturally, he had learned how to make those promises himself.
It would not take too long. Once he became strong enough, helping Nika take revenge would only take a single magazine of bullets. It would be simple.
“Before I help you take revenge, you need to improve your own strength as well.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good. Then put on the weapons and armor I prepared for you. We’re going out to hunt monsters.”
“Yes, Master!”
Nika wiped away her tears, stood up, and put on her armor.
A short while later, she was fully equipped.
Ryan then led Nika toward the Monster Forest.
What Ryan did not know, however, was that when he brought Nika out of the city, a pair of eyes in the distance was staring fixedly at his back.
…
Half an hour later, Ryan and Nika arrived at the Monster Forest.
Today, Ryan planned to bring Nika along to complete the commission he had accepted yesterday to hunt Shadow Flying Mice.
These monsters were not very strong individually, which made them quite suitable for Nika.
“Nika, your main duty is to keep watch on the surroundings while I hunt monsters. The moment you notice anything unusual, inform me immediately.”
“Yes, Master. I understand. Please rest assured!”
“Mm.”
Ryan nodded.
He wanted to test Nika’s abilities.
Before long, the two of them reached the habitat of the Shadow Flying Mice.
From a distance, Ryan could already see several of them darting through the Monster Forest.
He did not waste any time. He immediately raised his P90 submachine gun, aimed at the Shadow Flying Mice, and opened fire.
Da-da-da-da-da!
One magazine was emptied in an instant, and several Shadow Flying Mice died under Ryan’s gunfire.
“Master, you’re amazing!”
Nika’s eyes widened at once as she watched from the side.
In such a short span of time, Ryan had already dealt with so many Shadow Flying Mice.
That had completely surpassed the limits of Nika’s understanding.
As far as she knew, even the strongest adventurers were nowhere near as relaxed as Ryan when hunting monsters.
Could it be that her master was a powerful Mage?
Had he just used magic?
“Master, are you a Mage?”
Nika voiced the question in her heart.
“No, I’m not.”
Ryan answered.
He knew where her confusion came from, so he explained, “I don’t have any talent for magic. The reason I was able to hunt those monsters just now is entirely because of this Magic Tool in my hand.”
“A Magic Tool? But I’ve never heard of any Magic Tool that can achieve such incredible hunting efficiency.”
Nika tilted her head, puzzled.
“Well, of course not. I invented this Magic Tool myself.”
Ryan said with a smile.
“Master invented it himself!? Then does that mean you’re a genius at making Magic Tools?”
Nika covered her mouth and gasped.
“You can think of it that way.”
Ryan smiled and nodded.
He had no intention of telling anyone about the System.
So letting the people around him believe that he was a genius inventor of Magic Tools was the most suitable explanation.
“Master is amazing!”
Nika looked at Ryan with admiration.
Ryan immediately felt a little light-headed. Who could resist hearing praise?
After that, he changed magazines and opened fire again, killing off the remaining Shadow Flying Mice.
Just as Ryan was about to go collect the spoils, Nika stopped him.
“Master, please leave the work of collecting the spoils to me. You worked hard in battle, so please rest properly.”
“Uh… all right, then.”
The truth was, Ryan’s battle had not been tiring at all, but in the face of Nika’s request, he did not refuse.
So Nika went forward to gather the spoils.
Ryan held his gun and kept watch over the surroundings.
Now he had discovered yet another advantage of buying slaves.
When it came to collecting monster spoils, he no longer had to do it himself.
He only needed to teach the slaves how.
That way, he could save himself a great deal of effort.
He would not end up like yesterday, when after hunting monsters all day, he had returned to the inn so exhausted that he could only collapse onto the bed and not move.
In truth, firing the gun itself was not what tired him.
The truly exhausting part was collecting monster materials.
Now that he could hand that task over to someone else, Ryan could finally rest at the right times.
As he watched Nika diligently collecting the spoils, a thought surfaced in Ryan’s mind.
What if he let Nika use a gun?
The moment the idea appeared, it would no longer leave his head.
Because there was a slave contract between him and Nika.
With the restrictions of that slave contract in place, Nika could not harm him, her master.
So it would be no problem at all to let Nika hold a gun.
And if he bought several more slaves?
What if he armed them with guns and had them hunt monsters for him, while he sat back in the city waiting for the spoils to be delivered to him?
Holy hell.
Ryan suddenly realized that this idea had real potential.
And slaves did not need wages. As long as they were fed and housed, they were like tireless beasts of burden.
If the capitalists from Blue Star in his previous life came here, they would probably be moved to tears by Ryan’s idea.
This was incredible.
This was what a true capitalist looked like.
Ahem.
Ryan shook his head and cast the thought out of his mind.
He was not short on money, so there was no need to make money that way.
The purpose of completing missions was to experience the customs and scenery of different places, not to earn a fortune.
While he was still thinking, Nika had already finished collecting all the spoils.
“Master, I’ve gathered all the monster materials. They’re all here.”
Nika carried a woven sack filled with proof of the Shadow Flying Mice hunt.
“Mm. Well done, Nika. Keep carrying them for now. We’ll continue hunting monsters afterward.”
“Yes, Master.”
Receiving praise from Ryan, Nika was clearly delighted.
“Nika, take this.”
Ryan pulled a Glock 17 pistol out of his spatial backpack and handed it to her.
“Master, this is…?”
“This is also a Magic Tool I made. I call this type of Magic Tool a gun, and the one in your hand is one of them.”
“Ah, Master, this is far too valuable. Please take it back!”
Nika said in a fluster.
“It’s fine. If I’m telling you to take it, then take it. Next, I’ll teach you how to use a gun to attack monsters.”
As he spoke, Ryan did not wait for Nika to object. He directly took hold of her arm and began explaining the things she needed to pay attention to when firing.
Using a gun was simple, especially for a Beastfolk like Nika.
Her arm strength was greater than that of an ordinary Human Race, so she could withstand the recoil of a pistol.
“All right. That’s everything you need to know about the precautions and how to fire it. What’s left now is actual combat.”
“Master, I feel… I feel like I can’t do it…”
“It’s fine. Have some confidence. I believe in you. Don’t be afraid. Start.”
“Hah! Yes, Master!”
Nika took a deep breath, raised the pistol, and aimed at a distant Shadow Flying Mouse.
Bang!
The shot rang out, startling the Shadow Flying Mouse into flight, and the bullet missed completely.
“Ah, Master, I’m sorry. I didn’t hit it.”
“Hehe, it’s all right. You’ve only just started, so missing is perfectly normal. Just keep practicing. Again.”
Encouraged by Ryan, Nika aimed and fired once more.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Nika fired several shots in succession and emptied an entire magazine.
Yet even her best result was only landing a single hit on a Shadow Flying Mouse. Every other shot missed.
Nika lowered her head, thinking that she was simply too useless.
Ryan gently patted her head. “It’s all right. You did well. The magazine is empty, so just change it. Here, keep going.”
For the rest of the day, Ryan guided Nika as she familiarized herself with the firearm and practiced her marksmanship.
Before they realized it, the entire day had passed.
Nika’s shooting had improved noticeably, but if she wanted to reach the point where every bullet struck true, she would still need a great deal more practice.
That was perfectly normal.
After all, every expert marksman was trained by feeding countless bullets into practice.
Nika had only been practicing for a single day. Reaching her current level already counted as quite good.
When Ryan and Nika finished the day’s training, they returned to the inn.
As Nika watched the inn draw closer and closer, her heartbeat quickened.
Night had come so quickly.
Although she had already prepared herself mentally during the day, when the moment truly arrived, she still felt extremely nervous.
But when she thought about everything that had happened that day, Nika also steeled herself for the service she would offer that night.