The wheel's rotation slowed, the pointer clicking past slots that shimmered with a divine light—"Ancient Demon God's Secret Codex," "S-Rank Talent: Elemental Affinity," "Artifact: The Eternal Staff"... each name made Hermione's heart pound and her mouth go dry.
Gimme something good! An artifact! I'll even take a codex!
Finally, the pointer trembled as it passed a gleaming golden slot marked "God-Tier Magic Scroll" and came to a limp, final rest on a thoroughly unremarkable square that glowed a dull, dusty gray.
The wheel vanished, and the light faded.
Ding!
As the system alert chimed, a primitive-looking, pitch-black... pistol with the cold glint of metal materialized in Hermione's hands.
The air seemed to freeze.
Hermione blinked, then blinked again. She looked down at the heavy piece of iron in her hands, then back up at the empty space where the wheel had been. The ecstatic anticipation on her face slowly morphed into a blank stare, then to disbelief, and finally settled into a dark, stormy glower.
"This is it?" She hefted the gun in disbelief, giving it a quick inspection. She opened the magazine and found it completely empty. "My Newbie Lottery... gives me a piece of junk? Without a single bullet?"
She turned it over and over, confirming that apart from being a bit heavier and more finely crafted than a replica, there was nothing special about it. The magazine was empty. The chamber was empty.
It was nothing more than a useless chunk of metal!
[Newbie Gift Pack distribution complete. We wish you a pleasant game!] The system's emotionless, mechanical voice chimed in again. To Hermione, it sounded like it was mocking her.
"Pleasant my ass!" Hermione was so angry she almost threw the gun on the ground.
Watching from the side, Anna saw her friend's expression cycle from ecstasy to a daze, and then to a furious rage as she muttered to the air. Her eyes filled with worry and confusion. "Are... are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Hermione took a deep breath, forcing down the anger swelling in her chest. She knew arguing with the system was pointless. She'd just have to chalk it up to bad luck.
"Hey, System," she asked internally, "is there some kind of personal status panel I can see?"
[Now displaying Host's personal information...]
A semi-transparent blue screen, visible only to her, appeared in the air.
[Host: Hermione | Level: 3 | Class: Magic Apprentice]
[Spirit: 2]
[Mana: 2]
[Insight: 1]
[Luck: 1]
[Skills: None | Equipment: None (Newbie Pistol: ???)]
Staring at the insultingly low numbers, the anger she had just suppressed flared up three times stronger.
Level 3? What kind of bottom-feeder level is that? Spirit and Mana are only 2? Is this a sick joke? And Insight 1, Luck 1... it's like the system is going out of its way to make sure I have a miserable time!
Her vision swam. Life was, once again, completely hopeless.
She slumped onto the hay-covered stone floor, clutching the useless pistol, her eyes vacant. One hundred million gold coins was an incredible prize, but the quest required her to find three witches within a year. With stats this pathetic, she wouldn't just have trouble finding people; she'd be lucky to survive until tomorrow.
Seeing her looking so defeated, Anna assumed she was sad about her decision to leave. She walked over, gently patted her on the shoulder, and said softly, "Don't be upset. If you really want to go, I won't stop you. This is some money I've saved up. It's not much, but it should be enough for food and clothes."
Anna pressed a heavy cloth pouch into Hermione's hand.
Hermione felt the pouch, listening to the crisp clink of copper coins inside, a mix of emotions churning within her. She looked up into Anna's sincere and worried eyes and felt a pang of guilt.
"Anna, thank—" She started to thank her but swallowed the words. No, I can't give up just like that! One hundred million! That's one hundred million!
A bold idea began to form in her mind.
She shot to her feet, pushed the money pouch back into Anna's hands, her eyes burning with renewed determination. "Anna, I can't take your money. But... I need to go into town."
"Go to town? It's too dangerous!" Anna immediately protested. "The witch hunters are still looking for us!"
"Don't worry, I'll be right back." Hermione held up the pistol, forcing a smile that looked more painful than a grimace. "I think I might be able to sell this thing for some money. It's better than drinking vegetable soup every day. We need money to survive, right?"
Seeing Hermione's resolve, Anna knew she couldn't be dissuaded. She nodded reluctantly, adding, "Then you have to be careful. Keep your hood up and don't start any trouble with anyone."
...
Half an hour later, with the pistol wrapped in a tattered cloth, Hermione snuck into the nearby town like a thief in the night.
The streets of Stonerock Town were bustling with peasants in coarse linen and mercenaries with longswords at their hips. The air was a mix of the aroma of baking bread and the stench of livestock manure, thick with a medieval atmosphere. Hermione pulled her hood lower, trying her best to remain inconspicuous as she started looking for a pawn shop or a black market where she could offload her prize.
Just as she turned a corner, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps and angry shouts from up ahead.
"Stop! Don't let her get away! Grab the green-haired monster!" "She's the witch! The plague is her fault! Get her!"
Hermione instinctively looked up and saw a young girl in a ragged dress, with a cascade of sea-green hair, running frantically in her direction. Her face was streaked with tears and dirt, her emerald eyes wide with terror and despair. Even as she ran for her life, she was carefully avoiding the flowers and plants along the side of the road. Behind her, a mob of seven or eight townspeople armed with clubs and pitchforks were in hot pursuit.
The very instant Hermione laid eyes on the green-haired girl, the system's cold voice exploded in her mind, ringing like a frantic alarm.
[Ding! Ding! Ding! High-potential target detected!]
[Talent System analysis complete. Target Number One's data is as follows:]
[Name: Eve]
[Spirit: 10]
[Mana: 8]
[Insight: 8]
[Luck: 8]
[Summary: Target possesses extremely high talent. A natural-born mage with a powerful affinity for plants! It is recommended that the Host immediately recruit her into the academy. With careful guidance, she will become a logistical pillar of the academy and the Host's right-hand woman!]
Hermione's eyes went wide.
Spirit 10?!
A Spirit of 10 was basically like having a 10x experience booster permanently active!
And Mana, Insight, and Luck are all 8?!
Is she even human? This girl is basically the chosen one! Looking back at her own pathetic "2211" stats, Hermione felt like she had just taken a critical hit for massive psychic damage.
Jealousy is an ugly thing. But a second later, Hermione's envy was completely overwhelmed by elation.
This was a quest objective, gift-wrapped and delivered right to her! If she could just secure her, one-third of the year-long mission would be complete!
As Eve got closer, the mob right behind her, Hermione's mind raced. This was the perfect opportunity. A classic "hero saves the damsel" scenario, which would naturally lead to the girl joining her cause. It was laid out right in front of her!
"Now's my chance!"
A rush of adrenaline hit her. Hermione ripped off her hood, revealing a mane of fiery red hair, and shoved the pistol-wrapped cloth into her tunic. She struck what she hoped was a cool pose, spreading her arms to block the middle of the road, and roared at the approaching mob, "Stop right there! Bullying a defenseless woman in broad daylight! Have you no shame?!"
The pursuers froze, stunned by her sudden appearance.
Eve also stopped, staring in surprise at the red-haired woman who had just jumped out to defend her.
"Who the hell are you? Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?" a burly man with a brutish face snarled.
"Me?" Hermione puffed out her chest, trying to look as intimidating as possible. "I am an agent of justice, here to right the wrongs of this world! And today, this is my business!"
"Shit, another crazy one! Get her too!" The brute clearly had no patience. With a wave of his hand, the mob raised their clubs and charged at Hermione with murderous intent.
A shiver of fear went down Hermione's spine, but she was in too deep now. She had to see it through. She pulled the bullet-less pistol from her tunic and, mimicking what she'd seen in movies, aimed it at the charging brute.
"Don't come any closer! One more step and I'll shoot!"
But of course, these medieval villagers had no idea what a pistol was. They just saw a strange piece of iron, and instead of stopping, they charged even faster.
Thwack!
A dull thud. Hermione felt a sharp blow to the back of her head. Stars exploded in her vision, and her mind went blank. In the next instant, fists, feet, clubs, and pitchforks rained down on her.
An explosion of pain consumed her.
"Fuck... miscalculated..." was her last thought before she blacked out.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she woke up to a throbbing ache all over her body. She was lying in a dark alley, feeling like every bone had been broken.
"You're awake?" A familiar voice sounded beside her.
Hermione painfully turned her head and saw Anna's face, etched with anxiety and disapproval. The green-haired girl, Eve, was hiding timidly behind Anna, peeking at her with a look of curiosity and gratitude.
"Anna... how did you get here?" Hermione asked weakly.
"I was worried, so I followed you. I never expected..." Anna sighed, taking a small vial of ointment from her pocket and carefully dabbing it on the cuts on Hermione's face. "You were so reckless! How could you charge in all by yourself?"
"I..." Hermione was speechless. She couldn't very well tell her she did it to complete a system quest.
Just then, the sound of heavy, synchronized footsteps echoed from the alley entrance.
"They're in here! Don't let them escape!"
Anna's expression changed in an instant. She quickly helped Hermione up, grabbed Eve, and prepared to flee out the other end of the alley.
However, as they reached the mouth of the alley, their path was blocked by a blonde woman in shining silver armor, wielding a massive cross-guard greatsword. She was tall and beautiful, but her eyes were as cold as frost, filled with arrogance and disdain. A gleaming silver cross was emblazoned on her breastplate.
"Run? Where do you think you can run, you filthy witches, when you stand before a great Witch Hunter?" the blonde woman's voice dripped with contempt.
Anna pushed Hermione and Eve behind her, her face grim as she stared down their opponent. "A Silver-rank Witch Hunter!" she said in a low, tense voice.
[Warning! High-level enemy encountered!] The system's shrill alarm blared in Hermione's mind.
[Enemy Information:]
[Name: ???]
[Level: 22]
[Class: Silver-rank Witch Hunter]
[Threat Assessment: Extremely Dangerous! Host and companions are no match. Immediate retreat is advised!]
Hermione's heart sank. She and Anna were both magic apprentices below level 10. Facing a level 22 elite enemy, this wasn't a fight; it was a slaughter.
"You two run! Don't worry about me!" Eve stammered, trembling. She had been betrayed by people before, but she didn't want to drag anyone else down with her now.
"Shut up! There's no way I'm leaving you behind!" Anna snapped, a pale blue magical light beginning to coalesce around her hands. "Hermione, you take her and go. I'll hold her off!"
"Leave? How naive." The Silver-rank Witch Hunter sneered, her figure vanishing from the spot like a phantom.
In the next second, she reappeared in front of Anna, her greatsword whistling through the air as it slashed down!
Anna's pupils contracted. She hastily threw up an ice shield.
CRACK!
The ice shield was as fragile as a sheet of paper before the greatsword, shattering instantly. Anna grunted, the immense force of the blow sending her flying backward. She slammed hard against the alley wall and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Anna!" Hermione screamed, her eyes wide with fury and panic.
"Pathetically weak." The Witch Hunter advanced slowly, the tip of her sword pointed at the fallen Anna. "Now, allow me to end your sinful lives with my holy light!"
At that critical moment, the system's voice rang out in Hermione's mind again, this time with an unprecedented urgency.
[Emergency Protocol initiated! Host, channel your mana into the pistol in your hand! Now!]
Hermione froze for a second, but survival instinct took over. She glanced down at the black gun she had dismissed as junk, gritted her teeth, and summoned the pitiful amount of mana in her body, forcing all of it into the pistol.
VMMMM—!
The moment it received her mana, the once-ordinary pistol let out a low hum. Mysterious and complex dark-red runes lit up across its body like living veins. An indescribable power began to gather at the muzzle.
The Silver-rank Witch Hunter, who had been walking toward Anna, seemed to sense the dangerous energy. She snapped her head around, her eyes locking on Hermione with a look of surprise and suspicion.
"What is that thing?"
This is it!
With every ounce of her strength, Hermione raised her arm, aiming the muzzle, now glowing with an ominous red light, directly at the Witch Hunter's arrogant, stunned face.
She bared her teeth in a ferocious, crazed grin and, with all the power she could muster, she roared.
"Die, bitch!"
BANG—!!!
A beam of dark-red light, like a burst of hellfire, ripped through the air and shot out instantly.
The crimson beam silently sank into the center of the Silver-rank Witch Hunter's forehead.
The look of shock on the hunter's face froze. The arrogance and disdain in her eyes were rapidly replaced by boundless terror and disbelief. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out.
Starting from her forehead, a deep, bloody line appeared and traced its way down her body.
Squelch...
Before the horrified eyes of everyone present, the invincible, level 22 Silver-rank Witch Hunter... collapsed into a spreading pool of her own blood.
The townspeople who had followed the hunter into the alley turned deathly pale, their legs shaking uncontrollably. A few seconds later, as if waking from a nightmare, they let out a blood-curdling, collective shriek and scrambled over each other, fleeing in every direction in a blind panic.
"Holy shit," Hermione thought, staring at the gun in her hand. "This thing is way more powerful than I thought..."