Last Gun Alchemist

The cafeteria was not completely full, but there was still a good number of people inside.

Some students sat quietly eating while others moved around the hall carrying trays of food. Plates clattered lightly against the metal counters while the faint smell of cooked meat and spices hung in the air. Voices blended together in low chatter.

Ezra and Gena finished collecting their food from the serving counter.

Gena had wrapped a scarf around her head and lower face, hiding most of her appearance. Only her eyes could be seen clearly as she followed Ezra across the room.

They walked toward a table near the far end of the cafeteria.

That corner was usually avoided by most people. It was close to a wall and far from the bright center lights, making it feel quieter than the rest of the hall.

Gena placed her tray down and immediately stared at the dish in front of her.

Elegant pasta rested on the plate, coated with rich sauce. Beside it was a piece of perfectly grilled salmon. The skin looked crisp while steam rose slowly from the surface.

Next to the plate sat a glass cup of milk.

Cold water droplets slid down the glass, and small blocks of ice clinked softly inside it.

Gena’s eyes widened.

She couldn’t stop the drool forming in her mouth.

”Gulp...”

She swallowed dryly while staring at the food.

Then she clapped her hands together and bowed slightly.

”Thank you for the food.”

She smiled brightly and immediately began eating.

Her fork moved quickly between the pasta and the salmon. In the middle of eating, small tears began to slide down the side of her face.

I can’t believe this is the life this trial has turned me into.

The tears continued falling, landing on the fabric of her clothes.

Across the table, Ezra watched her silently for a moment before returning to his own food.

His plate contained less pasta but more protein.

He ate calmly and steadily, focusing on the parts of the meal that would help increase his physical strength.

After a while, Ezra finished eating.

He wiped his mouth with a white napkin and drank a glass of warm water.

Then he leaned back slightly and looked at Gena, who was now carefully sipping from her cold milk.

”You seem to have grown a bit over the past month,” Ezra said. ”I didn’t see you during that time.”

”Huh?”

Gena lowered the glass.

”Hehehe.”

She suddenly raised her arms and flexed her muscles dramatically.

”I have gotten stronger!”

She puffed her chest proudly.

”I can see that.”

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly at her.

He took another sip of the remaining warm water.

”So,” he said calmly, ”anything I should know?”

”Hmmm.”

Gena stroked her chin while thinking.

”You already know about the rankings though...”

Then her eyes lit up.

”Oh!”

She raised a finger.

”Rumors are actually spreading about you.”

”Rumors?”

Ezra looked interested now.

”Well...”

Gena glanced around before leaning slightly closer to him.

”It’s about you causing Aliya’s death.”

She spoke quietly so that only he could hear.

”Ehn...”

Ezra didn’t look surprised.

”A lot of the female highlines started talking badly about you,” Gena continued.

”People from my group, Sir Henry’s group, Lady Priscilla’s group, and Sir Bale’s group.”

She paused briefly.

”For Sir Felix’s group, the atmosphere around them has been heavy since the trial, so I don’t know if they talked about you.”

”Oh, and your group especially had the worst things to say.”

Ezra leaned back slightly.

”It’s either Linda or Felix who spread the rumor.”

He thought for a moment.

”But I haven’t felt any hostile stares or killing intent from anyone since then.”

Gena smiled.

”That’s because my Lady stepped in and cleared things up.”

”Your Lady?”

Ezra blinked.

The way she said those words reminded him of only two people he had ever heard say them before.

”Did you get influenced by that Vera follower?” he asked while staring at her.

Gena scratched the back of her head nervously.

”Well... we did get close in the Hell Maze.”

”So, I learned a few things from Nina.”

She forced a small laugh.

”But Nina was really shocking though!”

Her tone became animated again.

”Lady Vera was as graceful as always, but the other guy in our group...”

She paused.

”Mehh.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

”Lady Vera led us through all the trials quickly and efficiently.”

”There were times I thought I would die, but thanks to the teachings you gave me, I was able to survive.”

She exhaled slowly.

”Although fighting my look-alike was very difficult.”

”Even harder than the fake illusion I saw in the sixth stage.”

”But like I said, Nina was really shocking.”

Gena leaned forward slightly.

”You would wonder if she was really strong enough to be ranked twelfth.”

”But when I saw the way, she fought and used her alchemy during combat...”

Her eyes widened.

”I realized she was dangerous and amazing.”

She took another gulp of milk.

”Honestly, I think she might even be stronger than some people ranked above her.”

”You don’t say.” Ezra said calmly.

Even though she had drifted away from the main topic, he still listened with interest.

”Can you imagine?” Gena continued excitedly.

”I’ve never even seen you do something like that before.”

”Maybe you could, but Nina is the only alchemist I’ve seen who can fight using three revolvers at the same time.”

Gena waved her hands dramatically.

”She would juggle the guns between her hands and fire them while still staying accurate.”

”And her movements were always fluid.”

”She wasn’t physically strong, but when I saw her fight one of Lady Priscilla’s strongest members during the fourth stage...”

She spread her hands.

”It was sooo cool!”

”That’s actually unique.”

Ezra stroked his chin thoughtfully.

To move guns like that without disturbing your footwork...

To keep accuracy while attacking from multiple angles...I’m discovering new things

He imagined the movement briefly.

”She’s definitely strong.”

”Yeah, she is.”

Gena finished the rest of her milk.

”Oh, another rumor spread around too.”

She leaned forward again.

”They say the reason Sir Felix’s rank dropped was because he and his team ambushed Sir Veda...”

”And Sir Veda defeated them alone.”

”All by himself.”

Ezra remembered something.

When he exited the maze earlier, he had noticed that Veda was injured, but at that time his mind had been too focused on other things to think about it.

”So, it was because of Felix.”

He looked at the empty plates on the table.

”My group’s atmosphere also became quiet after Lady Pamela locked herself indoors.”

”She hasn’t been herself since the fourth trial.”

Gena sighed.

”I know I said earlier that I was worried about you when I saw her training and planning with Cale and the rest to kill you.”

”But now I feel like it was stupid of me to worry about you.”

She shrugged.

”I’m actually feeling a little sorry for her.”

”You don’t look that sorry.”

Ezra replied while gathering the plates and stacking them neatly.

”Well, she did try to kill you.”

Gena scratched her cheek.

”So, part of me thinks you should have killed her.”

”But saying that out loud makes me feel strange.”

She forced a small laugh.

”Honestly, I don’t know what happened inside the maze.”

”What led to Aliya’s death...”

”Cale, Nile, and Jimmy’s deaths...”

”Lady Pamela’s breakdown, why people blame you for Aliya’s death, I don’t know what happened to you.”

She leaned forward and placed her hand lightly on Ezra’s shoulder across the table and smiled softly.

”But all I know is that you tried your best to survive and that’s all that matters to me.”

She stood up and stretched her arms.

Ezra looked at her for a moment.

He seemed slightly impressed that she could say something like that.

”Yooosh!” Gena clenched her fists playfully.

”I can feel my energy burning.”

”I should go back and continue training to perfect my alchemy strategy.”

”I want to become strong enough to stand beside people like Nina, you, Sir Veda, and Lady Vera.”

She tightened her fists again.

”Well,” Ezra said while standing up, ”since I’m in the mood, I might as well join you for training before going to the library.”

”Ehn?”

Gena stared at him like she had just seen a ghost.

”I can handle it myself though.”

She forced a smile.

”Let’s go.”

Ezra walked away.

Gena groaned loudly before dragging her feet behind him.

”Nooo!”

***

Ezra trained her seriously.

He corrected her mistakes and adjusted parts of the training routine he had originally given her.

During the training he also noticed small changes in her physique.

Gena had always possessed natural physical strength, but she had never truly tapped into it before.

The first training routine Ezra created had been designed to build her stamina and strengthen her mindset.

Now he modified parts of it so that she could begin using that natural strength properly while blending it with her alchemy strategies.

After grilling her through a long training session, Ezra finally left.

He freshened up and then headed straight to the library.

There he continued his work on remodeling the Baske 1945 while also designing several other firearms.

He modified the alchemy circle of the Glock 17 so that steel could be altered to mimic the polymer components used in the gun’s structure.

There were many weapons from his previous world that he still wanted to recreate here.

And beyond that, there were also new ideas forming in his mind that strayed beyond just modern weapons.

Weapons stronger than anything that had existed in either world, but the thought of the difficulties ahead continued to linger in his mind.

He didn’t know much about the world itself, talkless about knowing all about Britannia, also if he created such inventions, there would certainly be people who would try to claim them or seize control of them.

For now, he was lucky.

During the trials, the Board had not focused too closely on him, mostly focusing their attention on the mainlines and highlines, that was one of the reasons he knew that caused his drop in rank.

Even though he was ranked, none of them seemed to know about the guns he had been using.

Still, the question remained.

Why did he want to walk down this path?

He could simply survive the trials.

Take revenge on his family.

Then live quietly afterward.

But Ezra already knew something.

A peaceful life would not appear just because he survived and took revenge.

And as an alchemist...

The urge to create, to experiment, and to invent had already taken root inside him.

Especially when it came to guns.

The passion from his past life had followed him into this one even more.

And this time...

He intended to live his life better than the last.

At the very least.