Last Gun Alchemist

In front of the entrance to Stage Five of the maze, Ezra’s group had set up camp to recover before attempting the challenge.

The four stone doors stood behind them like silent judges, no sound came from beyond them, no wind and no voices. Just stillness.

Lime sat cross-legged on the ground, face tense with focus. An opened Novice Gun Alchemy book lay in front of him, its pages slightly bent from repeated use. Beside it was a loose sheet of paper. He held a pen tightly, his fingers already stained with ink.

His brows furrowed, he stared at the Alchemy circle in the book, then slowly lowered his pen, then drew a rough circle.

Then a star inside it.

After that, he began sketching what he believed was the symbol of mercury.

”You know that’s not the symbol of mercury, right?”

Ezra’s voice came from behind him.

Lime froze mid-stroke.

Ezra stepped closer and pointed at the book.

”You’re literally looking at the picture and you’re still making mistakes like this.”

He placed his hand on his forehead and shook his head slowly.

Lime blinked twice. ”Ahhh!”

He squeezed the paper violently, crumpling it into a ball before tossing it toward a growing pile of failed attempts.

”Damn it. Why do I keep making this same mistake?”

”I told you to trace it first,” Ezra said, narrowing his eyes. ”But you still insist on drawing it freehand like you’ve mastered it already.”

Lime lowered his head slightly.

”Well... I thought I finally got the picture in my head.”

He forced a small laugh.

Ezra stared at him.

What’s the difference between him and Gena?

He thought about it carefully.

”She might actually be better than him,” he concluded quietly, nodding once.

Lime turned his head sharply. ”Huh? Who’s better than me?”

”Nothing,” Ezra replied flatly. ”Focus. You have until I get back. If it’s not correct by then, you know what comes next.”

His pupils darkened faintly.

Lime shivered. ”Okay!”

He tore a fresh page from the notebook and began again, this time tracing carefully.

Ezra turned and walked toward the campfire.

Bobby lay near it, while Aliya sat beside him, poking at the flames with a stick.

”Bobby, you’re awake.”

No response.

Bobby’s eyes were closed, but he was breathing just slightly too evenly.

Aliya glanced at Bobby, then at Ezra, and covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

Ezra quietly reached into his space bag.

He uncapped a bottle of water, without hesitation...

He poured it over Bobby’s face.

”Ahhh!”

Bobby shot upright, coughing.

”So,” Ezra said calmly, staring at him with blank eyes, ”You are awake.”

”Argh... my head,” Bobby groaned, squinting at him through one eye.

Ezra didn’t react.

”I really do have a headache, though,” Bobby added weakly.

”You can heal that easily,” Ezra replied, sitting beside the fire. ”And if you can jump up like that, I’m sure you already have.”

Bobby sighed dramatically. ”...Fine.”

He sat up properly. ”So, when am I going to receive my own training from you?”

”Who said I was going to train you?” Ezra looked at him plainly.

”Ehn?”

Bobby blinked rapidly.

”But you’re helping Lime and Aliya!”

Ezra shrugged.

”They begged me when they found out Stage Five is an individual stage. I agreed later.”

Aliya coughed awkwardly, remembering how she had actually gone on her knees asking him for guidance while Lime had clung to Ezra’s leg dramatically.

”So...” Bobby glanced at him repeatedly.

”Bobby,” Ezra said calmly, pointing at him. ”I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to do. So, relax.”

”No!” Bobby suddenly shouted.

The word echoed off the stone walls.

Everyone froze.

”...Sorry,” he added quickly, bowing his head.

Lime paused his drawing for a moment, glanced back, then resumed.

”I need your help, Ezra,” Bobby continued, still bowing. ”I realized how weak I am after that fight and I don’t want to feel helpless like that again.”

There was no whining in his voice now, only determination.

Ezra stared at Bobby for a long second. Then his eyes shifted to Aliya. Then to Lime.

Honestly... training them does reduce the stress of having to protect them all the time.

The thought settled in his mind quietly.

But is this really alright?

He looked at the three of them again. They had been together for a while now and they had fought through stages together, bled together and rested by the same fire.

I’ve been getting closer to them.

His gaze grew slightly darker.

And this trial... it’s not the kind that allows you to get comfortable around just anybody.

He inhaled slowly.

I can’t just let my guard down because I joined Veda’s group, or because I’m talking to more people. I stayed alone before and nothing changed since I first got here.

It’s safer that way.

I can’t trust anyone, but I can still move carefully.

That was the conclusion he reached.

”Okay,” he said simply.

Bobby’s head snapped up.

”Really?” His face lit up in obvious relief. ”Thank you!”

”Yeah, yeah,” Ezra muttered, waving a hand dismissively before lying back on the ground and staring up at the rough stone ceiling.

After resting a bit longer, they resumed training.

First was Aliya.

She stepped forward, gripping her staff tightly while Ezra stood opposite her; dagger held loosely in one hand. The fire crackled behind them, casting flickering shadows over the stone walls.

They moved at the same time.

The staff sliced through the air.

Clang.

Ezra blocked it with the flat of his dagger with one hand.

”Do you know why you nearly lost to the blue-eyed girl?” he asked calmly while redirecting her next strike.

”It’s because she could close the gap and fight both long and close range!” Aliya replied, spinning her staff vertically before swinging horizontally toward his ribs.

”Yes,” Ezra answered, ducking slightly. ”But that’s not everything.”

He stepped inside her attack range suddenly, weaving through her next swing. His hand shot forward and grabbed her left wrist.

Aliya froze for half a second.

Her face turned slightly pink from how close he was.

Before she could react...

He kicked her supporting leg, losing her balance and landed on her backside.

”Ouch!”

”Focus,” Ezra said, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at her.

He bent slightly so they were almost at eye level.

”As it stands, one thing I’ve realized from most of you,” he continued, speaking louder so Bobby and Lime could hear him clearly while they continued their own tasks.

”You don’t fight like Alchemists.”

Bobby paused and Lime slowly turned their head to his direction.

Aliya frowned slightly from the ground.

”What do you mean?”

”Yes, we practice martial arts and weapon techniques,” Ezra said, straightening up. ”But that’s not our core strength as Alchemists, our physical strength and hand movements aren’t our greatest weapons.”

He tapped the side of his head.

”It’s our minds.”

He pointed directly to his temple.

”We fight using our heads, we observe, we analyze every bit of information we can pull from an opponent or problem and then we solve that problem in front of us before forcing our way through it.”

The fire popped softly behind him.

”Especially as Gun Alchemists. Choosing which gun to use, when to use it, and why to use it... that matters more than swinging harder.”

Bobby and Lime stopped what they were doing entirely and walked closer, sitting properly this time.

”That’s why we create Alchemy strategies,” Ezra continued. ”It’s not just about how long your Cognis lasts while performing Alchemy. It’s about how you want to approach a fight from the start.”

He turned to Bobby.

”Your idea wasn’t wrong,” he said plainly. ”Using a strength-boosting pill to double your power was smart.”

Bobby blinked in surprise.

”But where you failed,” Ezra went on, ”was tripling your strength with Cognis at the same time.”

He held up three fingers.

”Yes, you were worried about stamina since she’s way stronger than. Yes, you wanted to approach the fight with power and surprise, but you were facing someone who underestimated you.”

Bobby swallowed hard.

”And you charged at her with low combat experience and expected triple power alone to overwhelm someone more experienced than you.”

He lowered his hand.

”You should have used your Cognis to activate the coat’s defensive ability first. Then attacked while maintaining both strength and defense.”

Aliya and Lime both looked at Bobby now.

”Yes, she might still have beaten you,” Ezra said honestly. ”But your chances of winning would have increased to forty percent. And if she kept underestimating you...”

He paused.

”It could have jumped to sixty percent.”

Bobby’s eyes widened immediately. ”Really?”

”Yeah,” Ezra answered simply, then shifted his gaze toward Lime.

He exhaled once.

”I don’t even know what to say about you.”

He shook his head slowly.

”The fact that you came into this trial with only basic survival equipment and not even a revolver is... impressive confidence.”

His tone made it clear that it wasn’t praise.

Lime scratched the back of his neck.

Ezra continued.

”You can’t even perform a simple Bullet Alchemy. That’s the first Alchemy every awakened Alchemist learns. Even Half-stars can perform it with one hand.”

Lime lowered his head a little.

”But even then,” Ezra added, ”You know how to fight up close and your physique without Cognis enhancement is good.”

He stepped closer.

”So, I expected you to put up a better fight against the guy you faced.”

Lime felt the weight of Ezra’s stare and couldn’t maintain eye contact.

”What was that lousy use of Cognis?” Ezra asked sharply. ”You poured everything into forcing your way through someone who barely used his own.”

He folded his arms.

”If you’re going to launch a full-power attack at the end, then do it after making your opponent consume some of his Cognis first.”

Lime nodded slowly.

”You need to learn how to perform the basic bullet Alchemy circle properly,” Ezra went on. ”And you need to learn Cognis rotation.”

He tapped his own arm.

”Enhance one body part at a time. Don’t flood your entire body if you can’t sustain it, especially with how low your Cognis reserves are.”

Lime swallowed and nodded again.

”I understand.”

Ezra turned his head.

”Aliya.”

She flinched instinctively, already bracing for criticism.

”At least you understand your own weakness,” he said. ”But why is it so hard for you to solve something that simple?”

He narrowed his eyes on her.

”Eh? Simple how?” she asked, blinking.

”Why must you always keep your staff combined to perform Alchemy?” he asked plainly. ”You’re below Novice. You’re not an Adept. Definitely not a Meister.”

Aliya stared at her staff.

”If you were a Meister,” Ezra continued, ”You could perform Alchemy with a tap of your leg while holding your staff. So why burden yourself unnecessarily?”

He gestured toward her weapon.

”Your staff splits into two rods. Use that. Switch between a gun and one rod, or hold a rod in one hand and a gun in the other. Keep the second rod secured in a back pouch instead of your space bag.”

Aliya’s eyes widened slowly.

The idea felt obvious now.

”Why didn’t I think of that?” she murmured.

”It’s because most of you were trained with the mindset of fighters,” Ezra said calmly. ”Not Alchemists.”

He stepped back slightly so all three could see him clearly.

”You think that more Cognis equals more power. That as long as you have enough, you can brute-force anything.”

He shook his head once.

”But Cognis doesn’t grow without improvement in your thinking. If your brain isn’t pressured, if you don’t analyze and solve your own shortcomings, it won’t evolve.”

The firelight flickered across their faces.

”If you don’t challenge your thought process, your Cognis stagnates. Then you’ll spend years trying to advance to the next stage.”

Silence settled.

”Like I said,” Ezra finished, ”we Alchemists don’t fight with our fists first. We fight with our heads, Observe, Analyze, break down and Solve.”

He looked at each of them.

”Then we build up our strategy around what suits us. That’s our way.”

The three of them stood quietly.

Something shifted in them, it wasn’t enlightenment.

But it was awareness.

A small twitch behind their foreheads. A subtle ripple in their Cognis pathways. As if something that had been stagnant started moving again.

Without speaking, all three adjusted their posture.

They sat down cross-legged and closed their eyes.

Meditation.

They didn’t want to waste that sensation.

Ezra watched them for a moment.

The fire crackled softly as the maze remained silent.

He exhaled slowly.

”I should meditate too... now that I finally have some time for myself.”

He sat down.

Closed his eyes.

And let the noise inside his head fade away.