Last Gun Alchemist

”You must be really enjoying yourself, Ezra.”

Cyrus said it while staring daggers at Ezra, though the irritation in his voice was mixed with the helpless feeling of someone who had already accepted that he had no choice but to watch the others take the stage.

Ezra turned his eyes toward him.

”Next time, be in the group presenting.”

He replied flatly.

Cyrus smiled.

However, the vein at the side of his forehead bulged slightly.

”You don’t say.”

He said, sounding as though Ezra had just given him the most useless advice possible.

”But our fight recording was actually good, though.”

Maxwell said from where he sat on a bench near the side of the tent.

Outside, the noise of the auction continued without stopping. Guests moved in and out of the club booth, while more voices gathered around the displays that had already begun attracting attention.

”It was good, especially watching you beat the crap out of the Lord Yeti.”

An upperclassman who had recently entered the tent spoke while remembering what he had watched in the recording.

”But...”

Two club members spoke at the same time.

They looked at each other.

It was obvious they were thinking the same thing.

”Jeremy’s group fight against the Elder Ghost Crawler was amazing.”

One of the upperclassmen said, nodding as if he had already made up his mind.

”Especially the destructive level of the firearms I saw you use, Ezra Ashenlocke.”

A first-year turned toward Ezra, his expression filled with excitement.

”Those gunshot sounds were solid.”

Another club member added, equally excited.

”I’m not a firearms expert, but those firearms felt different from the usual Binder-rank firearms.”

An upperclassman spoke thoughtfully.

”That’s because he obviously used the new ammunition his family produced.”

Another upperclassman replied as though he had already figured out part of the answer.

”Although, I don’t know about that assault rifle he was holding. It did look like he was looking through some kind of scope while shooting, yet he was still able to move it in such a fluid way.”

”Yeah, what was that firearm?”

A female first-year looked toward Ezra with curiosity.

Her question immediately drew the attention of many of the other club members.

They all turned toward him.

Ezra looked back at them.

”That’s an upgrade to the AK-47 I made after getting the idea of combining it with a scope.”

He explained without thinking too much about telling the group about the assault rifle.

”At the end of the day, I made some changes, and that was the result.”

He concluded his explanation in a simple and straightforward manner.

Although, everything he had just said was clearly not the truth.

But who could have known?

”Oh, that’s really cool.”

The female first-year who had first shown interest in the firearm looked at Ezra with an amazed expression.

”The rising Young Inventor strikes again with another cool invention.”

An upperclassman said excitedly, clearly impressed.

”Yeah, I know the AK-47 very well, so I can already imagine how cool it would look with a sniper’s scope on it.”

Another male upperclassman nodded excitedly in agreement.

”Who could have guessed that apart from a Sniper rifle, an Assault rifle could also have a scope.”

”I guess, it’s because they are both generally rifles.”

Conversation on the Ak-47 spread amongst the club members present in the tent.

They all discussed how Ezra came to the idea of adding a scope on the Ak-47.

”The Ashenlockes are really on the rise, thanks to you, Ezra Ashenlocke.”

Cyrus said with a proud smile.

”I might be the son of a Duke, but it’s clear your future is brighter than mine.”

His tone was playful.

Ezra looked at him quietly without saying anything.

”The changes you made by adding that scope were what made the assault rifle move so dangerously in your hands.”

Maxwell stroked his chin as he looked at Ezra thoughtfully.

This Gun Alchemist seems to be as impressive as Lady Vera Ashenlocke, Lady Diane Bergwyn, and Ravenor Burnwick.

He continued staring at Ezra.

At first... just from looking at his appearance, he doesn’t give me strong vibes, that’s how I have been viewing him the first time I meet him, but now...

A faint smile slowly appeared on Maxwell’s face.

There was now a faint excitement in his eyes.

”Ezra Ashenlocke.”

Maxwell stood up from the bench.

He moved toward Ezra, walking through the gathered crowd of seniors and his classmates.

Many of the club members turned their attention toward him, curious about what he wanted to say to Ezra.

Although there were still some people who narrowed their eyes slightly when looking at Maxwell, many had begun seeing him differently after his performance during the mission.

Now, the stares directed at him were mostly filled with curiosity.

”You guys are making me shy with all those stares.”

Maxwell scratched the back of his head, looking faintly nervous.

”Hahaha.”

Several club members laughed.

”Mm... Mm... Mmm.”

Maxwell cleared his throat several times before calming himself.

He looked at Ezra again.

This time, his expression became serious.

”You are one hell of a mysterious person, Ezra Ashenlocke.”

He said calmly.

You are a mysterious person yourself. Sun Alchemist.

Ezra thought to himself quietly, looking at Maxwell plainly.

”But I hope I’ll be able to see your true strength when we face each other in the Grand First-Year Combat Festival.”

Maxwell raised a hand and pointed at Ezra, a calm smirk appearing on his face.

”First, the festival fights are done randomly, so we might not even meet until the final.”

Ezra replied plainly.

”Oh.”

Maxwell blinked.

A look of realization appeared on his face.

”You didn’t even know that.”

”And he made the declaration so boldly.”

”Hahahaha.”

The club members laughed as they teased Maxwell.

It wasn’t that they were mocking him.

The mood inside the tent had simply become too amusing to not laugh.

Maxwell’s confident expression immediately weakened, and his face returned to a slightly nervous look.

”But...”

Ezra’s voice cut through the noise.

The laughter gradually stopped.

”That means we will be facing each other.”

Ezra stood up calmly.

The Starlix 11 had remained in his hand throughout the conversation. Now, he placed it back into his space bag.

”Who knows, maybe in the final.”

Ezra spoke plainly before walking toward the exit of the tent and exiting the tent.

The moment he stepped outside, the noise from the club booth surrounded him.

Auction sales were already taking place nearby, and guests moved between the different displays while examining the crafts and research materials that had been placed around the booth.

The club members inside the tent looked at the exit quietly.

A few exchanged glances.

There was a sense of amazement in their eyes.

Ezra had just made a claim that made it sound as though he intended to reach the finals of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival.

But against all the talents and geniuses in his year...

To the club members, it felt more like a wish than a confident declaration.

Ezra himself hadn’t even said it with confidence.

There was no proud expression.

No excitement.

No sign that he was making a bold declaration before his future rivals.

Because of that, none of them could truly tell whether he was seriously aiming for the top spot.

As Ezra walked through the pathways of the club booth, he saw guests buying the club’s crafts and research displays at fixed prices.

At the same time, Vera’s voice echoed elegantly from the room designated as the auction room.

She was the one leading the auction.

Further away, Ezra saw Diane working with the sales team as she attended to the guests and helped organize the displays.

Ezra continued moving until he finally reached the club booth exit.

”You’re going out, Ezra Ashenlocke?”

A first-year club member asked curiously.

He was stationed at the entrance of the booth alongside another upperclassman.

”Yeah... I have somewhere to be.”

Ezra replied in his usual plain manner.

”Safe movements, Ezra Ashenlocke.”

The upperclassman said calmly.

”Also, please make it back here in time. Our presentation will start soon.”

The first-year waved toward Ezra as he left the club booth.

Ezra waved back once as he continued walking.

His current destination was...

The Silver Circle Club.

It was finally time to meet the senior member of the Evergrey family.

More importantly, Ezra wanted to observe properly what the Evergrey’s truly wanted from him.

With that thought in mind, Ezra walked calmly through the busy, buzzing environment of the Mix Arena, disappearing into the flow of students and guests moving between the different club booths.