The moment Luke’s eyes fluttered open, hunger gnawed at his stomach like a beast demanding to be fed. Without hesitation, he sat up and turned his head to the side where, as always, a trolley laden with fresh food awaited him. The warm, rich aroma of a meaty stew filled his nostrils, and he wasted no time in grabbing a bowl and digging in. Spoon after spoon, he devoured the dish, barely even pausing to register the flavors. The first bowl disappeared in record time, and without a second thought, he reached for another, finishing that one just as quickly.

Only after his appetite was satisfied did Luke take a moment to reflect. I used to be fine with one bowl… he thought, glancing at the empty dishes. It wasn’t just his hunger from the night before carrying over—his appetite had clearly increased. He had read about this before: when one’s body underwent changes, especially improvements in strength and stamina, their metabolic needs also spiked. Am I getting stronger?

Despite the curiosity bubbling within him, he decided not to dwell on it for now. What was truly bothering him, however, was the fact that he had broken his own sacred rule—he had eaten before bathing. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Unforgivable. What kind of barbarian have I become? Shaking his head at his own lapse in discipline, he quickly got up and headed straight for the bathroom, cleansing himself thoroughly as if to erase his earlier transgression.

Once he was dressed and ready for the day, Luke’s gaze naturally drifted toward the corner of his spacious room. There, neatly placed, were the two large boxes filled with small metal chunks and large pieces of wood.

Steeling himself for the day ahead, he finally made his way downstairs. As expected, Charles was already waiting in the main hall, ever the picture of efficiency. The moment their eyes met, Luke wasted no time.

“Charles, I need you to retrieve all the flintlock pistols I used yesterday at the training facility and have them sent to my room,” he instructed plainly.

Charles gave a small bow. “Of course, young master. They will be delivered promptly.”

Satisfied, Luke turned and stepped outside, breathing in the crisp morning air. It was time for his training.

His morning routine consisted of a steady jog around the estate grounds, followed by various exercises to build endurance and agility. He could feel his muscles working, his breath steady, his body slowly but surely adapting to the effort. Yet, today, something unexpected happened again.

Strength: (+1)

Agility: (+1)

Luke slowed to a halt, staring at nothing in particular as he tried to process what had just occurred. Again? He was sure this wasn’t supposed to happen. Even the Gunner class’s passive description only mentioned a ‘slight increase’ in stats over time, not something as obvious as this.

His mind raced through possibilities. Could it be an external factor? Some kind of enhancement he wasn’t aware of? He quickly recalled a passage from Stats and Classes for Dummies—specifically about advancement potions. These rare elixirs could rapidly increase a person’s physical stats and push them to the next stage of growth. But those things are super rare, and Garhan isn’t nearly sweet enough to slip me one without making a big deal out of it.

If Garhan had given him something like that, he would have said something. The man loved making his generosity known, especially to Luke, whom he still likely saw as a failed investment. There was no way he’d let this pass without taking credit.

Luke exhaled sharply, feeling the tension in his muscles fade as his newfound strength settled in. Whatever. If I can’t figure it out now, there’s no point in worrying. He decided to put the matter to the back of his mind for now and focus on what was in front of him.

After two hours of rigorous training, he finally made his way back to the mansion, sweat clinging to his skin. As he entered his room, he paused at the sight before him. The number of large wooden crates had increased.

Charles had already done his job.

Nodding in satisfaction, Luke wasted no time and went straight to the bath. The warm water washed away his exhaustion, the soothing sensation helping him relax as he reflected on the day so far. He lingered longer than usual, allowing himself to enjoy the moment before finally stepping out, drying himself off, and dressing in fresh clothes.

Now fully refreshed, he turned his attention back to the crates. Walking over to them, he pried open the nearest one and took out a few pieces of the metal chunks, a large piece of wood, and a couple of the flintlock pistols. He carried them over to a sturdy table in the corner of the room, setting them down carefully.

A grin tugged at his lips as he rolled his shoulders and sat down. "Alright, let's get started."

Even though there were no explicit instructions on how to begin the upgrade, Luke instinctively knew what to do. It was as if the knowledge had always been there, waiting to be used.

"The system really is so convenient," he muttered as he lined up the materials in front of him. A decent quantity of metal chunks, a large piece of wood, and the flintlock pistols sat neatly on the table, ready for the process to begin. Hovering his hand above them, he took a deep breath and chanted, "Upgrade."

The moment the word left his lips, something extraordinary happened.

The materials trembled, and from the pile, precise amounts of metal and wood were drawn in by an unseen force. One hundred grams of metal and two hundred grams of wood seemed to melt away from the larger pieces, transforming into a glowing, gooey essence that hovered midair. Thin blue streaks of light began weaving between them, pulsating as they formed intricate patterns in the air. One of the pistols from the bunch lifted itself off the table, its components disassembling midair as the shimmering materials surged toward it.

Luke watched in awe as the gun’s barrel, trigger, and wooden grip separated, each piece suspended in the glowing network of blue light. The gooey essence flowed toward the floating parts, seeking to bind them together in a new and improved form.

Then, everything went horribly wrong.

The once-brilliant blue streaks of energy flickered, their glow dimming into a dull gray. A deep cracking sound echoed through the room as if reality itself had split for a moment. The suspended parts trembled violently before—

They simply ceased to exist.

The floating materials, the flintlock pistol, every piece involved in the upgrade process… all of it vanished. It was as if they had never been there in the first place.

A cold, sinking feeling settled in Luke’s chest as a system window appeared in front of him.

Flintlock Pistol Upgrade: Failed.
Materials have been lost.

Luke groaned in frustration but refused to give up. He repeated the process two more times, each attempt ending in the same failure. By the third time, his brain felt like it had been reduced to mush. His hands trembled, his skin had turned pale, and cold sweat clung to his forehead.

"Shit… I didn’t think mana exhaustion would feel this severe."

He had read about this phenomenon before. Every skill in this world used mana as its primary fuel, and Gunner Craftsmanship (Normal) was no exception. Unlike RPGs, there wasn’t a visible mana bar, but Luke could instinctively feel it—each attempt at upgrading had drained roughly one-fifth of his total mana.

His eyes shifted toward the ring on his finger. Without it, he wouldn’t have even been able to use the skill.

The Ring of Intelligence granted him +2 to Intelligence—the stat that determined mana capacity and the damage of magic-based skills. His base Intelligence was a measly 1, meaning he had unknowingly lucked out by having this item. If not for the ring, he wouldn’t have had enough mana to perform the skill even once.

Taking a shaky breath, he made up his mind.

"One more time. Then I’ll wait for my mana to recover."

For the fourth time, he lined up the materials and uttered the command. "Upgrade."

This time, something was different.

The blue streaks of energy burned even brighter than before, their color shifting into a lighter, almost ethereal hue. The disassembled parts and the gooey metal and wood moved with a newfound urgency, frantically assembling as if drawn by an unseen force. The process, which had previously collapsed at the final stage, now surged forward with unstoppable momentum.

The streaks of light intensified, wrapping around the forming gun like glowing veins, pulsating with an almost rhythmic energy. The gooey essence melded seamlessly with the disassembled components, strengthening the structure of the weapon beyond its original limitations. The wooden grip took on a polished, reinforced texture, and the barrel gleamed as though newly forged by the most skilled of gunsmiths.

The sheer complexity of the process was mesmerizing. The energy vibrated in the air, forming a delicate symphony of magic and craftsmanship, each thread of power weaving into the very foundation of the weapon itself. The entire room seemed to hum with latent energy as the final pieces slotted into place, merging into a single, unified form.

Ten seconds later, the transformation was complete.

A single, polished flintlock pistol rested on the table before Luke, its surface gleaming under the dim light. He could hardly believe it. His breath came in ragged gasps, his body drained to the point of near collapse. If he tried this one more time, he was certain he would pass out.

Ignoring the burning exhaustion in his muscles, he steadied his racing heart and turned his gaze toward the new system notifications.

Upgrade Successful!
Flintlock Pistol Upgrade: +165%

Flintlock Pistol+

Type: Firearm

Attack Power: 66-79 Base physical pierce damage (+bullet damage)

Range: 21-64 meters

Scaling: Dexterity C+

Acuracy: 66%

Details: A single-shot, muzzle-loaded firearm. Requires manual reloading after each shot. Due to an upgrade, the pistol is in a much better condition than ordinary flintlock pistols, featuring improved craftsmanship, refined barrel alignment, and enhanced firing stability.

Rarity: Uncommon

Durability: 100/100

Luke’s eyes widened. Not only had it succeeded, but the pistol’s rarity had increased. It had gone from a common weapon to an uncommon one. There were no additional enchantments or special effects, but the gun itself had improved significantly in both quality and appearance.

Then, more notifications appeared.

New Achievement Unlocked!
Upgrade a gun successfully for the first time!
Reward: Double Round (Skill)

New Achievement Unlocked!
Upgrade a gun’s rarity for the first time!
Reward: +5 Intelligence

+2 Wisdom

As soon as the notification appeared, Luke felt an immediate change. A cool sensation washed over his body, his lingering headache vanishing in an instant. His heart, which had been pounding moments ago, settled into a steady rhythm. He instinctively knew the reason—his intelligence and wisdom had increased, stabilizing his mana and improving his recovery speed. The exhaustion he had felt earlier seemed far less pressing now, and he had a feeling he could go through the upgrade process multiple times before truly tiring out.

He glanced at the notifications again, still processing the sheer amount of growth he had just experienced.

A total of +7 stat points, with +5 in Intelligence and +2 in Wisdom. That was a massive jump, much larger than he had expected. He could even feel that the mana he had lost earlier had already returned, thanks to his boosted wisdom.

Wisdom was already his highest stat, and now it had reached 11, making it his first stat to hit double digits. This stat governed mana recovery and brain capacity, meaning his mana naturally replenished faster than before. Though his overall mana pool was still low, at least he wouldn’t run out as quickly.

Luke let out a small sigh, shaking his head. "If I had these stats back then, I probably could’ve gotten sponsored… but that doesn’t really matter now." He thought about it for a moment. Even if he had these stats, he doubted he would have gotten anywhere near the ridiculous sponsorship amount he had already secured. So, there was no reason to dwell on it.

Pushing aside those thoughts, he turned his attention to the new skill he had unlocked.

Skill: Double Round (Level 1)

Effect: Upon activation, instantly fire another shot using the same type of ammunition as the previous shot without consuming ammunition. Works even for firearms that require manual reloading. The second shot deals 50% additional damage.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

As proficiency increases, the cooldown will decrease, and the additional damage will increase.

Luke’s eyes lit up. "This is broken!"

Flintlocks had one major weakness—the need to reload after every shot. But with this skill, he could completely bypass that drawback and fire twice in quick succession. And since it duplicated the last bullet fired, he could potentially shoot a magic bullet for free in the future. That alone made this an insanely valuable skill.

Luke could barely hold back his excitement. His first-ever combat-related skill was something this useful? He wanted to try it out immediately—but he was in Garhan’s mansion, and randomly firing off a gun would be a terrible idea. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to be patient.

Instead, he decided to get back to upgrading more guns. Now that he had more mana and better recovery, he could go at it longer without worrying about exhaustion. He spent the rest of the day doing just that, taking breaks to read whenever he ran low on mana. Though, with his high wisdom, his mana recovery was so quick that he didn’t stay tired for long.

After upgrading 15 weapons in a row, he finally felt some real fatigue settling in. The success rate was abysmal—the system really wasn’t generous when it came to crafting. In his next 20 upgrade attempts, only 3 were successful. All of them were common-grade pistols, now restored to full durability and boasting slightly higher base damage than their broken counterparts. It wasn’t much, but Luke wasn’t about to complain. Functioning guns were a huge win.

By the end of the day, he had used every available pistol for upgrades, managing to successfully enhance 5 in total. He still had a decent supply of materials left, but no more pistols to work on.

With no more upgrades to do for now, he returned to reading before calling it a night.

The next four days passed in a blur. Luke spent his time juggling between reading, training his body, practicing his aim, testing out Double Round, and upgrading weapons whenever he received a new batch. His training routine had become more structured, and he could feel himself improving in every aspect.

And just like that, the day of his departure to the Academy of Berch Gyara had finally arrived.