When faced with the unfamiliar foe, I considered that I could step in to help if things turned dire. The Marma Ross, infused with elemental power, didn’t just work as a physical force but also as a magical attack. Some enemies had resistances, but for those vulnerable to magic, it could deal significant additional damage.

In the original game, there were spells with no specific element, so if this slime creature proved troublesome, I could handle it. Equipping my shotgun with a fire-imbued Marma Ross would melt the slime down easily enough. The only downside was that it would heavily clog the barrel afterward.

“I don’t need help,” Lena replied confidently.

“Have you ever faced an amorphous creature like this before?”

“No.”

She was awfully self-assured for someone with no experience.

“But I know its characteristics well, and from what I understand, it poses no real threat to me.”

I couldn’t help but glance at the pistols holstered under each of her arms. If her guns were equipped with Marma Ross crystals, it would be noticeable, like my shotgun. But Lena’s pistols looked utterly ordinary.

“Alright then, go ahead.”

Without another word, Lena strode confidently down the hill, leaving us behind as she approached the slime-like creature below.

The monster looked more like a golem, aside from its semi-transparent blue, gelatinous appearance. It stood about three meters tall, and up close, it would be an intimidating sight.

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Alice asked, voicing my own concerns.

“She seems confident enough,” Claire replied, and the others watched Lena with keen interest.

After all, if things looked truly dangerous, I could always rewind time.

As we watched Lena’s receding figure, Mia Crowfield spoke up. “I think she’ll be fine.”

At her words, everyone turned to stare, making Mia shift uncomfortably as she gathered the courage to explain, “When someone is attuned to mana long enough, you learn to sense it in objects and people. I could sense… quite a lot of mana from Miss Meyer.”

Hmm.

Most people can’t detect mana without a high level of training. There’s a theory that sword energy is a form of mana, though in the game, it’s treated as a separate attribute. The mechanics of this world defy logical categorization—fantasy worlds don’t have to follow physical laws, after all.

“Mana? And that much?” Jake asked, looking at Mia in surprise, which made her blush even more.

“Um, I don’t think it’s her own mana. I didn’t sense it when we met in the hallway earlier…”

So it must be from the Marma Ross after all.

A sudden, guttural roar interrupted us, making everyone turn to see what was happening.

The slime-golem monster bellowed, its low rumbling sound reverberating as its gelatinous form quivered. The sight was slightly unsettling. But Lena, unphased, calmly drew both pistols, crossing them in a quick, confident motion.

…It was undeniably impressive. That small part of me that held onto my adolescent fascination with these displays found itself unexpectedly moved.

Without breaking her stride, Lena raised her pistols, aiming as the slime lunged toward her, its sheer size allowing it to close the distance surprisingly fast.

With steady aim, Lena fired a shot directly at the creature’s incoming, bulbous fist.

*Bang!*

Even from where we stood, the gunshot echoed loudly. The explosive force of the Marma Ross-infused bullet shattered the slime’s fist in a fiery burst that resembled a fireball rather than a simple bullet impact.

“Amazing! That’s Marma Ross, right?” Claire whispered in awe.

Indeed, it was Marma Ross.

But Lena’s guns showed no signs of modification to accommodate it. The barrels weren’t any thicker, and there was no external indication.

“Is she using the Marma Ross itself as ammunition?” Charlotte observed with curiosity.

“I think so,” Mia confirmed.

So her guns didn’t require modification; they fired regular bullets, but those bullets contained Marma Ross. The magic only activated on impact with the target.

The slime, seemingly enraged, swung its other arm toward her.

*Bang!*

Lena quickly twisted, firing with her left pistol and blowing off the slime’s remaining hand. Both arms gone, the creature showed no signs of weakening; the destroyed arm was already regenerating.

Before it could fully stabilize, Lena aimed again and fired at its right leg.

A sharp cracking sound filled the air as its leg shattered, releasing a cold mist as the frozen limb fell away. It resembled the sublimation of dry ice as it crumbled, and the creature tilted off balance.

So, her left pistol had a fire-imbued Marma Ross while the right had an ice element.

“In the Republic, there are plenty of big beasts. It’s less populated, so game for hunting is abundant,” Claire explained.

That, and there are numerous mines. Although the government controls most of them, the perpetual shortage of manpower due to the military draft means that there’s still plenty of Marma Ross available, much like how Winterfield hunters extract Marma Ross from mountain animals.

*Bang, bang, bang!*

The gunfire continued in rapid succession as Lena approached the fallen slime. Each shot she landed on its body rapidly froze the creature. Once it was fully immobilized, Lena finished it with a final shot from her left pistol.

With a fiery burst, the frozen mass shattered, scattering shards in all directions. The pieces quickly melted, leaving no trace of regeneration. It seemed she’d struck its core, rendering it completely inert.

Lena spun her pistols, casually blowing off the residual smoke before holstering them under her arms with a flourish.

“That was incredible!” Claire shouted, applauding along with the others as Lena returned.

A hint of pride showed on Lena’s usually stoic face as she looked in my direction, as if expecting praise.

“Well done.”

Some might dismiss her victory as mere “equipment advantage,” but in combat, such distinctions were irrelevant. Life and death were the only outcomes on the battlefield, and even swords came in both ordinary and enchanted varieties.

Still…

I couldn’t help but glance at the broken shards of the slime.

Considering the amount of Marma Ross she’d used, I couldn’t help but think she might’ve lost more value than she gained in this fight. With the slime in pieces, recovering any Marma Ross seemed unlikely.

But I kept this thought to myself. The satisfaction on her face was unmistakable.

…Maybe this is how Alice feels when she looks at me?