For the next hour, Pandora did some serious thinking.

  From the main line, she drew branches and wrote down a bunch of other things: Combat Skill, Weapons, Gear, Alchemy Supplies, the next 【Myriad Alchemy】…

  And so on.

  By the time she surfaced from her thoughts, the once-blank page was crowded with plans and symbols.

  Only then did she look up again and take in the dense forest of goals she’d set for herself.

  For some reason, a thought drifted up:

  So many goals. So many plans…

  Could she really do it all?

  Pandora wasn’t sure.

  She scratched her head absently.

  “Eh, whatever. One step at a time! I’ll figure it out… ‘when the time comes’!”

  ………………

  And that “when the time comes”…

  Arrived seven months later.

  “Baroness… Baroness? Your hot cocoa’s ready.”

  “Baroness?”

  Oh. That was her.

  Pandora, seven months later, heard the attendant’s soft call and snapped out of her short daze.

  For some reason, she’d just remembered that morning seven months back—sitting at her desk, using a quill to sort herself out, setting goal after goal.

  But…

  They say the more plans you make, the less you get done.

  She’d set so many goals, and in the end, hadn’t truly finished a single one!

  Watching the steam curl from her cup, Pandora couldn’t help a bitter smile and a mental jab at herself—she really was way too lazy.

  But people are like that; they can’t even sympathize with their past selves.

  She wasn’t even consciously aware of her current self, sprawled lazily on this soft couch.

  She took a sip of the hot cocoa.

  Even with all the noise around, Pandora felt she could “hear” her own satisfaction—the warm, sweet liquid sliding down her throat, the accidental, contented sigh she let slip.

  “‘The Quarry’s’ hot cocoa… is the best!”

  Pandora murmured to herself softly, then looked up toward the noisy, crowd-packed center area not far off.

  This was the Quarry in Eden’s East District.

  Three sides were sheer rock walls dozens of meters high, left over from digging. The last side was a narrow, long exit, now totally sealed by two huge iron doors welded with steel plates and peek-holes.

  Here, you couldn’t hear the market bustle of Eden’s main street. Just the wind and gunfire smacking back and forth between the rock walls, making deep, echoing booms.

  That’s where its real name came from: the “Echo Quarry.”

  It made sense. The place was an old, played-out limestone quarry, shut down long before everything went bad.

  Now, with Eden here, it got a new life. The “Echo Quarry” became the most famous “gun club” in the Ruined City.

  Right now, the quarry was packed. Especially in this shooting zone called “The Serpentine,” where Pandora sat. The stands outside the range were full, bursting with roaring cheers one second and sharp jeers the next.

  Main reason: the quarry’s monthly big challenge tournament was on today.

  It was the quarry’s top event. Contestants paid an entry fee in ammo—the real currency here—to take on different shooting challenges.

  Three main ones: “Quick-Draw King,” “Ballistics Calculator,” and the most popular… “Death Sprint.”

  Today was the third.

  Death Sprint’s rules were simple—

  In “The Serpentine” range, set up like streets and rooms, clear all moving targets as fast as you could without hitting any misplaced “hostage targets” meant for civilians. Winner was shortest total time and highest score!

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  And today’s Death Sprint crowd was way bigger than usual.

  Simple reason: a long-famous competitor was about to show—his tag was “The Scalpel.”

  He’d once pulled off a scary seven-win streak in Death Sprint!

  And that wasn’t even his limit. He didn’t get an eighth win just because he’d gotten kinda bored of winning.

  He’d once said he wouldn’t do Death Sprint again until the next challenger showed up who could really spark his interest.

  For today’s Death Sprint, he’d made an exception.

  That meant today’s match had a “challenger” who interested him. A lot.

  And it was true.

  The mysterious “challenger” had already racked up three straight wins in this tournament. This time, she was going for a shiny fourth!

  Get that fourth win, and she’d get a “Private Custom Grade” firearm mod from the quarry bosses.

  That was the most valuable prize the quarry’s shooting challenge gave out.

  So, whether this rising challenger grabbed the “Private Custom Grade” mod or the seven-time champ “The Scalpel” broke her streak, either way, it was enough to keep every member talking for a month.

  Any club member with free time was basically here.

  Pulling her thoughts back, Pandora looked to her left.

  There, on another worn, kinda shiny leather couch, sat someone else.

  A wiry, lean man, not tall, not short, with some scruff on his chin like he hadn’t bothered shaving.

  He seemed to feel Pandora’s look, answering with a faint smile that didn’t show much.

  That look made him seem more like a friendly, normal neighbor.

  Not so much like… that legendary sharpshooting prodigy rumored to be here to break her streak.

  And the newcomer, the one the whole crowd was betting on to take on the legend, was naturally Pandora herself.

  Known in the buzzing crowd chatter as… “The Baroness.”

  It was a kinda unexpected title she’d picked up at the quarry these last few days.

  In these seven months,

  she hadn’t really finished any of those big goals she’d set before. But time didn’t just vanish.

  That long stretch, over half a year, meant she couldn’t have done… nothing at all.

  Honestly,

  at first, she really had tried to beat her own laziness and get something done.

  Especially that goal of a “Wizard Meditation Method”—she’d run straight to the East District of Eden right after writing it down.

  But after looking all over, it wasn’t there. A few better-connected brokers said they could look for her, but… it meant a long wait and a high price.

  So, while waiting for that faint sliver of news, Pandora found some other ways to pass the time.

  Initially, it was just wandering around, watching old pre-Calamity movies played on an old battery-powered projector in Eden’s East District.

  Then, she started playing cards and dice. But just playing for fun, not gambling.

  Once the regulars around her figured out she didn’t bet, just liked the game itself, they stopped inviting her.

  Some time later,

  she stumbled onto this gun club on Eden’s edge—the Echo Quarry.

  In the beginning, she just thought she’d try a few casual games before moving on.

  But…

  she accidentally ended up playing for seven months straight, and also accidentally put together a three-game winning streak.

  So much so that the quarry’s own living legend, “The Scalpel,” got curious enough to challenge her.

  She never expected her “just for fun” attitude would go this far.

  But she… had slightly underestimated her own talent for shooting.

  For one, the boost from her Witch bloodline was particularly strong here.

  —Shooting didn’t test just one body stat. It was a total-body test needing the brain, eyes, hands, and even breathing to work as one.

  Compared to “Corpse-Plague Acolytes,” who were only good at boosting one thing, the Witch bloodline’s balanced, all-around upgrade gave her a clear edge.

  Secondly,

  there was the old magic of cold, hard cash—

  To put it simply,

  as a “potion maker” with a System to help, there was no money she couldn’t make if she wanted.

  Remember, in this world, for a normal person, or even a first or second-rank apprentice, every bullet was seriously expensive.

  This kind of weapon, which could work across power levels, was solid gold currency among first and even second ranks.

  Just think: in Eden, you could even use it like high-class money, traded straight up for rare supplies.

  Practicing at the quarry—was each shot real practice?

  It was burning cash!

  But Pandora had exactly what it took to burn as much cash as she wanted.

  Whatever she burned, she could earn back in potions, if not more.

  So the title “The Baroness” didn’t start at the quarry. It began quietly in Eden’s potion market, because her potions always sold out.

  Her potions were good. For safety, she never sold the System’s 【Perfect-Grade】 stuff, instead watering them down a bit. Even watered down, they were still better than most on the market.

  She was also fair on price, sold in bulk, and didn’t play the usual games of others who either didn’t sell or tried to scam.

  So, even without connections or a channel at first, her rep grew over time. Word spread.

  Soon, whenever she showed up, all the potions she brought would be gone in half a day—sometimes less—snapped up by regulars who’d caught the news.

  That’s why she could shoot without worrying about how much it cost.

  Those two things—her talent and a mountain of cash—stacked perfectly, putting her right at the center of the spotlight.

  “Alright! Ladies! Gentlemen!”

  “I bet you’re all already going crazy waiting for the main event!”

  The announcer’s voice, crackling with speaker feedback, hit everyone’s ears clearly.

  “On one side, our legend! Our pride! The man with a killer seven-win streak in ‘Death Sprint’—Mister ‘The Scalpel’!”

  “On the other side, our Quarry’s shooting star! The one and only lady sharpshooter on a roll—‘The Baroness’!”

  On the field,

  the last round’s shooters had already cleared out. The crew had the course reset and cleaned in seconds flat.

  All to keep the energy burning.

  The pro announcer didn’t disappoint.

  A few fancy, hyped-up lines immediately lit the crowd, raising the crazy match atmosphere to its max!

  “The Scalpel! The Scalpel! The Scalpel!”

  “The Baroness! The Baroness! The Baroness!”

  Waves of shouting, like twin tidal surges, crashed back and forth inside the huge quarry bowl, turning into a roaring wall of sound.

  At the height of the cheers,

  “The Scalpel” and Pandora stood up at almost the same time.

  With the announcer’s loud, dramatic intro, they walked calmly to the starting line.

  Pandora glanced around on instinct.

  Sitting in the stands and standing in the arena’s center felt totally different.

  Right now, she was right in the middle of that roaring sound. For a second, she felt like the whole world was watching, her heart kicking up a beat.

  But,

  when she looked over at “The Scalpel” standing calm not far off, that hot feeling cooled fast.

  His expression was as steady as hers.

  That was a trait all top shooters seemed to share.

  Even with all the screaming energy, even with everything riding on the next few seconds—even the next breath—

  they could stay perfectly calm, completely still inside.

  The announcer rattled off the competition rules everyone already knew, then hurried through a list of sponsors.

  Finally, his voice shot up sharp. One sentence froze the roaring air in the quarry.

  Every spectator held their breath right then.

  “The match starts now. Shooters—Load!”