Chapter 10: Shooter, Lord of Arms 

As soon as Marcus received his awards, he quickly went through the system, wasting no time in allocating his two AP to strength and agility.

{Name: Marcus Jenkins}

{Age: 19/100}

{Level: 1}

{XP: 1450/1000 xp}

{HP: 136} {ATK: 64.5} 

{DEF: 68} {SPD: 61}

{STR: 12.9} (+) {VIT: 13.6} (+)

{CHA: 11.7} (+) {AGI: 12.2} (+)

With more points than he needed to advance the system to level 2, he gave the order, while watching his score rapidly decrease to 450 xp, before the system issued a visual warning signal.

Marcus was already lying down when this happened, so nothing occurred to him as he passed out, falling into a deep sleep while the system updated itself.

The system underwent a smooth evolution process. After seventy-five minutes, he started showing signs of waking up in the dimly lit living room of the Jenkins' house.

Everyone was asleep by this time, while only the light of the moon illuminated the room where he lay, feeling as if a truck had driven over him.

'Holy shit! Damn, this feeling is terrible!' He thought to himself as he woke up, rubbing his eyes and feeling a massive headache coming on.

The throbbing in his head was so intense that he could feel his own heartbeat reverberating through his skull.

[Missions: 2] [Achievements: 5] [Assets: $150] [Deaths: 1]

He saw the system's buttons appearing at the top and bottom of his vision, with letters that changed color or brightness depending on where he was looking. Regardless of whether his vision was impaired by night or day, Marcus would always see the system buttons in the same brightness.

[Name: Marcus Jenkins] [Skills: Level 3 Electrician]

[Legacy: Crime Lord] [Domain: None]

He clicked on the button with his name, then saw his status in much the same way as before, with a few changes.

{Name: Marcus Jenkins}

{Age: 19/100}

{Level: 2}

{XP: 450/2000 xp}

{HP: 136} {ATK: 64.5} 

{DEF: 68} {SPD: 61}

{STR: 12.9} (+) {VIT: 13.6} (+)

{CHA: 11.7} (+) {AGI: 12.2} (+)

Changing the system's level would have no impact on the information provided. The variation was in the type of mission that was accessible, which was restricted by level, along with the conversion rate for points.

He saw he could now convert 80 xp into an hour of training or study, or 400 xp into a useful AP to add to any of his attributes.

He looked at his backpack, on his right side, leaning against the wall that divided the living room and kitchen, where the gun Tyrice had given him earlier was.

The incident earlier had been strange. He had done nothing wrong, and yet Ohan had tried to kill him. This was a concerning matter, and Marcus was strongly linking it to Jam.

'I'm gonna watch gun videos on the internet and really dive into the subject. If I can find the manual for this pistol online, I can become a marksman.'

[Ding!]

[New mission unlocked!]

[Host, master the art of handling firearms in a mere two-day span!]

[Reward: Achievement, Lord of Arms 1; Skill, Shooter.]

He stopped his thoughts when he saw the system prompt, smiling as he gained a new mission.

He used the browser on his smartphone to find a list of free videos about firearms. There was a lot of content similar to what he wanted for free on the internet. 

Marcus didn't use up any of his experience points watching these videos. He could do it to study, but he thought it was worth trying to go to his learning limit without the help of the system before using up his points.

...

A couple of hours later...

Marcus viewed twelve videos on a popular video platform that is freely available in his country. During that period, he gained some knowledge about the mechanics of firearms, but his primary focus was on understanding the assembly of the pistol he was holding.

He saw videos showing the disassembly and assembly of the gun, how he should properly maintain it, the correct way to use it in times of crisis and in calm moments. He would also need to do some shooting training to improve his familiarity and accuracy using the gun.

Marcus had lived in Gray Village for 19 years. He knew that 70% of the thugs in his neighborhood had no firearms training whatsoever. These thugs were people who, for different reasons, wanted to join the crime 'movement', and they usually got their guns easily.

As for training, maintenance or other important points related to a shooter's routine, the vast majority of them didn't give a damn.

Perhaps this is why many bandits had poor aim, whereas the police, who occasionally patrolled the neighborhood, had a higher ratio of bandit fatalities to police casualties.

Marcus wouldn't overlook the significance of firearms training!

'There's a shooting club in the city center where you don't need an approval to train. From what that man in the AKFanatic video said, there I'll be able to train with all the weapons at my disposal and even buy manuals, books and quick courses in gun mastery.'

He thought after learning several things from the free videos.

'I'd better use my experience points when I go to the Golden Eagle Shooting Club. So, I'll learn as much as possible to achieve my goal.'

He put his gun away after several attempts to repeat actions he had seen on the internet videos.

Some things he did with precision and ease. Others he needed a little more persistence and found difficult.

The system still hadn't recognized his skill even when he repeated almost everything he saw, a sign that he would need to train and perhaps control other types of firearms.

Marcus decided and went to sleep, planning to wake up early for his visit to the Golden Eagle Shooting Club the following day. He had a meeting with the boys scheduled for tomorrow, which was set to take place after 10 a.m., but the club opened at 7 a.m..

...

It was 7:33 a.m. when Marcus got off a bus in the center of Siverpine City.

Silverpine City had public transportation that ran 20 hours a day, starting at 4 a.m. and ending at midnight. Starting his day promptly at 5 a.m., Marcus drank a cup of coffee, left his house, and boarded the bus to the city center.

After 60 stops over the last two and a half hours, he arrived at his destination, a not-so-busy area of the city center where many old buildings were located.

He passed in front of a local police battalion, which was located right in front of the Golden Eagle Shooting Club.

Normally Marcus wouldn't be nervous around police officers. But after the four crimes he had committed in just two days, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

The sensation of walking in front of police officers was now strange to him. It felt like he was walking down the street naked.

Luckily, he had nothing suspicious about him and looked like just another young student going about his business.

He entered the shooting club, a totally gray, discreet building with no external sign of what was going on there. Ignorant people passed by the place several times a day having no idea that, in the area's basement, men fired over 5,000 bullets a day!

The Golden Eagle Shooting Club was renowned, a place with a large space and a variety of weapons on offer, where over 200 people passed by every day.

Even though it was close to a police battalion, there were hardly any police officers among its regulars. Most of them were ordinary people who owned guns and were interested in knowing how to defend themselves or even relaxing with the practice.

Despite everything, this was still a sport with many practitioners, something that wasn't as violent as the statistics showed.

"Good morning. I was wondering about the options available here." Marcus got straight to the point when he stopped in front of a counter in a small 20-square-meter entrance area, where armored glass displayed various types of weapons amid warlike artifacts.

There were two counters there, also covered by armored glass, where at the moment only one of them was working, with the white-haired old man looking at Marcus.

"Do you have your own gun, or are you going to use the club's weapons?" the old man asked dryly, imagining this was another teenager interested in guns.

"I'll use the club's," Marcus replied, aware he couldn't use an irregular weapon like his in this place.

"For the use of up to three guns, with the right to one hour of training and guidance from an instructor, we charge 100 dollars. If you already know how to handle the three weapons you're interested in, the same rental period costs 40 dollars," the red-skinned man said the basic plan, imagining that the scruffy boy in front of him didn't have enough money to pay for the more advanced options.

"What about that 150-dollar option?" Marcus saw the price in the reflection of the computer screen.

"For 150 dollars, you get the right to use 5 guns for an hour and a half. But the instructor will only help you with 3 of them. If you want 2 hours and instruction with all 5 guns, the price is 200 dollars."

He only had 150 with him, so he bought the second plan, ready to use 160 experience points to learn and train as much as he could in the next 90 minutes.

As soon as he received his entry card, Marcus went through a turnstile and x-ray, as well as an individual metal detector, at the entrance to the training area.

As Marcus made his way down the hallway towards the basement of the building, he suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots, causing a rush of memories from his time in Gray Village.

Luckily, this shooting club had the proper registration, so he didn't have to be concerned about hiding when he heard gunshots.

He didn't wait to meet the instructor who would accompany him for almost an hour, ordering the system to convert his experience points to guarantee him 2 hours of high-quality training there.

"Mr. Jenkins?"

Marcus stood up while waiting in a shared waiting room, where he and others could observe shooting training rooms through glass.

He had given some basic data when making the payment of the 150 dollars. This place was very professional. Although they didn't require gun licenses and other things, those who paid for the instructor's service got a very individualized service, with an exclusive professional temporary for each client.

It wasn't often that someone who needed an instructor came to the shooting club at 7 a.m., so Marcus didn't have to wait in line. Before he could relax around this well-lit place with several people training at the start of the day, he was called over by a guy dressed as a military man.

The man had a sun-kissed complexion, a physique reminiscent of a fit military personnel, and a serene expression on his angular face.

Although his receding hairline suggested advancing baldness, Marcus remained deeply respectful of this person who exuded a potent scent of death.

His aura was much more impressive than those of Jam, Ohan, and Tyrice. This instructor had a way of moving that made Marcus think of the word 'elite', but also 'killer.'

"Good morning. Tell me a little about your experience with Glock 17, AR-15, Remington 870, AK-47 and Ruger 10/22," the man said as he looked at a tablet in his hands, which contained Marcus' basic data, but also the weapons the boy had chosen for today's training.

He selected a variety of firearms, including a pistol, a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun, a historical weapon, AK-47, and a compact rifle. Of these five weapons, four of them he chose because of how common they were in Gray Village and Silverpine City, while one of them he chose because of its reputation as the best gun in the world.

"I have no experience with most of them. I've had contact with pistols before, but not with rifles or shotguns." Marcus told the truth.

Meanwhile, the instructor, Dylan Huffman, looked at him sideways as he walked towards Marcus' individual room.

"Why do you want to learn how to handle these weapons, young man?"

"It's out of curiosity. I've always been interested in learning to shoot, in at least learning and seeing if it could become a hobby. I've only been able to do that recently," Marcus said, the answer he had planned during his bus ride.

"Really? I'll teach you how to use the Glock 17, AR-15 and Remington 870. They're the most difficult to use, but also the most common in the country, so I think they'll be worth your time. The AK-47 is very simple. Even a layperson who has never handled a gun would understand it after a few minutes. So I'll let you play with it for yourself. The Ruger 10/22 is a rifle, so your experience with the AR-15 will help you. That should be enough for today."

Marcos nodded cheerfully as they entered the room where there were some targets far from the entrance door, but also the weapons he had selected when making the payment.

Seeing Marcus's animated but simple manner, Dylan guessed this young man didn't come from a good background, nor did the boy know what he was going to do. The man advised. "Have you ever thought about joining the police? For a young man with a desire to learn like you, it could be very interesting. The police competition offers free training and you can even get paid for it."

"If only I could pass the exam." Marcus laughed. "Besides, I'd have to become a police officer after that. I don't know if I'm up to it."

"Not exactly." The man smiled. "Once the candidates pass the police competition, they gotta join the training regime within a certain period. In 90 days, they pick up stuff like how to handle weapons, police tactics, laws, and some even learn Cold Reading.

Depending on your results, you can be dismissed from the police service as unfit or even be appointed to the investigative police, bureaucracy, etc. There are several fronts besides ordinary police officers who venture out to protect our city."

"Cold Reading?" Marcus asked, not knowing what that was all about.

As the man picked up the Glock 17, he said to Marcus in a serious tone. "It's a way to gather a ton of info you didn't know before, just by observing and analyzing certain factors."

"If you want to learn more, look up the police exam. There you can see the entire curriculum for basic police training."

Although Marcus was intrigued by Dylan's comments, his focus quickly shifted to weapons training.