(???, Eloe's Domain, Weapons Testing Area)

[https://i.imgur.com/QzFq1NW.png]https://i.imgur.com/QzFq1NW.png

Bang!

In slow motion, I see the bullet leaving the barrel of the assault rifle. Emerging from a puff of flame it flies at high velocity across the rocky flatlands only to miss the dummy painted on a cardboard by a few feet. I keep my goal in mind and my brain adjusts itself quickly. Sensitive to the slightest shifting of my muscles, I tune my aim a little and fire again. The bullet still missed the dummy, but only by a foot. Careful not to break my posture, I adjust my aim only by a fraction of a degree, and squeezing the trigger, fire again. It really helps that with my great processing speed and eyesight I can actually see the bullet's trajectory rather than just a wisp where it strikes.

[https://i.imgur.com/X4Y6FMm.png]

I watch the bullet flash forward and strike the dummy image for the first time, in the shoulder area. I think I am getting this. I really love how being in this body feels.

Having good physical fitness is important for accurate fire. If it was my old body, my aim would be struggling to stay stable with the 5kg gun in my hands, but this one is a lot more solid in comparison. I feel like praising Eloe once more again.

My optimized mind gets into the zone easily, and I slightly, slightly adjust my aim once again before pulling the trigger. The bullet flashes and strikes that head, just a little bit above where I aimed. Great.

I demonstrate the genius of the Inspired and not just the courage, and adjust the aim an imperceptible amount downwards. Thanks to my mental enhancement, my aim is exquisite and I feel what I need to control the rifle that just wouldn't have been there otherwise. I press the trigger and nail the target right where the nose is. If this were a real opponent, the bullet would have driven into its skull to strike the brain core inside it. The brain core itself is located at the base instead of where the biological brain would usually be, so aiming not at the forehead, but slightly lower between the brows is needed.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

[https://i.imgur.com/lhuCTHC.png]

I continue emptying the magazine one by one, squeezing the trigger for each bullet sent. My posture is stable and my aim is accurate. I sent them all in close proximity to the hole I was aiming at, 250m away. With my old eyes, I couldn't even see the target.

"Phew!" I wipe my brow. If this was outside, I'd be wearing safety goggles, but injuries are meaningless here and can be healed on mental command.

"Amazing!" Eloe claps. You cleared out the short range with this. I look to the right and see the other targets. The story for them was similar, I'd fire, and then iteratively adjust. In my view, I am not that great yet, in a real battle I'd want to send the bullet exactly where it should go on the first try.

"It is no big deal. It is all due to this body." I act humble.

"Are you trying to trick me by saying you have no experience? Once you lock on point, you send all the bullets there every time even without a scope. Not an easy thing to do from a standing position. It took me a long time to get my firing skills up to that point." I shrug at her comment.

"If I really had experience, I'd land the bullet where I want it on the first try." Indeed, I'll practice for a while. Right now this is just the weapon try out.

This assault rifle is called Symbiotics Base E-15. The name is from some future Earth civilization Eloe hails from and means nothing to me. But it does have great specs for a mass driver weapon, and an effective range of up to 600m. I didn't need to adjust for gravity much during my shooting.

Holstered at my waist is a Symbiotics Base B-8 handgun by the same company. I've already tried it out.

"..."

"I think I am done here. A handgun and rifle will be fine as my primary weapons." This isn't an FPS. Sure I'd also like a sniper rifle, a shotgun, a grenade launcher and whatever else, but there is only so much I can carry on my person. "I also want some grenades and proximity mine synthesizer programs."

I am not really buying weapons themselves from Eloe, rather the means to produce them myself using residual nanomachinery present in the environment. I've modified the game properly so it will give me things I could use in the real world.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"Alright, let me send you the catalog. Instead of the basic frag grenades and proximity mines, may I suggest the remote grenades?"

"Hmmmm?" I mentally scroll through the catalog.

"They are quite effective as they can be detonated on mental command. They also have digital timers, so you aren't reliant on pulling the pin and counting down the time with lesser designs."

"You can use them as stand ins for proximity grenades. Only two chips."

"I'll buy them." I accept.

So far my expenses are 2 for the body, 2 for the rifle and handgun and 2 for the grenades. I simply do not have any more leeway. The HK tournament will pit me against random opponents, and if I go up against a higher ranking one, I'll lose right away. If I am unlucky to go against tough opponents 4 times in a row, I could die right there. I might regret getting the handgun.

"Thank you. Would you like anything else?" I shake my head.

"I wish I could get some drones either large or miniature, but I only have 4 chips left. I can only hope I don't run into difficult opponents 4 times in a row. I do not have any more leeway to spend." I curve my brows in disappointment. "If I can survive I wouldn't mind getting a sniper rifle as well."

"Hmmm...well if it is just a sniper rifle." Eloe flicks her fingers. In the distance the targets disappear and new ones manifest, 1500m away. If it was the old me, I'd say hitting them at that range would be absolutely impossible. She manifests a sniper rifle with a scope and hands it over to me. Like the other two weapons it is jet black. Compared to the assault rifle, the barrel is longer and wider. It looks like it packs a punch.

"It's a Symbiotics Base S-11. Give it a try."

I take the weapon. It is a bit heavier than the assault rifle, but nothing I can't handle. I rest it against my shoulder, and take the firing position. Maybe if I had my custom eyes I wouldn't need the scope, but even with the improved ones of my current body, this distance would be simply too much without a scope.

With smooth movements, I align the scope reticle on target and on a whim I adjust it a bit higher than my intended zone. I've never fired a sniper rifle, but I am sure that at this range the gravity will start playing a role, so I'll have to shoot it in an arc.

Fiu!

The kickback rocks my body, and the silenced bullet spurts out. The higher caliber bullet is significantly faster than the assault rifle one.

I watch the bullet travel down the range. 2/3rds of the way it started to decelerate and drop downwards, but instead of falling on the ground it actually landed on the cardboard, though it missed any of the body areas. As it is semi-automatic, I do not need to drag the bolt to reload it. Sensitive that the tiniest change in the angle I adjust my aim a tad upward. As I've been able to observe the trajectory, I try to mentally visualize what the path the bullet would take. My imagination is very vivid, and I can literally feel the trajectory. I grab onto the feeling and surrender myself to it, becoming one with the gun. I position the gun a bit upwards so the trajectory applies to the target, and fire.

Although I believed the feeling, I could be sure it would be right, but as I saw the bullet fly out I immediately became hopeful. The supersonic bullet reaches the target at its intended mark.

Fiu! Fiu! Fiu! Fiu! Fiu!

Not breaking my posture, I fire a couple of shots in quick succession. They all flow along the same trajectory, neatly lined up.

"Ooooohhh!" Eloe guffaws at my skills, not having any trouble seeing whether the bullet hit from this distance. "Try this one. 2.5km. Hit the head and you can consider yourself a pro sniper."

The target demanifests and another appears as a tiny dot in the distance. I check it through the scope and it still appears small. I take a breath and steady my aim to its limit. I visualize the trajectory. It feels a bit foggy past 1.5km and I am unsure how far I have to adjust the aim upwards. I start from my previous position, and nudge it upward by a significant amount.

It should be something like this? I feel that it is right.

Fiu!

The bullet leaves the barrel. It blasts away, decelerates at 1000m in and starts dropping in an arc. It takes over a second to travel the distance and I have time to follow it with my scope. It actually strikes the target in the abdomen.

I can't help, but smile. Life is so great when your brain is helping you instead of you having to constantly work against it. Wonderful. You mean I can just pick up an instrument and be good at playing it right away? Who can imagine such a life? I could only dream of it in an earlier era.

My trajectory estimation becomes more accurate again. I return to my previous position without erring, and adjust it even higher by what I think the right amount is. Even looking through the scope, the target is quite small. Both my instincts and intuition are being strained to the limit as I make this next shot. This is the reason why I've entered the self improvement loop. I've sought the power to surmount challenges like these. Going beyond humanity will be done with little successes like these.

Fiu!

The suppressed sound of the bullet flying enters my ears. The bullet flies and then drops. There is no wind here, so the shot is a lot more straightforward than it would be on Earth. As I watch, the bullet blasts right through the face of the dummy.

Fiu! Fiu! Fiu! Fiu! Fiu!

Not pausing, I send a couple of more bullets along the same trajectory, my superhuman mind keeping me right on targets.

I peer through the scope, and I see the face is now a beehive. Some of the bullets did miss the face and I get the sense that if the target was any further away the bullet would have gone below the sound barrier and started tumbling, so this is the limit. I'd give myself an S rating.

I offer the rifle back to Eloe and she pushes it back to me.

"Bravo! You can have the Base S-11 as a freebie for passing the test." Eloe looks like she is having fun. I myself am having fun as well.

"Thank you. Let's move on to grenade testing and then we will wrap it up."