"Fire!" Miranda hollered. She was one of the directors for the Chaser training program. However, on this special day, she was also the shooting commander at the range.

Deafening gunshots rang from the separated firing spots, repeating continuously as they echoed in the spacious shooting range. Under normal circumstances, Chasers wouldn’t exactly use firearms as the choice of weapon, since bullets can’t kill those monsters. However, aside from learning how to wield the shields, there was also one thing that could make it happen — mercury. Humans have found out that the Star Creatures have particularly weak immunity to certain heavy metals. Injecting a high dosage of mercury into a Star Creature’s body will be able to kill them, but it takes time. There are also certain risks involved.

Although using mercury bullets might not be the most ideal way of doing this, learning how to wield a gun was still a critical and requisite part of every Chaser’s training. As there might be a time when one encounters an emergency or sudden occurrence, this will be the last resort to save oneself.

Hanister held tightly on the grip, her hands trembling. Her eyes went past the rear sight, landing on the shooting target far ahead. She only had one bullet left, this was her final chance. Since she hadn’t hit anything at all with her bullets during this round of shooting; and her hit rate has been stuck at zero for two rounds already. Taking the safety issues into consideration, the S.D.A did not let them use the mercury bullets for practice.

The girl took a deep breath and squinted her eyes. Her finger wavered on the trigger, before she finally pulled it.

Bang—

The shell popped out and clanged when it hit the floor. Sulfurous, pungent smell followed from the white string of smoke that came out. But the target afar did not make any movements, at all.

Hanister couldn’t believe it.

She took off her earmuffs, looked up at the monitor above the shooting line. Zero, was what it showed. The monitor was directly connected to the electronic sensor on the target. It will show the shooter’s score immediately when they hit. Bullseye counts for a ten, the ring around it is an eight, and the points count less progressively the farther away from the center you hit. Zero then means you have hit nothing.

Hanister walked away from the firing line, a huge patch of red crept upon her cheeks. At the same time, she had noticed that the other spots were all empty. Needless to say, she was not only the slowest, but also the worst shooter of this round.

Though the marksmanship was not as important as the shell wielding technique was to a Chaser, it still made it awfully embarrassing to announce the result under the spotlight like this. She lowered her head, deciding to just walk to the back of the troops silently.

“Wait,” the commander called out to the girl, ignoring the discomfort shown on her face.

“You’re Hanister, correct?” She asked. “I believe we’ve met before.”

Hanister was caught off guard, but she quickly turned around.

“We met on my first day here, ma’am.” She stood straight in front of the woman.

“Not used to holding a gun yet?” Miranda looked at Hanister, frowning a little.

“Lieutenant, I will…”

“I’ll practice more.”

“No one’s born a marksman, Hanister.” Miranda opened up.

“But…” She flipped around, quickly glanced at the monitor, which had Hanister’s appalling score on it.

“I think a little guidance might be good for you,” her lips curved into a kind of a smile; a smile that had freighted so much meaning.

Hanister was frozen at spot, suddenly did not know how to react.

"Everyone," Miranda turned towards the cadets who were all in line waiting for their turn to shoot.

"Can anyone share the fundamentals of shooting with Haniser?" She asked. Her voice resounded.

"Especially the girls," the officer directly looked at the rows where the ladies were standing. The boys and girls have classes together, but won't be mixed together when they are put into teams.

As soon as the officer had finished speaking, Hanister grew more jittery. She didn't even dare to turn back and look at the crowd behind her. A part of the reason was from how she couldn't accept the fact that she wasn't performing well. She couldn't believe how bad her grades were, and that the ones that were recruited were doing better than she was.

She waited patiently, but no one spoke up. At last. Hanister couldn't help but turn around. Just as she did so, she saw Gadina at the front of the line at the shooting spot next to hers. It was just that her face seemed weird. She wasn't her typical standoffish self, she was more like she was...

Holding in her laughter?

Oh my.

Hanister exclaimed in her head.

That was how bad I did.

She thought dispiritedly. She performed so badly that it was hard for anyone to not notice.

Gadina soon realized that the girl was looking at her. Her facial expression changed immediately as she glared back intensely.

"Cadets," Miranda's voice echoed once again, interrupting the staring contest between Hanister and Gadina. She walked to the front of the line Gadina was in. "What's your name, cadet?"

"Gadina, ma'am," the girl immediately straightened her posture.

"Gadina, will you be kind enough to show Hanister how to land better shots?"

"I…"

"I'll be glad to, ma'am."

Miranda then took a few steps to back away, allowing Gadina to walk up to the forlorn figure who was still standing in the shooting range. "Why the heck did you look at me?" She scolded at once when she got closer to Hanister.

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"Are you…”

“Bad at aiming too?" The green hair girl asked, flustered.

"Seriously?" Gadina retorted, giving her a look. "I've been handling those ever since I was ten."

"Ten?"

"I don't understand, the generals had made it so clear. How could you still not land even one shot?” Gadina chided as she was walking, but Hanister did not answer. The girl only nodded, following close behind her as the two made their ways back to the shooting range; to the firing line she was just at moments ago.

A male officer who was the assistant of the range brought over a full magazine, which Gadina took as she stood at the shooting position. She put on the earmuffs, expertly picked up the gun and inserted the magazine.

“I’ll only say this once,” she glanced at the girl standing next to her “After my demonstration, you better be able to hit that thing.”

“First, firm grip on the gun,” Gadina bent her arms, pointing the barrel at the ceiling to give Hanister a better look. “Hold the grip tightly with your purlicue, like this.”

She then straightened her arms.

“Form a straight line from your arm to the barrel,” the girl used her other hand to gesture in between the gun and her arm.

Hanister nodded, looking at the speaking person with fixed eyes.

“Then when it comes to shooting,” Gadina said, turning around to face the target afar. “Make sure you’re holding the gun tight enough with both of your hands,” she raised the gun and leveled at the target.

“Remember, there will be a recoil when you fire. Steady your shoulders so that the muzzle’s position won’t be altered.”

“You can aim slightly lower if you’re uncertain about the muzzle jumping,” Gadina continued. “If it’s me, I would imagine myself holding a long stick, and then…”

Hanister was distracted for a second, before she quickly backed away and covered her ears.

Bang—

Gadina pulled the trigger without hesitation.

After the gunshot had finally stopped ringing, Hanister's head shot up at once. The 'zero' that was displayed on the monitor now has a 'one' appeared in front of it. Not only did Gadina hit the target, she got the bullseye.

Incredible.

The girl stared at the screen.

"Your turn, miss Hanister." Gadina said as she took off her earmuffs and placed down the gun.

Hanister moved forward nervously, exchanging positions with Gadina.

Can I really do it?

She asked herself as she was putting on the earmuffs. After standing at the shooting line for a while, she slowly picked up the gun that was lying on the shelf in front of her.

There were still nine bullets left in it.

She told herself.

I’ll at least… hit one, right?

She held the gun, maintained the position and aimed like how Gadina taught her.

Imagine you’re holding a stick.

She repeated the tip that Gadina mentioned, trying to apprehend.

With the earmuffs on, the gunshot was a lot more hushed when Hanister pulled the trigger. She dropped her hand in order to check whether she had hit the target or not. However, she didn’t even bother to look at the scoreboard when she saw Gadina shaking her head.

No way…

She thought, and returned to her original spot.

There’s no way.

And so, she began shooting once again.

One shot, Two shots, Three shots.

The shots grew rapid as Hanister got more and more impatient.

One shot, Two shots, Three shots.

The unwillingness sprawling in her heart made her indignant and fretful. Her heart quickened, and her hand started trembling uncontrollably.

“What the hell are you in a rush for?” Gadina folded her arms, looking at the person who was shooting. She did not bother to cover her ears since she had already gotten used to hearing the shots.

“You really think you’d hit like this?” Gadina’s teeth gritted, but Hanister did not react. She was not sure whether it was because of the fact that Hanister was focusing, or that the loud gunshots had drowned out her voice.

“Hey!” Gadina directly stood behind Hanister. She had one hand pressing down on her shoulder, stopping her from pulling the trigger again. The other hand went around her body, wrapping Hanister’s hands in her own hand in order to take control of the gun. The girl’s body shivered, but she did not resist.

Gadina did not quite understand why she did that. That wasn’t exactly what she would normally do. She knew that it wasn’t her obligation to care about how Hanister was doing, especially when she had already given her the tips and tricks about shooting. But she still did it.

Gadina pressed her face against Hanister’s from behind, inching closer to her ears.

“Straighten up your back,” she removed one side of the earmuffs Hanister was wearing, reminding in a soft voice. “You’re tensing up,” she continued in a calm voice, and it seemed to be working.

Hanister’s heartbeat slowly returned to its normal pace, her vision focusing once again. She inhaled slowly and deeply.

Aim, inhale, exhale.

Her hands were holding the gun, and Gadina was holding her hands. This boosted her confidence drastically.

Gadina observed the girl who was practically glued against her body. She followed her breathing tempo, taking small breaths. She was just a little taller than Hanister, so that she could see clearly from atop of her.

What’s that sweet smell?

She thought to herself, suddenly realizing that it was the aroma coming from Hanister’s hair. It wasn’t the kind of smell from perfumes or shower gel, it was something a little more natural. It was like the pleasantly sweet and sharp smell from freshly cut grass. Crisp and soothing, the aura of fields.

Gadina’s felt a light movement from the top of her fingers. The girl she was holding was ready to pull the trigger. Gadina shifted her attention back to the target in front of them. She did not interfere with Hanister’s aim or call out for the timing to shoot, she only assisted her in stabilizing her position.

Bang—

It was the shot that determined all, whether it was victory or defeat. Hanister fired another bullet.

Gadina then let go and backed off.

She did it.

She tilted her head to look at the monitor above her.

16

It wrote. This meant that Hanister had hit the area that counted six points, the other ten was what she had hit for her.

"I..."

"I did it." Hanister left the shooting line, looking on top of her as well.

"Congrats," Gadina shrugged, deadpan.

"If you didn't even hit that—" she was instantly cut off by Hanister's sudden embrace.

"Thank you," the girl who was squeezing her tight said, her eyes filled with emotions.

"Well done, cadet," Miranda smiled, walking to the pair. She permitted them to return to the lines.

"Look at the people around you!" She called out to everyone. "Don't hesitate to help each other, and that's for all of you. I am not your foe, nor am I your friend. I am not going to head to the frontline with you guys."

"But the people around you, they will."

"They are your comrades, your companions."

The woman in uniform walked around the range. Her eyes scanning the crowd, voice clear and resounding. "In the days to come, when it's your turn to face those monsters, I won't be by your sides telling you what to do. I won't be the one helping," she stated, her words weighty.

"But the people around you can. They might save your life on the battlefield, or lend you a hand in crucial times."

Miranda paused for a second, before opening up once again. "I don't care where you're from, but as long as you're wearing the same uniform, you should never abandon each other."

She stopped in her tracks, right in the middle of all the troops.

"Understand, cadets?"

"Understood, ma'am."

All answered in unity.