My Slime Wife: Training and Pampering Her Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 37: Shooting Training

Chapter 37: Shooting Training

When they arrived back at the guild headquarters, Liam, Lydia, and Instructor James walked through the automatic doors once again.

Unlike the previous day, Liam no longer felt the knot in his stomach that had accompanied him the first time he entered. Around his neck hung his Emerald-rank Hunter ID, the guild’s emblem gleaming beneath the lobby lights.

The receptionist looked up from her computer and greeted them with a warm smile.

"Good morning! Congratulations on officially joining the guild."

"Thank you very much."

Lydia replied with a slight bow of her head.

Liam smiled as well.

"Thank you."

Then he glanced behind the reception desk.

"Is your coworker off today? The one with the glasses."

The receptionist let out a small laugh.

"He took the day off."

"Really?"

"He said he had a terrible headache."

Lydia covered her mouth to hide a laugh.

’Right... a headache.’

More like he couldn’t bear to face us after the way he treated us.

Liam also struggled to suppress a smile.

He couldn’t deny how satisfying it felt.

James cleared his throat.

"Well, you’ve had your little victory."

He looked at the two of them.

"But there’s no time to waste."

He gestured with his hand.

"Follow me. Today your real training begins."

They both nodded.

Before moving on, they scanned their Hunter IDs at the access terminal.

A green light ran across the scanner.

The receptionist waved.

"Have a wonderful day!"

"You too."

The couple answered almost in unison.

◇◆◇

After walking through several corridors and taking the elevator down one level, they arrived at a heavy metal door.

James opened it.

Immediately, a series of sharp reports echoed through the room.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Even from the entrance, the gunfire reverberated off the walls.

Liam frowned.

"That’s pretty loud..."

James pulled a small case from one of his pockets.

Inside were several pairs of earplugs.

"Here."

He handed one pair to each of them.

"You’re going to need these."

Liam complied.

As soon as he inserted the earplugs, the noise changed.

The gunshots were still audible, but they no longer rattled his head.

"Much better."

He commented.

Lydia did the same.

"I thought the sound would disappear completely."

James shook his head with a smile.

"The point is for you to still be able to hear instructions."

Before them stretched a long shooting range divided into individual firing booths.

Each lane was separated by thick protective panels.

Some hunters practiced with pistols.

Others used rifles.

Farther down the range, moving targets could be seen sliding back and forth.

For a place this large, it was surprisingly empty.

"There aren’t many trainees today."

James explained.

"Which works perfectly for us."

From the far end of the range, a man approached with an easygoing stride.

He wore a friendly smile, neatly combed hair, and carried himself with a relaxed confidence.

As he got closer, he spread his arms wide.

"Liam! Lydia! It’s great to see you both again!"

Liam smiled immediately.

"Evan."

"I knew you’d make it. I had a feeling I’d be welcoming you today as fellow guild members."

Before he reached them, however, Evan stopped abruptly.

A young huntress had just missed another shot.

"Excuse me for a second."

He walked over naturally.

"You’re not bracing the stock against your shoulder properly."

The young woman looked at him sheepishly.

"I’m trying..."

Evan smiled patiently.

"Let me help."

He stood behind her.

One hand gently supported her elbow.

The other adjusted her wrist.

Then he corrected her posture slightly.

"Don’t be afraid of the recoil."

The young woman took a deep breath.

"Like this..."

Evan lightly rested a finger beside hers on the trigger.

"Now."

Bang!

The bullet pierced the center of the target.

The young woman’s eyes widened.

"I hit it!"

She turned toward him with a huge smile.

"Thank you so much!"

Evan smiled proudly.

"It’s my job to correct your form."

Then he raised a finger.

"Although you’ve still got plenty of room to improve."

She laughed.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

James chuckled from where he had been watching.

"Evan never changes."

He shook his head.

"He always manages to find female students for private lessons."

Evan pretended to look offended.

"That’s a serious accusation!"

Lydia watched the entire exchange with a rather stern expression.

Then she leaned toward Liam and whispered,

"I don’t like him."

Liam couldn’t help laughing.

"I think he’s just correcting their posture."

"Uh-huh."

Lydia replied, clearly unconvinced.

◇◆◇

Evan finally walked over to them.

"Now then."

He welcomed them again.

"I’m really happy you’ve joined the guild."

Liam shook his hand.

"I already saw you fight inside the dungeon, so I completely trust you to teach me."

Evan smiled.

"I hope so."

Then he looked Liam up and down.

"I won’t promise miracles. It might take some time, but if you work hard..."

He gave Liam a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"I’ll turn you into an excellent marksman."

Liam nodded firmly.

"That’s exactly what I came here for."

Just then...

BOOOOM!!

A deafening explosion, far louder than any gunshot, shook the entire shooting range.

The lights trembled.

Several people turned around in alarm.

One of the electronic targets even stopped functioning.

Evan’s eyes widened.

"What the hell was that?"

Everyone looked toward one of the side lanes.

There stood Lydia.

She was standing elegantly with one arm extended as though it were a pistol.

On the other side...

The target had simply ceased to exist.

In its place, a gigantic boulder was embedded in the concrete wall.

The entire metal target stand had been obliterated.

Chunks of concrete continued falling to the floor.

Lydia slowly lowered her hand and blew on the tip of her index finger.

"Phew..."

Then she smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry... I don’t think I’ve mastered adjusting the size of my Rock Shot skill yet."

Evan remained frozen.

His gaze shifted between Lydia and the massive hole in the wall.

"..."

James burst into roaring laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!"

He clutched his stomach.

Liam scratched the back of his head.

"Well..."

He smiled sheepishly.

"My wife mostly came to give me moral support."

Evan was still completely stunned.

"...Moral support?"

"Yeah."

Liam replied.

"She doesn’t need to learn how to shoot. She’s just here to keep me company."

Evan looked back at the hole.

"Right... moral support..."

Lydia timidly raised a hand.

"If you’d like... I can pay for the target."

James laughed even harder.

"I don’t think the target is the problem."

He pointed toward the demolished wall.

"I think you just remodeled half the shooting range."

Several hunters stared at Lydia with a mixture of fear and admiration.

One of them muttered,

"That woman just fired a giant rock..."

Another swallowed hard.

"...With one finger."

Evan took a deep breath.

At last, he regained his composure.

Then he slowly shook his head.

"Well..."

He smiled with quiet resignation.

"This training is definitely going to be a lot more interesting than I expected."

James gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"Good luck."

Then he started walking toward the exit.

"Because you’re going to need it."

Before leaving the shooting range, he raised a hand in farewell.

"See you later."

The heavy metal door closed behind him.

Evan looked once more at the enormous hole in the wall and sighed.

"Alright..."

He smiled professionally.

"Let’s start by teaching the only one of you who still can’t destroy the building with a single shot."