Twenty-five years before the present events…
The sun shone down on the sprawling Pax and Lux Gun Academy campus, where a group of students were in the midst of a grueling obstacle trial.
Rod hovered just above the ground and moved with an almost unnatural fluidity while surrounded by a nimbus of electrical energy.
He and his classmates leaped over pitfalls, dodged spikes, and used their interlinks to materialize weapons to shoot at pop-up targets that moved from left to right.
In front of them all was a wolf-like beast girl. Her short hair plastered to her forehead with sweat and her school-issued track uniform did little to hide her athletic build when running. After all, her beast-person heritage gave her an inherent advantage in speed, and she reveled in it.
"LET'S GO! I'm in front of the pack!" she yelled with a triumphant grin on her face.
This was her moment. She was a model student—perfect aim, mastery of every firearm, and the rare ability to generate a weapon without a verbal command. Winning this race was more than just a victory; it was a validation of her own worth.
Her legs pumped and pushed her limit before feeling it. A pressure that built rapidly behind her. She barely had time to react as Rod shot past her like a living lightning bolt that threw her off balance.
"¡AAAH!" she cried out after the displaced air hit her face.
Rod weaved through the remaining obstacles at rapid speeds, materializing a large caliber pistol from his interlink without a word before shooting the first target at point-blank range. A perfect hit.
He repeated the process—one, two, three more targets—all dispatched with blinding speed.
When finished and reaching the finish line, his feet screeched to a halt right in front of the teacher.
"Well done Rod, first once again," the instructor said dryly before scribbling on his clipboard.
The man remained silent, but a self-satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Then, the wolf girl stumbled across the finish line while gasping for breath, followed by the rest of the class.
"Alright people, keep moving! Next up is sniper practice," the teacher announced when already heading down from the obstacle course platform.
Rod dismissed his pistol back into his interlink and followed suit, only for the wolf girl to glare at him.
"He doesn't deserve his wins… all because of that stupid magical power of his," she thought, licking the fur on her palm.
He needed to be taught a lesson and she knew the next exercise was her chance. After all, everyone knew Rod Winger couldn't use a sniper to save his life.
At the shooting range on the edge of the campus, the air was filled with the sharp crack of sniper rifles. Students practiced their long-range accuracy.
Some hit their mark, some missed the distant moving targets, but it was painfully obvious that Rod was among the worst.
He stood at his station in silence before generating the same pistol he'd used on the obstacle course and lifting the weapon, aiming steadily at the red dot in the center of the wooden target.
The weapon was about to fire before a deafening "BANG!" erupted from the station beside him. It was a perfect shot that obliterated the center of the target to his right.
Rod turned towards where it originated and was met with the sight of a stunning cheetah-girl leaning gracefully over her rifle.
Her toned muscles were lightly visible through her uniform as she reloaded with practiced ease and her short hair swayed in the breeze, framing a face he instantly found beautiful. Her brown fur, her even darker hair, her sharp nails, and her piercing yellow eyes all captivated him.
The cheetah woman turned to look at him before he quickly snapped back to the target in front, trying to act as if everything was normal.
She watched a few moments with a flicker of interest in her eyes. She'd never seen him before that day, and the sight of someone attempting to use a pistol for long-range practice was... intriguing.
Rod could feel her stare burning into his body, and beads of sweat formed on his brow. The pressure to shoot exploded as a foolish part of his brain convinced him that maybe he could impress her.
Thus, the man steeled himself, raised his pistol, and concentrated. He squeezed his eyes shut just before pulling the trigger. And he missed.
The bullet bounced off the metal wall next to the target with a pathetic "ping!".
"PFFF! That was truly the worst shot I've ever seen in my life!" the wolf girl from the obstacle course sneered behind his station while breaking into mocking laughter.
As she did, a few other students joined in.
Rod began to turn with an indifferent expression until seeing something peculiar.
The cheetah-girl was glaring at the wolf-girl, her fangs bared in a silent snarl. It was clear to Rod that she was angry, not at him, but on his behalf.
"NNNNGH…" she growled in a low sound of annoyance.
"What are you looking at, cheetah freak?"
"Hmf!" the girl scoffed before turning her gaze back to Rod, who quickly looked away.
For the first time in a very long time, she was lured.
Later that day, Rod sat on the floor of a deserted hallway near the cafeteria as his back pressed against the cool wall. The man sighed with exhaustion while thinking about the wolf-girl's animosity.
He didn't understand her, but found he didn't really care. Since long ago, he's become immune to the opinions of others. And that was something that convinced him to just let it go.
After thinking for some seconds, he took out a small plastic bag containing a precious sandwich.
"This is a delicate operation," he thought with utmost seriousness, "If anything were to happen, the texture of the bread would lose flavor."
Rod carefully extracted the sandwich, breathing a sigh of relief when it emerged unscathed.
"A good sandwich is a good lunch," he thought with a smile before opening his mouth to take the glorious bite.
But just as the bread touched his lips, he sensed a presence.
The man slowly turned his head and found the eyes of the cheetah-girl right inside his personal space. She was hanging upside down from a metal bar that Rod hadn't even noticed was there.
"Hiya!" she said with a friendly smile.
Panic took over and his face erupted in a hot blush. She was so close he could smell the sweet scent of strawberry perfume.
Rod yelled while scrambling to his feet in a blind panic.
"Wait, Wait, Don't-" she tried to say, but he was already a blur that left.
The man shot through the hallway at top speed, his shockwave lifting a nearby trashcan off the ground and sending it crashing down in front of her.
Her stunned self hung there for a full ten seconds before the empty plastic sandwich bag drifted down and landed softly on her face.
"NYAAAAA!" she yelped, losing her grip and tumbling to the floor.
A week passed when Rod was running the obstacle course again, but this time it was different. This time, the cheetah-girl was watching from the sidelines.
He was a whirlwind of controlled chaos with precise movements and perfect shots.
It was clear he used speed to his advantage, closing the distance on each target and firing his pistol at point blank accuracy.
"Woah, he's amazing…" the girl murmured with her mouth slightly open.
After such a display, they all headed back to the shooting range for their next sniper practice. Rod prepared his pistol once again and his mind worked through the complex physics of controlling a projectile's trajectory at long range.
Without his knowing though, the cheetah-girl watched him from the same station she was a week before. But this time there was a look of exasperation on her face.
"Again with the pistol?" she murmured before glancing at the small crowd that had gathered behind him.
The wolf-girl was also there with a smug smile on her face, knowing it would happen just like every other time.
"I gotta do something!" the cheetah thought.
An idea then sparked inside her, forcing her body to move.
She snatched up her sniper and strode purposefully towards him, placing the rifle on the desk in front of the man and then moving directly behind him.
"What-" Rod began saying while a jolt ran through him, noticing the pressure her body pressed against his back.
She positioned herself quickly and adjusted the sniper.
"Hi again," she said, her focus entirely on the weapon.
"Wha… WHAT ARE YOU-" he stammered with a blush before cutting him off.
"Listen, in the world there are dangerous things that can hurt people. That's why we have interlinks, but to be a full-fledged gun user you gotta actually use every weapon."
"But-"
"NO BUT'S MISTER! Now, I need you to listen very carefully. I'll help you aim while you take the shot," the girl insisted, turning her head to meet his eyes.
Rod found himself lost in the mix of brown and light orange that seemed to reflect all the light in the world. Something that forced him to listen.
"But I've never held a rifle before."
While they talked, the wolf-girl behind them gritted her teeth and leaned forward in an aggressive manner.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! That's cheating!"
Her words traveled, but neither of them heard it. They were trapped in their own little bubble.
"It's okay to be scared," the cheetah-girl said reassuringly, "It comes naturally the first few times you hold a new weapon. But as gun users we gotta make sure to overcome that fear and save the people that are dear to us."
Rod stared at her, the words sinking in.
"Save the people that are dear to us…" he thought before his focus shifted to the distant target and a newfound resolve settled in.
He hesitantly took hold of the rifle while she helped him aim.
"Just remember to calm down. Breathe in and breathe out. Everything will be okay," the cheetah murmured, her voice becoming a soothing balm to his frayed nerves.
Rod looked through the scope and was astounded to see it was already perfectly aligned. She was aiming without even looking, showcasing years of experience.
Before long, he took a deep breath. Then squeezed the trigger.
The rifle roared to life, pushing them both back a few centimeters just as the bullet struck the target dead center. It was a perfect shot.
The crowd instantly gasped as Rod stared at the shattered target. Unlike his calm demeanor, the cheetah-girl slammed her hands down on the desk in excitement and accidentally slammed him forward.
"LET'S FREAKING GO!" she exclaimed before throwing her arms up in a victory pose.
Rod slowly turned back and saw the girl jumping over and over, her own smile brighter than his.
"LET'S GO!" she screamed after shaking a random student who was walking by.
"HE DID IT!" she continued and grabbed the wolf-girl by the shoulders.
"WOOO HOOO!" she finished before sliding across the floor on her knees and coming to a stop in front of the teacher, who silenced her with a stern glare.
"Sorry!"
After her quirky actions, the man watched her walk back while her hips moved in a way that caught everyone's attention. It was undeniable. She looked amazing in her school uniform, yet, this did not stay in his thoughts for long.
"This girl…"
She stood in front of him and her eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
"That was your first shot and you pulled it excellently!"
"But you were the one aiming. I didn't do anything at all-" Rod tried responding, only for her to tightly hug him.
"WHA-" he blushed.
"Look at it this way… When you are in a hunt, the hardest thing to do is just taking the shot. And you did that today. I'm proud of you," she said after stepping back and looking at his eyes.
"Really?"
"Really!"
As the sun began to set, they walked away together in deep conversation.
"Why the hug tho?"
"Because we're friends now, right?" the girl responded and bumped his shoulder playfully.
"I guess so…"
"Friendship hug," she finished with a sly, cat-like grin.
"By the way, I'm Elena Claws. What's your name?"
"Well, nice to meet you Elena. I'm Rod Winger."
"Nice to meet you too!"
And just like that, the story that would change Rod's life had begun.