A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

Watching someone he had stabbed in the heart get right back up froze Gareth in shock. His mouth gaped at the impossibility of it. He had heard Henry's heart stop beating after all.

Seeing two guns pointed at his face forced Gareth to react. As he had done many times already, he dodged multiple of the shots with one grazing his shoulder only to kick into a dash that had him charging at Henry.

He stabbed his sword out and Henry stayed in place. Putting his faith in the Blessing he had been granted and sure enough, when Gareth's sword tore through him and stabbed out the back…

"Hngh!"

… he groaned in pain but received no notifications of lost Hit Points. With a bloody smile, Henry grabbed Gareth's arm and pulled him closer before pressing his gun to his chest to pull the trigger.

Gareth was in shock. Seeing Henry pull him closer and essentially force his sword even deeper than it already was instilled him with fear and confusion but all that was done away with when the muzzle of a gun pressed against his body. Moving fast as only someone with a higher Agility Stat compared to Henry's could possibly move, he slammed the gun away.

*Bang!*

The shot went awry and he yanked his arm out of Henry's hold pulling his sword out of his body in the process. He swung at Henry's neck then and, not wanting to test the limit of his current Invulnerability' to death, Henry stopped his would-be decapitation by raising Cudgel to parry the sword blade.

*Clang!*

He only succeeded to move the sword about an inch and it would have continued still to try and cut through his neck had he not infused Mana into the Magical Repeater.

'Cudgel' became heavier and just leaned down on Gareth's sword, forcing it lower and once it was low enough, Henry withdrew his Mana, lifted the gun, and slammed it at Gareth's head. Infusing Mana into it right before contact.

Alas, before Contact, Gareth unleashed his Mana surge. It created a kind of field around him but he didn't try to use that field to push 'Cudgel' away because he could tell he would fail at that. He used it to push Henry away unleashing multiple arcs of Mana while barely moving his sword from where it still was close to the ground.

Henry could not resist the force of the arcs. They revolved like saw blades and cut through his body all over. Causing him to bleed more than he already had. But besides the pain, Henry still didn't lose any Hit Points. The 'Blessing of the Moon' remained active for about three more minutes. He could tell because he was provided with a Timer counting down by the System.

The multiple revolving arcs of Mana were like a powerful storm. Locking in his knees and digging his heels into the ground couldn't help Henry resist them. He even lost his grip on 'Cudgel' and it fell to the ground right by Gareth's feet.

When Henry did manage to stop sliding back, with lacerations all over his body, Gareth was charging at him with another powerful sword swing.

With his Perception spread so wide, Henry 'saw' Andor and Eloise dealing with the Slaves and trying to use non-lethal force to keep them down so they'd no longer be compelled to fight them. He 'saw' Eloise occasionally glance over at his fight with Gareth like she wanted to interfere but if she tried, he'd have told her no.

Gareth had stabbed his sword through his heart, essentially killing him so there was nothing Henry wanted more than to end him on his own and if he couldn't even do that while blessed with an Invulnerability from death, then he might as well die for real.

Nevertheless, he was so much on the back foot when it came to stats.

'7 Stat Points to Perception and 5 Stat Points to Agility,' Henry told the System.

[Are you sure?]

'Yes.'

[Perception: 43 ———> 50]

[Agility: 82 ———> 87]

[Activating <Quick Thinking>]

The moment his Stat received their increments, Henry went into the time-stopped state of <Quick Thinking>. It was only five seconds but it was enough for him to appreciate the improvements to his overall perception. A smidge of an increase in range and a much more noticeable improvement in sensitivity.

He spotted 'Cudgel' where it had fallen and spotted Gareth who was his main focus. The way the Mercenary Fighter angled his body was quite masterful. The expression on Gareth's face was one of anger, his sword swing seemed only aimed at killing Henry but the way his body was positioned made it clear he was also still very much focused on defense.

It explained to Henry why so many of his shots had missed because Gareth was so alert that any attack coming at certain areas of his body, especially projectiles like bullets and slugs, he could still shift himself to avoid. But his stance also betrayed him. Not everywhere was wrapped in this alertness.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Of course, it was only a theory but Henry was going to have to see just how true it was the very moment <Quick Thinking> ended.

Time resumed and Henry pointed 'Violent Retort' not at any part of Gareth's upper body but at his thigh instead. It was a target he had picked out during the time-stopped state and he wasted no time firing.

*Bang!*

"Arrghhh!!!" Gareth yelled. When the shot was fired, he had attempted a feint that had helped him so much against Henry's shots and to have his thigh almost blasted open by such a violent shot wracked him with more pain than he could have expected from a single shot.

Even then he continued to charge. Well, technically, he leaped to cover the rest of the distance. But you see, Henry had done more than shoot. At the same time he clenched the trigger of 'Violent Retort', he also stretched his hand toward 'Cudgel' where it had fallen.

*Witch's Hold!*

The weapon shook on the ground and then came flying at him now at a normal weight when Henry's Mana was no longer infused in it. It arrived in Henry's hold just in time to intercept Gareth's powerful sword swing in a forceful impact that forced Henry to one knee.

Henry's knee broke through the grassy ground and created a small crater the size of it in what was undoubtedly an impactful contact that had shattered his kneecap. But Henry was smiling.

*Extra Arms!*

Tentacled Arms struck out of his back to wrap around Henry's arm and Gareth's while also wrapping around the Mercenary's body in a grip to hold him in place. Covering his face in a cocoon of water that restricted his breathing.

'Idiot!' Gareth yelled in his head and unleashed his Mana so violently that it broke through the cocoon freeing him. It also broke through the watery hold around his arm, freeing his sword to make another swing.

The tentacles had held Gareth for a second at most but that was enough. It was enough to turn his alert senses to something else. To divert his attention and make him vulnerable.

Even with 2 points higher in Agility now, Henry knew he would still lose in a speed race against Gareth but that was only if the Fighter could use his legs to incorporate his speed and grant him boosts Henry did not have access to.

Henry had hampered that with the shot to the thigh and he had kept Gareth in place long enough that it didn't matter because, when stationary and when it all boiled down to reaction speeds, the Fighter had nothing on the Gunslinger. Certainly not when the Gunslinger has a better Agility Stat.

*Bang!*

The sound resounded all over the field. There had been many shots already but this one… This one caused everything to freeze.

It was right after Gareth freed himself and before he could move even an inch away, Henry already had 'Violent Retort' pointed at his neck. Having used <Reload> to ensure the gun had two mana-infused slugs loaded, he pulled the gun's double triggers to fire them into Gareth's neck. Blasting a hole in his throat.

"Ack!" Gareth gurgled and his grip on his sword loosened as he raised his hand to the wound. His fingers dug into the sizable hole as though doubting it was really there.

It was.

At the very last second, Gareth had made to move as he had done a few times. Henry could tell it was not even altogether a conscious thing. It was instinctive but his instincts were much too late in this case.

Blood streamed from the hole in his neck and Gareth went to his knees still gurgling with blood spilling out of his mouth and his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Henry still. There was hate in those eyes. But his hate did nothing for him and nothing against his killer as he slumped off to the side and soon hit the ground with a final thud.

[Kill-Reward: 800 Exp]

[You have eliminated a Slaver]

[You have received 450 Bonus Exp]

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[Condition 'Blessing of the Moon' has ended.]