A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

The Orc Priest, struck twice by bolts of lightning, canceled the spell circle responsible for the red cloud and although it fizzled out from above Boyle's head, that did nothing to stop the ongoing barrage of lightning. The cloud had been swelled with far too much mana and a sequence of lightning strikes had been set off that did not just go away because the cloud was gone.

At the same time, it canceled its spell circle, the Orc Proest also filled its Shield with more mana so it could become larger and surround its body to absorb the damage and deflect it back to nowhere in particular. Boyle interrupted that with a sword swing so close to the Orc Priest that It had to react and parry with its staff.

All this took place in the space of a second even as the lightning strike continued to destroy the ground around them. Boyle had been struck by a few bolts but he endured to make that one attack, and although it was parried, he had succeeded in interrupting the Orc Priest before it had the chance to protect itself from further damage.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

*BOOM!!!*

The lightning bolts hit the ground at such similar speeds and intensity that they not only hit the ground and caused it to explode even more, but they also struck each other which caused them to implode in an even more powerful implosion. Boyle would have been the only one to suffer this devastation but with such closeness to the Orc Priest, that was not the case.

The field was already thinning out of Orc warriors. Up on the tree branch and with Boyle occupying the Orc Priest's attention, Henry picked out more Orcs to shoot down. Noting once in a while as Nyx darted around to slam Orcs away with her strength and impressive speed.

After Nyx's third kill, Henry received an alert from the System;

[Nyx has Leveled Up!]

[Nyx is now Level 14]

[Nyx's Hit Point Maximum increased to 230]

[Nyx's Mana is now 240]

[Strength: 95 ———> 100]

[Speed: 180 ———> 190]

[Stamina: 90 ———> 95]

Not long after that, Henry claimed his fifteenth kill of the day and received an alert he knew all too well.

[Level Up!]

[You are now Level 31]

[Hit Point Maximum increased to 310]

[Hit Points: 221/310]

[Mana Point Maximum increased to 420]

[You have received 6 Stat Points to Allocate]

—————

[Name: Henry Morgan]

[Level: 31 (2% Exp)]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Gunslinger]

[Title: Death's Bane, Vyker-Killer, Infernal Partner, Dungeon Raider <Novice>, Hunter]

[Hit Points: 221/300]

[Mana Points: 105/400]

[Strength: 31]

[Agility: 87]

[Stamina: 41]

[Perception: 50]

[Skills:

{Marksmanship Lv. 5 <Active Sub Skill: Quick Thinking> <Active Sub Skill: Reload> <Active Sub Skill: Guiding Shot>}

{Taming Lv. 2 <Active Sub Skill: Bonding>}

{Insight Lv.3} Enjoy new adventures at empire

{Raider's Intent}

{Hunter's Instinct}

[~Arcane Tapestry~:

Imprinted Spells: -Shocking Grip-. -Extra Arms-. -Witch's Hold-.]

[You have 6 Stat Points to Allocate]

—————

—————

[Name: Nyx]

[Creature: Shadow Mare]

[Breed: Valaeren Night-Mare]

[Level 13 (540/5500 Exp)]*

[Hit Points: 225/225]

[Mana: 240]

[Strength: 100]

[Speed: 190]

[Stamina: 100]

[Skills: {Shadow Dash Lv.2} {<ShadowScape>}]*

—————

Henry had only just started an in-depth look into both his and Nyx's stat screens when the lightning bolts creating a massive implosion called his attention. It called the attention of everyone on the field who could afford to turn their eyes onto the large explosive cloud that had been created.

The first to get out of the cloud was the Orc Oriest. Its hide shroud was singed and more than half of it had been incinerated by the explosions caused by the lightning. Its green hide-like skin was also black all over with cracks to show where the lightning bolts had made direct contact with its body.

The Orc Priest's eyes widened frantically and it stumbled upon itself as it tried to put as much distance between the cloud and itself. It became clear that the cloud itself was not the problem but rather the one inside it when Boyle charged out with his sword swinging in a deathly arc.

Boyle's armor had been damaged by the barrage of lightning. The part of his skin that was exposed showed off the same symptoms as the Orc but it was of a lesser degree. Somehow, despite being the one afflicted with the red cloud curse, Boyle had not been the one to suffer the worst of its sting. So to speak.

Boyle saw an opportunity. The Orc priest was disheveled. It had been caught by surprise with the sequence of events and was still struggling to rally. The Knight knew now was the time to go for the kill.

Even as it stumbled backward to put as much distance between itself and Boyle, the Orc priest was very aware of its situation and with a tight grip on its Spear, it channeled its Mana to what looked like a spell cast.

Boyle's attack was faster.

A massive Mana surge charged out, spinning toward the Orc Priest with killing intent.

Gritting its teeth and remaining very intent on not getting interrupted in its ongoing spell cast, the Orc Priest had only two choices; To dodge the attack or parry it.

Its body's reflexes, honed by years of experience it had within the Dungeon and through multiple battles, forced it to swing its Staff to meet the arc of Mana in an attempt at a parry.

The staff being essentially made of Y'Nth metal proved very much capable of enough bit of magic on its own to reinforce its structure so it didn't get sliced in two by the arc even though the force of it forced the Orc priest to slide away until it hit its back against a tree trunk.

"Ngh!" It groaned in a slight interruption of its cast but it managed to continue still.

Alas, the mana surge attack was merely the first in Boyle's two-move kill attack. The moment the Orc Priest's back hit the tree and the danger of mana surge was gone, it saw the tip of a sword coming at it.

'Trapped!' The Orc Priest thought, very aware of its back against the tree. There was hardly any room to maneuver and survive but, determined to try, it moved still and of course, it failed.

Boyle's sword tore through the Orc Priest's chest and stabbed out of its back to pin it against the tree behind it.

At the same time, the last Orc warrior hit the ground courtesy of Eloise. Besides Henry sniping enemies from above with 'Cudgel', she was the one with the most kills. There was something final about the sound of her kill hitting the ground with a *thud* as well as the sound of the Orc priest opening its mouth to spit out blood. Its frantic spell cast finally interrupted.

"Well, that's that…" Henry started to say when he realized there was something uneasy about Boyle's stance.

The Orc Priest raised its free hand and wrapped its fingers around Boyle's sword blade to hold it in place.

"You can tell, can't you?" It asked slowly and although it was only speaking to Boyle, its voice carried all over the field with an eerie echo.

The Orc Priest's hand became coated with red mana and its grip tightened around Boyle's sword blade. Henry was especially aware of this when the Boyle tried and failed to pull the weapon free.

"You missed," the Orc Priest said.

That made no sense to anyone. As far as they could see, Boyle had succeeded in stabbing the enemy. And indeed he had but he had missed his true target; the Orc's heart.

In the split second before Boyle's sword made contact, when all hope was lost for the Orc Priest, it had moved an inch. It was all it could manage but with Boyle so close and with an absurd manipulation of its internal organs, the Orc Priest was just able to move its heart out the way and avoid a death strike.

Again, Boyle tried to pull his sword free and again he failed but unlike before, he didn't just foolishly continue with that. He flicked his wrist and summoned a second sword from his storage bracelet. A second weapon that was not as capable as the main one but always proved useful in a pinch such as this.

Boyle swung the second sword at the Orc's neck with every bit of efficiency he had with his dominant hand. The sword was an inch from the Orc's neck when it swung its Staff to intercept and send the arm swinging away with incredible ease.

"Pointless," the Orc Priest said with a bit of jest in its voice,

"Kroa blesses me. I can not be killed. Not by the likes of you."

A blood-red sigil of a crossed Ax and dagger appeared on the Orc Priest's forehead and then it became surrounded by a spell circle that was marked with symbols only understandable by the Orc race.

But no one needed to be able to read the symbols to know what was happening. It was clear to all;

The Orc Priest had called upon its god!