A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

Henry had no chance of dodging that attack. He knew it. There was no way the blade of Gareth's sword wasn't going to stab through his chest but then the cooldown for <Hat of Shielding> ended and he got one glimpse of possible survival.

He activated the shield and Gareth's sword practically bounced off the blue haze.

"Ha," Gareth said with a smirk before his eyes widened and he dodged Henry's next fired shot.

Henry turned his gun to aim another shot when he realized Gareth was completely gone from his sight and when his perception sensed the Mercenary leader, a sword was being swung at his neck.

He ducked low and slammed the muzzle of 'Violent Retort' into Gareth's midsection and pulled the trigger. But somehow, the Fighter smacked his arm away to send the shot flying and hitting a nearby tree instead. At the same time, an Elbow slammed the back of Henry's head and although the hazy shield of <Hat of Shielding> prevented him from losing Hit Points or feeling the pain of the attack at all, its force still sent Henry to the ground.

The moment he hit the ground —the pain of the fall nulled completely by the shield that was on its last few seconds of activation—, Henry swung 'Cudgel' at Gareth's feet, infusing Mana into the Gun and increasing its weight right before there was contact.

*BAM!*

*Crack!*

"Argh—" Gareth yelled out. The weight of 'Cudgel' had fractured his leg and would have shattered it completely had he not been knocked off his feet. He hit the ground and Henry was already standing, pointing both his guns at him to begin firing a stream of shots.

Henry would have only fired a few rounds at most. That was usually enough but the pain in Gareth's legs did not impact his ability to roll out of the way and Henry had to fire more and more rounds to try and catch up.

'Damn, this bastard can roll!' Henry thought with disdain as his wasted bullets and slugs.

Gareth pushed off the ground soon enough and did so while unleashing his Mana surge. It was undoubtedly one of the strongest Mana-surges Henry had felt so far but besides that, Henry knew what was coming and <Hat of Shielding> was now on a cooldown and couldn't come to his rescue so he readied himself to dodge.

Gareth swung his sword in an arc that unleashed a Mana-surge charging at Henry in violent an arc. Henry leaped to the side and avoided the surge by an inch at best but another followed and traveled faster than his agile legs could avoid.

"AH!!!"

Henry had felt a few attacks since his arrival in this world. He had been shot, stabbed, and clawed at. He had had been struck hard by spells and he had been burnt. But this was the first time he had endured the arc of a Mana-surge.

It felt like a continuously spinning blade that hit him and kept spinning to dig even deeper into his body like a saw. It hurt. A lot.

When the attack was over, Henry fell to one knee and his sights became tinged in red.

[You have lost 75 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 5/290]

To Henry, it certainly felt like he had lost that much. His entire front was dyed in the red of his blood that had spilled out of the open wound now across his chest.

Gareth stepped closer, his Mana still surging as he swung his sword to unleash another arc. Henry was ready to roll out of the way although he was doubtful that would save him.

Gareth unleashed the arc, Henry's body moved about an inch and suddenly, someone was between them, swinging their broadsword and cutting clean through the Mana-surge so that it dissipated into harmless wisps.

Sir Boyle stood up straight and angled his body in a way that allowed him to glance side to side at Henry and Gareth.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked through gritted teeth, "What in all hell are you two doing?"

Boyle's armor was specked with Orc blood but that was common with basically everyone else. He was sporting a few injuries but nothing he couldn't endure. Hence why he had the energy to admonish the battling pair of Henry and Gareth.

With the breather he had been allowed, Henry pulled out one of the few Healing Potions he still had and downed it.

[You have recovered 200 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 205/290]

As he felt his Stamina recover and prepared for what he felt was an inevitable resumption of the currently paused fight, Henry looked across the battlefield and saw things were coming to an end already.

A few Knights had been injured/knocked out. Multiple Orcs lay slain with the few still living quickly meeting their ends. Henry saw Eloise use a string of Mana he had never yet seen her conjure to pull an Orc off its feet so it could topple and meet its end to swift decapitation.

He saw Andor glowing a faint silvery luminosity as he battled Orcs joined by a few Mercenaries and some Slaves who had managed to remain standing and in fighting shape.

Henry was still confused as to why Andor was glowing when he noticed the Cleric that had advocated for the healing of the slaves earlier sticking close to him. No matter where Andor went, she followed and he, in turn, made sure to protect her. It was a risky venture that should have put him at a massive disadvantage but Andor somehow made it work.

"Wait—" Henry mumbled and called Magical energy to his eyes to analyze Andor's current stats.

[Activating <Insight Lv.3>]

——————

[Name: Andor]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Fighter]

[Health: 290]

[Mana: 210]n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

[Strength: 84 (134)]

[Agility: 36 (54)]

[Stamina: 42 (42)]

*[Remarks: A Fighter who makes up for his limited Martial training with enthusiasm and Impressive strength. Has Impressive Potential but is killable should you want to.]

——————

"I see," Henry said with a small smile.

The stats in brackets were Andor's temporary stats after the 60 percent Buff he had received in all physical abilities from Meryna's Cleric prayer/spell. Henry now understood the strange silver luminosity around Andor.

The buff had done so much for Andor's battle prowess. The way he parried enemy attacks had them shocked which was usually the last expression they were able to have before he slayed them.

"That bastard behind you is a thief!" Gareth yelled, pulling Henry back to the situation before him.

"What?" Boyle asked confused.

"He attacked Lord Gribbo's convoy," Gareth said through gritted teeth, and then, when he realized his voice had carried, he looked at his fellow Mercenaries while pointing his sword at Henry,

"It was him. And that partner of his is definitely in on it."

There was silence after that.

As stated earlier, there were a few Mercenaries who had just recently fought by Andor's side. His quick action had spared them from being bombarded by too many Orcs.

They looked at Andor with expressions akin to betrayal. This was easy for them to do now that the last of the Orcs had been defeated. They were tired, and injured from their most recent battles but their zeal to avenge their fallen comrades from last night and punish the fuckers who dared interfere with Gibbo's slave business filled them with strength.

"Is this true?" One of them asked as his hand clenched and unclenched around his sword.

"You doubt me?" Gareth interjected with a yell.

"Of course not," the Mercenary hurried to say and then glanced at Andor looking like he was still hoping for some denial. Your next journey awaits at empire

Andor looked at Henry and saw Henry was looking at him too. Henry shrugged and Andor turned back to the Mercenary requesting an answer to shrug as well.

Angry noises burst out as the Mercenaries closed in on Andor,

"You bastard!" They yelled almost in unison.

Andor backed up and whispered to Meryna behind him,

"How much longer do I have the buff for?" He asked.

"A few minutes at best," Meryna said equally in a whisper.

Andor nodded solemnly,

"I best get to work then," he said.

"The Goddess be with you," Meryna said.

"You should step back," Andor said, "I don't think they'll go after you so you'll be fine away from me."

Meryna nodded and stepped away.

"Oi, Cleric, you've blessed him!" One mercenary yelled out.

"I have," Meryna said calmly.

"Well, take it back," the Mercenry yelled.

"I can not," Meryna said but her tone made it sound like she could but won't.

"You're against us!" The Mercenary yelled and like a rallying cry, he called his comrades to turn their weapons at the Cleric.

"The Goddess' goodness. She is always on the side of all who stand the truth and justice." Meryna said calmly as her fellow Clerics rallied with her but there was no intent for battle in any of their eyes. They lacked the zest or expertise for it.

"Knights!" Boyle called and the Knights of the Citadel, with Eloise at the forefront stood guard around the Clerics.

"You're against us too?" Gareth asked Boyle as Henry slowly rose back to his feet.

Boyle frowned,

"Certainly not. But we've only just started this expedition and we still need the Clerics.

Also, you haven't quite explained what's going on!"

"I've said all I need to," Gareth said and then yelled at the Mercenaries who were all too ready to attack,

"Kill him!"