A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

"Huh," Henry let out in a mix of confusion and surprise. He angled his neck around to catch sight of the creature that caught hold of him. It was a black bird and as far as he could tell, it was no bigger than the average raven and yet, it handled his weight so easily.

'Why did you help me?' Henry was just about to ask when he felt a worrying Aura from below and glanced at the Orc Priest. The chaotic Orb was done charging.

"Drop me!" Henry yelled at the bird that had a hold of him.

*Kraw!*

"Drop me now!" Henry yelled again. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful for the help. It was just his plan required him to be on the ground.

*Kraw!*

With the tone of the cry and the way he was jerked, Henry had a strong feeling the bird just called him an ingrate. But it did dip lower and dropped him.

"Ummph!" Henry let out as he fell on one knee with the bird calling him out with its cries that he could have sworn were all profanities.

[Spell Analysis Complete!]

[Spell: Kroa's Might]

'Oh,' Henry thought with his eyes glistening at the success of the spell analysis.

[Would you like to imprint the spell 'Kroa's Might' onto your Arcane Tapestry?]

'Yes!.'

[Select a Spot…]

The representation of the spell was a cone-like vortex of colliding structures and Henry decided his left forearm was the right spot to have it imprinted and so with the usual sting, the imprint process began.

The exchange between him and the System took a second or two at most and the charging of the Orb was complete which reminded him of the plan he had come up with while he was plummeting down to the earth.

"-Nyx!-" he called out to ensure his horse was out of the Shadows and positioned to help him.

"Fear Kroa's Might!" The Orc Priest yelled out but even before it launched the Orb, Henry was already moving as directed by his Precognition.

To help his escape even further, he extended a single watery tentacle of [Extra Arms] and used it to get a grip on Nyx who then wrenched him out of the way of the explosion that followed when the Orb struck a line of Orc warriors who had been behind him.

"No!" The Orc Priest yelled.

It had expected Henry to again attempt to shield himself and that combined with his body as the target of the attack would ensure the Orc warriors behind barely suffered any damages. It was still reckless but at worse, they lost a measly two Warriors and had more than enough numbers to carry on.

Alas, with Henry gone and not acting as some sort of protective barrier, the Orb struck the Orc warriors and shattered that line. At least ten of them died or were incredibly injured from the explosive force while about two times that number were displaced.

All in all, the event cut open a path of sorts. And that had been Henry's plan.

The moment he saw the Orc Priest charging the chaotic Orb, he knew he could bait it for this result. And after suffering the effects of the attack that had hurt him despite his shield, he expected enough of a satisfying effect.

But this wasn't enough and so while the Orc Priest's eyes were bugged at what it had been baited to do, Henry pulled out his guns and fired shot after shot taking advantage of the confusion to continue mowing down the path that had only slightly been opened by the explosion of the chaotic Orb.

For every Exp reward he received for every kill, Nyx received about half as she ferried him about. Thanks to the kills she had been making below while he was in the air both times, she completed her Level-up requirements faster than he did.

[Nyx has Leveled Up!]

[Nyx is now Level 23]

[Nyx's Hit Point Maximum increased to 365]

[Nyx's Mana is now 380]

[Strength: 150 ———> 155]

[Speed: 280 ———> 290]

[Stamina: 145 ———> 150]

A few kills after that and Henry received his own Level-up.

[You have Leveled Up!]

[You are now Level 40]

[Hit Point Maximum increased to 400]

[Hit Points: 210/400]

[Mana Point Maximum increased to 510]

[You have received 6 Stat Points to Allocate]

[You now have 36 stat Points to Allocate]

—————

[Name: Henry Morgan]

[Level: 40 (20% Exp)]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Gunslinger]

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

[Hit Points: 210/400]

[Mana Points: 120/510]

[Strength: 31]

[Agility: 138]

[Stamina: 80]

[Perception: 80]

[Skills:

{Marksmanship Lv. 6 <Active Sub Skill: Quick Thinking> <Active Sub Skill: Reload> <Active Sub Skill: Guiding Shot>}

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

{Insight Lv.5}

{Raider's Intent}

{Hunter's Instinct}

[~Arcane Tapestry~:

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

[You have 36 Stat Points to Allocate]

—————

—————

[Name: Nyx]

[Creature: Shadow Mare]

[Breed: Valaeren Night-Mare]

[Level 23 (20% Exp)]*

[Hit Points: 365/365]

[Mana: 380]

[Strength: 155]

[Speed: 290]

[Stamina: 150]

[Skills:

{Shadow Dash Lv.3}

{<ShadowScape>}

{Shadow Body Manipulation: Dread Horn}]*

—————

Even while the Stat screen Windows were in front of Henry's eyes, he continued to fire shots and he saw as the percentages of his and Nyx's Exp requirements continued to hike up in real-time.

Nyx was galloping through the path he was mowing down with his shots and right when the Orc Warriors were getting over their shock and starting to close the path, he received a notification that made him smile.

[Spell Imprint Complete!]

[Kroa's Might:

At the cost of Mana, conjure multiple projectiles that collide repeatedly and charge up a powerful chaotic Orb that will explode upon impact.

Costs: 500 Mana Points.]

Barely reading the spell's description, Henry was already downing Mana Potions to ensure he had enough Mana points to cast it and then he raised his left hand and, under his shirt's sleeve, the imprint of the spell glowed subtly as multiple projectiles began to appear high above his head.

The projectiles came together in collisions that charged them up in seconds as was the standard time.

"Impossible!" The Orc Priest let out and its colleagues agreed. As did the Orc Casters whose mouths were all gapped in dreading awe.

The 'Kroa's Might' spell was a sign of years of dedicated practice in casting all the other projectile spells the Orcs had in their arsenal. It ordinarily required a lot of attention and quite a bit of time to cast and that was why the Orc Caster to first unleash it had needed his fellows to distract Henry and give it time to prepare the spell.

And yet, here was Henry casting the spell as easily as an Orc Priest.

Henry had little to no knowledge of the reactions and even if he saw them he wouldn't have cared. At this point, it was expected.

*Kroa's Might!*

The Chaotic Orb completed its charge as Nyx came to a dead stop to allow Henry to launch it.

*BOOOOMMMMM!!!*

The spell's explosion caused the near-instantaneous deaths of six Orc Casters who suffered the brunt of the blast the most.

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

Thrice that number were struck by the force of the blast and although some were injured, the most notable event was them all getting blown away from the path, clearing it.

And then, came the battle cry.

Like they had been waiting for their cue, the Knights (both groups) charged into the field and went for the little bit of Orc Warriors still on the path.

Eloise and Aurelius led the charge and taking advantage of the injuries those group of Orcs had already sustained and their disorientation from the blast of [Kroa's Might], the two talented Knights cut through them far too easily and the rest of the Knights spilled in after and broke into equal groups of two.

Each group faced one side of the path in an attempt to keep the Orc Warriors who were still very healthy from pressing in and closing the path that had just been formed and made very clear.

Henry and Nyx's tasks as Vanguards were complete. They had cleared the path that their comrades were now taking advantage of.

It begged the question —considering how the Knights had arrived at just the right moment to hold and keep the created path—, had Henry timed things just right?

Well, not really.

That honor went to Eloise who had been using her sensory spell to observe the field as best she could while the army was still meters away.

Originally, they were only going to give Henry some time to try and clear them a path and if he failed, he'd at least be a good distraction… maybe.

He was holding up well so they held back. But the moment the Orc Priest's 'Kroa's Might' spell started the true creation of the Path they needed, and Henry started to mow it down with his guns, Eloise decided it was time to move so she relayed back to Boyle who rallied the group and they moved.