A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

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[Name: ?????]

[Race: Orc]

[Class: [Blessed] Orc Priest]

[Job: Orc Council Lord]

[Health: 760 {950}]

[Mana: 880 {1100}]

[Faith: 320]*

[Strength: 140 {300}]

[Agility: 100 {210}]

[Stamina: 130 {250}]

[Intelligence: 300]

*[Remarks: An Orc that has thrived in the terrain of the Dungeon. Not only improving its innate 'Intelligence' required to cast spells but also improving its Spiritual connection to its godly patron.

A very difficult Opponent. And as far as you're concerned, it's Unkillable.]

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Henry had magical energy in his eyes and looked from one of the Orc Priests to the other and their stats were all fairly similar and told a uniform story of trouble.

Boyle had broken past the obstacles before him and now stood opposite one of the Orc Priests with a grave expression on his face. Even then, he hefted his sword and prepared to fight. So did Eloise, Aurelius, and Sir Doran. But of course, they were all aware that they were five compared to the Orc Priests' six but they knew they'd have to make do.

At that moment, Henry received a notification that reminded him of a process he had already set in motion before the defeat of that one Orc Priest;

[Spell Analysis Complete!]

[Spell: Kroa's Mighty Shield]

'Even the name sounds like a direct upgrade,' Henry thought referring to the 'Kroa's Shield spell' he already had imprinted on his body.

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

'Yes.'

[Select a Spot…]

Henry gave it very little thought and almost instantly decided to imprint the spell on his right pec where the spell of 'Kroa's Shield' already was.

The System of course reminded him of this potential contradiction;

[Are you consenting to replace 'Kroa's Shield' with 'Kroa's Mighty Shield'?

•Note that you can change the position of any one of the spells should you still have space upon your Arcane Tapestry?]

And this was exactly why Henry had tried it in case he was given this choice.

'Replace,' he said immediately. He saw no reason to keep the inferior shield spell when he had a better option. A better option that covered about the same area but was just etched with even more intricate details. Keeping just one of the two was enough. His body was getting covered up with enough spells as it is.

[As you wish…]

'Kroa's Mighty Shield' began to imprint and the pain was two times worse. For every 'ink' of the new spell that was etched onto his body, the same value of the old spell was stripped away which hurt about as much as it did to get the tattoo in the first place.

Anyway, the exchange between Henry and the system and the subsequent start of yet another spell imprinting only lasted a few seconds and the 'Blessed' Orc Priest in front of him was getting ready to attack.

Nyx was out of the shadows and by Henry's side and with her, Henry felt more confident, raised his guns, and fired shots, all of which were blocked by the enemy with a conjured shield.

At the same time, Nyx dashed forward and without taking its eyes off Henry who was firing what it thought to be pointless shots, the Orc Priest waved a hand to summon a wall of red mana that slammed at Nyx.

She had expected that and seamlessly vanished into shadow as had been her plan. She used the shadow to get past the shield Henry's shots were failing to break through and rose to stab at the enemy with her <Dread Horn>.

Again, without taking its eyes off Henry who had paused shooting for now, the Orc Priest raised a hand and brought it down to slam Nyx's head with a force of magic that sent her slamming the underside of her head and her neck into the ground.

*Bam!*

[Nyx has lost 50 Hit Points]

[Nyx's Hit Points: 215/380]

Nyx of course immediately sought escape into the shadows but then she was gripped by a force of mana as the Orc Priest's staff glowed red and it raised her off the ground so she no longer had contact with the shadow she had been about to vanish into and then, with a grin, it pulled its Staff back and swung it as one would swing a bat.

*BAM!*

*CRACK!!!*

Letting out a scream of agony not only through the telepathic connection she shared with Henry but also out of her mouth with such intensity that her neigh sounded more like a human yell, Nyx was sent flying with blood splattering out of her mouth as she did.

[Nyx has lost 150 Hit Points]

[Nyx's Hit Points: 65/380]

When Nyx hit the ground, the shadows swallowed her and Henry lost her thoughts. You see, Nyx hadn't just been hit with a physical attack but also a magical one. The violent mana had seeped into her body and dragged her mind into a nightmare she was now battling her way out of.

"NYX!!!" Henry yelled in a loud voice and lunged forward as though to go after her before she sunk out of sight.

He moved like he could help heal her but of course, he couldn't. He had no Healing Potions with him. Still, he moved. Or at least he tried to only to be interrupted by the Orc Priest who was suddenly in front of him.

It had moved so incredibly fast and really, what more could Henry have expected from a creature with its agility at 210 compared to his 174? In that brief second, he remembered he had 12 Unallocated stat points and really considered using them on his Agility. They would not be enough to completely close the gap in stats but it would certainly be a start.

"Such care…" The Orc Priest said and was already swinging its Staff which Henry, thanks to his Precognition, was able to defend against with 'Cudgel'.

Thanks to the weapon's sturdy build as a testament to the quality work of 'Elminster Eltugard', it didn't break. It also only transferred a portion of the 'damage' it sustained from the impactful contact with the Orc's staff, into Henry's arm.

Unfortunately, that 'little' portion sprained Henry's arm and he let out a groan as he was sent sliding away.

But of course, the Orc Priest did not relent. Only this time it didn't opt for a physical attack. It swung its staff and unleashed arcs of mana that firmed into spinning blades.

Henry's Precognition warned him but he knew he had hardly a shot at dodging them all. Fortunately, it turned out that he didn't have to.

[Spell Imprint Complete!]

As soon as he was alerted, he stuck his arm forward and yelled in his head;

Kroa's Mighty Shield!

The shield appeared in a collection of spell circles of the Arcane symbols unique to the Orcs that blocked every single one of the arcs even if it did shatter in the end.

[Kroa's Mighty Shield:

At the cost of Mana, summon a shield of Spell Circles for Protection.

Costs: 250 Exp]

Before the Orc Priest's spells made contact and destroyed the shield, Henry had seen that its Defense Power was at 400 which was 100 more than the more simple 'Kroa's Shield' and was on par with the <Hat Of Shielding>. Of course, there were still differences.

The <Hat of Shielding> was more stable in the sense that, as long as the attack it was blocking did not go beyond its Defense Power, it wouldn't break no matter how much it took.

On the other hand, 'Kroa's Mighty Shield' got damaged with every attack it suffered.

Of course, at least it was still a great improvement over the previous version Henry had, and only with an increased cost of 50 mana points.

"You intrigue me," The Orc Priest said and that was clear in its tone. However, it didn't seem as interested in him as the Orc Priest Henry killed before. It was intrigued but still very motivated to kill him.

It was suddenly in front of Henry again and without Mana Points to cast spells and no room to drink a potion, Henry tried to move away while simultaneously using 'Cudgel' for defense.

Alas, things didn't work out nearly as well as he would have hoped. It certainly didn't work out like the last time he used the gun for defense.

The Orc Priest's staff struck 'Cudgel' but it just used it to hold him in place and slam Henry in the side of the face with the end of the staff anyway. Sending him into a nearby tree at the edge of the clearing and towards entry into the forest proper.

*BAM!*

As he was flying, Henry found his mind pulled into a nightmarish scape where he saw visions of what awaited him if he failed. He spent maybe a second in that scape at most because, thinking he was being possessed, Henry slammed the palm of his hand against his thigh to do what he had done to avoid that once.

Shocking Grip!

The electricity of the spell charged into him and jolted him out of the nightmare where he yelled out in pain before spitting out blood while slumped against a tree.