A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

The orc Priests shared looks as they watched the group of Henry, Nyx and the Knights tear through the Orc Casters.

The Orc Archers had all been eliminated now and the numbers of Ord Casters were dwindling with every minute that passed. There was no way the orc Priests could stand to remain passive any longer.

Henry had charged at an Orc Caster and slammed 'Cudgel' against its conjured shield before increasing its weight at just the right moment to shatter it when he felt a coming wave of violent Mana. He tried to get away but was caught up in it still and went flying.

He managed to ground himself and landed on his feet to look up at his attacker. One of the Orc Priests had stepped forward and there was a red orb above its free hand. The orb revolved and the Y'Nth metal top of its Staff seemed to glow as it glared at Henry menacingly.

Henry stared right back.

He kept his eyes on the enemy even as he pulled out Mana Potions to restore his Mana Points. He saw on the interface of his Inventory that he was starting to run low despite how much Eloise had given him but he decided now was not the time to dwell on that.

He was waiting for something.

And for a second, it looked like the Orc Priest was waiting as well.

It analyzed Henry. The others that had come into the field had been normal thus far, but Henry was different. He wielded 'strange' weapons and fired them with incredible precision and backed all that up with a strange affinity with their 'Malice Magic'.

What more could Henry know? What sort of person was he? The Orc Priest was curious. There was just too much to not be curious about.

Henry was curious too.

[Activating <Insight Lv.5>]

——————

[Name: ?????]

[Race: Orc]

[Class: Orc Priest]

[Job: Orc Council Lord]

[Health: 750]

[Mana: 850]

[Faith: 320]*

[Strength: 140]

[Agility: 100]

[Stamina: 130]

[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.]

—————

Henry narrowed his eyes. The Orc Priest's base stats were certainly better than those of the Orc Priest their group had met once before which aligned with the improvements all the creatures in the Dungeon were believed to be undergoing.

But the funny thing was, Henry was far more comfortable facing this Orc Priest than he had been facing the last. The only stat his enemy had that he needed to be worried about was its Intelligence which determined the strength of the spells it could cast.

Since that encounter with that Orc Priest, Henry himself had undergone improvements that helped close the gap. Back then, he had been a shield for Eloise only and overall, a distraction for Boyle to take advantage of and get the kill.

Now, he felt he could manage.

But, there was a caveat;

This Orc Priest's 'Faith' stat was more than the last so if it was allowed to go into the [Blessed] state, Henry was not sure he could win.

He studied the Orc Priest's expression better and he could tell he was not being underestimated. If he dragged things out and didn't adequately go for the kill then he was at risk of giving the enemy time to realize it needed the [Blessed] state.

Henry had 'Violent Retort' in one hand while the other he left free. And then he charged.

The Orc Priest smirked and made a structured stance before swinging its staff in an arc that unleashed a wave of Mana that rolled like a giant spinning blade.

Henry leaned back as hard as he could and the blade flew over him. Or so he thought because it changed direction and position at the very last second to spin and cut at him before his back hit the ground.

Henry was unbalanced and he was going to have to use his gun to parry the attack. At least that's how it looked until…

Extra Arms!

… two arms of the watery tentacle spell appeared at his back and touched the ground before his body could. The arms propelled him in a way he had never used them before and Henry came flying so the spinning blast attack hit the ground instead of slicing him in two.

The moment he was even remotely upright again, he fired the two slugs he had inside 'Violent Retort'.

Of course, they both struck a conjured shield.

Despite the power of both shots, the shield barely cracked.

Henry recognized the shield. The Orc Priest their group had suffered so much to defeat had had a similar one;

Unlike the 'Kroa's Shield' spell, he had already imprinted onto his ~Arcane Tapestry~, this was more concrete. It wasn't just a translucent red screen but a translucent red screen made up of multiple spell circles.

Henry assumed it was a complicated cast seeing as only Orc Priests had used it thus far, but, of course, whatever requirement might have kept the average Orc Caster from the spell didn't apply to Henry.

Henry hadn't seen the motion required to cast it or seen a spell circle both of which he could have analyzed to get the spell. However, seeing as the shield was composed of Spell Circles anyway, he wondered if he could still get it.

[Activating <Insight Lv.5>]

[Analyzing Spell…]

At the same time, being so capable of multitasking, he drew back his hand and stretched it first so it crackled with lightning…

Kroa's Bolt!

… And fired a powerful bolt of red lightning into the enemy's shield.

The bolt connected in a powerful blast that caused a massive crack in the shield which, with a splintering sound, began to spread all over.

'Sturdy,' Henry said. No translucent shield had ever managed to survive a blast from the red lightning bolt so far.

Henry finished up the cracking shield with shots from

'Violent Retort' but even when it shattered, the Orc Priest just grinned with some excitement and then slammed its staff against the ground. Or at least it tried to before it realized all five arms of [Extra Arms] had snuck close the moment its shield was down and they now wrapped around its staff before wrenching it out of its hands.

"Ha!" The Orc Priest laughed once looking amused before its staff glowed red and released multiple arcs of mana that sliced through all five tentacles so it could finally complete the slam against the ground and unleash a red vortex that went spinning at Henry.

Only, Henry was no longer there.

"Where…?" The Orc Priest started to say before it wheeled around and summoned a shield just in time to defend against a mana-infused slug to the head.

Henry's feet touched the ground and he was gone again and shooting from a different angle which forced the Orc Priest to follow him. At least it tried to until it was suddenly gripped by fear.

The feeling only lasted for a second but that was enough for Henry to change direction one last time to behind him; press the muzzle of 'Violent Retort' against its back and fire a shot that tore through its thick hide and into its heart to obliterate it in that one hit.

"Ack!" The Orc Priest let out in shock most of all.

Where had that feeling come from? It wondered.

As said before, Henry knew he would only get a single shot at this.

[Kroa's Might] was currently his most powerful spell but the Orc Priest already knew about it so would at least be expecting it and likely have ways to survive it. Plus, the spell had to charge and was very tasking on reserves.

No, he needed something 'simpler'. Something the enemy had not quite seen yet and would not be prepared for.

[Raider's Instinct] was that 'simple' thing but knowing how strong his opponent was and from his experience using the skill on others so far, Henry knew he wouldn't have long.

He had to already be in motion before using the spell. He had to already be in the midst of pushing past his opponent's shield to have a shot at success.

Fortunately, he had his impressive agility and just one second became a deciding factor.

The Orc Priest just barely managed to raise a hand to the hole in its chest blasted through from behind before it fell forward to its death.

[Kill-Reward: 2000 Exp]

[You have Leveled Up!]

[You are now Level 42]

[Hit Point Maximum increased to 420]

[Hit Points: 230/420]

[Mana Point Maximum increased to 530]

[You have received 6 Stat Points to Allocate]

[You have 12 Stat Points to Allocate]

It had been a surprisingly easy fight but Henry felt a chill that told him he might not find such good fortune a second time.

The surviving Orc Priests had seen the fate of their fellow and were not taking any chances.

All six now had the red sigil of 'Kroa's Blessing' glowing on their foreheads with their already red eyes now even more violently glowing with malice.