Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Now proceeding with the shooting duel. By default, both pistols fire simultaneously. First roll for shooting points; if one side's sum of luck and agility exceeds the other side's shooting points, they can evade injury. If the sum of luck and agility is less than the shooting points, the difference in points determines the injury status."

On the second floor of the Prophet's Society, the tense atmosphere made everyone instinctively hold their breath. The tabletop scene depicting a quick draw and shootout resembled the duel scenes of the old era.

Even the three princesses who were familiar with old-era firearm duels knew that even with the advancements in firearm manufacturing, it was nearly impossible to kill an enemy with one shot without prior preparation in hurried shooting situations. No matter what, Shard would likely take a few bullets until one side was completely incapacitated by injuries.

"First roll for shooting points."

With the words of the Keeper of Secrets, Professor Anse, who had lost his companions, picked up the dice. He knew something was amiss with the current situation; everything seemed reasonable, yet it felt off. However, having chosen to abandon the mission and prepare to flee, he knew he had to kill the other story character.

Clatter~

Under the tense gaze of the Church Ring Sorcerers, the middle-aged man rolled an almost impossible number:

"Points 100."

Angelina tightly grasped her sister's arm, feeling her sister's equal tension.

Professor Anse slowly exhaled and then, lowering his head, read out the content on the parchment, searching for applicable bonuses:

"[Night Stalker] Jogori Deus, Basic Shooting Skill bonus of 67 points, Keeper of Secrets Level Relic Demon Eye [Bug Eye] provides a shooting bonus of 40 points, Type 45 semi-automatic pistol shooting bonus of 30 points."

He paused, his mouth twitching:

"Due to [Night Stalker] Jogori Deus's severe injury affecting hand stability, a shooting penalty of 34 points, with the Symbol 'Broken Bugle' providing a 12-point bonus. Total shooting points 215."

Iluna let out a slight sigh of relief; 215 wasn't a very high value.

She picked up the dice as well, and once they settled, the seventeen-year-old girl began reading the parchment:

"Points 71, Basic Shooting Skill bonus of 61, Ruger Revolver shooting bonus of 24, Symbol bonus of 10."

"Mr. Hamilton's shooting skills are quite impressive."

Someone murmured from the crowd, and Iluna focused, skipping over a line she couldn't say aloud, finding a barely acceptable entry:

"Character Special Ability: Special Aim Assistance Technique, bonus..."

She saw the value, much like that of earlier "Basic Investigation," quickly fluctuating from double to triple digits. Finally, Iluna chose to read out a number when it appeared:

"50. Total shooting points 216."

Shard's total shooting points were just slightly higher than the severely injured First Ring Sorcerer, a result everyone accepted since it's quite usual for a detective to have decent shooting skills. Iluna's eyes swept past the next entries "Night's Shelter" and "Dark Vision of Daknis" until the challenge wasn't over; only by rolling agility and luck would they know who got shot.

Professor Anse picked up two dice and continued to roll, this time rolling each twice:

"Luck 42 points, Agility...3 points."

Taking a deep breath, the middle-aged man's expression was peculiar as he mumbled softly:

"Luck truly is a constant."

"That's superstition."

Iluna voiced the common phrase Shard often said; Professor Anse ignored her:

"Character's Basic Luck 65 points, Injury Penalty for Agility -40 points, 'Inspiration Potion' provides an Agility bonus of 10 points, Character Trait: Night Walker provides a Luck bonus of 21 points, Sorcery 'Crisis Perception' provides a 0.6 coefficient for Agility bonus..."

Clatter~

He rolled the dice again:

"45×0.6=27 points."

"Arcane Technique 'Protective Arrow' provides 1.5 coefficient for Luck bonus..."

Clatter~

"30×1.5=45 points. Total Luck and Agility points, 173 points...less than Hamilton's shooting points of 216, got hit."

Iluna smiled, picking up the dice to roll again, her voice exceptionally calm, and people admired her psychological resilience:

"Dice roll for Luck points 53, Dice roll for Agility points 47. Symbol bonus of 10 points, Character Basic Luck 97 points, the champion of Big City Player is indeed a lucky guy."

Iluna said, her mental arithmetic skill was quite decent; these four values already totaled 207, just 8 points short of completely dodging the enemy's bullet. Her eyes scanned the parchment, selecting the abilities or traits Shard could declare, making her feel like picking cheap vegetables in a market due to the vast number, so she quickly found her target:

"Profession [Detective] provides Agility bonus of 10, Shard Hamilton's total Luck and Agility points, 217 points."

Both Iluna and Professor Dion looked toward the black-robed Keeper of Secrets, from the darkness a hoarse voice rendered the verdict:

"In the dark, brave ones draw guns for a standoff, this is a true contest. The night provided Shard Hamilton with shelter, the bullet from his injured opponent did not hit him. The young detective steadily pulled the trigger, the bullet hit [Night Stalker] Jogori Deus's lung. It was a light wound, but due to his previous severe injuries, he temporarily lost mobility in this round."

Iluna's face broke into a smile; just as she was about to command the next action, the Keeper of Secrets continued:

"The successive gunshots in the silent night, thanks to the Silence Charm, went unnoticed. But both Shard Hamilton and Jogori Deus knew their time was running out. [Thief Jack] was on the verge of completing his theft, and those hoping to capture the criminal and gain merit must act quickly.

This is the Keeper of Secrets urging the two in the "duel" to pull the story back on track. After all, the theme of the current [Dice Story Collection] is catching the thief, not a duel between two men at night. Feeling the rules Iluna received after taking her seat, if the story's theme is ignored for too long, terrible changes might occur.

"Jogori Deus uses Sorcery!"

Professor Anse spoke up before Iluna, sweat beading on his forehead, but his eyes still held a determined glimmer:

"The Chosen One, maybe you're lucky this time, but next time I won't give it to you."

"What do you still want to do?"

Iluna asked suspiciously. The middle-aged professor shook his head:

"Ordinary people can't resist a Circle Sorcerer. Did you think I sent him to kill Hamilton without anticipating this situation? I know Rejed's Hamilton is a Detective, skilled in shooting, reconnaissance, and combat, but a Circle Sorcerer losing the ability to move doesn't mean they can't continue to fight. Jogori Deus uses Sorcery - Telekinesis, to seize Shard Hamilton's firearm!"

He spoke quickly:

"Incidentally, this Sorcery was originally prepared for [Thief Jack]. Deus's [Move Object] was influenced by a Relic, even though he is a First Ring, the power of Telekinesis far exceeds that of a mature plow ox. The only drawback is that it must be in a stationary state with mental concentration and advance preparation to use it. Fortunately, conditions are now met."

This is indeed quite remarkable, when Shard was at First Ring, the Basic Sorcery "Move Object" could barely move a small piece of paper. Even now, his Sorcery isn't enough to wrestle with a plow ox.

"Conduct a power confrontation!"

Iluna hurriedly said, intending to throw the dice, but unexpectedly the Keeper of Secrets interrupted her words:

"Maybe because of the previous shootout, Shard Hamilton was overly frightened, or perhaps he never expected an invisible force to seize his firearm. Ordinary [Mortal Luck] Shard Hamilton, due to having never witnessed the mysterious and transcendental (note), did not resist this time. Sorcery - Telekinesis is used successfully, Shard Hamilton's revolver is obtained by Jogori Deus."

"Shard Hamilton executes..."

Iluna hurriedly wanted to give Shard the next instruction, but clearly, she couldn't interrupt the Keeper of Secrets' words:

"[Night Stalker] Jogori Deus acts first."

"Open fire!"

Professor Anse immediately said, only the subsequent judgment was somewhat strange.

"The hurriedly seized firearm, [Night Stalker] Jogori Deus is unfamiliar with. To successfully fire, he must go through three luck judgments – judging whether there's a bullet in the gun, whether he knows how to use this model of revolver, whether Shard Hamilton will immediately counterattack. The sum of three rolls greater than 99, then firing normally proceeds, followed by confrontation judgment with the opponent."

Adding up three rolls greater than 99 is quite easy, especially with points from other items as a bonus. Professor Anse immediately picked up two dice to roll, not noticing Iluna across from him slightly frowning, as if realizing something, nor paying attention to the Red-Haired Princess in the darkness biting her lip to avoid showing her amusement:

"Shard can't just actually stand there stunned because of the 'Move Object' Sorcery, he surely switched..."

Dang~

Points 1.

Dang~

Points 1.

Dang~

Points 1.

"Hmm?"

Professor Anse was dumbfounded, feeling the story is getting stranger this time, although reasonable, but strange.

He looked at his unconscious companion beside him, suspecting it was the sudden betrayal towards the church. The crowd from the church were also amazed at the [Truth Society] professor's atrocious luck.

No extra point additions were possible, a hoarse, chilly voice echoed from the darkness, simultaneously all present seemed to hear a gunshot sound by their ears:

"Three consecutive rolls of 1 point, according to the 'Three times in a row 1 point, then the result deemed as great failure' rule, the story character undergoes a misfortune punishment. Hence, [Night Stalker] Jogori Deus gets hit by the gun's rebound bullet. Since he was already seriously injured unable to move, this attack bypasses evasion, luck, and defense, [Night Stalker] dies."

"Miss Pawo said after the Lakeside Manor banquet that no probability, however clear, can beat fate..."

Professor Anse, dressed in a crisp suit, fell to the ground after the gunshot. The parchment roll symbolizing the [Night Stalker] identity got ignited by the flame as it descended, leaving behind only ashes in the darkness.

Angelina trembled all over with excitement, Lecia suppressed a smile in her eyes, Princess Margaret felt thrilled by such a gripping story, especially since Shard had helped her before.

"Maybe I should reach out to that Detective once more, truly remarkable."

The Southern Nation's princess thought, sure that three consecutive rolls of one truly related to the Detective who had displayed formidable power.

Beside the table under the light, now only Iluna remained seated. The seventeen-year-old girl tried hard not to burst out laughing, holding parchment in one hand, supporting her chin with another, frowning and watching the table's setup, yet inevitably showing a faint restrained smile.

This smile appeared composed and confident to the audience.

Unclear who clapped first, followed by scattered applause with soft praise:

"Truly splendid, Iluna Beath deservedly."

Although people didn't know how she did it, the admiration was utterly sincere.