The Gamer's Arsenal.

The other weapon was a goddamn mini-Gatling Gun, not something that Issei wanted to play chicken with. The other rat seemed to be responsible for operating the cooling system or something. The two teams were walking around in a circular room with a central pillar and no other obstacles to prevent a certain Sekiryūtei from getting burn to a crisp or ventilated with bullets.

Brute force wouldn't help him here; Issei would have to use his mind to fight here. His new magic, [Force Absorption Field], was only Level 1 and wouldn't slow the bullets down by much. As a kid, he'd liked Superman and wondered how fast a speeding bullet really was. The answer had been informative.

Nowadays, bullets from even 0.22 rimfire cartridge averaged between 370 and 460 metres per second and those were the slowest he had found other than shotgun shells (335-427mps). As this was a machine gun-type, and a supernatural one at that, he guessed that the speed of the bullets would be quite a bit faster than that. No way did he want to get in the way of those bullets.

That left the flamethrower. If he could get in close and cut the fuel line before retreating, he'd eliminate the effectiveness of the weapon to a small belch of flames before becoming dead weight. On the other hand, he didn't want to get burned by that stuff either, and he was quite fond of the [Rapscallion Wave Blade], so he'd use the plain steel short sword for that, just in case the raw fuel of the flamethrower is corrosive as well as flammable.

Mind made up, he checked one more time, this time for Levels and to see if they had any Magiscopes that could spot him in his Cloak.

Ratman Fireteam – Warpfire Thrower LV13

[Burning Hell]

Ratman Fireteam – Ratling Gun LV13

[Destructive Impulse]

'Pretty high levels. Definitely not trash mobs.' Issei thought as he looked them over. They also didn't have any sights mounted on their weapons or false eyes or eyepieces, so he guessed that the coast was clear.

Stepping softly, he made his way through the door and waited for the Warpfire Thrower to pass by him. It was a rather agonising wait, but it paid off. As the team passed by him, he quickly flipped his hood off, slammed the steel short sword through the hose connecting the two parts of the equipment and then stabbed the ratman holding the weapon part of the oversized flamethrower in the back of the head, dropping it with a screech of pain as it died. He turned and stabbed the flailing tank carrier in the throat before pulling his hood up and dodging away to the pillar's shadow.

You have slain [Ratman Fireteam – Warpfire Thrower]! You gain 330 EXP! The Ratling Gun team rounded the pillar just as he did so, squeaking and whining before chattering at each other in what must have been their own language before the lead ratman pointed the muzzle of the Ratling Gun at the corpses of the Warpfire Thrower team and turned a crank, unleashing a storm of lead that perforated the bodies and ground like Swiss cheese. One round must have ignited the fuel tank, as it exploded, unleashing a massive gout of eerie green flames and an explosion that Issei could feel even from the pillar he was up against.

'Better take them out before the lead idiot decides to spray the rest of the room.' Issei thought as he flipped down his hood. Aloud, he said, "[Earth Shot]!"

The missile smashed into the body of the ratman holding the weapon, crushing the arm that turned the crank and making it screech in agony.

Ratman Ratling Gun Team A, left arm crippled!

Having neutralised the ability of the Ratling Gun to actually fire, Issei charged in and ended the fight with two more slashes, one decapitating the wielder of the weapon, the other hitting the heart of the other one.

You have slain [Ratman Fireteam – Ratling Gun]! You gain 335 EXP!

You have levelled up! LV7-LV8!

You have 5 Attribute points to spend! [Basic Swordsmanship] LV2-LV3!

has

levelled

up!

[Lesser Draconic Charisma] has levelled up! LV2-LV3!

[Ambidextrous] has levelled up! LV1-LV2!

[Earth Shot] has levelled up! LV1-LV2!

As a result of repeated actions, you have learned the [Ambushing] skill!

[Ambushing] (Passive/Active) [LV1, 00.00EXP]

The ability to conceal oneself and attack from within that cover is a classic military tactic. Ambushing is well known to have been a major part of most wars down through the ages. There was even a case of two armies ambushing one another simultaneously without knowing about it. The more skilled you are at this skill, the more damaging your actions against the enemy will be after employing it against them.

- Passively grants +10 to the effects of all stealth-related skills.

- Actively increases all damage dealt by the user for one minute after leaving stealth by +10%.

As a result of repeated actions, you have learned the [Disengage] skill!

[Disengage] (Passive) [LV1, 00.00 EXP] A skilled soldier will know when to attack. A very skilled soldier will know when to attack and when to retreat. A masterful soldier knows both of these and has the ability to enact them.

- Passively raises the chance of successfully disengaging from active combat with enemies by 5%.

Do you wish to loot the bodies? Due to damage done to the Warpfire Thrower team, these bodies cannot be looted.

Yes/No

Hitting 'Yes', Issei impatiently waited for the list to load, then sold all of it. He wanted none of that Warpstone crap near him and was looking for a way to get rid of the two Warpstone eyes that he had already. His earnings were ¥658 from the Ratling Gun and a further ¥1507 from selling the rest of the stuff.

Moving to the other side of the pillar, Issei frowned at the large set of steel double-doors, then deepened his frown when he spotted the rectangular lock at chest height. A puzzle lock, in the form of a picture. Five animal cut-out blocks set up in a cross, with the four cardinal directions noted.

In the south was a picture of a blue dragon, to the west was a red bird, to the north a white tiger, to the east a black turtle and in the centre was a yellow dragon. Beneath the picture was a single sentence.

Restore the Guardians to their proper places and protect the Ancient Capital.

Issei frowned. The modern capital of Japan was Tokyo, formerly Edo, and had been since the end of the Warring States Period 400 year previously, so the riddle must refer to Kyoto. The five animals were obviously the animal gods that protected cities; Seiry ū , Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu and Kōryū.

He dimly remembered that Kōryū, the Yellow Dragon, was the Guardian of the Centre, so that one was right. Strictly speaking not one of the Japanese elements as it represented Earth, but was commonly compared to an Ōry ū, so often included.

"The question is the other four … " he muttered, squinting at the pictures. He dimly remembered an anime or two that featured the four animal gods. That was based on the Chinese elements though.

"Ah screw it." He decided. Reaching out, he removed the four pictures and placed them back in the order that had been popularised in the anime. Seiryū in the east, Suzaku to the south, Byakko in the west and Genbu in the north.

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