A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

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The moment the Mercenaries launched at Andor, Gareth returned his attention to Henry with Boyle between the two.

"Alright now," Gareth said, "For you!"

Gareth launched himself to the side and swung his sword in an acr that struck a mana surge at Henry. Boyle took his eyes away from what was happening with Andor and with a strong swing of his broadsword, he split the mana-surge attack in two just as he had done once already.

"Stop it!" He yelled at Gareth.

"This is none of your business, stop interfering!" Gareth yelled.

"It IS my business. I lead this expedition and I can't lead it well if you're all at each other's throats!" Boyle yelled.

"This is a matter pertaining to my Lord!" Boyle yelled, "It's far more important than your expedition. Now step aside!"

And then Gareth realized Henry was no longer where he had been a few seconds ago. He turned to the side and saw Henry had left the cover of Boyle to have a better view of him to fire a shot at him from his Repeater.

Gareth leaned hard to the side and managed to have the bullet only graze him.

"Henry!" Boyle yelled but the Gunslinger paid no attention.

Henry had only kept quiet while Boyle tried to convince Gareth to stop fighting just so he could heal and recover his stamina and other means of survival that were on a cooldown.

Speaking of which: Gareth dashed forward. With his strength to give him a push and his agility to make him incredibly swift, he was swinging his sword at Henry's neck before the Gunslinger could blink.

Alas, the blade of his sword was blocked by a hazy blue shield that now surrounded Henry's body. Gareth was taken by surprise but merely smiled. It was not the first time Henry would get protected by such a shield and this time, Gareth refused to be forced away by the pushback. He stepped in even closer and smacked his sword at Henry's chest with enough force to send him sliding away.

"Oh!" Henry let out and by the time he was looking up, Gareth was back with another sword swing at his neck. The sword swung so fast he had no chance of dodging or even shooting a shot from any of his guns quickly enough to intercept the attacker.

*BAM!*

Gareth hit again so hard with the intent to send him sliding all so he could disorient him and make it easier to stab him through when the shield went away as he was sure it would.

'That shield won't last forever,' Gareth thought, 'You're dead once it's gone.'

Just as Gareth thought, the shield didn't last forever. After another slam that sent Henry sliding, the haze of the shield fizzled out, leaving Henry vulnerable but as Gareth charged at him, he saw something strange. He saw Henry swing his Repeater but only saw that a split second before he was within range of being hit by it.

*BAM!!!*

Henry had known what Gareth's plan was. It was obvious the Mercenary was hoping to bombard him with so many attacks to make it impossible to use the shield to his advantage. It had worked well. Hell, it was only when the haze was gone that Henry finally oriented himself enough to do something.

He activated -<Quick Thinking> and used his Perception to study the direction Gareth would come at him from. All that was left was picking the right moment to swing 'Cudgel'. He couldn't swing it too early and allow Gareth to dodge. And he couldn't swing too late and risk the enemy's sword stabbing through him first.

Fortunately, he picked just the right moment and only infused Mana into 'Cudgel' right before it made contact with Gareth's body.

Henry was looking down. Every action he made, was done with Perception to guide him rather than his sight which made his perspective a bit unique.

Henry 'saw' Gareth as some reddish mass of energy coming at him with a lot of violence and while he was also driven by the urge to kill, his Perception 'saw' him as a blue mass to oppose the red. But his mana flowed red through his body, up his arms into 'Cudgel' that glowed a violent red right before it struck Gareth in the side.

*CRACK!*

Gareth's eyes went wide as at least three of his ribs were fractured. His sword swing lost power and he found himself flying through the air to hit the ground once… twice… thrice until he rolled to a stop by slamming into a tree.

Henry looked up then. He spun 'Violent Retort' in his hand as he stood up and pointed it at Gareth who had managed to remain conscious.

He fired his shot, aiming for the Fighter's head. Gareth rolled away and the shot missed but he was hit in the sides by the next shot Henry fired.

"AH!" Gareth yelled in pain not just because of broken ribs on one side but also a sizable wound in his side caused by the mana-infused bullet Henry just fired. He rolled to his feet quickly enough though and beyond gritting his teeth, he still looked active.

Henry clicked his tongue. He had aimed for a more fatal shot. That said, he couldn't be too disappointed. He had taken precautions, especially in case of this.

Gareth began to run and with his agility to make him swift and his strength to push him hard and fast in whatever direction he wanted to go, he became a blur that Henry could not quite aim at but that was fine.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Henry just shot at anywhere and the bullets moved guided by the homing signal of <Guiding Shot> that his previous connecting shot had managed to place on Gareth's side. It didn't matter how fast Gareth moved and how un-amiable he made himself with his speed, the mana-infused slug from 'Violent Retort' followed the signal and struck him all the same.

"ACK!!!" Gareth yelled. His voice was loud not only because of his pain but also because of his shock that the shot had connected at all. He was sure Henry had not been able to aim.

Even then, he endured the pain and swung his sword to send a mana-surge arc at Henry. Alas, the Fighter's faltering because of the shot he just suffered made him predictable or at least made the mana-surge attack so sluggish that Henry could leap to the side and avoid it while firing another shot in no direction in particular.

As was usually the case with Henry. Once one shot has been guided by <Guiding Shot>, you can be sure all others will enjoy similar effects.

The shot he fired to follow the honing signal placed by the last to make contact carried the energy of <Guiding Shot> to and ensured the next shot Henry fired would just too.

"ARRGGHH!!!" Gareth yelled and his charge toward Henry faltered even more. He retched and spat out blood with his body arched a bit as the now-large wound in his side bled profusely.

Henry made to fire another shot but before he clenched his finger around the trigger, Gareth suddenly raised his head and leaped forward. He didn't run, he didn't dodge or lean. He leaped.

There were about four feet between them and Gareth covered it in half a second with a powerful leap that could only be possible by someone as fast and as agile as he was.

Henry clenched the trigger and his shot, guided by <Guiding Shot>, struck Gareth in the side but that bullet connected at the same time a sword was sliding across Henry's chest.

Henry froze and his eyes went wide as blood sprayed from the wound on his chest. The blood dyed Gareth's arm and face but the Fighter was hardly bothered. Just as he was hardly bothered by the third bullet into his side.

'Such an unkillable roach!' Henry thought at the same time the system's notification arrived.

[You have lost 95 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 195/290]

Before the notification had even finished flashing, Gareth was swinging to cut across his chest again to create an 'X'.

[You have lost 95 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 100/290]

Henry spat out blood then. The volume almost contested against the one that was spraying from the second slash to his chest but now he was able to move. He made to leap back while also raising his guns to fire shots but before he could even raise a foot, Gareth gripped the front of his now-sliced-up shirt and pulled him close.

"Die, you bastard!" Gareth said in a seething voice but he was already thrusting his sword. He thrust it right through Henry's heart in the most fatal injury the Gunslinger had ever suffered in both of his lives.

Henry's eyes widened and for a moment, he couldn't hear anything beyond an eerie ringing. Even before the notification arrived from the System, he knew this was a fatal wound that would sap him of his ability to breathe.

[You have lost 100 Hit Points]

Henry's heart beat one last weak beat and stopped.