NOVEL NEXT Chapter 231: I Want That Cuff
It took a second for Henry to realize he was getting surrounded so with a flick of his wrist, he sent 'The Hydra's Sting' into his inventory and retrained his <Hat Of Shielding>.
He had just put on the Hat and activated its shield when attacks came at him from all around, slamming him all over in a barrage he would not have survived or at all managed to dodge.
When the storm passed, Henry ran at the first Orc his eyes fell on. The Orc, as well as every other Caster, had wide eyes in sheer shock at Henry's ability to survive their combined attacks but it managed to conjure its shield of red mana just in time.
*Witch's Hold!*
Henry thrust his hand off to the side and seemed to be pointing at nowhere in particular but he had sighted 'Cudgel' on the ground where it had fallen when he had been interrupted in his Mana-infusing weight-increasing process earlier.
The depiction of the 'Witch's Hold' spell glowed a subtle blue at the back of Henry's hand and 'Cudgel' shook on the ground once before flying into Henry's hold.
Henry gripped the Repeater and infused it with Mana to increase its weight as he swung it at the Orc Caster's shield.
*BANG!*
Henry wasn't sure what he had expected when he made that move but he smiled when the increased weight of 'Cudgel' proved enough to shatter the red shield and expose the Orc caster to the headshot that followed.
[Kill-Reward: 400 Exp]
Henry's eyes had just glowed brightly at discovering 'Cudgel's increased weight was a fantastic tool against Orc shields when an arc of red Mana struck him from behind. It would have cut him had it not been for the shield still around him in a blue haze.
While the arc couldn't cut him, its force did aim to send Henry flying but he resisted by locking in his knees before swinging around to aim and fire a shot at the Orc Caster that had unleashed the arc.
The shot was blocked by a shield and even as he fired subsequent shots, Henry ducked low to avoid a bolt of red Mana fired by another Orc Caster and arrived behind said Caster to slam it in the neck with 'Cudgel'.
The Caster had erected a shield but it had lost sight of Henry for one precious moment and was rewarded with the increased weight of 'Cudgel' breaking its neck as it fell headfirst to the ground where the damage was worsened and it died gurgling on its own blood.
[Kill-Reward: 400 Exp]
While the notification of the reward flashed in Henry's sight, his relentless shot at the shielded Orc Caster from earlier bore fruit. The shield shattered and before another could be conjured, two Mana-infused slugs from 'Violent Retort' struck the Orc's face, killing it almost instantaneously.
[Kill-Reward: 400 Exp]
The blue haze of <Hat of Shielding> finally passed away as Henry was left essentially unprotected but he was hardly bothered. While the haze was dispersing, Henry was already running. He arrived within range of his next target for it to be affected by <Raider's Intent> and for the brief moment the Orc caster spent frozen in fear, Henry spun around it, pressed 'Violent Retort' to the side of its head, and blew its brains out.
[Kill-Reward: 400 Exp]
Henry felt in the zone. There were only three Orc casters and he could just pick out the look of frustration and just a bit of fear in their eyes that he had managed to kill Thirteen of them and they had failed to kill him.
He couldn't help but smile at that and before the body of his most recent kill even hit the ground, Henry unleashed three tentacles of the [Extra Arms] spell to target the three Casters still living but instead of smacking them away, he controlled the tentacles to wrap around the three and pull them close. With no other Caster to interfere and destroy the tentacles, Henry simply pointed at the three in turn, firing shots from 'Cudgel' in between their eyes and reaping his Exp rewards one at a time.
[Kill-Reward: 400 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 400 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 400 Exp]
[Level Up!]
[You are now Level 29]
[Hit Point Maximum increased to 290]
[Hit Points: 80/290]
[Mana Point Maximum increased to 400]
[You have received 6 Stat Points to Allocate]
—————
[Name: Henry Morgan]
[Level: 28 (341/9000 Exp)]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Gunslinger]
[Title: Death's Bane, Vyker-Killer, Infernal Partner, Dungeon Raider <Novice>, Hunter]
[Hit Points: 80/290]
[Mana Points: 160/400]
[Strength: 31]
[Agility: 82]
[Stamina: 41]
[Perception: 43]
[Skills:
{Marksmanship Lv. 5 <Active Sub Skill: Quick Thinking> <Active Sub Skill: Reload> <Active Sub Skill: Guiding Shot>}
{Taming Lv. 2 <Active Sub Skill: Bonding>}
{Insight Lv.3}
{Raider's Intent}
{Hunter's Instinct}
[~Arcane Tapestry~:
Imprinted Spells: -Shocking Grip-. -Extra Arms-. -Witch's Hold-.]
[You have 6 Unallocated Stat Points]
—————
"Huh," Henry let out with a bit of surprise. He hadn't quite realized he was wracking up enough Exp to push him toward another Level up. It was very welcome. Enjoy new tales from empire
"It is you."
The voice came from behind and although he had only started hearing that voice today, Henry recognized it enough to know who he would find when he turned around.
Gareth stood in place with his sword held away from his body and still dripping with Orc blood. The leader of the Mercenaries had only recently slain an Orc when he caught sight of Henry and his suspicions became confirmed all at once.
"That Hat… Kayla told me about that Hat. And those tentacles— I've seen her cast them so many times to recognize them. Also, she told me of the gunman who managed to replicate her spell.
The guns might be a coincidence. The Hat could be, maybe— but there's no way there are two people with all these features who also know that spell.
It's you."
Henry only now realized he still had the tentacles of 'Extra Arms' wrapped around the three Orc casters he just killed. He released them and the bodies hitting the ground with simultaneous thuds only made it seem like he had been caught red-handed. Which he had.
"Well?" Gareth asked and cocked his head to the side, "Aren't you going to say anything?"
Henry took a breath and pointed 'Violent Retort' to fire a powerful shot at Gareth who leaped to the side right before the trigger was clenched.
"I want that Cuff on your wrist," Henry said in a deadpan tone of voice as he struck out all three conjured tentacles to smack Gareth into a tree.
Gareth dodged them with an expression of ease and swung his sword. Only the flashes of the magical steel were visible before all three tentacles were sliced and destroyed. Gareth pushed away from where he was and swung his sword at Henry who swung 'Cudgel' to parry the attack.
*Clang!*
Henry lost in the brief contest of the parry and his arm was knocked off to the side which opened him up for Gareth to connect a fist to his face.
*BAM!*
The Fist connected…
*BANG!*
… But Henry fired a shot from 'Violent Retort' at the same time so, as he was knocked back a few steps and was sure his face had been smashed in, he was consoled that he had gotten Gareth at point-blank range.
Alas, the Mercenary suddenly appearing by his side just after he stopped moving, informed Henry his shot had missed.
The sword jab that followed informed him he was about to get skewered.