Overwhelming Firepower

Since there were no living monsters present, everyone started helping the wounded. Lucen felt a sense of relief wash over him.

The very second he stopped using RELEASE, the relief shattered. His body screamed all at once.

It was as if every tendon in his body had been twisted until they snapped, each muscle fiber screaming as though torn by unseen hooks.

His veins pulsed like rivers of molten metal, every heartbeat a hammer striking against fragile glass.

His vision darkened at the edges, and then came the coughing, wet, metallic. Blood splattered across his hands, then more as his whole frame began to convulse.

His knees buckled, and he was about to fall to the ground. Every nerve was on fire, yet at the same time numb, like his body couldn't decide whether to break or freeze.

"Little leader!"

Harlik was the first to notice what was happening to Lucen, as he tossed aside his arquebus and caught Lucen before he fell. Harlik's voice was that of panic, which was something he had never heard from the other party before.

The second Harlik shouted his name, everyone in the surrounding area turned their heads to look at what had happened.

"We need a healer over here!"

One of the clerics rushed towards Lucen's side and tried to use a healing spell, but it did nothing as Lucen continued to convulse in pain. The cleric proceeded to use a cure spell, but there was no effect. She then proceeded to check Lucen's injuries.

She looked everywhere, but aside from a few bruises, there wasn't any wound to heal from. She couldn't understand what was happening to Lucen, so she couldn't treat it.

The cleric's hands shook as she pulled back, her expression paling. "This... This isn't a wound. There's nothing to heal!"

Other clerics came to help and check Lucen's condition. He was not heating up, nor was he too cold; he was at a normal temperature.

It wasn't a curse either, nor did he show any similar symptoms to known diseases. In the end, just as the first cleric did not understand, they too could not understand what was happening to Lucen.

"Do something already!" Harlik barked at the clerics.

Even though Harlik was shouting at them, and a few Thornefang members were already glaring at them, the clerics did not know what to do but continue using healing spells; some even tried different kinds of blessings, but none were working.

"Tch, step aside, you amateurs!"

Robert appeared and pushed aside the clerics and checked on Lucen himself. Even though he wasn't a healer by profession, Robert's knowledge was vast, and he knew a thing or two about sicknesses.

Robert held Lucen's hand and made his mana flow into Lucen's body to see what was going on.

"Hmm... This is weird; the muscles in his body seemed to have been pushed beyond their limit. The mana core in his body is also drained, and so is his aura... I was beside him the entire time, I didn't see him... Oh, was it when his body looked like it was heating up? Was that some kind of technique?"

Robert was talking out loud to himself. It was then that Mark remembered something and spoke up.

"Harlik, don't you remember? Isn't this the Technique he got from Faust?"

When Harlik heard what Mark said, he finally remembered that this had happened before. It wasn't as severe, but it was similar.

"That's right, this is that technique RELEASE."

"You two, what are you talking about? Tell me what this technique is that Lucen used." Robert shifted his attention to Harlik and Mark.

The two then began explaining to Robert everything they knew about the RELEASE technique from what Faust told them. As they were recounting the tale, Robert's eyes were practically shining with interest.

"Hoh, that's interesting. A technique that can strengthen not just the body, but even one's aura and mana. The backlash is intense, but that's a minor price to pay for such an increase in power." Robert started talking to himself again.

"What's happening to my son?" Vardon, who was being helped by Sir Thalos, had returned to the fortress, and the first thing he saw was his son convulsing in pain.

Vardon's lips pressed into a line so thin it could have been carved in stone. The Iron Duke had watched comrades fall on many battlefields, but the sight of his son's body twisting in pain carved something raw and ugly into his chest, heavier than any blade.

On the outside, the Iron Duke remained the stoic figure, but on the inside, something entirely different was happening. It was then that Harlik and Mark explained to Vardon about the RELEASE technique.

Upon hearing the explanation, the intensity in Varond's eyes lessened. As long as his son was not dying, he knew that he would be able to get back up.

"There's nothing I can do to lessen the pain. Still, in essence, this technique just pushes his body too much that the backlash is filled with pain, but overall, he wouldn't die from this pain. So I guess the only way to help him is to knock him out."

Robert proceeded to use a sleeping spell on Lucen, but to his surprise, Lucen resisted it. "Hoh, another surprise. His magic resistance is quite high. I guess the only way to knock him out is to do it physically. Unfortunately, I don't have the strength to do that."

Sir Thalos stepped forward, rolling his shoulders with a faint grimace. "Leave it to me."

The knight commander's hand hovered over Lucen's neck, fingers ready to apply a precise strike that would knock him unconscious without lasting harm. But just as his hand moved, Lucen's body arched violently, his eyes snapping open.

The red in his irises burned brighter than usual, like embers against snow. His voice was a rasp, yet it cut through the air with startling clarity.

"There's no need for that... I can handle this much."

Lucen gritted his teeth and stood up he could feel his body screaming, but the pain was not as much as before.

"Just show me to an area where I can rest."

Harlik's jaw tightened. "Little leader…" He was about to say something, but the sight of Lucen's blazing eyes silenced him.

Vardon looked at his son's condition and spoke to one of the soldiers from the fortress. "Show my son were he could rest."

The soldier bowed his head slightly and guided Lucen to a room that wasn't destroyed by the attack.

Daniel, like a shadow, followed behind Lucen, wanting to go and rest with him, but Lucen turned around and looked Daniel directly in the eye and spoke.

"Everyone help the injured and rest when you're done." After giving out his order, Lucen followed the soldier.

Daniel, who was about to follow them, was held back by Harlik. "The little leader said to help before resting."

***

Lucen's steps echoed faintly in the ruined corridor, every one of them heavier than he let on. His vision swam, but he kept moving forward.

The soldier pushed open the door to a small chamber. The bed inside was intact, though there was a bit of ice that clung to the sheets. Lucen lowered himself onto it, his hand still trembling.

The moment the soldier left and the door clicked shut, Lucen lay down on his bed. His breath came ragged, uneven, and his eyes dimmed to their usual shade.

"Damn! This is worse than I imagined."

Lucen could no longer move a single muscle in his body. His aura and mana were unusable at the moment. Basically, for now, he could only stay in bed.

'Since I can't move, I'd better check on those system notifications that I ignored during the battle.'

The second he did so, he saw a few notifications of leveling up. He was now level thirteen; his level caught up with his age. There was also a different kind of notification that he hadn't seen before.

[Acquired One Skill Point]

[You have reached level 10, you may choose two skills to unlock]

Lucen was excited to read that part, but then he saw he could only unlock two skills, and felt a little frustrated. They had given him a lot of choices, but he could only unlock two skills. Lucen then started reading what kind of skills he could unlock.

[(Active Skill) Elemental Bullet: Imbue your bullet with Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning. Strength of the element will depend on how much mana is poured.]

[(Active Skill) Rune Engraved Bullet: Inscribe runes into ammunition to create random negative status effects, e.g., Paralysis, silencing, and other such effects. Strength of the status effect depends on luck.]

[(Active skill) Recoil Step: Uses the gun's recoil combined with mana to propel the Gun Mage in any direction]

[(Passive Skill) Kill Zone: When there are multiple enemies targeting the user, it increases accuracy and chance for critical hits. Strengthens agility and dexterity depending on how many enemies one is facing.]

[(Passive Skill) Eagle eye: Extends the effective range of all firearms; increases clarity when aiming at distant targets, even in poor visibility.]

[(Passive Skill) Iron Sights: Focusing on a target steadies both body and mind, slightly boosting resistance to fear, charm, or illusion while aiming.]

[(Passive Skill) Suppressive Presence: Enemies instinctively hesitate or falter under the sound of the user's gunfire]

[(Passive Skill) Cold Focus: The more chaotic the battlefield, the calmer and sharper one's thoughts become. Bonus accuracy and mana efficiency scale with surrounding noise, fear, and chaos.]

When he was done reading the skills that he could unlock, Lucen became more frustrated because he could only unlock two of them.

Still, there were some skills here that were overlapping with the skills he already has. Iron Sights was like a weaker version of his Dragonkiller's resolve, which grants him immense resistance to fear and intimidation.

'I guess it does a little bit more since it can also help resist with charm and illusions. Better check my current status screen before I choose.'

Lucen then opened his status screen.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Lucen Thornehart

Age: 13

Class: Gun Mage

Level: 13

Health: 500 / 1150

Mana: 70 / 350

Aura: Awakened (1st Mantle)

Mana Core: First Circle

(Skill Points- 1)

SKILLS

+ Bullet Creation – Active (Intermediate)

+ Gun Creation – Active (Intermediate)

+ Gun Knowledge – Passive (Novice)

+ Marksmanship – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Gun Kata – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Alchemy – Passive (Novice)

+ Battle Instinct – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Regeneration – Passive (Novice)

+ Flame Resistance – Passive (Novice)

+ Poison Resistance – Passive (Novice)

+ RELEASE – Active (Novice)

+ Ricochet – Active (Novice)

+ Blacksmithing – Passive (Novice)

+ Ice Resistance – Passive (Novice)

TRAITS

• Thornehart Lineage (Dormant)

• Foreign Soul (Unique)

+ Training Adept (Rare)

+ Grit (Normal)

+ Acting Adept (Rare)

+ Dragonkiller's Resolve (Epic)

When he checked the status screen, he was happy to see that he finally gained a mantle, and he also had a new skill, ice resistance.

'Now, since I can't move, I have time to think about which skill to unlock. Also, which skill would I use the skill point on?'