Luca listened to the System's explanation while the triad of horses rode onward, "And what are the conversion rates? I should know those before making any stupid decisions."
"10 souls for one attribute point, 1 soul for 10mp, 5 souls for 5% recovery rate. New spells and skills cost varying amounts while promoting known ones cost 10 the first time then an additional 10 per increase. Crafting conversion has alternating prices based on what is desired. Adding a new elemental affinity costs 100 at the lowest and 500 at the highest."
"While we're on the way there, can you show me what skills and spells I can acquire?"
The System ran through the long list, only to declare that Luca was unable to purchase any. "The lowest price for a Space-type spell at your level is 100 for [Rip]. The lowest price for a Light-type spell at your level is 50 for [Flash]. No skills are available under 100 souls."
This did not surprise him, although it did disappoint him. "In that case, can I upgrade [Devour]?"
"No, [Devour] is special and only increases when the Pure Path is upgraded. Special abilities involving it also appear upon later upgrades. However, there is a unique enchantment for weapons that can devour the souls of whatever it kills. This special effect costs 50 souls at minimum for one at a time, while the maximum effect of 'all souls of those killed' costs 200. If a sword with the lowest effect killed three people, it would only devour one, but with the highest effect, it would devour all 3. It is recommended that the user creates a weapon with this effect to maximize soul collection."
During the short exchange between the boy and the System, the quartet of horseriders got close enough to the estate to see the bulk of the bandit forces. Roughly one hundred foes besieged the small keep that served as the estate's core structure, both as the Sheridan family's home and as a defensive fortification for the inhabitants of the tiny town that encircled the keep, which consisted mostly of servants and their families. The few defensive battlements that protected the outer edges of the area had been broken through with most of their defenders annihilated. Seeing no good path to the keep without rushing straight through, Luca scowled before attempting to have the System use his vision to find the leading bandit. A minute passed as they closed in on the throng of foes, during which time Luca had the leading pair fall back beside him so he could speak. "I am about to use almost all of my remaining mana to kill the leader of the enemies. I'm certain that I will pass out afterward, but it should make it much easier for you three. Trevor, after I attack, fire at will, while Patton and Gregor charge ahead." After getting confirmation, Luca began to converge his mana into a new bullet, which the three guards could sense as a large surge of magic power came from the boy as he aimed ahead carefully.
His target, a Lv. 3 Warrior wielding a massive maul, was a great distance away, not to mention the number of bandits between the two. Having no better alternative, the boy formed a Space PMB and attempted to lock onto his target. The biggest predicament Space PMBs had, other than being extremely costly at 150mp per bullet, was that they required a lock-on to be used. Without the System, Luca would not be able to use this bullet from such a distance, which far exceeded his 300m mastery.
Letting out a breath, Luca squeezed the trigger and launched the Space PMB onward before immediately recharging his cartridge with Non-Elemental PMBs. He had enough mana left for 16 shots, so he intended to use them all up before passing out. The Space PMB, once fired, flew with deadly grace over the crowd of bandits and straight into the lower back of the Lv. 3 Warrior. Howling in pain, the leader screamed in terror as a thumb-sized black hole formed where the bullet struck, sucking his body inward and mincing it up as it did so before bursting in a violent shockwave, spattering shredded flesh and blood, along with scraps of leather, all over the nearest brigands. His enormous maul, which was sent flying by the explosion, caused the deaths of five bandits as it spun through the air before landing in a heavy thud on the smooth dirt road, dripping blood from its head.
As the bandits looked around for the killer of their boss, the distant sound of Luca's gunfire reached their ears. Upon spying the three horses coming from the direction of the eastern watchtowers, they first thought of revenge, an idea that was quickly dashed when 15 more men were killed, 8 of which by arrows. Another six died not seconds after the sounds of gunfire reached them, followed by three more to a trio of arrows. Seeing that two of the horses began to speed ahead of the central horse that continued to send missiles their way, morale sank to the point of no return, leaving the bandits to flee in every possible direction. With arrows showering from the keep now that the situation had changed and the barricaded doors opening for the surviving guardsmen to take the offensive, bandits fell left and right, unluckily finding themselves in their way.
"I've done my part, guys. It's all up to you now." Luca began to feel heavy, wheezing like he'd run a marathon. Using the Space PMB was very taxing on his body. He wasn't accustomed to using high-cost spells yet, especially since he didn't have any. After giving his last command to his trio of escorts, Luca started passing out, though he did remember to tell the System to automatically cast the [Devour] skill upon arriving at the scene of battle. With the System's agreement, everything dissolved into black as sweet unconsciousness took him.