Gun Slinger Chapter 13 Good Samaritan Kinda

It has been 2 weeks and Nicholas was genuinely afraid of Shawn's capacity to learn mana control.

It took him someone who is regarded as a master months to learn these techniques while Shawn could learn them after a few hours of practicing. It was astonishing the level of potential that Shawn has when it came to learning new techniques.

Nicholas had projected that 2 months of non stop training would be what it took to elevate Shawn to the next level in terms of mana but nay in the span of only 2 weeks he had learned all the things that Nicholas had planned to teach. Growth like this must have been unique to the Dark Elves because even the fairies who were beings comprised entirely of mana would struggle to keep up with Shawn's learning pace.

It was a sight that would make any teacher cry, Nicholas felt like he could pass all his knowledge unto Shawn and the boy would still be hungry for more, it was beyond his wildest dreams he really did find the greatest disciple. Unfortunately for Nicholas Shawn really was serious about only staying to learn the basics and he left shortly after but not before promising to come back a learn some more after he explored the world and he promised to gut Shira which she seemed a little too happy about and with that two weeks well spent Shawn left the dojo.

Shawn felt like staying at the dojo was ultimately the best choice, he had learned a good amount of techniques from the master all of which would surely help him in gathering expirence and it had also shown him that there were other avenues he could pursue to get stronger not just through leveling up which was quite valuable information. Shawn looked at all the skills he had earned through his weeks of work.

[New passive ability unlocked : fusing mana pulse and mana sense to form greater mana sense : passive ability that allows you to sense all mana within a set range and can be increased through focusing mana]

[Mana control has increased : can now be completely hidden from those trying to detect you : bonus stealth passive is now 100% when holding a weapon]

[Mana control increased : Mana Supression is stronger and can now be pinpointed at specific target : upgrade to Mana Onslaught]

[New skill learned : Intense Bloodlust : an intimidation skill that causes fear and panic in the target : mental attack]

[New skill unlocked : Mana barrier : Expel the mana from your body then solidify it creating a barrier to block incoming attacks : lvl 1]

[New skill unlocked : Flash step : allows you to quickly traverse a short distance at great speeds : lvl 1].

And after 2 weeks of practicing Shawn had managed to learn and bring both levels up to 2 but they capped out there because his current speed was to low to get it Flash Step any higher and whatever stat responsible for the barrier was also too low. But these new skills were about to be put to the test against some very unfortunate monsters.

[Status]

Name: Shawn

Title: War God

Level: 6 (2100/3200)

Class: Gun Slinger

Age: 18

Species: Dark elf

Current state: meh

Points: 0

Passive: Stealth, Futile struggle, greater mana sense,

--Physical*

*mana 3500000

*speed 400

*vitality 400

*strength 400

*stamina 375

--Shooting*

*range lvl 3

*accuracy lvl 3

--Skills

Mana Onslaught

Intense Bloodlust

Mana Barrier lvl 2 {blocks mana attacks}

Flash Step lvl 2 {quick traverse 10m}

--Crafting*

*forging lvl 2 {making weapons}

*building lvl 2 {making everything else}

*luck lvl 2

*transmuting

--Weapons

Cro-Van. {skill : throwing the blade will cause the weapon to move 2x the speed and will return to your cloak after 2mins if you have not yet retrieved it}

Jack and Jill. {skill(9/10): Red dot: After emptying both clips, your next shot from each gun is a guaranteed hit and will deal one more damage}

Razor. {chance to shoot 2 bullets instead of 1}

Razor Bullets. (118) {slash}

Alloy bullets. (54) {puncture}

Grenades. (3) {impact, heat}

With Shawn's ability to sense mana and his new skills he made quick work of the moon bears but it seemed like he may have over hunted them because after spending about 3 day tracking them down and killing 57 surely driving them to extinction Shawn only got a measly 1450exp and if his math was correct he should have gotten about 4 times that amount.

It seemed like the system had a sort of balancing feature that prevented him from hunting down one single target 1000 times. After this bear massacre Ursa forest lost one of it's top predators, the forest became much safer but was a far less effective training ground.

"Okay let's see, the bears are kinda useless now so hunting them would just be extra work. Hmmm maybe I should just head to the Chitin desert" mumbled Shawn as he looked through his list of bounties searching for his next target.

"Ohh yes, here it is. The Emperor Scorpion and the BroodMother. Both habitats of the desert, so that's here I'll head next". Shawn pulled out a map he had bought in town and looked for the shortest path towards the desert which would be upwards of three days of travel to the south if he went all night. Well might as well go now though Shawn as he said goodbye to the forest, the first place he had come to know in this strange world heading towards his next adventure.

After traveling for a 9 hours Shawn decided to take a short break. So far the trail had been pretty barren he had not run into another intelligent lifeform. He did come across some horned sheeps and a few blue deers but their experience were so low that killing them was not worth the effort at all even if they died instantly.

The sun was about to set and Shawn was growing quite hungry, he sat down on the side of the trail and lit a fire using some tree bark he found before pulling out some meat and throwing it on the fire. After about ten minutes he began eating.

Damn, this bear meat is good thought Shawn as he stared into the fire. It was tough and chewy but the flavor was really good after he seasoned it with some spices he had purchased in Danafall. Wherever the cloak sent the things was preserving the meat because it surely should have spoiled by now but it was perfectly fresh.

As Shawn looked into the fire his mind was wondering and he ended up thinking about his squad he left behind. They were loyal and would die for him in a heart beat, though it seemed futile after actually meeting gods he sent his prayers for them, no matter where they were, whether dead or alive.

If they were alive he hope they had not changed and were just as lethal as he trained them to be. If they were in heaven he hoped they were living like kings and if they were in hell, he knew they would be testing whether killing demons was possible or not because that is what made them so good together, they were fearless, strong and would go to the ends of the earth for who ever they cared about.

And before Shawn knew it he was sheding tears of joy for this friends, his brothers, he was glad that someone like him was even given the chance to walk amongst their ranks and even greater he got to lead them.

Shawn came back to his reality and realized that he had spent almost an hour like that and if he wanted to get moving early he would have to get some shut eye soon. Shawn outed the fire and climbed one of the taller trees that over looked the road, he had gotten into the habit of sleeping above ground. This way predators and enemies would have a harder time getting to him, though he would have been able to sense thier approach but extra caution is never a bad thing.

As Shawn slept he had more nightmare of the negative version of himself, though the beast was not a strong this time it still plagued Shawn with vision of his death and destruction as well as the ghosts of all those lives he had taken.

A group of 4 mana clusters enters Shawn's radius traveling down the road followed by a group of 6 other mana clusters who were trying to hide but Shawn's much greater senses had picked them up with ease. Shawn woke up and watched the path waiting for them all to pass before trailing them, though the trailers intentions were obvious.

They were robbers, humans who were too weak or to foolish to make it into one of the governing factions (knights, hunters, mages, merchants) and had decided to rob and kill those who were more fortunate than them. But it was a bad day for people like them because Shawn needed the levels and getting rid of scum like them was like doing the world a favor.

Ever since becoming a dark elf Shawn noticed that he had a distinct lack of sympathy towards humans, sometimes he saw them as more experience farms than humans especially when they were annoying him. Shawn activated Stealth and followed meters behind them from the trees waiting for the right moment to attack.

One of the robbers got the strangest chill shooting through his body, he felt like he was in danger. Like he was a mouse running around in a maze being stalked by a lion who knew exactly what moves he would make but he brushed of the ominous feeling.

He had been following the group for days and he was sure that none of them would cause any trouble, at most they would have to pursue them if they tried to run but they out numbered them 6 to 4 so that would not be an issue. Then the boss told them to split up and surround the chariot.

Shawn watched the group as they dispersed and made their way into strategic positions to surround the horses to prevent them from escaping. It was an excellent strategic play, cutting off thier mobility and closing all exits before ganging up on them. The bandits finally put their plan into motion and it played out exactly as Shawn had predicted.

The bandits surrounded the vehicle and killed the man leading the horses before released the horses and scaring them causing them to bolt off into the woods, without any way off escaping they had their prey trapped. The leader ordered the occupants to leave the carriage to avoid being accidentally tortured, but clearly that was going to happen to the riders anyway but he wanted to save terrorizing them until after his pockets were full.

"Boss, these guys are loaded, they must be heading to the capital or something. They may even be related to a noble, this much gold, it's like a small fortune. It's more than we make a whole year robbing travelers" said one of the lackeys in amazement as he tossed the bag of gold to the boss.

The boss stuffed the coin pouch into his pockets before turning his attention to the three who stepped from the vehicle, it was an old man and two voluptuous beauties who were most likely his daughters.

"Please, please spare me" begged the old man. "I may be old but I do not want to die. Please take my daughters instead, I'll give them to you just let me live please. I will forget this ever happened and I won't ever search for you please spare me" begged the man.

"Sure, I will set you free" laughed the leader of the bandits before pulling out this sword and decapitating the old man. "Now that, the old man has been dealt with let's take a look at what we are working with" shouted the boss as he looked at his new toys.

"Lonnie, it was you who found the hidden gold and you gave it to me without trying to steal it like the rest of these thieves would. I think you get to go first" said the boss as he turned and patted the young bandit on his back urging him to go forward, which he did without hesitation.

"Don't you dare touch me you swine" shouted one of the girls as she slapped away Lonnie's dirty hand. Lonnie grabbed his dagger and held it against the girls throat

"Do that again and after the boss is done, you get gutted" said Lonnie with a smile which caused the boss to laugh out loud, proud of the bandit he had been grooming for years.

But then before Lonnie could proceed a loud squelching noise could be heard and Lonnie's body fell to the ground causing one of the girls to scream as blood sprayed them, turning their clothes red. Two of the closest bandits ran to check up on Lonnie but two explosions rang through the air followed by those two bodies dropping as well. [180exp]

The leader had no idea what was happening, he didn't even know where the attacks were coming from. Shawn looked at the notifications and sighed, "they are not even worth the bullets" as he jumped from the tree presenting himself to the attackers.

Shawn nonchalantly walked by the bandits and retrieved his knife from Lonnie cleaning it as he removed it. They were all stunned by the cloaked man's sudden appearance as well as his almost over bearing presence. Every fiber in his body was telling him to run but how could he let this person just disrespect him like this and walk away, as the boss was thinking the other two bandits came to thier senses and attacked.

The one rushing Shawn got a simple punch to he stomach tearing a hole in his body and the other as soon as he saw this tried to run but Shawn's Mana Onslaught stopped him in his tracks pressuring him into the ground and a throw from Cro-Van ended his misery.

Shawn held out his hand causing Cro-Van to vibrate violently before flying to his hand.

[Mana control level up : all weapons made by you can be remotely attracted to your being]

The boss was in a state of confusion but one thing was certain there was now way he could run, in fact he doubted he would be able to successfully escape. But maybe just maybe he could still get out.

"How dare you stand in my way. I am the King's second cousin, do you know the trouble you are in. The Clestial Knights will descended upon you and shred you to pieces. Can you even fathom the power that I I I" the man had failed to finish his words as Shawn appeared behind him and his head fell to the floor followed by his body.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter who you are" whispered Shawn as he turned to the girls. [360exp]