Underestimation…
Rena seethed deep inside because she knew that was the only reason this boy in front of her had managed to catch her off guard with his shot.
She had not expected that he would have enough Mana to activate the gun and the fact that he stood there, at ease, and ready to fire the gun again, made her know she had to take things a little more seriously if she wanted to survive.
In the background, Rena heard Urn yell out his question but she didn't pay attention to it as she stopped her shaking legs, gritted her teeth at the pain she was feeling, and called out the true limit of her Vyker mutation.
She covered every part of her body with her scales and new ones replaced the ones that had shattered off her forearms. They were thinner compared to the ones that had been there before and compared to the ones that now covered the rest of her body but they promised her at least some level of protection.
Her arms still bled and the sickly acidic green caused it to sting at least five times more than normal but Rena pushed through that pain as she got into a stance with her eyes in a focus glare and a feral growl rising in her chest.
With the scales all over her body and her expression, she looked more beast than human.
Henry heard the growl so clearly like she was right next to his ear and his body shook with a primal fear. Like his existence was being questioned for even daring to look a superior being in the eye.
Henry frowned as the name of the mental attack he was suffering was supplied to him by the System. Knowing the attack's name wasn't much help but he resisted the effect as hard as he could and maintained his aim as best he could before firing the shot.
[You have activated 'Acidic Combustion']
*['Hydra's Tongue' bullet has cut down Mana cost by 50%]
[-20 Mana Points]
The bullet left the gun just like the last time but as Henry's Mana Points bottomed out, he watched Rena lean her body to the side so that the acidic-green bullet passed harmlessly by her side.
Throughout that smooth maneuver, Rena did not take her eyes off Henry's face. Her glare continued to bore into him and that overbearing feeling still ignited fear within him.
The Vyker stomped her feet against the ground and she vanished from Henry's sight. She appeared barely a second later with her clawed hand stretched back and then slammed forward for an attack that slammed and tore into Henry's blood with five lacerations for each of Rena's five claw-tipped fingers.
"Ack!" Henry let out with his eyes widened in stunned pain as he was sent sliding away from his attacker.
[You have lost 15 Hit Points]
[Hit Points: 3/30]
Another attack was sure to send that number down to zero, killing him.
'I need to heal!' Henry thought but even though she didn't know what he was thinking of doing, Rena didn't give him any breathing room.
She just bounded forward at that insane speed of hers with her hand drawn back for another attack.
"Don't worry," Rena cackled, "You won't die. Yet!"
'Bullshit! Yes, I will!' Henry roared in his head, and with every bit of quickness he was capable of, he dipped his hand into his Inventory and pulled out his Rifle to swing it like a club.
Rena's claws tore through the weapon's material, rendering it useless but Henry had managed to avoid direct contact with her strike and his last remaining Hit Points were safe. For now.
Plus, he allowed himself to be sent away by the force of Rena's blow, and even as his hands shook and went numb, Henry dropped the ruined rifle, retrieved three potion bottles from his Inventory and drank all three in a single go.
[You have recovered 20 Hit Points]
[Hit Points: 23/30]
[You have recovered 20 Mana Points]
[Mana Points: 20/40]
[You have recovered 20 Mana Points]
[Mana Points: 40/40]
'Good. Now I can fire more shots with 'The Hydra's Sting'. And also endure a few more attacks.'
Henry had no doubts he was going to get struck again and sure enough, once the empty potion bottles fell from his hand, Rena was back with another blow.
Henry became hyper-focused with his brows furrowed in a fervent expression as he let his Perception-guided reflexes move his body so he could lean slightly to the side and smack Rena's forearm with his own to deflect her blow.
*Bam!*
Henry's bones shook from the impact and Rena cackled as she drew back her arm and struck out again delivering three quick-fire blows one after the other.
Henry managed to dodge one blow but the next two struck him squarely on the chest, the second heavier than the last and both landed with enough force to crack his sternum.
[You have lost 22 Hit Points]
[Hit Points 1/30]
As he slid away, with his ears ringing and some sort of reddish tint in his sights warning him of his impending death, Henry pulled out the last Health Potion he had gotten from Elminster and downed it.
[You have recovered 20 Hit Points]
[Hit Points: 21/30]
The feeling of rejuvenation had barely settled in when Rena arrived with yet another clawed fist strike. Henry dodged only to be left blindsided when she vanished and the attack came from the other side of his face instead.
*BAM!*
[You have lost 10 Hit Points]
[Hit Points: 11/30]
'I can't hit her and I can't avoid her!' Henry thought sullenly as the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.
Rena's speed, backed by her insane muscle strength was too fast for him to follow. He had very limited shots possible with 'The Hydra's Sting' and if he failed, he would have no way through the Vyker's scales.
Alas, his reflexes were barely keeping up. His brain was NOT keeping up.
'Wait a minute… My brain!'
Henry stopped frantic thinking suddenly as the information he had skimmed through earlier appeared almost too clearly in his mind.
[Activating Marksmanship Active Sub-skill;
[-5 Mana Points]
Everything froze.
A five-second timer began to tick down.
Frozen himself, Henry's eyes could not move but since his brain continued to operate, his Perception was active as well. Thanks to his meditative exercises, he could spread his Perception from his body in a considerable radius and it allowed him to observe his surroundings almost as clearly as he would with his eyes.
He 'saw' Rena aiming an attack at his right side but noticed a shift in her stance. The way her knees angled…
'That attack is a feint,' Henry realized, "The real strike is coming from the left!'
*Bang!*
Rena's speed became her downfall. She arrived just in time to have the acidic-green bullet strike into her midsection and spread its acidic cracks all over her scales before exploding in an even louder and more impactful combustive explosion that sent the Vyker flying away.
Because of her strong center of gravity and commendable resilience, Rena managed to remain standing. Barely.
Her midsection dripped with blood and a concentration of acidic stream that bubbled and sizzled consistently. She remained in place with her eyes widened and her body frozen as though in shock at what just happened.
Henry took advantage of that shock as well as the opening 'The Hydra's Sting' had gotten him by drawing out his normal revolver from his Inventory and filling the Vyker with bullets, one banging shot at a time.
As each bullet struck her, with no scales for defense, Rena staggered in place, and with one final stare at Henry as though questioning the plausibility that she met her end by his hands, she fell to her knees, keeled forward with a heavy *Thud* and died.
[Kill-Reward: 65 Exp]
[You have killed a Vyker for the first time!]
[You have received 75 Exp]
[You have received the Title 'Vyker-Killer']