A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

***

There was a sense of urgency in the way the Carriages trudged out of Alvareen, into the woods that surrounded it until they all stopped moving right in front of the Evolving Dungeon's unstable Gate.

But they were not the first ones there.

While the Knights had been busy marshaling their forces and seeking support from the Gribbo Estate and the Temple of Selene, freelancing Mercenaries had approached the Gate with their eyes glowing with the desire for first crack at the loot and their mindset not quite comprehending the dangers of the Evolving Dungeon even as they hurried in.

"Wait," Sir Doran called out to a batch of Freelancing Mercenaries yet to enter the Gate.

The Mercenaries looked back and, for a moment, there was a look of respect in their eyes as they took in the armor the Knights were all wearing that showed off their affiliation to the Citadel. They would have even acknowledged it but, as though the Gate was calling to them, they turned away from Doran almost as soon as they turned to face him.

"Incredible," said one of them. A lady.

"Right?" Said another. A male. He had a wide smile on his face and nodded a few times like he was glad she was acknowledging something he already had.

"You say Derek already went in?" The Lady asked.

"Half an hour ago. Before…" the man started to say before trailing off.

Henry understood why he trailed off. Everyone who had felt the 'Wave Of Challenge' must have also felt it when it intensified.

The lady nodded as she understood as well,

"Well, the harder the challenge, the better the loot, right?"

The man nodded in agreement and he watched as the lady raised her hand toward the unstable energy of the Gate.

At this point, Boyle and Doran stepped forward,

"I just told you to wait," Doran said.

The lady didn't turn to look at him but her next words were directed at him,

"I don't acknowledge any chain of command here. We were here first and we'll go in now. Try to stand in our way and we'll hack you up."

"Huh, ballsy," Henry mumbled.

He did a quick count and the lady had about five Mercenaries with her so, compared to the large force of Knights, Mercenaries, and Slaves that Doran and Boyle had with them, there was no way she could win that battle. She was either brave, stupid, or had something incredible up her sleeves.

"Let's go," she told her Mercenaries and before Doran could say another word, if he even had any to say, the lady stepped through the Gate and her Mercenaries followed.

Doran cleared his throat then and decided to put that away from his mind.

The truth was, they had expected those who would venture into the Dungeon for selfish reasons. There were always such people and there was not enough widespread information about Evolving Dungeons to change this.

Did it matter if he stopped them storming almost definitely to their deaths? No. But he had wanted to try. Since he had been ignored, it was time to shake off the experience and focus on the preservation of his team on an expedition whose danger he was at least aware of.

Despite there being two distinct groups, they all walked through the Gate as one and Henry felt an intense aura smack him upon arrival into the Dungeon. It was similar in energy to the Wave of Challenge but dialed up by ten. At least.

There was no sight of the Mercenaries who had done in ahead of them and honestly, looking at the terrain within the Dungeon, it was clear how easy it would have been for them to run in and quickly get out of sight;

"Wow," Andor let out.

It was a beautiful sight of greenery. They had just walked out into the middle of a forest with the wide branches of the trees casting a shade over them to keep away the rays of the sun. And there was a sun. High up in the sky.

The Lich's Dungeon had looked like the inside of a building —Castle— so while Henry knew that it was another world, it didn't dawn on him just how magnificent it was that they had indeed walked through an Inter-dimensional portal. This Dungeon struck him with that fact in a way he could not possibly deny.

"We should split up," Doran said with his brows furrowed., "Our Goal is the find and defeat the Dungeon Boss and we'll have an easier time at it by covering more ground."

"I agree," Boyle said and so they marshaled their separate groups with Mercenaries mixed in.

"Fortunately, Sir Marcus informed us of the separate groups," Gareth said as he and a Mercenary standing by his side raised their hands to show off the command cuffs on their wrists,

"Separate Command Cuffs for Separate Groups of Slaves."

The division of the Slaves was decided by which Command-Cuff wearer joined which group.

"I'll go with your group," Gareth said with his eyes on Henry.

"Our group?" Henry asked with a raised brow, "Why?"

Gareth chuckled,

"Well us Slavers should stick together, shouldn't we?"

That seemed like a lackluster reason to justify Gareth's choice but arguing against it might make him sound suspicious so Henry merely shrugged and tried to muster a smile of faux solidarity.

'It doesn't matter which comes with anyway,' he thought, 'We're freeing the Slaves no matter what.'

With that conviction in mind, Henry called magical energy to his eyes to analyze the Slaver he would likely have to face to free the Cuff-wearing Slaves.

[Activating <Insight Lv.3>]

——————

[Name: Gareth]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Fighter]

[Job: Mercenary]

[Health: 570]

[Mana: 500]

[Strength: 160]

[Agility: 85]

[Stamina: 100]

*[Remarks: A Fighter skilled at Martial techniques and has had years of training and experience to hone those skills. A formidable opponent if you choose to fight him.]

——————

Henry's eyes went slightly wide at the sight of Gareth's stats. He didn't need the System's remarks to know it would be a tough fight if he tried to engage. Hell, he had no stats in his favor.

Plus, Gareth still had Mercenaries that would fight on his side. And the Knights would likely also ally with him. At the moment, only Andor and Eloise were sure to be on Henry's side.

While he still had <Insight> activated —and was coming to terms with a potentially daunting task—, Henry analyzed the rest of the mercenaries and none was quite as strong as Gareth appeared to be. Not even the other Command-Cuff wearer matched up, but even then, the average of those stats surpassed Henry's still. They also surpassed Andor's.

The division was complete and with Four Selene Temple Clerics to travel with each group, they decided on what diverging paths to take and ventured into the Forest that made up the Dungeon's landscape.

Boyle led the march at the front of the group with Eloise close to his side. Because Eloise's request was what brought Henry and Andor here, they stuck close to her and Gareth stuck close to them.

"So, Henry," Gareth said.

"Hmm?" Henry answered.

"Where exactly are you from?" Gareth asked.

"Around," Henry said, "We never quite settled anywhere. We were nomadic. Probably what made us such an easy target."

Henry believed the fewer details he provided the more sustainable his lie would be in the long run and he needed that lie to hold for now. He needed to be more prepared before facing an eventual and unavoidable conflict.

"Hmm," Gareth said, and although he tried to make it sound casual, Henry knew he was actually thinking hard about what to ask next.

These questions had a purpose.

"What name did you go by?"

"I already told you my name," Henry said, "It's Henry."

Gareth chuckled and shook his head,

"Oh, no, not that. I mean your 'Name'. The 'name' that struck fear into the hearts of your enemies. The 'name' that commanded respect in your forces and obedience in your slavers and caused your slavers to grovel. That name could not have been just 'Henry'.

For example, my Employer is the famed Ralph Gribbo. Nowhere in the Northern part of Valaeren does that name not command respect and awe.

You must have had a name of such a caliber."

"I suppose we didn't have a name," Henry admitted.

"How is that possible?" Gareth asked and while he wanted to just sound curious, he ended up sounding suspicious.

Henry didn't like that and tried to make amends.

"Well, I don't think we were quite as organized as your Employer is. I mean, we lost our business— Had it brought down by a few miscreants, but your Employer has flourished.

Us being Nomads probably didn't do us any favors."

Henry ended his words with a nonchalant wave. Everything he said, he made sure could be interpreted as praise for Ralph Gribbo and he knew he had succeeded when the suspicion mellowed from Gareth's eyes and he nodded,

"Indeed. Your Nomadic structure must have left you very open. My Employer is far too brilliant to fail as you did."

"I would hope so," Henry said with a smile and a nod, "We are but nothing in the presence of the Great Ralph Gribbo."

"True that!" Gareth chanted and he and Henry laughed for a minute.

"So, any plans to restart your business…" Gareth asked after the laughter died out.

Henry opened his mouth but before he could speak…

*Snap!*

He heard what sounded like the snap of a string being released after great pressure had been applied to it. In the very second, an Arrow came flying at their group.

Suddenly, Sir Boyle had his sword drawn and sliced through the arrow so the halves fell uselessly to the ground.

His eyes were focused in the direction the arrow had come from and intense ruby eyes stared back as another arrow was nocked.

"At the ready!" Sir Boyle yelled but everyone was already armed.

And so were their enemies.

Suddenly, in the trees around them, more arrows were being drawn, pointed at them, and released as one.