Reincarnated in another world with a Gunsmithing System

A sticky situation

Ezra stared at the objectives flashing on his system screen and smiled. Completing shooting objectives was one of the fastest ways to increase magic power and obtain special perks which boosted one’s special skills or sometimes even modified them in unique ways.

“I just need to kill ten Gloops and there are twelve of them here. This should not be too difficult,” Ezra mumbled to himself as he prepared to take his first shot.

The smaller Common Gloops were relatively harmless creatures and could be killed even with a slingshot. However, Ezra was mainly concerned with the two larger ones accompanying them.

Bloated Gloops were the overgrown adults of the Gloop colonies and were much more resistant to normal projectile attacks. The good thing was, every Gloop variant was vulnerable to magic and Ezra had just loaded his gun with magic bullets.

As Ezra tried to curl his fingers around the grip of his revolver a sharp pain flared up in his right arm, causing him to grit his teeth.

“I can…do this,” he muttered as he desperately tried to clench his fist and hold the revolver tightly. But just as he raised the gun to his eye level, his arm started shaking.

Ezra’s nerves and tendons had been damaged in the accident, which was why every time he tried to lift heavy objects or raise his arms above a certain height, the pain became unbearable. To keep his revolver steady, he had no option but to use his other arm for support.

Holding the gun with both hands, Ezra took deep breaths and relaxed his strained muscles. But the revolver kept swaying, making it impossible for him to line his eyes with the iron sights.

Ezra tried his best to line up a straight shot before firing, but his trembling hands made him miss once more.

Bang!

The first shot missed its mark by four inches, and the loud report of the revolver being fired alerted the Gloops.

As his nerves got the better of Ezra, he panicked and fired the rest of the rounds without adjusting his aim. And just like that every shot whizzed past its intended target.

“Damn it!” Ezra cursed his luck as he stared at the smoking revolver in his hand. He had emptied all five rounds without hitting a single target and in doing so had drained the rest of his magic power.

Ezra now realized that shooting at live targets was still beyond him. Even after practicing for a month against the training dummies, his aim hadn’t improved much and he was still nothing better than a lame rookie.

“If only…I could feel the gun,” Ezra lamented as he tried to feel the revolver’s grip. But the damaged nerves on his arms had almost completely ruined his sense of touch.

Aggravated by the sudden noise, the Gloops turned around and their eyes immediately fell on Ezra. The slimy blobs started bouncing higher and emitting shrill squeaking noises, which indicated that they had turned hostile.

“I guess I’ll just have to fight you pests barehanded,” Ezra said, holstering his empty revolver.

Just then, the eye on the back of his right hand popped open followed by the appearance of the mouth under it. The lips parted slightly and Marlin spoke in a disappointed voice.

“Are you training to become a sharpshooter or a brawler?” he asked.

“I am training to become the best sharpshooter in all of Aranor!” Ezra retorted, taking offence to the ridiculous question.

Marlin however, sniggered back at him. “Then why would you abandon your weapon? You want to become a gunner, not some street-fighter.”

“It’s because my hands haven’t healed yet and I cannot even hold a gun properly,” As Ezra spoke those words, the aggravated Gloops started heading toward him.

“Use the other gun!” Marlin urged. “The Rodel Gray-back Six-Shooter is an enchanted weapon. Even a blind man with three fingers can fire it accurately!”

Ezra had never fired an enchanted weapon before but he doubted it would make any difference. However, he decided to give it a shot anyway.

Pulling out the enchanted six-shooter, Ezra held it with both hands. Almost immediately, he felt a gentle warmth seep into his palms, and for the first time in many weeks he felt the touch of metal upon his skin.

Unlike the other guns he had tried holding, this one didn’t tremble within his grasp and he could feel every groove and every curve on its frame.

The glyphs carved onto the gun started glowing, and as they brightened, Ezra felt his trembling hands relax. He aimed for the smallest Gloop in the group and fired.

Bang!

This time the shot pierced the slimy blob and punched a hole between its eyes. The Gloop wobbled on the ground before exploding into a gooey mess.

“I did it! I didn’t miss this time!” Ezra rejoiced as he stared at the smoking revolver in his hand.

It had been over two months since he had last killed a live target and even though it was just a Gloop, Ezra felt the adrenaline rushing to his head.

Four other Gloops rushed at Ezra, but he did not panic like before. Without taking his eyes off the pests, he fired the rest of the rounds in quick succession.

Out of the five bullets, four hit their targets, eliminating the advancing Gloops.

As the four Gloops exploded upon death, their magic essence was absorbed by Ezra whose magic power was currently at zero.

[Magic power partially restored!]

[Current magic power: 20%]

“Alright, let’s try something different now.” Ezra used his magic power to refill the six-shooter with magic bullets.

Seeing their kin exploding into bits would have scared of most low-level monsters, but the Common Gloops weren’t the brightest little pests. Instead of scattering away, they chose to rush at Ezra all at once.

Ezra took a deep breath and steadied his aim before firing five more shots. Since the Gloops were bouncing in a clustered formation, it made them easy targets. The magic bullets struck them with bursts of energy, instantly vaporizing them.

[10 Common Gloops killed!]

[Shooting Objective completed!]

[Reward: Magic power permanently increased!]

[Magic power completely restored.]

[Current magic power: 50%]

“Finally! It’s been such a long wait!” Ezra pumped his fist ecstatically. His magic power had just increased by 21% and all it took was completing a single shooting task.

But before Ezra could celebrate, the Bloated Gloops caught him by surprise. The larger of the two spat a sticky green blob at Ezra, which coated his face in slime, leaving him temporarily blinded.

The other Gloop quickly joined the fight, spitting another slimy blob at Ezra which knocked the revolver out of his hand, leaving him disarmed and vulnerable.