The firearms merchant from the Eastern Province of Wazanjho had rented a small store on the southwestern side of town, in a secluded part of the mercantile area. As Ezra and his companion approached the store, a gruff-looking guard stopped them. “The store’s not open yet. Come back next week.” “We were sent by Mr. Yarpin Dale,” the assistant replied. “I believe Mr. Lee would not mind entertaining a guest for a while.” The firearms merchant, a scrawny-looking man sporting a long gray beard and pencil mustache peeped out of the store’s window and asked, “What does your guest want with me?” “He wishes to browse your wares, of course,” the attendant replied. Stepping aside, he introduced, “This is Lord Ezra, the youngest son of Lord Sebastian Romanov. I am sure he will be able to compensate you adequately for your troubles, Mr. Lee.” The merchant stared at Ezra, scanning him from head to toe before turning to his companion. “And what do you want?” “Nothing. I was just sent here to in
Ezra was quite happy with his purchase although the price seemed a bit steep. However, his thoughts were still drifting toward the enchanted weapons the merchant was so unwilling to sell. “You said the enchanted firearms you have are a gift for someone. Mind telling me who they’re for?” Ezra enquired, expecting the merchant to loosen his tongue now that he had become a paying customer. Kung Lee however frowned at this question. “That is none of your business, young one. If you’re done shopping, you may leave.” “Your arrogance will come back to bite you someday. I am Lord Ezra Romanov, and you are a foreigner in Aranor,” Ezra stated, staring daggers at the merchant. “I have the protection of the merchants’ guild, and you are not the only noble who is interested in my wares,” Kung Lee replied with an air of condescension. “I only decided to entertain you because you were a guest of Mr. Yarpin, but I really detest your company. Now leave before I get sick of staring at your deformed f
The siblings studied the map one last time and discussed their strategy with Ivan before exiting the miners’ guild and heading for the Kasari coal mine. Since the mine was located far from the residential areas, the news of the monster attacks hadn’t spread across Aranor. However, the recent death of one of the miners had already been reported to the town guards. “We have to kill the monster before the guards show up, or they will ruin everything,” Aurelia said as they neared the mine entrance. “I’ll prepare the bait. Take your time and double-check your weapons and items,” she said, turning to Ezra. While Aurelia worked on the straw dummy, Ezra swiped up to access his inventory and check the items he had on him. [Inventory:] [Weapons available:] [1. Rodel Gray-back six-shot revolver (enchanted).] [2. Larkin and Hops five-shot compact revolver (basic).] ..... [Potions available:] [1. Greater magic restoration potions (10).] [2. Greater healing potions (9).] [3. Solaris Vit
As Ezra peeked around the corner and fixed his eyes on the monster, his system panel flickered into life, highlighting a new objective. [New shooting objective acquired: Kill the Heragore without taking any damage.] Ezra watched as the Heragore pinned the straw dummy to the ground and started ripping out its innards using its razor-sharp claws. The monster voraciously devoured the raw sausages stuffed inside the dummy, paying no heed to its surroundings. “It’s distracted. Now’s our chance!” Aurelia vaulted over the mining cart and fired her weapon. The magic bullet struck the Heragore in the head, putting out one of its eyes. As blood trickled down its wounded face, the Heragore shrieked in pain and backed away from the dummy. Ezra quickly sprung out of cover and fired at the monster before it could make a move. However, all the magic bullets fired from his Larkin and Hops five-shot revolver missed the target as his hand swayed from side to side. Ezra’s trembling fingers made it
Ezra breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed the grip on his revolver. Shoving his enchanted weapon back inside his jacket, he walked up to the Heragore to confirm it was actually dead. Suddenly, a floating blue disc appeared in front of Ezra, and the pupil of his left eye widened, allowing him to view a magnified version of the disc. [New magic skill unlocked:] [1. Eagle Eye (level 1) (passive): Whenever the user encounters any hostile creature, the Eagle Eye skill allows him to analyze the enemy and learn more about it. This skill does not drain magic power and can be used multiple times without any penalties.] “That seems like a useful skill to have. I guess I am finally unlocking my true potential as an E-level shooter,” Ezra spoke to himself, but Marlin could not help but overhear it. “A bit hard to believe, isn’t it?” the Gunsmith taunted. “Who would have thought you could take on a Heragore all by yourself?” “I didn’t do it alone. Now just go away.” Ezra rushed to Aurelia’s
Ramel had already returned home in the evening with a positive reply from the adventurers’ guild. And seeing that his siblings hadn’t come back yet, he had even insisted on going out to look for them, but Lord Sebastian had denied his request. This little victory had pleased Ramel immensely. He was now thoroughly under the impression that he was the best when it came to political negotiations and forging alliances. Lord Sebastian however, knew that nothing could be further from the truth. Having thanked his son, he had sent him off to his room so that he could spend the rest of the night freely. When Ezra and Aurelia finally returned it was already past nine. Lord Sebastian was pacing the hallway when he saw Aurelia entering with something hanging from her hand. “What took you so long? And what is that thing you’re—” Lord Sebastian stopped midway as Aurelia placed the Heragore’s severed head on the wooden table. “This one was hiding in the Kasari mine, so we decided to help the mi
Though Lord Sebastian was happy that his son had learned to move on, Ezra’s unusual request confused both Ramel and Aurelia. “You could have asked for anything, but you always make the stupidest of choices,” Ramel muttered under his breath. “What kind of a magic user needs a Gunsmithing workbench? It’s as if an idiot like you could ever craft anything useful.” Ramel knew that Gunsmithing was an incredibly difficult craft, and only a handful of people could manage to assemble a functioning firearm. In his mind, there was no way a cripple like Ezra could even repair a gun, let alone build one from scratch. Even Aurelia could not help but wonder what was going on in Ezra’s mind, but she was happy to support his decision even if wasn’t a conventional choice. *** After a light supper, Ezra went back to his room and immediately began treating his hands using the Eastern herbs the Arch Maester had prescribed. As Ezra dipped his hands into the sacred waters drawn from the fountain of E
Ezra was thrilled to level up so quickly. Not only had he advanced to a level E Gunsmith, but also acquired a new Gunsmithing skill. The enchanted six-shooter now looked a lot different from the one the Rodels had brought for him. The customized grip added a smoky white coloration to it and made it stand out from an ordinary revolver. Although the glyphs remained engraved on the revolver, they glowed much brighter than before. Even the mid-section of the gun looked different due to the addition of a new cylinder. “The notched ebony grip will make it easier for you to hold the weapon with trembling hands, and it will help you handle the recoil much better as well,” Marlin explained, while Ezra continued gazing at the modified revolver. “What about the cylinder?” he asked. “The swing-out cylinder will allow you to reload six bullets simultaneously into your revolver instead of restocking them one by one. This will cut down your reloading time in half,” Marlin replied. “These might