A Gunslinger's System in a World of Magic-Chapter 269: Clearing A Path (2)

As it stood, Henry was on track to land in the midst of the enemies who were only too ready to skewer him the moment they could get their hands on him.

Meanwhile, the moment after she tossed Henry into the air, Nyx had managed a few kills before promptly vanishing into the shadows to much confusion. And so, while the Orc Warriors directly below Henry awaited him, Nyx exited the shadows and surveyed before charging out to strike at multiple Orcs to send them flying while also spearing at least two of them.

Henry smiled. Both casts of [Kroa's Bolt] had cost him 400 Mana Points which meant he still had 100 left.

*Extra Arms!*

Calling to the spell, he only conjured a single tentacle that stretched down to grab Nyx's midsection and pull Henry securely back into her saddle. The tentacle had enough strength and stability to act as a slightly floppy arm so Henry wasn't' even sore due to the 'fall'.

As he pointed 'Violent Retort' and fired at the enemies that surrounded him and Nyx, he replaced 'Cudgel' with a Mana Potion that he downed to recover lost Mana Points in preparation to once again cast [Kroa's Bolt] at a moment's notice.

Nyx charged and broke out of the encirclement of Orc Warriors that was starting to form around them but they were soon under a barrage from the Archers and the Archers.

"-Nyx, toss me up again!-" Henry said, "-Even higher this time.-

Nyx let out a snort of approval and she used her <Shadow Dash> to gain momentum before tossing him into the air, ten, twenty, thirty, thirty-five feet, and a few more.

Nyx vanished into the shadow immediately after with clear plans to charge out occasionally and catch the Orc Warriors unaware. Meanwhile, Henry became the target of all projectile attacks and the enemies had much better aim this time.

[Activating <Hat Of Shielding>]

The spherical shield appeared as it usually did in a hazy blue and was more than sturdy enough to block all attacks.

And so, while the Orc Archers were looking frustrated at their fired arrows harmlessly grazing off the enemy's shield, and made to fire even more, Henry halted their attempts with his signature precise shots.

[Kill-Reward: 1150 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1150 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1150 Exp]

At the same time and mostly because his shots at the Archers were guided by his Precognition, Henry kept his eyes on the Orc Casters who were erecting shields knowing he would shoot at them next. He called magical energy to his eyes;

[Activating Insight Lv.5]

[Analysing Spell…]

Once the process had started, he was no longer obligated to keep his eyes trained on the Casters and quickly transitioned into spell casting.

*Kroa's Bolt!*

Again, he cast the spell twice and channeled the lightning from both his hands to unleash them at the shields. He shattered two but only succeeded in making one kill as the other received protection from its fellows.

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

Frowning at that one Caster to survive his attacks, Henry extended the single tentacle of [Extra Arms] he still had cast and grabbed Nyx right after she just made a kill to pull himself back into her saddle.

[Spell Analysis Complete!]

[Spell: Kroa's Shield]

[Would you like to imprint the spell 'Kroa's Shield' onto your Arcane Tapestry?]

'Yes.'

[Select a Spot…]

The representation of the spell was a circular shield with the name of the spell written in a similar script to the Orc Arcane Symbols and was about the same size as the representation of the 'Kroa's Bolt' spell.

Since 'Kroa's Bolt' already occupied his left pec, Henry chose his right pec for the shield.

The sting of the imprint began as he pulled out a Mana Potion from his Inventory and downed it.

"-Again!-" he told Nyx while the potion bottle was still on his lips.

Nyx propelled him into the air again and Henry was still protected by the blue spherical shield as his minute of activation was not yet over.

Again, he was targeted by Archers who clearly didn't know when to quit and again, he picked them off without ever taking his eyes off the Orc Casters who remained his true targets.

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 1200 Exp]

*Kroa's Bolt!*

The red lightning crackled from both his hands but before he could even unleash them, an Orc Caster who had suspiciously stayed away from the larger group thus far suddenly raised its hand to showcase what it had been secretly preparing.

It was a massive red Orb.

The Orb wasn't like the much smaller red orbs that Henry had had fired at him multiple times since he had been in this Dungeon. This one seemed like a collection of multiple projectiles all formed of red mana and all colliding together repeatedly and building to a crescendo.

Henry's eyes widened and his instincts as well as his Precognition warned of the coming danger. In the air, he was a sitting duck and basically just waiting to be struck by the spell. He had to do something. So he did.

He directed the bolts crackling in both his hands at the Orb and fired them.

"Behold Kroa's might!" The Orc Caster yelled out as it released the Orb at the same time Henry unleashed the bolts.

The Orb collided with the bolts in midair but they made hardly any impact at all and it continued on its way to Henry to strike against the blue shield around him in a powerful explosion that sent him flying even higher up in the air.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!" Henry yelled with his eyes bugged out.

The explosive Orb spell was powerful. Probably the most powerful spell the <Hat of Shielding> had ever been forced to protect Henry from so far and while it was able to help him avoid the worst of the damage, it unraveled too soon so Henry was still hit with the impact while reaching so high up in the air that he struggled to breathe.

[You have lost 150 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 200/390]

"-Henry!-" Nyx called to him through their telepathic connection but beyond doing the mental equivalent of a weak wave, Henry found himself too weak to respond.

[Spell Imprint Complete!]

[Kroa's Shield:

At the cost of Mana, summon a translucent shield for protection.

Note: The shield will weaken with every attack it sustains.

Costs: 200 Mana Points.]

As Henry weakly read through the screen while he began his descent, there was nothing in the description that was surprising. He had known what the Shield's properties would be and also knew what its exact Defence Power Value would be since he had observed the ones cast by the Orcs with his always active <Threat Assessment> ability.

That said, when he got lower and closer to the ground, he heard a yell in his head,

"-HENRY!-"

The yell jolted him out of the weak slump he was in and he pulled a Mana Potion from his inventory and drank it as best he could with the force of the wind against his body as he continued to fall. When his Mana had been replenished enough, he thrust a hand forward,

*Kroa's Shield!*

The translucent red shield appeared immediately and was met with a barrage of attacks from below.

"He's alive!" The Orc Caster that had struck Henry with the destructive blast said in stark disbelief when they first sighted Henry's return and his body was moving more than a corpse should.

"You didn't do it right," the Orc Priest said in a voice deep with disappointment. It stepped forward and shoved the Orc Caster aside,

"This is how you cast 'Kroa's Might!'"

The Orc Priest raised its hand a spell circle appeared.

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Henry saw it from behind the translucent, and while an attack was definitely on its way —an attack he didn't have <Hat of Shielding> to defend against with and would surely break through the 'Kroa's Shield' spell with ease—, his eyes brightened.

"-This is good-" He thought.

"-How?-" Nyx questioned him and only then did he realize he had used their private channel for what should have been a personal thought.

Still, he managed a smile,

"-You'll see-" he told her.

[Activating <Hunter's Instinct>]

The skill increased his Perception by 50% which temporarily took the already impressive 80 Stat Points to 120.

'Please be enough…' he thought fervently sure he wouldn't get many chances to try again. Hell, he might not even get a second.

Attempting to analyze the chaotic Orb spell was technically not part of Henry's plan but it was a bonus he felt strongly would be great to have.

[Activating <Insight Lv.5>]

[Analyzing spell…]

"-Henry, you're still falling-" Nyx cautioned him.

"-Right-" Henry said ready to use the same tactics he had used many times so far with [Extra Arms] ] when he heard a cry.

*Kraw!* *Kraw!* *Kraw!*

The sound was coming from above him like it had been when he and Nyx were galloping toward the clearing.

He was about to try and look up at the source of the cries when talons gripped the back of his Vest and he was pulled out his fall when he was about 10 feet from the ground.