A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

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It wasn't long at all after he confidently claimed he could defeat the Orc glaring at him and aiming for the Cleric behind him, that Andor was locked into combat with it.

With the Cleric chanting behind him and now illuminating the slave on the ground in silvery light that was healing the gash on the side of his head, there was very little room for Andor to move. He needed to not be too far from the Cleric for the Orc to take advantage and yet, if he stood too close to her, there was a chance she'd get caught up in the battle.

It was a conundrum but Andor's difficulty in deciding on what approach to take was rendered moot when the first Ax strike came at him.

Unlike how he had done a few times already today, Andor didn't try to block the attack. He threw his weight to the side and leaped away so the attack hit the ground instead but just as his feet touched the ground again, the Orc turned its Ax to swing the blade horizontally.

This time, Andor had no choice but to intercept. The attack came too fast and too close for him to attempt a dodge. He swung his Spear and used its shaft to slam the Ax blade in an attempt at deflection.

*CLANG!*

The sound not only rang with an intense volume, it was also backed with a violent vibration that traveled all over the length of the Ax with Andor enduring the worst of it. Even worse, he was forced to slide away.

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He tried to resist the force. He locked in his knees and dug his feet against the grassy floor but he was still moved and just left long marks on the ground until his back hit a tree trunk.

"Ngh," Andor let out but the pain of the slam was easy to endure. It was not too impactful. He remained very conscious because the last time something like this had happened, the enemy had come at him almost immediately.

But the Orc didn't.

It had its eyes on the Cleric who stood vulnerably and continued her healing of the Slave. Actually, she was done with it now and had gone low on the ground to diagnose if her patient would survive.

These large sort of wounds, especially those on the head, were the hardest to heal and she hoped she hadn't failed.

"Good, you'll live," she soon said with a light smile, "The Goddess be praised— Huh?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Having been completely focused on healing, the Cleric only now realized she was being stalked and she looked up to see the Orc's thick lips stretched wide in a grin as it swung its Ax for a cleave.

"No!" Andor yelled and he was already running. He was about three feet away and watched the Ax get closer to the Cleric's head when he threw himself into a slide.

The grassy cover of the floor facilitated his slide and he just managed to make it on one knee with his shield raised in defense.

*BANG!*

The sound was violent and Andor's knee was bruised as it was forced harder into the ground due to the force of the strike. He raised his Spear and pressed it against the inside of his shield to use its sturdiness as leverage while he put every bit of strength in his body into pushing back with both his hands against the Orc's attack.

"Fool!" The Orc let out with violent delight and its red eyes glinted. It could tell it had the advantage.

And it did.

Andor's strength was far too low and even if he tried to use the ground as support, there was very little he could do to win this contest of strength. Even worse, he feared that the moment he relented even by a fraction, he would get crushed.

And then he managed a deep breath —As much of it as he could with him exerting so much effort— and reminded himself the Shield he was defending himself with had a wide area. At least wide enough that he could tip it to the side and cause the Orc's Ax to scratch across it and off to the side.

The sound of the Y'Nth metal that made up the Ax blade scratching across the surface of the shield —that had already been dented— was grating to the ear and caused Andor to wince.

Besides that though, Andor's plan had worked. Although he could now see holes in his shield that let tiny bits of light through, he had managed to shift most of the Orc's strength to the side so he could shuffle to the side and stab his Spear into its rib cage.

"ARRRGH!" The Orc let out and, with the flat sort of its blade still pressed against Andor's shield, it just swung and sent him flying.

"Ah!" Andor yelled not only because he found himself suddenly spinning away but also because he was disappointed that he hadn't managed his mana-surge attack.

By the time he hit the ground, the Orc was coming at him and Andor managed to raise his Shield in defense but the Ax blade hooked the edge of his shield and ripped it off his arm so violently that it sprained.

"Hngh!" Andor groaned but his eyes widened because the Orc was already swinging again to cleave his head in two.

Andor rolled to the side and dodged that attack only for another to come the very next second. He parried that attack, or at least he tried to but the Orc's strength won that parry and forced his Spear-wielding arm to swing hard off to the side.

Stifling a groan of pain, Andor managed to pull his arm back in time to cross the long shaft of his Spear in front of him and intercept the blade of the Orc's Ax.

*CLANG!*

To manage this defense, Andor had to use his sprained arm to support his dominant weapon-wielding arm and so when the Ax made contact, the sprained arm seemed to break even more. But Andor endured. He had to.

The resulting vibrating force of the contact of the two weapons was suffered only by Andor but even as his sight blurred, he endured.

Alas, even as he did, he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

'Sucks,' he admitted to himself with a sad mental smile, 'I killed one of this fucking things and I can't beat this one?'

Of course, things are never that simple.

As with humans, the Orcs also vary in Stats even if they all heavily rely more on strength. Besides, there are so many factors that determine a fight.

As Andor was about to discover.

"What—?" The Orc let out and its red eyes widened when Andor was suddenly bathed in silvery light.

"Hmm?" Andor let out in surprise. Suddenly, his sprained arm reset at the joints, and the pain was only a faint throbbing. His Stamina was recovered and he felt stronger than he had ever felt.

Suddenly, he wasn't losing too much in the contest of strength. In fact, he raised himself just enough to turn the Orc's attack to the side and slam its head with the shaft of his Spear.

*Bang!*

"Ah!" The Orc let out in pain and staggered a few feet away. It shook it off and charged at Andor again swinging its Ax only for the Fighter to dodge.

Andor realized he didn't just feel stronger. He felt more agile too. More swift. His reflexes were also sharper.

The increase caught the Orc by surprise too because almost at the same he dodged the Ax attack, Andor stepped to the enemy's side and stabbed his Spear into its neck to unleash his Mana-Surge…

*Bang!*

… and blast a gory hole straight through.