Chapter 93: Epiphany

. . .

Henry watched Angus and Maude have a near-civil conversation and even caught certain parts of it that piqued his interest but he was much more interested in getting the hell away from here.

He turned his eyes toward Angus' horse and whistled for it to come over but the horse ignored him. Its ears were either only perked for Angus' call or it just didn't want to respond.

"Stupid horse!" Henry let out, frustrated that his whistles were ignored, and started making his way there. He needed those explosives and had to get the horse ready for his and Angus' getaway. S~eaʀᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Ugh. Where do you think you're going?" A voice called to Henry from behind.

He turned around slowly and was facing the two Vykers that were still alive. Henry recognized one of them to be the fireball-conjuring Vyker who first showed up after Angus had subjugated the Warlocks.

The other one was a Feral-Meister Vyker whose mutation was spikes sticking out of his forearms. Henry assumed they were all over the Vyker's body as well just shorter and laid flat against his skin like hair to provide him protection.

"Just look at you two," Henry said with a small shake of his head,

"Beat down so hard and still trying to put up an act."

"It's not an act," the Flame Vyker said through gritted teeth while looking like the effort to speak hurt him all over.

"You and your partner don't get to come and go from my Lord's home on a whim. Stand down!" said Feral Meister and he watched as Henry pulled a bottle seemingly from out of nowhere.

With his Mana Points running low at the moment, Henry took the chance he got to down an improved Mana potion.

[You have recovered 60 Mana Points]

Feeling buoyed by the suppliance of Mana into his body, Henry tossed the now-empty bottle aside and pulled out his gold and bronze painted gun to hold in hand while his grip on 'The Hydra's Sting' tightened.

The two Vykers almost looked disappointed that he was looking to put up a fight. They took on fighting stances. The Flame Vyker conjured fire above his palms while the spiky Vyker held up his fists.

And then they moved as one.

The first to arrive was the Spiked Vyker who dashed over with his speed boosted by an explosive bound courtesy of his incredible strength.

The Flame Vyker was only a foot behind him.

Henry timed his shot.

His enemy was injured but still fast. They were also still stronger than he was but they were charging at him with a careless abandon born of a major lack of desire to fight.

Henry had his gun raised before the Spiked Vyker started to move and he was clenching the trigger the moment the enemy took their first step.

He was confident he had been preemptive enough and by his calculations, his enemy would be dashing right into his fired bullet.

*Bam!*

Henry's eyes widened in shock.

He had gotten hit.

The force of the blow was already so powerful that it had his head knocked aggressively to the side but the spikes at the back of that fist tore into his skin and ripped it, leaving deep gashes that bled horribly. And yet, Henry didn't feel the pain. At least not yet.

'I miscalculated?' He asked himself.

[You have lost 50 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 20/100]

Henry didn't see the notification. His eyes just remained widened and stared blankly as he went on to slam into a structure in the Black Manor's compound.

"-Henry!-" Nyx called out to him.

The sound that came from her mouth though were whinnies as she rose on her hind legs and struck out her hooves at the Spiked Vyker but he took her kicks quite well and slid back a few steps. He looked tired but otherwise fine.

Nyx let out more whinnies and would have charged at him again had it not been for a powerful fireball that came charging at her the very next second. It got so close and was so wide that she had to use <Shadow Dash> to boost her speed and get to the side to avoid the worst of it.

The spiked Vyker, his eyes dull, walked toward Henry who had his head bowed.

'I was too slow.'

It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact.

Raising his gun and firing a shot before his enemy started to run/the very moment they took their first step did not guarantee him a successful shot. He should know that. After all, he was Gunslinger.

How many times in his past life and this new one had he 'dodged bullets' by studying the shooter rather than the gun? Countless times. It was how he had survived many standoffs. It was how he had won so many gun duels.

Henry looked up at the spiked Vyker approaching him. He didn't activate insight and he didn't need it to know all of the Vyker's Stats were better than his own.

With increased agility, the enemy must have seen him raise his gun, surmised what he was planning to do, and just dodged before the bullet left the gun. Henry had no way of knowing this and was caught off-guard by the punch because he was so slow his eyes couldn't follow.

His perception had picked up the coming blow but he was warned far too late.

A screen appeared in front of Henry then and it listed out his Stats;

[Strength: 30]

[Agility: 30]

[Stamina: 18]

[Perception: 15]

'Perception and Agility,' Henry thought as he looked the screen over,

'Of course! How could I have been so foolish? I can count on one hand how many times I've had to overpower an opponent since I've been in this world.

It happened once during the Train Job in my fight against Mr. Grant and I just ran with it from there. If I'm being truly honest with myself, it's my least used Stat.

How the hell did I fool myself into thinking Strength and Agility are my most used stats?

I got stabbed by the Shadow Vyker because I was slow. I got hit many times because I was too slow.

High Perception to warn me of danger and stretch out my 'sight' and High Agility to avoid hits and gun my enemies down before they can react…

… That's what I need!'

Henry was pulled out of his thoughts then when the Spiked Vyker's form loomed over him with a leg raised to he brought down to squash him.

Even as the foot came down at him, Henry smiled,

'Strange time for an epiphany but I'm glad it came. Unfortunately, I can't reallocate my stats so I'll just have to be wiser from now on."

Henry raised 'The Hydra's Sting' and fired a shot.

With his eyes widened, the Vyker leaned away but with his foot still raised, he looked very easy to put off balance.

Henry thought to take advantage but the Vyker just hopped to the side on one foot and brought down his raised leg to swing a kick at him.

Henry pulled out a rifle from his Inventory and held it out to intercept the incoming kick.

*Bam!*

The kick was so powerful that it dented the weapon and the force of it sent Henry sliding across the ground so abrasively that his jacket ripped all over.

Henry's arm shook at the force of the kick and his entire body seemed to share the impact but the hand holding 'The Hydra's Sting' was fine enough.

Henry was about one meter away from the Spiked Vyker when he activated <Quick Thinking>.

When time froze, he took note of the Vyker's position and the moment time resumed, he took advantage of the force that sent him sliding and started to roll instead. His roll allowed him to turn his back on the Spiked Vyker, hiding his gun hand from the enemy's sight.

Henry kept what he had observed with his Perception, during the time-stopped state, in mind. He remembered very clearly the position the Vyker was at so the next time he rolled and was faced toward the Spiked Vyker, he was already clenching the trigger.

"Ack!" The Vyker let out with his eyes wide as the acidic green bullet struck his spike-protected chest.

Cracks spread across the spikes until they shattered leaving his bare skin bleeding while tinged with the acidic residue that always followed a successful <Acidic Combustion> shot.

Henry stopped his roll then, got on his feet, pointed the gold and bronze painted gun, and fired every bullet left in the cylinder into the Vyker's unprotected chest.

Every shot hit and the Vyker ceased breathing.