When faced with the unfamiliar foe, I considered that I could step in to help if things turned dire. The Marma Ross, infused with elental power, didn’t just work as a physical force but also as a magical attack. So enemies had resistances, but for those vulnerable to magic, it could deal significant additional damage.
In the original ga, there were spells with no specific elent, so if this sli creature proved troubleso, I could handle it. Equipping my shotgun with a fire-imbued Marma Ross would lt the sli down easily enough. The only downside was that it would heavily clog the barrel afterward.
“I don’t need help,” Lena replied confidently.
“Have you ever faced an amorphous creature like this before?”
“No.”
She was awfully self-assured for soone with no experience.
“But I know its characteristics well, and from what I understand, it poses no real threat to .”
I couldn’t help but glance at the pistols holstered under each of her arms. If her guns were equipped with Marma Ross crystals, it would be noticeable, like my shotgun. But Lena’s pistols looked utterly ordinary.
“Alright then, go ahead.”
Without another word, Lena strode confidently down the hill, leaving us behind as she approached the sli-like creature below.
The monster looked more like a golem, aside from its semi-transparent blue, gelatinous appearance. It stood about three ters tall, and up close, it would be an intimidating sight.
“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Alice asked, voicing my own concerns.
“She seems confident enough,” Claire replied, and the others watched Lena with keen interest.
After all, if things looked truly dangerous, I could always rewind ti.
As we watched Lena’s receding figure, Mia Crowfield spoke up. “I think she’ll be fine.”
At her words, everyone turned to stare, making Mia shift uncomfortably as she gathered the courage to explain, “When soone is attuned to mana long enough, you learn to sense it in objects and people. I could sense… quite a lot of mana from Miss yer.”
Hmm.
Most people can’t detect mana without a high level of training. There’s a theory that sword energy is a form of mana, though in the ga, it’s treated as a separate attribute. The chanics of this world defy logical categorization—fantasy worlds don’t have to follow physical laws, after all.
“Mana? And that much?” Jake asked, looking at Mia in surprise, which made her blush even more.
“Um, I don’t think it’s her own mana. I didn’t sense it when we t in the hallway earlier…”
So it must be from the Marma Ross after all.
A sudden, guttural roar interrupted us, making everyone turn to see what was happening.
The sli-golem monster bellowed, its low rumbling sound reverberating as its gelatinous form quivered. The sight was slightly unsettling. But Lena, unphased, calmly drew both pistols, crossing them in a quick, confident motion.
…It was undeniably impressive. That small part of that held onto my adolescent fascination with these displays found itself unexpectedly moved.
Without breaking her stride, Lena raised her pistols, aiming as the sli lunged toward her, its sheer size allowing it to close the distance surprisingly fast.
With steady aim, Lena fired a shot directly at the creature’s incoming, bulbous fist.
*Bang!*
Even from where we stood, the gunshot echoed loudly. The explosive force of the Marma Ross-infused bullet shattered the sli’s fist in a fiery burst that resembled a fireball rather than a simple bullet impact.
“Amazing! That’s Marma Ross, right?” Claire whispered in awe.
Indeed, it was Marma Ross.
But Lena’s guns showed no signs of modification to accommodate it. The barrels weren’t any thicker, and there was no external indication.
“Is she using the Marma Ross itself as ammunition?” Charlotte observed with curiosity.
“I think so,” Mia confird.
So her guns didn’t require modification; they fired regular bullets, but those bullets contained Marma Ross. The magic only activated on impact with the target.
The sli, seemingly enraged, swung its other arm toward her.
*Bang!*
Lena quickly twisted, firing with her left pistol and blowing off the sli’s remaining hand. Both arms gone, the creature showed no signs of weakening; the destroyed arm was already regenerating.
Before it could fully stabilize, Lena aid again and fired at its right leg.
A sharp cracking sound filled the air as its leg shattered, releasing a cold mist as the frozen limb fell away. It resembled the sublimation of dry ice as it crumbled, and the creature tilted off balance.
So, her left pistol had a fire-imbued Marma Ross while the right had an ice elent.
“In the Republic, there are plenty of big beasts. It’s less populated, so ga for hunting is abundant,” Claire explained.
That, and there are nurous mines. Although the governnt controls most of them, the perpetual shortage of manpower due to the military draft ans that there’s still plenty of Marma Ross available, much like how Winterfield hunters extract Marma Ross from mountain animals.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
The gunfire continued in rapid succession as Lena approached the fallen sli. Each shot she landed on its body rapidly froze the creature. Once it was fully immobilized, Lena finished it with a final shot from her left pistol.
With a fiery burst, the frozen mass shattered, scattering shards in all directions. The pieces quickly lted, leaving no trace of regeneration. It seed she’d struck its core, rendering it completely inert.
Lena spun her pistols, casually blowing off the residual smoke before holstering them under her arms with a flourish.
“That was incredible!” Claire shouted, applauding along with the others as Lena returned.
A hint of pride showed on Lena’s usually stoic face as she looked in my direction, as if expecting praise.
“Well done.”
So might dismiss her victory as re “equipnt advantage,” but in combat, such distinctions were irrelevant. Life and death were the only outcos on the battlefield, and even swords ca in both ordinary and enchanted varieties.
Still…
I couldn’t help but glance at the broken shards of the sli.
Considering the amount of Marma Ross she’d used, I couldn’t help but think she might’ve lost more value than she gained in this fight. With the sli in pieces, recovering any Marma Ross seed unlikely.
But I kept this thought to myself. The satisfaction on her face was unmistakable.
…Maybe this is how Alice feels when she looks at ?
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