บท 12: Chapter 12: Firing the Gun
บรรณาธิการ: Dragon Boat Translation
"Congratulations, little Duke."
"Not bad, not bad. If you have any questions about meditation in the future, you can come find me."
After learning that Duke had opened his Sea of Spirit, the card makers Delanco and Sanet both conveyed friendly messages.
Only the card maker Bast, whom Duke had previously followed, didn't show any response upon hearing the news. Instead, he snorted and busied himself with card repairs.
As he passed by Duke, he muttered in an unclear tone, "Just opening the Sea of Spirit, that's all. A druggie, and that's the extent of his talent."
Duke heard the words.
But he didn't dwell on them.
A vast transcendent world had unveiled itself before him, brimming with endless mysteries waiting to be explored. He had neither the energy nor the interest to engage with someone like Bast, a low-level practitioner.
Since Old Sam didn't assign him any work.
He spent the entire morning attempting to repair the energy circuits in the spirit cards. Occasionally, he would consult with Delanco and Sanet, and most of the time, he analyzed and summarized with the help of Xiaoyi.
Time flew by, and before he knew it, it was time to finish work.
"Bob, I'm leaving."
"Alright, go back and rest early." Bob smiled and waved.
Duke returned to the small rented courtyard, House No. 237 on Second Street. It was conveniently close to Little Sam's card repair shop, just a short walk through an alleyway.
He wasn't in a hurry to cook.
He changed into a pair of sturdy leather boots, slung a tattered canvas bag over his shoulder, and left his home, heading towards the outskirts of the town in the direction of the farmland. As he left the town's perimeter, he spotted several knights on patrol.
These knights were primarily mounted on horses, but the leader wasn't riding a horse; instead, he was atop a tall wolf-like spiritual beast.
They weren't wearing full armor but donned leather armor bearing the emblem of the Black Serpent Family, indicating that they belonged to the Black Serpent Family's patrol and guard unit.
Walking along a raised path, Duke went unnoticed by the knights.
Once he passed the farmland and was about to enter a thicket of bushes up ahead, he noticed several signs planted at intervals beside a water channel.
They read, "Entering Patrol Area Ahead, Danger!"
Duke surveyed the surroundings; apart from farmers working in the fields, there wasn't another person in sight.
He quietly materialized his Desert Eagle, a 1-ring Arcane Artifact that had yet to be fired, held it in his hand, and silently crossed the ditch, heading into the thicket.
Humans had never been the true masters of the Savage Wilds; the areas they settled in were only a small part of it.
Hence, places far from town's safety zones and patrol areas harbored unknown dangers. As long as he didn't venture deep into the thickets, it wouldn't be any more dangerous than his daily routes.
In fact, many of the town's hunters would venture beyond the patrol areas to hunt in the perilous wilderness.
High-level spiritual beasts nearby had been eradicated by human firepower in numerous conflicts, leaving behind only the more common ones.
"Alright."
"This is deep enough. If I fire a shot here, no one should hear the gunshot. I'll hunt here." Duke climbed a large tree using both his hands and feet, "Xiaoyi, record the firing data of the Desert Eagle."
"Understood, Master."
The thicket was filled with many small animals. Duke had barely been crouching in the tree for less than a quarter of an hour when he was drawn by the rustling sounds. Upon closer inspection, it was a black-furred wild boar, rooting around on the ground while occasionally lifting its head to scan its surroundings.
About twenty meters away.
Duke gripped the Desert Eagle handgun in both hands and aimed at the black boar's head.
Without the black boar's awareness, he quickly pulled the trigger, and a gunshot rang out. Duke felt a tremendous force reverberate through his arms, almost causing him to lose his grip on the Desert Eagle.
Simultaneously.
A splash of blood erupted from the black boar's head.
The next moment, the black boar lay on the ground, twitching and struggling. Less than ten seconds later, its convulsions ceased, and the black boar breathed its last.
"Phew!"
Duke let out a breath.
Watching the sparkling points of light fade as the Desert Eagle dissipated, he realized that a single shot had depleted the weapon's materialization. Nearly forty drops of spiritual liquid from his Sea of Spirit had been consumed by this one shot.
He waited a moment to ensure no other beasts were nearby, then jumped down.
Quickly walking to the black boar.
Blood was still oozing from the bullet hole in the black boar's head. The bullet from the Desert Eagle had pierced through its skull, passing through its shoulder blade as well.
"Not bad power."
Duke turned the black boar over and suddenly noticed that the bullet had also penetrated its shoulder blade. He carefully searched around the ground and found the indentation left by the bullet.
It had burrowed nearly half a meter into the ground.
But when Duke dug into the earth, he didn't find the bullet's head: "It must have dissipated. After all, the Desert Eagle is a 1-ring Arcane Artifact, not a true firearm."
He was quite satisfied with this outcome.
This way, after using the Desert Eagle for a kill, there would be nothing left behind except the bullet hole.
"By the way, Xiaoyi, what do you think of the power of that shot? Could it kill a 0-ring spiritual beast?" Duke used a small knife to laboriously skin the black boar's hind leg. He intended to take a hind leg back to marinate for consumption.
Taking the entire boar's carcass back wouldn't be practical, and it wouldn't be easy to explain how he acquired it.
Xiaoyi responded, "Based on the current data, the physical quality of beasts is weaker than that of 0-ring spiritual beasts. The Desert Eagle's shot that pierced the black boar's body should certainly be able to kill a 0-ring spiritual beast. However, the physical quality of 1-ring spiritual beasts is much stronger, so unless the shot lands on a critical weak point or it's used against a weaker spiritual beast, it's not easy to kill."
"What about a 1-ring Grand Knight?"
"Insufficient data to deduce."
"Alright." Duke cut off the boar's hind leg, shook off the blood, briefly cleaned it, and then stuffed it into a canvas bag. "It's hard to determine the toughness of a 1-ring knight. But if 1-ring Arcane Mages are caught off guard by my sneak attack, their very souls might shatter... But I can't be sure, I've heard that 1-ring Arcane Mages can solidify arcane power. What if they have instant defensive magic..."
He had just stepped into the transcendent world; everything was still unknown.
After cleaning his hands.
Duke slung the boar's hind leg over his shoulder and walked briskly toward Snakehead Town, facing the sunset's glow. Despite his spiritual liquid being depleted and feeling somewhat fatigued, his spirit remained invigorated.
No knights came to question him, and he smoothly returned to the town.
He bought a bag of salt, removed the boar's hair from the hind leg, meticulously marinated it, and hung it in the stairwell to air-dry. With the end of May approaching, the weather was getting hotter. Without refrigeration, the meat would easily spoil.
After dinner.
He read until late into the night, only washing up and going to bed when he felt sleepy.
Lying in bed, he continued conversing with Xiaoyi: "Xiaoyi, share with me the insights you gained from my reading tonight."
"Understood, Master. Tonight, you read <<The Ring of Card Craftmanship>>, which describes constructing energy circuits and spell models. 'Ring' represents the interpretation and records of arcane arts. To qualify as a ring, it must first achieve the conduction of energy. Only energy that flows seamlessly can reveal the boundless arcane secrets of spirituality..."
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