novelnext Chapter 124 : Chapter 124
Chapter 124 : Chapter 124
Chapter 124 : Resolve
"Good. Let's try that one more time."
Chatfield's voice echoed from behind Sal.
Since the first encounter with the Vampire, he had switched fully into instructor mode, coaching Sal on the best way to handle the revolver.
Sal's stance and technique weren't just poor; they were practically nonexistent.
"Feet shoulder-width apart. Are your arms extended comfortably?"
Chatfield examined Sal's posture and shook his head ever so slightly.
"Bring the sight closer to your dominant eye, your right eye. It'd be quite awkward if you made the visor on the other side of your head. Now, look down the sights and grip the gun firmly and consistently. The rear notch of the revolver should align with the front sight."
"Ah."
When Sal muttered, Chatfield raised an eyebrow and stopped.
Sal gave Chatfield a sheepish look before turning his gaze back to the gun.
He couldn't bring himself to confess that he had been aiming by looking only at the front of the revolver.
Only now did he understand why he hadn't been able to hit the target properly.
Chatfield stood right behind Sal, observing his stance.
"Imagine the target is in front of you. When you pull the trigger, don't jerk your finger. Keep your aim steady and pull slowly. Maintaining a consistent breath is key, and you only hold your breath at the moment of firing."
Chatfield pointed in front of Sal.
"When you shoot, keep your aim fixed and watch where the bullet hits. Then you can adjust your aim properly. If it misses to the right of the Vampire, it means you need to shift your aim that much to the left. Understand?"
Sal nodded, keeping his gaze fixed along the sights.
He had even been holding the revolver wrong, with his thumb near the hammer at the back of the gun.
Chatfield circled around him, pulling his arms and shoulders to correct his posture little by little.
"Much better now. All you need is practice. Tell me, what are the next six shots?"
Sal recited them from memory without hesitation.
"Shock, Sear, Magnet, Decay, Freeze, and Shatter."
Now, he would never go into battle without knowing which bullets were loaded in the chamber.
Chatfield smiled and nodded.
"You'll be able to strategize on how to use each bullet for the best effect. Depending on your accuracy, you can try some pretty decent combos. For example, combining Freeze and Shatter can wipe out an entire group. But Freeze alone will just freeze them in place for a moment. From now on, rearrange the bullet order according to the situation to maximize efficiency. Knowing what kind of monster you'll be facing is key to effective strategy."
When Sal nodded, Chatfield brought his fingers to his mouth and let out a long whistle.
At the seemingly endless sound, Sal rolled his shoulders once to relieve the tension.
A moment later, in much less time than before, another group of Vampires rushed in like arrows.
Although not yet visible to the naked eye, Sal's visor had already detected them on the tracks further down.
The hardest thing for Sal right now was keeping his breathing steady.
He had already taken down a few, but the thrill of achievement was pushed aside by the fear of making a mistake.
Above all, he wanted to avoid close combat at all costs.
"Here they come."
Chatfield said with a smile and stepped back a few paces to give Sal enough room to move.
"Staying calm increases your accuracy. Don't panic and focus on the basics. Your goal is to raise your proficiency. Relying only on bullet effects isn't desirable."
Sal heard Upgrade murmur quietly then.
"You can do it, Sal."
Sal wasn't confident, but now wasn't the time to argue.
His right eye was already fixed on the approaching targets, his heart pounding like crazy, and his body trembling instinctively.
His legs were in the correct stance, but the trembling did nothing to help his aim.
Even though he had gone through the same thing just a while ago, the same fear was digging into his entire body.
'Will I feel this sensation every time I face a monster?'
The moment the image of facing Prowlers popped into his head, the first Vampire entered his field of view.
For the twelfth time today, Sal desperately wished for the calming power of the monocle.
Following Chatfield's instructions, Sal aligned the sights and retraced the movements he had been told to master one by one.
The target, resembling a head of cabbage, moved toward him, swaying from left to right.
Sal carefully observed the movement through his visor.
He couldn't explain how he knew, but he intuitively sensed that the movement pattern would soon enter the optimal firing position.
He didn't pull the trigger hastily but slowly pulled it in time with the shooting moment.
Holding his breath at the last second, he fixed the revolver in exactly the same position and fired.
A flash of blue lightning tore through the darkness.
The flash illuminated the end of the long tunnel along the cave walls, then hit an invisible wall and vanished.
Sal had aimed almost exactly at the target, but the bullet missed slightly to the right.
'If it misses to the right of the Vampire, it means you need to shift your aim that much to the left.'
Recalling Chatfield's words, Sal adjusted the muzzle minutely to the left, waiting for the next shot opportunity.
The visor indicated that now was the optimal time to fire.
All the Vampires were momentarily paralyzed by the aftermath of the lightning.
The Vampire at the front also suffered minor damage, with one of its vines evaporating from the first attack.
Sal couldn't understand how they were floating in the air, but having lost a tentacle, that Vampire couldn't move forward and was spinning in place.
Neither Chatfield nor Upgrade said anything about the attack.
Sal was actually grateful for that.
Preparing for the next shot, he repeated the motions exactly as he had been taught.
He corrected his aim, targeting the left side of the spinning Vampire.
BANG.
The moment the trigger was fully pulled, Sal witnessed the spectacular sight of the Vampire exploding in mid-air right before his eyes.
Amidst the monster fragments flying everywhere, joy and pride surged within Sal at the fact that he had hit it properly.
"Good job, Sal!"
Upgrade's voice rang out from behind, making his smile even brighter.
He couldn't tell if his body was trembling from adrenaline or if he was genuinely enjoying the battle.
"Magnet."
The next shot was the technique that had herded them into one spot last time.
Sal's right eye scanned beyond the group of Vampires and discovered six groups scattered throughout the tunnel.
Even if there were only five in each group, it meant he had to deal with nearly thirty in total.
But before he could finish the thought, the visor counted all the Vampires within range and displayed the number in the upper right corner.
"Forty-two."
Sal exhaled deeply, shaking off all the sense of accomplishment from a moment ago.
Was it arrogance or complacency?
Sal couldn't believe he had intended to save the Magnet bullet for a larger group.
'No time to dwell on this!'
The group of Vampires in front of him was recovering from paralysis.
Three were clinging to the ceiling, and one was floating just above the ground.
The one near the ground extended its tentacles, groping the corpse of its fallen kin.
For a moment, Sal felt guilty, wondering if there had been some bond between them.
But that thought vanished quickly.
The floating Vampire bared sharp teeth and began to devour the severed corpse.
Sal wanted to shoot the cannibalistic monster right away, but strategy came first right now.
He exhaled a long breath, raised the muzzle slightly, and corrected his aim to the right of the Vampire group.
Aiming at the center of the group felt somewhat wrong, but that method had worked last time.
The recoil of the shot pushed him back, but his legs held firm.
It wasn't a dramatic shot, but following the line of sight, Sal could see the Vampires clinging to the ceiling being pulled together.
"Watch out, Sal."
Chatfield's voice came from behind, sending Sal's tension soaring again.
When he turned his gaze to the cannibal Vampire, it was already gone.
As he turned his head to find it, the visor instructed him to look right.
In the moment he looked away, the Vampire had crawled up the wall and was trying to ambush him from the flank.
Its vines quietly gripped the rocks, accelerating its speed even more.
All shots so far had been from a relatively long distance, but this time it was close.
'Too close!'
Judging that the thing would pounce within seconds, Sal tried to move quickly.
Without even the luxury of going through the confirmation steps learned from Chatfield, he turned his entire body to adjust his stance.
Adrenaline consumed everything.
Sal aimed straight at the approaching target and pulled the trigger.
BANG.
There was no finesse in that shot, nor was it needed in the first place.
Because the Decay bullet didn't require precise aiming.
It was enough to have a target to kill nearby, and the Vampire fit that condition perfectly.
Sal watched in shock as the Vampire pounced from the wall.
It extended its vines long to latch onto Sal, revealing terrible teeth lined in a circle at the base.
But before Sal could properly see that hideous attack posture, the Decay bullet pierced straight through its mouth.
The bullet went right through to the tunnel wall, blowing a massive hole in it.
Sal quickly stepped aside, and the Vampire tumbled to the floor, limbs convulsing as its body began to melt.
The stench of the rotting monster was a horrific experience Sal never wanted to go through again.
Confirming it was completely incapacitated, Sal shifted his gaze back to the group of Vampires hanging from the ceiling.
Sal's visor detected two things.
'The number of living Vampires decreased by one, and the group of Vampires caught in the Magnet bullet has disappeared without a trace.'
Sal turned his head left and right, hoping the visor would pick something up, but nothing appeared in the end.
He unbearably hated the sensation of fear and anxiety spreading to every corner of his body.
The visor recounted the Vampires at the other end of the tunnel, and the number had decreased.
That meant the ones he just shot were hiding somewhere outside his field of view.
"Damn it."
Sal exhaled and took a step back, looking around.
At that moment, the sound of laughter from behind reminded him that Upgrade and Chatfield were watching him.
Chatfield's voice, seemingly trying to calm him, only added to the anxiety.
"Yeah, makes you want to curse. That's right, Salvatore."
As Sal poured Essence into his gloves, his entire outfit transformed into protective armor.
He raised his left arm to cover his face and looked up at the ceiling.
The visor captured three Vampires rushing towards him fast, teeth bared.
Two of them plummeted straight for his face.
Sal panicked as the first Vampire pounced and latched onto his arm.
Gnawing persistently at the armor with sharp teeth, vines wrapped tightly around his elbow and shoulder joints.
Sal pushed his arm hard to keep the Vampire away from his face, which created an opening for the second Vampire to dig in.
Sal swung his right arm.
The revolver was still in his hand, and he smashed the approaching monster with it.
It was a simple attack, but combined with the power of the armor and the high-rank weapon, the Vampire was crushed instantly.
'No time to rest...!'
Sal slammed the butt of the revolver down hard on the head of the Vampire clinging to his left arm.
The Vampire's head exploded, splattering disgusting debris onto his face, making Sal swallow back a dry heave.
Just then, the third Vampire dropped from above, aiming to strike his chest.
BOOM-!
A roar echoed through the entire tunnel, and the Vampire that hit Sal's chest was mercilessly bounced off.
White light flashed over the jet-black armor, revealing the defensive Runes that had just activated.
The third Vampire had practically evaporated upon impact, leaving only debris on the wall as a trace of its existence.
Sal deactivated the armor and pulled off the Vampire remains stuck to his face.
Before he could even peel off the chunk caught in his hand, he vomited violently onto the dungeon floor.
"Good, something to take notes on."
Chatfield's voice came from the side.
Upgrade silently knelt beside Sal and rubbed his back.
As Sal instinctively dry heaved again, tears welled up in his eyes.
He just wanted this day to end quickly.