Nathan slipped silently between the trees beneath the cover of Lunar Veil Protocol while the bandits prepared themselves for the incoming Jumpers.
The blessing wrapped around him like invisible darkness, swallowing his presence whole. Sound faded around his footsteps, and even the undead stumbling nearby ignored him completely.
…One reckless guy with a pistol versus twelve armed lunatics.
Nathan tightened his grip around his handgun.
This battle is going to be legendary…
Or catastrophically stupid.
Possibly both.
Ahead, the bandit formation shifted.
Broderick and Garl immediately moved toward the front where distant Jumpers' screeches echoed through the forest canopy. The rest of the men spread out instinctively, weapons ready as they searched through the darkening woods.
"Spread out a little!" Broderick barked. "Jumpers don't attack in straight lines!"
"Got it!"
"Stab the next one before it lands on me this time, Raul!"
"Stop whining!"
Nathan narrowed his eyes while weaving around a Walker.
Perfect, that's my cue.
That left fewer guards around Natsu.
The fox girl remained near the rear of the formation with several men nearby, sword in hand. Her ears twitched anxiously while she scanned the darkness.
Nathan carefully closed the distance.
Thirty meters.
Twenty-five.
Twenty.
Then, Ron's hooded head suddenly snapped toward his direction.
"Someone's co—!"
Without letting him finish, Nathan activated his skill. "Hunter's High!"
The world instantly changed.
Adrenaline exploded through his body. His heartbeat thundered like war drums inside his ears as everything around him slowed dramatically. A man turning his head now looked sluggish and delayed.
For the next six precious seconds, Nathan entered a state beyond his normal limits.
And unfortunately, that also meant his brain now had enough processing power to fully comprehend how unbelievably suicidal this plan actually was.
Nathan raised his gun. He had deliberately turned off the laser sight before the fight — he wasn't sure if Lunarinas's blessing would conceal that too.
Hunter's Mark still remained locked onto Ron's skull.
Nathan pulled the trigger.
The shot pierced through the darkness almost silently.
[Critical Hit!]
Ron's head violently snapped sideways as blood exploded from the impact. His hood flew back, revealing long yellow hair, pointed ears, and an irritatingly handsome face beneath it.
A real elf.
But then Nathan saw the HP bar.
[Elf — HP: 79%]
…Excuse me?
Nathan nearly choked internally. He had literally shot the man straight to the brain — with Hunter's Mark active and recently upgraded firepower.
What kind of fantasy-RPG nonsense durability is this?!
Before Nathan could fire again, the earth near his target erupted upward. A thick wall of stone instantly rose from the ground beside Ron, shielding him completely from Nathan's line of sight.
Nathan's eyes widened.
He can still cast magic after getting shot in the brain?! Was that the effect of having high HP stats?
Nathan had always questioned how HP stats actually worked. What if someone's head was about to be chopped off while their HP was still much higher than the incoming damage?
Would they still die? If so, then what was even the point of an HP stat?
And just now, his theory seemed to have been proven right.
Nathan immediately abandoned the idea of firing a second shot.
He instantly deactivated Lunar Veil Protocol.
I seriously hope this works…
The moment the blessing vanished, Nathan abruptly appeared slightly behind the rear of the bandit formation.
Every single head snapped toward him. Even the zombies nearby paused briefly.
Time still crawled slowly beneath Hunter's High. Nathan saw everything — shock spreading across their faces. Someone moving toward Ron. Natsu's widening eyes.
Broderick turning around.
Garl snarling.
And Nathan didn't waste a single second.
He rapidly fired three consecutive shots aimed at the knees of the nearest bandits.
"GAH—!"
"UGH—!"
"MY LEG—!"
Their stances instantly collapsed from the impacts.
A small opening appeared.
And at that exact moment, his Hunter's High duration ended, and the world violently snapped back to normal speed.
Sound crashed into Nathan's ears all at once.
"WHO'S THAT BRAT—!"
"THAT SHOULD BE HIM!"
"GET THE—!"
But Natsu had already started moving. The moment she saw Nathan appear, she immediately sprinted toward him without hesitation.
Nathan stayed perfectly still, waiting.
Because this was the gamble. The entire plan depended on one technical loophole.
Natsu was currently Broderick's slave — at least, he assumed so. The collar bound her through his blood. A slave couldn't disobey orders from their owner without suffering unbearable pain. Pain severe enough to kill.
Natsu had told him plenty of horrifying stories about slave collars during their talks together.
But earlier, Broderick had ordered her to kill whoever was following them. Which meant approaching Nathan wouldn't trigger punishment.
Unfortunately… that was also the problem. Because she still had to kill him.
"Amber," Natsu whispered.
Blue flames instantly ignited across her sword. The surrounding air distorted from the sheer heat.
Nathan's eyes widened slightly.
Oi, oi, oi—!
She's actually trying to kill me?!
The fox girl rushed toward him at full speed, flaming blade drawn behind her. And despite everything — the danger, the helplessness, the tears threatening the corners of her eyes — she smiled.
"You're late," she said softly.
Then she swung the sword directly toward Nathan's midsection with enough force to cut him clean in half.
So there's no 'I can't control myself' cliché anime apology line?!
This girl went straight for the torso-split attack.
Nathan stared at the incoming blue inferno.
"Sorry for being late, my lady," Nathan replied flatly.
Then he activated his most overpowered skill yet—
Storage.
A block of stone as high as him suddenly materialized from his palm between them.
Natsu's burning sword slammed into it hard enough to split the rock halfway apart. Blue fire hissed violently across the stone surface. Hot air blasted across Nathan's face.
Holy shit! That was close!
Meanwhile, a Walker suddenly lunged toward him from the side.
Nathan casually turned and fired once.
The zombie dropped instantly.
And with that, the tenth undead kill of the night registered.
—————————————
Hunter's High (Lv.2)
Enters an accelerated state.
• Thought process and movements accelerated by 55%
• Mana Cost: 10
• Duration: 6 seconds
• Cooldown: 60 minutes
• Automatically activates after killing 10 monsters in a row with a critical hit using a firearm (this effect has no cooldown and no mana cost)
—————————————
Adrenaline surged through him again as the world slowed for the second time.
Nathan immediately moved. Natsu's eyes widened as he rushed directly toward her instead of retreating. Then his hand grabbed the slave collar around her neck.
"Store!"
The collar vanished instantly. The pressure binding her existence disappeared so suddenly it almost made her collapse.
"…?"
"Alright." Nathan grinned. "Time to get the hell out of here."
For half a second, the entire battlefield went silent.
Then chaos exploded.
"WHAT?!"
"He just made the collar disappear?!"
"STOP THEM!"
At the front of the formation, Broderick had just decapitated a Jumper when he turned around and saw Natsu freed.
His face twisted instantly. "KILL THAT BRAT!!"
The bandits charged toward Nathan and Natsu simultaneously.
But they were too slow.
Nathan immediately grabbed Natsu's hand, then activated his paragraph-long skill again.
"Divine Blessing of Lunarinas — Lunar Veil Protocol."
Darkness swallowed them whole — their figures vanished instantly into the night.
The charging bandits stumbled in confusion.
"Where did they go?!"
"They were right there—!"
Ron clutched the bloody side of his head while staring around furiously. "They're not far. I can still subtly sense them!"
Nathan checked his mana while pulling Natsu through the cluster of trees.
[Mana: 47/127]
Less than fifty seconds.
That was all he had before the blessing collapsed.
And once it did — twelve very angry bandits would immediately begin hunting them again.
Nathan tightened his grip around Natsu's hand. She snapped out of her shock and immediately followed beside him.
Together, they disappeared deeper into the darkened forest while screams, zombie growls, and furious shouting erupted behind them.
And somehow, against every possible ounce of logic, Nathan had successfully rescued Natsu in less than twenty seconds.
At least for now.