rpbooks Chapter 36 : Practice
Chapter 36 : Practice
PracticeGazing at the detailed interface of the flintlock pistol, Cecilia seemed a little absent-minded.
Without a doubt, this was a tremendously powerful ranged weapon. It had high dmg, long range, and fast reload speed. The passive skill [Blood Infused Silver Bullet] granted each shot one of four different special effects, greatly making up for her lack of long-range combat capability.
Crafting it was absolutely worth it—in fact, it could be said to be a huge gain.
However, the attack power of this gun was a bit strange; it adjusted itself according to the distance the bullet traveled—the closer the target, the higher the dmg, the farther away, the lower the dmg. Still, similar to a tool, this gun's attack power could not be added to her own stats.
Thinking of this, Cecilia tried to equip the weapon. As expected, her own attack power did not change at all; it remained steady at its original value.
On second thought, that did make sense. If her own attack power could also work with the gun, wouldn't that be broken? A random shot could deal several thousand points of dmg, and if it triggered an Explosive Shell, even a world-class boss probably couldn't withstand a single bullet.
Given its current effects, Cecilia was already very satisfied.
Additionally, the blueprint not only included the gun, but also instructions for making a holster—a leather leg-band that let her hide the pistol on the outside of her thigh, covered by her dress. The concealment was excellent.
After all, it was just an accessory, so crafting it was very easy. In just a few minutes, Cecilia finished the holster.
She lifted her dress, strapped the leg-band to the middle of her thigh, fastened it with a buckle, then hung the flintlock pistol and let the loose hem drop down. It covered everything snugly—unless someone peered directly up her skirt, no one would be able to see it.
Although walking like this felt a little awkward, she simply needed to get used to it. Leaving the blacksmith shop, Cecilia activated stealth and, mixing into the crowd heading out of the Main City, exited through the South Gate.
Much like a child who had just received a new toy, she felt impatient—she wanted to test out her new weapon's power.
At top speed, it only took Cecilia a few minutes to reach the wild area closest to the Main City: Nightshade Forest.
Along the way, she passed by many newbie players chasing after monsters. Although the game had launched for over a week, and many players had already quit, there were still plenty of new players just joining in. Their presence brought fresh energy to the game—only with new players could a game remain long-lived and prosperous.
The deeper she went into the forest, the fewer players there were. Other players over level 10 had already gone to different areas to level up, or were grinding for wins in the arena, preparing to compete for the national server, or even the world's first "Legend" title. Only people like Cecilia, time-rich and unhurried, could afford to come to the newbie area to test out new toys—no, new weapons.
The deeper she ventured, the dimmer the sky above grew, and in the distant undergrowth, faint figures flickered in and out.
With vision far superior to a normal human's, Cecilia quickly locked onto a group of isolated minor monsters.
Dark green skin, about half the height of a human, long pointy ears, somewhat goblin-like faces—they held sharpened wooden sticks in their hands.
[Low-Grade Gremlin] (Lv.4)
The faces were unfamiliar. Cecilia had never seen them before; they must have been added in the latest content update.
Very well, you're already surrounded by me.
She casually picked a low-grade gremlin about a hundred meters away. With her right hand, she lifted her dress and drew the flintlock pistol.
Although this was an epic weapon, it was, after all, an eighteenth-century pistol. Back then, wars relied largely on massed infantry tactics—accuracy barely mattered, and fire suppression was the main purpose. Even if the gun had some aiming aids, they were mostly decorative; actually shooting was all about feeling—practically useless.
Her palm stung painfully on the grip. Cecilia could feel dozens of points vanish from her HP in an instant. That surge of blood flowed through the grip, transformed into a silvery bullet, and was loaded into the chamber.
She tried to line up the sights, and as soon as the muzzle was aimed at the gremlin, Cecilia pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
A burst of red flame spat out, the recoil made the muzzle lift slightly, and a silver bullet spun rapidly along the rifling, blasting out of the barrel at a speed the naked eye couldn't hope to follow!
[Blood Infused Silver Bullet triggered! Explosive Shell generated!]
With the system notification, a second later, a huge hole burst open in the gremlin's chest—its upper body exploded, green blood splattering everywhere!
-938!
A bright red crit number floated above the monster's head—the low-grade gremlin's HP instantly dropped to zero!
No way—was it really this insane right off the bat?
Looking at the gremlin's bisected corpse falling slowly in the distance, Cecilia was floored. Even though it was only a level 4 trash mob, one shot from a hundred meters away was enough to blow it apart—this gun was terrifying.
Having their companion attacked, the nearby monsters were startled by the gunshot. They pricked up their sharp ears, looking around warily, but with the distance being too far, they couldn't spot Cecilia's location.
Soon after, the second bullet finished loading. Cecilia licked her lips excitedly, turned her gun on another gremlin a hundred meters away, and pulled the trigger!
[Blood Infused Silver Bullet triggered! Armor-Piercing Shell generated!]
Bang!
The silver bullet spiraled out—but this time, Cecilia's hand shook a little, and the shot missed, instead splintering the trunk of a tree several meters away from the target, blowing a huge hole in it.
Missing the shot didn't really disappoint Cecilia. She was well aware that for someone shooting for the first time, landing either of the first two shots was already enough to be called a genius by most people.
Not to mention, she was using a flintlock pistol only suited for close range—the moment she shot from farther out, hitting anything was pure luck. Missing a few times was totally normal; even the best sharpshooters only got there after firing tens of thousands of rounds, right?
Reload, aim again—Cecilia decided she'd use this group of gremlins for some serious target practice.
This flintlock pistol was undoubtedly powerful, absolutely worthy of its epic tier. The four special bullets were all useful—if used properly, none of them were wasted shots. But the key was, you had to actually hit your target. For now, so long as her aim improved, her combat strength would definitely skyrocket.
Taking a deep breath and recalling the feeling of her first shot, Cecilia took aim and fired again.
Bang!
This time, the bullet strayed even farther, landing in the ground dozens of meters away—a lizard jumped in fright and scampered off into the thick underbrush.
Maybe the stance was wrong—one more shot!
Reloading, Cecilia held the flintlock pistol sideways this time. She'd heard that could help reduce recoil and keep the muzzle from jumping. Nothing beats trying it yourself—she decided to experiment.
Bang!
She'd thought changing the shooting method would help, but the shot was so wildly off target even Cecilia herself had no idea where the bullet landed.
Setting down the flintlock pistol, Cecilia rubbed her slightly sore right shoulder and fell deep into thought.
Off in the distance, some low-grade gremlins had already relaxed and were idly picking their noses. Seeing this, Cecilia let out a long sigh.
Shooting... it was harder than it looked.
But Cecilia wasn't one to give up easily. Soon, she pulled herself together, chose a different angle, aimed at a thin tree trunk some dozens of meters away, and started practicing.
One shot. Two shots. Three shots... twenty-eight... thirty...
The setting sun bled the horizon; dusk fell. Before she knew it, two full hours had flown by.
At last, as darkness thoroughly shrouded the forest and all the nocturnal beasts began to prowl, a silver-white silhouette darted through the shadowy woods like the wind.
The chilly night breeze brushed Cecilia's face—bringing a coolness mixed with the musk of prey.
Against the pitch-black night, a large, equally black bat was gliding above the forest.
The scenery fled past as Cecilia's right eye shone blue, her left blood-red—her mind's echolocation radar at full force, always alert for movement from the monsters nearby.
As she crossed a low hill, suddenly, a big Bramble Wild Boar burst from the overgrown mutant jungle to her right. It only glanced at Cecilia before, as if seeing a ghost, it slammed on the brakes with all four limbs and tried to flee deeper into the trees.
The Bramble Wild Boar was fast—but Cecilia's reflexes were even faster.
Still at high speed, she kicked off with her right foot and leapt in a graceful arc across dozens of meters, landing smoothly. The moment she hit the ground, pistol in hand, she levelled the flintlock without even needing to aim—she simply pointed it right at the fleeing Bramble Wild Boar and firmly pulled the trigger.
[Blood Infused Silver Bullet triggered—Explosive Shell generated!]
"Left hind leg!"
A devilish murmur echoed. A silver bullet flew out, precisely striking the Bramble Wild Boar's left hind leg as it ran. The shell exploded, instantly shredding the entire limb to pieces.
-879!
A bright red dmg value appeared—the Bramble Wild Boar's HP instantly emptied. Its massive body skidded forward on momentum, not stopping until it collided headfirst with a tree so thick it would take several people to encircle it.
"Whew."
Raising the flintlock pistol, Cecilia blew away imaginary smoke, and looking at the results of her afternoon's practice, she nodded with satisfaction.
Her shooting had reached an acceptable level—there shouldn't be any problem now.