A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

[You have lost 100 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 120/430]

[You have lost 50 Hit Points]

[Hit Points: 70/430]

When he was 'settled' and his eyes fell on the notifications of his lost Hit Points, Henry knew the first was for the attack he suffered and the second was for the one he inflicted on himself with [Shocking Grip].

He was very down in terms of his remaining Hit Points but he felt it had certainly been a good trade-off not to spend much longer than needed in a nightmare. Nyx hadn't recovered since she had been struck into it and slipped into the comfort of the shadows.

All in all, thanks to how the System calculated damages, Henry shook off any pain and his brows narrowed in anger. As the Orc Priest stalked him, he wasn't worried. If anything, he just felt he had been unlucky so far.

The fact that his enemy had the 'Blessed' Status didn't dilute his belief.

'Oh, I'm so going to take you out,' he thought and prepared to pull out a Mana potion to drink and prepare his plans for a successful assault when he received a notification from the system.

It was a funny thing.

All notifications have their distinct sounds and Henry knew them all well enough now so he knew what this one meant. It just took him a bit by surprise as it was the first time in a good while he had received one.

[You have triggered an Optional Quest]

[Quest: Priest Hunt.

Description: You have angered the Dungeon Boss' Council of Priests and they will stop at nothing to kill you and your allies. But with dangerous situations comes opportunity and you certainly seem motivated and confident in a win, so why not spice things up with a challenge?

- For Every Orc Priest you kill i.e. land the final killing blow on, you will receive 100 units in either your Health Stat or your Mana Points Stat.

You will also receive a bonus of 3000 Exp excluding your kill-reward.

-However, for every Orc Priest you defeat, you will gain the vengeful attention of the rest and will lose access to one spell on your Arcane Tapestry until all the Priests are dead and the Quest is complete.]

[Do you accept this Quest?]

Henry had barely any time to really give it much thought with the threat of the Orc Priest getting closer. He could have of course given himself a little more time with [Quick Thinking] but he saw no need to;

'I accept.'

[You have accepted the Optional Quest 'Priest Hunt'.

Good luck!]

Henry struggled to his feet then ready to drink mana potions to replenish his reserves but then he heard a sound from above.

*Kraw!*

He didn't need to look up to know it was the raven he had had contact with many times already. Again, the creature wasn't speaking words but Henry could just tell it was being condescending to him. He was about to shrug it away when he remembered the bird had caught him in the air and stopped his fall.

Suddenly, he remembered the first time he saw the bird and it wasn't while he was riding over to the clearing on Nyx's back. It was while he had been in the trees a few hours ago and was about to start hunting a group of Orc Archers.

The Raven had locked its black eyes with him and then flew away.

At this point, it seemed like such a missed opportunity to have been in close contact with the creature so many times and not attempt to make it an asset.

As he downed the Mana potions and tossed their empty bottles aside, Henry raised a hand toward the Bird and channeled a skill he hardly ever used because, once he had a horse, he didn't really find any need or use for another pet. He had never been much of a pet person outside of horse taming anyway.

But Nyx was not here and a plan was forming in his head that the bird might just be good for.

[Activating <Taming Lv.2>]

When Henry's hand was stretched toward the bird, he heard a sound from it that caused him to raise a brow,

'Did you just scoff?' He asked in his head before narrowing his eyes again as he concentrated on the skill.

Taming a horse in this world had worked as it did in his old world so Henry had simply 'broken' Nyx and formed a bond with her. But the Taming Skill made things easier and also more complicated.

It made things easier because it was more of a feel, an energy, an aura that Henry could project away from himself toward his target and then bend the target to his will.

It made things more complicated because the best way he knew how to tame something was through touch and the Raven was not coming closer to make that happen which was probably for the best because the Orc Priest finally unleashed its spell;

A beam of red violent mana that sizzled with an intense heat that raged to burn a hole right through Henry but considering its size, it was more likely he got obliterated.

Henry stood his ground and would have cast a shielding spell had he not received a fortunate notification that allowed him to keep a hold of his full Mana Points for now; The <Hat of Shielding> was done with its cooldown.

Henry activated it and the shield appeared in its usual hazy blue to surround him in its protective bubble.

The beam of red mana was powerful and burned hot but it still had an attack power lower than 400 which made it possible for Henry's Hat to defend him.

While this was happening, Henry continued his attempt at taming.

[Taming Failed!]

He tried again…

[Taming Failed!]

And Again…

[Taming Failed!]

According to the description of the [Taming Skill Lv.2], Henry had a 40% chance at taming a non-magical beast and a 10% chance at taking a magical one so he knew —seeing as the bird was very likely magical—, that his chances were low.

He also knew he only had one minute to keep trying because one minute was the maximum activation time for <Hat of Shielding> and once that was over, he would have to get away from where he stood and get too invested in the fight against the Orc Priest to try again.

The seconds ticked down.

The Orc Priest unleashed spell after spell against the shield but they always stayed within that threshold of not being close to 400 attack power. It was clearly under the misconception that the shield got weaker with every attack like the other magical shields it knew and could cast itself.

It was starting to dawn on the Orc Priest that the shield was very sturdy and it began to contemplate more drastic spell choices while Henry was getting increasingly frustrated.

The Raven had its head turned away from him like it wasn't impressed but throughout Henry's attempts, it never flew away. Even though the 'aura' of the Taming skill kept impacting it where it was perched on a tree branch, it never seemed too disturbed. Just disappointed. A strange expression for a bird to have.

And then, after ten tries quickly after one another and when the shield was in its last seconds of Activation, something clicked.

Henry felt as the formless energy and aura forged a connection between himself and the bird. It turned its head in his direction and stared into his eyes with its smoky beady ones.

"Finally," it said.

Henry blinked. The voice wasn't in his head like it was with Nyx. The voice was out loud and he knew others would be able to hear it.

"Finally?" Henry could not help but ask.

"Of course," the bird said easily,

"When I saw you up in that tree, I felt you had it in you. I was so curious, that I couldn't help but follow you as you and your group meandered all over. It was pathetic. But even more pathetic is the fact that I stayed."

Henry's eyes went wide.

The voice sounded female and spoke very well and very fluently but with a regal accent that made every word sound purposeful with a thick and distinct pronunciation of her vowels. It sounded Russian compared to Nyx's more Western tone.

And then the shield shattered and Henry remembered he was in a situation.

"Get me out of here," he almost yelled as another attack was incoming.

He felt it then; That compulsion from his words that made the tamed creature inclined to obey.

"Don't order me around!" The Raven said sharply and Henry felt it resist his compulsion to make her obey as she leaped off the tree branch, dipped low, and clutched the back of his vest with her metal-like talons.

With ease, she pulled Henry off the ground and into the air just in time to avoid the next attack from the Orc Priest which destroyed the tree he had been leaning against.