Chapter 11 – Gun vs Sword

The opponent’s swordsmanship was at the master realm, a whopping two ranks higher than Rashid’s swordsmanship.

Therefore, Rashid discarded any thoughts of confronting him with swordsmanship from the start.

Instead, what Rashid chose was not a sword, but two firearms.

Two pistols with twelve silver bullets combined in magazines.

‘Choosing firearms was due to my Speed Demon trait.’

Movement speed, attack speed, and even magic casting speed.

Although the power decreased by as much as the overall speed increased,

due to that increased speed, he could fill the gap of a two-rank difference in technique to some extent, and he could also ignore the penalty of decreased power thanks to the advantages of firearms.

‘As long as they aren’t magic bullets, the power of ordinary bullets is fixed. Therefore, gunplay is a technique optimized for Speed Demons.’

The distance between them rapidly narrowed due to the running Rashid, and Heimdall, who kept maintaining his quick-draw stance, smirked upon seeing the two pistols he held.

‘He won’t even be able to hit me unless he shoots from up close.’

Because I’ll either evade it,

or deflect it just like that.

Heimdall waited quietly until he got close enough.

Then, when the distance between them became close enough,

fire spewed from Rashid’s two gun barrels.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The fired bullets targeted Heimdall.

The trajectories of the bullets were clearly caught.

Heimdall drew his longsword with a grand motion and deflected the incoming silver bullets just like that.

As if not yielding to this,

bullets were continuously fired from Rashid’s gun barrels.

It was a fairly rapid barrage.

Although Heimdall was busy dodging or deflecting them, he had an inexplicable composure.

‘As expected of a cleric carrying a seal. To think it’s not even magic bullets, but just ordinary bullets.’

Bullets coated with mana were more powerful and fierce than shots fired by simple firepower.

However, Rashid’s bullets had nothing of the sort at all.

Because of the Holy Order’s seal that prohibited the use of mana.

Thus, right after Heimdall, who was almost yawning, lightly deflected his last bullet, he ran toward him and swung his longsword with a grand motion.

It was a simple slash coated with Sword Qi rather than Sword Force, but its power was enough to make the surrounding atmosphere fluctuate.

Heimdall’s voice reached Rashid, who stood after immediately widening the distance.

“The courage to come all the way here is truly commendable. However, shouldn’t you know who your opponent is first before the duel?”

Rashid discarded the empty magazine and loaded a new magazine using the mechanical device attached to his combat suit.

‘Indeed, it’s not easy since they are ordinary bullets.’

“Heimdall. Sword Champion.”

To think he recognized him immediately.

Heimdall was dumbfounded.

“You already knew? Yet you came to the dueling ground?”

“Just because the proxy duelist is you, is that a reason not to appear here?”

“You must be speaking while knowing that I am at the master realm, right?”

“Of course. I know.”

“Hmph, are all the Holy Order fellows reckless like you? To the point of throwing away their own lives.”

Toward Rashid, who did not answer,

Heimdall showed his confidence as expected.

“Honestly, I could finish off someone like you in an instant. Because I can overwhelm you with Sword Force right now. That is how absurd the difference in capability is, and you even have a seal.”

If so, there would be no fun, nor any inspiration.

The duel would end trivially, and there was not much for Heimdall to gain from a stage of this level.

“I cannot lose face by going all out against a cleric who even carries a seal. My pride wouldn’t permit that.”

There were genuinely many onlookers.

Heimdall, who enjoyed this situation, wanted to make his strength known to the whole world.

“I declare in the name of Heimdall.”

At that single word, everyone’s attention was focused.

“I will also use only the minimum amount of mana in this duel. Furthermore, I will not use Sword Force either. I will use simple Sword Qi. It means I will match my capability to you as much as possible, Cleric.”

To prove this,

Heimdall pulled out the pouch containing bloodstones from his chest.

“This is bloodstone. It is a useful ingredient I use when manifesting Sword Force.”

Heimdall even took out the bloodstone embedded in his sword, put it in the pouch, and threw it onto the nearby ground.

“I would rather die than break my word. I will surely keep the words I spoke in this place. Cleric, do you still doubt what I said?”

It was immense confidence and pride, and also a powerful provocation.

“What is the reason for going that far? You said it was a proxy duel. Isn’t winning here your goal?”

Heimdall recalled his agile movements that he had targeted at the Red Cocktail.

‘This guy is a sufficiently worthy prey. A delicious fellow.’

“Because the difference in capability is too wide. I gave myself a handicap because it would be too boring otherwise. I will prove in this place that I can crush you with simple technique alone, without relying on things like raw capability.”

Although he couldn’t use mana, it was covered to some extent with the help of stats and traits, so if looking at technique alone, he wouldn’t be pushed back by him at all.

Yet he babbled so arrogantly.

Rashid hid his unpleasant feelings and burned with fighting spirit.

‘Those words. You will soon regret them.’

As Rashid firmly gripped the two pistols, Heimdall also readjusted his stance with his sword.

“Grin all you want, Cleric. It’s not like you have a chance of winning just because of that.”

The surroundings were stirring greatly.

Everyone was in an uproar, saying Heimdall displayed the composure of a powerhouse.

At the same time, they also doubted.

Whether he could truly win even if he lowered his capability.

However, one thing was clear.

If Heimdall won here, the fact was that his reputation would continue for quite a long time.

Silence.

A brief silence flowed, and finally, the time came.

The first of the two to move was Heimdall.

He ran, targeting Rashid with the same movement as at first.

Rashid also did not yield and pulled the trigger on him.

A barrage of bullets blocked Heimdall’s advance.

Heimdall dodged or deflected all the bullets fired by Rashid at the shortest distance he could manage.

It was a monster-like appearance, and everyone watching was in admiration.

‘Certainly.’

Rashid, who did not permit Heimdall’s approach through check-plays like rapid firing, thought.

‘It is not groundless confidence.’

Heimdall was proving this himself.

Since it was a situation where not only did he hold out while deflecting bullets, but he was also rushing to devour him instead.

‘However, you chose the wrong opponent.’

Rashid, who poured out even the last bullet, hurriedly backed away to reload.

As if not wanting to miss this,

Heimdall rushed in with a terrifying momentum.

His rapidly accelerating body shot like a bullet, targeting Rashid’s heart with the tip of his blade.

It was a fierce game-winning move that dug into a split-second gap.

‘It’s over!’

Just when Heimdall’s blade tip was about to dig into Rashid’s heart,

Rashid’s time began to lengthen.

The activation of the trait, ‘Double-Edged Time’!

The lengthening time slot caught Heimdall’s blade tip, and Rashid, recognizing this, barely dodged with a near-acrobatic movement.

On top of that, he finished reloading and immediately launched a counterattack.

All of this happened in just a few seconds.

Ugh!

Heimdall, who failed to finish off Rashid by a hair’s breadth, hurriedly widened the distance due to the bullets digging in more sharply than before, and Rashid also quickly widened his distance from him to secure a safe zone.

‘It was quite close.’

Double-Edged Time,

although it could stretch time up to a maximum of three seconds,

was a trait that required paying a price for that exact amount of time afterward.

That is, while time slowed down for three seconds and cognitive ability greatly improved,

afterward, time flowed quickly for that exact duration and cognitive ability greatly deteriorated.

It was, literally, a double-edged trait.

During the three seconds that passed in an instant,

Rashid, who fired bullets like a rapid spray, finished reloading again.

Heimdall was far away, looking quite flustered by the offensive just now.

‘Bullets are not infinite. I will end you before then.’

On the other hand,

Heimdall, feeling a hot touch on his cheek, recalled the confrontation from just now.

‘Something was different. If I had slipped up, I would have been the one done in.’

There was a master realm in gunplay as well.

Rashid’s counterattack just now had a blade-like sharpness that only those who had reached that realm could display.

‘Was it just a coincidence? That guy is definitely not at the master level.’

At the same time, the trembling of his heart was felt.

It was a thrill felt after a long time.

‘This feeling is also really long-awaited.’

Then, the words he had rashly declared earlier came to mind.

The words about matching capability.

The budding emotion of regret was brief.

‘Hmph, even so, I won’t take back the words I said earlier. I also have my pride.’

This time, Rashid came forward.

Since the match wouldn’t end if they widened the distance too much,

Rashid also preferred close combat and drew as close as possible for the offensive.

‘Insolent bastard!’

Although Rashid acting like that was offensive, Heimdall was not one to leave a running opponent alone,

so he also quickly responded.

The two once again exchanged bullets and sword strikes wrapped in Sword Qi at the appropriate distance.

Due to the fierce battle of the two, the surroundings became a shambles with nothing intact, and the flagstones on the ground were all broken or shattered by the raining bullets and sword strikes.

“Isn’t Heimdall holding back too much? The duel that should have ended long ago is lasting quite a while.”

“He said earlier that he would match his capability. If it wasn’t for that, it would have ended long ago.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Or maybe that cleric is doing better than expected. Honestly, while capability is Heimdall’s advantage, technique might be that cleric’s advantage.”

“Come on, he is still a master. Technique must be Heimdall’s advantage too.”

“Then it would have ended long ago.”

“Ah, that’s also true.”

“That is at least equal, or Heimdall is below. Because any lacking technique can be filled with raw capability without us knowing.”

“In any case, Heimdall is also amazing. He deflected all of those many bullets.”

“He is a monster. That’s why he is called the Sword Champion.”

Although the chatter of the onlookers flowed here and there, regrettably, their stories were not heard at all by the two participating in the duel.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Rashid, checking Heimdall who was trying to approach, thought about the remaining magazines.

‘There aren’t many left. Soon.’

Normally he should conserve, but he had no such leisure.

If he gave even a single moment’s gap, that monster would dig in in an instant and target his heart.

‘I must narrow the distance more from here to win the match.’

Narrowing the distance was a double-edged choice.

The unpredictable trajectory of the bullets and their speed would become powerful, but conversely, defense would become that much harder.

Since the opponent was also using a melee weapon, attacking would become easier.

Whether to narrow the distance or widen it and hold out.

The time of decision arrived, and the eyes of Rashid, who had his decision, turned like a beast’s.

‘The only thing I can trust is the Speed Demon trait. I will drive you harder and faster.’

Rashid, narrowing the distance in tandem with the two automatically reloading pistols, began to concentrate more on the offensive.

A single bullet that wasn’t deflected bounced off Heimdall’s thigh.

It was the effect of the mana shield.

As the number of bullets he couldn’t deflect grew one by one, embarrassment shrouded Heimdall’s complexion.

‘He’s actually digging in?’

The one who should be digging in was precisely himself.

It was mind-boggling that the opponent dug in more.

Although he could just accept it with a “Very well,”

the opponent’s offensive was far too fierce for that.

Since it felt almost like a do-or-die situation.

In rational judgment, there was a strategy to temporarily widen the distance and hold out.

The number of bullets was not infinite, and if those bullets ran out, an opportunity would surely come to him.

No, maybe it would be the end of the duel.

Since a marksman without bullets was just easy meat for him.

However, his pride did not permit this.

‘How dare someone like you!’

Heimdall also took a step forward and began to focus on the offensive.

So the two who were approaching each other like that, soon began to exchange bullets and sword strikes at the shortest distance.

That appearance was like…

not a fight between a swordsman and a marksman, but a shape where two swordsmen clashed at the shortest distance.

“This is amazing! Is a marksman allowed to fight like that? Normally, it’s right to fight from a distance, isn’t it?”

“The opponent is Heimdall. Yet he actually closed in. That cleric’s gunplay is also out of the ordinary.”

Admiration poured out from here and there, and around that time, Rashid’s bullets also ran out in an instant.

And Heimdall

did not miss that opportunity.

‘Is it my time now!’

A marksman with an empty magazine was indeed the easiest prey in this world.

Heimdall’s sword strike was brought down quite honestly.

Considering his realm, more irregular and unpredictable aims were possible, but since the opponent was already defenseless, he thought too complacently.

‘Disappear, brat!’

He thought it would end like that.

But.

all of it was Rashid’s aim.

Closing in on him,

and spending all the bullets.

It was all intended.

Why?

‘Because in a match decided in a split second, there is no bait as good as complacency.’

‘He must have thought it was over since I have no means to counterattack.’

‘He must have judged there was no other way since I only fired bullets until now.’

‘But it is all a misjudgment, and your defeat.’

Trait, Double-Edged Time.

Heimdall’s sword strike brought down honestly was caught within the lengthening time.

Rashid, dodging that sword strike by a hair’s breadth, discarded his guns and drew a shortsword.

Trait, Critical Hunter.

The tip of the blade pointed toward the opponent’s vital point rushed straight at Heimdall.

But.

the split-second aim did not pierce Heimdall’s heart.

To be precise, Heimdall broke his own declaration.

A rapidly deployed mana shield blocked Rashid’s aim.

‘Shoot.’

Right, this guy was a villain, wasn’t he?

Rashid, concerned about the aftermath that would return, hurriedly stood after widening the distance.

At this time, Heimdall

stood in place without chasing the fleeing Rashid, perhaps due to the shock from just now.

‘I almost… died.’

Because it happened so quickly, the surroundings were only buzzing,

unable to grasp the situation accurately.

However, the two parties involved knew.

What had happened just now.

‘That he had really almost died.’

There was no pride in front of death.

Heimdall, who had no doubt that he would have surely died if it weren’t for the mana shield he quickly deployed after releasing the mana restriction, changed his mind.

‘That guy. I must not let my guard down. He isn’t someone to face while holding back. If I slip up, I will be the one done in.’

As if he had never done so,

Heimdall, who had thrown off the mana restriction, readjusted his grip on his sword.

‘Since I threw away the bloodstones earlier, Sword Force will be impossible, but… I must end this as quickly as possible.’

Declaration or not, losing here was more of a disgrace.

Thus, as Heimdall, who changed his mind, burned with fighting spirit again,

Rashid smiled bitterly in his mind.

‘I knew it. Right, there is nothing in front of death.’

If it came to this, only he would be at a loss.

Since the guy broke his declaration and drew out his capability, it would be an disadvantageous fight now.

‘No. As long as there are no eyes, I can also draw out my capability.’

It was not only Heimdall who hid his capability.

‘I am a player.’

Rashid intentionally slipped into a nearby building.

Seeing this, Heimdall harbored doubt.

‘What is it?’

Why did he slip into a building in the middle of a duel?

Because the onlookers were burdensome?

Or was he fleeing because Heimdall was burdensome?

Whatever it was,

Heimdall, thinking it was rather a good thing, chased him and entered the building.

Inside the building that was empty due to the previous murder case and the announced duel,

Heimdall was able to face Rashid again, who was buried in the darkness.

“Where are you running?”

“Running? Have you never heard the words, strategic retreat?”

“Strategic retreat? You talk bullshit so smoothly.”

“More importantly, why did you break your declaration? Didn’t you say yourself that you would refrain from using mana?”

Heimdall didn’t even think of making a lame excuse.

“Hmph, think what you want. At least I won’t use Sword Force.”

More like you can’t use it.

Rashid spoke to him, announcing the end.

“Hey, do you think you’re the only one who hid your capability?”

What was he trying to say?

The moment Heimdall harbored doubt,

Rashid’s appearance changed in an instant.

A magic armor containing pitch-black light.

It was something Heimdall had also seen for the first time in his life.

“Wh-what is this! Did you perform some kind of magic? Why suddenly magic armor…”

Perhaps he wouldn’t know.

That for a player, equipping magic armor

ends with a single button click in the inventory.