Fight in the Bounty Hunter's Guild!

Marika moved towards the main door of the Bounty Hunter’s branch and, in order to be more dramatic, she pushed the door harder than necessary… but it didn’t budge. She tried again when she found her forceful attempt at a menacing entrance, and used the weight of her body to get it, but the door didn’t move.

“God dammit!” he screaming, taking a step back and then throwing her body at the door, “Warren! They knew we were coming!”

Warren sighs and approaches the door. He is taller, maybe he can force it with his weight! But he just takes the handle and pulls the door open towards them.

“You should pay more attention, Miss Marika!” Lucy said behind her.

“Hah!” Marika scoffed, blushing out of the sheer embarrassment she was feeling. “I was just making sure you had wits! We don’t know what they will be up to!” And she quickly goes inside the Guild, avoiding looking either of them in the eyes.

Warren grunted, and Lucy chuckled. Both went behind her and made their way in.

“Y-yeah, the camp outside the town seems to be owned by a military branch” the receptionist was talking through the communications function of the System, and then he noticed the group approaching, “I will talk with you later, I have to get back to work… W-welcome to the Guild, I’m sorry about the door” said the receptionist, the same one that was moments before when they came for the bounties.

“Stop it with the door!” Marika yelled, still with her face burning red.

She pulls her gun and immediately points it directly at the receptionist’s face over the desk, just a small squeeze to shoot him in the face. “Okay, if you make any sudden move or mention of the door I will figure out how much XP you are worth!”

“W-wha-?!” the receptionist stuttered and instantly raised his hands, “I mean… L-lady! This is t-the Bounty Hunter’s Guild! Y-you are going to g-get a bounty for your head for this!”

“How about I post one for a snitch that informs to the local gangs who is collecting which bounties, and happens to be a total bitch?!” she yelled, pressing the gun against him.

He whimpered when he felt the cold steel of Marika’s gun hitting his skin, and he was starting to shake. His eyes darted towards something under his desk, then back at the gun, and again.

“Don’t you dare move a muscle” Warned Warren “All she has to do is move her finger a little tiny bit and you get a bullet to the head” he pullet out tipped his hat while talking “so, you better start talking, I don’t know how much longer she will be able to hold herself.”

“P-plaese… I have a wife and family…” the receptionist answered, his voice was too shaky, and his hands were trembling.

“And two kids were kidnapped because you had to snitch on us!” Marika insisted, “You better tell us with whom you contacted!”

“Better do what she says, friend,” Warren smirked towards the receptionist.

“T-they are going to kill me if I…” his voice was barely managing to come out when something made him shut up, and his eyes went wide open.

“Alright, what is going on here?” a voice behind them, that sounded authoritative, made it’s presence clear for both. Somehow, they missed the door opening once more behind them.

They all went silent. Marika felt something press against the back of her head, and Warren saw a blade appear by his shoulder, the edge reaching for his neck. Neither of them moved any muscles except for the need to raise their hands.

Marika looked to the side without moving her face and, although she could not see him completely, she could notice the small grin on Warren’s face starting to draw itself, like something in the situation was thrilling for the gunslinger.

The receptionist, who seemed still scared, nodded to the people behind Marika and Warren, and immediately made a run towards the back of the Guild Hall. Dammit, he will inform them about this! Marika thought to herself, knowing this was going to bite her in the tail later, and she did not want to be there when it happened.

“Doesn’t this guy have the same description as the one that brought Dale’s bounty?” asked the one behind Marika, who could see his face better, “Yeah, black clothes, stupid looking hat.”

Warren’s smirk faltered when he heard him calling his hat stupid-looking. A nerve was touched there, and Marika was wondering if she should keep it in consideration to avoid it or exploit it in some way.

“Drop your weapons, please” Warren said, and Marika was expecting this from him already, “and surrender.”

Either he had a few screws loose of he had a plan to get out of this situation. If she was going to believe he was level 3, he was going to get both of them killed with a stun like that, so she prepared herself for whatever idea he had, hoping it would not be the death of either of them.

“You better do as my friend said,” Marika accompanied him, not turning around and avoiding any sudden movement. “Darel did listen to his warning.”

“Pffffft…” one of them snorted and started to laugh, “Haha! Do you two hear this asshole?”

There are three people, then Marika thought to herself while she waited for Warren. Shit! Maybe he will come up with something stupid again! She thought, first he claimed to be level 1 and managed to survive an attack that should have killed him, then he called Lucy, and she came out with robots. What now? A spaceship!

“[Accelerate!]” he yelled, and there was a flash of greenish light around both of them.

Marika felt everything slowdown at that moment, like she was thinking faster than normal and everything was slowing down. That was his move! A Buff skill! One that made her move and think faster to gain an advantage over their enemies. He probably used it during the combat against Darel. And as she was not sure how fast it was, she stopped thinking and threw herself into action.

Immediately, she moved her head to the side while throwing her arm backwards and turning herself, pushing the gun on her head with her elbow. CLICK! Went the trigger and hammer of the rifle that was pushed against her head, but she was out of the way when the bullet was shot. Combining [Accelerate] with her passive skill [Dodge Master], which was at level 2, meant she was almost impossible to hit by low levels.

Without stopping to think, she aimed with her gun towards the hand of his enemy, and she could see how slow he was moving for her while her movements were both precise and fast. She aimed and used her [Disarm] skill. And even the bullet was faster! The damage number appeared, but she was not looking for it. The man was forced to drop his rifle by the skill, and Marika grabbed it! Then she quickly turned it against its owner and aimed it at his face, not before pulling the lever to eject the empty casing.

The moment she pulled the trigger is when it registered for him, and she managed to see his face slowly contort into surprise and fear when he realized his gun was now being aimed at him.

BANG!

Marika pulled the trigger, and the hit registered as a CRIT + WEAK SPOT! Causing extra damage and leaving him unconscious, most likely on the brink of death with low HP. She had to check the stats on this rifle later!

Warren, on his side, while Marika was managing to pull her move, he threw his head back and managed to hit the nose of his enemy. His grunt came in slow motion, and the gunslinger immediately grabbed the wrist of the gang member to force the sword out of his neck.

Once his skin was safe, he pulled his gun, aiming directly towards the stomach of his attacker and placing the thumb of his left hand on the hammer. “[Full House!]” He yelled, and squeezed the trigger and moved his left hand so every finger pulled the hammer in sequence. The five shots hit the target on his stomach, and damage numbers between 200 and 300 appeared, killing him in the moment.

As his attacker was done for, it let go of the sword and Warren grabbed it in the air.

And the effect of [Accelerate] was over.

Both bodies dropped to the ground, one dead and the other on the brink, one more tap to push him over the edge. If it wasn’t for Warren, Marika would not have pulled that off, and she would be either dead or captured.

But then there was the third one, who was holding a sub-machine gun in his hand, whom Marika completely forgot about.

“Behind me!” Warren yelled.

Marika reacted immediately as the last gang member aimed the gun at her. She immediately made a precise move to crouch behind Warren. She hears the shots and how each bullet managed to hit right behind her on the desk and back wall, flying by in an aggressive flight.

When she was behind her, Warren used the sword he just picked up, “[Accelerate!]” he yelled, the greenish light engulfed him and he started to swing the sword in fast and precise motions, managing to block each bullet from the assailant’s gun. Each projectile made a Click! Noise when it collided with the metal of the blade, and none managed to pass by Warren.

Click! Click! Click!

Marika, once she heard those clicks, immediately moved out of cover, turning her body while still crouching to put herself by Warren’s side, pulled the lever on her new rifle, and aimed at the last gang member’s head. “[Stun Bullet!]” She yelled and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew directly to his head, showcasing 415 points of damage, STUN + WEAK SPOT! And her target fell unconscious as his legs lifted off the floor from the force of the impact.

Once they made sure they were safe, Marika pulled the lever to eject the bullet from the rifle and held it against her shoulder. “I was looking for an upgrade! Thank you so much!” she said, smiling like a cat.

“Happy for you,” Warren answered sarcastically while reloading his revolver.

“Shit! The receptionist!” She yelled, and then she remembered something, “And where is Lucy?!”

Lucy was nowhere to be seen, gone out of sight. She was with them moments before, and now she was nowhere. Marika was hoping she was not kidnapped or something similar! Warren’s eyes went wide as he started to look for her, actually concerned about her whereabouts.

That is when they heard a sound on the back of the Guild, and the door that led to the backroom flew towards the wall by an incredible force.

“You two! Come here!” they heard her voice coming from the room.

Holding the rifle tight and his revolver in hand, Marika and Warren move quickly towards the backroom only to find Lucy sitting on a miniature version of her big robot that she saw moments before while it was holding the receptionist by the collar, who was gritting his teeth.

“P-please! They forced me to it! I don’t want to die!” he yelled, scared.

“How in the hell?!” Marika asked, once again surprised by the actions and capacities of the little girl.

“Well, none of you two had the bright idea to check in case people were coming, you dummies!” she yelled, leaning forward on the shoulder of her robot. “Hmph! Do I have to think about everything here while you two brutes just aim your guns?!” she said, scoffing and crossing her arms.

Marika just chuckled at that point, It was incredible how things turned out.

“Did he manage to call someone?” Warren asked, placing his gun in its holster and getting close to the receptionist.

“Nope! The moment I saw him come in here was when I made Billy capture him!” she said, with a big smile on her face. Lucy seemed proud of herself. “You’re welcome!”

Maybe Marika made the right choice on recruiting Warren and Lucy for her cause… seems her hopes on them were well-founded, and she felt that they were going to save both children and steal the treasure at the same time.