Solomon's Crucible 100. The Shot (Patreon)

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Solomon knew he wasn't supposed to pull the trigger while a friend was downrange. Hell, he'd had it beaten in to him that he shouldn't even have his finger near the trigger if the gun was pointed in the general direction of another person. Unfortunately, the system had pushed Solomon to take on a whole gamut of new and dangerous experiences. This was one more to add to the list.

With the powder coursing through his veins, his aim was steady, his breathing even. The target wasn't more than twenty paces away, which was basically point blank for a rifle shot. All he had to do was wait until Kanmi was a few feet clear and pull the trigger. When a window of opportunity opened up he took the shot without conscious thought.

The roar of the shot still managed to take Solomon by surprise. He knew his aim was dead on. Unfortunately, the enemy's reaction speed was superb. He had his hand held up, armored palm towards Solomon. Another magical shield had appeared, and again all that his bullet could do was cause ripples in its surface.

Solomon spat out a curse in frustration as he worked the bolt, loading the next cartridge in line. At least the distraction had done something. Kanmi's next attack clipped the armored figure in the hip, sending him staggering off balance. Kanmi was doing a phenomenal job keeping his improvised weapon whirling around, threatening to attack from any direction at any time.

Solomon took aim but paused before he put his finger on the trigger. He didn't think he was going to have any luck trying to batter this shield down. Maybe it was one of those spells that looked tough right up until the moment it shattered, but to his eye the armored man didn't seem particularly concerned about running out of juice. If he also had some kind of danger sense that prompted him to put up the shield whenever Solomon took a shot then he was going to have a hell of a time putting a hole in that armor, no matter how close the range.

Solomon had one more trick he could try before he gave up on the rifle and tried a desperate attack using his hatchet. He focused on his Powder Adept ability and changed his aim point. Instead of pointing his rifle straight at the enemy's chest, he aimed a good ten feet over his head. He marked a deflection point about twenty feet past the target that would reflect the bullet down towards the ground, then another deflection point beneath it to send the bullet back towards the target.

He felt the immediate twinge of a headache as he put the second deflection point in place, but Solomon grit his teeth and kept his focus on his objective. After a moment, the two deflection points settled in place. The system was kind enough to make sure that they adjusted as he changed his aim. Solomon tracked his target with his rifle once more, now aiming over his head. Once more, he pulled the trigger.

Once more, the armored figure held up a hand towards Solomon. A split second later his forehead erupted in a shower of blood as the bullet hit him from behind. Solomon was shocked for a moment at his own success, then scrambled to his feet with a triumphant yell.

Kanmi let his flail drop to the ground as he stared at the dead figure, shocked. He barely reacted even as Solomon ran up to him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"We did it!" Solomon said. "That was one tough son of a bitch."

"I can't believe it," Kanmi said. "You actually killed him."

"We," Solomon said. "We killed him."

Much as Solomon would like to take the credit, he knew that he would have been pounded into paste long before he figured out the flaw in the enemy's armor if Kanmi hadn't stepped up. He also knew that they didn't have time to bask in their victory.

"Come on," he said, "we have to go."

Kanmi perked up as he tugged him along, and soon matched Solomon's steady jog. The fighting hadn't actually taken that long, even if it had felt like an eternity in the heat of the moment. All of the guards back at the prison building were no doubt heading their way, but none had arrived yet. The two of them made it up and across the main road without encountering any further resistance.

Solomon followed the X of his father's location on his minimap as a navigational aid as they cut across campus, shunning the paved walkways just as he had on his way in. He felt a pang of regret at being unable to loot the corpse of what was obviously an elite enemy soldier, but at least there was a chance that the guards chasing them had been given pause when they'd seen the dead body lying in the mud.

They reached the wall surrounding the campus and paused for a moment as Solomon prompted Kanmi to pull the alligator leather out of his inventory. As he handed it over, he shook his head.

"I can't believe we killed Botrys," he said.

"Friend of yours?" Solomon asked, a little surprised that Kanmi had known their attacker by name.

"No," Kanmi said, shaking his head. "Hell no. I'm glad he's dead."

Solomon tossed the alligator leather over the wall. He knelt down, offering his hand and hook as a support for Kanmi to boost off of to go over the wall. Kanmi paused for a moment, fixing Solomon with a serious look.

"They're not going to let this go," Kanmi said.

"We were never going to be friends," Solomon said. The way he saw it, there was no point trying to make nice with an invading army.

"Yeah, but," Kanmi said, before shaking his head. "I guess we'll see."

With that he stepped on Solomon's proffered hand and pushed himself up high enough to grab the top of the wall. There was a grunt and a thud more or less simultaneously as he fell off the slick leather to the ground on the other side.

Solomon, meanwhile, knelt down and prepared to go out the same way that he came in.

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