Every time ammunition is loaded, it counts as a spell being cast, which is why it directly increased proficiency.
If that's the case, each automatic bullet reload is essentially a magic practice session. Although it seems to consume less mental energy than practicing alone, it still requires some restraint. Sean didn't want to collapse from mental exhaustion mid-fight.
Under the pressure of his attacks, the opponent's [Loading Ammo~] speed had nearly ground to a halt. For a seasoned fighter, reloading only takes two or three seconds, but the other party's progress bar had stalled just as it was about to start.
As Sean approached, he heard the clatter of metal hitting the ground.
*Bang~*
Another shot.
[Magic Proficiency: 98]
"Don't... don't kill me." The man clutched his injured thigh, scrambling backward, his gun tossed aside.
Sean watched the opponent's health drop to [1600/1900]. That shot to the thigh had cost him 300 health points—not a fatal wound, leaving room for a counterattack if he wanted. But the [Fear!] and [Panic!] he displayed made that chance slim.
"Who are you? Why attack Cogar City?" Sean demanded.
With [1900] health, he wasn't even at the Order 2 level yet.
Judging by the man's dark, muscular build, he was at most a well-trained individual, physically close to Danti but still a hair short of reaching Order 2.
"Let me go, and I'll tell you."
Maybe he spotted Ignia approaching...
Her beautiful face seemed to ease his tension slightly. He no longer looked so [Panicked!], instead shifting into a state of [Planning a Strategy!].
*Bang~*
[Magic Proficiency: 99]
"Ah!!"
Another shot fired. This time, Sean had aimed for the man's hand but missed, hitting his arm instead...
"Don't try any tricks. Spill it now, or you'll suffer more."
The man clutched his arm, rolling half a turn on the ground, still howling.
[1450/1900]
He'd lost 150 health points. What was there to howl about?!
"Talk, or the next shot goes through your head." Sean snarled at the writhing man on the ground.
Even Ignia beside him was startled. She'd never seen Sean make such an expression. She noticed the shape of the bullets he'd fired—they weren't ordinary gunpowder rounds.
Though she was a wizard, she'd seen firearms before. They were always a toy of the upper class, and she'd encountered them at various events, even using them a few times. Gunpowder bullets left a strong, pungent smell.
But standing right next to Sean, Ignia caught no odor at all. Even the bullet he'd just fired seemed to carry a faint spark as it struck the man's arm.
In that instant, Ignia felt in her gut that it must be magic...
She even recalled how he'd tested his abilities with her magical artifact earlier!
"What, need more time to think?" Sean noticed the [Planning a Strategy!] status hadn't changed. That meant the pain wasn't as severe as the man was letting on—he was just putting on an act.
As expected of someone nearing Order 2, his physical and mental resilience were a cut above an ordinary person's.
"I'll talk... I'll talk... but you have to promise not to kill me." The man turned over, still lying on the ground, bargaining for a sliver of a chance to live.
"That depends on whether what you say is true."
Ignia chimed in from the side.
"Fine! I promise you." Sean answered firmly instead.
The man glanced at him, then his eyes flicked to Ignia.
Promises were just words—anyone could say them. At a time like this, Sean didn't need to put noble honor first. As long as the man told the truth, that was enough.
Besides, he could see the changes in the man's status...
He was already bleeding, with [Pain!] constantly hanging over his head, yet [Planning a Strategy!] remained unchanged. Even in this situation, he was still scheming to escape.
Sean watched as the man slowly crawled into a sitting position before finally speaking.
"We're actually... actually..."
His eyes darted around, and in that moment, the status above his head shifted.
*Bang~*
This time, it was the head!
[Magic Proficiency: 100]
The gunshot rang out at close range, and a spark tore a hole straight through the man's forehead.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief!
The hand behind his back hadn't even moved before he was shot in the head.
The single blow dropped his health to [250/1900]. Though over two hundred points remained, a cascade of status effects like [Convulsing!] and [Stiffening!] set in, draining his health by thirty or forty per second. Within moments, it hit zero.
"Sean! Why didn't you let him finish?" Ignia had no combat experience, but as a wizard, she wasn't a stranger to killing. More than the physical discomfort, she couldn't understand why he'd shoot just when the man was about to talk.
"Are you sure he was going to?"
Sean flipped the body over, revealing a small, ball-sized object clutched in the man's back hand.
"That's a bomb!" Ignia named it.
Sean had seen bombs before from the demolition expert on his archaeological team—various types, and this was likely one of them...
"He never intended to talk. I gave him time, and he was planning to take us down with him." Sean explained.
He'd fired the moment he saw the [Desperate Struggle!] status appear on the man.
"How do you know all this?" Ignia was back to her most puzzled question.
The man standing before her was usually quiet, but he always seemed to pinpoint the critical moment—starting from the orchard incident... no, even back to the sewer rats.
"Sean, do you know magic?" She looked at him seriously.
"Yes."
He didn't hide it this time. If he'd worried before about her spreading it, after all this time together, they'd come to understand each other. Especially when Ignia had told him to hide while she stood up to fight—that alone made her trustworthy.
"I knew it..."
"I'll explain later. Right now, the priority is getting back to the Count's estate. An organization that can recruit suicide soldiers isn't just planning a riot." Sean glanced at the body on the ground, already cold.
If someone would rather die than reveal their goal, it wasn't without strong conviction.
"Mm." Ignia nodded in agreement.
Speaking of magic, just now when Sean fired the last shot and reloaded, his body suddenly felt a surge of recovery. He'd used up some mental energy from several spells, but that discomfort had vanished in an instant.
Was this an upgrade?
No time to check now. They kept running toward the Count's estate.
They were close...
As they approached, they could already see bodies scattered around.
Among them were masked thugs, along with the Count's servants and guards—from the courtyard gate all the way to the house.
Sean scanned for anyone still alive.
"Hang in there! What happened here? Where's the Count!"
The guard slowly opened his eyes.
"Save me." His first words were a plea for survival, then he weakly pointed toward the house.