Thirty-Seven

"Think it'll blow up?" Kon asked as he settled himself down against the hard packed earth. Diur hummed in debate with herself for a second before not responding. Kon suppressed a sigh as he couldn't get her to bet against him. The cool stock of the rifle pressed against his cheek as he sighted down the scope. Two kilometers down range, a bag of flesh and gas floated against the air.

"If you miss, you have to do extra laps," Benny said from behind them. The old man had found a foldable chair and was sitting in it as he flipped through a book with a faded cover, hardly looking up. Kon licked his lips as he steadied his breathing, willing his heart to slow as he used the manual sights to properly aim at the monster.

When Benny had pulled the old ballistic rifle from, Kon didn't know. That it didn't have an automatic tracking scope had been his first indication that it wasn't going to be an easy day. They had trekked out here, a nearly ten kilometer run, before setting up on the ridge to shoot the floating monsters. Everytime they missed, Benny made them run laps around the hill and timed them, forcing them to move faster and faster before taking their next shot.

Sweat poured down Kon's face and chest, his dusty clothes turning to a slick mud as the perspiration worked its way through cloth. Diur was in only slightly better state, her hair plastered to her face as she tried to control her breathing as Kon steadied his hands and took aim.

With a great boom the rifle fired, dust flying up around them as the bullet fired, crossing the distance over a long two seconds. Kon waited, holding his breath as he simply sharpened his eyesight to see the floating bag of gas disappear in a flash of light. A low rumble rolled across the ground as the explosion reached them a moment later.

"Told you those incendiary rounds would make 'em blow," Kon said with a wide grin as he got to his feet. Diur didn't bother with responding, simply grabbing her own three inch bullet from the box next to Benny and settling down to fire the heavy rifle.

"Take a lap," Benny said without looking up from his book. Kon bit back his frustrated rebuttal, knowing it was futile, and took off. Benny had told them that learning fine body control even when stressed was a skill that had to be practiced. No matter what happened, he was going to be running around the hill as fast as he could to keep his heart rate up.

The trip didn't take long, Benny only allowed them forty-five seconds to complete the kilometer long run around the hilltop. In the time he was running he heard the rifle boom again; followed by a long, loud, stream of foul language.

"She's really struggling with that rifle." Diur came past him in a blur of movement as he started to climb back up the hill, quads straining as he reached the top of the hill. Benny handed him a fresh bullet as he passed by him and Kon dropped to the ground and reloaded the rifle, breech loading in a smooth motion.

"When I realized I was going to live longer, the runes helping offset the damage the mage work had done to me, I changed how I fought. Being careful and planning out how and when to engage a force. I've made more money using that rifle than most Knights will ever earn punching things. It takes time, practice, and forethought to use. Just like a mage's formula does. When your body is stressed, your mind tired, sweat and pain and blood mixing together, you must know how to act. To surpass the limitations you place on yourself," Benny said as Kon lifted the rifle and found another of the floating monsters.

"Now, you have a problem. You were in such a hurry you didn't bother to look around before you targeted the next monster," Benny continued as Kon took a deep breath and slowly let it out, finger touching the trigger and beginning to squeeze.

"Wait? What?" Benny's last few words registered and he jerked his head away from the scope and looked around himself.

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"Holyyyy!" Kon yelled as he bolted upright, lifting the heavy rifle with him as a massive form came barreling over the top of the hill. It was a flash of scales, teeth, and spines as Kon fired at point blank range. The rifle ripped itself out of his hands, one of his fingers bending and snapping under the force as it got twisted in the trigger guard.

Blood sprayed across him as the beast roared, a huge furrow running across its shoulder as it reared up and above him, flailing with four inch long bird-like talons. Kon threw himself to the side, rolling on a shoulder as a huge paw slammed into the ground, the entire hill shaking as Kon came to his feet.

His sidearm was in his hand, the hum of the magnets loud as he fired over and over again at point blank range. Flesh ruptured, but the wounds were slight, hardly telling on the beast as it turned to look at him with eight crimson eyes that lined its long snout. Kon dropped the empty pistol and threw himself backward as the monster swiped at him, claws slicing apart the air where he'd been.

"Little help?!" Kon yelled at Benny who hadn't looked up from his book.

"It's in your range. I told you, I'll deal with the big things but if you can't handle your own weight class, you're on your own," Benny said as he turned the page, licking his fingers as he carefully handled the delicate paper. The beast spun to look at Benny, as if seeing him for the first time.

"You do not perceive me," Benny said. The beast huffed and stomped its dinner plate sized feet before turning to look back at Kon. Now that the beast's momentum had faded, he had a moment to look it over.

It was a quadruped, covered in dusty brown scales with a long, crocodilian snout covered in angry red eyes. Each of its four legs ended with six long talons that scythed through the dirt as it moved. It was easily three meters long, with thick bunched up muscular legs that let it move explosively. Along its spine was a row of thin needle quills that rattled as it moved.

"Benny, I don't have a weapon to kill it!" Kon yelled back at him as he backpedaled. He'd only come here with the rifle and one magazine for his sidearm, thinking that this would be at best a training exercise for long distance shooting.

"Who's fault is that? Ship isn't that far if you're fast enough," Benny said, nodding his head in the direction of the ship. Kon snarled and charged the beast as it was still looking confusedly around it, not understanding how Benny had just disappeared.

The monster reared back, surprise slowing it down as Kon shot past it, burning through his energy reserves, muscles pulsing as he fell into a slide to snatch up the heavy rifle as claws sliced apart the air above him. Kon popped to his feet, the world sharpening as his runes began to drink heavily from the released energy in his body.

Time slowed, moments stretched into seconds as Kon ejected the spent shell as he turned to jump away from another attack. He ran around the side of the beast, heading back to Benny and the box of overlarge bullets sitting there on the man's knee. Kon balanced the large rifle in one hand while snagging a fresh bullet to slide in.

The monster swiped at him and Benny bit back a curse as he threw himself backward as the beast nearly accidentally struck him. Kon groaned as he tried to reload the rifle as his broken finger screamed in agony. With a loud click he slid the bolt home as the massive beasts bore down on him, filling his vision as its snout opened wider and wider, the black maw filling his vision as the rifle came to his shoulder.

Fire leapt from the barrel and hot blood splashed across his face as the monster's head disintegrated in an explosion of bone and gore. It fell to the ground, shaking the earth in its landing, sliding to stop at Kon's feet.

"Damnit, boyo," Benny spat and Kon turned to look at the old man, covered in blood and bone, the backblast of the rifle shot had liberally painted the man. Benny waved a hand and the gore slicked away, balling up in his hand to splash on the ground with a faint splat.

"Where did that come from," Diur said as she reached the top of the hill, breathing hard as she walked toward them, sword drawn.

"You think you can just shoot off loud guns and things wouldn't come to investigate? Highly territorial and aggressive rift beasts?" Benny said as he grabbed his book off the ground, frowning at them.

"The real question is, how did you two not notice an E-Grade monster like that running at us?" Benny said.

"Diur, check the hillside," Kon said as he rapidly ejected the spent casing and ran over to the spilled rounds, fallen when Benny had leapt back.

"Four more approaching!" Diur reported a second later. Kon felt the pull of rift energy as she began to draw upon her cultivation, aura appearing in a thick wave around as she lifted her blade.

"Finish these off and you should have enough cores for your last rune," Benny said as he grabbed his chair and tipped it upright, sitting back in it with a sigh.

"Now, where was I ?" Benny muttered, thumbing through the pages. Kon glared at him as he scooped up the rest of the fallen rounds, trying to awkwardly hold the long bullets while balancing the rifle while he ran over to Diur.

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