Roland decided to use the Mossberg pump shotgun with the pistol grip and no stock. It lacked the tacti-cool goodness of the Kel-Tec, but it would do. The lower ammo cap (eight versus fifteen) might not matter if the Upgrade Tokens worked as Trixie had predicted.
Before upgrading it, he examined the mundane weapon:
Mossberg Maverick 88 Cruiser Shotgun (Mundane)
Damage: 7 (buckshot), 9 (slug)
Capacity: 7 + 1 (tubular magazine, pump action).
Range: 50 yards (buckshot), 100 yards (slug).
Effects: Both types of ammunition produce Bleeding Debuffs. Slugs reduce effective Physical Damage Resistance by one half.
Durability: 75/75
The scary thing was that someone could mag-dump all eight shots on Roland without killing him, although a couple of critical hits plus the bleeding effect might do the trick. If he equipped his new jacket, monk pants, and helmet, they might as well toss spitballs at him.
He was bulletproof. Well, bullet-resistant. He’d used Analyze on one of Bob’s AR-15s, and they reduced damage resistance by one half with solid rounds and by two-thirds with armor-piercing tips, so they might get through.
But that was for ordinary weapons. Since he had Uncommon, Rare, and Epic tokens, Roland planned on getting himself a Rare shotgun in three easy stages. Each token could raise an item by one tier. It sucked that starting with a mundane weapon meant he would lose a rank each time, but it was better than nothing.
He placed the shotgun in the circle, just in case it might help. He added an Uncommon Upgrade Token and activated it. The circle didn’t react at all as the gun underwent its transformation. Maybe the good stuff only happened for higher-tier stuff:
Enhanced Mossberg Maverick 88 Cruiser Shotgun (Common, F-Grade)
Damage: 10 (buckshot), 13 (slug)
Capacity: 7 + 1 (tubular magazine, pump action).
Range: 50 yards (buckshot), 100 yards (slug).
Durability: 100/100
Effects: Both types of ammunition produce Bleeding Debuffs. Slugs reduce effective Physical Damage Resistance by one half.
Significance: 0
Inherent Traits: None.
Not very impressive, Roland thought. The token had gotten him a small damage boost and eff-all else. Shaking his head, he placed the Rare token in the circle and activated it. This time, the circle glowed a little, but that was it. He figured the lack of Significance was the reason. Unsurprisingly, the results weren’t much to write home about.
Enchanted Mossberg Maverick 88 Cruiser Shotgun (Uncommon, F-Grade)
Damage: 12 (buckshot), 18 (slug)
Capacity: 7 + 1 (tubular magazine, pump action).
Range: 50 yards (buckshot), 100 yards (slug).
Durability: 200/200
Effects: Both types of ammunition produce Bleeding Debuffs. Slugs reduce effective Physical Damage Resistance by one half.
Significance: 0
Inherent Traits: Select one from the following list.
* Absorb Recoil: Enhancing the weapon with 3 Mana points will result in a 75% decrease in both recoil and muzzle climb. This allows for far greater control of the weapon. This Mana cannot be regenerated until the effect is canceled.
* Enhance Accuracy: You can infuse the shotgun with Mana, increasing its accuracy and critical hit chance by 5% per Mana point spent, with a maximum of 50% for 10 Mana. Once infused, the Mana cannot be regenerated until the effect is canceled.
* Mana-Enhanced Cartridge: You can infuse a cartridge loaded into the gun with Mana, increasing damage by 1 point per Mana point spent, to a maximum of 10. Once infused, the effect will remain until the cartridge is fired or otherwise removed from the shotgun; the Mana spent won’t be recovered until then.
* Mana-Imbued Cartridge: You can imbue a cartridge loaded into the gun with Mana attuned to one of your Affinities. In addition to Physical damage, the cartridge will inflict half of its base damage as Mana-based damage of the designated Affinity. Depending on the Affinity, additional effects may be added. Cost: 1 Mana point that cannot be regenerated until the cartridge has been fired or otherwise removed from the weapon.
The traits were decent, but Roland could only pick one, which made the weapon slightly better than the Common version. He went for Mana-Imbued Cartridge, which would let him overload the rounds with his Affinities. He could imagine what Death and Spirit rounds would do, but what about Speed?
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Maybe it had a slowing effect? He asked Raven.
They could change the speed of the target, or increase the velocity of the bullet, doing more damage, was the bird’s verdict.
Nice, thanks.
“Okay, last one,” he said, taking an Epic Upgrade token.
The waste was annoying, but it was better to have a Rare weapon now than get killed while waiting for the chance to get an Epic one later. He could always get more tokens, and an enchanted boom stick would help a lot.
Before he could place the token in the circle, Raven flapped his wings to get his attention.
Epic items – even Tokens – are more responsive to your will than Common or Rare ones. You might want to make a wish upon the circle, so to speak. Visualize what you want. Maybe throw in some Unbound Essence.
Normally, yes. For the common folk who are happy with whatever the System deigns to give them. Does Roland strike you as normal?
“Gonna take that as a compliment,” Roland muttered as he checked on his Essence reserves.
He had over two thousand Unbound Essence after paying for the ritual that got him his (hopefully) faithful bird companion. It was enough to push his Class to level nine with plenty left to spare. Of course, doing that would only make it harder to fix his Dantian, so for now it was burning a hole in his pocket.
“How much should I spend?”
Care to hazard a guess, Guide? Raven asked with an amused croak.
Trixie sniffed before speaking.
“Wait, can’t I just buy a token from the store now? You helped me buy those Skills.”
That was part of my plan, Tryxanna, Raven said. But only a part. Adding some Essence on top of the token price can make his wishes influence the final version of the weapon.
“Okay, sounds good. How much does an Epic token go for?”
“Damn, that’s steep. That’s like two levels for a regular Class.”
“Okay, I’m gonna drop three-fifty. Two fifty to get it to epic and a hundred to see if I get a great Epic that will fit my build and the way I do things.”
That’s good. Think hard about everything you want from a weapon. You won’t get everything, but the System respects ambition coupled with ability.
It’s a gamble. I believe you are fond of making them.
The Fae briefly looked scared and possibly guilty. Her size made it hard to tell but Roland’s eyesight was sharp enough to read her face even across the basement. She stared at Roland and the bird for a moment before flitting out of sight.
Looks like I made her mad.
“Mad! Mad!” Raven added out loud in his uncannily human-like voice.
“I hope bickering isn’t going to be a regular thing,” Roland said as he concentrated on the circle.
The Fae and my kind are both fond of playing dominance games. It’ll settle down soon enough.
“Hope so.”
By then, Roland had the mental process involved in spending Essence down pat. This time, however, he used his Ritual Magic Skill while channeling Essence into the circle. On impulse, he also began cycling Mana and adding it to the whole thing, eliciting a surprised – and approving – caw from Raven.
What do I want? I am a Reaper Knight. It’s more than a cool name, now, after everything I’ve done. I am of the Bloodline of the Death Bringer. But I am more than that.
Guns are never to be taken lightly. They are instruments of death.
When I shoot somebody, it will ALWAYS be for a damn good reason. And those shots WILL put them in the ground. Because some people need killing, and I am the guy to do what’s needed.
That’s what I want. That’s what I want for my gun. Mercy to the innocent. Justice to the guilty.
He wasn’t sure if his thoughts were a declaration, spell, or prayer, but as the words coursed through his mind, he pushed more Mana into the circle. The magic formation glowed like a neon light with hints of molten steel, due to the three hundred and fifty Essence he had imbued it with.
His Mana pool dwindled steadily as he put all but a handful of points into the ritual.
The shotgun rose into the air like the jacket had. It hadn’t done that for the previous upgrades. Roland’s eyes widened, but he pushed more Mana into the circle – it couldn’t hurt, right? – and repeated the words he had told himself.
Mercy to the innocent. Justice to the guilty.
The gun changed before his eyes. The barrel shortened by at least four or five inches from its factory setting; now the muzzle only extended an inch or two over the pump magazine, turning it into a very illegal sawed-off or one hell of a handgun.
The black plastic finish was replaced by wood in some spots. Roland suddenly knew that the wood came from tree branches from which criminals had been hanged from the neck until they died.
The barrel’s black finish changed and became silvery, nickel-plated perhaps, although Roland wouldn’t be surprised if it had been replaced by actual silver or something more exotic.
The weapon had an aura of its own, not quite as powerful as the helmet or jacket, but not that far below them, either.
Executioner’s Gun (Epic, F-Grade, Growth Item)
Damage: 25 (buckshot), 30 (slug)
Capacity: 7 + 1 (tubular magazine, pump action), special (see Traits).
Range: 100 yards (buckshot), 150 yards (slug).
Durability: 900/900
Effects: Both types of ammunition produce Bleeding Debuffs. Slugs reduce effective Physical Damage Resistance by one half.
Significance: 0
Inherent Traits:
* Absorb Recoil: Recoil and muzzle climb are reduced by 75%. This allows for far greater control of the weapon.
* Autoloading: The pump action will automatically work to chamber a new cartridge after firing a shot. The tubular magazine can be refilled directly from your Inventory at the cost of 2 Mana points.
* Death-Imbued Cartridge: You can imbue a cartridge loaded into the gun with Death Mana. In addition to Physical damage, the cartridge will inflict 5 points of Death Mana damage per Mana point spent, to a maximum of 50 for 10 Mana. Half of that damage will be absorbed as Vital Energy when striking living or undead beings.
* Justice for the Guilty, Mercy for the Innocent: When firing at someone you positively know of being guilty of a capital crime, you will automatically gain a Critical Hit for triple damage (hit location may increase the multiplier to x 5 to x 10). In reverse, if the path of the shot would hit an innocent person (anyone who has not committed a capital crime, at the System’s discretion), the gun will not fire.
Note: Most Dungeon Dwellers and beast-type monsters do not count as either guilty or innocent. Only creatures with free will (which may include some Bosses and sapient monsters) will be judged by the Executioner’s Gun.
* Potential Significance: For every guilty evildoer you execute, the weapon will gain 1 point of Significance. After the first execution, the gun will have a Significance pool that regenerates at the normal rate of 1 per hour. However, when that happens, depleting the weapon’s Significance completely will cause the weapon’s Traits to stop working until at least 1 point regenerates.
* Summon Ammo: You can summon a cartridge from your inventory straight into the gun’s magazine, at the cost of 1 Mana per cartridge.
Well, Raven crowed. That went even better than I expected.
“You can say that again,” Roland said.