OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 463: True Might Of An Arcanist II

Just as he heard the blast, he tried to dodge, sidestepping away, but the shot connected still, breaking the force shield and sending three or four pellets into his right knee.

"RAAH!"

The hit caused him to falter for a moment, but he easily powered through the pain and suddenly flew forward, as if his body held no weight.

To the priest's surprise, it turned out that he wasn't charging aimlessly.

A new set of runes had appeared, {××××× ××××××}, glowing through his augmented suit.

Judging by his reaction, it was apparent that Iron Reich had hidden this ability until now, as he, unlike the priest, didn't display all his runes on his augmented suit.

No, instead, he had them drawn on his very skin, hiding them for surprises like these, delaying their activation until the perfect moment.

"DIE YOU RAT!"

And it was perfect indeed, as he had managed to reach the priest before he could react, slamming his fist into his head.

His force shield remained active, yet his visor cracked, and he was sent reeling back due to the blunt impact.

"HAHAHAHHAAH!"

Iron Reich didn't relent, his minigun firing once more at the priest's head.

Seeing his impending death, he dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, avoiding the deadly stream of bullets by a hair's breadth.

Once he had a moment to breathe, he ran a hand through his white hair, his eyes growing even colder.

It was clear that something within him had shifted-a decision perhaps.

Then, the many runes etched across his body flared to life, even those that had remained dormant until now.

This could only mean one thing.

He had accepted his death, throwing away all his options of escape.

It was obvious what he wanted.

"I'll take you down with me."

The runes glowed brighter, pulsing with Aether.

{×××× ××××××}, {××××× ×××××××}, {××××××××××××××××××} shone the brightest among them.

The first rune summoned ten fireballs that ignited the air above him.

The second conjured a seemingly powerful wind blast, swirling behind them in a torrent.

The third rune crackled as bolts of lightning materialized, dancing between the suspended flames, waiting for the signal to strike.

This was the strength of an Arcanist-a Runescribe-a class marking the true beginning of their journey into becoming true threats on the battlefield.

An Arcanist's path began humbly.

They start with the mere perception of runes and Aether, able to enchant items at the most basic level.

Soon, they learn how to weave elemental runes-yet still, this alone was nothing to note. In the third class, they master the art of enchanting their equipment, imbuing weapons and armor with spell-like enhancements.

But it wasn't until the next stage that they could truly craft runes capable of summoning abilities. Actual raw abilities, no matter the element.

Even then, the Arcanist was often overlooked, not because of their Paladin sub-rank, but because the next class would change everything.

There, they gained the ability to conjure multiple abilities at once, inscribing layered runes to trigger devastating effects in quick succession.

From this point onward, they became a force no one could ignore.

And now, at this moment, the priest was proving exactly why.

But he wasn't the only one.

Iron Reich responded in kind.

His runes, {××××× ×××××}, {××××× ×××××}, {××××× ×××××××}, {XXX ×××××××}, glowed bright, and many walls of steel were erected in front of him, an element that he seemed to favor.

Above him, multiple spears materialized as well, hovering in the air, flowing sporadically in what seemed to be a current.

Directly behind was a concentrated wind blast, indicating that both of them had no access to Ethereal Elements, which contained Telekinesis.

This made complete sense as that was reserved for a higher class that neither of them knew of, not even Emir did.

BOOM!

As if an explosion had gone off, all their spiraling thoughts disappeared, and their attacks went forth.

Wind blasted, fire hit steel, weakening it, and lighting tore through it all, reaching Iron Reich in a blink.

While most spears fell, hit by fireballs, a few had reached the priest as well.

Now, both were guaranteed grave injury.

But neither of them cared nor attempted to dodge, not that they could, taking the hit head-

on.

Iron Reich was hit first, even though the walls had slowed down the lighting strike

considerably.

His force shield was disintegrated in an instant, and his hands, coated in steel, were flung apart as it made contact, breaking them.

What remained to protect his heart was his chest, and it too was coated in steel, this time a lot

more concentrated.

That showed.

CRACK!

The lighting strike paused for a long moment, making a dent into his body.

No doubt, his ribs were broken to bits, but even then, he didn't relent.

Iron Reich stayed still, knowing that it wouldn't be able to go through.

He was right.

It bounced off and struck the ground, creating a large crater that was almost instantly charred

to oblivion.

"...Fuck."

Coughing up blood, he fell to the ground, taking a breather.

Though he was in a vulnerable position, he wasn't worried that he would be attacked.

The priest wasn't fairing any better.

His dark robe was gone, left tattered on the ground, as was his left hand.

The worst of him was his legs, skewered like meat on a barbecue, spears going through them

from one side to the next.

His injuries were grave, alright...

But still.

Neither he nor Iron Reich were out of the fight just yet.

Swallowing old-world medicine, they both began to move.

The priest fired his shotgun as he crawled into cover, but the pellets were blocked by Iron

Reich's minigun, most ricocheting off.

Switching tactics, the fanatic picked up a small rock from the ground and drew a few runes on

it, not caring for Iron's advance.

{×××××××××}-one enchantment transformed the piece of rubble into a grenade.

He hurled it toward Iron Reich, and the grenade began to heat up, glowing red.

But a mere moment before it could explode, Iron swung his minigun like a club, batting it

away.

Boom!

It exploded harmlessly a very short distance away.

His change in tactics had seemingly failed... or did it?

"Die you heathen."

This was nothing but a distraction, and it gave the priest enough time to close in again.

Just as he reached him, he jabbed the barrel of his shotgun against his side and pulled the

trigger.

BANG!

The loud blast went forth, tearing through his body and ending his life.

...Or so the fanatic expected.

Iron Reich's force shield was already back up to full health; it not being visible was the work

of an illusion.

The priest was tricked with his own specialty.

Every single pellet was absorbed, and though the force shield cracked, nothing else happened;

The only got sent skidding back.

And before he could process the pain behind the impact, he shot forth, grabbing the priest's head, crushing it with his left hand.

He looked down at his opponent, a smug smile spreading across his face as he savored the

shock in his white eyes.

"NOW WHO'S THE ONE WHO GOT WHO?!"

Tightening his grip even further to ensure the priest's body would stay in place, he activated

all the engravings on his minigun and it glowed even brighter, its full might about to be

unleashed.

The priest tried to escape, but Iron Reich's grip on his head was too strong.

He barely managed to put up his shotgun to defend himself, but he simply ruined an

expensive weapon in vain.

The bullets tore through it, destroying it and ripping it from his remaining hand.

"ARGH!"

He kept his arm raised in a last-ditch effort to shield himself, but again, it was futile.

The minigun chewed through his force shield, augmented suit, and body, shredding metal

and flesh alike.

A final, deafening burst announced the duel's end.

Templar's Arcanist collapsed, his body riddled with holes.

Then, there was silence, at least for a second.

Iron Reich stood over him for that second, the minigun's barrels still spinning.

Once he engraved that image in his mind, he began to survey his surroundings.

That was when he heard the sound of battle in the distance.

"Let's see who's left!"

Wondering who it might be, he walked towards it.