Chapter 12

Harry wondered if the time to abandon the group has finally come. He could run 2 to 3 times faster than anyone present here, so escaping wouldn't be a problem should he truly need to. The only reason he was sticking his neck out for his team was due to the Quest. There would no doubt be atleast a couple of bonus objectives to save his team.

He had no time to think through his options as another hail of bullets assulted them. His shield was up in an instant, tanking fire from all four gunners as it covered him and his two teammates.

The pressure was... manageable. A surprising thing, considering how pressed he had been the last time, when those Hydra agents managed to pin him down under heavy fire. Now, 4 shooters were gunning him down, yet his shield managed to hold on steadily. Perhaps it was his extra 8 levels of mana manipulation, or perhaps his current attackers simply didn't have guns on the same calibre as Hydra's...

Whatever the case, he was successfully able to defend himself and his teammates.

But his attackers kept up a steady stream of firing that stopped him from trying anything else with his magic.

While his wandless abilities had undoubtedly grown by a solid margin since the last time, it wasn't to the point where he could divide his attention between shielding and attacking.

Mana Manipulation (Lvl 38)

Atleast, not magically.

After a bit of experimentation, he'd been able to create a magical shield that allows him to counterattack from behind it without any disruption whatsoever. It took just a bit of shift in his intent and what he wanted his magic to do, and he'd been successful.

So while he may not be able to lauch invisible swords at him opponents, he could still shoot them just as well now.

His gun fired 3 times before the chamber emptied, blasting open three new heads. His enemies could do absolutely nothing against his simple combination of shield and gun. Well... nothing except to die.

His teammates broke out of their daze and finally started firing back, quickly putting down the remaining one.

Harry let go of the shield, taking a knee to catch his breath. His magic was...

Mana: 495/560

...still quite full actually.

"Well–" Amador coughed and panted, heaving deep breaths in. "Well done, you guys. But we have to move. Now."

The sound of heavy footsteps was the only reason Harry wasn't caught off guard when another bunch of shooters burst out from behind them, taking everyone else by surprise.

His shield was once again in front of him, but his teammates had spread off to catch a breather and could do nothing as bullets reached them.

Amador could've dived behind his shield's cover but her hesitance to leave their teammate behind cost her her life. The Shield vest protected her from body shots, but 3 well-placed hits took her in the back of her head, and Harry witnessed the woman's fearful and panicked eyes quickly losing their light.

A second later her body stilled completely, lying dead beside their last agent, who was also dead.

Harry would've cursed in anger had Gamer's mind not been present to calm him down.

'There goes my bonus objectives.'

With his shield protecting him completely, he slowly but surely retreated back where he'd come from, not wanting to take a chance against a squad of 7. While he felt confident in ripping them to shreds if their guns were the only thing they were armed with, he couldn't risk getting caught in a grenade or flash should it be in their possession.

His enemies were yelling at each other, though Harry couldn't hear them over the sound of gun fire. Neither did he bother to. As soon as he reached the end of corridor, he let go of the shield and made a break to the left.

Just when he turned though, a stray bullet ricocheted against the metal mesh and hit him in the back.

Harry grunted and stumbled forward, but recovered his balance enough to keep running. It was such a moment of dumb bad luck that he couldn't help but be annoyed even through the Gamer's Mind.

He absently pressed a hand to his back, trying to feel for any wetness. Thankfully the bullet hadn't managed to break the skin, having been blocked by his bulletproof vest.

By the time his assailants managed to reach the same passageway, Harry had already reloaded his gun and was at the opposite end of the corridor.

The sound of gun fire lit up the gulag again, only to be broken by a loud squeak.

"For his legs, ya dumb fuck!" A gravelly voice growled out. "If he dies you fucking die with him!"

The thugs didn't have more time to argue as Harry turned around just enough to take aim and shoot.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The sound of firing burst forth from his gun rapidly. Even though they were in opposite ends of a very long corridor, his aim proved true and three more of his chasers dropped to the ground, dead.

"Get that lil' shit!"

There were 4 more chasing him now but he moved too fast for them to keep up, rounding a corner to sprint down another passageway.

There were two narrow hallways at the end of the passageway, both leading to opposite directions The only source of light came from a flickering yellow bulb that was as dim as a candle, making the place seem dark and dreary.

He quietly took the right hallway, controlling his movements to make little to no sound. A row of empty cells came into his vision, each casting a silhouette of their metal window bars that had enough gap for moonlight to enter.

At the end of the cells, a wooden door awaited him, standing slightly open. He quickly entered inside, giving a quick look around the room.

It was a small dusty room, with a single tiny window blocked by 4 metal bars. The moonlight that entered lit up the room more brightly than anything in this corner of the gulag.

He quietened his breath and pressed his ears to the door, trying to hear for his chasers.

The familiar sound of clicking shoes soon came closer, before coming to a stop right in front of the divided hallways.

"You two, take left. Hamid, with me." The same gravelly voice from earlier growled out. "Y'all saw what the freak could do, so don't take him lightly."

"Got it, boss." Thug no.2 said.

"Do we rough him up if we catch him or what?" Another, younger, voice asked.

"The little shit killed Khalid." The first voice spat, his growl even more pronounced. "Vanchat will have his boy but only after we've had our fun."

A light laughter ensued before the group split off.

He hadn't anticipated them splitting off, which made his job multiple times easier. An unexpected boon but one he would gladly take.

As the footsteps grew closer, Harry prepared himself, his gun held tightly in his grasp.

Deciding to end this quickly, Harry went full offensive by creating one of his invisible swords while clutching onto the pistol.

The two men came to a stop some ways away from the door, not taking another step forward.

"Spray some fuckin' bullets at the door." The leader growled. "Keep it low at knee."

Harry didn't wait for that to happen, bursting out of the door armed with magic and gun.

His gun shot once, and took the leader in the throat. While even Harry couldn't aim for two things at once, the other one was panicked enough that it gave him more than enough time to launch the invisible sword at his enemy's face.

For a second the man stilled in place, then half of his face slid right off, while the remaining part sprayed red hot blood into the air like a beautiful fountain.

For a moment there was simply a note of echoing silence in the cell room, but it was soon broken by his two remaining assailants questions.

Unfortunately for them, their leader was too dead to answer back, and the only response they got was his bullets.

There was no contest in this of course. In this narrow a corridor, there was no escaping from his accurate shots. And the remaining two died just like the rest; fast and easy.

His enemies dealt with, he stayed still for a moment, eyes closed to hear the world around him.

Silence. Nothing but pure and unadulterated silence.

Sighing, Harry opened his eyes and restarted his journey back to his team leader's body. He doubted there were any enemies remaining, but he remained vigilant all the same.

Amador's body lay just as still as the rest. Her arms were bend in a strange way, putting all of her weight on a broken ring finger.

He knelt beside the woman and searched through her pockets. It didn't take him long to find the cell phone given to her by Shield.

He quickly called the base, and thankfully it connected barely a second later. He'd been fearing a range shortage this deep in the Gulag.

After quickly explaining his situation, Harry plopped back on his butts tiredly, letting go of the Gamer's Mind.

He felt accomplished. He wasn't overly tired right now, and genuinely felt like he could go on for a couple more rounds of action.

The fighting itself had been...stale, for the lack of better term. Never at any point did he feel threatened or pressured. It was reassuring really, knowing that his progress wasn't just some numbers on a status window.

And more importantly, this was only a start.

Smiling, Harry opened his notifications to be greeted by a familiar set of messages.

Quest [Hitting the Gulag] in progress–

Come back alive from your mission (X)

Complete the mission successfully (X)

Protect your team captain (–)

Protect your teammates (–)

Confirm 10 kills (X)

Leave no enemy behind (X)

Rewards:

1500 Xp

1500 Xp

1500 Xp

1500 Xp

[You Leveled Up] Lvl 31

[You Leveled Up] Lvl 32

And as he took in his new level, there was just one thing that resounded in his mind loud and clear, now more real than ever—

This was only the start.