BXBX NOVEL Chapter 27: I Dare You
To while away the time, he took his time to read the messages the System had given him. Messages he had been too busy to look through. At the end of it all, he called out his and Nyx's Status screens;
[Name: Henry Morgan]
[Level: 4 (94/600 Exp)]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Gunslinger]
[Title: Gangbanger, Vyker-Killer]
[Hit Points: 21/40]
[Mana Points: 10/50]
[Strength: 14]
[Agility: 11]
[Stamina: 6]
[Perception: 7]
[Skills:
{Marksmanship Lv. 2 <Active Sub Skill: Quick Thinking>} {Taming Lv. 1 <Active Sub Skill: Bonding>}]
[You have 6 Unallocated Stat Points]
———————
[Name: Nyx]
[Creature: Horse]
[Breed: Valaeren Racehorse]
[Level 3 (40/100 Exp)]*
[Hit Points: 30/50]
[Strength: 35]
[Speed: 70]
[Stamina: 30]
*[With every Level Nyx gains, her intelligence will increase as she prepares to step onto her Evolutionary path.]
———————
Henry looked at the footnote at the bottom of Nyx's Status screen with surprise.
"Evolutionary path— What's that?" He asked out loud.
Just then, Triss jolted against him, and her breathing caught and then mellowed into a slow, weak, and irregular rhythm that Henry recognized as a complication that could lead to her death if not treated soon.
Fortunately, Nyx was even faster now than she had been when they were getting chased and soon, they crossed into the Hadron Mansion's courtyard.
[You have arrived at the Hadron Mansion]
[You are alive but Triss' condition is much too infrequent to be judged…]
[There will be a delay in dispensing your rewards until the infrequency is sorted either by Triss' survival or her death.]
Henry was, by now, used to the System spamming him with notifications and waved it all off as he got off Nyx's back and took Triss off while taking her into his arms in a bridal carry into the Mansion.
He met Stefan on the way and saw the look of shock on the brother's face as he laid eyes on his sister's burned face,
"Triss— Henry, what happened?"
"We were ambushed," Henry said in a hurry, "I need to get her to Yelena quickly."
Stefan followed closely and once they were at the door to the medical bay, he knocked on the door since Henry's hands were too preoccupied to do it himself.
A minute later the door opened. Yelena's eyes fell on Henry's face first and then she looked down at Triss' injured self,
"Come in and place her on the bed. Gently."
Henry laid Triss down and Yelena immediately began treatment. Green magical energy surrounded Triss' body, healing her wounds.
"She'll be alright," Yelena said, "You got her here quickly enough."
Henry's lips remained pursed. It wasn't that he didn't trust Yelena's assessment but he was still waiting for more confirmation.
[Triss' infrequent Status has been stabilized.]
[She has been judged to have survived the encounter.]
[You have received 150 Exp]
*[Nyx has received 75 Exp]
[Nyx has Leveled Up!]
[Nyx is now Level 4]
[Nyx's Hit Point Maximum increased to 65]
[Strength: 35 ———> 40]
[Speed: 70 ———> 80]
[Stamina: 30 ———> 35]
[Nyx has gotten closer to the Evolutionary Path.]
[Your bond with Nyx has been Strengthened.]
Henry let out a sigh of relief at the System confirming Triss' survival.
Stefan got his relief from Yelena's words instead and now that he could afford to worry less about his sister, he turned to Henry demanding answers,
"Talk!"
"We were ambushed in town by the Langlot gang back in New Freudein—" Henry started.
"The Langlot gang? They did this?" Stefan interrupted to ask.
Henry shook his head,
"Not exactly," he said. He was about to say more when someone knocked on the door of the medical bay.
"You can come in," Yelena said without stopping Triss' treatment.
The door opened and Charles stuck his head into the room,
"Henry, upstairs. Angus is asking for you."
Henry wasn't surprised to have been called. He and Triss had gone to New Freudein for a Task and to return injured meant they needed to give a briefing.
After one last look at Triss whose breathing had settled into a much more normal rhythm, Henry walked out of the Medical bay. Stefan followed him and with Charles leading the way, they climbed the stairs and entered the meeting hall.
Other members of the gang, specifically all those who had been part of the Train job were there. Henry hadn't seen much of Devon and Dana these past few days and secretly rolled his eyes when they still glowered at him with dislike.
"Henry, son," Angus said, "What happened?"
Henry looked at Angus and then at the Chest not far away from the Gang leader. The same chest they had stolen on the Train. Still as sealed as it had been that day.
"There were no wanted posters of us at New Freudien. The Sheriff's station had no leads about what happened on the Train. But when Triss and I went into the saloon for some drinks, some Langlot boys came in…."
Henry gave a quick summary of all that had happened; The Chase, and the eventual clash with the Vykers that led to Triss' injuries. He, of course, left out all details that involved the System and the use of the items he had gotten from 'Elminster's Stock'.
Stefan spoke first through clenched teeth. The image of his injured sister still fresh in his mind.
"Vykers!"
Everyone in the meeting room frowned especially at that detail of Henry's story.
And then Devon snorted,
"So, Triss was left that injured and you are standing here perfectly healthy... 'Interesting'."
Henry frowned at the insinuation,
"Do I look 'perfectly healthy' to you?"
Even with the two healing potions he had drank, not all of Henry's wounds had been healed. There was a limit to what the 'Emergency action' could do.
Devon snorted again but he said nothing more.
So Dana picked up right where he left off,
"Who killed the Vykers?" She asked.
"I did." Henry said. That part was one of the areas of his story he had glossed over.
"Both of them?"
"I had help but, yes."
"I don't believe that. How could YOU possibly do it?"
Henry reached behind his back and pulled out 'The Hydra's Sting' to place it on the table,
"With this," he said.
Devon hissed and took a step back from the table with a slight tremble in his extra-long canines. He still feared the gun.
Everyone else looked at 'The Hydra's Sting' curiously,
"That gun. It's what that Mr. Grant on the train had on him, isn't it?" Charles said.
Henry nodded.
"It is."
"You snagged it off him?"
"Yes."
"That's a magical weapon," Angus said with careful eyes, "And you can wield it?"
Henry nodded,
"Yes. And a good thing I can too because neither Triss nor I could have survived without it."
Casually, Henry reached out to pick 'The Hydra's Sting' back up when Dana said,
"Hold it. Loot is meant to be disclosed to everyone in the gang and shared equally. By right, you should not have been the one to wield this gun."
Henry frowned. He had expected this the moment he decided to show 'The Hydra's Sting' as an explanation for how he was able to kill two Vykers but there was no reason to panic.
He just let out a calm breath,
"This isn't loot. It's a find that I deserve to keep as the one who killed its former wielder. If you want it, you'll have to kill me first."
Dana drew her gun and pointed it at Henry with the hammer pulled back in preparation to shoot.
"Do you think I won't?" She asked with a snicker.
"Hey, Hey, what's all this bullshit?!" Charles asked with a deep frown. He looked at Angus but the Gang Leader said nothing.
'Of course, he's saying nothing,' Henry thought, 'In a gang, there is still etiquette even if it is buried under a bunch of killing and unruliness.'
The Right to keep a find was truly a thing. If it wasn't money, then Henry had every right to keep 'The Hydra's Sting'. Of course, Henry was also hoarding money for himself but the Gang had no way of knowing that.
Henry gripped the Hydra's Sting and it glowed green in response to his touch,
"Do it. I dare you. Pull that trigger and it's your head that'll pop like a balloon."
The memory of what that gun had done to Kirk and its residual effect on everyone close to him flashed in the heads of everyone in the meeting hall.
No one knew for sure if Henry was capable enough to make good on his threat but Dana didn't want to Gamble. She put down her gun and snorted before looking away.
Henry calmly picked up 'The Hydra's Sting' as its threatening glow lessened.
In a Gang, 'Strength' supersedes 'Etiquette';
There truly was a Right to keep a find but there was also a need to possess the balls to defend that Right.