The slave lets out a high-pitched scream and runs away as the compulsion leaves with his life, diving under the tarp of the tent to escape as quickly as possible.

I reload the missing bullet from my revolver and sneak down and out of the tent, keeping to the shades.

It turns out that I didn't have a second to spare as four more bandits converge on the tent just as I hide, ripping the flap open and storming inside with their weapons raised.

"It's a firespark bullet, look at the burns," one says, raising his lantern to investigate the corpse, "it has to be the Stokes."

"But why would they kill Jerry and let her live?" Another one asks.

Letting reinforcements arrive sounds like a bad idea so I aim, firing two shots from each revolver.

[*ding*] [*ding*]

Eight down.

The other two fall to their knees, clutching their wounds. Stomach and arm.

I shoot the one I've hit at the arm again, making sure he stays down.

[*ding*]

Nine down.

I leave the last laying there, screaming in agony as molten metal works its way into his stomach. He won't survive and if I want to survive, I need to swap positions as soon as possible.

I sneak along the tents, seeing the bandits rush to the Sound of gunshots, disregarding me completely.

I notice one of the bandits dressing in his tent, throwing a big shadow on the wall, and crouch down next to his tent.

[*ding*]

Ten down.

[*ding*]

The Bandit with the stomach wound must have died.

Eleven down.

"[Fireball]!"

I whip around to dodge the attack but the fiery projectile hits me first, pushing me into the tent and starting a fire. I heard something crack, probably a rib.

"He's just a kid!" My attacker taunts, rallying his allies.

Seeing as I am obscured from their sight by the smoke and tent, I unsling my rifle and fully load the magazine with lightning bullets. I always keep four of them on my person, just enough for the tube magazine.

The fire starts eating away at my clothes, bullets detonating in my pouch and driving fragments into my leg. I quickly wrap my remaining pouches of ammunition and gems in my dragonhide cloak and throw it out of the fire, the strings that started burning allowing me to rip them off easily.

"Oh, a Tribute?" He taunts as I creep forward, aiming for the origin of his voice but waiting for my sight to clear, "Come out now and I'll kill you quickly."

My vision clears and I see the Sorcerer that attacked me, a grizzled old man with a dirty robe and a revolver at his hip. He is surrounded by four other bandits who should make up the rest of them.

"There you are!" He screams, conjuring another [Fireball] and lobbing it at me.

My bullet travels faster than some lousy fireball though.

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[Reap Shot]

I press the trigger and my bullet zips through his [Fireball], dissolving it into embers without fuel, and roars past his shoulder, only clipping him. A flash of lightning trails my bullet after a moment, jerking tightly around its trajectory and hitting the Bandit that has been standing behind him and throwing him to the ground.

He raises one hand to clamp down on his shoulder as he raises his other hand at me "You little shit! [Earth Spike]!"

I duck down to dodge his next projectile but instead of launching a spike at me, a thin spike of rock grows from the ground and impales my leg, pinning me in place.

I eject the casing and aim at the [Sorcerer], ignoring my guard for a second. Another shot rings out and I pierce through his chest, the bolt of lightning propelling him back against the same Bandit that got hit by the first lightning bolt.

[*ding*]

Twelve down, four to go with two bullets in my magazine.

The three bandits standing all shoot at me, bullets whizzing past me without hitting me as they move to cover.

I reload my rifle and the Bandit to the left hits my healthy leg with a skill-empowered bullet, cracking a bone.

[Steady Aim]

Another shot and hit, blowing a hole into the Bandits' chest as retaliation.

[*ding*]

Thirteen down.

The two bandits start walking backwards, retreating while shooting at me. The increasing distance only works against them as they miss more and more shots, I still get grazed by a few.

I shoot the one on the right with my last bullet and eject the casing, aiming for the last one standing.

[*ding*]

Fourteen down.

I drop [Steady Aim] and apply [Deaths Mark].

He dives behind a tent.

An argument for self-made weapons is that no one knows how big your magazine is, alas it doesn't always work.

I use the butt of my rifle to break the [Earth spike] just as the remaining Bandit manages to free himself from beneath his ally.

I point my rifle at him, now at close range. "Run."

He drops his revolver and runs away.

I grab his revolver and aim at his back, not afraid to use dishonesty to my advantage. Any empathy I had for them went out the metaphorical window the moment I saw their slave.

I squeeze the trigger and get met with a disappointing click. Did he empty it or was he just pointing an empty gun the entire time?

He looks over his shoulder as I pick up another revolver but as he passes the tent his ally is hiding behind, he gets shot in the head by him.

An accident?

It doesn't matter. Fifteen down.

I check the chamber of the revolver and sneak up to the opposite side of the tent from where he is.

[Steady Aim], [Rapid Shot]

I fire the entire magazine through the tent towards his position.

[*ding*]

Sixteen down.

[Deaths Mark] proves invaluable once again.

I stagger over to my cloak and grab the pouches and revolvers from within, strapping them to the remains of my belt or into my cloak.

I gather the corpses, loot them and throw them onto the already burning fire while checking my notifications.

[Congratulations, Marksman has reached level 8. Stats have been awarded.]

[Congratulations, Death has reached level 10. Stats have been awarded.]

[You've gained the Keystone skill:Oblivion]

[Oblivion: Collect the Souls of those you reap, gaining a small part of their highest Stat, depending on your MP.]

[Congratulations, Marksman has reached level 9. Stats have been awarded.]

[Bounty:Bandits completed]

[Congratulations, Magitech Tinkerer has reached level 9. Stats have been awarded.]

Surprisingly little for fifteen kills of people at higher levels but I assume the fight at the end contributed to the majority of the experience due to the Stress Factor.

Assassinating sleeping victims without a related class does not give much experience, good to know.

Getting to the most important part, the loot, I notice a figure Sneaking into the corner of my eye.

The Slave, huddled against a tent with one of the shoddy revolvers from the West clutched in her hand, the chain connecting her shackles broken.