The rifle kicked back against his shoulder, but it was nothing like the wild recoil he'd been experiencing with his pistols. Thanks to his system-enhanced strength, Solomon was able to keep it more or less locked on target. He had a beautifully magnified view as the squirrel's body turned into an explosion of gore.

The swirling shadows that had been moving in the treeline all made a beeline for their dead companion. Several of the squirrels set about eating their dead companion, while a fair dozen or so formed a protective line, snarling in the direction from which they had heard the gunshot.

If Solomon had had another dozen rounds ready to go, they would have made lovely targets. As it was, he thought discretion was the better part of valor. His dad and Hank both agreed, and the three of them left at a brisk walk, getting out of sight before the squirrels could work themselves into a charge.

The dialogue box appeared once they were well out of combat.

Congratulations on completing a successful combat encounter! Your Marksmanship has been raised to level 5. You have been awarded 9 Grid Points!

Next to him, Hank flinched back. It seemed he wasn't quite accustomed to having system messages pop up in his face yet.

"How'd you do?" Solomon asked.

"It wants to know if I want to add level seven gun smithing," Hank said, smiling. "What do you think?"

Solomon's eyes went wide. "Level seven? Not bad."

The system must be giving him credit for the whole rifle, not just the change to the firing pin. Well, Hank would be getting started on the right foot. For that matter, if Solomon could get his hands on a few more antique rifles, he just might be able to get more people some starting grid points. It might be a shame to take up a skill slot with something that would never progress, but he had a feeling that most people would be happy to take the free twenty-eight points and run with them.

He handed the rifle back over to its owner. Hank immediately started going through a thorough cleaning procedure. While he did that, Solomon took a few steps to the side to have a word with his dad.

"Pretty impressive," Solomon said.

"Does it change anything?" his dad asked.

Solomon thought for a moment. One gun might not make a difference, but if they could make ten, or a hundred, or a thousand... it would certainly make their neighborhood a tough nut to crack. Of course, Solomon wanted to do more than make the invaders work hard. He wanted to win.

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Considering the map, he didn't think that a rifle battalion would be enough. It would give them a chance, but they'd still have hostile forces all around them. He'd had a glimpse of what the enemy could already do with a bow and arrow. Rifles were more of an equalizer than a trump card. As the system unlocked more grid access for the invaders, granting them more powerful esoteric abilities, the relative power of firearms would only go down.

Solomon shook his head. "We need to get out of the way. More rifles would help, but we're just not ready for outright war."

Get somewhere safe. Figure out the system better. Build up their forces. Solomon still thought it was a solid plan.

Hank had finished with his cleaning and joined them. "You boys still planning to run off into the countryside?"

Solomon nodded. "We need time to prepare. We could really use someone like you to help us out."

"I'm flattered," Hank said, "but I've lived here too long to just give up without a fight. Especially now that I can fight back."

Solomon was a little disappointed, but not too surprised. He had figured that kind of guy who built up his own personal arsenal of firearms was also the kind of guy who would want to fight to defend his home. At least he still had a few days at least try and convince Hank that winning in the long run would require a momentary retreat.

He hadn't set a definite date for their departure from Eugene. The hard deadline was more than a month out, the time when the invaders would start teleporting in all around them. He'd like to leave earlier than later, just so there would be less time for dungeon breaks to send dangerous animals wandering around between him and his territory, but he was willing to wait a week or two for a chance to rescue Kanmi.

"Well, if you change your mind, we'd love to have you," Solomon said. "For now, you have any more of those rifles for trade?"

Hank might be the only source right now for modern-ish weapons equipped to work with magical gunpowder, but Solomon was the only source for the powder that made it all work. He was happy to trade at a fair price, but he wasn't going to just give the stuff away.

"This is the only ready made needle gun I have," Hank said. "But I can convert some of my other breech loaders over to the same system. It'll take maybe a day or two."

"What do you want for them?" Solomon asked.

"Say ten rounds' worth of powder for each rifle," Hank said, "and one rounds' worth of powder for each cartridge I convert over."

Solomon did some quick mental math. He could just about afford a decent arsenal without having to disassemble his pipe bombs. He was also planning to hit the local dungeon later today, which should leave him flush with beast cores once more. Part of him wanted to hoard his resources, but sometimes you had to spend money to make money.

"The price for the rifle is fine," Solomon said. "But let's make it more like a round for every four. We need to load up, and I only have so much of the stuff."

"How about one in three," Hank replied, "and I'll let you borrow this girl for the rest of the day."

Solomon reached out and shook his hand. "It's a deal. Dad can help you out with everything if you don't mind showing him the ropes."

Hank looked over at Solomon's father, then nodded. "Sure. Can't have you wandering off into the wilderness without any idea of what you're doing."

Solomon smiled. It would be good if his dad could help them hit the ground running once they got back to his territory. Also, the time spent working together would let him explain a bit more about the mountain of trouble that was about to fall on Eugene. Getting some training was good, but Solomon wasn't going to give up just yet on luring the expert himself out of town.