A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

"… You, Sir Aurelius, and Lady Eloise outrank everyone here. You certainly outrank a bunch of slaves who appear to have lost their cuffs. If anyone gets first pick of the loot, it should be you."

Aurelius seemed to have realized how loud Norbert had been because his eyes roamed until they were looking at Henry. And then his eyes moved until they were on Eloise who was frowning with distaste that was mostly focused on Norbert.

Norbert seemed to realize the carrying tone he had used as well because he looked at Eloise sheepishly as he said,

"Dame Eloise, what he did was certainly vital to end this. But he destroyed one little thing. And wouldn\'t have even been able to destroy it had you not kept the Lich busy…"

"So let me get this straight," Eloise started slowly, "You knew I was distracting the Lich, paid enough attention to know how important it was but didn\'t lend a hand?"

"Well—well, you can\'t just put it like that. I was busy too," Norbert said before gesturing at the rest of his mismatched group of raiders, "We were all busy."

"And what good would it have done you to eliminate mummies if the Lich wasn\'t eliminated? If HE didn\'t eliminate it?" Eloise asked with her eyes glowering.

Norbert opened his mouth but seemed to find it difficult to form the words. He took a while and then seemed to have decided what to say but before he could speak, Henry\'s voice sounded from the very end of the hall.

"Thank you, Eloise, but I\'ll just take the Throne. And everything around it, of course," he said.

Henry was standing beside the Lich\'s throne with a hand on its horrible armrest. He managed to keep from cringing at the sacrifices that the Lich had made to create the Throne and simply looked serene and resigned to his choice.

"Henry, you can pick better," Eloise said.

"No, it\'s fine," he said.

Norbert clapped once,

"Fabulous," he said and then looked at Eloise tentatively,

"So you\'ll select first, Dame Eloise."

"I want none of it," Eloise said immediately.

Aurelius said the same though he didn\'t stop the Squires from picking things. If there was some code of ethics that held him and Eloise back from looting, it apparently did not apply to the two Squires.

Norbert nodded looking even more delighted before he announced,

"Let the looting begin!"

Immediately, one of the members of his mismatched group pulled a metallic shining plate off the wall. It was gilded with Arcane Symbols and he held it up to say,

"How much do you think this would go for?"

"Probably thousands of Gold," said someone close to him who was aiming for something else on the wall.

"How many thousands?" Asked the Raider still excited.

"30… Maybe more," the second raider answered after successfully prying loot off the wall.

"Whoa," the first Raider said with his eyes gleaming. This might have been his first Dungeon raid.

Andor watched the looting Raiders with a disapproving frown and then he looked over at Henry still standing beside the Lich\'s throne and raised a brow when Henry gestured that he come closer.

Andor obeyed immediately and as Louis watched him walk away and join Henry by the throne, he mustered the energy he had recovered since the depletion of his Stamina to stand and walk over as well.

"Andor, I\'m gonna need you to push this Throne aside," Henry said.

It took a few seconds for Andor to realize what that request meant and his eyes widened,

"You think there\'s something behind it?" He asked.

Before Henry could answer, Louis spoke from just a few steps away,

"There

is

something behind it. How did anyone miss that?" Louis asked with wide eyes and a gesture at a destroyed part of the Throne. He had it destroyed himself with his Lightning spell. The very spell that sapped him of his stamina. The spell he had cast to keep the Lich busy for as long as he could.

Henry nodded,

"The Lich never left this Throne. I thought it was either a power play or there was something it was subconsciously protecting.

Andor move the throne."

Henry stepped aside and Andor seized the Throne and pulled it off the wall. The effort required looked significant but eventually, with the barest sound of the bones scraping against the cold Dungeon floor, it pulled away from the wall slowly.

The farther the throne became to the wall, the clearer the panel behind became. It was a rectangular panel about the same width and length as the Throne\'s high back.

Henry tapped on the panel as Andor stopped pulling the throne so he and Louis came over to join him. He roamed his hand over the surface and he nodded eventually,

"Arcane symbols," he said in a low voice, "We\'ll need magic."

"I\'ve got it," Louis said.

"Sure you\'re up for it?" Henry asked when the Mage still looked weak.

Louis managed a smile and then shook his body as though to draw attention to the robe he had on,

"I\'m good. With this robe on, I\'ve recovered some Mana. As long as this doesn\'t take too long and sap too much energy, I should be fine."

Seemed like a lot of caveats but Henry stepped aside and let the mage step toward the Panel.

Louis charged Mana into the panel and half a minute later, it jutted off the wall by an inch before falling out.

Louis leaped to the side before it could hit him and Henry thought the panel would hit the floor until he realized there were chains attached to it that kept it off the ground and stretched out forward on an even plane. Like a drawbridge.

There were more chains on the surface of the panel —the panels that had been blocked from sight when it was still in the wall— and secured by those chains were all manner of books. Thick books whose covers ranged from aged but dignified to horrible skin-like materials that were contorted to form faces.

The books bounded in the skin-like materials had disgusting scents but Louis\' eyes glowed as he eyed them all,

"Grimoires!" He said and reached for one of the books to pull off the chains. They fell away at his touch and he was able to lift the book and flip through the pages with that glow still in his eyes.

"So, magic books," Henry said with a frown. Not entirely disappointed but not particularly enthusiastic either.

Louis rolled his eyes and the sight of the Grimoires seemed to have revitalized him far more than rest ever could,

"If you\'re being simple, then sure \'Magic books\' but if you\'re being broader, these are Grimoires containing the most uncommon of magical knowledge. Possibly even more uncommon seeing as the Dungeon is technically another dimension."

"How much will they sell for?" Andor asked suddenly. It was the question Henry was just about to ask so he actually smiled when he heard it leave the Fighter\'s mouth.

Louis\' eyes still glowed,

"Hundreds of thousands of Gold. You\'d have to find the right market for it, I assume. Never knew much about Trade though but they\'re worth a LOT!

Definitely more than anything else in this Dungeon put together."

Henry doubted Louis\'s words were all that loud despite the intensity of his tone but he noticed the eyes of everyone in the Chamber were suddenly on them with quite a few gleaming with greed for their find.