Chapter Seven: Potshots

West found out that if he shot the ground with his gun, a cloud of dust would rise. If he could utilize this discovery properly, it could hide something big for a short period of time, making it useful for setting up ambushes. When West got close to the exit, he immediately made a beeline and hid behind the rocks that gathered under the corner of a cliff wall. He may not see him, but West could easily spot Maxximum just standing guard at the zone's exit. He was playing with one of his daggers out of boredom. Judging from his actions, he was not expecting West to arrive sooner than usual.

This was the perfect opportunity for West. Everything has been laid out in his favor. If he could execute his plan properly, then this entire nightmare would be finally over! But here's the thing that troubled him, the word 'properly.' He gripped his pistol as the word resonated through his mind. This was a one-time chance coincidentally formed through circumstance. He has no idea if he could pull off something like this on the first try. That was why he has to pour all his chips on this one chance now, as he feared that there would be no next time for him. Still crouched behind the rocks, West slowly and quietly cocked his gun's hammer. He then pulled the trigger.

The deafening sound of gunfire echoed loudly throughout the Redskirts' valley walls. The shot hit Maxx square in the head. The damage dealt was nothing to write home about but the force of the coursing bullet was so strong that it sent his face into a smooching session with the ground. West cocked his gun again, opting for another shot. Maxx got up from the mandatory dirt nap he was forced to undergo and immediately looked for his attacker. The damage of the shot barely made a dent in his health, but getting attacked by surprise for the second time infuriated him to no end. He glared at West with that steaming, red face of his and started to march angrily towards the gunslinger.

West fired another shot, this one landed on Maxx's shoulder. The angry rogue just shrugged it off and turned invisible. Having no idea where Maxx was, West made a hail-mary attempt of firing everywhere he thought the rogue would be. He quickly emptied through his barrels and still ended up hitting nothing. When West heard the sound of unsheathed blades, his body went into overdrive. He reloaded his gun as fast as he could and fired one more time. But just like his pathetic first try, he still hit nothing but air. And after realizing that there was no more time to go for a third round, he bailed out from his hiding spot but not without doing some quick reloads and casting his six-shot barrage on the ground. A large cloud of dust loomed over behind West and concealed his presence from the pursuing Maxx.

"You dumb peashooter carrying noob!" Maxximum said as he entered the dust cloud. It was surprisingly thicker than he expected. "You think this little trick can protect your low-level ass away from me!?" He laughed like a maniac drunk on power. Maxx suddenly heard the sound of consecutive gunfire from within the cloud. He grinned when none of the shots landed on him. "You're dead meat, dumbass! This tactic won't do you good if you still can't score decent damage on me!"

"What makes you think that I'll be the one dealing the damage here?" West's voice could be heard from beyond the dust.

"There you are, you damn small fry." Maxximum said as he rushed towards the source of the voice, only to be welcomed by the sight of more than a dozen minotaurs who all glared down at him.

"What the hell!" Maxx backed away slightly in shock. "Where did these things come from?"

"They were following me all this time, genius." West said flatly as he came out of the minotaur crowd.

"But that's impossible!" Maxx replied, still in disbelief. "I would have heard them coming if they were really following you!"

"I was covering the sound of their rumbling, dumbass." West replied mockingly as he slowly approached Maxx. "Did you really think all those shots I fired at you were done with the intent to kill? Dude, I'm level one. If you really believed that then I have every right to call you a dumbass."

"If I'm a dumbass, then you're dead meat!" Maxximum cried as he swiftly charged at West with both his daggers readying for the kill.

Unfortunately for him, West moved quickly as well and retreated back to the crowd of minotaurs. Maxx doesn't know why that fool would choose such a dumb tactic like that. He'd likely be dead before Maxx could reach him. But he won't let that happen and dove into the crowd as well.

As Maxx entered the monstrous bovine mass, he was greeted with a swift axe swing to the face. The attack caught him by surprise and he barely dodged it by rolling on the ground. It didn't leave him unscathed though, the minotaur's axe still managed to leave a graze on his right cheek, which dealt minor damage and sent out a few glowing cubes flying. If he'd be any more careless in this situation, he'd surely take more damage than that scratch he just got. Although he had to wonder why that noob picked this place to engage in a fight with him. With his level in the single digits, he's basically asking for trouble! A giant machete just dropped in towards Maxx's direction but he was quick enough to avoid it this time. A drop of virtual sweat broke down Maxx's forehead. If he doesn't kill that noob quick, he would share the same fate as him! Motivated by that thought alone, Maxx spent no time mowing down the minotaurs while frantically dodging and blocking their attacks. A small smile appeared on Maxx's face. He could only imagine how difficult it must be for the noob to deal with these things when he's having a hard time himself. Maxx hastened his pace in bringing down the towering beasts with his daggers like a frenzied woodcutter. Anything to see that noob suffer. It took Maxx quite a while but he was able to bring down about half a dozen minotaurs during his non-stop rampage. He took a brief break from attacking to see if he was finally able to see the struggling West.

What he saw was the opposite of what he was expecting. The guy was not struggling at all! His health wasn't even touched by any of those aggressive beasts! He just kept on dodging their attacks like they were doing a rehearsed dance! A dance of death, if he might add. West may not be taking damage from the minotaurs, but the same couldn't be said of those beasts. Somehow, with all those dodging that West made, he managed to confuse the minotaurs into attacking each other. And with each downed minotaur, a large influx of experience points would go to him. But this made Maxx more confused, because how did that noob reach the level of nine when he only took down like three minotaurs? There was no way the exp reward would be that high for each minotaur slai- wait, a couple of minutes ago, he heard several gunshots fired without one landing on him. Could it be? That sneaky bastard! He marked the minotaurs with his attacks beforehand so that when Maxx killed them, he would also take his share of exp! That damn cheating noob! He'll die at least five times for pulling something like this!

When Maxx drew out his daggers directly at West, a gun barrel was already waiting for him. And it's already pointed between his eyes.

"Aim anywhere you want." Maxx smiled menacingly at West. "This isn't FPS, headshots don't mean crap here."

"My headshots would beg to differ." West shot back and pulled the trigger.

Maxx was knocked back for the second time of the day. But this one felt different. His body was frozen stiff! He could barely get anything to move!

"You!" Maxx cried out to West. "What did you do to me!?"

"Headshot." West replied as he walked away from Maxx. "They deal stunning damage for a few seconds."

"You bastard! I'll get you for thi-" Before Maxx could continue his threat, a large mace was suddenly slammed on his chest. It dealt a large amount of damage, causing his health to decrease to a half bar. The forceful blow also made him kneel and yelp in pain. There was no break in the minotaur attacks. Another weapon came falling in his direction. This time it was a machete and it severed his right arm. The effect of the stun wore off the moment his arm dropped to the ground before exploding into glowing cubes. The attack elicited a roar of agonizing pain from Maxx as he struggled to rise while being surrounded by a mist of glowing cubes.

"You!" Maxx shouted to West while he gripped his dagger with his remaining arm. "I'll get you for this!" He then moved towards West with bloodthirsty desire.

But the moment he stood up from the ground, he was knocked back down by West with a surprise shot to the knee. Like the headshot from earlier, this was no regular attack either. Yes, his body was limping, but he was also moving at a snail's pace. As if a giant block of concrete was magically chained to his legs.

"What the hell did you do this time, you cheating bastard!?" Screaming was the only thing Maxx could do at West now.

"Knee shot." West replied as he reloaded his pistol. "It deals damage while also slowing the target." He fired another round at Maxx. The damage was significantly higher this time. It turned his health down to a quarter bar.

"I'll kill you…I'll kill you for this!" Maxx said as he crawled towards the gunslinger.

"Not if they kill you first." West said as he blankly stared at the minotaurs slowly marching towards Maxx.

Maxx turned to where West was looking. Fear suddenly filled his features and his skin cast a chilling pale color. "You can't do this to me." Desperation was obnoxiously apparent in his voice.

The remark got a chuckle out of West. "And you can?"

"Please, man! I've worked way too long to reach this level!"

"The irony coming out from that line alone." West said as he reloaded his gun once more.

"Please! You can take all my items! Hell, take all my gold! Just don't reset my level!"

West ignored Maxx's desperate begging and placed his gun's barrel between the dying rogue's eyes.

"You should have thought of that before you preyed on me."

Maxx's face wrinkled into an awful scowl. "You damn noob, I hope you burn in hell."

"Nah, already been there." West said as he pulled the trigger.