Chapter 14: Chapter FOURTEEN

"Have you ever fired the guns of your world?" Irina asked as she led the group into the garden.

"No, only hunters and a few specific jobs have the right to handle weapons in my country, but I pretty much know how it works."

Access to the outside required passing through a small living room composed of leather armchairs, a small round wooden table, and a large bookcase filled with a hundred thick books. In the back of the room were also a few toys for Liam, including a wooden and furry horse the size of a seesaw, which looked more like a sculpture than a toy in how detailed it was.

The child rushed there when they crossed the living room and grabbed the reins of the wooden animal which hung in the void. Immediately afterward, Mia heard a neigh coming from the motionless object which suddenly came to life. The noise startled her and she jumped slightly, making Ethan who was walking by her side giggle and Adam who was following behind them smile.

"Oh please, I didn't grow up with magic," she complained ironically, smiling, absolutely not upset.

Liam passed them to trample the grass of the garden with the hoofs of his wooden horse with enthusiasm. The way the toy moved really suggested that the animal was alive. The toy was a little slow and did not offer the sensations of a well-thrown gallop, but it was already incredible to observe a wooden object capable of moving like a living being with the help of a little magic.

The exterior of the house was of a reasonable size and surrounded by wide and tall bushes which concealed everything from curious neighbors. The grass was fresh and clean, and a weeping willow sat enthroned in the middle of the garden. Beneath its leaves hid a small table and chairs made of natural stone, sheltered from the harsh canyon sun. There was also a small wooden cabin at the end of the green space, in the farthest corner of the house. It was in this direction that Irina was moving.

"Is it this hot all the time in here?" Ethan asked, releasing an extra button from his shirt.

"Being used to the spring temperature of the Arena it's true that it feels weird here," confirmed Mia, observing her soul mate revealing a little more of his flesh with attention. "But it's cool in the house."

Ethan was overdoing it slightly, but she didn't know what kind of climate he had grown up in. If he was used to the cold and always mild weather in the Arena, it was normal for him to feel the blow. The current temperature corresponded to a good summer at thirty-five degrees in the sun, nothing unusual for the blonde. And then, the complexion of the Vila was so white that his skin could not be properly protected against the sun's rays. Maybe it was a good thing that he would take on a few colors if they were going to stay in Callis for a while.

"There isn't a general weather control spell like in the Arena indeed," Adam explained, "it's too complex for such a large environment, but there is one in the house."

To put it simply, they have air conditioning, Mia snickered inwardly.

The group stopped at the table waiting for Irina to look for the weapons that were stored in the little cabin. The place seemed insecure to keep potentially deadly objects, but she should not forget that the place was perhaps as reinforced as a safe with magic. The location also had the advantage of being away from Liam's immediate reach if he wasn't unattended, which was wise. An accident could happen anytime, Mia had heard enough scare stories about guns in her favorite media. While his wife searched the shelter, Adam walked around the weeping willow to retrieve a vaguely humanoid-shaped wooden target with a stake at the end which he planted between the cabin, the tree, and the bushes. This left them the whole length of the garden to shoot.

"It's a magic target. The bullets will not pass through it, but a red light will turn on for a few moments where it was hit. This is highly practical when you train regularly."

After Adam's explanations, the silhouette of Irina finally took shape outside the shed. She had two different weapons in her well-laden arms, as well as several boxes of cartridges. She dropped them on the table and grabbed a gun in each hand to present them to Mia.

"The larger one is a bolt-action rifle and the smaller one a revolver. Which do you want to test first?"

"The rifle, please."

Mia grabbed the gun, looking at it from every angle, not really confident of how the gun worked now that she had it in front of her. She nevertheless placed one of her hands underneath and another on the trigger to test the weight and begin to get used to having it between her fingers.

"There's a safety catch you have to remove before you can fire," she instructed Mia, pointing at it. "The breech can hold five cartridges. To reload, you simply pull the lever up and then back. Then you fold the breech, you block the bolt and it's gone. Each time you pull, you do the same with the lever to get the socket out."

The brunette handed her a box of ammunition which Mia picked up with one hand. She moved to the table to put it down and grabbed the cartridges to reload the weapon as Irina had explained to her. When her teacher heard the distinctive click of the bolt after her student had finished the maneuver, she continued her explanations.

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"It is a precision weapon that is often used with a long-range rifle scope. It's mostly the Sentinels who use it since it allows them to monitor the surroundings at the same time. Try shooting like this for now."

"You'll play Liam later, go inside for now," Adam ordered the little boy who complied not without showing a disappointed pout before the blonde got into a shooting position.

With as much positive as negative apprehension, Mia moved towards the point that Irina had indicated to her to position herself, opposite the garden with the house behind her back. The two men had placed themselves at her level three meters aside so as not to bother her. Mia could feel Ethan's intense gaze on the gun, he still wasn't reassured by the prospect of her wielding such a weapon.

"There are about twenty meters between the target and you, it's too close to train properly with this type of rifle, but it's enough for you to get used to the weapon and its aim."

When she placed the rifle in the firing position, the improvement in her eyesight after the bite was evident. Already, she saw much further than before, but it was above all the multitude of details that were invisible to her eyes before the link that struck her. Even at this distance, she could make out the slightest dust swirling around the target. It almost gave her a headache as her vision quickly became overloaded with these tiny unusual elements.

Her heart pounded hard against her ribcage as her finger placed the trigger. It was something impressive, to shoot for the first time. She tried as best she could to stabilize her breathing to concentrate as much as possible on her target and aim for the head. Two seconds later, the sound of the detonation echoed through the garden, scaring Ethan as he stepped back.

The bullet seemed to sink into the void against the target, as if stopped by an invisible wall, then finally fell into the grass below. Before checking that she had aimed correctly, Mia took her teacher's advice and played with the lever to get the smoking casing out of the breech.

"Right in the target!" exclaimed Irina, applauding, all smiles. "I told you it was child's play for our over-developed senses! How are you feeling?"

A red light had turned on at the exact spot where she had aimed, proving to the young human that she had fired perfectly at the right spot. She released the tense muscles in her arms and turned to Ethan smiling proudly.

"Too easy," she blurted out almost haughtily.

"I gave you the normal ammunition. The other two boxes are piercing bullets and explosive bullets. They are more expensive, but they will quickly become indispensable. Once the surprise wears off and our adversaries get used to seeing us wield such weapons, they won't be as effective and dissuasive as they are now. Empty the rest of the magazine on the target, I'll show you what they do."

The last four balls, therefore, joined the first on the grass below the target. Mia had alternated between aiming for the head and the heart and hadn't missed her target once. Adrenaline began to rise in her brain, along with the dopamine from her dazzling success. Shooting when you hit your target perfectly was really fun.

Irina reached out for the gun and Mia handed it back to her, almost disappointed to part with it. As she loaded the gun, a doorbell rang at the front of the house to announce a visitor. The brunette raised her head and her gaze fell on her husband who nodded to tell her that he was taking care of it.

"I'm going to fire a piercing bullet," she said, getting into a shooting position. "Take a good look at how it will land on the target, you should see it now while concentrating."

After the sound of detonation, Mia immediately squinted to see what her teacher wanted her to see. She nearly missed it as the action had only lasted a second, but she could finally see that the ball, after being blocked by the target's invisible wall, had shattered into dozens of small, sharp, bouncing shards.

"Wow, that looks so painful," she commented, impressed.

At the same time, the silhouette of Adam took shape in the living room to join the group again, looking serious. He had in his hands a small piece of paper which he waved at Irina's eye level to let her know that they had received a missive. The brunette's playful look disappeared the second her gaze fell on her husband's worried face.

"Something happened, and it doesn't sound like good news. They want us to join them immediately at HQ. Us four."

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