"Are you planning on staring into space all day while we use up all the ammunition or what?" asked Achara while playing with Xavier's springy brown curls as he stood there blankly.
Snapping out of his daze after reminiscing about all that had occurred up until that point, Xavier then nudged Zack, who had stood beside him the entire time. The nerdy youth seemed to be using him as cover to avoid having to train his aim, which was clear as day.
Then, upon receiving stern looks from everyone who had turned towards him, he tried to weasel his way out by trying to get them to pity him.
"It hurts my wrists and forearms when I use them. They already hurt enough from typing all day, working hard, and training. Can I maybe...."
"No," all 4 of his companions interrupted in unison, not caring in the slightest.
Sighing, Zack knew there was no way he'd get away with avoiding firearm training. However, more than that, he was looking forward to seeing if Xavier was all talk and allowed him to display his skills first. Although he doubted that Xavier would bluff with such confidence, he was also doubtful that he could be skilled at the use of firearms.
And very quickly, he realised just how right he was...
-
Walking over to the firing stand, everyone else stopped what they were doing and gave him space, watching his every move closely. They all tended to believe in Xavier and trust that he would somehow be skilled and overshadow them. However, they were also highly sceptical and curious, just like Zack.
Despite that, they all moved away and seeing that he was struggling to pick which gun to start with, they doubted his skill even more. It wouldn't take anything away from Xavier, because he was still the most talented individual they had ever come across, but there was some slight disappointment.
Xavier always surprised them by accomplishing feats that were unheard of. He had done it so consistently that everyone in the Outlaw Gang had formed an expectation of him to always surpass expectations.
Just like most, Xavier wasn't the biggest fan of expectations. However, since it came from those he trusted and cared about, he saw it as their trust and reverence towards him.
'Pressure makes diamonds,' he said to himself like he always had, but even he was starting to doubt whether the Expert Precision would have much of an effect.
So far, he had observed that Achara used her impeccable timing, control and perceptivity to achieve remarkable accuracy. Sam, on the other hand, seemed to fire a gun more on instinct and rivalled Achara in overall skill, occasionally even surpassing her. Meanwhile, Karim and Connor were still trying to figure out how best to use their strengths to improve their accuracy.
Karim was on the verge of finding what he was looking for and appeared to be steadily catching up with Achara and Sam, displaying his tenacity and intelligence. The same couldn't be said for Connor.
'I guess God couldn't give him everything,' thought Xavier and the others.
The natural strength, speed, durability and endurance that he had surpassed even top athletes, and that was before he had started training in combat with them. Once he had, he learned everything so quickly, as if he was born to become a master close-range fighter. Even the use of melee weapons seemed useless against him, with the only one ever able to dominate him in combat being Xavier.
However, even Xavier was starting to struggle against him and his natural talent likely surpassed all of theirs. But his fine motor skills that required control and precision were not something he excelled at, which was to be expected from the hunk of muscle that he was.
Despite that, he was still steadily improving, and it wasn't to say that he couldn't keep up with everyone else in the Outlaw Gang in the use of firearms. He was merely comparing himself to the other unit leaders, other than Zack, who could barely be considered human.
Zack was also not the worst in the world and was struggling to keep up. But if he ever did have to use a firearm, he would at least have experience handling one. The odds of that occurring were extremely low, and it was more for fun than anything. Although, he certainly didn't find it as enjoyable as the others found watching him miss.
-
Giving Xavier some time to prepare himself and pick a gun, Karim had enough of waiting and picked out one for him. Explaining the model, make and all kinds of details about the firearm, he stated that it'd probably be the most suitable one for Xavier to start with, seeing as he didn't seem to know anything about firearms.
It was a pistol of some sort, and Karim's knowledge impressed Xavier, who praised him before returning his focus to what he was doing.
"I must know everything about the things that I plan on buying and selling. Weapons are just one of many. Us Outlaws will take over the country and even the world," he stated, with ambition and pride burning in his eyes.
Zack held back his laughter, but he, as well as the others, believed in what Karim said. It was just a bit cheesy to declare it in the way that he did. But how else was he meant to express what he foresaw they would achieve?
Glaring at Zack, after seeing him trying as hard as he could not to laugh, Karim smiled slightly. But before Zack could understand why he did or tease Karim, they all heard a clicking sound and turned to see what Xavier was doing.
And when they did, all 4 of them burst out into laughter.
If they had any hopes of Xavier being skilled with firearms, they had all been thrown out of the window after what they had just seen.
"The safety is still on, dumbass," explained Karim, who was surprisingly adept at teaching people. Meanwhile, the others were teasing and taunting Xavier from behind him, not missing out on the rare opportunity that presented itself to do so.
However, Xavier didn't register anything apart from a few of Karim's words that had gotten through to him. He was trying to understand the feeling he felt in his body when he attempted to fire the gun.
Despite not actually being able to fire the gun, since that was his intention, the Expert Precision seemed to have come into effect. And, unlike what he was expecting, it wasn't some sort of auto-aim that would allow him to lock onto a target subconsciously and aim at it accurately. That would have been absurd and likely uncomfortable since he wouldn't have control of his body.
Instead, when he focused on a target and tried to aim the gun at it, it felt as if everything else in his surroundings had been blocked out of his senses. Even the Gangster Instincts seemed to have been suppressed for the first time.
It was enthralling, soothing, and frightening at the same time.
How was it even possible to be that focused on something?
It was to the point that he could even feel the air flowing around him and see dust particles hovering before him.
Yet, despite how incredible the experience was, it was also slightly unnerving. If he wasn't able to control how deeply he immersed himself in aiming at a target, his senses and instincts wouldn't be able to pick up on any danger around him. But for the time being, and since it was only his first time using the Expert Precision, that was something he could worry about another time.
Instead, he was curious to see just how impressive his accuracy would be when he mastered the control of Expert Precision and learnt how to wield it to its maximum potential.
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