Throughout the galaxy, a legend is told...
On a distant planet,
a grim fortress stood...
...until a deadly force parted the heavens
and descended upon the keep.
Though brought to ruin,
the ashes of that place hold an artifact of impossible power.
A gun that can kill the past.
Over time, the fortress was rebuilt,
and some who hear the legend would risk anything for another shot.
To claim their prize and make what was done, undone,
they must...
ENTER THE GUNGEON
The Breach was calm that day, everyone was minding their own business; it was a day of peaceful respite; nobody had entered the perilous Gungeon yet, but the morning was young. The Marine, the Pilot and the Convict were playing poker while the Hunter was playing with Junior the second.
A cloaked figure walked in through the large, rumbling doors, drawing everyone's attention. He walked up the stairs where the guards were pacing around; they impeded the figure's advance by crossing their spears.
"Newcomers must first go to the Hall of Knowledge before being allowed into the Gungeon. The library is down there to the right."
The figure wanted to shout at them about how he wouldn't be needing training of any sorts the way he fought, but he remembered that knowing the enemy is half the fight, so he complied after muttering a thank you.
He paid no heed to the people who were staring at him. Next to the staircase sat a drunken, blue, reptilian creature who hiccupped. It was sitting next to a few broken bottles of alcoholic beverages.
"Well, what do we have here? You must be a new arrival. Let me guess. Here to change the past, right? Well, you're not the first. But there's no salvation here. I was like you once, came to change the past. And now I have no future... Heh heh heh heh..." He said in a droning, depressed, tone.
"Well, since you're here... Let me help you out. Manny's just through this door here. He'll... give you a tour... So off you go. It is why you came, isn't it? To this accursed temple? Hah hah hah hah..." said the hopeless stranger.
The figure went downstairs into the brown library and was startled by the sudden appearance of a ghost. The dead old man spoke with a booming voice.
"Wayward Soul! Approach me! For it is I, Ser Manual! Heed my words and I shall show you how to survive this accursed Labyrinth. Continue through the door to begin your tutelage!"
To his surprise, the ghost did not disappear and waited for him to go first.
"Onward! To greatness!"
The library was spacious.
"Try flipping those tables or kicking those barrels. You can use those as cover in a gunfight."
The figure released some of his frustration by destroying the room.
"Yeah! Tear this place up; I'll clean it later."
Once he was satisfied with the damage, he stopped and looked at the ghost.
"Excellent interacting, pupil! Proceed to the next room."
The next room contained a translucent blue barrier that blocked a line of bullets that covered the room. There was no way to walk through it, not even a gap.
"This is the most important lesson. You can dodge roll. You are INVULNERABLE TO GUNFIRE during the FIRST HALF of the dodge roll, but vulnerable again when you hit the ground. This means you can dodge THROUGH bullets and other hazards. It requires precise timing. I will now lift the barrier and you will use the dodge roll to reach the other side without perishing."
Had he heard that correctly? He'd heard of stranger magics, but this seemed ridiculous. There was little time to think about it as the ghost was about to lift the barrier.
"Ready... GO!"
He readied himself and rolled.
Good thing my training required me to be nimble
He landed on his feet, imagining it would begin to hurt his back if he did that often. He did it three more times and awaited further instruction in the next room, where a few turrets on the wall began to shoot, forming a thick wall of bullets blocking the next door.
"The dodge roll is the first and best way to avoid dying in a gunfight. Sometimes though, the number of bullets and be overwhelming. For instance, there's no dodging through that. But there is a way to clear the path!"
The ghost gestured to a table where two blue bullets lied.
"These are called Blanks. Using one will delete all enemy projectiles in a room and stop enemies from shooting for a short period. They will also push nearby enemies away. Great if you need a second to reposition."
Perhaps a normal person would have asked how to use them, the figure was not one of those people. He stored them in his magical storage realm and knew that they would respond to his command.
"Blank." he ordered to his new resource.
The room was cleared of all bullets, the figure bolted towards the door.
"Excellent, Blanks refill every floor so use them when you need to! They can also be found throughout the Gungeon but I wouldn't rely on that. Onward!"
The two of them walked through the corridor to the next room, the cloaked figure did not really care for the rooms appearance since he knew the Gungeon's rooms liked to change.
"You've got the basics uhm... sir? Ma'am? Whatever, I suppose you've earned a reward. A gun befitting your stature and experience. Go on, open it."
He did not blame the old man for not recognizing his gender, his face was concealed, and his mantel only allowed his boots to be seen. A brown chest appeared out of nothing, he opened it to find a green gun.
A... literal pea shooter...
The Gungeon liked guns despite not understanding human metaphors apparently.
A red symbol appeared on the floor from across the room, a gunshot was heard, and a large living yellow bullet stood there with a revolver in its hand. Its face looked flat despite the conical body and it seemed like it came out of a child's cartoon. It hobbled around, not taking notice of anything.
Is this really the basic Gundead? They are not frightening in the least, adorable in fact
"One of the Gungeon's natural inhabitants... cruel, savage, bloodthirsty. Now... KILL HIM."
The figure laughed until he heard the old man seriously tell him to kill it. As he looked at Manny funnily, he yelled something ridiculous but probably true.
"THE GUNGEON IS NO PLACE FOR COMPASSION!"
If it were, then everyone would use that gun everyday
He shot the Bullet Kin until it died, it didn't even shoot back, it's bland yet adorable eyes became X-s.
"Cold blooded. Truly, you are ruthless. The next rooms will be real gunfights. Kill the enemies in each room, and the doors will open. I'll meet you a few rooms ahead. Now go."
With that said, he vanished.
The figure went into the rooms and did as instructed, not taking a single hit, he encountered a taller and thinner Gundead that was colored red from the eyes up, wielding a shotgun that shot five slow moving bullets that had no space between them until they were further apart.
Incredible how the bullets in this place look like the red and white energy spheres…
He entered a room with a large gap. There was a big black panel in the shape of a square with green holes that glowed, in the center of the room. Ser Manual appeared and explained how one could teleport to them once the room was devoid of enemies.
"The Gungeon allows you to know the rooms you've been to, access this map within your mind and ask to be teleported to this spot."
Bah...
The figure grabbed his wand and murmured a spell for temporary levitation and jumped across the watery pit.
He fell and was transported to the floor again before hitting the water. He felt a great pain in his chest.
"Whoops, need I remind you that you can only take six hits before dying? Falling counts as a hit."
"You didn't mention that. Why didn't my spell work?"
"The Gungeon does not allow traditional magic. Use the map it has provided you."
That was very worrying, if he couldn't use magic then he wouldn't be able to progress at all, he was a horrible shooter. He gulped as he looked at his pea shooter while it automatically reloaded. He used the Gungeon's magic map to teleport.
"Good, now the next room contains the boss. Good luck."
The boss door was a bullet that looked like a skull, it had eyes that burned with fire. Before entering it, he noticed cracks in the wall to his left. He shot at it, but it wouldn't break. He pondered what would be able to destroy it, and finally he decided to use his last blank. A secret corridor was revealed.
Walking through it carefully, he saw a skeleton with armor and a helmet. A knife was stuck in its back. To his horror, the words 'Here lies Ser Manual' were sketched on the wall.
The man teaching me how to survive in the Gungeon... never stepped foot in it?
Very discomforted at this situation, he walked into the boss room, worried he would die here. Ser Manual was there.
"Are you ready for your final test?"
He nodded, sweat dripping from his brow, should he ask the ghost about his corpse?
"You will..."
The doors locked.
"...face me in SINGLE COMBAT!"
He pulled out a real physical revolver and began to shoot. The figure was so stunned at the sudden turn of events that he took a bullet to the face. Frantically shooting and running around to avoid the rest, the figure told himself he could do this. Ser Manual made a circle of bullets erupt from his body, the cloaked figure dodge rolled through it and was shot as he had not timed it right. His goal in mind for when he would kill his past came to him. He calmed and then proceeded to shoot accurately.
He had to succeed.
As he mindfully dodged and fired, eventually Manny fell to the ground whining about dying a second time. The figure asked about the body he had found.
Ser Manual got up and recounted of how he and his partner Blockner had come to the Gungeon, seeking glory.
"...then he stabbed me in the back."
The thought of the betrayal made the figure's blood steam.
"Is he still in the Gungeon?"
"Yes, if he had made it to the bottom, I would have felt it."
"I will avenge you, I swear it on my honor as a Mage!"
With that said, he left the Halls of Knowledge, leaving the pea shooter on the table.