Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Description: Can create an illusion of the Platinum Dragon Bahamut. Just the appearance of this legendary metal dragon leader is enough to make ordinary monsters unable to raise their heads.

However, be careful. The illusion without a physical form will let all attacks pass through it, and the illusion’s attacks are also just illusions. If the target realizes that Bahamut’s attacks don’t affect them, the illusion of Bahamut will immediately disappear. What remains afterward is an intense anger towards the deceived.

This is a gift and a test that Bahamut gives to its followers….

Effect: Summoning and control of Bahamut’s illusion

Mana cost: 800

Duration: 1 hour or until illusion is revealed

(Revealing cancels the illusion and increases the abilities of surrounding monsters by +100%)

Cooldown: 24 hours

“We will send our personnel. Once the ritual is over, you two will also be on our side. If there’s any resistance, you know well what will happen to City Gaza.”

Around the time Faust was about to speak, what Leeha discovered was this very skill. It was what he obtained from becoming a follower of Bahamut.

The skill to summon his illusion!

“It doesn’t have a rank or level? Just use it like this? And the description is so lacking… what kind of gift is this….”

But even complaining was a luxury Leeha couldn’t afford at this point.

Soon, Faust would send members of Jazar, and Leeha would be in a situation where he had no choice but to make a forced decision.

To avoid that, he had to figure out how to utilize this skill somehow.

“The illusion can’t attack… and even if it’s attacked, it will be revealed.”

In other words, if he couldn’t make all the enemies retreat with just one illusion, he could raise the abilities of the monsters instead.

Was it fortunate that it didn’t apply to users? But even to say that it was fortunate was a stretch, as there were already too many monsters around.

“Chimeras and Faust’s summoned creatures will get stronger. Dammit! If only Bahamut could breathe fire── no, breath?”

Leeha’s head spun.

Anyway, if he attacked but didn’t actually hit, it meant he wouldn’t get caught! In other words, it wasn’t about being indistinguishable by appearance alone, right?

Then? Could he try deceiving them?

Step by step, step by step, step by step!

The members of Jazar were already approaching. There was no time left to think. As soon as Leeha finished casting the skill, he activated the Crystal Orb.

“Hallucination: Bahamut. And the Crystal Orb is… Hell and Will-o’-the-Wisp.”

Shaah──!

“Summon the illusion, then threaten them that they have to move towards the golems and Faust. But don’t attack!”

Around the time Leeha finished inputting the commands, the sky was already filled with the colossal form of Bahamut.

“Ugh, what, what is this?! What happens if this brat rebels, I’ve already told you―”

Pff, pff──!

When the sound of flapping wings was heard, when everyone’s gaze turned to that dragon, Leeha had already disappeared from City Gaza.

With Bahamut hovering in the sky over City Gaza, users didn’t have the luxury of focusing on Leeha, who was smaller than a toenail, as they stared.

* * *

“Bottleneck, sir! Bottleneck, sir!”

“What, what is it?”

Bottleneck, who was hammering away, stopped and stared blankly as Leeha rushed in. Leeha came running into the blacksmith’s workshop in a hurry.

“Whew, thank goodness! I was worried you had moved Hell and Will-o’-the-Wisp.”

“Still haven’t received the results from the chief’s meeting― where are you going? This brat! Do you think this is your house?”

“Forget that! Where is that thing? The thing I asked you to make!”

Bottleneck put down his equipment and rushed towards Leeha, but Leeha brushed aside Bottleneck’s hand and rummaged around in the workshop.

“Ah, I found it! Is this it?”

And finally, Leeha found it. He cautiously plucked the object hanging on the wall bracket.

“It’s not finished yet! If you just take that thing and go, there could be problems even for a user like you──”

“Right now is not the time to worry about that! Anyway, thanks. I’ll test it out in a real battle and let you know if there’s anything lacking for you to fix!”

“Hey, you rascal! With something that complicated, if you make a mistake even once, it could explode──”

“Appear!”

〈Appear (Partner)〉

Description: With your partner dragon and your bound souls, you can move to your partner’s side without any constraints.

Effect: Move to the location of the partner dragon

Mana cost: 150

Cooldown: 1 hour

Shaah──!

Leeha’s body disappeared in an instant. As he disappeared, Bottleneck, who was trying to grab him and take the item back, staggered and collapsed to the ground.

“──What are you doing…. you foolish brat!”

“What’s going on, boss?!”

“Are you okay?”

The Beard Brothers stopped their work and rushed over due to the sudden commotion, but they couldn’t figure out what had just happened.

“….Anyway, that damn brat.”

Collapsed on the ground, Bottleneck muttered quietly.

* * *

[Quack! Quack!]

“Whoa! B-Blowgrun? Wait, I know you’re excited, but I’m busy right now, so hold on!”

The place where Leeha appeared wasn’t far from where he had been earlier in City Gaza. Blowgrun, who had been instructed to stay in a safe place from the start of the battle, was there.

Seeing him, Blowgrun playfully swatted Leeha’s cheek with his soft scales, but Leeha didn’t have time to enjoy the reunion.

“Tsk, the best strategy was to leave, but I guess Faust is a ranker after all. I should be thankful it’s not too late.”

Bahamut with its massive wings still flapping in the air and the Maou’s vanguard who were still eying that Bahamut.

The best scenario was to make them retreat with just Bahamut’s threat, but the situation didn’t go as Leeha had planned.

“Alright, start descending slowly now. Descend loudly and make a fuss.”

“Are you really not leaving? Are you really going to taste the fury of my lightning breath and then turn back?”

As Leeha issued a new command, Bahamut’s illusion began to move accordingly.

Flap─── Flap───!

With just a few flaps of its wings, Bahamut touched down on the ground, and Leeha dashed at full speed.

“Gahhh―! Can’t be late! Get ready to breathe! Now!”

Alongside Blowgrun, Leeha dashed out from around a corner, disappearing into Bahamut’s illusion. No one saw this happen.

At the same time, Leeha input another command.

“Breathe fire, target the chimeras!”

“Prepare──”

“Whooosh──!”

This was the exact moment when Faust was casting a spell to distinguish between illusions and reality.

Squeezing between the gap of that casting, Bahamut, who had landed on the ground, inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled it out again.

The direction was an alley to the side where the chimeras were!

From within Bahamut’s illusion, Leeha could see the outside with a semi-transparent feeling.

Guided by the illusion of Bahamut’s actions, Leeha took out the item he had brought from Bottleneck’s blacksmith.

Blowgrun flapped his wings in a menacing manner, swiping Leeha’s cheek as if to warn him.

“It’s like a vacuum cleaner. It has a body, a hose, and a snout.

But it’s not an ordinary vacuum cleaner. It was much smaller, but its value was unimaginable in Mid Earth.

Even the surface of the body, hose, and snout were not made of ordinary metal.

Orichalcum, a metal imbued with the ability to control mana, was what made the surface of the Orichalcum Shine, sparkling with a faint light.

“Shh! I know, I used this without the former owner’s permission, and I’m sorry, but still, forgive me!”

Leeha could easily understand Blowgrun’s excitement and restless behavior.

Why did it shine on the surface of the Orichalcum? The item hidden inside this little pouch was the ‘Blowgrun’s Dragon Heart.’

“Quack, Quack── Quu!”

As Blowgrun rushed at Leeha, the illusion of Bahamut finally started opening its mouth.

Ignoring the Bronze Dragon’s hatchling that was clinging to his hair, Leeha didn’t miss the timing.

“Here we go──!”

As the snout and Bahamut’s mouth faced the same direction, Leeha pulled the trigger.

Click!

“Whoooaaaaah──────!”

As Leeha pulled the trigger, the Orichalcum door inside opened.

Hidden within it was the Dragon Heart that constantly absorbed mana, the Dragon Heart that contained the mana that composed the breath.

As the mana was expelled, the scales of the Bronze Dragon on the snout spat── generating energy.

Normally, the perfectly mixed breath energy from the dragon’s scales and the mana from the Dragon Heart should be released as a complete, overpowering breath.

However, with just one scale, it wasn’t enough to make it perfect!

It only sparked, sparked in response to the mana of the Dragon Heart, merely complementing it.

“But this is what I wanted!”

What Leeha wanted was that spark.

The dragon’s scales played the role of an ignition plug, and the mana of the Dragon Heart played the role of fuel.

What effect would occur when these two things combined? Would it happen as he thought?

Leeha had wondered, and Bottleneck placed his hand on it.

And now, the result of that contemplation had just come to fruition.

* * *

Fwooosh────── G!

Flames of bright yellow burst forth from Bahamut’s mouth.

From the moment he first saw the chimeras, Leeha had been hoping for this. With the items from Blowgrun and the fully realized demonic weapon, the effects were proving to be even more lethal than Leeha had anticipated.

“Cruuuu── Cruuuu──!”

“Cruuuuuuu──, Cruuuuaaaaat!”

Fire was the perfect counter for the chimeras. Amidst the unpleasant sound effects like Tsuzuuuuu, and the billowing smoke, the chimeras were set ablaze.

“Explosion isn’t an option. I might get caught in it. But I can’t use scrolls every time either.”

So how was Leeha, who wasn’t a magician, able to breathe fire?

The answer was right here.

“Everyone, retreattttt!”

Faust and the Maou’s vanguard had no choice but to flee.

The flames spewing forth from Bahamut’s mouth had proven their effectiveness. This was the first-ever 〈Flame Emitter〉 in Mid Earth, and Leeha was witnessing it firsthand.

〈Flame Emitter with the Heart of Hero ‘Blowgrun’ (27%)〉

Attack Power: 3,000 per second

Range: 70m

Duration: 100 seconds when Dragon Heart mana is fully charged

Requirements: ―

Explanation: “A demonic weapon, not as painful as an incinerator….” A weapon created by the Dwarf blacksmith Bottleneck using the heart and scales of the Adult Bronze Dragon Blowgrun.

Converts the energy from a full breath into an ignition source, using mana as a fuel to breathe fire. It automatically recharges mana according to the nature of the Dragon Heart until the duration expires.

With the golems and the Maou’s vanguard gone, the undead shattered. A few remaining chimeras were met with Leeha dispersing the remaining flames towards them.

Facing the absurd 3,000 damage per second, and considering it was a fire-type attack which was effective against chimeras, even the hybrids’ playthings couldn’t withstand it. They turned into ashes in front of the fiery assault.

Fwooooosh── Fwooooosh──!

As Leeha released the trigger, the sporadic flames gradually died down.

“Whew… I barely made it.”

Suppressing the near-collapse of his legs, Leeha collected the Flame Emitter and stowed it into his bag.

But it wasn’t over yet.

With the new weapon utilizing the Dragon Heart and the new skill gained from Bahamut, all Leeha managed to do was force their retreat.