Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Jellypong looked perplexedly at the two beings that had suddenly appeared before it. However, the beings in front of Jellypong were just as bewildered, their mouths moving without Jellypong understanding a word.

“Ah, yes, yes. Thinking it was a water spirit, we started talking, but it turns out it’s not a water spirit. So, communication doesn’t work? Isn’t that the flow of things here? Right?”

As Leeha approached them nonchalantly, like a gangster swaggering forward, Blaugrun slapped his forehead in disbelief at Leeha’s manner and words.

“Do you really want to miss this opportunity with such remarks?”

“Kik, no way! Blaugrun-ssi! How can we communicate with these spirits?”

Leeha turned towards Blaugrun. Turning his back to the spirits might have seemed like a show of fearlessness, but he was no longer afraid.

Just as Blaugrun was about to respond, a voice interjected.

“A person with affinity to our clan, I see.”

“Wow, where on earth did you find such a pure and unique water spirit? But wait, were there water spirits of this rank? It can hardly speak, yet its purity is so high.” A male and a female voice.

Leeha’s ears perked up.

He quickly exchanged words with Blaugrun and then turned towards them.

“Nice to meet you, Noeanen-nim of the Earth Spirits and Silestin-nim of the Wind Spirits.”

The muscular man, arms crossed like Hulk, was the embodiment of Noeanen, a high-grade Earth Spirit, and the woman, whose hair fluttered like a goddess even while standing still, was Silestin, a high-grade Wind Spirit.

Leeha greeted them boldly and gracefully.

Of course, he had whispered to Blaugrun for their names just a moment ago.

“Pretending to know! How did a human come here? Having affinity with us but also carrying ‘that one’s’ energy.”

“Hmm. Even what he carries on his shoulder says so. But… if he’s traveling with this water spirit-“

Silestin was wary of Leeha, but Noeanen looked puzzled.

Leeha quickly scanned their faces. He had realized something was off.

‘The keywords that just came up are ‘that one’ and something on my shoulder – obviously talking about Black Bass.’

Spirits don’t attack even if there’s no affinity.

But the excessive caution shown towards Leeha and Blaugrun had a clear meaning.

[We must protect this World Tree at all costs.] The target was still unknown, but the resolve was clear.

For Leeha, befriending them was necessary, both to uncover the reason and to obtain the fruit of the World Tree.

“We are not suspicious people. The Jellypong here is a water spirit born from the essence of Elaim-nim, the King of Water Spirits. I received it as a gift from Elaim-nim and am trusted enough to perform 〈Mermaid Transformation〉.”

“Mermaid Transformation?!”

“Even Elaim-nim is known for being curious, but to give a human mermaid transformation…”

“〈Mermaid Transformation〉!”

Seeing them tilt their heads in confusion, Leeha immediately activated his skill.

His perfectly normal legs transformed into a squid’s tentacles – shocking Silestin.

“Wow! It’s true! Heehee, a human with mermaid transformation! Sylphid-nim will have a good laugh about this!”

“…Silestin. Don’t forget our purpose.”

“Our purpose, of course, I haven’t forgotten! You also prepared a lot to tell Noas-nim.”

“Uh…”

As Noeanen, who intended to judge Leeha, intensified his guard, Silestin retorted with a groan.

“How about it? With the trust of the Sea God to this extent, perhaps we can also be of help to you?”

Leeha undid his mermaid transformation and smiled.

He grinned excessively, to the point of being almost silly, but of course, it was all calculated.

“If Elaim-nim sent you, then the purpose must be one. Fine. Human, and… Juvenile Bronze Dragon. Permission granted for the entry of both life forms.”

Their cautious stance had significantly softened, thanks to Jellypong’s proof of existence and the use of the mermaid transformation skill.

Noeanen swiftly waved his arm, and Silestin flicked her hair, prompting the spirits surrounding Jellypong to return to their original places.

Leeha quietly hid his hand behind his back and gave a thumbs up.

“…Who said you’re not impressive? I was just about to say you did well.”

Blaugrun grumbled as he walked ahead of Leeha, who followed with a smile.

‘Now, where to start the approach?’

Jellypong, like a puppy separated from its mother, quickly ran back into Leeha’s arms and resumed its vest form.

Looking up at the World Trees towering as if they could rip through the clouds, Leeha composed his thoughts.

‘I have to somehow extract the fruit of the World Tree.’

It meant successfully walking the tightrope between alertness and trust.

‘Can this even be called a forest…?’

As he moved deeper into the area where the World Trees gathered, Leeha experienced something bizarre.

Like intertwined brambles, the space between each World Tree was connected by small branches, like nerve cells interlocking.

‘So this is what they meant by saying a World Tree is not just one tree.’

The World Trees were both a whole and individual entities, all interconnected.

Of course, the ‘small branches’ were relative to the World Trees’ massive trunks; each branch was thick enough for Leeha to lie on.

“In Lope Continent, I only saw the corrupted ones, but this is how they originally are. Impressive.”

“The corrupted? Ah, ah. Those were never true World Trees. They grew that way because they were corrupted from the start. A proper World Tree always forms a grove.”

Noeanen responded nonchalantly to Leeha’s sincere admiration, his muscular frame even larger than any giant Leeha had met.

Probably 15 times bigger than Igor.

“It’s sad that this is the only grove left on this land… Damn those wretched beings.” Silestin muttered to herself, picking up on Noeanen’s words.

Despite her slender frame, Silestin’s height was not to be underestimated, almost as tall as Noeanen, looking even taller due to her slimness.

“There are no more World Trees in Erika, the New Continent?”

“Wasn’t that why Elaim-nim sent you? To guard this.”

Silestin looked puzzled. Leeha nodded as if agreeing.

Blaugrun glared at Leeha, but Leeha grabbed the little dragon’s head and turned his gaze forward.

-I know what you’re going to say. Shh.

-Elaim-nim didn’t send you.

-Shh, shh! If you say that out loud, we’re both dead, you know?

-Liar.

-Why am I a liar? I just said I’m trusted by Elaim-nim. Who said Elaim-nim sent me?

-Ugh… Petty.

-That’s adult diplomacy for you.

“If this is the only World Tree and its grove… then it must be bearing fruit, right?”

As soon as the word ‘fruit’ popped up, the gazes of the two high-grade spirits bore down on him.

Leeha had never seen such a look, but it was as fiery as he imagined a fire spirit’s gaze would be.

“That’s it. That’s what we must protect.”

“The fruit that can only be formed by absorbing all the energy of the earth and the wind… The World Tree produces only one such fruit of life in its lifetime.”

Leeha had to manage his expression upon hearing Silestin’s explanation.

What does that mean? One per tree?

“…One? One per tree?”

“Of course. Once a World Tree bears fruit, it’s as if it’s done all its work. One World Tree dies… and two seeds from the fruit will create two new World Trees. A World Tree can only increase its kind by one…

That’s why World Trees are so rare.

They differed from the typical reproduction of plants.

“But still. It’s good they multiply. Then, there’s no point in the fruit staying on for long! As soon as it bears fruit, you should pick it and immediately plant the seeds and grow them again- Wait, wouldn’t that increase the number of World Trees?”

Leeha was chilled by the thought of only one fruit per tree but felt somewhat relieved thinking that taking one wouldn’t significantly harm the grove.

But his assumption shattered with Noeanen’s next words.

“Right. If only it didn’t take 500 years for a World Tree seed to grow this large and another 300 years to bear fruit.”

Obtaining the fruit of the World Tree was not a high-difficulty quest for nothing, taking more than 150 days.

‘The moment I take the fruit… I’m essentially killing a World Tree. I’d also be trampling on the possibility of two new World Trees growing. It’s almost like completely destroying a plant on the verge of extinction.

‘How can a quest be like this?’

Isn’t this a quest leading to the extinction of a species? And to do so by deceiving these innocent spirits, using the friendship…

Leeha had to curse Bahamut in his mind for a long time.

Compared to before taking the fruit, it would require at least 800 years for the World Tree to be in the same situation and number of individuals.

‘Crazy. I feel guilty even though it’s just a game. This isn’t just about plucking a fruit; it’s about changing the entire game landscape, isn’t it?’

Meanwhile, notifications like [You have received a letter.] annoyingly popped up, adding to Leeha’s troubles along with the indiscriminate terror of the users who publicly knew him, the absurd difficulty of the quest, and the situation in Middle Earth, all intertwining in his mind like the World Trees.

‘Sigh… I don’t know. First, I have to work hard on building rapport.’

“Waaaaaai——–!”

“It’s definitely Alexander-nim!”

“I love you, Alexander! I love you, Bailephus!”

The users cheered at the sight of the colossal golden dragon crossing the sky. Bailephus and Alexander, receiving the cheers, showed no change in expression.

“How’s the situation?”

[We alone are enough. With humans below, it will be even easier.]

“Hmm. Let’s go.”

The spear Alexander was holding suddenly extended.

The top-ranked user effortlessly held the spear, now over 15 meters long, tilting its tip.

When white radiance began to emanate from the tip of his spear, nothing could block their path.

When the Ancient Gold Dragon and the top-ranked dragon knight began their ruthless charge, the users on the ground rushed forward in competition.

“Run, run!”

“Even if we catch a few small fries, we’ll complete an achievement! Hurry up and form a party, quickly!”

“This is the only chance to join a party with Alexander-nim!”

Despite the menacing presence of the monsters, they were no match for the humans blinded by achievements.

Moreover, much of the opposition had already been cleared by the dragon and Alexander, who were leagues ahead.

While Leeha struggled in the Forest of the World Trees, unable to find a clue to obtain the fruit, time continued to flow relentlessly.

[Common Quest: When You Cut the Grass, Snakes Will Appear]

Objective: Verify the demon’s base (6/7) Failure condition: Failure to verify within 100 days (Remaining time: 39 days)