Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Friendship, achievement, achievement, a B+ grade!”

“Ahh, no wonder it was easy…

“Easy? If it wasn’t for Alexander-nim, would you have admitted a complete defeat?”

“Kack! Are you trying to kill me?!”

After approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, what wasn’t quite a raid had ended, and the users were all cheering.

However, at the same time, a few users had dark expressions.

Earning achievements is merely a moment of joy. What’s truly important is the quest itself.

And those users who knew that there was still one more hurdle to clear for this quest naturally had gloomy expressions.

“Is that the only place left?”

“Can we really beat it?”

The disaster of the RUSH guild was still lingering in the minds of the users of the New Continent. Worry and anxiety spread in an instant.

However, there was one different fact that was encouraging for them.

The fact that there’s one last gate left means, conversely, that everyone’s strength can be concentrated.

There’s only about one month left in Middle Earth time.

Less than 8 days in real time. If you log out and leave for a few days, it means the quest will just end.

Naturally, with so little time left, it was the opinion of the users that all the rankers had to cooperate.

And this opinion was not baseless.

“Lee Jiwon-nim is also participating, according to his internet post.”

“Wow, awesome, doesn’t that mean we’ll definitely beat it?”

“…Maybe. You never know.”

“What’s there to not know? Will Ha Leeha play games all night? Just quickly beat it when that guy logs out.”

“Is that necessary? Lee Jiwon-nim is a master of PVP, right? Just find Ha Leeha and kill him, then beat it. Total gain.”

“Alexander-nim won’t just sit back and watch either.”

“Wow, shit. The 1st and 2nd in ranking are going to kill Ha Leeha?”

The users’ eyes sparkled.

No one hates to see a villain die.

Leeha, still unable to shake off the image of a public figure, saw the day end in Middle Earth.

“Ha, ha. I’ve brought it! The sacred water from the ‘Lake where no light enters’! For something like the World Tree, of course you need to sprinkle this kind of water.”

Leeha, with a bucket full of water in both hands, was catching his breath.

“Hmm, well, it’s not totally useless.” “Ooh, it’s quite far from here… You went to places even we haven’t fully grasped?”

“Of course! I too am a ‘person who wants to protect the World Tree’!”

Leeha smiled broadly. Noe-a Nen and Celestin’s surprised expressions were brief, and they soon became expressionless again.

“But in order to protect the World Tree…

“This alone won’t do.”

Leeha had to try his best to maintain his smile. He knew what the change in expressions and pursed lips of the spirits meant.

‘Damn it! Even this doesn’t increase my affinity? You won’t give me the quest?’

The fact that the effect of affinity increase was almost negligible! Since entering Blaugrun and coming here, a lot of time had passed.

[Rapid Growth of Light and Shadow-2]

Objective: Acquire the ‘Fruit of the World Tree’ within 150 days and deliver it to Bahamut (Remaining time: 76 days)

Beep- Beep- Beep-

“Ah!”

“Hmm?”

“No, nothing. It’s nothing.”

Even amidst this, there were ringing call signals in his mind.

Leeha felt the cruelty of reality anew. If only I could focus on the game properly, it seems like I could really do it!

“Every time the story seems to be progressing, I get interrupted by a call like this. But I can’t just ignore it and not log out. The calls are related to my rehabilitation therapy.

The time for rehabilitation therapy, of course, along with meals and sleep for condition management, are essential elements.

In Korea, it was impossible to be a shut-in, connected to the game for more than 30 hours.

Even if Heinrich, the doctor, didn’t say anything, Ram Hwayeon and Ram Hwajung were determined to strictly manage Leeha.

‘If I log out now, have dinner, do a bit of rehab therapy, and then sleep… I’ll just be wasting another 3-4 days in Middle Earth.’

Since first logging into this place, I hadn’t gathered much information.

They talked a bit about anything related to the World Tree, but they gave no information about anything else.

‘If they were regular NPCs, I could try to bribe them with food… but spirits don’t even eat.’

The little bear cub, a fusion of bear and fire spirits, enjoyed eating, but they are pure spirits.

Not to mention they are of the ‘highest grade’, excluding the Spirit King himself.

Even if I could tempt them with food, they are not the type to be swayed.

“Ah, next time, fertilizer… Maybe I should prepare something like fertilizer to help the World Trees grow well. When one of these fruits is sprinkled on the ground, it grows vigorously-”

“Right now, I have no intention of picking the fruits.”

“…Understood. Then, I’ll see you again next time.”

Despite Leeha’s greeting, the spirits just snorted and turned their heads away.

The only consolation was that there are about five World Trees currently bearing fruit in this World Tree cluster.

Of course, Leeha had never actually seen them. The fruit of the World Tree grows only at the very top.

From Leeha’s position, busy carrying water from the ground, it was a place so high that it wasn’t even visible.

‘Damn it, in the worst case, should I just pick one and run away? What will they do if I call Blaugrun and escape?’

If Blaugrun was here, he would have smacked Leeha on the butt for such a dishonorable thought.

But now, Blaugrun had returned to his lair.

Leeha sent him back to the lair to increase his affinity with the spirits.

‘I sent him away fearing that Bahamut’s family wouldn’t be persuaded, but it seems like it was a useless move… Ah well, let’s just leave.’

Leeha prepared to log out as the calling sound came to him again. It was then that he heard Kijung’s whisper.

-Brother!

-Ah, Kijung. What’s up? I was about to leave.

-Really? Then I’ll call you after I log out.

Before Leeha could respond, Kijung’s whisper ended.

Suddenly hearing from him was surprising.

What could it be? Leeha hurriedly exited Middle Earth.

“A total attack?”

-You don’t even check the community these days! It’s chaos, chaos! You know there are only 26 days left for that quest, right? The common quest.

“Ah, ah.”

Leeha concentrated on the phone call, blocking one ear.

That’s because Ram Hwayeon had been nagging him all the way from the hotel to the hospital.

-Anyway, there’s only one stronghold of Ma (Demon) left. This time, instead of moving as individual squads, there’s talk of everyone with the quest gathering and going together.

“Oh, really? That’s unusual. Users who can’t live without competition, coming together with one mind.”

If the last stronghold of Ma (Demon) is cleared, everyone who participates in the battle earns an achievement.

Since achievements can be earned regardless of the party, so far, guilds had formed raid groups and competed to claim them.

Of course, the reason for the end of such competitive structure was simple.

-The shock of RUSH was that big… Basically, this total attack is almost the same as going to capture a criminal. Even though I said it’s not, many users still believe that. Let’s go kill Ha Leeha.

“I’m so annoyed with the letter terror recently. It’s driving me crazy. Do they have so much money? It costs quite a bit to send letters from the Old Continent to the New Continent.

Anyway, it doesn’t make sense for me to do that alone. I’m not swept away by rumors that don’t even sound like internet rumors.”

Leeha grumbled, but Kijung couldn’t tease him.

Kijung, who had been connected to Middle Earth all this time, knew better than anyone that the situation was more serious than it seemed.

-Ah! That’s why I called. The attack is one day away in Middle Earth time. Total attack at the 25-day mark! About 3 hours left in real-time? If you log in and join the total attack, it will clear up the misunderstandings-

“Huh? I can’t log in today. I have to do my rehabilitation therapy. I’ve set a limit on my Middle Earth login time…

“You want to play more Middle Earth? Ha, if you want to ruin your leg again over some nonsense on the internet, be my guest.”

When Leeha hinted at wanting to play Middle Earth, Ram Hwayeon’s nagging sharply cut in.

Kijung could hear it even from the other side of the phone.

-Ah, really…? Then there’s no helping it. Sigh, health comes first. Alright, brother. I’ll try talking to the people again.

“Right. Tell them that Ha Leeha is currently hospitalized and just whining away.”

Leeha finished the call with Kijung.

He was seething with anger, but the biggest problem was that he had no way to vent it.

“Ram Hwayeon-ssi.”

“No. Just get better quickly and then you can do as much as you want.”

“Can you not talk like a mother? At least for rehabilitation-”

“Still! Are you such a spineless man to be swept away by such baseless rumors?”

“…Sigh. It’s frustrating, just frustrating.” Leeha sighed as he listened to Ram Hwayeon’s words.

But in terms of feeling suffocated, not only Kijung, whom he had just spoken to, but also Ram Hwayeon beside him, were equally frustrating.

Despite knowing the clear fact that it wasn’t Leeha who disrupted the RUSH guild, they couldn’t stop it.

Why do rumors grow tails?

Why don’t rumors disappear?

Leeha’s anger, suspecting another of Chiyo’s tricks, was specific, but Ram Hwayeon’s abstract worries and irritation were also not light.

“Ahem, about that.”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to log in and go too. Hwajung will as well.”

“What? The final total attack?”

“Yes. I’ll go and explain, so you just focus on your rehabilitation and get some good rest.”

“Great! That solves it! I’m currently at Ram Long Group’s hospital! Also- uh, what else should I say?”

“Hmph.”

As Leeha asked excitedly, Ram Hwayeon swiftly turned her head and walked ahead of him.

The words ‘I’m taking care of him. Just say it like that, and everyone will believe it.’ didn’t quite reach Leeha’s ears accurately.

When Leeha quickly finished dinner and entered the rehabilitation room, Ram Hwayeon, Ram Hwajung, and other users from Middle Earth were heading towards the seventh stronghold of Ma (Demon).

It was a total gathering of users who could step on the New Continent.

The reason for attacking at the 25-day mark of the quest was simple. It was due to the characteristic ‘insurance’ of the users from Middle Earth.

What if this total attack fails?

Naturally, there needed to be a chance for a retry. If a significant number died, it would take 10 days to log back in, and at least 5 days for them to regroup, was the common judgment of the users.

Even if they proceeded like that, there would only be two retry opportunities at the 25-day mark.

“But it doesn’t seem like we will fail.”

“…I’m not confident… I’m afraid we will fail.”

The gathered users were encouraged as they looked around. The raid group of the RUSH guild was quite large and strong, but after all, it was just one guild.

However, the number of guilds gathered here now could almost be called a small-scale national war.

The reason users skilled enough to be in the New Continent could gather in such numbers for a national war was simple.

“Of course, I knew RUSH would come, and so would Patriot.”

“Hwangryong too?! Hwangryong came! It’s Payu-nim!”

“I see a lot of Minis guilds too. Wow.” “Not just Minis… over there, that’s Kraven’s ‘White Whale’ guild.”

“There, with Bantal-nim, those giants are the Shazrashian ‘Titan’ guild.”

Because users worth mentioning from Fibiel, Minis, Kraven, Shazrashian had swarmed in like bees.

It was as if the elites from four countries had gathered, so even just the elites alone amounted to a number befitting a national war.

“Whew, almost all the expedition members of the New Continent are here.”

“Of course. With such a total attack, it’s almost like free achievements. Who wouldn’t come?”

“Hmm, I guess so. Unintentionally, Leeha hyung has become a fool.” Bobae said, and Kijung chuckled at her words.