Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

At that moment, as Leeha’s index finger twitched, a user from the Virtue Knights sheathed their sword.

“Okay. I give up.”

“Huh?”

“Fighting here won’t benefit either of us, don’t you think? It doesn’t seem like you’re going to back down anyway. And we’re well aware of how frightening the Pope can be.”

The user from the Virtue Knights turned their back without any hesitation.

Leeha and his party were the ones taken aback by this prompt declaration of retreat.

“Y-you’re just leaving like that?”

“What else? Stay here and have a go at it?”

The user didn’t even bother to look back as they walked away, merely gesturing lightly towards the caravans with a hand.

“We’ll leave the carriages! Take what you need from them, paleos! We’ll talk another time when it’s quieter.”

The figure waved lightly, a cloak embroidered with a horned horse fluttering.

Rushing, Leeha shouted towards the knight user.

“Wait a minute! Who are you? What’s your deal?”

The retreating user’s steps halted. Turning around with a smirk, they then burst into a hollow laugh.

“Ha! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m ‘Lark en Ciel’. My friends just call me Lark; feel free to do the same.”

“I’ve heard that name somewhere-“

“Oh, right, right. Today might be a retreat, but being in pursuit of achievements doesn’t always mean building camaraderie, you know? If you do not accept our ‘generosity’, there’s only one other option we can take.”

Lark turned away again, followed closely by the entire Virtue Knights.

“‘Knight of the Rainbow’, Lark? Was he that famous?”

“Among outsiders, especially those in close combat roles, he’s almost top tier.”

“Is he better than you, Kijung?”

“Comparing me with him? Who else in Middle Earth would catch up to my tanking? Especially now!”

Kijung responded to Leeha’s question by proudly clanging his shield. The sound pealed more confidence than before, now that the enhancement was complete.

Of course, other members like Bobae, Shin Nara, Tale had no clue why Kijung was striking his shield. Even as guildmates, Kijung didn’t boast around that his shield was enhanced.

Therefore, Leeha couldn’t help but wear a more serious expression upon seeing Kijung’s response.

Holding an incredible shield, freshly enhanced, and gripping a legendary sword provided by Leeha himself, Kijung’s confidence solely lied with ‘tanking’.

‘Tanking without defeat means lagging far behind in damage, firepower… Is that scumbag really that strong?’

Bobae reinforced the implicit meaning behind Kijung’s modest statement.

“In a 1:1 fight, even Kijung couldn’t be sure. After all, the Virtue Knights are on par with the Sacred Knights of Fibiel, and he’s commanding a hundred knights. That’s a lot more authority than Nara has, right? And judging by his actions, he seems to be in command of the entire expedition of knights to the new continent.”

“Phew… I also have administrative authority within Sacred, but not the kind of command authority he has,” Shin Nara sighed in response to Bobae’s comment.

Leeha was still somewhat amazed at the distribution of masters everywhere.

Even after making a name for himself through various plays and wars, there were still so many users he didn’t know.

Considering the cumulative number of subscribers, that was to be expected.

“With that bandit-like face, calling him ‘Knight of the Rainbow’? Should leave out the ‘Rainbow’ and just call him ‘Knight of Thugs’, or better yet, ‘Thug Knight’ from the looks of it.”

Leeha grumbled in jest. Light laughter mixed in from the surroundings. Even Youngblood, who had been solemn all along, cracked a smile.

The knights of Virtue and Lark didn’t touch the relief goods they had placed between them, judging that it was entirely within their character to reappear someday and demand compensation, proclaiming, “We never gave this away for free. Pay up.”

“But apart from the intimacy achievement, is there anything else? What are those guys trying to do?”

“Uh, I’ve never heard of anything else.”

“Could it be the achievement for discovering new places?”

Ignoring their goodwill, there was only one option left.

What was this “one option”?

Kijung, Leeha, and Bobae tried to recall Lark’s last remark but couldn’t come up with a suitable answer. The same was true for Tale and other NPCs from the Sacred Knights. It was only to be expected.

They were unaware of another achievement that could be achieved based on the player’s playing style, distinct from skill level, game proficiency, or whether one’s level was high or low.

Shin Nara looked anxious.

“I’ve heard of it once before.”

“What? What have you heard?”

“Has anyone here cleared a quest involving a bandit gang?”

Shin Nara looked around nervously with an anxious expression.

Leeha, too, had once received a quest to snipe a bandit leader called “Angel”. There was no way other players wouldn’t have encountered something similar.

“Those bandits… anyway, they’re classified as NPCs.”

“It’s a fine distinction. They seem closer to monsters. Maybe because they’re human, they’re classified as NPCs.”

Kijung tilted his head in confusion, but even Shin Nara didn’t know that much. However, it was clear from Leeha’s widening eyes that he realized what Shin Nara was hinting at.

“No way. You’re not suggesting…”

“I don’t know. But if it’s not the intimacy achievement, the only other method I can think of….”

Shin Nara shook her head anxiously, making Bobae look shocked.

“Eh? What is it? Hyung, do you know something?”

Kijung looked at Leeha’s face for an answer, but Leeha couldn’t see him. If Shin Nara was correct, then what the Virtue Knights had to do next was indeed dire.

“Then we must kill-“

“No, it’s different from killing,” Leeha voiced his thoughts, but Shin Nara shook her head.

Strictly speaking, Leeha could only guess roughly; he hadn’t fully grasped the concept yet.

“What is it then?”

“There’s no need to kill their leader or annihilate them all.”

When Leeha had cleared the bandit quest, it was sufficient to confirm the assassination of just Angel.

So, they wondered if the Virtue Knights had gone to kill a spirit of another paleo tribe…

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

All eyes turned to Shin Nara as she spoke.

“To achieve complete and utter submission from the entire NPC group. I once had a quest to arrest an entire guild of players who had achieved this. It’s the polar opposite of the [Intimacy] achievement. It’s a system driven not by ‘reputation’ but by ‘infamy.’ “

“What achievement is that?”

“It’s the [Subjugation] achievement.”

“That exists?”

“It’s normal you all don’t know about it… Because to advance to a certain stage, ‘reputation’ is essential, right? That’s why there wouldn’t be such players in our vicinity.”

“Anyway, the fact that gaining entry into the royal palace alone requires such renown says a lot.”

Shin Nara explained, leading some to nod in understanding, while a few others including Leeha seemed to hear this for the first time.

‘So, it’s like a “team battle” sort of thing, huh?’

An achievement that could be earned by a group of players completely overpowering a group composed of NPCs—be it a specific village, a knight order, or a band of marauders.

Naturally, subduing aggressive and harmful NPC groups like marauders would increase not infamy but general renown. However, more often than not, such encounters ended with the entire band of marauders being wiped out, leaving the achievement unattainable.

‘That’s why it’s difficult. Subduing without killing anyone is harder than just killing everyone. It’s difficult without a significant gap in strength.’

This meant that in the continent of Lope, there were very few who had obtained the achievement of [Subjugation].

Those who were strong enough and had accumulated enough levels and stats to make a significant difference saw no reason to earn an achievement that would only accumulate infamy instead.

They would sooner earn achievements related to increasing affinity by fulfilling the desires of the NPC groups with their capabilities.

“How interesting. According to Nara-ssi, it means that a user named Lark could completely ‘subdue’ the paleos here.”

Tale said, his eyes sparkling as he quietly followed the conversation.

Understanding the structure of the subdued achievement, it was impossible not to be curious about the Virtuous Knight Order that hinted at seeking such an achievement.

Shin Nara nodded, glancing at Youngblood, a simple gesture that Leeha understood as well.

‘They’ll probably rely on numbers. Even the Sacred Knight Order could subdue the Red Goat if their numbers matched. The real issue is—’

As Leeha turned his head slightly, Kijung, Bobae, and Tale also turned their heads in the same direction.

‘Aibex. Whether they can subdue a mystical creature or not.’

Even the weakest mystical creatures possessed strength equal to juvenile-class dragons.

An Aibex in this region would undoubtedly be at least of adult class.

Given that an ancient-class being like Bailephus showed interest, its strength was already a matter of public knowledge.

‘The highest-ranking among the knight orders is the Capital Defense Knight Order, and quite a few of them have been dispatched here but… Can they really subdue a mystical creature with just that number of people? Subduing regular paleos would require at least equal numbers, and subduing a mystical creature would need a force comparable to a dragon raid.’

Killing was certainly a possibility.

Leeha himself could think of numerous methods, especially with his Shadow Hitman title.

Waiting hidden for days, then as soon as a mystical creature appears—strike between the eyes!

But for subjugation?

‘It seems tough no matter how I think about it. It’s not completely impossible but…

Without borrowing the power of Blaugrunn or Koma, subduing them all alone by Leeha would be nearly impossible.

What level of skill does Lark and the Virtuous Knight Order possess to speak so confidently?

What are they basing their assurance on?

As everyone was simulating their own methods of ‘subduing,’ Kijung stood up.

“Why worry about it now? Unless you’re insane, you wouldn’t stir up trouble when you’re about to secure the Divine Staff.”

“They have already caused trouble, haven’t they?”

“At least not the kind of ‘subjugation’ Miss Shin mentioned. Their attitude towards obtaining land was unfortunate, but… the ones sent under Minis’s orders likely won’t cause trouble.”

Their method of exchanging goods for land was undoubtedly wrong, but there was some logic to Kijung’s words.

They hadn’t resorted to physical violence in this place, after all.

The Virtuous Knight Order had been the first to retreat before crossing the ultimate line.

Kijung might not be the type to calculate such outcomes, but his instinct was worth acknowledging.

Leeha felt the same way.

“I agree with Kijung’s words. They’re not foolish enough to cause a problem that big right now. The real issue is securing the Divine Staff first.”

However, Leeha was looking a bit further ahead.

Still, an immediate answer to this problem was elusive.