Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Fernand nodded momentarily upon hearing her audacious words. Was it really like receiving a ‘solid punch’?

‘But it dropped to nearly zero out of ten? What kind of strength does one need to have for that…’ Fernand paused his thoughts and shook his head.

‘It’s not that important anyway,’ he thought, deciding it was better to just attribute it to “Matan’s Shooter”.

“So… the reason you tracked us down?”

Above all, it was Brown, a male entity’s deep voice that broke into Fernand’s musings, leaving him no room to maneuver. Fernand quickly shook his head, realizing these beings had some serious misunderstanding.

“Seriously, am I being interrogated right now?!”

“This guy, feels bad for hitting us once and thinks it’s okay to just stand there! Who are you calling an auntie, huh? Ever seen an auntie this pretty and young?!”

“Keep it in, honey! If you hit him one more time, this guy’s going to die! And having a son does make one an auntie, so what’s your point-“

“What did you say, dear?”

“No, I mean, let’s just calm down and sit. Okay?”

Listening to the quarrel between the male and female entities, Fernand couldn’t help but laugh. Their absurdly incompatible personalities, poor choice of location, and yet knowing they were “Matan’s Shooter.”

made no sense to him.

“This reminds me of Leeha. Is this what the atmosphere among Musketeers is usually like?”

Fernand asked with a lighter heart. The bickering couple quieted down.

“Answer the questions we ask. Just because you claim to know Kidd and Leeha doesn’t mean you’re not an enemy to us.”

“I truly am not your enemy. If you are doubtful, you are welcome to search my bags entirely. My identification is inside. I am an adventurer affiliated with the Ezwen Church, wandering to gather as much geographical information about the Erika Continent as possible.”

The [Pioneering King] introduced himself modestly.

After a moment of rustling sounds, Fernand felt tickled by their murmured discussions. Though he couldn’t understand everything, he could tell his suspicion had been cleared, evidenced by the removal of his mask.

“So, you happened upon this place by chance?”

“Yes. I came near because I was curious about the presence of human residences in a place far beyond my imagination.”

“Well, expecting someone to knock and ask, ‘Who’s there?’

in a place like this was off the cards. The fact that you used only techniques not detectable by mana sensing was impressive enough.”

It wasn’t just about having spatial locking in place all the time. Fernand imagined being shot on sight if he had used a skill categorized as ‘magic’ to approach their home. Given their abilities, it was almost a certainty.

“Thank you.”

Fernand bowed his head while still bound.

“Well, then. How are things lately? Your continent must be facing quite the hardship too?”

“Yes… but we are managing to find solutions.”

The significant reason for the increase in players’ difficulty was failing to cleanse all sources of evil magic. The nominal boss that hindered the last cleansing of the source was “Toon.”

However, unknown to Fernand, the real boss, one that no one could face at the source of the evil magic, was indeed “Matan’s Shooter.”

Thinking about the irony that they were causing their own suffering, Fernand found it difficult to piece together their true identities.

Was their rambling conversation meant to distract and confuse him? However, even Fernand wasn’t an easy user to deal with. He could catch on to any oddities in their conversation immediately after the masks were removed.

‘Their son is missing.’

While he had seen three through the magnifying glass, now only the couple remained visible. The son, shrouded in a black aura and wearing a hood, was now nowhere to be seen.

‘Did they deliberately hide him?’

Fernand wanted to inquire about the son, about Matan’s Shooter, but he found himself unable to speak. Given their unpredictable patterns, asking even one question could have cost him his life.

“Excuse me, may I have your names?”

“You already know, don’t you?”

Brown replied brusquely.

At this question, Fernand nodded.

“If you are who I think you are, then you would be Mr. Brown and Ms. Elizabeth.”

The traitors of the Second Human-Demon War.

Fernand did not phrase it that way.

However, being able to access the royal archives of Fibiel, it was unlikely that Fernand did not know their names.

The reason Fernand asked their names was singular.

“Then the other one is…”

“No need to be curious, unnecessarily—” Just as Brown was about to show his irritation, a door inside the wooden house opened.

All three of them turned their heads simultaneously. The person standing in front of the opened door was recognizable to Fernand.

“Son 1480!”

Son 1480 was swaying, his hand pressed against his forehead.

“Kyle!”

The call was urgent.

Fernand instinctively knew it was his son.

“Darling!”

“Damn it, what’s going to happen now—what’s your name?”

As Brown moved to support the staggering Kyle, he glanced towards Fernand.

“It’s Fernand.”

“Get out. Now! If you’re still in sight in 3 minutes, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

“Three minutes—no, first you have to untie me—”

“Damn it!”

Brown, irritated, came closer and untied Fernand. The situation was unclear, but with only 3 minutes and no option to teleport, he had to hide.

“Fernand!”

As Fernand was about to depart, a hastily written note was thrust into his hand.

“Hurry!”

“I’ll pass this to the Musketeers, but… how do I find you? Should I tell them to come here? Or do you have another hideout?”

Even then, Fernand was trying to lessen the burden on the Musketeers. Of course, it was also to gain hints about new geographical information he was unaware of.

“No. We’re leaving. Now, immediately. Find me.”

“Find you? That won’t be easy… You could at least give me a hint!”

Elizabeth bit her lips tightly, her eyes darting around, which Fernand noticed.

“East. I can’t say more. Hurry!”

Fernand nodded and left the house.

Using the same method he planned for his escape, he tied a whip to a rock and vaulted down the precipice.

Before leaving, he caught Elizabeth’s gaze one last time, understanding something crucial.

“It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell me. It wasn’t about not disclosing her location merely as a test.”

The nuance Fernand perceived was clear, “I can’t say more.”

Some undisclosed information.

By speaking it out, Fernand faintly understood, she would face ‘certain disadvantages.’

“A bugging device? Or to whom? A device connecting to Bluebeard—no, if that were the case, she wouldn’t have made those strange comments from the start.”

While many things seemed suspicious, the truth Fernand saw with his own eyes was conclusive. The shift in attitude from Brown and Elizabeth began after their son, Kyle, stepped outside in the year 1480.

“If it’s related to that?”

Whoosh!

As Fernand rapidly descended through rock climbing, his mind was cluttered. Yet, what he had to do was simple.

Fernand: “Leeha-ssi, may I have a moment of your time for a chat?”

Leeha: “Oh, Fernand! It’s been such a long time! What’s up?”

He had to start acting on the request Elizabeth had given him. Even if he was unaware of certain matters, the users related to her, the Three Musketeers, might know.

Fernand sent private messages to Leeha, Kidd, and Luger respectively. The four met at a pub in Juma City. Crash! A chair flew backwards.

Rising aggressively from his seat, Luger drew his weapon forward.

“Shall we open that mouth again? Where did you say you saw them?”

“Luger. Now is the time to rely on Fernand’s information. It would be wise for you to sit back down.”

“Kidd’s right. You wanna act like a fool who can’t hold it in?”

Luger’s obsession with “Matan’s Shooter” was naturally infuriating, being arguably the top fan amongst all Middle Earth users. However, this time even Kidd and Leeha could not just sit back and watch.

“So, they told us to come find them?”

“Yes.”

“To the east?”

“Ah… The east is the east! What east? Is there a straight path leading to the New Continent’s east?”

Leeha sighed deeply. How could they possibly find them? Kidd and Luger felt equally bewildered. They had wandered the vast lands of the New Continent, where new paleos and monsters resided, but the mere mention of “east” was too vague for them to follow any leads.

Fernand glanced over the Three Musketeers before speaking.

“If you go east from Juma City for a while, you’ll come across the forest of the contaminated World Tree. Cross it, over two mountains, and climb the cliff, and you’ll find their whereabouts.”

“Eh? The forest of the contaminated World Tree?”

“Yes.”

As Fernand nodded, Leeha’s eyes widened. It was a simple reaction, but not one to be missed by the other two.

“Don’t tell me. Do you know where it is?”

“This guy! Did you meet them all by yourself?”

“Wait, hold on. I haven’t met them… But I know where it is. There can’t be two World Tree forests, and that place is… the essence of the New Continent,” Leeha spoke with certainty, as it was confirmed by the highest-ranking mystical creatures.

Fernand’s eyes grew wider once more.

“I see. Then, doesn’t that narrow down the range quite a bit? At least the ‘east’ they spoke of must be beyond the Forest of the Corrupted World Tree!”

Narrowing down the search area was a relief, yet it was still a daunting task. Fernand sounded pleased, but Leeha still felt troubled.

“I’ve never been to such a place… And to think that Elizabeth would have us find it. Whether she’s an ally or a foe.”

At least it was clear she wasn’t an immediate enemy to shoot on sight; otherwise, Leeha would have already met his end in the last stronghold. But not being an outright enemy doesn’t mean much. What if she was a unique enemy like Lark, existing in a grey area?

“A trap…? A deceit? No, if that were the case, they wouldn’t have let Fernand go. Wait, is that exactly the twisted way of thinking? They send Fernand back, have us look for them, and then deal with the Three Musketeers in their own way?

And what would they gain from doing that? Besides a death penalty, there’s not much loss, unless—are they aiming for a 48-hour block? That would be ten days in Middle Earth time. With only three days left for the quest to protect [Divine Staff], Leeha’s absence for ten days would cause significant confusion both before and after the quest’s completion, especially since the knight order, blinded by the achievement [Subjugation], might strike at any moment without warning.

While Leeha, Kidd, and Luger were lost in their thoughts, Fernand exclaimed, “Ah!” and pulled something out of his bag.

“And she asked me to give this to you.”

Elizabeth’s last note. The small note placed on the table caught the attention of the Three Musketeers. And in that moment, a hologram window opened right before their eyes.