Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

The woman asked the man.

The man, eyeing the departing figure of Leeha, nodded.

“He seems much better than my dongsaeng or Browless’. Not sure about his skills, but in terms of cunning… he was very… very interesting. Seems like he wouldn’t get along with Kyle, though.”

Observing Leeha were Brown and Elizabeth.

Brown was commenting on Leeha when he turned around. A little away from Brown and Elizabeth, Kyle was sitting hunched over, his hood pulled up over his head.

“Too cute.”

“What, what? What are you talking about, honey?”

Brown looked at Elizabeth with a baffled expression.

Of course, Elizabeth wasn’t commenting on Leeha’s appearance.

“Oh, come on! What were you thinking? I was talking about that guy Leeha’s quick wit!”

“Ah, ah? Quick wit? I thought- what-“

“Ha, my dear might not understand, but the fifth skill of Black Bass is for emergency escapes, you know? Being able to use it so boldly for attack… I couldn’t have imagined. And how about the endurance of Toon’s teeth? If he could withstand that, he could have used it when he met me.”

“It seems we’ll meet him soon if he keeps up that speed. Let’s ask when we see him.”

Elizabeth said with a twinkle in her eye, and Brown showed a bit of surprise.

Hearing Elizabeth suggest they ask, she turned sharply to look at Brown.

“Ha, dear?”

“Hmm?”

“Seeing him like that makes me not want to meet him, right? Let’s go quickly!”

Mischief sparkled in her eyes.

“If it were Browless, honey would never understand me saying that.”

“And you, dear?”

“Of course, I understand! Let’s run away! So he can’t catch up! Kyle! Kyle! Are you okay?”

Though Brown momentarily faced with a ridiculous look, he was, after all, Elizabeth’s husband.

While making comments that would have outraged Leeha if he heard, Brown and Elizabeth helped Kyle up and moved. Yet, even so, they moved at least twice as fast as Leeha who was using Jellypong for transportation.

“What are you talking about? Huh? What does Leeha-ssi say?”

“Keke, seriously, gathering all together just to hear a word.”

Members of the Byulcho Guild swarmed nearby, their ears perked.

With so many whispers floating around, and Leeha too busy to give proper answers, it was an unavoidable situation.

Sigh“

It couldn’t be helped but to talk with Leeha through a representative. The corners of Kijung’s mouth lifted in anticipation.

“Okay! He’s here, he’s here!”

“What? What’s here?”

Bobae looked at Kijung with eyes full of curiosity. Bobae, along with many in Byulcho, was eager to hear about anything related to Toon.

How they managed to capture him. How did they find out where Toon was? Where is Leeha now? What was the special strategy used?

Who was with him, and so on, endless curiosity!

“Rubini is just online now! It’s a tough time because of internal guild conflicts lately! Should we really pull her into Byulcho as Biyemi suggested?”

While all were curious, Kijung gestured with his fingers making a ‘’…

“Wait, so you’ve been talking about that with Leeha-ssi all this time?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Haa… That’s disappointing, Kay. Well, not that I should say disappointing, but.”

“Now is the time to be honest, Hyein. I’m disappointed too. To miss out on the opportunity to hear the legendary tales of Leeha-”

“Wait, wait! What’s with all of you!? I’m still the guild master! Isn’t the Holy Knight quest more important? If Rubini comes, our quest completion rate will shoot up!”

Kijung looked around at them, dismayed, but all showed disappointed expressions. Of course, it was unlikely that the members of Byulcho considered the guild master’s second class advancement that important.

After all, they had given up their own quests and hunts to gather for Kijung’s quest completion.

Nonetheless, Leeha’s act of killing Toon was no small matter – for Byulcho at a small scale, and the entire Middle Earth online community at a large scale, it was a tremendously significant event. Giggling, Biyemi turned to the guild master.

“How about we chase down Leeha-nim and give him a taste of his own medicine? It feels like we need to knock him down a notch to feel satisfied. Even Jin Gonggong is joining in.”

“When did I ever say that, Biyemi!” protested Jin Gonggong.

“Let’s take a break. Rubini will be here soon… We’ll greet her and then re-strategize,” suggested Kijung amidst the teasing and chaos, sighing and shaking his head.

As the members of Byulcho were checking their gear in various locations, Bobae, suddenly lifted her head.

“I don’t think we have the time, Kijung.”

“What? Something’s coming.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure yet. Over there! Anyone with an observation skill available? I’m still on cooldown. Can someone check that direction?”

“I’ll go! [Polymorph: Sparrow]!”

The place Bobae had indicated was a hill not more than 150 meters away. Given Bobae’s ranking, she didn’t need to see to sense the presence. However, she sought confirmation, prompting Jin Gonggong, now transformed into a sparrow, to scout ahead. Despite the sudden tension, the members of Byulcho and the Paladins were ready for battle, knowing well the area mainly harbored monsters.

“Assume formation first. If they charge from the hill, the impact will be huge. Especially, don’t engage with the giant beasts directly,” instructed Kijung.

“Biyemi, prepare your poison pools. Hyein, have your anti-gravity and gravity skills ready. You know the casting order, right?”

Nods from Biyemi and Hyein followed. This was not their first battle. They had faced all sorts of enemies, landscapes, and situations together, making current preparations feel almost basic.

“I’ve spotted the group beyond the hill!- How many are there?

-Wait, hold on. The numbers are-“

Jin Gonggong’s message was abruptly cut off, causing Kijung to grip his shield tighter. However, Jin Gonggong quickly clarified, “-They’re not monsters.”

“Huh? If not monsters, then what?”

Kijung questioned.

Bobae was baffled.

“That’s strange. It doesn’t feel like players or anything familiar… Ah! I’ve felt this before – it’s the paleos!”

“paleos?”

echoed Jin Gonggong and Bobae together.

Stunned, Kijung muttered, “paleos here… why?”

“paleos! Not just one or two tribes either! Oh, there’s something else coming from that direction!”

“Jin Gonggong! Calmly, one at a time, please!”

“First, on the other side of this hill, we have these long-armed monkey-like creatures! And among their group, there are lizards? No, snakes too. lizard and snake paleos as well.”

“How did you know they were paleos?”

“There are both humans and half-beast forms among them!”

Jin Gonggong could see various paleo tribes gathering and moving together. Yet, what troubled him was not just their presence.

“Beyond them, there are… Mammoths! Wild boars and buffalo paleos! Dogs! Green mountain dogs? Dog paleos too?”

“Even pigs and buffaloes were near…” Kijung turned around.

Seeing their guild master’s serious expression, the guild members grew tense.

“Uh oh… Whenever the guild master looks like that, good things never happen.”

“What’s going on, Kay?”

“It’s the paleos.”

“I knew it! paleo! But why are the dogs here?”

“I’m not sure. But there are more than just one or two. Jin Gonggong saw at least six… Six tribes are on the move.”

“What??”

Bobae, initially thrilled his hunch was correct, could no longer smile. The paleo, why are they here? They were supposed to be peace-loving primitive tribes, living in harmony with nature.

At the core of paleo is a [mystical creature], from which they inherit the animalistic strength7) and abilities surpassing those of an average human. Yet, they never ventured beyond their domain.

“Why do you think the dogs are gathering?”

“It’s not a usual occurrence. The Red Goat paleos said they don’t even have a map. To say they’re completely ignorant of the outside world is an understatement… It’s astonishing.”

Bobae posed the question, and Hyein responded immediately, in a manner befitting the brain of Byulcho.

“Kijung, what should we do?”

“Hmm, well, since we agreed to meet with Rubini here, let’s just wait and see for now.”

The movement of the paleos, reminiscent of a mass migration, was no ordinary event.

However, the issue was whether it had anything to do with them.

Byulcho and Paladin, who had been hunting monsters in their pursuit to change their class to Holy Knight, had no reason to fear the paleos.

“There’s also a Snake paleo, keke. I know a bit about that mystical creature. Let me just make a quick call.”

“Oh, right. We’ve raised our affinity with the Dog paleo before, so let’s ask them.”

Inspired by Biyemi’s words, Kijung immediately sent out a spirit message.

However, both of their expressions darkened instantly.

“Huh?”

“The spirit message isn’t getting through…”

There were two possibilities: either the mystical creature was dead, or it was “blocked?”

“Ke, keke. Surely not? Blocked on purpose?”

Kijung and Biyemi looked at each other.

Even Biyemi, who said “surely not.”

could only think of that as a possibility.

“If the spirit message isn’t going through, it’s a possibility. Especially since everyone’s been in an uproar because of [Subjugation].”

“Hmm, but Shin Nara pulled back Lark’s forces, so I heard it’s been quiet lately.”

“That’s about the Virtue Knights. There are countless knight orders waiting for the moment Shin Nara isn’t around?”

Hyein lent credence to the “blocked”

hypothesis.

In fact, while Lark and the Virtue Knights had stopped performing [Subjugation] and were focusing on hunting, other knight orders were camping near each paleo tribe, waiting for Shin Nara not to intervene.

From the paleos’ perspective, whether it involved the Virtue or not, the distrust towards humans was sky-high.

What would happen if distrust continued to build? For Byulcho, it was a misfortune.

“Well, sacred can’t be everywhere at once. It’s impossible to block everything-“

“-Attack! We’re being attacked- They’re using bows! Guys who look like chimpanzees have bows- no, guns!? They have guns! They’re armed with–”

“-What? That’s alarming.”

“-Aargh!”

Suddenly, amidst the conversation, there was the sound of gunfire.

This was clearly not a good sign.

“Damn it, Jin Gonggong!”

“Gunshots!? What, Kijung? Why all of a sudden did Jin Gonggong—”

“Follow me, all Paladins! We’re going to rescue Jin Gonggong!”

Kijung did not elaborate further. But everyone understood from the sudden gunfire and the words Kijung said.

“We’re under attack?

“Even using items.”

As they rushed toward the hill, the users’ minds began to cloud with confusion.

“We are not enemies! I don’t know why you are attacking-“

“Shut up, human.”

“I’m not even human! I’m a Giant.”

“From now on, anyone who comes from across the sea is our enemy.”

Jin Gonggong stumbled backward, clutching his thigh.

There was no way to escape from the countless ranged weapons aimed at him.

Using a teleport scroll would be slower than them pulling the trigger.

“Let’s… let’s talk slowly. You remember me, right? From before! When I shared food with the-lizardia species and you all-“

“It’s shameful that we’ve only now realized that was a cunning trick of yours!”

Jin Gonggong pointed to a paleo with the half-dog appearance, one of the ‘eldest’ class 480.

The Dog paleo ‘eldest’ glared at Jin Gonggong’s words, fueling his animosity.