Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

What did it mean that defense is not based on the user’s ‘stamina’ but rather on the user’s HP? And on top of that, damage taken from hits was reduced by 30%?

“But the most amazing thing, really, truly amazing thing-! is that if the damage is lower than what is mitigated by all those effects of the 『Defense』, then the piercing effect itself is nullified! This is something that every user of Middle Earth would naturally know. The piercing effect is the most basic form of attack. It’s not just about the penetration of bullets. Stabbing with a spear, hitting with arrows, or even slashing with a sword is a form of ‘pierce’. In a sense, any kind of attack that depletes HP is considered a wide definition of pierce. Therefore, most 『skill attacks』 inherently possess a certain level of piercing effect.”

“Character Window!”

Name: Leeha / Race: Human / Occupation: Musketeer / Level: 252 (38%)

Title: Shadow Hitman / Achievements: 152

HP: 9,620 (6,734) / MP: 3,690

Stats:

Strength 720 (+635)

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Agility 4000 (+1,382)

Intelligence 550 (+334)

Stamina 360 (+253)

Mind 248 (+150)

Remaining Stat Points: 200

“Now that I think about it, I don’t regret using that White Reaper’s rifle at all. The achievement I acquired back then, the whatever of God, greatly boosted my health.”

Thanks to the 142 stamina points, Leeha’s health reached a whopping 9,620, increasing Leeha’s overall defense to 9,620 with just one item!

‘Insane, Kijung’s Shield- Oh, that guy also got Toon’s Shield now. I wonder what the defense of the shield he used before Toon’s Shield was?’

He couldn’t help but laugh. The defense of a shield that is so large and cumbersome, restricting one hand, might currently be similar to or even possibly lower than Leeha’s armor’s defense.

“Last time, because of Faust, I invested 48 points in mind… First, let’s cleanly adjust the stamina…”

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Investing points in stamina, also increased HP, and raising it to 480. After investing enough points, it became a perfect number.

“10,000—”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, no. Nothing. *inhales*”

Leeha chuckled while covering his mouth. Defense of 10,000. In addition, damage taken reduced by 30% when hit. Damage taken below the defense effect of Body Armor is nullified by the piercing effect.

“Well, that means even if you use a skill attack with an attack power of 14,000 on me, the actual damage that comes in is only 9,800, and since it’s lower than the defense, the piercing effect attached to that skill is completely nullified. Without the piercing effect, the actual damage will be much lower than 9,800- What is this?!”

And considering Jellypong as well? I am completely invincible, aren’t I?

Leeha didn’t utter the final words aloud. His fear of risking a disturbance(?) if he were to say such a thing was because the effectiveness was so outstanding.

“Good. This should be enough…”

Leeha tucked the magazine into the small bag at his waist. There was no time to waste. As he was about to pull out his revolver, Bottleneck spoke up.

“Luger has been causing trouble again, but I guess he can handle it himself, right?”

“Luger? Who’s Luger?”

It was only then that Leeha remembered Luger’s mentioning.

“Oh, right. He was talking about something here… What did he say before leaving?”

“He placed a bizarre order. Even left 『Cobalt Blue Python』 here.”

“Oh, really?”

Leeha finally noticed the rifle with a bluish hue inside the workshop. A sense of unease washed over him. Luger wouldn’t leave behind a weapon as precious as life itself, let alone place an order with Bottleneck.

“What did he ask for?”

“He wanted me to use mana to graft a new form onto the Cobalt Blue Python. It’s a new challenge for me. This is the 《Shining Hammer》, something only I could handle.”

“But what does grafting mean?”

“No! Reinforcement enhances the performance of the weapon. This is something even the old me could do.”

“I see. Grafting? What is that? And I think I’ve heard of the 《Shining Hammer》 before…”

“You fool! Don’t you even properly remember the description of your weapon?! Do you know who sealed that cursed weapon?”

“Ah… Alas!”

“This shouldn’t exist in this world! I shall seal it with the power of 《Shining Hammer》 for the sake of all living beings.”

Perhaps due to the seal by the legendary dwarf, no one has used the original power of Black Bass since then. Leeha immediately checked the description window of Black Bass. Then he could draw two sketches.

Shining Hammer = Legendary Dwarf = One who “sealed” Black Bass’s “skill.”

Bottleneck = Legendary Dwarf = ?

“Skill… Skill sealing – No, then skill bestowal! Me?!”

“You don’t need to do anything, Lord. Black Bass is already perfect. And this is also my new fight. Luger, the scoundrel, being a guide to a new path… It’s like creating a guide comparable to Black Bass.”

A new fight, a new path.

At that moment, everything became clear.

Why did Luger blurt out confidential information with such a triumphant voice? Did Kidd possibly not know Luger’s truth and be caught off guard?

Leeha’s hair stood on end.

“These bastards!”

The keyword for the 2nd job advancement. The two would obtain it.

“Open.”

“Yes, sir.”

Whooooshhh…. Leeha who found himself back where the snowstorm was raging commanded the giant in front of him. With a guard level of 80 and a career that had been around the block, he couldn’t refuse Leeha’s words, deflated morale and buffs aside.

“Damn it… They contacted me to boast. People who shouldn’t have said such things.”

When people who usually don’t bat an eyelid contact you, there’s always a reason.

“Come to think of it, isn’t it obvious?”

Leeha thought about the 2nd job advancement while waiting for the massive iron gate to open.

He found the answer to the 2nd job advancement quest through the White Reaper. In terms of skills, he was certainly not inferior to Kidd and Luger, maybe even superior.

But if they were to fight directly? He was confident he wouldn’t lose, but claiming a definite victory was difficult. Even if he tried long-range sniping, they wouldn’t easily give up the terrain.

The ultimate problem lay in the experience within Middle Earth. From this perspective, he could see that he was still slightly behind them.

Perhaps the real issue was that they hadn’t discovered any clues about the 2nd job advancement he found.

“But why are humans who never said anything suddenly? Where did they suddenly obtain the special keywords?”

Above all, what was incomprehensible was the simultaneous triggering of the 2nd job advancement quests.

Why? Except for Alexander and Kijung, hadn’t no one heard any news about the 2nd job advancement until now?

The reason why hints about the second job advancement are discovered among many people.

“Aside from Alexander and Kijung, the first person to advance the fastest was… Chiyou. At least as far as I know, there’s only Chiyou, right?”

One hypothesis that came to Leeha’s mind was that there were only two second advancements. However, Chiyou completing the second job advancement made her the third person. In that moment, could there have been some kind of change?

“I think there were no second advancers other than Alexander and Kijung… If that’s the case, it makes some sense,” he remembered. The phrase in Phase 3: “The end is not the end. It will surpass the limits of 3.”

The most common interpretation was that the release of the 300 level limit was the main focus. However, is that the end of it? After updating one phase in Middle Earth, if the conditions of that phase were met, they would immediately move on to the next phase.

But how many of the rankers had already surpassed level 300?

“About 4 of them? Pei Woo definitely must have surpassed 300,” he said. Even though more than 3 had exceeded level 300, Phase 3 did not end. Then…

“Could it be that reaching 3 or more second advancements brings about some change? No, but that’s a bit…”

As soon as three users – Alexander, Master Kay, and Chiyou – reached the second job advancement, there was suddenly an explosive increase in second job advancement quests. Could that be another change in Phase 3?

The idea that surpassing the limits of 3 meant that suggests a different meaning? The speculation that maybe once 3 surpasses 3, Phase 3 ends.

“The release of the 300 level limit is the first one. The unlocking of the second job advancement is the second one. And there’s a third something…? So, when Phase Three exceeds three, it ends – Oh, my head hurts!”

As the cycles of three, three, and more three repeated, a feeling of blankness washed over his mind. Eventually, he made a decision, “Ah, whatever! I’ll figure it out eventually!”

With a shake of his head, he brushed off the thoughts. Phase 3 wasn’t the key. It wasn’t about how or why Kidd and Luger obtained the keywords for their second job advancement. They got them. He got one too.

So, what remained was just one thing, right? Who would do it first?

‘That bastard Luger, insisting on me becoming part of the “Three Musketeers” as the ‘third’ one?’

Leeha loaded a fresh magazine into his Black Bass.

Kuooooong…

At that moment, the iron gate in front of him swung open.

“This time, I’m the first.”

Thunk, thunk, thunk –

Footsteps resounded as he walked on the unpaved white ground. Near the ruins where the White Reaper’s Ghost resided, the sound of pulling a bowstring quietly echoed.

Clang.

※ ※

“Nothing seems to have changed.”

The entrance of the village that had been devastated by Blaugrunn’s magic remained the same. Except for the fact that the shattered wooden debris seemed a little cleaner than before, there wasn’t much of a difference. The road leading to the village remained singular, with rugged hills on both sides, and sporadic ruins beyond the village entrance.

“There are plenty of hiding places. Most importantly, it’s the White Reaper. If he had hidden in the forest behind the village instead of the village, there’s no way to find him.”

However, the White Reaper wouldn’t have gone that far. At least, Leeha believed that the White Reaper wouldn’t retreat before the ‘intruders’ entered.

“Considering the line of sight… there shouldn’t be a problem. The effective range of the Mosin-Nagant rifle is certainly long, but it didn’t shoot last time even from the entrance of the village ruins where it could clearly see here! Even without any constraints in view, it didn’t shoot?”

As the hill grew steeper and the path narrowed, the White Reaper began its attack. Leeha thought it could be due to the concentration of enemy movements, but perhaps it was also because of the issue of the effective range.

“Yeah, without that level of penalty, how can I win? Even if it’s at this level of the map, it’s incredibly vast.”

The village was structured within a basin, surrounded by terrain closer to hills than mountains, and the entrance he had entered was the only one at present.

“Though it was said that there used to be an exit further north, ever since the emergence of the White Reaper’s Ghost, no one has entered or exited through it. In other words, beyond this point is virtually uncharted territory.”

Therefore, the White Reaper’s Ghost wouldn’t move beyond the northern exit. In essence, the battlefield had a relatively clear boundary. From the inside of the village where lives were lost to the hill-shaped basin that had once been utilized as pastures, fields, and orchards. While it was once the village, it was by no means narrow, yet it was not so wide as to be unimaginably vast.