Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Karelin’s eyes were wide open with fear, unable to make a move.

What would happen if he took even one step from this spot?

The fear of not knowing where the attack would come from or how it would start was overwhelming.

“That dragon from earlier? Disappeared…right? Surely it’s not dead, or maybe it’s invisible? Can’t use detect because the cooldown is up.”

Of all the dragons he had encountered while playing Middle Earth, this one was the largest in size. Its majestic figure and colors were beyond anything he could have imagined.

It had been 40 minutes since the dragon that roared through the air disappeared, but Karelin hadn’t been able to move an inch since.

“Should I go back with a return scroll? One crystal may have been shattered, but I might be able to escape. However… if I go back now…”

He wouldn’t be able to fulfill his duties as an investigator. Frowning, Karelin scanned his surroundings. But nothing had changed.

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“Did Ha Leeha die? No, if he did, there would have been some sort of reaction. What happened to the Human Flesh Hunter?”

Karelin was crouched behind the crest of the right hill. The left hilltop, where the action had taken place, was quite a distance away, and now the terrain made it impossible to see the area.

Despite wanting to rush over and check immediately, he knew that as soon as he passed between the right and left hills, an attack would commence, so he couldn’t bring herself to move.

“The Human Flesh Hunter’s attacks are not just terrifying, but… it’s frustratingly maddening.”

While there was also fear of being attacked, the real worry for his was the fight between Ha Leeha and the Human Flesh Hunter. He could potentially become a ‘variable’ in their battle. If he interceded in their fight and inadvertently sent it spiraling into an unpredictable direction, how would he resolve the ensuing issues?

“If my actions hinder Ha Leeha’s survival or lead to failure in defeating the Human Flesh Hunter, it would be a bigger problem.”

At least the Giant users from Shazrashian would not even consider passing through this place. For them, this location was just recognized as ‘impassable territory,’ but even for the mere sake of overcoming the ‘clogged vein’ of this place, Ha Leeha’s victory was absolutely necessary. So, he waited.

As the noon sunlight transitioned into the afternoon, the colors of dusk began to set in gradually.

After cautiously repeating the action of brushing off the falling snow several hundred times, another light finally flashed.

Another burst of red light that seemed to explode from beyond the ridge on the left hill emitted an ominous glow.

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“Fire magic?”

The figure wasn’t clear, but along with the red light bursting out, the beastly roar that followed could be clearly heard by Karelin.

“Summoning? Summoning magic? Is it the dragon from before? What kind of skill is being used here?”

Karelin squinted as he looked up at the peak of the left hill. In that moment, a figure appeared in his line of sight. A person running swiftly from the left hill towards the direction of the right hill, holding a black rifle.

“Ha, Leeha!It’s Ha Leeha, wait! Can I go out?!”

It was Leeha. Even though he was blatantly walking around, this time, not even a single gunshot could be heard.

“When he didn’t reveal himself, there’s chaos with the gunshots and skills, but now that he’s showing herself, it’s quieter?”

Why isn’t Leeha getting attacked? Even after revealing himself, why isn’t the Human Flesh Hunter attacking Leeha?

From Karelin’s perspective, nothing made sense. Leeha’s small figure was gradually getting closer. The decreasing distance between Karelin and Leeha also meant that their confrontation was imminent.

“If the Human Flesh Hunter isn’t attacking… Alright, judging from the situation, he must be coming in this direction. I should talk to his then.”

There wouldn’t be many opportunities. When the distance between Leeha and herself was closest, Karelin made up his mind. As Leeha’s body reached the end of the left hill, he took a deep breath.

“Ah-”

Before he could finish his words, gunshots rang out incessantly from somewhere, interrupting him.

“C-Kellok, cough, cough! Leeha-”

Despite coughing violently, Karelin thought about Leeha, who was still running. Even though he wasn’t making any attacking motions, what did the distant gunshots mean?

“Did the Human Flesh Hunter attack Leeha? Huh?”

Karelin, who barely lifted his head, still couldn’t understand the situation. The gunshots of the Human Flesh Hunter had only rung out once.

And now, as Leeha continued to run towards the right, suddenly, he turned his body and started running towards the left.

“What… what is he doing?”

Was he trying to create confusion by running left and right? Just as Karelin was about to call out to Leeha, gunshots rang out.

Ba-a-a-ang——…!

Suddenly, Leeha, who was running, stopped abruptly. Karelin couldn’t decide where to look. Was it Leeha, where the gunshots rang out? Or was it the fleeting dot in the sky? Or perhaps the sudden appearance of white light in the distance?

“Why aren’t you shooting?!”

Leeha tried to summon Koma using ‘Soul Link’ to create a decoy, but the White Reaper didn’t shoot. After transforming into the spirit of fire, he gave the order to run towards the village. He also commanded to destroy everything in sight. Even though Koma ran out as ordered, the White Reaper did not shoot Koma.

“No, it’s understandable why he didn’t shoot Koma. But why…”

Leeha saw “another self” moving away from his position.

“Why isn’t Jellypong being shot either? It looks exactly like 『me』.”

It was a moment when the 『Heroic Spyglass of Kojobu』 that deceived Toon and Kaztor shone once again.

In the sniper battle between Leeha and the unknown sniper, a reddish light flashed as they summoned something?

Anyone could tell that it was a deception.

Therefore, Leeha set two traps simultaneously. When the enemy was convinced it was a first-level deception with Koma summoning, they would then doubt the next move.

Pretending to “obey the enemy’s intentions.”

That was the moment Jellypong emerged as a second-level deception. If Leeha turned his head towards Jellypong as it revealed its form and ran towards them?

The plan was for Leeha to immediately counterattack by capturing the angle of impact and gunshot, as well as various traces on the ground caused by the recoil.

“Not shooting… but not fighting!”

However, the White Reaper did not shoot either Koma or Jellypong. As Jellypong almost simultaneously revealed its form to track the White Reaper, Leeha had no choice but to remain in a motionless stance without revealing himself.

“It’s more frustrating not being able to see it directly.”

There were already marked points where the White Reaper had to be located, about three spots.

Leeha, who had been simulating the operation for hours, was anxious. If the White Reaper was at a different point, all plans would have to be redrawn from the beginning.

Lying on the hill, Leeha looked up at the sky. Although the red twilight sky was ominous, it was also a situation that made him smile.

“Reveal myself directly. Is this a challenge?”

He would not fall for any provocation or bait. The White Reaper had seen through everything. And there he was, exposing his head and waiting for the barrel to be pointed at him.

“Alright, if that’s your wish… I’ll do it. It means I can’t kill you from a safe place. After all, it’s impossible to kill someone who’s already dead,” his eyes, previously tense, softened and slid down following the contour of his lips. In this tense situation, making a coarse joke felt like a way to lighten his mood.

He adjusted his posture once again and prepared to expose his head for the second time.

“It’ll only be a brief moment.”

He needed to focus on three points. Observing any movement in these three spots, even the slightest tremor in the air, was crucial.

“If I had seen it, I wouldn’t have to go through this trouble,” he quipped lightly, chuckling to steel his resolve.

The spot where Jellypong and Koma had went was about 50 meters away. Even if he exposed his head, it would be difficult for the White Reaper to fire instantaneously. It would take at least a second to confirm, aim, and pull the trigger—actually, it was even faster than one second, more like a fraction of a second.

“Well then, shall we give it a try?” he thought inwardly, counting down silently before finally exposing his head. There was no time to spare for each point to scan; he rolled his eyes as if scanning each spot.

First, he had to capture the three sniper points and calculate the distance. His eyes swept the scene as if scanning it and his brain simultaneously completed the mission.

“Point 1, distance around 1,301…? Huh!?”

When he tried to recalculate the distance, a sense of foreboding washed over him. His instinctively lowered his head. Thud!

Something felt like seizing his head, accompanied by a slight pain in his cervical spine. He collapsed on the ground, his eyes previously focused wide, now shut tightly against the pain. In that moment, a notification popped up in front of his eyes. 『Buff: The effect of the Wind Controller has been dispelled.』

“01?”The cool wind brushing against the back of his neck was refreshing. The fresh sensation that didn’t quite match the notification window of Buff’s expiration? He quickly realized what it was.

“This crazy-”

As he turned around with a start, what came into view below was a hole-ridden hat lying on the ground.

『Rare Hat with Windstorm Feathers』

The very hat he got after defeating the Harpy Boss and obtain the “Ignore Projectile Wind Direction/Speed”!

Just then, a gunshot rang in his ears. Leeha piled up on himself, miraculously evading it with his keen senses, but losing the hat in return.

“The, the wind… Where is the wind blowing now? I mean… the wind direction?”

There was no hint of any sway at the first point.

By the process of elimination, it must have been shot from either the second or third point.

But even if that’s the case, what should he do now?

His mind was thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of variables. Is this punk not coming to his senses?

– Hm?

At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind.

“Sergeant Kim?”

Wheeeeeeeee—

The knife-like wind struck his cheek. He briefly thought it was his imagination, but it wasn’t a mere fantasy.

A sniper is a universal entity, a single race. So, by shooting at yourself, it’s like you’re shooting at yourself. Where in the world is something that easy, I mean, seriously?

In a life-or-death moment, he was instinctively reminded of his teacher’s advice that would dispel his complex feelings.

“But the tone of what you mentioned earlier seems oddly different.”

By the time thoughts of doubt about his own memory crept in, all the senses that had just been bewilderingly present vanished.

Wind direction? Wind speed? The position of the White Reaper? You already know it!

He knew. He just hadn’t consciously verified the things his subconscious had been doing relentlessly.