Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Kikit, should we call it Middle Earth’s trickery? A ploy to send Kaztor to the New Continent? Well, if it was an event that couldn’t be prevented in the first place, they should have just sent him off quickly. It’s just going to piss off the people who suffered all this time.”

The users had judged it as the trickery of the Middle Earth system. Just like the quest at Marath’s base was designed to fail eventually, the probability that this event was focused more on failure than success was high.

“Hyung.”

Ha Leeha was with Byulcho, engaging in conversations with its members up until now.

“Huh? What?”

“What are you spacing out for? What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

However, Ha Leeha was not really participating in the conversation.

‘Should I attribute it to Kaztor? I cleared the quest. Got the achievement as well… But that darn Kaztor…’ His mind was tangled with thoughts.

“Why did he look for the vocal cords though? Why did he need them? And… What exactly is the information you hold about the Matan’s Shooter?”

It’s natural for curiosity to arise in Ha Leeha since he had not heard Kaztor’s words clearly. But that, in turn, presented room for alternative thinking. Judging by the situation, Kaztor should be desperate for information about the Matan’s Shooter. Isn’t that the very reason he was heading to the New Continent? But his reaction?

“When he said he knows everything about the Matan’s Shooter! that reaction… if he was truly interested, he should have clearly reacted to his own words.

‘The certainty about the past Matan’s Shooter would not be something he possessed either. It’s hard to think he has any information about the current Matan’s Shooter.’

Nevertheless, he made a conclusion.

That was what made Ha Leeha’s mind complicated.

“How could he be so confident that I don’t have the data? Could it be that he knows about the White Reaper as well? No, rather than just the White Reaper, maybe he knows everything about the Pandril tribe, more than I do? The data they hold would mean nothing if I obtained it, because no new data can exist in this world beyond what he already knows?”

Knows everything? New data can’t exist beyond his knowledge?

“Is that really the case? Even if it’s not that…”

Kaztor must know about the White Reaper and the Pandril tribe as well.

“Um, excuse me, but I need to be on my way.”

“Oh? Hey, where are you planning to go? The New Continent? Tomorrow, won’t you join us-”

As Ha Leeha stood up abruptly, Kijung grabbed him. But Ha Leeha’s resolve was even stronger.

“No. Forget about the New Continent. I might not be able to go there for a while.”

“W-What are you saying? At this crucial time? Now all of Middle Earth’s focus is shifting towards the New Continent! It will be totally different from the time we fooled around with the paleo during the expedition! In the future-”

“I’m sorry, Kijung. I’m in a hurry. Everyone, I’ll ask for your help later.”

Ha Leeha immediately activated the cellulose sphere.

“Hey, whe-where are you going, Leeha hyung!”

Before Kijung could grab him again, Ha Leeha vanished. Bobae and Jin Gonggong were bewildered, but a few others were smiling knowingly.

“Hehe, if it’s Ha Leeha, then he’s probably thought of something again. Even if he seems to be acting aloof-”

“At least we can trust what Ha Leeha does.”

“Anyway, if we get into danger, he’ll show up. That’s how he is. That’s why he’s always busy with unnecessary stuff. We should just focus on our tasks, Kay.”

Biyemi, Hyein, and Tale didn’t know what Ha Leeha was up to, but they had a vague idea why he had to do it.

“Shimo! Shimo!”

While most of the key figures in Middle Earth were focused on a person named ‘Kaztor’, Ha Leeha’s focus was elsewhere.

Kaztor was headed to the New Continent, but ‘what’ he was going to do there? Ha Leeha wanted to delve into the results of that action.

“The Marksman’s Bullet…”

The White Reaper suddenly appeared in front of Ha Leeha.

『In one go? How did you-』

“I don’t really know. Somehow…”

『Somehow? You can’t just somehow make that shot. A speed of 400 meter per second is not something anyone can just achieve. I know that better than anyone…』

Looking at the astounded eyes of the White Reaper, Ha Leeha smiled awkwardly. He had seen Shimo marvel at or be pleased with him several times before, but this was the first time he saw such a shocked expression.

There was a strange sense of satisfaction in having surprised someone of this caliber.

“Hehe, but honestly, I really don’t know. I mean, uh… When I saw it with my own eyes and felt the wind, I felt like I understood something, but explaining it in words is… how should I put it…”

『Indeed, of course… That is so.』

“Yes?”

The White Reaper’s expression gradually shifted from one of astonished shock to one of gentle and proud satisfaction.

『It’s not something that can be explained. Even I couldn’t explain it. The ability to discern is not something that can be achieved through mere knowledge or explanation. It requires faith, insight, and intuition. Once you’re able to see, whether it’s a mere gust of wind or a violent storm of 40…』

The White Reaper continued, patting the shoulder of another White Reaper.

『Whatever might dazzle your eyes, you’ll be able to see it now. I believe you will be able to discern everything.』

“Thank you.”

『CLOSE YOUR EYES』

“Oh, oh, oh, this is so scary.”

The question, “Are you planning to take my eyes after telling me to close them?” surged up Leeha’s throat.

He wondered why such actions were necessary when it was just the creation of a skill. However, he had no choice but to close his eyes.

『The White Reaper… to the White Reaper…』

~…

~”

As light penetrated through his eyelids, Ha Leeha squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. At that moment, the light disappeared.

『Skill – Beginner Distorted Vision (Passive) has been learned.』

『How do you feel?』

Ha Leeha opened his eyes upon hearing the White Reaper’s voice. His blinking eyes felt a slight sting, as though they had grown sensitive.

“Well, it’s like, although I haven’t had Lasik surgery, it sort of feels like-”

『What? What surgery?』

“No, no! It’s very good. Very clear- oh my, it’s not just clear…?”

Description: Knows the path the wind takes. Sees the heart that tries to deceive you.

Effect: Identifies wind direction and speed within a specific region. Sees through disguises, invisibility, illusions, and all falsehoods (provided that the sum of the caster’s agility and intelligence is at least 209 points higher than the target’s).

“Sees through all falsehoods… This is crazy!”

Indeed, the White Reaper had not reacted to Bahamut’s illusion or Jellypong’s spy glasses.

In other words, the ability to see through illusions and transformations was known.

But invisibility and camouflage too?

“Um, could it be, Shimo-nim?”

『Hmm?』

“Back then, when we first met… Did you shoot at me after seeing my breath?”

『Breath? I shot at you the moment I saw you.』

He had thought the reaper shot at him after seeing his breath. But what if that was not the case? It could only be said that Ha Leeha avoided the first shot purely due to his instinct and intuition.

If he had turned his head even 0.1 seconds late, Ha Leeha would have been killed.

“It’s a scam. No, it’s more than an ordinary scam. It’s a total scam. The ‘Detect’ skill couldn’t even break the camouflage…”

Ha Leeha nodded vigorously. So what if it was a total scam? Now that skill was his.

“Keh-heh-heh, besides, this skill doesn’t have levels. It only has ranks. The effects that change with rank might be the usage restrictions of the .”

When using that ‘total scam’ skill on people, I.e., to see through transformation or invisibility, there was a condition: Ha Leeha’s combined agility and intelligence needed to be at least 20% higher than the target.

“Although I’ve increased my intelligence a lot recently, it’s still low. Most mage-class jobs probably have higher intelligence than mine. But… agility~? Character window!”

Name: Ha Leeha / Race: Human / Job: White Reaper / Level: 256 (38.94%)

Title: Shadow Hitman / Achievements: 162

HP: 10,760 (7,532)

MP: 3,760

Stats:

Strength 808 (+723)

Agility 4,247 (+1,522)

Intelligence 607 (+391)

Stamina 415 (+289)

Mind 253 (+155)

Remaining Stat Points: 233

“Heh-heh… Combining intelligence and agility gives me a whopping 4,854. Even if my opponent’s combined agility and intelligence is 4,000, I’d still be 20% and 54 points higher!”

The total of 4,000 stat points was a level not easily reached by just anyone. As it stood, Ha Leeha had already exceeded 4,000 in a single stat and still had 233 stat points left.

“The ‘Profit Sharing Certificate for Resource Development of the Northern Mines of the Lope Continent’ is an achievement without a Hall of Fame, giving me 34 stat points. The ‘The One Who Hatched from the Egg’… didn’t make it into the Hall of Fame because it was too late. Still, I got 25 points from that.”

Even though it was an S-rank achievement without a Hall of Fame, the reward for the original achievement was doubled. From the 『Profit Sharing Certificate for Resource Development of the Northern Mines of the Lope Continent』 achievement and the ‘The One Who Hatched from the Egg’ achievement received upon completing the second job change.

While others carefully saved even a single stat point, Ha Leeha had kept his stored up. He never felt the need to invest in stats due to his already strong abilities, using them only when necessary, accumulating more from past achievements and now having 233 points.

“Just have someone try to hide. I’ll blow them away easily this time.”

The had no range limit. At least among the users, there wouldn’t be many who could escape Ha Leeha’s sniping.

“If there’s a bullet that can pierce anything and a shield that can block everything, what do you think would happen?”

“Uh, what?”

Distracted by the character window, Ha Leeha missed what Shimo said, then quickly responded in surprise. As Shimo explained again, Ha Leeha replied while tilting his head.

“Contradiction—no, bullet-shield, you mean?”

『Exactly. No matter how piercing your gaze is, if the target ceases to exist, you can’t see it, can you?』

『White Reaper: Nonexistent Existence―2』

Description: “Your technique was very intriguing. At first glance, it seemed as if you naturally blended completely into your surroundings. But that was merely a ‘camouflage’ in nature. Now, imagine what would happen if you could blend in perfectly… completely merge with your surroundings.”

The White Reaper, simo, seeks to pass on his breath to you after you pass his trial.

Objective: Evade Shimo’s pursuit within a limited area for 24 hours.

Reward: Skill—Melting Breath

『White Reaper: Prayer for Snow Ritual―3』

Failure Conditions: If hit by Shimo or if you leave the designated area.

Upon Failure: Quest route deletion.

(To be continued.)