Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

In Middle Earth, where information was as good as currency and power, it was hard to find useful information even on the official website. Therefore, user-created sites, especially the highly reliable ones, held immense value.

“There isn’t even a category for wings under items. Not even a similar name in the accessories category.”

Ha Leeha had never seen anyone with wings in Middle Earth while playing. Excluding situations where someone transformed into an animal, nobody in a human form had wings.

“They aren’t in the auction house, can’t be found through search, and there’s no special mention in the community… .”

It was impressive that he managed to find out the item’s name. He had fiercely negotiated with Shimo using the skill to finally get additional information.

However, despite his efforts, the wing item was nowhere to be found in Middle Earth.

“He said it was located in the northernmost region… Do I really have to go there? But if it’s legendary, there won’t be many of them- Thinking about when Shimo was executed…”

Ha Leeha had a rough idea of where the might be. The Shazrashian Federation probably had a place where they kept their treasures, like any other nation.

‘They would have confiscated it before the execution. So it could be in the royal treasury- no, the presidential office? But isn’t the president elected? It’s not based on lineage. Would each president have access to the treasury?’

Thinking that far, Ha Leeha got confused. The most likely place for the to be would be a site with such a function. Shimo might have found a way to hide his gun at home but couldn’t manage with the wings.

It would be great if he could just extract the item from the spirit. The spirit must be an embodiment of his desired appearance, reminiscent of Shimo’s grand feats during the ‘Winter War’.

“Hmm, first, I should finish the Pandril Tribe quest. I don’t even know where the northern end of Shazrashian is.”

During the days Ha Leeha spent with Shimo, countless giants had passed by that place. Their official reason was resource development, but they had crossed the ruins imbued with Shimo’s grudge and installed a warp gate on the northern end.

‘So that’s probably the direction.’

Although he had some rough hints, he anticipated it would take a lot of time to start a full-on exploration. Unless the giants cleared the path and marked out the map sufficiently, the chances of getting lost would only increase.

‘Fernand doesn’t… Come to think of it, wasn’t it called Laputa or something? They said they found a floating island in the sky.’

The name was undoubtedly given by the Pope, but nobody knew what it was or how to access it yet. Ha Leeha also heard about it through videos of the ’s expedition and from acquaintances.

“Hehe, Alexander and Lee Jiwon. They always bicker about killing each other, but they team up well at times like this.”

The Desire for Something New.

Since the new continent opened and the level cap was lifted, leehowe’s consciousness towards Alexander had been in a half-awake state. To reach the top, rather than fighting and killing each other to lower levels, one had to grow in such a way that no other user could catch up.

Leeha knew very well that killing Alexander could be done next, and Alexander, having understood this, accepted him without any objections. To the extent that he even recruited Fernand, forming a team of three.

Leeha took a sip of coffee and then headed towards the Middle Earth access device. Having completed his sleep and meals, his steps were light and fully recharged. He waved at Blaugrunn warmly.

“No issues, right?”

“Of course. What issues would there be?”

Blaugrunn smiled at Leeha. Blaugrunn’s words meant that nothing happened because his guard was tight, but Leeha heard it a bit differently.

‘Why did such a failure condition even exist?’

Was it just a precaution against any potential accidents? Or, indeed, what would have happened if Blaugrunn hadn’t kept the guard? There was only one reason why Leeha was thinking this way.

If he had called Blaugrunn on the day he encountered Kaztor at ‘the buoy’, the result might have been different.

“Lark would say, ‘What is bound to happen, happens’, and that it couldn’t have been prevented anyway….”

Feeling both unfair and strangely calm at the same time, he realized that Lark’s words had significantly influenced him. Not just the Kaztor incident, but Lark had the insight to observe the overall flow of the game and often emphasized the importance of distinguishing between events that players could prevent and those that would inevitably occur due to Middle Earth’s system.

“Why the sudden frown?”

“No, just thinking about someone who never says good things nicely, always does so with hidden intentions.”

If only he had a slightly better way of speaking, he might have become a close friend. Leeha shook his head as he thought about Lark and knocked on the general store’s door where Aner was.

“Aner?”

“Ha Leeha! Come in!” Aner greeted Leeha with the same appearance as Lizardia. Although nobody was inside the store, perhaps it was Aner’s way to show determination not to reveal his true form without strict ‘door control.’

“Hasn’t discrimination disappeared now?”

“Haha, it’s become a habit. There’s nothing good about them knowing that we possess such abilities.”

“Uh… Then, it seems there’s no reason to have drafted the Charter of Rights.”

“Everything will gradually get resolved. And just the fact that our children won’t have to go through such efforts anymore makes me extremely happy. Now, come on in.”

Aner led Leeha and Blaugrunn inside, quickly going behind the counter to fetch a scroll.

“The entire council, including the elders, is already gathered. They are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the White Reaper.”

“It’s a teleport scroll.”

Aner locked the shop door with a smile instead of answering. Given the situation of moving together with Blaugrunn, what could there be to fear?

“Let’s go”, said Ha Leeha pleasantly, unfolding the scroll. In an instant, engulfed in a flash of light, Ha Leeha, Blaugrunn, and Aner arrived somewhere in Shazrashian. From a considerably high vantage point, they could look down below, and on the snow-covered plain beneath them…

“We’re hereeeee!”

“That’s him! That’s Ha Leeha!”

“Our people’s hero-”

“-The new White Reaper has arrived!”

Cheering rose from the crowd of people. Among them, Ha Leeha appeared the most bewildered.

What surprised him more were the people gathered here. Quite a number of surviving Pandril individuals had giant forms.

“They are a minority race, but this original giant-?”

“Do you think a minority race consists of just a few dozens of people? As I mentioned earlier…”

“Transformation? So many people can hide their appearance in the form of another race?” he thought with disbelief.

“The Pandril people are something else- No, it’s not the Pandril people who are impressive…”

As Ha Leeha pondered, an old man resembling a human approached him, clutching a book to his chest.

“Was it ‘Matan’s Shooter’ who left this record? That alone could make them this way?”

Aner bowed his head towards the old man, and Ha Leeha greeted him belatedly as well.

The old man hurriedly helped Ha Leeha to stand up.

“Raise your head, White Reaper. It is I who should be bowing to our people’s hero.”

And then he bowed his head.

“Ex, executive Chairman!”

All the Pandril people in the lowlands, including Aner, fell silent. Even without the title of ‘Chairman’, Ha Leeha could tell that this old man held considerable importance.

“No, uh, excuse me-”

Ha Leeha tried to stop him, but the chairman only raised his head after properly showing his respect. Ha Leeha could see the tears welling in his eyes.

“To think I would witness such a sight in my lifetime… I never dreamed of experiencing this…”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It wasn’t my doing. I just built upon what the previous White Reaper from the Pandril people, Shimo, had set up.”

Ha Leeha’s words spread quietly but significantly, and as the name of their people’s hero was mentioned, the Pandril individuals began to murmur again.

The chairman, after shedding tears, suddenly remembered something and handed a book to Ha Leeha.

“I heard you were looking for this from Aner.”

“This is… that….”

“This record has been passed down through our people for generations. Although we don’t even know who left it for us, we are an ungrateful people….”

The chairman spoke in a faint voice, but Ha Leeha understood him well enough.

“No! No! That’s just how it is. Yes, that’s how it is indeed.”

“What? What do you mean by ‘that’s how it is’?”

“The one who left this record surely anticipated this outcome, which is why they left it behind. Just keeping it safe until now would make them happy.”

Ha Leeha had no idea how many generations ago the “Matan’s Shooter” left this record. They must have already reconciled themselves to the eventual disappearance of their existence. Had the Shazrashian marksmen cleared the quest, would they have chosen this path?

Ha Leeha pondered for a moment, but for now, such matters were not important.

“May I have a look at it?”

“Of course, as much as you like.”

Ha Leeha took the book from the chairman and opened it immediately. Blaugrunn looked at it with curious eyes.

『Is it true that writing my name like this leaves no trace? Hey, sorry, but could you check if you can see my name right now? My name is ※:※Nunu *※Jaejkeje』… Ahn??

“Wow, this is… seriously! It’s different from magic, isn’t it? Blur processing?”

Blaugrunn exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a part of the book. Only the sections with the name appeared blurry. Ha Leeha rubbed his eyes and looked again, but it was the same.

The chairman sighed and nodded as if it was inevitable.

Ugh… like this? What is this atmosphere? This soaring language—besides, in Max Hescok’s diary, the names were clearly visible.

The “Matan’s Shooter Diary” Kaztor had possessed clearly showed the names. Was there a difference between it and this? Could it be that this wasn’t “Matan’s Shooter”?

No way! There’s the name Zamiel! But ‘that Zamiel guy’? It’s as if speaking of a friend…. Kaztor was a dark elf, wasn’t he? Did Max Hescok use something from the dark elves to fully preserve his name in the records?

The dark elves knew about the power of God. Although they couldn’t utilize it themselves, did they have a way to partially avoid the penalty of “Matan’s Shooter’s” ‘disappearance’?

The chief at that time didn’t mention such things. Well, considering Kaztor carried all the books around, it’s possible he didn’t know. When Max Hescok found the dark elf village, such actions might have been possible. If no measures were taken, even if records were left behind, the names would get erased like this.

“Ha Leeha-nim, what are you doing! Hurry up!”

“Oh, yes. Got it.”

(To be continued…)