Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“If K-Kijung didn’t tell you, he must have had a good reason. Long-range dealers capable of piercing a Manticore’s skin are rare, so if Bobae isn’t there…”

“I don’t know, I don’t care! There are so many people now! It feels like I can just leave, but Kijung always…”

It was understandable why Bobae was pouting with such a disgruntled face.

Bobae had been excluded from the operation to kill Pyrot-Cocri.

Considering Bobae boasted the strongest attack power within the Byulcho guild, Kijung’s exclusion of her had made her quite upset, and she was taking it out on Leeha.

‘Oh, I just came to say hello, and now this mess! Kijung must be having a hard time too; I heard they couldn’t even convince Petyr…’

Apart from Raphaela, the second party member recruited was Hyein.

Although Leeha had provided the information, Kijung had judged that an expert in space was necessary due to the wide search area and had called in Hyein.

‘If things were the way they should be, adding Petyr and Hyein together would’ve been perfect, along with one more dealer.’

Leeha thought that the ‘one more dealer’ might have been Bobae.

Despite being a top-ten ranker, Bobae was considered the least active primarily because she had spent most of her time with Kijung since joining the Byulcho guild. This had the advantage of having fewer rivals or enemies, thus reducing competition against her.

‘If we want to keep this secret from Chiyou and others… we need to move with a very small number of people. That’s probably why it was difficult to call Nara or other rankers.’

Of course, Chiyou’s team would know about the new area opening in northern Shazrashian.

However, both Chiyou and the Shinobigumi and Yamato led by her were focusing on the Demon King’s Army in the New Continent, so they likely had little information about this place for now.

‘If key rankers or influential figures responsible for defending the western New Continent suddenly head to northern Shazrashian…’

The likelihood of them noticing would be high.

Though Leeha had considered Shin Nara, Karelin, and even Lark, all of them were key figures representing their respective countries.

In short, they could not be brought out of the New Continent.

‘Even Lark, the slick one, is in such a state, not to mention others active in the New Continent. I wonder if I’ll ever hear from Lee Jiwon.’

Even recently, Lee Jiwon, who had said he would go to northern Shazrashian, had blocked all whispers.

With few rankers and solo players to call on who were less active in the New Continent, options were limited.

‘Would Ram Hwajung be the most likely candidate now?’

Though there was a high chance she wouldn’t join due to overprotection from Ram Hwayeon, Leeha calculated that with good persuasion from Kijung and a bit of coaxing from himself, Ram Hwajung could be recruited, making it the best option he had.

“Kikit, as always, you’re quite busy. Did you come to head to the eastern New Continent?”

“Huh? How did Biyemi know—”

“It would be strange if you, Ha Leeha-nim, didn’t pass by when Luger and Kidd had already gone.”

As usual, Biyemi was quick on the uptake.

“It’s not like we’re completely clueless. They left quite a while ago. You’re a bit late.”

Even when Leeha tried to speak, Bobae’s incessant chattering interrupted, prompting Jin Gonggong to subtly intervene between the two.

Leeha was grateful for Jin Gonggong’s perceptiveness.

It wasn’t just because they vaguely expressed knowing something was happening secretly.

“Ah! Jin Gonggong! Don’t push me! I still have things to say—”

Bobae, who was aggressively approaching Leeha, soon regained her senses thanks to Jin Gonggong’s subtle ‘butt-push’ attack, something Leeha appreciated.

“Hehe, thanks, Jin Gonggong. Oh right, anyone else passed by?”

“Though some users talked about exploring the eastern New Continent by flight… Kikit, as you know, it’s tough to pass the Manticore’s surveillance by flying.”

“Then—”

“Besides, it’s also a non-teleport area…”

Biyemi added derisively.

“I checked a few days ago, and they were all dead bodies.”

Jin Gonggong showed a sympathetic expression at the dead users.

Among the former ‘Three Weirdos of Candle Castle’, Leeha could somehow find it amusing how different their personalities had become.

“Ha Leeha, it would be better to move slowly on the ground rather than by flight.”

“Wouldn’t it take too long? If a Manticore shows up, Blaugrunn and I could just take it down in one shot―”

“Kikik, you always say that. Do you remember who the Manticore is a messenger of?”

“……Ghibrid. Damn, you’re right.”

It would have been an excellent opportunity to kill the Manticore.

However, the moment they killed a Manticore, Ghibrid would detect Leeha’s presence and appear immediately.

In other words, the forest of the corrupted World Tree was not only the point where the “Sacred Alliance” guarded the East from the West but also where the “Demon King’s Fragments” kept watch from the West.

“Ha Leeha, then―”

“Ugh, I wanted to travel comfortably with Blaugrunn. Are we going to have to endure suffering like when we traveled with Jellypong?”

This destroyed their plan to follow the vanguard using Blaugrunn’s flight.

Leeha parted ways with Byulcho and continued to walk eastward.

The sun shining from behind them cast shadows ahead.

After walking for some time, they passed through a forest, climbed over rocky mountains, and crossed valleys, finally entering a region where teleportation was impossible.

Mana around them was freezing.

All forms of space movement skills were restricted.

“I see… This is the place.”

“Oh? Ah! Blaugrunn-ssi, it’s your first time here?”

Leeha suddenly realized.

When he first headed east on the New Continent to find Elizabeth, Blaugrunn had not followed because he had other tasks.

“Yes. It’s not just the space that’s locked. The flow of mana feels slightly sluggish.”

“Really? There’s no skill penalty though. Is it different somehow?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. It’s not a specific interference, but something feels oddly different. Was Bailephus-nim okay here?”

Blaugrunn tilted his head while looking at his hands.

No notification windows appeared for Leeha. When he actually opened the skill window and checked, there were no changes.

“Is it different for mage classes? No, that can’t be. Even Lee Jiwon-ssi caused a huge ruckus here. So why did Blaugrunn-ssi suddenly mention Bailephus-nim…?”

Leeha felt suspicion through Blaugrunn’s words.

Why would he think of Bailephus here of all places? There was only one common factor between the two.

“A unique penalty for dragons…? No way, that can’t be. This can’t be happening.”

With Ghibrid already making flying difficult, an additional penalty was out of the question!

Though even a brutal place like Middle Earth wouldn’t go that far, Leeha opened his friend window on a sudden thought.

“I’ll just contact Bailephus-nim directly. Hold on.”

“Yes. This area is safe anyway. Shouldn’t we first figure out which direction Ha Leeha’s trusted comrades went through?”

“Trusted, my foot! We’re following the path they took, so don’t worry.”

Leeha pouted his lips and contacted Bailephus.

Thanks to the buff “Blessing of Bailephus”, excluding communication interference, Leeha could always reach him.

He was one of the few NPCs with whom he could exchange whispers.

― Bailephus-nim! How are you?

― Ha Leeha. You’ve crossed the forest of the corrupted World Tree.

― Huh? How did you know? I was just going to greet you as I’m passing through here today…

― Because you contacted me due to Blaugrunn’s issue.

― What?

Bailephus spoke as if he already knew Leeha’s concerns. How sorrowful it was when a bad premonition came true.

Leeha found out through Bailephus that the powerful strands of dark energy spreading throughout the underground of the New Continent were disturbing the flow of mana. This interference especially affected dragons, who were highly sensitive to mana, causing a decline in the effectiveness of their magic or preventing them from using certain spells altogether.

“Blaugrunn might be the strongest juvenile dragon, but since he hasn’t returned to the adult state yet, the impact must be even more severe”, he mused.

“Haah… If even Bailephus-nim finds it difficult, it must be really bad.”

“Even so, an ordinary human wouldn’t be able to handle this, but still… be careful.”

Of the 〈Demon King’s Fragment〉.

Leeha understood the unsaid warning from Bailephus.

He relayed this information to Blaugrunn, who was initially disheartened but soon recovered.

“As expected, the only way is to quickly become an adult.”

“Yes. Lord Bahamut also mentioned it would happen soon.”

“Yes. Let’s go quickly!”

Leeha patted the head of Koma walking bravely beside him.

Despite having a much longer lifespan according to the game settings, Blaugrunn seemed merely cute at moments like this.

As the elongated shadows nearly vanished, the night began to settle in, and they barely managed to walk under the moonlight when Leeha and Blaugrunn finally detected the first movement.

“Ha Leeha-nim, have you caught something?”

“Um… I don’t think so. Before the Gryphonia appeared, we didn’t encounter any monsters.”

There had been a gryphon monster with a female face along the cliff where Elizabeth and Brown’s temporary dwelling was.

Perhaps because they had quickly moved using Jellypong’s three-dimensional maneuvering before reaching that point the last time.

It was definitely a monster they hadn’t encountered before.

Leeha quietly took a silencer out of his bag and attached it to his gun’s muzzle.

They couldn’t avoid the muzzle flash, but reducing the gunshot noise was more important at the moment.

“The distance is approximately 200 meters… it wouldn’t be a Chimera, right?”

They didn’t know where Ghibrid might be nearby.

“Even if it’s a Chimera, it should be okay if Ghibrid is not nearby. Only Manticores can act as ‘Messengers’.”

“Alright then, let’s deliver one shot. Blaugrunn, be on guard around us.”

“Understood.”

Leeha crawled forward cautiously. There wasn’t anything particular to worry about nearby.

‘Bipedal. Height is about 2.5 to 2.8 meters, and it looks somewhat like a kangaroo… but oddly has a monkey vibe as well.’

He was briefly curious about the monster’s name but soon shook his head.

Lying flat on the ground, Leeha carefully pulled the bolt.

The sound of the bolt sliding into place felt excessively loud, but there was no way it could be heard at this distance.

‘The wind is light. The wind speed should not exceed 3 m/s. The distance is short enough that wind direction wouldn’t matter.’

There was no need to adjust the clicks.

Aiming through the 〈Distorted Vision〉, Leeha steadied his breathing.

“You’re the first offering to… the awakened Black Bass.”

Then, he slowly pulled the trigger.

“First sacrifice.”

──────────────────!

Within the brief and heavy reverberation, a sound of something splattering could be heard.

Leeha could feel that the bullet had perfectly penetrated the monster’s head.

“This level is no problem at all. Charging rate! Charging rate!”

With a mix of pride and foolish joy after a great shot, Leeha checked the item window of Black Bass.