Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Do you mean―”

“If we become partners, won’t we have a much closer bond?”

At that moment, another duo, following in the footsteps of Alexander and Bailephus, Ha Leeha and Blaugrunn, was born.

Leeha felt joy, anticipating that Ram Hwajung’s strength would multiply several times over. Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t entirely suppress his unease.

‘He doesn’t show such an attitude to just anyone or at random. Moreover, the words about Lark and the phrase… 〈all eyes of the clan〉 needing to be directed towards Peklo City…’

It was not a good omen. Leeha clearly sensed this one thing.

‘DEFCON? We’ve already surpassed level 3. At the very least… it’s 〈Fast Pace〉.’

DEFCON 2, Fast Pace.

This indicated the signs of war and the acceleration of war preparations.

Leeha could vaguely sense that events were unfolding within Middle Earth that were causing the leader of the Metal Dragons, Bahamut, to be on edge.

* * *

Following Blaugrunn to Bahamut, the corpses of even Pyrot-Cocri had disappeared, leaving only Leeha and Lark behind.

Lark still had a blank expression, mulling over Bahamut’s words.

“That sword… What is it?”

Leeha asked, pointing precisely at his sword.

“Huh, what? What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend to be flustered. You’ve got a sense of what Bahamut was talking about, right? Let’s share.”

“What sense? I’ll tell you when I remember more―”

“Lark-ssi.”

Leeha leaned on the Black Bass as if it were a staff.

A faint light emanated from the bolt, but Lark was too flustered to notice.

“Ahem! Why are you setting the mood like that? We aren’t going to fight anymore, are we?”

Lark shrugged his shoulders, protesting his innocence.

Of course, Leeha didn’t care in the least.

“The issue is what benefit does it bring to each other. While I acknowledge that Nara trusts and follows you and you help occasionally, it is still true that you’re suspicious. If you don’t explain how you appeared here today and what you’re hiding, I can’t continue with you. It’s just too difficult to believe.”

The strange power struggle between Leeha and Lark had continued from that day in the New Continent until now.

Their inconsistent way of mixing formal and informal speech, their suspicion and rivalry—to the point of deliberately limiting each other—defined their contradictory relationship.

They could be seen as friends, but they could not be considered just friends. The term “contradictory relationship” fit them best.

Lark sighed inwardly.

‘Hoo~ Right, as expected.’

He seemed as though he always knew this day would come. Comparing and analyzing themselves objectively and coolly wasn’t a problem for Lark.

‘Even in terms of insight, it’s the same. He has times when he’s sharper than anyone else. But his one weakness is…’

Unlike Leeha, who shared his information openly, Lark was the type to conceal as much as possible. This was the biggest difference Lark felt when comparing himself to Leeha.

Thus, a clash was inevitable.

Since Lark held ‘relative informational supremacy’ over what he hadn’t yet revealed to Leeha, he held an advantage.

But he couldn’t hide it any longer. At least this time, Lark felt the need for complete cooperation.

“Hoou… I thought Nara would pry information about me from you. Even you’re still far from it, far from it.”

“What! Nara?”

Leeha felt ridiculous.

Had they grown that close to use such expressions?

“About the naming, Nara and I have already settled it, so don’t point it out… Alright, as you asked about the sword just now, I’ve got a lot of questions too.”

Seeing Leeha’s expression, Lark quickly took the initiative.

Leeha wanted to ask, ‘What did you settle with Nara’, but given how assertive Lark was, he couldn’t pry further. Thus, he had to shift the topic.

“So! Where did you get that sword, and what are you aiming for? You need to tell me clearly―”

“Second profession, 〈Dragon Slayer〉.”

“Wait, what?”

Leeha felt as if he had been struck hard. It was something he hadn’t quite expected.

However, Lark took out his card.

Truth.

When Lark unsheathed his sword, he neither used a skill nor performed a specific act. Nevertheless, every time he lightly waved his sword in the air, a rainbow-colored afterimage followed.

“To be honest, I tried to stab Bahamut with this sword.”

“What— Crazy—”

Leeha thought it was truly fortunate that Blaugrunn moved to follow Bahamut. After Lark’s outrageous statement, which left no room for a rebuttal, he quickly continued to speak.

“The dragon I have to kill wouldn’t be ordinary, so the only ‘special dragon’ left would be the entity called Bahamut.”

“… Is that the second profession quest? To kill a special dragon?”

“Heh, to be precise, that’s my interpretation.”

Lark smiled bitterly. He looked as if he couldn’t believe it himself. Leeha, after realizing that the quest wasn’t about killing Bahamut, had a chance to ask him.

“So, what is it then? You might not have known about Pyrot-Cocri, but considering you understood Kijung’s movements to get here—you could have deduced the quest’s conditions from its description or content.”

“Ha Leeha-ssi. Can you piece together the story of how I got here? If you can, I’ll tell you.”

Lark suddenly posed a problem to Leeha.

Despite his initial confusion, Leeha’s mind was already working to solve it. Having heard everything from the party formation to the start of the battle from Kijung, Leeha was more than capable of deducing the answer.

There was only one person in the flow to capture Pyrot-Cocri whose puzzle piece didn’t fit.

“… Pei Wu.”

“Oh? Pei Wu? Why Pei Wu?”

“No matter how I think about it, Pei Wu’s appearance doesn’t add up. He said he came here without even knowing what he would do. He’s not one to just follow ‘ordinary’ rumors. So, there must have been some credible information source.”

“Hmm, you might be right. But I don’t have anything like an Intelligence guild.”

“But you do have someone akin to an Intelligence guild. If you utilize someone like Cheka, you could spread information through high-level connections in Minis to high-level connections in Fibiel. The Hwangryong Guild, which is connected to those high-level officials in Fibiel, could easily obtain such significant information. In such a major case, Pei Wu would have to intervene directly… Consequently, you only needed to follow Pei Wu.”

“It’s called ‘Clinging Yellow’. It tells you the exact location of a specific target, far superior to any searcher or hunter class skill.”

“What?”

“It means you’re correct. Ha, dammit. I hoped you wouldn’t get it, but at the same time, I thought, ‘This much should be expected from Ha Leeha-ssi.’”

Lark responded with a mix of satisfaction and regret to Leeha’s perfect deduction.

Although Leeha hadn’t realized that “Clinging Yellow” was a skill name, Lark had revealed the method by which he tracked Pei Wu there.

In any case, Leeha solved Pei Wu’s “problem” and now it was time for him to receive his reward.

“Then tell me, what’s the second profession, Dragon Slayer, quest about?”

“It’s just two lines. Ahem, so—”

Lark cleared his throat.

Even before he spoke, Leeha felt a premonition.

Of course, this was based on Bahamut’s words.

Why did the leader of the Platinum Dragons issue a combat readiness alert akin to DEFCON 2 to all Metal Dragons?

Moreover, why was Lark’s second profession called ‘Dragon Slayer’?

‘If that’s the case—’

What would Lark say next?

What would the second profession quest be?

Lark began reading his quest description with quiet yet distinct pronunciation.

“I am a sword made to kill her.”

“Only I can destroy her.”

“And… the quest clear condition is, ‘Kill the dragon’. If you think of ‘her’ as just an abstract term, it would be some special dragon different from ordinary dragons, which made me think of Bahamut—”

“Oh, oh! Yes, you’re right, crazy! That’s it!”

“What? Suddenly what—”

“That was it, that was why! So—that’s why you’ve been saving it, waiting for the right moment?”

“Wait a minute! What are you talking about, Ha Leeha-ssi? If you’re going to tell me, then—”

“Damn it, Le—!”

Leeha realized.

There was a reason Bahamut had told him to get close to Lark.

‘If what Bahamut said is true, no, considering the nature of the game called Middle Earth… it’s about to begin.’

Leeha felt goosebumps all over his body.

Lark initially thought that the term ‘she’ referred to something abstract, but it wasn’t the case.

The Queen of all chromatic dragons.

A dragon that stood opposite to Bahamut.

The very existence that the Ancient red dragon Kuzgunak’sh had tried to awaken at the cost of her life.

Hexadragon Tiamat.

Finally, ‘she’ was about to awaken, the worst dragon in the history of Middle Earth.

Leeha snapped back to his senses and began rummaging through his bag.

“What, what are you doing? You haven’t properly explained anything….”

Lark, seeing Leeha pull something out of his bag, looked confused. However, Leeha couldn’t just send Lark back now.

‘The phrase 〈”Only I can eliminate it.〉.’

Also, Lark’s sword that had been created for a specific purpose!

“Lark, what do you like to eat?”

“Huh?”

“Believe it or not, I am the apprentice of Giyomi, no, Giyomi-Fgar, the head chef of the Holy Grill Candle Castle branch. This might be a long story… let’s have a drink. I’ll make some snacks.”

Leeha needed to gather enough information about Lark’s sword.

“A pub, all of a sudden?”

With a puzzled look, Lark watched as Leeha smiled and began to prepare meat.

* * *

‘Before things escalate, I have to deal with the Kaztor issue. If we can bring Brown, elizabeth, and Kyle to our side, Tiamat won’t be a big problem.’

Leeha was moving from the central part of the New Continent towards the East.

Every time Jellypong’s three-dimensional maneuvering unfolded quickly, Black Bass voiced its admiration.

―Ahaa… refreshing. Going back to catch those who shared blood with me. Their blood was special. Though the same entity, they held different blood… it was very delicious.―

“Blood? Vampires? No. This time, it’s not about catching vampires.”

―Is that so. What a pity. Even Pyrot-Cocri would do. The blood of the Demon King’s Fragments is always enthralling to drink. Always fresh. The best.―

Leeha shuddered momentarily at the sound of Black Bass smacking its lips.

The voice sounded like an aged voice actor, but the words were nothing short of what an adolescent in a phase would say.

‘Still, it’s a relief that it can talk. Despite it being past midnight.’

It was time for the charge rate to decrease. Naturally, Leeha thought Black Bass would go back to sleep.

But that was underestimating the Demon King’s Fragments too much.

〈Awakened Legend Black Bass (First Enhancement―Lava)

(Non-Tradable)

Additional Explanation―2: The consciousness sealed within the legendary rifle has awakened.
―I can now see what I need to eat. No enemy can avoid me now. Engraver, I will devour all the enemies you desire. Feed me. Awaken my eyes. Offer me the blood of new, fresh enemies that I have never tasted.
― Upon awakening Black Bass’s consciousness, some of its original power will be available if conditions are met.

Additional Effect―3: Awakes when charge rate is above 30%.

Sleeps when charge rate is below 10%.

Additional Effect―4: Direct damage to the essence of the target

(Ignores all damage evasion methods such as duplicates, spirits, or life transfer)

Charge Rate: 33.41%

‘It was at 33.41% when I last dealt with the vampires in the New Continent. And then right after, Pyrot-Cocri…’

Leeha had killed one of Pyrot-Cocri’s clones.

When he hoped he could recharge a few percent, the charge rate didn’t change at all.

“Hey, so it is correct that a drop of 10% is correct, right?”

―That is correct. No one knows better how much of my power I’ve lost than me.―

“Ah, got it. Okay.”

And as it passed midnight, the charge rate decreased by 10%.

But what if it was the same as the last checked charge rate?

‘It means just one individual of Pyrot-Cocri charged up to 10%. That’s really something.’