Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Leeha tried her best to telepathically send a message from the side, “Stop it! He won’t like it! It’s all just acting!”

“What, what?”

However, when Kijeong saw Bo-Bae’s bright and shiny eyes, he couldn’t help but pull the trigger.

“Bee-dongsa.”

Twa-qua-aahh────!

With Kijeong’s shot, both Leeha and Nara’s jaws dropped wider and wider.

Boring! It’s overwhelmingly and devilishly boring!

What’s the point of saying such things—thought Leeha as Bo-Bae’s cheeks began to puff and eventually burst.

Puhahaha-hah! Bo-Bae’s laughter was enough to catch the attention of other customers in the store. A sibling making absurd jokes and a friend laughing at those absurd jokes.

As they watched, Leeha and Nara both trembled with laughter.

“We’ll just pretend we don’t know.”

“Should we move the table a bit? Nara, can you bring the chair closer?”

They matched the atmosphere accordingly, perfectly fulfilling the purpose of the 2:2 date.

Throughout the meal, Leeha and Nara engaged in many conversations.

The only thing Leeha marveled at throughout their lively conversation was this:

He was aware that Nara was an ex-sniper and a former soldier, but she didn’t mention the reason why she ended up in a wheelchair.

Even when Leeha brought up the topic of her paralysis, she didn’t delve deep into the matter.

‘Um, she talked about the possibility of treatment, so I guess it’s okay.’

Maybe it doesn’t matter at all. It could be because she saw the person herself. Regardless of what Nara had become, Leeha learned enough about her “Tong” (inner self) today.

“It was enjoyable today, Leeha.”

After the meal and coffee, though they didn’t move far from the place, the four of them enjoyed a satisfying indoor date.

Nara and Leeha also had a lot to talk about throughout their time together.

The only thing Leeha liked about it was:

They were pretending to be a couple.

Looking at them, it seemed that Kijeong and Bo-Bae were in on it too.

They appeared like a perfect double date, even though Kijeong and Bo-Bae might have their own reasons for pretending to be a couple.

“So, when should we meet again, Nara?”

“Of course! Will I cause a problem? How about next time you invite me out? You can decide the place, Leeha.”

“Alright then! I’ll guide you there properly.”

As Bo-Bae intervened once again, slipping out of Nara’s grasp, a bright smile emerged on her face.

“Um, um, um, it’s not just like that— we need to decide now. ‘Next time’ is such a scary word. If we don’t set a date, who knows when it’ll happen.”

“Argh, argh, are you— are you doing this on purpose?! Hehe, anyways, thank you! Both of you, take care! See you next time, Bo-Bae!”

“Goodbye, Kijeong!”

As they moved away, Bo-Bae’s eyes were still fixated on Kijeong.

Perhaps today, the one who caught (??) him the most was Kijeong.

As she thought about it, Leeha also turned her wheelchair around, and Nara followed suit.

“Let’s go quickly, Kijeong.”

“Yeah. Hyung, do you have plans again?”

“No, let’s do Middle Earth.”

“Ugh… Hyung, you seem more addicted than me.”

Though Kijeong said it in a worried tone, it wasn’t just for the sake of the game.

The reason why Leeha could stand so confidently in reality,

And the reason why she was able to meet such wonderful people, was it not all because of Middle Earth?

“Let’s grow even more. Even more.”

Leeha made up her mind once again to become a man worthy of her, a man she could be proud of.

***

“Dark Promotion!”

A low voice flowed from Faust’s lips.

The previously poorly equipped skeletons and even the zombies, who had no equipment at all, started to be covered in oozing black mana.

Their gear strengthened, their forms grew larger, and their strength increased.

The undead that were defeated in the front were immediately replenished from the back, making it terrifying to face a necromancer.

Faust, who was already formidable, was now even stronger with the power of the Blue Beard.

“Jeez, stop them! We can’t just focus on the undead horde! We need to take down the necromancers at the back!”

“But I can’t see them! The numbers are too overwhelming, I can’t even figure out how many necromancers there are!”

“What about magic? Isn’t it still recovering?!”

“My mana is blocked, it’s impossible!”

“Chimera― The chimera side is breaking-!”

Kru-roo-roo-ook…. Kru-rook, kru-roo-roo….

Moreover, there wasn’t just one entrance to block in the village.

Faust’s strengthened undead were dealing with the undead, and the chimera was dealing with the chimera, but the incoming forces couldn’t be stopped by regular players and security forces alone.

Though the players resisted fiercely, they were eventually wiped out within an hour.

“Phew… It’s over, my lord.”

“Indeed, it was close, we managed to do it within 53 minutes.”

“But as you ordered, it was done within an hour―”

“Heh, you did well.”

Faust was patted on the shoulder by Blue Beard, who had been observing from the back without participating in the battle.

Before Lysadia’s eyes, a quest completion window appeared along with a shower of rewards. With it, the corners of Blue Beard’s mouth also curled up.

‘The experience gain is extraordinary. At this rate, I might reach level 70 soon. No, no. If my level suddenly jumps up, they’ll surely suspect something from their end… Hm… The rewards are too good, but it’s a bit excessive.’

When Faust smiled, Blue Beard hit him on the head with his staff.

“What are you thinking?”

“I was just thinking about how I can serve you better.”

“Kukuk, nonsense. You alone won’t be enough.”

“Pardon?”

Ignoring Faust’s question, Blue Beard sighed.

“Hwiyu… I’ve traveled the whole continent, but there’s still no sign of them.”

“What… What are you talking about?”

“Those fools… They’ve crossed over without hiding like I did. Tsk, in the end, I’ll have to take a few steps forward.”

What is he talking about? Faust tilted his head, but he couldn’t understand Blue Beard’s words clearly.

“Faust.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“I have a place to go.”

“Isn’t that always… the case?”

“That’s not it. This time, I have to go further. And I need to make sure those pesky flies can’t trace my movements.”

Shuaak―!

A quest window appeared in front of Faust.

Even as he quickly read it, Blue Beard continued to speak without stopping.

“That’s why I need you to move. No, not just you. Gather those under the influence of dark magic. Stir up chaos on this continent. Burn cities, destroy castles, and feed humans to chimeras. I’ll give you the authority to control the chimeras. I’ll also make sure that those Zhibiel nobles from the Nephilim race act in line with your actions.”

“Really? So, practically―”

“You will become my representative, who will carry out the tasks I’ve done so far… In order to avoid suspicion, I’ll take measures so they can’t track you, but their pursuit will be relentless. Can you handle it?”

Blue Beard asked with a wicked grin.

Can I handle it? Faust was already ecstatic, wanting to roar in joy at the rewards from accepting the quest.

“For the sake of your life, my lord…”

Faust assumed a formal pose and even kneeled down.

It might have seemed grandiose, but all Blue Beard did was chuckle and hit Faust on the head with his staff. It was a reward for accepting the quest.

Kong―! With just one hit, Faust’s level increased.

His stat points increased.

He gained new skills.

A new community window appeared. Of course, there were conditions. Faust vowed to abide by those conditions no matter what.

“We should leave right away. Heh, get ready for some hard work.”

“Yes!”

***

“Hmm, hmm. Middle Earth is definitely the best.”

Feeling the sensation of tapping his knee, Leeha longed for the day she could meet people in reality like this.

Preparing for the 2:2 date, she practically spent a whole day, and then she practically spent another day on the actual date.

By the time she logged into Middle Earth after returning home, it had been more than eight days since she had logged out.

“Nara hasn’t arrived home yet―”

—Where did she go?! Why isn’t her location showing up on the friend list?

“―Hmm?”

Just as Leeha was checking the friend list upon logging in, a private message came in.

This familiar and teasing tone, Leeha replied with a smirk to Lam Hwayeon.

—I have a personal life too, you know. I went out for a bit. Why?

—Why? What do you think I’m contacting you for? There’s a new reply from Mini’s, and it seems like they might conclude the reinforcement agreement soon. So, I contacted you about it. There’s a quest.

—Right, that quest. Wow, there’s less than a week left. What happened?

—Eugh! I swear, you can’t do anything without me. It’s all done. As soon as I finish the final details, come to the palace. I’ll explain.

Browris’ related quest was to quickly convince the opposing faction nobles to conclude the reinforcement agreement, and the situation had just concluded. Just by hearing Lam Hwayeon’s subtly proud voice, Leeha could predict the outcome.