Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“If you think it’s possible to quickly and thoroughly enhancing an item you’ve never seen before, then there’s no helping it.”

“No, well, even if I do trust it to you…What if there’s a chance it will disappear halfway through?”

“That hardly happens with any normal item. We aren’t fools, after all.”

Kobalicked his lips and shrugged his shoulders. The actual technological prowess of the paleo Order was unmistakably impressive, enough to garner praise. This was evident from the reactions of Bottleneck and the Beard brothers.

But there was a catch in Koba’s words. He had mentioned ‘any normal item.’ And he knew that his weapon was by no means ‘normal.’

“In that case… how high would the chance of disappearance rise for items of a certain grade?”

“Naturally, the rarer it is, the greater the chance. Among us paleo, we have things that were once used by the old heroes. For example, the armor worn by Pygmy’s great-great-grandfather – it’s an ‘Enchanted Garb’ that can instantly move as a whole set, including a helmet, upper and lower parts. No one but I can even touch it.”

Though he didn’t fully understand the explanation about the items, he got the response he was looking for.

‘It means that items of Heroic rank and above have an increased chance of disappearance.’

He had a rough idea of the grade of Luger’s weapon, the “Kobalt Blue Python.” It was a Legendary rank item, at the very least, just like Black Bass.

Did Luger entrust his weapon knowing the chance of it disappearing? Was he a man capable of such a gamble?

‘I thought he was someone who didn’t trust anyone but himself…’

In this aspect, his assumption was somewhat accurate. Luger was indeed a user who didn’t trust anyone but himself. Seeing his expression, Kobasmiled once again.

“Why do you think Luger entrusted his weapon?”

“Excuse me?”

“I thought you understood when I hinted at it… He talked about you more than anyone else here.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Even when he entrusted his weapon, he muttered that if it were you, it would be okay.”

The man who made Luger take the gamble of entrusting his weapon was none other than him.

The competition among the Three Musketeers to get a step ahead of him did not stop even here.

He imagined Luger’s figure. The proud hunter, who was more like a beast, would surely have found it humiliating to leave his weapon in the hands of another even here.

‘But he accepted it.’

Because of me.

He looked at Black Bass and took a deep breath to steady himself.

“Phew…

“It’s fine if you don’t want to do it. Analyzing a weapon isn’t easy…and, most importantly-“

“How long will it take?”

“Hmm? You’re going to do it?”

“How long will it take-“

“I can’t say for sure. I can’t promise anything. Luger’s weapon, the ‘Kobalt Blue Python,’ did you say? That took slightly over two weeks— precisely 19 days.”

At least 19 days. It took 19 days for a Heroic grade item, so how long would it take for a Legendary grade one? He bit his lower lip lightly.

‘There’s also the ‘Lonely Volcano’ quest I heard about from these guys. I have no idea what sort of danger lies in wait there… even if I manage to safely obtain the ‘Fire Flower’…’

The intimidation factor of black dragon Onyx and the other Colored Dragons remained.

Without knowing how to negotiate with them, he absolutely needed his weapon.

He suddenly realized just how much he was relying on Black Bass. Indeed, without a weapon, you were nothing in this harsh Middle Earth world.

‘So… for the even harsher world to come, it’s only right that Black Bass needs to become stronger.’

Most of all, there was the precedent set by Luger.

At least they didn’t destroy the ‘Kobalt Blue Python.’

While their techniques might vary a little, considering the properties of his projectile weapon, he wasn’t worried that they would mess up ‘Black Bass.’

“As long as you don’t see a message like ‘Item has vanished in a blue light,’ or say something like ‘Oops, my hand slipped,’ it should be fine, right?”

“Huh?”

“Please.”

He pressed the acceptance button and extended Black Bass to them.

Kobawas the one taken aback by his proactive behavior. But that surprise was only momentary; perhaps he thought of Luger. Kobaformed a fond smile on his face and thumped his chest.

“Leave it to me.”
“Ah, and also-“

“Hm?”

Just as he was about to turn around, Leeha seemed to remember something and opened his mouth.

“Regardless of how long it takes, if by any chance you break or lose my Black Bass…”

Even though Leeha didn’t finish his sentence, Kobanodded with a dumbfounded expression. It wasn’t just because he understood what Leeha was trying to say.

“…The way you add that is just like Luger.”

There was already a user who had said the exact same thing. Even while chuckling, Leeha never lightened the atmosphere.

The fact that Luger would say something like this was entirely predictable for Leeha. But what was the difference between Luger and Leeha?

Leeha rummaged through his bag and took out a few items.

“Please remember that I have more [items] than Luger does. I didn’t earn the highest reputation in New Continent for nothing.”

Leeha, grinning, showed off the Claymore and the Peony Blubell Trap in his hand. At his intimidating, yet non-threatening demand, Kobazipped his lips with a groan.

“Then, I leave it in your capable hands.”

“Ah, sure.”

After the stick comes the carrot. Leeha gave a respectful nod to Kobaand left the place.

For a minimum of 19 days, Leeha had to manage without Black Bass.

‘And the next goal is…’

Leeha looked at a mountain visible from the bonobo paleos’ community.

The [Lonely Volcano], which looked considerably closer now and for which he had gained information through the bonobo, awaited Leeha.

“What, whaaat?! You should’ve left that to me!”

“But Bottleneck, you don’t know it yet, do you?”

“Hey you, idiot! Where’s anyone who knows the Musketeers’ weapons as well as I do!”

“So, can you enhance it?”

“That- I’m learning how to do that right now!”

If Bottleneck hadn’t been bouncing around upon hearing that, it would have been even more bizarre.

For some reason, Leeha felt happy hearing the dwarf’s tantrum. He wondered if there were any other NPCs who cared about him this much.

“You can’t learn and apply it immediately. Time doesn’t wait for us.”

Despite his pride, teasing Bottleneck was always a delight for Leeha.

“Eeeek- you only learned fancy words-“

“But Boss, Lord has a point. Even if we exchange skills regularly, we may not be able to learn it.”

“Right. Moreover, we don’t know how long it’ll take to install the equipment. We can’t issue a promise like a check.”

“You guys! Are you blacksmiths, or bankers? Talking about checks and such- you need a craftsman’s spirit.”

When the Beard Brothers stepped in, Bottleneck became thoroughly irritated.

But as expected, Bottleneck, the leader of the Gaza City’s craftsmen and a dwarf with a ‘craftsman’s spirit’, was different.

“For the scope!”

“Yes?”

“Leave it to me. If you bring the last button, I will make a scope that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world.”

Perhaps Bottleneck wanted to help Leeha, even if just a little bit.

Leeha considered the NPC’s feelings and nodded.

“Then, when are you planning to leave?”

“Huh, we brought the crystal balls too! We will move on our own, so Lord, just focus on your tasks without worrying.”

“Haha, anyway, I can’t stop you. Understood. But don’t neglect your work while studying here.”

“Yo-you! How dare a castle lord who hasn’t even shown his nose at the castle say that-“

“Argh! I’m leaving! See you next time at Gaza City!”

At the last nagging, he left the bonobo paleos’ community with Bottleneck, who was up in arms, coming after him.

Now there was no sniper rifle hanging heavily from his shoulder. Just two well-gripped Musketeer’s pistols at his waist. Blaugrunn nor Koma, were able to be called in the situation on the Lope continent.

“Really, it’s just you and me now. Right?”

[Myong.]

“Ah, but you see. If I had known it would be like this, I would have waited to apply for the adaptation rate.”

[Myong?]

With the comments trailing, Leeha walked leisurely towards the volcano.

One of the pieces of information about the lonely volcano obtained from the bonobo Paleao tribe was a story related to its inner environment.

‘It was said… even the bonobo people, who scoop up ‘lava’ to form the outlines of their tools in molten iron and use it as coolant, can’t endure the intense heat inside that volcano.’

One of the reasons Leeha hadn’t entered the ‘factory’ of the bonobo tribe was because of the heat. He could observe their actions from a distance, and since merely getting close enough to feel the baking air was sufficient, there was no need to step inside.

“It’s said that we are a race with an inherent resistance to flames. To think we have to go into a volcano so hot that even they avoid it.”

Leeha felt the sensation of the vineyard under his feet even through his shoes. There was no significant variation in the touch, as the alert for the increase in adaptation rate had not yet appeared.

‘Once it reaches 100%… the heat will also feel twice as intense.’

Leeha knew his future. What if his application to raise the adaptation rate was accepted and applied?

Entering the lonely volcano to meet the [Lava Lizard] tribe might even become more difficult.

“There might not be anyone there —

But now wasn’t the time to think about that. At any moment, he needed to hurry and escape from the volcano before the adaptation rate increased.

“Ah, why! At this moment too, I have to continue as if I am under a timed attack in a game.”

[Myong, Myong Myong…]

While tugging at his hair but never stopping his steps, Leeha looked at Jellypong, who conveyed a sense of panic.

Beep beep! Beep!

“Huh?”

Leeha suddenly stopped. This wasn’t an alarm from the inside of the game, indicating that he was being called from the outside. Was his allotment of gaming hours over for the day?

“Ugh, as if I don’t have enough time, I also need to go through rehabilitation. It’s killing me.”

Even though Leeha had already gotten used to rehabilitation, the daily examinations had become somewhat tiresome.

If Kijung, or any other person for that matter, saw Leeha’s addiction, it would shake their head and give them chills.

But Kijung and the other users didn’t have the leisure to chat with Leeha.

“A huge monster is appearing before us!”

“The number of giant monsters is roughly fifteen! In addition, there are too many trolls and ogres to count!”

“We located Toon! Toon’s location confirmed! It’s drawing near!”

“If we die, Juma will end! Hold the tanker line! We will defend it!”

Because of one of the failure penalties of the common quest, they had to face the first wave of monsters headed for the jointly managed city on the new continent.

“Dieeee!”

“It’s a bleeding abnormality! Healers, cast quickly!”

“Kuwaaaaaaa-n!”

The users, heavily buffed, clashed with the bloodthirsty monsters.

Inside the clamor of teeth and knives, spears and armors clashing, users were screaming out loud to convey their needs.

As little as 100m away from the main gate of Juma City, the interception war began.

“Damn it, trying to defend with the city at our backs— the damn monsters are trying to run away, [Shield Tackle]!”

Thuuuump-!

When Kijung struck with all his might using the shield, an ogre nearly 5m tall staggered and fell.