Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Still, as if not wanting to miss even a speck of dust, Toon carefully examined the jar at his feet.

“Not bad, right? It’s much sturdier than what you guys used in the second Human-Demon War. It’s made from plundering the magic units from the Minis Kingdom.”

Chiyou opened her mouth, carefully watching Toon.

Toon only grunted in response, not engaging in Chiyou’s words.

[Is everything else the same?]

“Of course. If you can’t trust from such a sample…we can’t work~ together.”

Chiyou ended her sentence with a hint of playfulness, but Toon expressed no particular emotion. Instead, Yongyong, who was standing next to him, glared at Toon with jealous eyes.

“But why do you need these? Five jars that can hold ten thousand souls each. If they are all filled, that’s a total of fifty thousand, isn’t it? It won’t be easy to collect fifty thousand souls, but I’m more curious about what you will use the energy of these collected souls for.”

[No need for you to know.]

“Ah, come on. We even signed a contract. Give me a hint. Is it related to Le-”

[Do not utter the Count’s honor with your filthy mouth.]

Toon’s demeanor changed instantly.

Even Igor, who stood behind Chiyou, twitched his muscles dangerously, reaching almost for his sword.

“-I apologize for my rudeness.”

Chiyou’s gaze momentarily faltered, but she did not let her inward annoyance show.

She had often endured such treatments in Minis for the sake of information.

‘But I can be curious, right? You couldn’t consolidate the city with the last wave, so naturally, I have to think it has something to do with the Count, right?’

[It doesn’t require the Count’s power to overthrow your city of pests. I alone am enough.]

Toon said proudly, with Chiyou responding with a smile.

Claiming to overthrow the city, and having enough power to do so, yet not doing it?

There is a hidden meaning at odds with the surface-level interpretation.

“So, it seems that collecting souls has nothing to do with the Count, but it’s related to you, isn’t it?”

[…….]

Toon didn’t speak anymore. However, his silence was enough for Chiyou to understand. Why was Toon collecting souls?

Her information network had significantly weakened, but she had heard enough about the second total attack on the location where Toon and the

“Arch Matan’s Right Hand” had been.

‘They said they infused power into Toon to collect souls, right? That ‘purple beard’ gave Toon a mission. But if it’s not for himself or Toon?’

Chiyou’s mind raced.

‘I’ve heard this from the Magic Unit in Minis too. The souls of humans were also used as materials to strengthen the Demon King’s Army in the second Human-Demon War.’

By putting all of these together, the answer was clear.

“I wonder if the Count may wish to visit us in our fortress soon?”

[I do not know his deep intentions.]

“Ugh, but if he does, it would be great. Before ‘the others’ wake up.. I think we need to revise the contract conditions a bit more decisively. Wouldn’t it be better to clarify that we are on the same side, rather than having such an ambiguous relationship? Hehe.”

For a moment, Toon’s pupils widened.

A user of Chiyou’s caliber wouldn’t miss that reaction.

Toon snorted and flicked his finger. The jars for storing souls floated and circled around him.

[…I see why the Count is paying attention to you.]

“Oh my, that’s a compliment. I didn’t even know that I was being noticed. Please thank him for me.”

With a sly smile, Chiyou turned around.

Igor, Faust, and the others were looking at Toon with dumbfounded expressions.
‘I thought Faust would have at least gotten a grasp of it, but it seems it’s too difficult. Well, he doesn’t possess as much information as I do, after all…’

Even though Faust is sharp and smart, he couldn’t deduce much without a basis for his assumptions. Chiyou smiled faintly, confirming her guess was spot on by observing Toon’s reaction.

She relished in the flattery of being the only one who knew this level of information at this point.

However, her belief was a mere illusion.

“Hehehe, if the actual defeat of the Monster Wave was intended…how interesting! I wonder what other surprises are in store?”

Biyemi and Petyr were listening in on their entire conversation.

Especially Biyemi, who combined both the information Petyr had about ‘Midnight Circus’ and ‘Byulcho’.

If the background information is enough?

“Hehe, indeed…so that’s it. Eh? So what exactly happened, Nguyen?”

Biyemi was a user capable of making an inference similar to Chiyou.

He understood the meaning of what Chiyou had said, and had fully grasped what Toon was planning.

“No, nothing. Hehe! Chiyou, you’ve risked your life today.

“Eh? Are we retreating? Not giving a surprise here and leaving!?

Biyemi briefly looked at the water balloon-like item he held in his hand.

If it was a surprise attack, it would certainly succeed and could lead Chiyou to death more than once.

However, a ten-day disconnection penalty and a level down would hardly be fatal for her.

“Let’s just save the location and go. I want to kill Chiyou, but revenge in ‘this way’ would be more fatal to her. And, another person who can help us comes to mind, now that we know what that jar is.”

Biyemi altered his plan slightly.

Knowing what cards the opponent had, it would be much more satisfying to deal a larger blow.

Petyr and Biyemi each entered Chiyou’s fortress location into their new crystal balls.

The location, surrounded by darkness and unnoticeable wherever they moved, were saved.

[Fire Against Fire]

Requirement: Obtain [Fire Flower] within 30 days and deliver it to Ifrit (Remaining days: 13)

“Ahh! Only 13 days left!” Leeha cried out in a screamy, not-screamy voice upon checking the quest details.

Despite trying to concentrate, time didn’t wait for him.

“It’s terrifying that the deadline is ticking every time I log out. I can’t even sleep.”

[Murmur…]

Listening to Leeha’s complaints, Jellypong’s arm poked out. The translucent arm gently stroked Leeha’s head then disappeared with a zap!

‘Fortunately, the only time limit quest is this one…but, alas.’

However, it was unfortunate. There was another quest where the hourglass would start ticking from the moment the Fire Flower was acquired.

After briefly recalling Onyx, Leeha shook his head and whispered to Blaugrunn.

Leeha: Is everything going well?

Blaugrunn: For now… yes, I think so. And you, Leeha?

Leeha: I’m at the foot of the volcano now. The Fire Flower should be around here.

Blaugrunn: Hmm. Be careful since Onyx’s tracking will start as soon as you pick the Fire Flower.

Leeha: Who knows if it’s there or not. Anyway, okay! Keep up the good work.

Blaugrunn, too, was busy with his schedule.

Leeha wanted to call him, but he was busy dealing with a task Leeha had asked him to do.

“So, only I can go in here alone—no, with Jellypong.”

[Myong, myong!]

“Yes, seem like you’re quite enthusiastic.”A cavernous passage that led to the interior of the volcano was abruptly filled with heat from its mouth.

Leeha clenched his eyes shut before stepping into the entrance of the cave.

After a few steps, as the outer light began to fade, Leeha saw an alert welcoming him.

[You are affected by ‘Breathing Difficulty’.]

[Your stamina does not recover.]

[The natural recovery rate of HP and MP has decreased by 50%.]

“Damn it… The lava in this new continent is something else. I’ve never seen anything like this on the old continent.”

[Myong, myong.]

The only existing volcano on the old continent was virtually the main chamber for the red dragons.

Maybe because there were no dragons to magic away the toxic gases, the unaltered volcano was an area too difficult for humans to approach.

‘Does this make it virtually a hidden dungeon?’

Leeha continued to tread with regulated breaths.

The entrance at the foot of the mountain featured slopes of alternating ascents and descents.

Despite only walking for about thirty minutes, the path was so complex that Leeha couldn’t determine whether he was on the mountainside or underground.

The path was dangerously narrow with a cliff underneath, making each step treacherous.

Thankfully, the interior was not pitch-black.

Hooooooo…… HAAAAAAA……!

“Wow, that’s surprising.”

Sometimes, spurts of lava would illuminate the cave. Of course, with the light came a surplus of heat and toxic gases.

“I wonder if there aren’t any monsters because of the environment…” Leeha reassured himself, reconfirming the feel of his musket-pistol in his hands.

While there was some fun in using the old-fashioned gunpowder and lead bullets to forcefully reload, it was still insufficient to use perfectly in actual combat.

‘I haven’t been using the musket much nowadays. I am called a musketeer after all.’

Would it be because Jellypong had been too domesticated with modern firearms like Black Bass? Even though Agility was overwhelmingly high, the loading speed was not much different from before.

[Myong!]

“Huh?”

[Myong… myong. Myong, myong, myong.]

Jellypong had cautiously advanced a little further when he abruptly spoke to Leeha.

At the sound of him, Leeha’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Really?”

[Myong! Myong- myong, myong, myong!]

As Leeha answered, Jellypong’s voice became even faster and lower. Assuming from the cautious attitude that didn’t want anyone to overhear, Leeha took a brief look around.

And then he laughed.

“Ha-ha, sorry. I didn’t understand a single word.”

[… Myong?]

“I just wanted to act serious for a moment”

[Myong?!]

Swwwwwwoosh!

From Leeha’s chest, two of Jellypong’s long arms sprung out.

The bulging eyes of the beast. Jellypong stared at Leeha with a stunned look.

“Hey, you don’t need to be that surprised. It’s stranger that I can communicate with you. Even Noeanen and Celestinee, who were top-ranking spirits, couldn’t understand you. How could I?”

[. Myong …]

Jellypong sighed.

And then, once again, his two arms stretched out long. Soon, the two arms formed into a huge arrow, pointing in a specific direction.

“Huh?”

Even Leeha could guess what this meant – keep an eye out over there.

Leeha scrutinized the area pointed out by Jellypong. Up to now, the cave ceiling had not been too high. However, in a spot about 30m away from where Leeha was standing, it formed a sort of underground plaza.

Jellypong was pointing at a dark ceiling, so high that the light of the flowing lava couldn’t quite reach it.

‘Terrain has started to change. Does that mean there’s something over there?’

Leeha adopted a crouching stance.

Taking cautious steps, as soon as Jellypong’s finger retreated, he navigated a cliff below where the lava flowed and the path was very narrow.

Suddenly, the open plaza. If he is worried about getting ambushed, it would be better to pull the monster to where he is standing rather than confronting it directly. If forced to confront, they wouldn’t be able to dodge his musket in this straight path.

‘If they’re found, they’ll shoot first. That’s the plan.’ Only after considering Jellypong’s warning, and imagining the best combat position, did Leeha’s movements speed up.

One step, two steps…

When he had entered the crossover connecting the narrow path to the plaza, Leeha finally made eye contact with the alert that Jellypong had warned about.

The ones being illuminated by the glow of the lava, their eyes suddenly increased in number.

“Ahh… that’s why it was pointing at the ceiling.” Still wondering why it had pointed at the ceiling and not at a monster.

“Ssssssssst…

“Sssssssttttttttt-”

“Sssst, sssstttttt——” Flap-flap-flap-flap!

“Didn’t you say they were bats in the first place? YAAAAHH!”

Numerous giant bats hanging off the ceiling suddenly began to fly. Witnessing a couple of hundred glowing eyes flying towards him, Leeha shouted aloud.

“[Multishots]!”

BOOOOOOM!!