Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Who said I was upset! Ahem, I mean, that’s just how it is.”

In short, the reason Kidd* was sulking was simple. There had been no consultation or hint given to him! He was upset because he wasn’t informed, not because he couldn’t use the special forge for enhancement.

“I’ve been really busy, you know. Please understand. And I haven’t even enhanced anything yet either! Kidd, you and I shouldn’t be bickering. It’s Luger who should be blamed for completely leaving out the concept of enhancement and wiping his mouth clean. Don’t you agree?”

“Indeed, I am…”

disappointed in him.

Kidd had heard the story from Bottleneck.

Knowing what went on behind the scenes with enhancements, especially what happened at the bonobo paleo side, was only natural.

Starting from Luger being the first to receive enhancements.

“So… what are you curious about? The ‘time’ you mentioned earlier?”

When Kidd nodded, Leeha smiled.

His rhetorical skills quickly redirected Kidd’s frustration towards Luger! It seemed Leeha’s strange techniques(?) had only grown while playing Middle Earth.

Leeha sighed and shook his head.

Kidd, feeling the atmosphere becoming heavier, pressed down on his hat and looked at Leeha.

Leeha’s lips twitched.

He wouldn’t mention it to another user. It would be difficult to gain sympathy, let alone there being a need to say it.

“I can’t snipe.”

But the person in front of him was different; Kidd was one of the Musketeers. How many in Middle Earth could share tales related to firearms?

“Can’t snipe?”

Kidd’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean? Even during the Third Wave, you were rampant.”

“No, I’m fine in general situations… But when I think of a certain person, I can’t shoot. My fingers just won’t move.”

Leeha started to delve into a deeper story than what he had told Browless.

They weren’t at the academy. They were sitting on a bench next to the academy’s training ground.

“Daemon… Since the campaign at the source of the demon, you’ve had these symptoms?”

“I’m not sure when it started- no, actually, that’s probably right.”

There was no need to hide or find a reason. Leeha was certain the symptoms started after failing to snipe Toon.

“I thought it was strange when I heard about it from the Vatican.”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“If it were you, you’d have shattered five jars in less than 2 seconds. Why did you fail?”

It was because Toon was there. Kidd didn’t feel the need to add that explicitly.

It wasn’t simply because Toon was present, but rather because the scope’s magnification was increased to avoid Toon, which slowed down the movement of the gun barrel. Regardless, Kidd’s statement wasn’t wrong.

In the end, the entire situation had arisen because of Toon.

“You’ve never had something like this happen?”

“Why wouldn’t I have?”

“When? When did it happen to you?”

Kidd had already taken out and was spinning the Crimson Geckos.

His skilled movements appeared almost like magic. It wasn’t simply because he was familiar with using the weapon in Middle Earth.

“You know I’m from Texas, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I think you mentioned it once. Luger is German, and you’re American. By the way, Kidd, what do you do in real life?”

“My home state of Texas is a place where an annual gun show is held. It’s a place where everyone loves firearms… Working with guns was a very natural occurrence in our region.”

Kidd spun his Crimson Geckos around as he unfolded his story.

Hearing stories from reality in Middle Earth was quite fascinating to Leeha.

“Even you, Kidd?”

“Of course. By day, I would attend to a small gun shop, but by night, I traveled around Texas as a trick shooter before my father passed away and before Middle Earth was released.”

“Trick shooter? Is that like a circus?”

At the mention of the word ‘circus’, Kidd momentarily lifted his hat brim. His gaze towards Leeha sparkled but was soon followed by a sigh.

“Well, trick shooting is a profession that’s disappearing in America, no, even in Texas. It’s natural that you, being Korean from a country where guns are not allowed, would find it hard to understand.”

Had Leeha been American, or even Texan, perhaps Kidd would have thrown a punch.

Leeha thought Kidd’s intense gaze was splendid.

He knew that such a gaze could only come from someone with firm pride in their profession.

“Trick shooting is not simply a circus act. It involves romance, the smell of gunpowder, and surpassing the physical and mental limits of humanity. For example-“

Suddenly, Kidd rose from his seat. The next thing Leeha saw was Kidd firing three shots from the Crimson Geckos he had been spinning on his fingertips, each bullet precisely piercing through falling leaves.

The six leaves that had fallen to the ground each had a hole right through their center.

‘Incredible… he’s gotten faster.’

Was it because she fine-tuned her dynamic vision and adjusted other specific stats slightly? It must not have been just that; Kidd’s skills surely weren’t stagnant either.

“-like this. I can do this in reality too.”

“Do it like this? Insane, how is this rapid movement even possible-“

“It’s not fast. The Crimson Geckos are special, but in the end, they are revolvers. I’ve been playing with them since I was two.”

Woosh___

Kidd blew the gunpowder smoke from the barrel lightly and holstered the gun.

Sitting back on the bench, he glanced at Leeha with tensed neck muscles.

Leeha found himself compelled to react as Kidd expected. Gaping at him for a long while, Leeha then nodded.

“Indeed… now that I think about it, you were the first to clear the rapid-fire quest thanks to your modification of a musket into a handgun shape. How did you come up with an idea that not even soldiers would easily think of… working in a gun shop and playing with guns since two makes sense. Even the best gamers, without an understanding of firearms, wouldn’t easily achieve what you did, but I’m beginning to understand a bit more about how you managed to do it so effortlessly.”

“Let’s return to an earlier question… I too had them. Although slightly different from your current situation. There was a time I couldn’t even touch a gun, let alone shoot it.”

“What happened…” Kidd’s voice was somber. Leeha asked cautiously, but Kidd didn’t answer. For a moment, he seemed to reminisce before simply shaking his head.

Silence flowed between the two.

Kidd remained silent without saying anything further. Leeha spent the time guessing what Kidd might have been thinking or what he might have experienced.

Though she wanted to press him as much as the silence prolonged, Leeha said nothing. Compared to the usually intrusive Luther, Kidd was much more amiable and intelligent. After all, it was natural for anyone to have their own pains.

It took about 10 minutes of silence before Kidd finally spoke up.

“The important thing is returning to the starting point.”

“The starting point?”

“Yes. Your starting point. Going back to what originally unlocked your thought process. If you can’t do that, you will never be able to shoot ever again.”

Kidd looked straight into Leeha’s eyes.

His gaze conveyed that this was all he could say.

“The starting point, huh… I see.”

“In 3 days, no, in just over two days and a few hours, you must lead the way to find the [Divine Staff].”

“I know.”

So, solve your problem by then. Leeha remembered the words Kidd had swallowed and smiled.”

Huh, then.”

Kidd stood up and just like that, entered into the academy. This was a moment Leeha had considered trying to strike up a conversation with Browless again, but chasing after him when they had established such a parting atmosphere seemed extremely awkward.

“Man, feels like I’ve been sucker-punched.”

The sun had already set in the world of Middle Earth.

“Well, there are issues with getting back to square one… After a new day dawns, we only have two days left, according to Middle Earth time, to secure the Divine Staff. That’s less than 10 hours in real-world time.”

Leeha envisioned the ‘square one’ person Kidd had mentioned.

“Within nine hours… Hmm, is it possible? It’s been years since I’ve contacted them… Well, even if I do meet them, I’m not sure what could be done in just nine hours…”

Leeha scratched his head vigorously and stood up.

When it came to sniping-related issues, there was only one person who could be his point of origin.

“I just hope Sergeant Kim hasn’t changed his phone number.”

Stretching, Leeha prepared to log out.

Bang! A gunshot sounded in the training field, which had been quiet while Leeha and Kidd were talking.

“Did someone pay attention to us, huh? Well, it’s possible they recognized both Kidd and me.”

It wasn’t possible for an experienced musketeer, or someone even slightly interested in the internet community or various news of Middle Earth, to not recognize the most famous musketeers in Middle Earth.

Indeed, looking at a user who had been there since morning made Leeha feel the reality of his popularity – it was a Miyaw musketeer.

“Muskets are fun at first… didn’t bother with quests, huh? Or maybe they’re grinding? But then, they shouldn’t have stopped while Kidd and I were talking.”

The silhouette from afar belonged to the Miyaw race, their ears perky, perhaps slightly shorter than Leeha. Though their face was blurred from the distance, Leeha didn’t pay much attention.

“Forget it! Let’s move on! I should make that call. If the number’s no good, maybe it’s time to see Lieutenant Kijung, get some fresh air, and visit the unit.”

Despite the tight schedule, Leeha knew better than to rush. Relaxed yet certain to keep track of time, Leeha logged out of Middle Earth.

Just then, another gunshot rang out.

Swish!

“Eh?”

“A large group is arriving, it seems.”

Shin Nara frowned while Syndergard’s expression turned grave.

The spectacle was so intense that it was visible even from the Sacred City’s dispatch office in Juma City, a vibrant glow of warp gates signaling that at least a hundred people were using them simultaneously.

“If such a group is arriving at this time…”

Shin Nara pondered briefly. She wasn’t entirely without clues, having heard stories about Leeha from the Vatican.

“They’ve arrived! They’re already here!”

An NPC messenger from the Fibiel Alliance Knight Order ran in shouting. Not only the Sacred Knight Order but the entire alliance, including a small team of magic fighters, came out to the training field to see.

“Who? Who has arrived?”

“Minis! Minis have already sent their troops!”

“Already? How quickly has word of our actions spread?”

“No, it’s not because of our actions.”

“Does Dame Shin know something about this?”

Syndergard asked Nara. Since the only person who had been to the Vatican yesterday and is also a ‘user’ was Sacred Knight Nara. The other NPCs of Sacred Knight Order didn’t have a chance to be informed, so they were still in the dark.