Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“It’s just. This whole thing – no, ‘this task.’

If word gets out, I might just become the second-ever in the history of Middle Earth, you know?”

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing? It’s unlike you to be burdened by such matters.”

Leeha chuckled. After all, wasn’t Kijung known for his animal-like instincts in managing the guild?

He never weighed too much upon the finer details, simply pushing forward towards the direction he felt and thought was right. That was his strength.

For someone like him, such worries seemed out of place.

“So, what’s the actual burden then? Look at the precedent set by Alexander. Didn’t he mention having an Advanced Quest? Is that what’s weighing on you?”

Leeha, noticing Kijung’s sigh, pressed on for an answer.

Kijung, as if waiting for this, finally spoke.

“They want me to prevent the awakening of Ghibrid. At least, to halt its resurrection in its perfect form. As hyung-ah guessed, those creatures are currently gathering monsters under the guise of the fourth wave, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I plan to disrupt them individually as much as possible to prevent them from assembling.”

“That’s the Advanced Quest, huh?”

“Indeed… Then, ‘preventing the perfect resurrection of Ghibrid’ would be the success condition, with the failure condition being Ghibrid’s perfect resurrection.”

Leeha nodded, impressed.

He thought, “An Advanced Job Change is truly an Advanced Job Change.”

“It’s no ordinary difficulty. Considering Ghibrid’s resurrection seems almost inevitable… even though we succeeded in [Sanctification], that only slows down the monster waves, not stops them.”

[Sanctification] was more of a preparatory measure.

The main task Kijung had been given was to thwart the gathering of these monster hordes! Should he succeed, the Demon King’s Army, failing to amass sufficient wave volume, would find it difficult to deal a catastrophic blow to the users and the L480s, making it challenging to secure more souls.

“Definitely, there’s a burden to bear. To take it on alone-”

“I’m not alone. They promised the support of three hundred Paladins.”

“-to break it- huh? What?”

Leeha was taken aback.

He naturally assumed that when Kijung spoke of being burdened, it meant he had to clear the task beyond a certain level by himself.

But Kijung had originally referred to it not as ‘too difficult a quest’ but ‘too burdensome a quest.’

A single word, but the nuance was significantly different.

“Even without having changed to the Holy Knight class, to get the support of three hundred elite Paladins.”

“Three hundred? Hey, wasn’t that about the number in the largest battalion from Minis? Besides, if they select the elites from Azwen… they might be stronger than a knight battalion sent by a major nation.”

“Right. Each one nearly at the level of the Sacred Knight Order?”

“But what’s the burden then? Oh, leading them is the burden? You’ve been a Star General, after all. Not up to three hundred, but still. Oh, but if they assin three hundred Paladins to you, whose jurisdiction do they fall under? Does that mean you’re running two guilds now?”

Leeha mumbled, suddenly curious.

Kijung shook his head at the question.

“No, leadership isn’t the burden. Just think of it as becoming a slightly bigger Star General, as hyung-ah said. Plus, I met the leader of those Paladin Knights earlier. He’s already on board.”

“On board?”

“The second coming of the [Nameless Paladin], all that… you know.”

Kijung sighed once more, a long, drawn-out sigh. As they entered the Vatican, they were greeted by a dazzling formation reminiscent of the honor they had received once before.

“So, no problems with command, huh? Ah, maybe you’re just worried that taking down monsters one by one would be too burdensome?”

“No. Confronting monsters is what I do best. Hyung, I’m a tank.”

“Are you kidding me? Then what exactly is the problem?”

Unable to contain his frustration any longer, Leeha raised his voice.

Kijung was leading Byulcho. If it had anything to do with the second class change, every member of Byulcho would support him both spiritually and materially. What about the 300 paladins from Ezwen who had agreed to help?

If the highly skilled paladins, comparable to the members of the Sacred Knights, combined their strength with Byulcho’s, even a group of 600 monsters wouldn’t pose much of a problem. Unless Kijung directly encountered Bluebeard or fell into Toon’s clutches, his quest was likely to encounter no significant difficulties.

Upon hearing this, Kijung sighed once again.

“If I succeed in the quest and become a Holy Knight, I’ll be made a Cardinal. Among them, I’d be an expert in the fields of sanctification energy, exorcism, and combat.”

“Really? Wow, that’s a huge promotion!”

“Yeah. Dude, remember Cardinal Romero from a while back?”

“I remember.”

“Do you also remember what kind of authority he had?”

“Um… What kind of authority was it again?”

As Leeha tilted his head in thought, Kijung spoke up again.

The real burden that worried him wasn’t about the combat difficulty or the hardships of the quest. It was about the responsibilities that the class of Holy Knight would bring upon success.

“Authority over all personnel deployed to the New Continent by the Ezwen Church, and the ability to issue ‘strong’ recommendations for cooperation from the knight orders of various countries deployed at the Pope’s request to the New Continent. You could say it’s essentially command authority.”

“Wait, you mean-“

“That’s not all. More importantly, a Cardinal -“

Kijung was cut off.

“-gains the right to be elected Pope after the current Pope.”

Becoming a Holy Knight meant that Kijung could no longer be the ‘Master Kay’ Leeha knew; his likelihood of changing roles was high.

“Hyung, if I become a Holy Knight, in the world of Middle Earth, there’ll be no user with more authority than me. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

After finishing, Kijung took a sip of his drink.

Glug, glug, glug. Leeha had nothing more to say to Kijung. That he couldn’t be of much help to his hyung, now that the quest was already accepted and wondering whether it should be deliberately failed, was a truly regrettable situation.

※ ※

“As expected, there are no mystical creatures in the Forest of the Tainted World Tree.”

While sighing in relief, Leeha loaded his magazine. Since the World Tree was tainted, the likelihood of monsters being nearby had only increased.

After finishing all his duties in the Gaza City, Leeha had immediately headed to the New Continent. He needed to concentrate on Elizabeth’s “Find Me” quest, but Kijung’s words lingered in his mind.

“It’ll be tough. It’s bound to be tough.”

A certain level of rights can be enjoyed. Until then, the obligations and responsibilities hidden behind those rights aren’t fully apparent. However, as rights increase, the accompanying obligations and responsibilities grow two, three times larger.

Sure, reigning as the highest priest of Middle Earth would bring many privileges, but if one had to constantly consider the impact of one’s gameplay on the vast world of Middle Earth?

While fundamentally diligent and kind-hearted, it’s possible Kijung might not be able to sleep peacefully, given the everyday burdens. I am the lord of Gaza City in Middle Earth, boasting the unique title of being the first ‘individual’ lord.

However, that title only goes so far, and in the end, I’m just another lord. Without the exceptional assistance of Ramhwa Yeon, Gaza City would still be recording a deficit in its finances. Simply owning a castle has hyungught its fair share of overwhelming situations…

If Kijung becomes a Holy Knight, the burden Leeha bore as the lord of Gaza City would seem negligible in comparison.

If this were just an average game, there would be no burden at all. Simply enjoy yourself. However, the fundamental question arises – is Middle Earth ‘just an average game’?

With an influx of items and an increase in the total circulation of currency, the exchange rate with cash has slightly decreased. However, thanks to the influx of new users spurred by various event videos, the demand for gold has significantly increased. Despite the drop in exchange rates, 1 gold in Middle Earth still maintains a market price of around 100,000 won.

Even when I was diligently converting gold into cash, the price fluctuated between 100,000 and 120,000 won, so essentially, there hasn’t been much change in the market rate.

“It’s more like stabilization. The fluctuating market price has lately been steady around the 100,000 won mark. Middle Earth is indeed a game. A game with a richly detailed story and more than human-like AI. But at the same time— it’s not just a game.

What would happen if a single person were granted substantial power in Middle Earth, where massive vested interests are intricately tangled?

I knew all too well. Various organizations would try to approach and win over Kijung.

“Ah, it’s tough, so tough! I’d rather solve a math problem with a definite answer—no, wait. I was bad at math, too.”

Leeha, who had struggled the most with calculating ballistics based on formulas while receiving sniper training, realized why Sniper Squad Leader Kim probably didn’t like (?) him much. After all, no one likes a student who doesn’t need teaching.

“First, let’s go see Mr. and Mrs. Brown’s house, as Fernand pointed out.”

[Mongmong!]

Leeha opened the map and started walking. There was too much on Leeha’s own plate to worry about Kijung.

“But that’s exactly… the thrill of Middle Earth.”

Despite worries that could crush one’s chest and concerns that could turn one’s hair white, Middle Earth was too fascinating to quit.

“It literally mixes life with the game. A world that strictly relies on the player’s choices amongst extreme difficulties, the very source of its addictive nature.”

When Leeha first set out to find Elizabeth, the northwestern region of the New Continent near the paleo tribe was in total chaos.

“I just don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get?”

Surrounded by shouts of encouragement and screams, the sound of swords cutting through the air and shields deflecting something, filled the area.

Even in the midst of a blood-drenched battlefield, Lark was unfazed.

“Why can’t they do something this simple when I’ve already shown them how?”

There was no need for tension. The subjugation of the paleo Tribe, symbolized by the Golden Carp, was essentially concluded.

“So, you’re saying there’s a budget left over? Users are one thing, but the NPCs have to be recruited again after they die. Jumping in without thorough preparation—”

“No, no, it’s not about preparation or anything. It doesn’t make sense unless the level of Minis’ Knights has dropped significantly,” Lark was meant to say this but was preemptively interrupted, as Pung toyed with his abacus.

It would have been understandable if it were an average guild composed of just users. Mistakes could happen because, after all, they’re human players.

But for a knight order, comprised at least half of NPCs, to slack off on their mission execution?

And no one even attempted to flee until they faced total annihilation?

“Muhohoh, you don’t think you’ll get away with this, do you?”

“Whoa! You got me there. Acting all tough when you can’t even leave the water—”

Pfwuuuush!

A water cannon shot out swiftly from the mouth of the paleo Tribe’s mystical creature, Shoer the Golden Carp.

The pressure of the water jet spewing from the mouth of the giant trout is even more powerful than that of the sea god!

“[Blue Hurricane]!”