Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

For a moment, Leeha’s head was in a jumble.

“That’s also the worst ending, isn’t it?”

What exactly were they aiming for?

There was also someone who had relayed information about Saur Land to Elizabeth.

“Le…”

Should he trust him or not?

Would entering Saur Land bring benefits or losses?

“Sigh… Middle Earth really knows how to give people a headache.”

“Uh? What’s wrong, Ha Leeha?”

As Leeha let out a deep sigh, Fernand approached him with a big smile.

All the NPCs were asleep.

Only the users were sitting near the campfire, each sorting out their thoughts and volunteering to stay on watch duty.

“No, it’s just… whether we should go to Saur Land or not―”

“Of course we should go! According to Elizabeth, saur Land is about a day and a half distance from here. We don’t know their exact travel speed, but… we should expect it to take around two days. We’re so close; what do you mean we shouldn’t go?”

Despite Fernand’s bright demeanor, not everyone’s faces were as cheerful.

The accumulated fatigue from before Leeha joined also played a part.

“Logging out… isn’t an option?”

“Heh, if you want to leave, go ahead, Alexander. But you’ll be surprised to see who’s ranked number one when you come back.”

“… Even if I log out for a month, there’s no way you would ever reach the top, Luger.”

Alexander shook his head.

Luger, feeling provoked, was about to speak again, but Fernand quickly stepped in.

“Everyone must be very tired, but let’s endure just a bit longer. In a place where teleportation doesn’t work, if we log out, it will be hard to regroup.”

“If you’re tired, just sleep. I’m going to sleep first.”

Kidd pulled a blanket from his bag, spread it on the ground, and lay down.

The users stared at him in astonishment.

“Getting back into those sleeping habits. Just because you have your eyes closed doesn’t mean you’re sleeping. The only thing that’s impossible in Middle Earth is sleeping.”

“That’s enough for me. Just resting the eyes removes a lot of fatigue.”

Kidd took off his hat and covered his face as if to indicate he wouldn’t argue further.

Leeha, who had intended to tease him, and even Luger, gave up.

“Well, anyway! He has a point. Let’s rest as much as we can and head out at first light. It’s exciting to think about what we might find.”

“What could we find? Even if there’s a castle, who’s to say things will go smoothly?”

“There will be! Didn’t they mention advanced civilization? Think ‘Laputa’! Even though it’s quite a distance away, wouldn’t they know about the ‘floating island’ in the Eastern New Continent?”

Why was Fernand so excited? The adventurer had already caught a whiff of something.

Alexander nodded, as if he hadn’t considered that possibility.

“Indeed. 〈Those without the qualification cannot enter.〉. It might mean they hold the authority to bestow that ‘qualification’.”

“Perhaps. They might be the ones who created Laputa. Even if they didn’t create it, they could manage it… After all, we couldn’t enter earlier, right? And just now―”

“Right! That’s similar to what Elizabeth said earlier! She mentioned getting to the boundary but not being able to enter…”

Leeha’s eyes widened.

Luger’s lips curved upwards.

“It’s going to get busy.”

“I agree.”

Luger and Kidd shared the same thought simultaneously.

Around the campfire’s flickering light, each user painted their own picture of what awaited them.

* * *

“Block them for two hours.”

“Easier said than done. Do you think two hours will just fly by because it’s night?”

“That’s why I’m asking. Otherwise, would I be begging?”

As Lark shrugged his shoulders, Pung shook his head.

“Aish, let’s not talk about it. You want control but won’t let me use the kids… Well, I got something from the headquarters, so I’ll do my best, but if it wasn’t the captain’s orders, it wouldn’t be possible.”

“Hehe. I have to get stronger, right!? Later, we will—”

“Lark! How long are you going to talk? Hurry up and go.”

“Yes! Then, Chief Treasurer of the Virtue Knights, I’ll be counting on you. Don’t forget who promoted you from Senior Treasurer to Chief Treasurer, okay? Hehe, please, Pung!”

Lark gave a light gesture to Pung and ran off.

Pung, frowning, began to survey the cave entrance. The task Lark asked of Pung was simple.

“No matter how strong a ranker he is, trying to catch a dragon with just Shin Nara… Can I really trust that guy? Over there! Set up a simple barricade! We’re going to monopolize this area under the pretext of a Virtue Knights’ training session for two hours, so no entry for civilians!”

“Understood!”

There was no need to mobilize the entire Virtue Knights.

Along with Lark, Pung, a ‘user’ affiliated with the Knights, had the brains and skill to perfectly control the area around a dragon’s lair in the outskirts of Minis.

After successfully blocking user entry, Pung turned around.

Shin Nara and Lark were no longer visible.

“Not telling me the reason, and this is the second time… Was it with Blue last time?”

It had been approximately two days since they returned from the lair of an Adult Blue Dragon, having played just as a duo, without an attack squad.

Whether they captured the dragon or not, Lark hadn’t disclosed the outcome even to Pung.

It was natural for Lark not to explain why.

But the fact that they entered and exited the dragon’s lair unscathed.

At least, they didn’t face ‘forced logout.’

That alone was enough for Pung to deduce what kind of tasks Lark and Shin Nara had undertaken and succeeded in.

“A green dragon, huh. I needed a poison resistance item anyway. I’ll need to ask for one.”

With eyes filled with anticipation, Pung gazed at the dark cave.

From the massive opening on the verdant mountain ridge, a terrifying roar began to echo.

* * *

“GRAAAAAAWRRR―!”

“One, two, trois, contre―attaque.”

The mud monster emitting gas from its surface launched a stabbing attack.

Shin Nara’s body moved in a straight line.

Instead of dodging by moving her feet, she evaded by twisting her body’s axis, deflecting the monster’s attacking arm and thrusting her sword into its neck.

Lark, witnessing the counter-attack performed with lightning speed, lightly clapped his hands.

“These guardians are fast, so I thought it’d be cool to see you go against them… But in reality, they’re no match for you at all, Nara.”

A dragon’s lair, typically structured for raids, comprised long corridors from the entrance to the dragon’s actual dwelling, traps, and zones filled with ‘guardians’—monster minions serving the dragon.

The first step in a ‘dragon raid’ usually involves dealing with the guardians and reaching the dragon’s main chamber.

Guardians matched the dragon’s attributes and were stronger than regular monsters; due to their team play, attack squads had to prepare meticulously.

The fact that these two were casually strolling through such an area was incredible, yet Lark still found time to observe Shin Nara.

“Still, it’s good practice.”

“Practice?”

“In the village, I set the movement speed option to the lowest. Relying too much on stats hampers practice.”

This meant she effectively nullified the adjustment made by her agility stats.

Nevertheless, her movements were too swift for the average user to discern with the naked eye.

Naturally so, for she was still an active national fencing champion.

“Oh—Ah! Right. Because Nara-ssi has her primary occupation… Amazing.”

Even though it was common knowledge to Lark as well, it was somewhat awkward for him who had only seen her in Middle Earth.

Moreover, he found it hard to believe that she could move like this even after discarding the stat adjustments.

“By the way, why do you call out ‘skill names’ even though it’s not really a skill?”

“Of course, it’s for practice. It’s a condition my coach allowed under Middle Earth’s gameplay. To keep my body from becoming dull, I have to continuously imprint it.”

“Is the second reason to confuse onlookers?”

When Lark squinted his eyes and grinned, Shin Nara mimicked his expression in response.

“You’re quite perceptive. Yes, that’s also part of it. I stand out a lot in Fibiel, so I’m heavily analyzed… Giving names to all my movements can be a method to reduce that confusion. But how did you figure out it wasn’t a skill?”

“It’s not like we started hanging out just yesterday. I saw it when you dealt with ‘Guardians’ in the Blue Dragon’s Lair last time.”

“You saw it?”

Shin Nara looked at Lark with pretending to be surprised eyes.

In truth, there had been very few instances where they had hunted together. Besides their investigative trips, their joint activities at the Blue Dragon’s Lair were one of the rare occasions.

‘He could tell the difference between skills and normal attacks after just one instance?’

For close-combat characters, especially those like Shin Nara who focused on agility, the effects of their skills weren’t flashy. Many skills were designed to enhance movements or ensure automatic responses to enemy attacks.

Therefore, the more skilled one was, the harder it became to distinguish skills from regular movements. For top-grade talents like Shin Nara, it was nearly impossible to discern just by looking.

Lark wasn’t someone who would miss reading Shin Nara’s expression as she stared at him.

He gently lifted his multicolored sword and swung it.

“First, timing. Second, tempo. And the third, distance. I haven’t forgotten your teachings. Compared to standard attacks, skills felt excessively mechanical. It felt like some parts forcibly moved.”

His words made Shin Nara even more amazed.

He not only remembered what she said but had perfectly mastered and applied it.

“Wow, at this rate, shouldn’t I take up fencing? How’s this pose? Shoom! Shoom! I think I could be called the Swift Sword. What do you think?”

As she subtly admired him, Shin Nara couldn’t help but giggle at his playful antics.

She then put on a slightly pouting expression.

“I’m not sure how it translates on your end, but it’s not ‘Swift’, it’s the Godspeed[神速〉 Sword…”

Shin Nara’s face gradually grew serious as she spoke. Noticing her trailing words, Lark tilted his head.

“Nara-ssi?”

“Hold on… Fast… Fast.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but wouldn’t it be faster to share with me?”

Lark tapped his temple lightly with his index finger.

As Shin Nara watched his gesture, she blurted out her still unordered thoughts.

“Godspeed. Fast. I thought it was just about reaching the ultimate speed! So—I wanted to push to the limit, and that’s why I set my movement speed to zero for this Dragon Raid! I only wanted to control all my movements with my strength! But—maybe… Godspeed Sword doesn’t only mean speed, but rather, how — um, what am I saying?”

Shin Nara blinked her bright eyes, bemused.

Lark burst into hearty laughter at her.

“You’re looking at it the wrong way.”

“What?”

“Hehe, at this point, all I can say is that it’s the opposite. It’s not something we can figure out just by thinking. So let’s start by taking down the Green.”

“What?”

Shin Nara’s face showed she had no idea what he meant.

Lark gazed at her for a while before he started walking deeper into the green dragon’s Lair.

TL’s Corner:
At this point, I won’t even mind if Nara fell for Lark.