Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Do it? Hmm, you don’t really have to like it.”

“I said, alright! I’ll do it! Two syllables!”

“Hehe, just kidding, just kidding!”

Lark’s skillful manipulation of the mood cast away any suspicion Faust had.

The chromatic dragons, led by Onyx, escorted Tiamat. It was here where the only user affiliated with the Demon King’s army, Faust, me Lark and Shin Nara.

The dense forest deepened the night.

From somewhere in that darkness, the sound of eerie laughter spread.

The spirits of the dark conveyed all information to Prea — everything they saw and heard.

Prea relayed everything to Leeha without missing a detail.

“… Is it really true? Lark—”

“‘Let’s do well as business partners~’ His tone was unmistakable. Why? Don’t you believe me?”

Prea’s eyebrows playfully lifted.

Listening to her teasing tone, Leeha immediately shook his head.

“No, I believe everything you’ve conveyed, Prea.”

At this point, there was no reason for Prea to lie. Hence, there was only one answer.

Leeha sighed lightly and said, “Lark has allied with Onyx… and Bluebeard to kill Bahamut.”

* * *

“Oh my, but you don’t seem too concerned?”

Prea stared at Leeha’s face. Seeing her eyes without pupils, Leeha smiled lightly.

“Well, let’s say it was somewhat expected.”

“Expected? You expected Lark to betray? No way! Not even Chiyou could have predicted that!”

Though she responded in surprise, Leeha said nothing more.

After watching the visions of Bahamut and Tiamat together, Leeha had many thoughts.

The contemplation on how to kill Tiamat always led to speculation about the true intentions of Lark and Shin Nara.

Leeha had come to a conclusion about that.

Lark had joined hands with the Demon King’s forces.

‘He did the same when he joined Chiyou during the New Continent’s early days… definitely the same back then.’

When Leeha completely regarded Lark as an enemy and confronted him. When the rivalry between the Old Continent and the New Continent began, Lark had acted that way.

But what had been the outcome?

Leeha remembered Lark’s actions in front of 〈Divine Staff〉.

‘He fought Bluebeard. And with his entire might…’

Even though Leeha thought Lark had sided with Chiyou, Lark confronted Bluebeard. In fact, he moved faster than Leeha and Kijung, who had caught Bluebeard’s movements.

Back then, if Lark and the Virtue Knights hadn’t held Bluebeard back?

The 〈Divine Staff〉 would have been destroyed by the time Leeha arrived.

How had Lark managed that?

Back then, Leeha hadn’t thought it through, but now it seemed quite simple.

‘He had joined hands with the Demon King’s forces. Even sharing a tiny, tiny bit of information… He’s the type who wouldn’t even let a crumb of information slip.’

Lark was known for his sharp intellect and cunning.

Ram Hwayeon, Chiyou, and Lark – these three might as well be the top contenders in all of Middle Earth.

After defeating Le and forming a pact with the Holy Spirit, Lark had said something.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Leeha had been reminiscing about that not long ago.

‘He didn’t side with the Demon King’s forces. 〈He was just a business partner〉. Hehe.’

Leeha thought of Lark.

What could he be thinking? Did he have to go this far, even blocking whispers?

Had Leeha not vehemently opposed it, Petyr would have informed Minis of Lark’s current situation.

The Virtue Knights’ betrayal would have directly tarnished the reputation of the Minis Kingdom, resulting in an astronomical bounty.

Could Lark have been unaware of that?

‘No matter how meticulously one acts, they must have known that their tracks would eventually be discovered. Despite that, they went ahead…’

He had to have believed that someone understood their plan and would prevent things from faltering.

And in this situation, the only ‘someone’ that Leeha could think of was himself.

Therefore, Leeha also had to push forward.

Even though they couldn’t communicate verbally, the clear understanding of their mutual objectives was enough to base the plan on—and help each other accordingly.

“Ha Leeha? Predicting Lark’s betrayal―”

“Hmm, let’s just go with that for now. But isn’t it strange that Prea-ssi is smiling so brightly despite bringing such news?”

Prea interrupted Leeha’s train of thought.

Leeha shook his head briefly to clear his mind and looked at her. The white-eyed priestess smiled bashfully at his question.

“Of course it’s good news. Although it’s not something I pay much attention to, something ‘nice to have’ happened.”

“Oh! What is it?”

“Le-nk-ing. Up.”

“Le― oh? Ranking? Did your ranking go up?”

Leeha was genuinely surprised.

Could it be that the rankings, which had been stagnant for a while, had finally moved? Prea spread her hands wide and folded one thumb.

Revealing her current ranking of ninth.

This meant Prea, who was ranked tenth, rose to ninth place, while Faust, who was ninth, dropped to tenth.

“How― Ah! You said Faust reverted to a White Scale again, right? With his second job canceled, something must have happened―”

“But if he’s not dead, his level wouldn’t have decreased, would it?”

“… Then what?”

“Ah, sometimes it’s good to be talked about, but it seems this time it had little impact. Well, it couldn’t be helped.”

“Impact― Ah!?”

Prea’s rise from tenth to ninth place in the rankings unfortunately didn’t become much of a buzz.

It was a natural outcome.

The appearance of Tiamat was that impactful.

The fact that the rankings changed after Tiamat appeared implied that something significant had occurred during that time.

“When I leveled up while leaving the Spirit Realm…”

“Yes! Hehe, it turns out the ranking change happened then. Checking rankings is such a hassle unless it’s through the official website.”

“Wow, congratulations! Really, that’s great news.”

Even while delivering grim tidings, Prea’s bright expression now made sense.

Upon receiving Leeha’s sincere congratulations, Prea grinned and nodded slightly in gratitude.

Leeha was momentarily puzzled, but he soon understood her intention.

“Thanks to the ranking increase, I look forward to your continued support.”

Prea attributed her level-up to Leeha. Since he was instrumental in allowing access to the Spirit Realm, home to the Spirits of Fury, destruction, chaos, and Power, her acknowledgment wasn’t misplaced. However, Leeha was surprised she admitted it and thanked him first.

Leeha smiled and responded.

“Likewise.”

Since revealing his true intentions last time, Leeha’s efforts to forge an honest relationship with her were gradually showing results.

And if they were to become complete allies?

“Oh, by the way, Prea-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“About the dark attribute spirits.”

“Oh! Ah, yes, yes! Those guys are really something! Beyond imagination! Ha Leeha-ssi, you should see them.”

Prea’s tone turned overly enthusiastic, akin to a mother boasting about her child, and Leeha’s eyes twinkled.

Since she seemed eager to share, it was a good opportunity.

“Then I should take a look.”

“Yes?”

“Haha, what are the abilities of those spirits?”

For now, Prea was merely a spy gathering information on the Demon King’s army. But when the battle with Tiamat officially began?

Leeha might need Prea’s power.

Understanding the strengths of one’s allies was crucial for crafting effective strategies.

Prea seemed to understand Leeha’s intention and wagged her index finger playfully.

“It can’t just be shown.”

“Hey? Last time you clearly said—”

“Oh, I’m not trying to hide it.”

“Then what do you mean?”

Leeha finally realized the hidden intent behind Prea’s seemingly contradictory words.

“Uh… no way…”

“Hehe, the fastest way is for you to experience it yourself, Ha Leeha-ssi! Come out, guys!”

If you wanted to know about spirits, the solution was to get attacked by them.

Following Prea’s simple yet effective approach, spirits of rage, destruction, chaos, and power soon appeared by her side.

“Wait a minute! It’s not just about attacking me—couldn’t you explain the skill sets and stuff step by step—”

“Just attack him enough so he doesn’t die!”

“Arghhhhh!?”

The dark attribute spirits, whose names Leeha didn’t even know yet, immediately launched an attack at him.

『Myo, myooooong!』

As Jellypong tried to defend instantly, a different thought came to Leeha’s mind.

“Prea-ssi!”

Jellypong executed a three-dimensional maneuver.

In a blink, the distance between Prea and Leeha widened. Despite Prea shouting at him, Leeha was smiling.

“Don’t just dodge; you need to get hit to understand the effect!”

“Exactly! You need to use them to know their effect, right? And you said spirits don’t die but return to the spirit realm?”

“… Yes?”

Prea couldn’t comprehend what Leeha was aiming for. However, she saw one thing clearly.

Click.

He swiftly combined a magazine, taking it out with deft movements!

“No way! Ha Leeha-ssi!?”

“I have something to test too! Please communicate with the spirits! Now, I challenge you to a duel! There’s no death penalty or chaotic penalty, so you can relax, right?”

Leeha shouted as he loaded his gun.

The metal clinked merrily, and Black Bass began to laugh.

―Kuhuhu… can I taste the spirits?―

“Well, it’s just a taste test. And to test some skills.”

Just like Prea had contracted dark attribute spirits with dark attribute Spirit Kings, Leeha too had acquired new skills from them.

Skills like ‘Forbidden Rage’ that increased attack constantly were used passively, but how about the other skills?

‘Single Destruction’, ‘Reservoir Dogs’, and ‘Burn Out’!

He had read the descriptions but hadn’t yet used them in real battle.

Would the skills devour spirits of the same attribute? What effect would they have on spirits of different attributes?

“Let’s test it! ‘Single Destruction’!”

“Wait! Even if the spirits don’t die, if the health is drained in their summoned state, I’m in trouble—Kyaaa! Accept! Accept!”

Seeing Leeha aiming at her without changing his expression tilted Prea’s decision toward accepting the duel promptly.

It was better to be defeated within the rules of the Middle Earth system rather than being killed randomly.

Boom────────!

In that moment, Leeha pulled the trigger.

* * *

On the fourth day since Tiamat awoke,

There hadn’t been significant movements observed from the chromatic dragons or the Demon King’s forces.

It was a tremendous relief for the users.

“Phew, hello!”

Kijung greeted energetically, but nearly no response came.

In the newly established provisional command center near the half-collapsed fortress, numerous individuals were busy checking things, resembling a busy office.

As Kijung walked confidently, a blue-haired girl blocked his path.