Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

“Guardians are down! Be careful not to attract additional aggro!”

“The casting of ‘Apostle’ should be almost complete! Get ready with the magic defense buffs!”

“Casting now, [Magic Chain Armor].” A group of party members were busily engaged in hunting.

They were in one of the famous hunting grounds frequented by high-level players in Fibiel, colloquially known as ‘Ruins’. The place was notorious for its strong monsters, requiring a minimum party level of around 200. However, the monsters’ roles were distinctly divided like players, which actually made hunting easier, according to popular opinion.

Of course, this didn’t apply to the party currently hunting.

“Ah, this is crazy. Three more ‘Crushers’ spawned? How long will it take to handle two Guardians?”

“My skills are still on cooldown, so what now? It’s just the beginning. Let’s focus on defeating these first.”

A ranged damage dealer asked anxiously, but the tank calmly raised his shield to block attacks and responded. He was well aware that the situation was anything but relaxed. But as a tank, his duty was to tackle tasks methodically, unlike a ranged damage dealer who has to think broadly and diversely.

“Ever since the new continent opened, our hunting ground has been deserted. If we draw the aggro of those Crushers, we’ll be in trouble.”

“I know, right? There used to be a lot of people from Byulcho guild around here. It was tough competing for monsters, but I prefer that to now. We can’t even do a proper mob hunt…”

“Don’t worry about those who aren’t here! Let’s finish this off first— Ouch! Let’s wrap this up!”

A monster made of blue-tinged bones was being confronted. Despite their monstrous appearance, their weapons were intimidating. A close-range damage dealer swung at a Ruin’s Guardian’s neck bone with a crushing blow.

Kaaang-!

A sound like metal clashing echoed throughout the Ruins, loud enough to be heard from a considerable distance.

“Kiki-git… Kikit?”

“Kik- Ki…”

Simultaneously, three huge Crushers wielding giant swords turned their heads. Although they lacked eyes, the players knew exactly where their ‘gaze’ was directed.

“Oh no.”

“The Crushers have aggroed us! Let’s try to retreat, and if that doesn’t work, use a return scroll to regroup—”

TuquaAAAAAAAAANG———–

“—What?! What was that?!”

“A gun? It came from over there?”

TuquaAAAAAAAAANG———–

“No, it’s from this side! There are two of them, I think.”

“What kind of musket makes that noise?”

TuquaAAAAAAAAANG———–

— PAK!

“No, it’s definitely from that side! Look, something just landed on the ground!”

Human instincts were inescapable. In Middle Earth, unfamiliar with such thunderous noise and unable to identify its source, the players instinctively retreated from the direction of the sound. That was exactly their problem.

Which way should they go? One of the sound sources was definitely elsewhere. The direction and angle of the noise were distinctly different from each other.

“First, let’s avoid the Crushers’ aggro and then—”

“—No need for that anymore.”

The party members looked at the Crushers with confused eyes. It was now somewhat embarrassing to even call them Crushers. The remains of the Crushers were scattered on the ground, a mess of pale bone fragments.

“And why is the Apostle we were targeting dead?”

“—Yeah. I saw something fly and hit the ground just now. Was that an effect of the Apostle’s death?”

Another bewildering aspect was evident. The most important and challenging magical monster in the ‘Ruins’, which the party had aggroed, was also dead.

“Gworoosh…”

“What’s this? Only two guardians left suddenly? What’s going on?”

“…Let’s just finish off these remaining monsters. Whoever did this might come for looting, even if we don’t know who they are.”

The party members began to engage the remaining monsters with a sense of unease. However, even after they had dealt with the two guardians of the ruins, there was no sign of any other players. The person who had caused this confusion among these Level 200+ players was, of course, Leeha.

Given the declining number of Musketeer job users among high-level players, it was natural that they would be unfamiliar with the sound of a gun. But the one who had startled them was not satisfied with the outcome.

“I’m late, still not as good as I want it to be. I’m getting more familiar with it, but it’s not coming out exactly as I want.”

[Kyuuu, Kyuukyuu!]

“I did well?”

[Kyuu, Kyuuu.]

[Mong Mong Mong Mong…]

Blaugrunn nodded vigorously, and even Jellypong, uninvited, popped out of Leeha’s chest and nodded.

“Thanks. But I still have a long way to go…”

Leeha chuckled lightly, yet he was not fully satisfied with his performance.

“Is it really impossible to execute it? But if I’m not this proficient, it’ll be even harder to devise another strategy.”

Leeha chose Fibiel’s ‘Ruins’ as his hunting ground based on Kijung’s advice. He had been leveling up here for the past ten days since leaving Gaza City, hunting every monster in the area and trying to diversify his hunting patterns.

“Let’s see, I’ve gained three levels… no, wait, it’s three. Character window!”

Name: Ha Leeha / Race: Human

Job: Musketeer / Level: 198 (3%)

Title: Fearless / Achievements:

124

HP: 6,440(4,508)

MP: 1,590

Stats: Strength 551 (+466)

Agility 3,258(+1,114)

Intelligence 190(+139)

Endurance 228(+135)

Spirit 65(+55)

Remaining stat points: 5

He had reached level 198 and even gained 3% experience without realizing it, so focused was he on mastering a ‘new pattern.’

‘Well, I’ve surpassed 3,200 agility, and I’ve got more than 120 achievements. It’s noteworthy that my strength has increased tremendously due to the paleos being mainly physical types.’

He invested all 5 stat points into agility, reviewing his condition.

Even with the agility achievements gained from Pyro, reaching his initial target of [Agility 3,333] was still out of reach.

‘But given the huge number, it looked easy to achieve. How many did I need from 3,000 to 3,333? Right, 333 stat points. Damn, I thought too easily. If I go by levels alone… Wow, I need 67 levels.’

He realized the difficulty of gaining an additional 300 stat points in Middle Earth. Already possessing monstrous stats and hunting speed, Leeha couldn’t be satisfied.

‘I can’t predict how the battle with Chiyou will unfold, so I have to keep leveling up.’

He wondered if it would simply be a sniping battle. The chances were low. Not knowing what other methods Chiyou might use, he was preparing for various contingencies.

‘Or maybe I should break Black Bass’s quest… But that’s not easy either…’

[Black Bass’s Seal-5]

Objective: Kill a level 250+ monster from a distance of over 3,500m in one shot (0/1)

A staggering distance of 3,500 meters. It would require all of Leeha’s resources to barely make it possible, and the target was a level 250+ monster.

“Life is truly tough, so tough. Now, how to…”

[Kyu-kyu!]

Leeha, while seemingly complaining, was interrupted by Blaugrunn, who sharply tugged his hair.

“Ouch!? Why- ah, a monster?”

[Kyuuu, Kyuuuu.]

As Leeha lifted his head, Blaugrunn pointed towards the ruins. There stood the Apostle of the Ruins, a miniboss-level monster, wielding a bone staff and wearing a hood. Despite being a skeleton-like monster with a human shape and not particularly large, it was a challenging and annoying opponent for the players due to its powerful area-of-effect magic.

“That Apostle of the Ruins… its level is around 215 to 220. But even if a field boss appearing here meets the level 250 requirement for the quest, it’s an impossible task.”

Even if a level 250+ field boss appeared, it would be a futile effort for Leeha’s current objective. He wouldn’t be able to complete the Black Bass quest by defeating it.

[Mong, mong.]

Listening to Blaugrunn’s snorting, Leeha adjusted his aim.

“I have indeed grown.”

[Kyu?]

“I’m more comfortable with this distance now. Much more than when I was in the military.”

A gentle breeze blew. Even without the Harpy’s hat, it wouldn’t significantly affect the trajectory.

“Let’s try it – right in the middle of the forehead.”

Thwoom-

The shot echoed, and almost immediately, the Apostle’s robe lay sprawled on the ground.

“This really is an equal game, don’t you think?”

[Kyu?]

“Whether it’s the Ruins’ miniboss, a passing fox, or the Candle Castle’s eagle… it all goes down with one shot to the head. Except dragons, of course.”

[Kyu, Kyu, Kyu-woo?]

Blaugrunn looked puzzled as if to say, “Is that really equality?” Despite the challenges with the Black Bass quest, Leeha found some comfort in his unchanging ‘strength’.

After eating, feeding others, and shooting every visible monster, Leeha’s routine at this hunting spot was more like a literal camping trip – eating, drinking, lounging, and not caring for looting. He was simply waiting for a response, and after about three days, he finally got a piece of good news.

[You have leveled up.]

“Nice! Now I’m 199-“

-Leeha? Chiyou just arrived at the Fibiel Palace.

“-Achieved. What? The Fibiel Palace? How did Chiyou-”

[Kyu?]

“Oh, no, I wasn’t talking to you, Blaugrunn-ssi. It was a whisper.”

Leeha awkwardly responded to the confused Blaugrunn and then quickly replied to the whisper.

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