Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Oh, here! Why are there so many books – wait, first, let’s save the location -“

“You can’t just come and go in someone’s house without permission! Only when I tell you -“

“What harsh words between partners? Save, save!”

Blaugrunn made a sullen face, but Leeha lightly ignored him. How could he logically suppress the cheeky brat’s manner of speaking? Simply ignoring him was the best approach!

Leeha had become quite accustomed to handling Blaugrunn, who had matured into a Juvenile-class.

“Definitely different from Bahamut’s lair. And different from Kuzgunak’sh’s lair too.”

It was natural for each dragon to have a different lair.

Blaugrunn’s lair was set up on a fairly high mountainside and was considerably smaller than the previous two dragons. Perhaps the entire lair was decorated like a human house.

“It must be cramped in your dragon form, right? And why are there so many bookshelves -“

“I preferred living as a human. Humans keep making books, and it’s better to read them in human form. Plus, it’s easier to organize small items.”

A well-worn sofa, a side table for tea or coffee, and the rest were all bookshelves.

The cave was propped up by the bookshelves, so vast they could reach the ceiling, making one wonder if they were supporting the cave itself.

“Organizing? Now that you mention it, you talked about cleaning and organizing before… It’s definitely clean.”

“Right? It’s tidy, isn’t it?”

Blaugrunn looked up at Leeha with sparkling eyes.

What’s with this reaction? Leeha felt puzzled.

‘…OCD?’

Even enjoying having that part scratched?

Thinking back, Blaugrunn always hinted at it. What was the most frequent topic related to his ‘lair’?

Leeha’s mind quickly worked through it.

“As expected of Blaugrunn-ssi. With so many books, it’s not just alphabetical order… Surely organized by topic, and these bookshelves are all meticulously arranged, right? By topic, author’s name-“

“Yes, yes! You’re right! You noticed it right away?”

“Of course. I’m Blaugrunn-ssi’s partner.”

It had to be. Even the royal archives of Fibiel were classified by ‘main theme.’

It was unthinkable that a dragon of such caliber wouldn’t do the same.

But as Leeha nodded, Blaugrunn’s eyes twinkled even more.

How reassuring it must be to have someone acknowledge and share a non-mainstream hobby.

That was true even for a Juvenile-class dragon.

‘Or maybe he had no friends since he was an Adult-class…’

Though Leeha didn’t know Blaugrunn’s exact history, his choice was undoubtedly correct.

They continued to talk about books and some home organizing tips, increasing their camaraderie.

“I had no idea you were such an amazing dragon. The things you’ve collected must be incredible.”

“Heh. Want to see? Yes, let’s go quickly! I’ll show you.”

Blaugrunn tugged at Leeha’s sleeve, oblivious to what he was doing.

How Leeha looked as he was being dragged along, Blaugrunn couldn’t tell.

‘Hehe, still a kid…’

After a short walk past what seemed like a study, a door to another world opened.

“What is this… It’s like the Vatican’s treasury?”

Though much smaller compared to Kuzgunak’sh’s or Bahamut’s storages, Leeha was quite satisfied.

No way he’d just neatly organize books!

Blaugrunn had perfectly arranged all the items he had collected.

Leeha looked around the ‘treasure vault.’

Then he noticed an area that seemed like a tooth was missing.

Catching Leeha’s pause, Blaugrunn quickly added,

“That’s the spot from that time.”

“That place from back then?”

“Yes, from when I was at Gaza City.”

“…Ah, right! When you swept away a bunch of Hero-class items-“

“Yes. Over there is where I keep the Hero-class items.”

But still, despite the missing ‘tooth’, there were plenty of items around.

“Blaugrunn-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“We’ve secured at least five items, right?”

“…What? Oh!”

Leeha looked at Blaugrunn with a cunning(?) smile. The Juvenile-class Bronze Dragon then realized his mistake.

Of course, it was already too late.

“And more? How many more can you give me? Where are the material items?”

As Leeha started hopping around the treasure vault, Blaugrunn anxiously followed him, a worried look on his face.

What’s the thing people who like to keep things tidy hate the most?

‘Others tampering with their organized state!’

Blaugrunn was playing a losing game from the start.

The moment he brought Leeha into his lair, the outcome was pretty much decided.

“Wait! Stop! I’ll just tell you what you need!”

It only took 3 minutes for a complete surrender declaration.

Leeha immediately stopped his random item-picking act.

“Really?”

“…Yes, well, um, yes.”

Feeling a sting of conscience for using such tactics on a child, but now wasn’t the time for guilt.

Leeha pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his bag and handed it to Blaugrunn.

“Items with these functionalities. Can you bring them all?”

It was the list of items Bottleneck had requested.

‘Needing Hero-class grade for material items… If I had to find them myself, it would take months.’

Surely, some items wouldn’t be available. However, Leeha believed that Blaugrunn could do it much more efficiently than if he had to search himself.

“..You devil. You’re worse than Bluebeard, Leeha-ssi.”

“What’s over there, I wonder?”

“Eek-! Don’t touch!”

As Blaugrunn walked away grumbling, he was completely at the mercy of Leeha’s playful antics(?).

That day, Leeha managed to obtain all seven out of eight materials that Bottleneck had requested – pressuring Blaugrunn to the point of negotiating with his persuasion skills.

“Amazing… all this in one day-“

“Well, I tried. Can we make it work with these?”

“Hmm… No, no. Although the materials are of better quality than I asked for, the most important ‘eye’ is missing.”

“Figures.”

Despite the determination to give Blaugrunn a taste of harsh reality, Leeha regretted that he still couldn’t make the scope.

‘I managed to get all the materials for the precise gears… but still, no luck.’

The last piece, the ‘lens’, was missing.

No matter how good the other materials were, without the lens, the performance improvement of the scope was unattainable.

‘Maybe I should have chosen the Eye of Argos. Now, taking a quest from the Vatican to clear it…

The full-scale attack that Kijung mentioned would start in as early as 7 days.

Even if other users needed a few days to prepare, the second full-scale attack would proceed in about ten days at most.

Even if that time was used efficiently, there was not enough time to receive and clear a quest to step into the Vatican’s treasury.

In the end, there was only one path left for Leeha.

“Looks like the auction house is my only option now. Even if it’s not the Eye of Argos, if a higher-class ‘eye’ than what’s in the current scope appears…

If I could just be sure of the monster that drops such an item, it would be much faster for me to get it myself.

But there’s no way to know.

What kind of monster, other than the usual cyclops, would drop an eye suitable for a lens?

Such information isn’t readily available online, which is why information in Middle Earth is so valuable.

‘Waiting indefinitely… No, it’s not indefinite. Considering the times I need to log out, it’s not that long.’

In the end, Leeha chose to wait at the auction house rather than continue his shooting practice to improve accuracy.

I don’t need two.

Just one Eye of Argos at the auction house, and I can make the scope I want.

With an improved scope, I might even try a 7km-class snipe. Maybe I could even match Mr. Brown in a millimeter-by-millimeter sniping battle.

“Okay, I’ll get the lens and come back!”

“I’ll prepare other things here.”

Leeha left Bottleneck’s smithy and headed towards Aelstock, the capital of Pyubiel.

The largest auction house and the main one linked to all others. If it doesn’t appear here, it’s as good as non-existent.

‘Well, even while waiting, I shouldn’t waste time. Kijung must have mentioned something back then.’

Leeha briefly checked his friends list and sent a whisper to someone. About 5 minutes later, Leeha smiled brightly.

‘At least this went as I expected. Now, even if it’s not the Eye of Argos, just one more lens-type material item and I’m set.’

Leeha sat down next to the auction house.

Refreshing the page and meticulously checking the materials section every 10 minutes wasn’t an easy task.

Thus, he faithfully performed his duty every time he logged in, never showing signs of fatigue.

For Leeha, who had to log out frequently, 10 days passed in a blink.

“Leeha-ssi…”

“Ah, the world really doesn’t go as easily as one hopes.”

Having waited at the capital’s auction house, Shin Nara also looked disheartened beside Leeha.

“You’re not going, right?”

“I’d like to, but… I’m tied up with royal quests for a while. I’ve been proposing to establish a branch of the Sacred Knights in the New Continent. I wanted to align it with this event, but it’s not going smoothly.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! How are the reactions from the king and nobles?”

“Mostly positive, but one person keeps objecting, so I’m not sure. Sigh.”

“Someone obstructing it would be…”

“Who else? Lo-“

-Leeha, when are you coming? People have gathered quite a bit!

Shin Nara’s sigh and Kijung’s whisper came at the same time.

Leeha could easily guess the two letters that would follow ‘Lo’. Lotzak was interfering even here.

“I really need to go now.”

“Yes. Be careful. If it gets dangerous, teleport right away!”

“Don’t worry. For starters, I have ‘this’.”

Looking at Shin Nara worrying about him, Leeha pointed to his bag. She nodded understandingly.

“Take care, then.”

“See you back in Korea. Sorry we couldn’t properly hang out when you visited in Hong Kong.”

“If you hadn’t said that, I might have decided not to see you again.”

Shin Nara pouted cutely.

Leeha laughed at her antics and activated the teleportation orb. Now, only 12 days remained for both the common quest and the quest to protect the Forest of the World Tree.

Kijung’s estimate was already three days overdue.

Swish!

Moments later, Leeha disappeared. Shin Nara watched the space where he vanished with a worried expression.

“Sigh… Leeha…”

Meanwhile, while Leeha was still talking to Shin Nara, Kidd was wiping sweat at the training grounds of Brownbess Musketeer Academy.

Baumeister watched his disciple, reflecting his own attributes, with pride.

“You’ve finally reached a usable level.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Despite his heavy breathing, Kidd smiled. The new level he had just experienced was exhilarating.