Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Huh——–?”

“Leeha-ssi!”

“Oh my……”

“Indeed, Leeha is a grand hero. It means he had already lit the lamp.”

“Damn, hit the jackpot. Completed a quest just like that!?”

The Pope’s question was quickly drowned out by the users’ reactions. Even Alexander and Bailephus could not close their mouths in surprise.

“Blaugrunn-ssi! That! Remember?”

“Oh, now that you mention it! That’s it! That thing from that time!”

In the midst of the commotion, Blaugrunn and Leeha faced each other, realizing what the item was.

Suddenly, the mood inside the Vatican became festive, with only the two of them staring at each other in an awkward silence.

“To think that the person who didn’t even want to take on a quest a moment ago knew the solution…

“Damn it. This is why I hate that guy.”

“And you used that out-of-place quote just to involve him.”

Kidd jabbed Luger in the ribs, making his face turn bright red.

“Who? Me, pulling him in? It was because of the other guys-“

“Haha, understood.”

Was it the panic when caught, or the anger at the absurd comment? Kidd burst into laughter seeing Luger flustered.

It was definitely the Demon King’s Army that made the first move.

It was planned that even if they could take out one eye of Gibrid, they would launch a total attack disguised as the 4th wave, perfectly united by the forces of Bluebeard, Toon, and their allies Chiyou’s Side.

They kept it a complete secret, intending to strike humanity’s alliance from behind, but the Vatican and the human alliance were not so easily fooled.

The ace may have been thrown by the Demon Army but it was the human alliance who got to return the serve.

“Finish all preparations within 3 days! Afterward, under Leeha’s guidance, we will proceed with the conquest of the Divine Staff!” announced the Pope, a command that immediately reached the heads of every nation, including Minis.

“So, you’re planning to wrap this up in just 3 days.”

“This crazy guy!”

“You’ve been ‘Enhancing’ all this time. Can’t you use that?”

The first place Leeha visited was Gaza City.

Bottleneck looked like he wanted to hit Lee with a hammer right then and there.

“Why- why not entrust it there! This important thing-“

“Seriously. When I said I’d leave the Black Bass enhancement to you, you made all kinds of displeased faces. And though the bonobo paleos are quite skillful and do a good job. What about you, Bottleneck-ssi? Is there something you can’t do? Above all-“

Leeha rummaged through his bag and took out a book.

Fortunately, the Black Bass entrusted to the bonobo paleos had completed all the necessary ‘analysis’ for enhancement.

“Thanks for trusting us. Now that we know the direction for the enhancement and the structure of the weapon, all that’s left is to implement it.”

“Surely, it’s not going to be just verbal, right?”

“Kuhuhu, what do you think?”

“Such greedy monkeys…”

Was it because Luger told them to get lost(?) or because of the difficulty of enhancing Black Bass? The condition proposed by Kobah, the spirit of bonobo paleo, was utterly outrageous.

There was not a single required item for the enhancement, yet they demanded a list of about 13 items to be given for the prosperity of the bonobo paleos and their comfortable life in the Lava Jungle.

And it wasn’t just about collecting one of each; Lee was speechless upon finding out he had to continue bringing several items regularly.

‘If I hadn’t learned the Magma Eruption skill, it would’ve been a huge problem.’

Moreover, all the materials regarding Black Bass were already received as a reward! There was no more reason for Lee to be swayed by the bonobo paleos.

“Here, here! Start with this!”

“Eh, what’s this?”

“Everything about Black Bass.”

“Who dares to say such a thing-” Despite frowning, Bottleneck flipped through the book rapidly. His gaping mouth closed in an instant.”Heh, there were guys who knew about enhancements even before old man Bottleneck. That’s what Won Seung said.”

Normally, he would’ve accepted the quests from the bonobo paleos while crying over mustard, so to speak.

But, with a better option available, and since Bottleneck had experience enhancing Lamhwa-jung’s wand and Kijung’s shield in the past,

“Although the structure is completely different from muskets…

Bottleneck was also the one who made all the ammunition used in the Three Musketeers’ guns. In other words, with the Black Bass’s [Strategy Guide] analyzed by the bonobo paleos, Bottleneck should be able to enhance it smoothly according to Leeha’s calculations.

“Can you really do it?”

“If I can’t do it after seeing this, I might as well return my hammer. It’s made so that anyone with eyes and hands can do it.”

“No way, it seemed awfully complicated with all sorts of figures-“

“That’s from the perspective of an ordinary person like you, Lord! If the environment is ready, there’s not a single dwarf who can’t do it! Fine, not 3 days but I’ll get it done in 2 days sharp! This is all we have to do!”

Bottleneck then shoved the book inside his shirt.

Though rough with words, he clearly knew the value of the material.

“Can you really do it in two days?”

“If I stop all other work and focus, it’s more than possible. Plus… Ahem-“

Bottleneck, stroking his bushy mustache, turned his head.

“-Anyway, you’re the lord. If I can’t satisfy the lord’s command, it’s a blow to the face for the commander of the engineering corps. Beard Brothers! Prepare the lava! We’re starting the enhancement right away!”

While Bottleneck hurriedly gave orders to the Beard Brothers, feeling a bit embarrassed, it didn’t diminish Leeha’s admiration.

The only way Leeha could express the bubbling emotion from within was one.

“Kuh… Ajussi!”

“Hey, don’t hug me! I have no interest in hugging a man, get away!”

Leeha, who was significantly taller, hugged the much shorter Bottleneck and shook him side to side without mercy.

Though short, Bottleneck’s long beard would’ve been seen dangling messily between Leeha’s legs from behind.

“This is dreadful, lord…

Blaugrunn sighed deeply and shook his head.

And so, two days later,

Leeha was finally about to get the chance to acquire the [Enhanced Legendary Black Bass].

‘Now, the only thing left is my own transformation.’

Even while dancing joyfully with Bottleneck, Leeha’s mind was still racing.

When Black Bass was unavailable, he painfully realized what was needed — in an uncertain situation when such a crisis could happen again, one thing was necessary.

‘I need a new skill. One that can be used with a musket, something aggressive and certain. And…

It wasn’t just that.

Because of the greatest challenge Leeha currently faced, his next destination could only be one place.

The capital of Fibiel, Aelstock.

He had to meet Browless of the Musket Academy.

“Heh, meeting Leeha-nim’s teacher, I’m looking forward to it?”

“There’s not much to look forward to. Huhuhu, the smell of the capital after so long~”

Recently, the only place Leeha had visited in the old continent was Gaza City.

After spending a significant amount of time only in the new continent, for Leeha, Fibiel’s old continent capital, Aelstock, was a place he hadn’t visited in a long time.

‘Come to think of it, I heard that Madam Lu is running the Holy Grill here?’

After Zu moved to the Gaza City branch, managing the capital branch was Lu, who was from the original Candle Castle. The chef there, Giyo-Mifugar, became the chef-manager, Leeha remembered.

‘The pinnacle of Fibiel NPC Information Guild… In some ways, Madam Lu has a far superior knack than Madam Zu.’

Leeha made his way toward the Holy Grill.I considered heading towards my goal, but decided against it for the moment.

What I really needed information on was the location to clear Black Bass’ fifth quest!

But wasn’t Black Bass supposed to be under Bottleneck’s care for two days of enhancement?

The lack of information and a foreboding feeling that I might just be sniffing around for trouble prevented me from proceeding.

“Still, he is our master! Just thinking about Leeha getting scolded fills my heart with joy.”

“Oh? So that’s how you’ve been seeing me?”

“Since even our Lord doesn’t scold Leeha, it’s more of a compliment, really.”

“Heh, but even if you meet the master, you’re unlikely to see me getting told off.”

“Huh? But he’s the master, isn’t he?”

“Well, a master in Middle Earth is indeed a master, but…”

Leeha chuckled for a moment while conversing with Blaugrunn.

Indeed, there was much to learn from Browless about handling muskets and surviving in Middle Earth; yet for Leeha, a true ‘master’ wasn’t only Browless.

Wasn’t the retired shooter who corrected his posture and taught him air rifle shooting a master as well?

If one were to judge by that standard, Browless was merely one of Leeha’s masters.

“But he was the one who handed over Black Bass and taught you how to shoot, right?”

“Well, yes, he gave me Black Bass, but teaching me how to snipe is a bit of a stretch.”

For Leeha, there was truly only one person that could be considered the ‘master’.

“Then who taught you to snipe?”

“…The platoon leader. The sniping platoon leader.”

“The sniping leader?”

“Well, Blaugrunn, even if I told you, you probably wouldn’t understand.”

Leeha smiled but shivered slightly.

The person who transformed Leeha from merely a shooting enthusiast or military otaku into a real ‘sniper’ was indeed the army’s sniping platoon leader.

Ordinary civilians would never handle a sniper bolt-action rifle, one of the firearms strictly off-limits to them.

Most South Korean men who have served in the military have the chance to handle submachine guns, rifles, and even machine guns and handguns, depending on their position, as well as mortars and recoilless rifles.

However, sniper rifles are an exception.

They are something a common soldier could never touch, a privilege reserved solely for professional soldiers.

Hence, the moment one handles a sniper rifle, it’s natural for all involved to be military personnel, specially assigned to a sniper role – not something one starts with.

Choosing someone from among the NCO trainees with exceptional shooting skills or from the ranks based on outstanding marksmanship to then transition into an NCO role is part of South Korea’s sniper system.

Therefore, the institution responsible for gathering these ‘still green’ soldiers and training them was an absolute necessity.

“I wonder how Master Sergeant Kim is doing. I was deployed at the time of my accident.”

Sniping platoon leader, Master Sergeant Kim.

Though Leeha recalled him with a tone of longing, it seemed to give him goosebumps.

For Leeha, who could receive even guerrilla or severe winter training with a smile, the worst training was undoubtedly Master Sergeant Kim’s sniping training.

“Brrr, just talking about this makes me feel cold, so cold. Let’s hurry, we’re almost there.” “Yes! Let’s go!”

Thud…

Stepping into the Brown Bess Musket Academy’s drill ground after a long time, the pleasant sound of musket fire filled the air.

Leeha approached Browless, who was on the training ground.

With a menacing face devoid of eyebrows, always wearing his hat deep on his head casting deep shadows, ‘menacing’ was the word that fit this NPC best.

However, today, for some reason, he was beaming with joy.

“That’s right. Your posture isn’t bad, good. With a bit more practice—”

“Master, it’s been a while since I last saw you.”

“-Ah, Leeha! How long has it been!” Browless greeted Leeha with an unusually bright expression and a warm smile.

The awkwardness of his demeanor was enough to evoke involuntary laughter.