Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Yes. Paladins, all return to Azwen! Do not forget the might of Ghibrid we witnessed today, and please inform the surrounding clergy.”

Yes sir!

The Paladins collectively placed their swords to their chests, responding to Kijung’s shout. After assining the newly added knight orders to patrol and emergency contact systems, the Byulcho members and Paladins started teleporting.

Kijung also took out a crystal ball. Then he looked back. At the place where they had fought Ghibrid just moments before, he whispered a silent thought.

Kijung: If only there was some warning…

Leeha: Kekeke, hey, if I had told you, would it have been such a thrilling scene? It’s because I acted desperately that even Nara-ssi and Lark were completely fooled.

Kijung: Hyung… really, to call that a conversation-

The subject of the whisper was Leeha.

Leeha: But you were pretty good, weren’t you?

Kijung: What was?

Leeha: Even without using magic, to not falter in a physical battle against Blaugrunn who transformed into Ghibrid!

Hmm, hmm, not bad, not bad.

Kijung, while listening to Leeha’s silent conversation, couldn’t help but sigh deeply atleast five times.

Why was Ghibrid different than usual? The answer was simple.

Because it wasn’t Ghibrid. It was Blaugrunn using polymorph.

Only Hyein, with his sharp senses and analytical skills, noticed that ‘Ghibrid was different from last time’, but there was too little data to confirm anything, so it was hard to blame anyone.

“Pffft! Kijung, that dumbfounded face of his!”

“Ugh… Was it really that funny, Leeha? I thought I was going to suffocate from frustration.”

“What’s there to be frustrated about? Keke, funny. You neutralized all incoming magic anyway. Just have to charade with that guy and that’s it.”

Blaugrunn, hidden by transparent magic, grumbled at Leeha who hidden by camouflage.

Although they couldn’t see each other, their voices were audible, creating a scene that might have startled anyone passing by to think they’d heard ghosts.

“Charade- I don’t know what that means but! Thanks to Toon’s item and maybe because becoming a Holy Knight made me stronger, truly, fighting that human transformed into a [Dinosaur] wasn’t ordinary! And in the middle of that, I could only use ‘Pyro Sphere’ as a magic attack, it was so frustrating.”

Returning to Ezwen, Kijung thought, ‘I risked my life in a fight against a dragon that Leeha hyung brought around… That too, a dragon that didn’t use magic properly or attack properly… Did I just barely match with that kind of thing?’

But that was an underestimation of himself.

Blaugrunn, despite being at a significant handicap, admitted that facing Kijung was challenging.

“Well, when those holy skills started flying towards me, I was startled. But, you saw it, right? How I wrapped up nearly twenty of them in an instant and counterattacked?”

Using camouflage, making too much noise with Multi-Warhead Shot was impossible.

Thus, with fast hand movements and precise targeting alone, Leeha disintegrated all coming magic in mid-air.

Before executing the plan to transform Blaugrunn into Ghibrid, visiting Juma City to extensively adapt some of the agility attributes to ‘hand and eye coordination’ proved to be worthwhile.

“But Turn Undead didn’t disappear, hitting me instead, right? If I hadn’t used Dispel then, that Paladin might have realized I was a dragon.”

“Ah, right… Indeed. Moreover, that jerk Lark was really about to use [Red-Sun]-”When Kijung was about to tackle Blaugrunn – which he had mistaken for Ghibrid – and engage in a fierce melee, something unexpected happened.

Kijung’s body was suddenly flung to the left due to a single reason: he had been struck on his right side by a curve shot from Leeha. The moment the bullet hit, a notification popped up in front of Kijung.

[User ‘Leeha’ has attacked you. A hostile relationship has been formed.]

[Attacking a hostile user will not increase your Chaotic Index.]

This kind of alert didn’t appear when Blaugrunn attacked. The fact that Leeha had once again recalibrated his “relationship” with Blaugrunn was precisely for this reason! However, due to the possibility of being recognized as Leeha’s subordinate when using “Soul Mates”, “Jellypong”, or other “Mystical creatures”, Leeha had no other choice but to rely solely on the power of a polymorphed Blaugrunn.

“It wasn’t easy. I really wanted to pulverize them all by myself, but I had to coordinate with Blaugrunn’s actions while transformed into Ghibrid, and I had to ensure not to kill users.”

For users, death meant merely some penalties, and they would be able to log back in. However, high-value assets like the Knights of 1406 would take considerable time to replace once killed.

Knowing this, Leeha had only killed other users and spared three of the 1406 when Ghibrid-Blaugrunn first appeared near the “Divine Staff.”

“I feel somewhat guilty about hitting Kijung. It wasn’t my intention to actually shoot.”

But it was already too late to explain and try to nullify Lark’s skill.

Lark’s “Red-Sun” wasn’t an ordinary skill, after all. If it hit Blaugrunn transformed into Ghibrid, it could cause significant damage. Thus, Leeha had to be prepared, hoping fervently that Kijung would survive!

But instead of perishing, Kijung effortlessly stood up after being knocked down, leading Leeha to recognize two things: the “Dinosaur Transformation” skill from Toon’s Shield had perfectly allowed Kijung to deflect the bullet by achieving the optimal ‘tanking angle’.

Even Leeha had to marvel at Kijung’s artful skill, delaying his explanation to Kijung for a moment.

Receiving an attack notification from Leeha without any prior warning, it was natural for Kijung to be momentarily dazed and confused.

“So, what do we do now?”

“We’ve served up three things on a platter: the emergence of Ghibrid, the danger to the Divine Staff, and that this danger is ‘real and urgent’… Now, we just have to watch the capabilities of the three individuals who have gathered here.”

“Watch their capabilities?”

“It’s like setting up the board for Cardinal Romero to ascend as Pope. Heh. I wonder what they’ll do.”

“Just hearing you laugh, I can almost picture the expression you’re making.”

With that, Leeha deactivated his camouflage and stood up.

“Alright then. Where to next?”

“Mm, since I made a promise, let’s head to the Eastern New Continent.”

“A promise?”

“I wonder if Blaugrunn-ssi likes dogs. Let’s go! I’ll tell you on the way!”

Despite his reluctance, Blaugrunn couldn’t resist Leeha’s urging and begrudgingly nodded.

※

A boundless forest, cliffs seemingly ripped out by a giant’s hands. In a place where one wouldn’t expect any sign of life, two humans appeared. One was a sniper, Leeha. The other was…

“Indeed. Everywhere seems completely blocked off. At least to the eye, there’s no way through,” remarked Blaugrunn in awe.

“Hm, you can sense that?”

“Of course. The more skilled the individual, the better they feel it. Among human mages, that Sage guy was probably a bit frustrated.”

Leeha and Blaugrunn found themselves in front of “Elizabeth and Brown’s House” once again. Though unable to perform spatial teleportation, Leeha’s use of Blaugrunn’s dragon form made arriving here all too easy.

“Where are we going?”

“The Dark Forest. Ever heard of it, Blaugrunn-ssi?”

“No-, wait, really! The one with the mystical creatures of dusk you mentioned? Where the Shade creatures are?!”

“Ah, quick on the uptake. Right. I’ve got a promise with those guys.”

Leeha pulled out an item that resembled a ‘Covert Camera’ he had received from Browless.

“What’s that?”

“I promised to show them the recording of Toon’s death.”

“What? That kind of promise – I mean, to make such a promise must mean something significant…”

“There were risks involved. But… had no choice. Well, if it’s a success, then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

Leeha then reassuringly patted the worried Blaugrunn on the back. When leaving the Dark Forest, Leeha had come to an understanding with the mid-tier spirit entities, the Shades. He had even received a quest from them.

The risk was real, and the penalty for failure would have been substantial. Yet, Leeha thought he had secured a rather ‘interesting’ condition for himself.

“So, are we making a contract with the Shade now?”

“Contract- No. Heh, not a contract but… Wait, contract?”

“Why?”

Suddenly, as if struck by an absurd thought, Leeha hit his forehead in realization.

“Such a fool!”

[ Achievement: Supreme Mastery – Emotional Dominion ]

Reward:

75 Stat Points

One-time Skill: Spirit Contract

Resistance to [Abnormal Status: Fear] increased by 100% (This is an unlisted achievement.)

Leeha quickly opened the skill window.

Spirit Contract (Fear)

Description: The one inheriting Toon’s power can contract with the terror spirit. The grade of the spirit is determined by the affinity to the spirit.

Effect: Summoning the terror spirit

Mana: 1

“Argh! How could I forget about this!? I have a skill that allows me to contract with the terror spirit! Oh, what a fool… Ah, well, I couldn’t have used it right away anyway. If I tried pretending to be Ghibrid, Blaugrunn-ssi would have to do it, and my name would appear if I used it.”

In this blend of self-reproach and rationalization, Leeha showcased his unique genius. Yet, it was Blaugrunn who looked as if he had been struck by a hammer.

“The terror spirit… Really, the terror spirit?”

“Why, what’s the matter?”

“Those beings, or should I say, the ‘mind’ entities like the terror spirit, operate on a completely different system from the elemental spirits! I’ve only heard about them a few times even from the Lord! Leeha-niiiiim!”

Blaugrunn hurriedly approached, clasping his hands tightly and looking up at Leeha with shimmering eyes. Seeing those twinkling eyes, Leeha felt a wave of alarm.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“Now! You’re going to use it now, right? That thing! You’re going to show it to me now, right? Yes? Please?”

Leeha nodded without much hesitation.

“Does the terror spirit have any connection to the dusk mystical creatures?”

“I’m not sure. But surely… there must be some familiarity.”

Considering their destination was the Dark Forest, if it were possible to negotiate with the dusk mystical creatures using the terror spirit!

“It’s like hitting two birds with one stone!”

With Black Bass slung over his shoulder and ensuring there were no obstacles nearby, Leeha finally used the skill.

“[Spirit Contract]”

The mana cost was merely 1, so it didn’t feel out of the ordinary. However, the void that opened in Leeha’s chest was visible enough for Blaugrunn to see.

“What in the world!? What is this?”

“Amazing! Is this the embodiment of the spirit realm?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Just like the water spirit adopts the ocean as the embodiment of the spirit realm, and the fire spirit adopts the campfire, the terror spirit is adopting ‘Leeha’s heart’ as its embodiment!”

“That sounds unsettling.”

Despite the boy’s enthusiastic explanation, Leeha could only frown, uncomfortable with the idea of his fears being visualized like an image.

“Ah, something is popping out!”

“Ssst! I’m the terror spirit! Who are you? Who might you be?”

Long arms popped out of Leeha’s chest.

One arm, then another. One leg, then another. Finally, something that looked like a torso emerged with a swoosh! The black hole that seemed to have opened Leeha’s chest disappeared.

“Sssk! Could it be a dragon? Is the dragon calling me?”

Looking somewhat human-like rather than in the form of a translucent and small animal, it was clearly of a higher caliber, but Leeha was simply perplexed.

“It’s human, but not quite.”

The thin, long arms and legs were so bizarre. However, the even stranger thing was that the arms and legs were attached to the body.

“No, can it even be called a body? Or should I say a face.”

The giant oval-shaped body with a face had eyes, a nose, and a mouth like a human.

There were clearly two eyes, a nose below them, a chin, and a mouth, but they were so huge in proportion to the body, and the ratios of the eyes to the nose or the nose to the mouth were not like humans.

Resembling a human to some extent but not human. Compared to the “humanization” of other higher beings Leeha had seen so far, it was absurdly displeasing.

“Uncanny! You are uncanny!”

“As expected, you know me well as a dragon. Was it you who called me?”

The terror spirit called the Uncanny looked at Blaugrunn, nodding its head – whether it was the head or the body, Leeha couldn’t tell – but now whether it was the body or the face didn’t matter.

Since there was now a delicate situation where the valuable achievement of capturing and gaining the extra option skill from Toon might be taken away by Blaugrunn.

“Wait a moment! It was me who called you! Why did you come out of my chest only to say that?”

“Hmm? Is it a mere human who called me?”

The Uncanny stared straight at Leeha. As their eyes met, Leeha felt their legs tremble faintly, but then straightened up immediately, tensing their muscles.

“Yes, I called you. I am the one who killed Toon, known as a dinosaur, and became the person who can control the terror that is Terror, the strongest fear.”

“… Indeed. Hence, I suppose that means I can look you in the eye.”

Uncanny once again nodded its head – whether it was acknowledging or not, it was still hard to tell.

The tone seemed to be indicating acknowledgement, but whether this was something remarkable or not… It was difficult for Leeha to understand, even to determine if this skill was good or not from the get-go.

A long-armed, frog-like terror spirit, Uncanny, was summoned in front of Leeha in this manner.

Blaugrunn: Don’t be scared, Ha Leeha! This creature was summoned as a contractee for you!

Leeha: Ah, I know! I’m not scared! It’s just… somehow unsettling, that’s all!

Leeha boldly inflated her chest, spurred on by Blaugrunn’s cheers.

“By killing the Fear Toon-nim and succeeding his dignity and achievements, I have met the conditions to contract with the terror spirit. Therefore, I intend to proceed with the contract with you who have been summoned.”

Feeling annoyed and somewhat distorted, but ultimately a spirit. Leeha decided to view the grotesque figure in front of her as a child or even in a gelatinous form.

“Looks way more unsettling than I thought.”

Staring at Leeha until she nearly swallowed her saliva, Uncanny once again cleared its throat, mustered its poise, and formally greeted Leeha.

“You don’t seem like a spirit sage, but your spirit affinity is remarkable. Allow me to formally greet you. My name is Uncanny. I am a top-gra terror spirit that makes everything familiar into something dreadful. By inheriting the contract you had with the Fear Toon-nim, I, too, willingly accept the contract.”

“Top-grade? You?”

Given that ridiculous and uncomfortable appearance?

Leeha barely managed to hold back his remarks. Top-grade spirit!

He had at best thought of it as intermediate. Having once contracted with the intermediate fire spirit Salamander, which had taken the form of a burning salamander, he had imagined it to look exactly like that.

“Even the intermediate fire Ignis seemed like a mere child, but it turned out to be a full-fledged adult. Not to mention the top-grade beings that Leeha had met in the Forest of the World Tree, the top spirits of Wind, Earth, and Fire manipulated by Prea exhibited perfect human forms, displaying the beauty and grandeur of their attributes.”

“Indeed. As I mentioned just now, I make everything familiar terrifying. How do I appear to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I see! How does he appear to you, Ha Leeha? He appears in the form of a headless dragon, you know! Based on the number of wings and the color of the scales, you might think it looks like the moment of Kuzgunak’sh’sh’s death!”

“Huh? What?”

Startled, Leeha glanced at Blaugrunn. The reason he instantly recognized the unknown terror spirit was that it made everything familiar terrifying.

The most familiar thing to Blaugrunn was the race of ‘dragon’ itself.

Among those ‘dragons’, Kuzgunak’sh’sh was the one that Blaugrunn feared the most, and Uncanny was deliberately showing him in the form of the most familiar yet terrifying figure to Blaugrunn.

“Um… It… It looks like some distorted human.”

“Is that so? Do you recognize that human? You must be clear who that is.”

“What? Who is it? How can that human… Wait a minute.”

At that moment, Leeha saw. The grotesquely elongated arms and legs weren’t particularly eye-catching. What initially drew attention was the massive body where the face and figure were melded together, with exaggerated facial features twisted out of proportion within it. The reason it was unsettling… was because of the eyes, nose, and mouth below it.

“That’s me.”

Witnessing the chaotic blend of one’s own face and body would naturally invoke fear in anyone.

“Indeed. If you couldn’t resist the fear perfectly, you wouldn’t have been able to take a single step away from me from the moment you laid eyes on me.”

However, in the case of Leeha, the resistance threshold against [Abnormal Condition: Fear] had exceeded 100% within the game’s Middle Earth, allowing him to gaze at the Uncanny with just a slight sense of discomfort, thanks to his near-complete immunity to fear.

At this point, the average user would have undoubtedly felt uneasy. The Uncanny, after all, was a spirit designed in such a way.

“Are you asleep?!”

“Mmm…”

“What’s this? It’s amazing!”

Yet, Leeha was different. A spirit that reflected its target differently to every viewer!? If it was a 100% customized spirit, there was no way it wouldn’t be affected by [Abnormal Condition: Fear]! Furthermore, if there was [Abnormal Condition: Fear] affecting it?

Leeha knew best.

“Freeze movement! It has an effect that stops movement! I don’t know how far the Uncanny can move, how long it lasts after summoning, or how much it consumes. But if he makes eye contact with the target I desire, I can seize the perfect timing. I can snipe the target without any danger or hassle, shooting bullets into the desired area.”

“Looking at me like that, making those remarks, that face… This human, no, contractor is quite observant.”

Seeing Leeha’s excited expression, the Uncanny smiled—Leeha pondered whether it was even a smile.

Leeha, too, looked back at the Uncanny with a grin.

“Hm, the second one, huh. Who was the first one?”

“It’s a thing of the past. There was a very absurd Wood Elf.”

“Ah… Allen Srna?”

The spirit and Wood Elf. It was a name that had become familiar to Leeha as well. The Uncanny had a momentarily surprised expression – not much different from a smile – and spoke, “Interesting. Human, Leeha. Do you agree to the contract with me?”

“I agree. Top-grade Fear Spirit, Uncanny.”

He nodded his head and extended his right hand.

“Oh, but if the supreme fear is ‘fear of the familiar,’ what are the rest?”

[Succeeded in making a contract with the Tog-grade Fear Spirit.]

[Increased spirit intimacy.]

[Learned the skill – Embracing Lesser Fears.]

[Level up.]

Shwaaaa…!

A light emanated from Leeha’s body, and Uncanny’s response echoed beyond the light. Blaugrunn, who had his ears perked more than Leeha, was there.

※: ※ ※

“So they are classified that way. I didn’t know that.”

“You didn’t know either, Blaugrunn?”

Uncanny recognized you.

“It’s because Lord clearly asked for their features. Hmm, it’s interesting, being in the same spirit realm and having a horizontal division system.”

As they headed towards the Dark Forest, Blaugrunn’s mind kept spinning. Leeha chuckled at the sight.

Uncanny had disappeared long ago, but the fear spirit system he mentioned at the end stimulated Leeha and Blaugrunn’s curiosity.

“Well, it is fascinating. While lower fire spirits can use intermediate fire skills, even high-level fire spirits can use them…”

Indeed, the spiritual realm’s system was different.

When the characteristics of lower and intermediate levels differ, it was said that intermediates couldn’t use the features of the lower level.

Only the Fear Spirit King could handle all fears, and even the Top-grade Uncanny could not know what the fear characteristics only the Fear Spirit King could handle.

“Among them, the lowest fear being the fear of death… I thought that would be for the Fear Spirit King or something.”

Uncanny is at the top grade.

Therefore, he knew all the types of lower fears he had gone through. Lower is the fear of death, intermediate is the fear of something specific, and higher is the fear of the unknown. And the fear of the familiar, which is the best quality, that Uncanny might have.

“What would psychoanalysts or psychologists say about this.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, no. I just thought that the conflict between the developers of Middle Earth and various scholars must be quite severe. I realized that the same goes for the system of sniping.”

The essence of sniping as mentioned by Elizabeth and the essence of sniping as mentioned by Kim Wonsa.

What would these two say?

This made him want to pit the two individuals against each other.

“At least I should go visit Sergeant Kim and ask him about it. Pay my respects too. By the way, aren’t you playing games these days?”

Shwick- Shwick-!

Moving through the gel-like substance, and Blaugrunn moving through levitation magic, the two beings had no trouble moving while lost in their own thoughts.

“Summoning Uncanny can be a good thing, but the skill window…”

[Novice’s Fear of the Familiar(0/1)]

Explanation: Do I still look like [that] to you?

Effect: Summon the Uncanny spirit of the highest grade to the designated target or publicly

Mana: 1000

Duration: Mana consumption of 200 per minute

Cooldown: 1 hour The immense mana consumption and per minute consumption made it no joke.

“The Curve Shot consumes 900 mana. But if this costs 1,000…”

Character Window:

Name: Leeha / Race: Human

Occupation: Musketeer / Level: 248(0%)

Title: Shadow Hitman / Achievements: 143

HP: 8,200(5,740)

MP: 2440

Stats:

Strength 675(+590)

Agility 4000(+1,382)

Intelligence 488(+299)

Stamina 291(+198)

Mind 125(+115)

Remaining Stat points: 5

“Hmm, with my mana at only 2,440, if I put 5 points into Mind – it would be 2,490. Should I use Fear of the Familiar to make the remaining mana 1,490? How can I use this most effectively? Thoughts raced through his mind rapidly.

“Oh no!? It’s barely 10 points short!”

However, what came back was only despair. Summon Uncanny to the designated target only, fire a shot, and run away to Ghost in the Shell? Ghost in the Shell costs 1,500 mana. 10 short.

What if I summon Uncanny publicly and apply it to the main target and accompanying targets? Fire a shot at the main target with Curve Shot and clear the surroundings with scattered bullet shots?

Curve Shot costs 900 mana, and Scattered Bullets costs 600. Still, 10 short with 1,500.

“Darn it! Should have invested in Mind a bit more!”