Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Click!

As the metallic sound echoed, the eyes of the surrounding Miyaw, who had been stiff, quickly darted around.

Rather than observing etiquette, it felt like an intimidation through the pressure of power, but Middle Earth was originally that kind of game.

“Petyr-ssi is the vice-captain of the Midnight Circus. Surely, you have the authority to let us meet the captain, right?”

Petyr’s eye wrinkles deepened further, but the Miyaw soon regained a smiling expression.

“Buihi! Fine. I’ll guide you. But no dragons.”

“Ha Leeha-nim! Without me—”

“It’s okay. Let’s go.”

—Are you sure about this?

Blaugrunn immediately whispered to Ha Leeha. Ha Leeha looked at him for a moment and nodded.

—They can’t kill me. Wait here.

—Understood.

Ha Leeha was confident.

Petyr still gave a brief glance at the Miyaw assassins who were in an abnormal status.

No special conversation took place, but Ha Leeha could tell that they were whispering something to each other.

“Buphit! Shall we go? Going? Gonna go?”

“Hmm, talking to you gives me a headache.”

Ha Leeha followed Petyr who walked ahead.

Whether it was a concept or an actual mental illness, Petyr’s way of speaking was something Ha Leeha could never get used to.

* * *

Walking a bit further through what he thought was a forest, Ha Leeha encountered a clearing.

The large mobile tent spread out there was enough to make Ha Leeha’s heart race.

‘It really looks like a circus tent you see in movies. Come to think of it, there is a circus troupe in Daebudo too… Maybe I’ll visit there next time—’

Scree…!

Pssshhhhh──────

“Whoa!”

It was then that he heard the mechanical sound that blew away all distractions.

In addition to the sound of gas escaping from something, there was the noise of metal joints that seemed to need lubrication.

Of course, it wasn’t just the sound that was surprising.

“… Wow…”

“Bupihit, surpriiiiiise!”

Petyr struck a pose proudly, pointing at the mobile tent. The noise became louder, creating a complex harmony.

The reason for all this was simple: the mobile tent was ‘moving on its own.’

“The reason you can’t find the Midnight Circus tent… right? It’s a show for the audience, but no audience can come here… Because if even one outsider is detected, the tent moves.”

“Bingo, bingo, b, I, n, G, o!”

Petyr jumped and clapped his feet in excitement.

Ha Leeha also knew information about the Midnight Circus.

However, he was quite surprised as he had never imagined it would move in such a steampunk manner.

‘Even Madam Ju couldn’t pinpoint the exact location because of this. All she could do was track the movements of the Midnight Circus’s assassins and make educated guesses based on overlapping paths.’

After enjoying the look of surprise on Ha Leeha’s face, Petyr finally shouted at the moving tent.

The tent, which had been moving by itself, slowed down and stopped, and Petyr clapped twice into the air.

Clap, clap—!

As soon as that artificial sound came out, the entrance of the tent lifted. Inside, it was infinitely dark, and nothing could be seen.

“Bupihit, even Chiyou has never entered our stage.”

“I’m excited. I guess this makes me the first audience?”

“That’s right! Buphit, the first audience!”

Petyr, seemingly pleased with Ha Leeha’s phrasing, looked thrilled.

As Ha Leeha stepped into the dark mobile tent, the lights came on.

Wel─────Come──!

Fireworks exploded, fanfare sounded, and countless paper flowers scattered.

“Woohoooo, the land of dreams and hopes!”

“A place full of joy and surprises!”

Miyaw swinging on trapezes showcased tricks to each other, and there were those who stood on big balls doing handstands, juggling solely with their feet.

‘Unless you belong to the Midnight Circus, almost no one has seen this scene, right?!’ Ha Leeha looked at the scene as if he were at a real circus. It was already quite fascinating to see so many Miyaws, whether they were users or NPCs, but to see the Midnight Circus doing acts like a ‘real’ circus was astounding.

“However, your eyeballs will disappear!”

“Uwahihihihit!”

Of course, it was not a kind circus. With a bizarre greeting, the lights inside started to dim gradually. Although it was possible to see inside, the lighting was dimmer than expected, and Ha Leeha could observe their figures cool-headedly again.

Even those on the trapeze were attacking each other amidst the chaos. The Miyaws juggling while doing handstands were tossing and catching ‘daggers’.

“This is… a skill training ground.”

“Buhihit, you catch on quick! Very good!”

They wouldn’t perform a show for absent spectators. They were making bloody efforts to attack each other amidst the chaotic atmosphere or to get used to surprise attacks like those of Petyr. In the middle of them, Ha Leeha spotted a Miyaw with a large hat and a protruding belly. Clearly, the figure who looked like a Ringmaster was raising his staff in greeting towards Ha Leeha. Ha Leeha was about to bow but quickly glanced around. he Ringmaster of the Midnight Circus was the leader of an assassination group. Could such a person… really look like that? A pot-bellied man like that?

“The assassin hero of the Second Human-Demon War?”

If he had no information, he might have been fooled. But Ha Leeha had the information from the Holy Grill.

“Reaching there definitely won’t be easy. More importantly, he only talks to those he acknowledges. Surely… he’ll test you, Ha Leeha.”

He already heard this information from Jyu. Even if Petyr introduced them, he expected there would be something. It was just that their actions were faster than his predictions.

Ha Leeha turned swiftly while raising the muzzle of his gun.

“Kuh—”

Bang——!

The moment he felt a strong force striking his muzzle, the enemy’s attack was already aimed at his neck. When he was attacked holding the trigger and aiming, his right arm had to move almost as one with the Black Black. It meant it was flung up to the point where any defense was impossible.

But what about his left hand?

‘With that pattern, it’s tedious!’

After breaking the guard, they target the vital point! It was a known fact that the first attack pattern of an assassin was almost common. He quickly lowered the left hand that was gripping the muzzle to his waist and grabbed the dagger stuck in his belt.

‘Hup!’ Cheng——!

Sparks flew as the dagger clashed with claws.

“Hm, you might have caught me off guard before. You’re the Ringmaster, right?”

Ha Leeha’s eyes scanned the surroundings quickly. Given his position as a guest brought by the deputy Petyr, who would dare attack him here?

“Someone higher than Petyr.”

Ultimately, it could only be the Ringmaster.

“You’re quick.”

“My agility is much higher than most assassins.”

His agility stat alone was almost at the top level in Middle Earth. The Ringmaster withdrew the claws that were in a standoff and attempted to strike again.

『Myong myong!』

‘… Hmm?’

If it weren’t for the sharp object touching his waist and thigh, he would have continued testing Ha Leeha.

* * *

“If you move, I’ll stab you. No joke.”

Ha Leeha glared at the Miyaw presumed to be the Ringmaster.

Drawing all of his opponent’s attention towards himself, Jellypong leveraged only a fraction of its tentacles.

It was tantamount to an attack arriving from the ‘blind spot of perception.’

Unless one knew what Jellypong was or understood its capabilities, very few could fend off Jellypong’s surprise counterattack in close combat.

“Buhiit? Bpuheuhut, what a surprise!?”

Petyr, who stood beside Ha Leeha, was no different.

Even a third party observing nearby failed to fully capture Jellypong’s movements, so how would the attacker fare?

The person who attacked Ha Leeha also looked at him with wide eyes.

“An unexpected defense… no, should I call it an attack?”

It was a low and rather heavy voice.

Finally, Ha Leeha could scrutinize his face closely.

The Ringmaster of the Midnight Circus was from the Miyaw race.

With hair entirely black, eyes exuding a unique ferocity akin to a ‘black panther’, he was a remarkable Miyaw.

Judging by his appearance alone, he exuded an aura sharper and more overwhelming than any leader Ha Leeha had ever encountered.

“But—”

Pop—!

“Jellypong! Block it—”

『Myaaaaang!』

His backflip was faster than Jellypong’s thrust.

Since he must not kill, Jellypong targeted non-vital parts as instructed by Ha Leeha, yet it couldn’t even pierce those areas.

‘Quick. As expected of the assassination hero. Even when aiming for non-vital areas, to avoid focusing on defense—’

Even the relatively less defended areas were perfectly evaded by him. Should Ha Leeha employ another attack method to subdue him?

The moment Ha Leeha tried to lift the Black Bass, he leaped and grabbed the grip of the aerial trapeze hanging from the ceiling.

With an immensely relaxed expression, the Ringmaster looked down at Ha Leeha, who immediately aimed at him.

‘Dodging in midair should be harder, this time for sure—’

“You can’t evade this time! If this is a test, it’s over!”

He couldn’t dodge Ha Leeha’s firing midair!

At that very moment, Ha Leeha’s only concern was, ‘What if the Ringmaster dies from my bullet?’ which demonstrated the perfect timing of his aim.

Perhaps the Ringmaster also realized this.

Still with a serious face and in a low voice, he spoke to Ha Leeha.

“You’ve grown much. Surprise… passed.”

“…What? Grown?”

The fact that a sound similar to Petyr’s came from him was unfortunate to Ha Leeha.

The information from the Holy Grill wasn’t wrong.

It just lacked a bit.

The Ringmaster of the Midnight Circus wasn’t testing if Ha Leeha could evade or perfectly counterattack him.

“I want that pudding.”

The test subject was, as per their motto, ‘surprising the Ringmaster’.

* * *

He released the grip of the aerial trapeze and landed.

The grip had to consider the grandeur of the person on the trapeze, so it was at quite a height even in this large tent.

‘To end with a backflip and leap up there was amazing, but the landing—’

The landing made no sound at all.

‘—is even more astonishing.’

Even if he had fallen onto a cushion or safety net, the landing wouldn’t have been as silent as his current one.

He slowly walked towards Ha Leeha, nodding his head.

“A prey running into my mouth is refreshing, and this kind of defense is impressive. Fun.”

It was an expression not enjoyable at all, with a voice that made it unclear if there was any sincerity.

Was this also a joke?

Hearing his baritone voice making his character even more perplexing, Ha Leeha momentarily hesitated but soon collected himself and greeted him.

“Ahem, nice to meet you.”

“This is not our first time, is it? Haven’t you killed countless of our members, Ha Leeha?”

Ha Leeha tensed up.

He came alone this far as he was confident the Ringmaster would listen to his proposal.

‘But in this combat mode, it looks like I’ll have to engage once more to make him listen.’

He wouldn’t be easily struck down by Jellypong’s counterattack now that his attack patterns were revealed.

Resolving to show his strength even if it meant using 〈combat mode〉, Ha Leeha answered him.

“…They were targeting my life. And my life is more precious than theirs.”

As soon as Ha Leeha finished his sentence, he extended his hand. Ha Leeha was about to command Jellypong.

“Fair point. I am Ringmaster Quidam.”

“Jelly— What?”

But it was merely an offer for a handshake. Hastily holding back Jellypong, Ha Leeha looked bewildered.