Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Kyakya, why are you calling, Golden lizard! My explosive skills―”

“One target remains.”

“―wha, what?”

It was Bailephus who generated the targets.

He was never going to cluster the targets together for easy shooting, especially for someone like Luger who mocked him as a “Golden lizard”.

Among the targets spread as widely across the shooting range as possible, one remained out of the explosion’s radius!

“Wait a minute! What’s this? Why― why spread them so widely―”

“It’s within the range. Let’s proceed to the next.”

As Bailephus shoved Luger aside to resume the contest, Leeha had to stifle his laughter to continue.

“Ahem, okay! The first shooter Luger is eliminated, and the second shooter is―”

“I’ll do it.”

『Rapidfire』 Kidd.

Kidd had already drawn a Crimson Geko from his holster and set his hat aside solemnly.

Seeing his unusually serious face even made Leeha feel tense.

“Second shooter! Are you ready?”

Kidd nodded at Leeha’s question. He attached one Crimson Geko to his waist.

’30 meters is quite a distance…’

In reality, there were rapid-fire revolver competitions, but the targets were typically no more than 10 meters away.

Was he planning to rely solely on his intuition to shoot at a distance almost three times that, without using the sights?

“Then, Bailephus, get ready! Three, two, one― Go―!”

─────────────…….

“―Go― wha― Whoa!?”

Before the “Go” command was fully out, Kidd had already turned. Bailephus, blinking, checked where the barrier was forming.

There was nothing there anymore.

As Kidd picked up his hat and put it back on, he asked Leeha.

“Five shots. How long did it take?”

No one heard five distinct shots. The sound of shots had blended into one, lingering in the players’ ears.

It was an almost immeasurable moment.

* * *

“Uhhh… Kidd.”

“It was nothing.”

Browless called Kidd with a look of admiration. Kidd spoke modestly, but he was confident of his victory.

“You! I could have done it with my 『Pierce』! If only I had used my 〈Acht-Acht〉―”

“I know. You could have undoubtedly destroyed all 30 targets.”

“… Grrr… Being recognized so easily feels even worse!”

Luger felt a mix of joy and frustration as he excitedly stood beside Kidd.

Leeha turned to ask Bailephus.

With his own senses, Leeha couldn’t confirm the result that seemed “almost simultaneous.”

“Bailephus-nim…?”

“If my calculations are correct… all five barriers disappeared in 0.043 seconds.”

“… What?”

“Uhm, no, I mean… I’m double-checking the mana flow and where it breaks― but the mana disconnect occurred about 0.0086 seconds after the first barrier disappeared.”

This meant that it didn’t even take 0.01 seconds to fire a single revolver round.

The total time Kidd took to shoot all five bullets and hit the targets was a mere 0.043 seconds.

‘One blink of an eye is about 0.1 seconds, roughly 100 milliseconds. But― for shooting…’

To fire five rounds in approximately 43 milliseconds? Theoretically speaking, in the time it takes to blink, he could fire ten shots and still have 14 milliseconds left?

“Insane…”

And it wasn’t even an automatic shooter?

It wasn’t continuous fire. It required sequential action—cocking and pulling the trigger for each shot.

Even with both hands, could fanning the hammer reach such an extreme speed?

The earnest 『Rapidfire』 exceeded the party’s realm of understanding. Even Alexander watched Kidd with a shocked expression, making it no exaggeration.

“Then, can I go next, senior Leeha?”

“What?! Ah! Yes, it’s Kyle’s turn! Bailephus-nim! Please prepare!”

Even Elizabeth and Brown were engrossed in observing Kidd. Among them, Kyle alone maintained his composure.

Kyle adopted a standing shooting position.

He, too, did not particularly aim. Leeha assumed this was because the target’s spawning locations were random anyway.

“Then, three, two, one―”

“Go ahead.”

“―Go!”

As soon as Leeha gave the signal, he heard Kyle mutter softly.

───────……!!!!

“What… is this?”

All five barriers were shattered into pieces.

‘It’s not even five shots. The number of shell casings on the ground…’

Leeha felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

He had thought this would be a good opportunity to properly assess the skills of not only Kyle but also Luger and Kidd. That’s why he had come up with this playful challenge.

However, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had somehow made a mistake.

‘… Kyle has changed somehow.’

The reason for this feeling was Kyle’s expression.

The young man who used to shyly withdraw, saying, ‘Do I really have to do this, senior?’ was no longer there.

“How long did it take me, dragon-nim? Did I win?”

Watching the 《Arcane Sniper》 fixated on the outcome, Leeha had to keep a composed expression as much as possible.

Kidd was frowning while Luger was so shocked that he was almost rubbing his face in astonishment, but it was not the time to be surprised yet.

“……0.042 seconds.”

“Impossible! A record like that can’t exist! There’s no way a rapid-fire shot faster than my fanning in 〈High Noon〉 mode can exist―”

“The mana’s records are clear, Kidd. And it wasn’t rapid fire.”

Kidd protested immediately to Bailephus, but the Gold Dragon shook his head.

“If it wasn’t rapid fire, then what?”

“It was a single shot.”

“What’s that―”

“What!? Ha!”

Luger, who was observing beside them, was so astonished that he almost lost the strength to stand.

“This is driving me crazy. Are you telling me a single bullet danced around and shattered all those barriers? And it’s stronger than my penetration but faster than that guy’s rapid fire? No, it’s not just faster; how did a single shot break all five?”

No one could provide an answer to Luger’s question.

Even Browless, Kyle’s parents Brown and Elizabeth, wore expressions of bewilderment.

For the strongest NPCs, Kidd’s 『Rapidfire』 was already considered perfect, and anything faster was deemed physically impossible.

But there existed a bullet faster than that?

And it didn’t shoot five times; it took out five targets with one shot?

‘Could it be… that?’

Leeha swallowed dryly. Could that be 《Arcane Bullet》?

“Ah?”

It seemed that even Browless and the other NPCs couldn’t articulate their thoughts, perhaps running a similar algorithm in their minds.

To shoot a 《Arcane Bullet》 bullet at such a trivial event?!

“Kyle!”

“Yes?”

“That, that right now… is it?”

“Yes? That?”

“You didn’t… shoot it, did you?”

Unable to mention the word “Arcane Bullet”, Leeha could only ask obliquely. Kyle’s face brightened with a knowing smile.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then?”

“It’s not a Arcane Bullet, but, they say, it could have that kind of power.”

“That kind of power? Using an ordinary bullet, without skills or magic, it can do that?”

“Yes.”

Leeha felt a chill run down his back as he listened to Kyle’s words.

At least, Kyle’s shot wasn’t a Arcane Bullet. Because of that, Leeha was certain.

The reason why every shooter is captivated by Arcane Bullet’s gun.

The power of Zamiel that could mesmerize all shooters.

‘And Kyle… was continuously exposed to such power.’

Kyle was someone who couldn’t even speak properly until yesterday.

‘But that was a brain issue. It was damage restricting outward expression. Kaztor’s curse rendered Kyle speechless―’

Zamiel isn’t a being that communicates externally, is it?

What if Kyle had been in continuous communication with Zamiel?

‘From when he was a fetus, perhaps?’

Leeha stared at Kyle with shocked eyes.

Kyle calmly pulled back the bolt of his bolt-action rifle and reloaded a single bullet.

“It seemed like the match was already decided with two wins… what about 『Accuracy』? Could Senior Leeha handle it?”

The face of the sickly pretty boy had completely disappeared.

Standing there was a shooter who seemed to embody all the strength of the Three Musketeers.

* * *

“Who said the match was over! There’s still 『Accuracy』 left!”

“… There’s no point in behaving disgracefully, Luger. We’ve lost.”

『Pierce』, 『Rapidfire』, 『Accuracy』. The match consisted of just three rounds.

With Kyle having won two out of the three, even if Luger or Kidd won the remaining 『Accuracy』, they couldn’t reach the victory condition initially decided by Leeha.

“What? You fool! Are you scared after losing once? Running away like this—… Cough, damn it!”

Luger turned his back after pushing Kidd.

At that moment, he realized Kidd wasn’t retreating out of fear.

“Kyle, it’s your victory. The third ticket to Laputa is yours.”

Kidd’s eyes blazed as if sparks might fly out at any moment.

Kidd glanced at Leeha briefly while looking at Kyle. It wasn’t a provocative look.

Kidd was concerned about Leeha.

―Fighting here won’t end well.

―Do you think I will lose?

―Can you break through five barriers with a single bullet? If your 〈Curve Shot〉 is that well-mastered and you can control mana flow that quickly, then it might be worth attempting.

The simplest way to hit five targets with one bullet was, of course, the 〈Curve Shot〉.

‘It was mentioned in the skill description for Curve Shot. It can bend enough to reach out of the labyrinth from the center. But that’s…’

It required constant sensing and controlling of mana flow. If the user was at Ram Hwajung’s level, it might be possible.

For Leeha, this task was still immensely challenging.

More importantly, unlike ordinary magic, a ‘bullet’ had to be physically controlled.

‘Especially a bullet with an initial velocity of 830 meters per second.’

Kyle managed to do it.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t Kyle who did it.

‘It was Zamiel who controlled it. Kyle didn’t even use 〈Curve Shot〉.’

Zamiel spoke as if entrusting everything to himself.

Leeha thought of Francis, who was friends but could not separate from Zamiel despite his hate, and Max, who considered Zamiel a mortal enemy but used his power nonetheless.

Their attitudes towards Zamiel were starkly different.

While friendly, even Francis wanted to escape Zamiel’s suffering, curse, and shackles.

At least the two of them, 《Arcane Snipers》, had something in common.

‘But Kyle… Maybe…’

A young man who had never properly expressed himself since birth.

Why did Elizabeth treat the 20-year-old young man like a baby?

What influence did Zamiel have on Kyle, who had always been locked within his inner world?

‘And what kind of existence was Zamiel intended to be for Kyle? How was he set up?’

Leeha’s mind was clouded with confusion.

Kyle looked at Leeha quietly, reflecting his complex thoughts.

“What are you going to do, senior?”

“Ahem! Wow, impressive. You’re amazing, Kyle. Honestly, I’d love to compete in 『Accuracy』 here, but… unfortunately, we don’t have much time. Since the match is decided, we should get going today, right? Ulrek?”

“Hmm?”

“See, even Ulrek says we should go. Here! The third ticket to Laputa is yours, Kyle.”

Even though Ulrek hadn’t said a word, Leeha hurriedly started taking action.

By adding NPC Kyle’s name through the system, the third Laputa ticket owner was established.

No player would be able to claim the Hall of Fame achievement for Laputa.

With the situation rapidly resolving, the Three Musketeers of the previous generation exchanged glances.

“Hmm… Well done, both of you.”

Browless looked more amazed at Kyle than angry at Kidd or Luger’s skills.

“Wow, our son is amazing.”

“Didn’t I do well, mother?”

“W-wonderful… Kyle.”

Elizabeth and Brown were also flustered by their son’s impeccable skills.

The present generation of Three Musketeers fully understood their mixed feelings of astonishment and bewilderment.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s get going! I’ll add the names right now!”

Leeha swiftly changed the atmosphere and took the lead, adding the names of the party members.

“I’m excited!”

“Finally… Laputa.”

Fernand and Alexander responded to Leeha, but the overall mood remained unchanged.

From beside Ulrek, a dinosaur looked on at the scene.