Matan’s Shooter

“But still… the risk—”

“It will be possible. Considering that His Holiness the Pope bestowed such a buff, and that all future party members will similarly be buffed… it surely means it’s a feasible quest, hence he’s pushing us forward.”

Kijung’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Raphaela.

Raphaela paused for a moment, surprised by Kijung’s words, then soon smiled faintly.

“… If an ordinary person had said that, I would have thought they were being extremely pretentious.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s because he’s an NPC. Showing such faith in Cardinal Romero, or rather, Pope Urban II… if it were anyone else, I’d think it was pretentious. But looking into Master Kay’s eyes, it doesn’t seem like it.”

“Wha!? Th-that Cardinal Romero is— ah, of course, he’s an NPC! It’s just that, you know, there’s a certain… character? Calling it a programmed personality feels a bit awkward, but anyway, that—”

“Pfft!”

Kijung, who had been rambling incoherently, finally shut his mouth.

His face was already red with embarrassment.

“Alright.”

“What?”

“If Master Kay’s faith were simple, he couldn’t have become the first user Cardinal and a 〈Holy Knight〉. The same goes for the Byulcho Guild. I believe there is a calculated faith behind it. It’s a bit unsettling, but we have no choice but to attempt this mission, even if it means risking our lives.”

Taken aback by Raphaela’s clear assertion, Kijung could not refute her.

‘I had no calculations behind it’, he thought, worried that saying so might change her attitude.

“Then where do we find Pyrot-Cocri? First—”

“Oh! I’ll take care of that.”

“Master Kay? Do you have any idea where to start?”

“Well, sort of. Raphaela-nim, please consider any remaining party formations. I also have a few in mind, so let’s reconvene and discuss. And if you have time, please check the Vatican Library for any materials on Pyrot-Cocri.”

Kijung stood up.

Raphaela watched him with a look that seemed to question whether he was the same person who had been struggling to speak just moments ago.

“Then, I’ll contact you again within two days in Middle Earth time.”

Kijung added Raphaela as a friend and quickly logged out.

As soon as he returned to reality, there was only one person he intended to find.

* * *

“So, Raphaela’s that kind of character? The saintess?”

– Saintess, my foot! Seriously, it’s no joke. Like, wow, I mean, what am I, an accountant? Even accountants wouldn’t calculate everything that meticulously.

“Do you even know what an accountant does?”

– Hyung! I’m a business major.

“… Just a moment ago, you were like, ‘an accountant?’ raising your tone, and now this.”

Leeha made light-hearted jokes with Kijung to lift the mood. Both of them laughed on the call, but their faces weren’t particularly bright.

‘The Pyrot-Cocri quest, huh…’

Leeha had already heard all the details about the quest from Kijung, and he too had the same initial thoughts as Raphaela.

‘No matter how much stronger Kijung has gotten… can one party take it down?’

Leeha carefully envisioned the situation.

While Kijung transformed and charged, others would attack, and Leeha would snipe when the opportunity arose?

‘The picture forms, but it’s impossible. Especially since they’ll know my location immediately, simply joining Kijung’s party would invite danger.’

– Hyung, are you really not going? Though I appreciate you giving me a hint on where Pyrot-Cocri might be…

“It’s not that I don’t want to… I’m just not sure yet. Like I said, I have a penalty. It’ll be the same when you’re tackling it. If party members die, it might not just be a simple death.”

It’s not just about losing allies. Those fallen allies would stand up as enemies.

Especially if he himself were the target?

‘It would be a nightmare for her to hunt me down, calling me her toy… it’s not just a regular monster, there’s no ‘absolute’ assumption here. There’s no guarantee of not dying.’

Leeha’s honest feelings were that he couldn’t bear the idea of creating an undead Ha Leeha with over 120% capabilities.

More importantly, he needed to raise Black Bass’s charge rate for 〈White Reaper〉.

Though he worried about Kijung, he had too little time left to get hung up on a problem with no clear solution.

― Alright, it’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do. I need to get stronger so I can help you out later.

“Hehe, you’re a real professional kimchi soup drinker. Same goes for Pyrot-Cocri. I can’t join the party, but if you need any help, just let me know. I’ll shake down the Intelligence Guild and everywhere else for you.”

― Oh! Come to think of it, that’s a good idea! Then, hyung, just participate as a substitute.

Kijung’s voice brightened quickly.

“And I’ll talk to Petyr too. He’ll listen to my whisper. Same with Lee Jiwon.”

― Yeah. I’d appreciate it if you could do that. Raphaela belongs to Minis, so there won’t be any fights. If Lee Jiwon gets a quest to hunt Pyrot-Cocri as a second job change, that would be amazing.

“Keke, it won’t be that easy. Lee Jiwon has a low probability, but try persuading Petyr. Regardless of rankings, just bringing in Petyr would mean securing the Midnight Circus on our side.”

― I knew calling you was the right choice. This is more helpful than a fight.

Kijung’s admiration wasn’t mere flattery, causing Leeha to feel quite bashful.

“That’s enough, man. You’ll need to eat well and rest if you want to handle such quests without logging out.”

― I just woke up, but sure. You should get some sleep, hyung.

“Okay. I’m going to sleep now.”

Leeha logged out specifically to get some rest.

He needed to conserve his energy for a ‘grind’ to charge the Black Bass and to give some time to Quidam, the leader of the Midnight Circus.

He lay down after finishing his call with Kijung.

‘Bluebeard, Ghibrid, Pyrot-Cocri… Kaztor. Chiyou isn’t easy either.’

Who were his current enemies?

Who did he have to fight?

What did he need to do?

Leeha sighed and began categorizing his enemies. Compared to the past, it felt easier to organize his thoughts.

‘Indeed, it’s much better than before when everyone was scattered, and I didn’t know who was on whose side or what their goals were.’

They were gathered under the massive framework of the Demon King’s Fragment.

As long as they didn’t launch a massive invasion of the Western New Continent, they would be securing key bases somewhere in the Eastern New Continent, gathering chimera armies.

‘Thanks to the 〈Guerrilla〉 activities of the paleo and the 〈Sacred Alliance〉, I can predict the fronts… All the battles will happen around the Corrupted World Tree’s Forest.’

Looking at it that way?

‘It might actually be good that Kijung got the Pyrot-Cocri quest.’

There were people who could handle the old continent’s troubles.

Considering the success rate of the quest and compatibility with Pyrot-Cocri, it was better for users with holy power to take on the task.

Unless Gaza City faced a special threat, there was no need for Leeha to get involved on the old continent.

“Then I’ll…”

Leeha rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes.

“…head to the New Continent.”

Black Bass’s quest and pursuit of the enemies.

Leeha felt that this marked the beginning of a significant battle.

Meanwhile, Kijung reconnected to Middle Earth.

About 14 hours had passed in Middle Earth, and Raphaela had already recruited a member.

“Uh… that person is―”

“If we’re not just attacking the enemy’s lair but need to ‘find and kill’ someone, having this person with us will be a great help.”

Raphaela said, leaning on the shoulder of the woman next to her.

Even with her eyes covered, Kijung could tell what expression the woman had.

The woman, seemingly embarrassed, glanced around Kijung and his surroundings.

She wore a blindfold but didn’t appear hindered in gameplay.

A friend of Raphaela’s from their New Continent expedition.

“Rubini?”

Rubini, known as the Seer, 〈Doctor Doom〉 of the Oracle job, stood there.

“You don’t have to include me in the quest party. I’m satisfied if I can just be of help to you all. My combat skills aren’t exceptional… I’ll do my best to help you find Pyrot-Cocri.”

Listening to Rubini, Kijung showed a bewildered expression as Raphaela gave him a thumbs-up.

The party had only five members. And Rubini had sufficient abilities to join the party.

Despite this, Raphaela hadn’t called her to include her in the core group, but just to play the role of a ‘guide’?

‘Amazing! Does that mean the remaining slots will be filled with more definite and powerful combat personnel!?’

Thinking that Raphaela might be faster in calculations than anyone else, Kijung thanked Rubini.

“Thank you for speaking first. Even if you can’t be a party member, I’ll make sure to share the quest rewards with you, Rubini―”

“But, um… could I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

As Kijung hesitated to speak, Rubini interrupted him, mumbling.

Raphaela quickly tapped Luibini’s shoulder and laughed.

“That might not be the best thing to ask, nuna.”

“But, still― I’m curious…”

How could Luibini have been convinced to volunteer as an assistant?

Kijung tilted his head, listening to the conversation between the two women.

“Sure, ask anything. This isn’t exactly a safe quest, so it’s important to know if there’s any potential danger―”

“It’s not that. I mean, um…”

Just as Kijung was beginning to feel frustrated watching Luibini stammering, she finally got to the heart of the matter.

“Is… Ha Leeha-nim coming?”

“Excuse me?”

Kijung was momentarily flustered but then understood Luibini’s intention through Raphaela’s peculiar chuckle.

‘Hyung… you’re really lucky, aren’t you?’

One powerful ally had joined the quest to find Pyrot-Cocri.

* * *

The first thing Leeha checked when logging in was the charging rate.

Since confirming that Black Bass had awakened, it was the first time the in-game date had changed since then.

“Well, I expected it. Of course, that’s what they assumed. It was clear from the way they described it as waking up at over 30% and sleeping at under 10%…”

〈Awakened Black Bass (1st Enhancement – Magma)〉

(Non-tradable)

Additional Effect―3: Awakens when charge rate is over 30%

Sleeps when charge rate is under 10%

Charge Rate: 0%

“How could it drop to 0%?”

Not just a 1-2% drop but down to zero?

The decrease in charge rate was progressing faster than Leeha had anticipated.

‘The 4% it had was because we defeated the 〈Gigantic Moth〉. We got just 4% from defeating a field boss over level 300, and now it’s zero within a day―’

“Ha Leeha-nim! Over there―”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Yeah, I see it.”

Before Blaugrunn could finish speaking, Leeha fired at the monster he had spotted.

In the grassland about 330 meters away, the shell of a crawling Rhinodillo shattered.

When he first encountered a Rhinodillo, not even Luger’s attacks could penetrate its shell.

‘It wasn’t a skill attack, just a normal one but still, it implies that my regular attack now is stronger than Luger’s 『Pierce』 back then…’

Leeha listened to the Rhinodillo’s wail with mixed feelings.

“Annoying.”

Though it looked like an insect, it actually had an attack pattern similar to a rhino charging while standing.

For Leeha, who understood everything about the creature, killing it wasn’t particularly difficult.

Attacking it once to provoke it, then when it stood up, targeting its underbelly to eviscerate its intestines would do the trick.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With the sound of gunfire, the massive body of the Rhinodillo collapsed.

Leeha tensed momentarily, scanning the surroundings but soon smiled contentedly.

‘It worked.’

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