Matan’s Shooter

“I thought it would be bright, but it’s dark.”

Leeha smiled as he opened the door to the academy. The dark hallway was all too familiar now as the blackout curtain blocked the sunlight.

“Hello, director- huh?”

There was no one in the room. At that moment, Leeha heard a gunshot.

Bang–!

“Oh?”

Gunshot at the Musketeer Academy was normal in a way. Everyone had to train, do quests, and raise their skill level.

However,  musketeer users were rare in Middle Earth.

‘Oh, great. Are they new?’

The low-level man holding a musket while moaning at the training ground couldn’t help but feel strange. It was because of Browless’s appearance with his arms crossed and sharp eyes.

‘It’s been a while. That look in his eyes and the way he speaks makes makes me recall how nervous I was before.’

Now that there were other people under Browless’s tutelage like Leeha and Kidd, Leeha somehow missed his strict nature that he would not be able to experience again. Of course, it didn’t mean that he wanted to go through it again.

“You’re lucky you were able to get all the way to the capital. Did you catch the Golden Eagle with that kind of skill?”

“Huu, this is crazy. Why is he like this?”

“With such an attitude, the gunpowder will only be wasted. If you have a lot of money to burn, then continue to be like that-”

“Haha, hello, director-nim!”

“Hmm?” “Oh?”

Leeha approached with a smile. The user and even Browless was surprised for a moment.

“Ah, you’re testing a newcomer, it won’t be for nothing.”

“Leeha-kun. You……. You’ve improved a lot-”

“Wow! Ha Leeha! Ha Leeha!! You’re Ha Leeha, right!? Awesome!!!”

As he stopped talking, the user jumped.

“I played as a musketeer after watching your video! Wow! Please sign! Please sign my musket-”

“……If you don’t go back to your place right away and finish 50 shots, I will expel you.”

“一Uh一 yes.”

Of course, it was impossible to be giddy in front of Browless.

Browless sent the user back to the firing range and moved into the building with Leeha.

Leeha was happy that the user recognized him, but he was happier to see Browless’s reaction.

‘You’ve improved a lot. Hehe, my level increased so much that the director said that.’

When was the last time I saw him? Leeha had been through a lot to make his level and stats soar…… It was to the point that it was surprising even from an NPC’s perspective.

Only after entering the director’s room did Browless glance at Leeha’s musket. When he found a gun of a different color from the last time and even a scope attached to it, the corner of Browless’s lips couldn’t help but rise slightly.

“It’s pretty obvious why you came today.”

“As expected. You know right away.”

Leeha examined the state of the Hummingbird, which he had already checked more than a hundred times. There was no problem.

“Miss Elizabeth’s Will…… I will take it.”

“I’ve been waiting for that.”

Browless took out a scroll from a book and handed one to Leeha.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Riip, two scrolls were torn at the same time. A long time after Leeha and Browless disappeared, the user entered the director’s room.

“I’m done- huh? What?”

No matter how much he searched for them, he didn’t find them…….

“What if the NPC did not return? Leeha left without even signing. Damn bastard.”

No matter how much he grumbled, there was nothing he could do. The user returned to the shooting range and continued practicing alone.

“Phew, this is……”

“It’s a place we used to go to when we were kids.”

Browless smiled. Leeha smiled thinking of what kind of childhood they had in a game that had only been available for less than a year. It was probably what was set up for NPCs.

They moved to somewhere near a cliff.

They were in a rugged terrain made of gravel and rocks. It was likely to be infested with monsters, but there were no users and monsters around.

If there was something unusual, it was the evidence stuck on the cliff in the canyon across it.

There were countless wooden boards grotesquely embedded in it.

‘This is very different from my expectations.’

How do they measure the distance of 444m?. Leeha expected it as well.

The easiest way was to put the targets within a certain interval and have Leeha hit one of them.

‘They have the same distance. I have to hit exactly one target of my own choice.’

In order to confuse him, the targets were not laid out between 400m and 500m.

The first target might be 444m away. It was also possible that the target 

was at 555m instead of 444m as a diversion.

‘It’s Middle Earth, so it is possible.’

Browless hasn’t said anything. He waited patiently while Leeha scanned his surroundings.

“Do I have to explain?”

“I should choose my target, and hit the target I picked – right?”

“You have three chances. Good luck.”

Browless nodded. Should I be thankful that it doesn’t have a time limit? Leeha shook his head and looked to the other side.

‘We are facing the cliff. Why did he choose a test site like this?’

Just because? Is he afraid that I would measure 444m with my footsteps? No, it was not like that. Leeha picked up a pebble. And threw it.

The pebble flew in a parabola and floated for a moment at the end of the canyon.

When Leeha looked at Browless, Browless smiled.

“Hmmm. This is too much, director.”

“What is too much? It should be enough. If it’s with your skill level.”

Wind!

The wind blowing between the cliffs was the variable of this test.

Woosh, from the moment he heard the sound of the wind, he got anxious, as expected, it was not an easy test.

“Well, I knew it.”

“What?”

“Isn’t assuming the worst-case scenario what a sniper does?”

The ‘assistant’ that helped him along with Jacheong wasn’t just called to measure the distance.

His occupation was a wind magician, and he created strong winds to disturb Leeha from sniping.

‘This is nothing compared to that wind. That person was out of his mind too. I don’t even understand why.’

When Leeha asked for wind to disturb him, he caused a typhoon with a speed of 35m/s, causing Leeha to roll around several times.

‘Actually, that person has also improved because of me. Because I knew  that he could control air volume and wind speed by controlling mana, not magic power.’

Ram Hwajeong knew it, but ordinary users did not know about this mana operation. The wizard who came to help Leeha realized the method, after that Leeha practiced at a wind speed between 10 to 20 m/s, and shot with winds that could break twigs in a grassland 

“Phew……. I would be lying if I said I am not nervous though. I’m glad my hands don’t sweat.”

“Haha, right.”

Leeha poured gunpowder and a bullet, and raised the Hummingbird. After overcoming multiple challenges and difficulties, he finally stood here.

“Let’s begin.”

“Okay.”

Browless nodded. It felt like the ground around him flashed for a moment.

It was now time to complete it.

The location of the shooter is already marked. Leeha calmly laid down in that position. A target of 444m must be found based on the designated position.

‘Eagle’s eye’

The scope was attached, but he didn’t use it at first. Calmly and slowly, Leeha carefully looked at each target, until the casting time of Eagle’s Eye was over.

The first hurdle was the countless targets, the second was the relentless wind. There might not have been a third trap.

‘Hmm?’

And he found one target. Unlike the nearby wooden board targets, the tree was dyed a little red.

This target had a different color, as if it was made from a different material of wood.

‘Right, that’s definitely 170 to 175 cm in size. They were all slightly different in length, but they were similar. Which one had a unique color?’

Leeha focused. It’s definitely over 430m. Less than 450m.

Leeha started to measure the distance of the red wooden board using the scope.

‘It’s close. Even with a scope it’s close. If this is really 444m……’

Leeha swallowed his saliva. The difference was very subtle even if they really were of different colors.

That target wasn’t bright red on the yellow wooden board, but it had a slightly different saturation at best.

‘Was I able to see it because of Eagle’s Eye?’

He might have considered it as luck in the past. He would have measured the wind direction and speed immediately. However, not now. Leeha was suspicious.

‘Should I check? I have three chances. If it isn’t the target after shooting at it once, I can still find another target after that.’

The wooden plank beyond the scope wobbled. He gathered the confidence to shoot. Once his mind was set on it, he was so focused that only the target caught his eyes.

If it was impossible to find the target at 444m, Leeha would have unconditionally pulled the trigger toward this target.

However, Leeha held back, he did not have three chances to shoot, but he had three chances to find the target. If he took the irregularity of the wind as a variable, he couldn’t pull the trigger recklessly. I have to move with the idea of hitting the target in one shot, after all, I am a sniper.’

Snipers did not have a second chance.

The words ‘One shot, one life’ was attached to the description of his previous weapons.

Leeha shook off his worries and used the scope to find the targets one by one.

There were six to seven targets beyond the scope that he was currently aiming at. One of them should be at 444m distance. There should be.

“huuuu……”

And finally, the Hummingbird stopped. Leeha’s muzzle, like a hummingbird flying between flowers in search of delicious honey, stopped in the air.

It pointed to a shabby-looking target beyond the pale red target. The wooden board was hard to verify whether it was there or not and was not even conspicuous.

Wind speed? Wind direction? He aimed.

Leeha, who aimed with both eyes opened, looked for signs with the other eye that did not touch the scope.

On the other side of the cliff, he could see the branches of the trees swaying as if they were dancing, rising from the cliff.

‘The branches flutter between the canyon. The direction of the leaves is south-southwest, the speed is around 9m/s. If I consider the distance, it would affect the trajectory by quite a bit.’

The muzzle, which was aimed at the faded wooden board with no characteristics, moved slightly upward and to the right.

‘There’s only one goal. I get one chance.’

This was a test that required shooting a target that was farther than the muzzle velocity. He knew that the bullet could move one or two clicks from where he aimed.

“Haaa……”

Leeha controlled his body by exhaling all the air circulating from his body.

He adjusted the height of his aim by half a head. Considering the influence of gravity, his aim would only reach less than 300m, but Leeha was confident.

‘Calm Mind, Snipe.’

And he quietly spoke the name of his skills, and pulled his finger. His index finger moved a cm, and it took 3 seconds to move that small distance.

Bang…….

The iron bullet was shot. The iron bullet, which went straight, ‘floated’ when it reached the area between the canyon.

The bullet, which was influenced by the wind as it floated, began to fall to the bottom left, like a curve in baseball, and the position where its movement completely stopped.

Ttak-!

A faded wooden plank was located.

Seeing the skill that could be called the pinnacle of downhill musket operation, Browless applauded.

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