Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

Beyond the rising spray, the black stain of the kraken retreating deeper below could be seen.

“Nervous? Why should I be nervous?”

[Haha, is that so?]

Alexander’s calm demeanor made Bailephus laugh heartily.

Neither Luger’s skill which unleashed incredible force nor Kidd’s skill, which brought forth firepower reminiscent of a gatling gun to the medieval Middle Earth setting, could unsettle Alexander.

“Huh?”

On the contrary, the real tension lay elsewhere.

Shi– Sha-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.

“Whoah…!”

“S-Serpents are rising!”

Like strands of seaweed floating on the water, two serpents were slowly rising. Despair-laden anxiety spread across the Blue Marlin and New Serpent. How could they stop them now? Summoning Bailephus would mean the ships would be destroyed by the Krakens. It seemed they had to rely solely on the users’ strength.

However, the users were not fully recovered yet, and their skills were still in cooldown.

At that moment, everyone – from rankers like Alexander, Lee Jiwon, and Ram Hwajung to all other users – was momentarily frozen in thought.

“Phew… Please, if anyone has an escape scroll, let me know. If I safely leave, I’ll contact you. Give me your number or something.”

Amidst this, a user began stretching his wrists and ankles, stepping forward. He looked somewhat naive and visibly nervous. A sturdy figure with a playful face, an oddly fitting combination.

“Uh… Kijung-ssi?”

Bobae’s eyes widened in surprise. Watching Kijung steady his breath, and grip his weapon and shield, he too cracked a small smile.

“How long can I last if I tank?”

“What are you-“

“E-Even if I can just buy us 10 minutes, that should be enough to gain some distance, right?”

“What! That’s insane! I can’t allow this.” 

Bobae immediately understood Kijung’s plan. The only tanker among the current users was proposing to buy time. He might last for a while. He could buy a solid 5 minutes.

But what after that?

“Kijung-ssi, you will die! We can’t even come back and save you!”

100% certain death.

Yet Kijung’s eyes were resolute. 

“Someone has to do it, right? Haha, isn’t that so?” 

He knew what he was proposing. Bobae was speechless, looking at his face.

“Kikik, are they really brothers?”

“Even though they said they aren’t.”

Biyemi and Jin Gonggong also chimed in, voicing their disapproval just like Bobae.

“Kay, we can’t do without you. Considering the possibility of more creatures after the Serpents or even after reaching the New Continent… we need our hard tanker.”

Hyein too stepped up, grabbing Kijung’s arm.

But Kijung remained steadfast. If there were any other way, he would have taken it. But there wasn’t.

All ‘humans’ on both ships knew there was no other option.

“No, it’s not a hopeless idea. Hook! Will you take the wheel?”

“Uh… Captain Drake?”

But it wasn’t just ‘humans’ on the ships.

Drake handed the wheel to Hook and walked towards the railing where Kijung stood.

“Master Kay.”

“Yes, Captain Drake.”

“How long can you last?”

“I don’t know the exact strength of those Serpents, but… at least ten hits.”

Taoist Baeju and Taoist Mu, were healers who were also adept in close combat with significantly more stamina than average priests. Even they couldn’t withstand a single hit. But Kijung was confident he could take ten.

The surrounding users were astounded, but Kijung was not overestimating his abilities.

His armor was different from the Taoist brothers, and he could receive buffs.

‘Moreover, I have the sword given by Leeha-hyung..’

“Uh… Just hold for 3 minutes.”

“Three minutes?”

Did he understand the difference between ten hits and three minutes?

Before Kijung could respond, Drake had already begun his plan.

“Please.”

Whooooosh!

“Wha-“

Drake’s energy burst forth from beneath him, startling even Bailephus who was fending off the Krakens.

“What’s happening?”

[The aura of the Sea God?]

“The Sea God’s aura? Is Drake planning something?”

[It’s more than just planning. Drake is probably…]

Bailephus glanced briefly at the deck of the New Serpent ship.

Drake and the users around him glowed with a flickering blue light.

“Hey! Drake! You damned fool! What are you trying to do?!”

“Burke.”

“Hold the wheel, Drake! Don’t fool around, hold the wheel! We’re seafarers! Humans!”

Despite Burke’s bellowing voice from the other ship, his plea faded into futility. Drake paused to look at Burke handling the Blue Marlin’s wheel, but that was all.

He turned his head back towards the serpents.

“If you’re really human, then hold the wheeeeeeel!”

Burke’s cry, knowing his lifelong rival was about to do something, about to ‘transform,’ was in vain.

Sssssssssss—

Sha-ah-ah-ah—

“Three minutes… Rafaela, Taoist sirs, give me full buffs! And everyone else, get below deck! We can’t afford any mishaps now, hurry inside!”

What about the users if everyone went below? Their questions remained unanswered, but they had no choice. The only option left was to trust in Drake and Kijung, and pray.

As the users’ thoughts aligned, they rushed into the cabin with the NPCs. Only one person remained hesitating.

“Ki, Kijung-ssi!”

“Bobae! Go below before I get angry! You saw it yourself, arrows don’t work on them!”

Kijung raised his voice at Bobae for the first time.

“But…”

Bobae looked heartbroken. If they failed? Kijung’s journey would end. If lucky, he might respawn in the last town of the Old Continent, but he’d lose all the merits of being with the New Continent expedition. Bobae couldn’t bear to watch the man she cared for sacrifice himself.

“Don’t worry. Just go below. Sometimes when a man shows his brave side, it’s more charming to just hide and watch. Hee, Bobae, your cheeks have gotten chubbier.”

Kijung approached Bobe, grabbing her cheeks. Unresisting, Bobae didn’t push his hand away. Only Shin Nara from the Blue Marlin vaguely saw this.

“Alright. If I die, so be it! But if I succeed-“

“Haha, I get it! Don’t worry!”

As Kijung and Bobae exchanged glances, Rafaela and the other healers’ skills covered Kijung completely.

“Aja! Let’s die once today!” Kijung charged toward the black serpent approaching the deck of the New Serpent ship.

The first attack on Kijung, blocking Drake, wasn’t a tail whip.

Sha-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!

The black-scaled sea serpent opened its jaws wide enough to sever Kijung’s waist.

“Come at meeeeee!”

The event happened on the eighth day of entering the Sea of the Dragon Palace.

※ ※The black and white serpents had heads much larger than a human. The lightning-fast attack, twisting its neck, was enough to bite Kijung’s entire body, excluding his head.

The sound of armor crumpling could be heard even on the Blue Marlin. Not just the armor, Kijung’s face protruding from the serpent’s jaw was also severely contorted.

One thing Kijung and Leeha hadn’t disclosed was their synchronization rate.

For precise and reliable tanking, Kijung’s rate exceeded 50%.

The realism he felt in Middle Earth was even more intense than Leeha’s. The pain from the serpent’s teeth was far from negligible.

The users on the Blue Marlin hadn’t all gone below deck. A minimum defense force was necessary to handle the merfolk leaping onto the left deck. So, they saw Kijung being bitten clearly.

“Ki, Kijung!”

Shin Nara’s scream was so loud she covered her mouth with her hands.

“Don’t scream… Bobae might hear.”

Kijung barely turned his head to look at the Blue Marlin. Shin Nara’s face wasn’t visible.

“My vision’s okay. A 10% decrease isn’t as bad as I thought. Lucky my head wasn’t bitten.”

It looked as though a giant hand was gripping Kijung. But instead of a soft hand, it was the razor-sharp teeth of a venomous sea serpent. It wa not a pleasant feeling for Kijung.

Crunch-!

The serpent’s teeth bit through the armor again, finding gaps to pierce. Kijung could distinctly feel the cold, sharp objects drilling into his skin.

“So, a snake is a snake after all.”

The combo of status ailments of [Poison]​​, [Bleed]​​, and [Stun]​​.

Considering that ordinary snakes and reptilian monsters usually possess one type of venom, the serpent truly lived up to its name as a formidable monster. 

“If it weren’t for the sword Leeha-hyung gave me, I would’ve been in real trouble. If I had been stunned in this situation, I’d definitely be dead.”

The serpent’s biting attack was classified as a ‘close-range attack’.

Thanks to the buff from the unnamed Paladin’s sword, this attack’s damage was effectively halved. Though the status ailments ​​ [Poison]​​, and [Bleed] and the damage itself were not trivial, not falling into a [Stun] was a massive relief for Kijung.

‘Kiki, well, even without the status ailments, being bitten by such a gigantic snake would knock anyone out from shock.’

Even in this situation, Kijung joked with himself to ease the tension, shaking his head. If he just stood there and watched the continuous damage take its toll, things could really turn dangerous.

“Get out quickly, Kijung-ssi!” 

Kijung: D-Don’t shout. Ah! Can you keep what you saw here a secret from Bobae-ssi…?

Even then, his concern about showing weakness in front of the woman he liked was perhaps a typical male sentiment.

Kijung quickly shot a glance at Shin Nara and began to exert all his strength.

“Damn snake… bastard!”

Sssssssssss—

The Black Serpent was baffled that its prey was still alive.

And not even unconscious? For the serpent, heralded as the strongest aquatic creature by Sea Bream, this was an incomprehensible response.

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