Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

“However… if Captain Drake were to stay with us-“

“I’m sorry. You won’t see me again. However, these clothes will be necessary for ‘your’ journey. I’ll leave them behind.”

Shin Nara tried to hold onto him, but he didn’t listen. Fibiel, Minis, and figures from any nation couldn’t hold the current Drake back. Drake turned towards the serpents. Was it necessary to send him away like this?

‘He is an incredible power… Can’t anyone stop him? Well, even if I had a better view, it would be nice to at least bid him farewell.’

Amidst this, Chiyou’s head was turning quickly, but she, too, couldn’t conspicuously step forward in this situation. Sending off Drake as he became more distant, Kijung was the one who raised a hand to say goodbye.

“Captain!”

“Master Kay.”

Drake half-turned to look at Kijung. Many thoughts and words in Kijung’s mind were coming and going, disappearing. What should he say? Should he ask him to stay? Why did he have to leave? Should he at least ask where he’s going? 

But Drake, who made a resolution that Kijung alone seemed to hear, responded by simply raising his head slightly and bowing.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Expressing gratitude was the best Kijung could do. Drake responded by lifting his hat once while looking at Kijung. The mermaid, who left a clear impact with just one appearance, left with the serpents. As they plunged into the sea, the users made bitter expressions.

At the end of the deck, only the coat he wore was left.

“…It would have been nice if he had joined us until the end of the expedition.”

“There’s nothing harder than convincing someone who can’t be convinced. It might have been impossible.”

“Then where is Captain Drake going now?”

“Perhaps to the Dragon Palace?”

“Really? When he talked to Sea Bream, he said, ‘I came out on my own.’”

“I think the same. For reasons unknown, he became human to escape from the sea god. He probably won’t return to the Dragon Palace now.”

“But the Dragon Palace is in chaos now. The sea god is contaminated too. Maybe he wants to go back and do something?”

“No, I think the opposite. If the Dragon Palace is a mess, and the sea god is contaminated… it means it’s dangerous. So, wouldn’t he be even less likely to go back?”

The departure of Drake had a significant impact on the New Continent Expedition team. The users were pondering each of his words, trying to find any hint that might help them.

“Damn it, let’s not cling to someone who’s already left! That’s not the issue now! What about the storm? Who’s going to lead the New Serpent’s ship? We did manage to catch the Giant Albatross for some extra provisions, but we still can’t afford to hesitate!”

“Yeah, and if the fishmen find out that Captain Drake and the serpents left, they’ll definitely come again. There are those who escaped without us being able to kill them.”

Hook and Fernand summarized the situation. All the users, who had been whispering, fell silent. The one who left had left. Those who were still here had their own navigation schedules, and there was no room to pay attention to Drake’s whereabouts.

“Even if he has skills, we don’t have anyone to use them for now… In the end, we need Ha Leeha for this.”

Kijung sighed, and in a hushed voice, he muttered about the skill window. The reason for the silence was that he had been checking the achievement window. Challenging something impossible for a human to endure had its worth.

“Master Kay? Seriously, an achievement?”

“Oh, yes. I just received an achievement. Haha.”

Kijung laughed proudly, scratching his head. The reason for the silence until now was that he had been checking the achievement window!

“Kijung? Don’t tell me… an achievement…”

“Leeha-hyung is really greedy. He should have told me earlier if he had an achievement like this. I’ll let you know later, Bobae-ssi. No, Leeha-hyung probably doesn’t have my other achievement.”

[Recognized by the Sea God], a skill for breathing underwater, and another achievement related to Drake, as well as another achievement for enduring something while being hit by the serpents. 

Kijung received three achievements in exchange for his life, and the effects of these three achievements were beyond Kijung’s imagination.

“The mana consumption is no joke. Let me use it by squeezing out as much mana as possible. But even if I use it once, I probably won’t be able to use it for a while.”

Kijung checked the skill after putting on Drake’s coat. The mana consumption of [Perfect Storm] was at a level where a regular tanker could use it several times. Using it to the maximum was impossible, and even if he used it just enough for two ships to pass by, Kijung’s total MP wouldn’t allow him to use it several times a day.

“It’s better than nothing! Let’s use it once and think about it!”

“Yeah, and in the case of mana… I’ll give you mine.”

“Huh?”

“The exchange rate is bad, so I usually don’t use skills like this… but if it’s Master Kay, I’d be happy to give it to you.”

While Hook was urging Kijung, another person stepped forward from the users’ group. It was Saint Raphaella.

Looking somewhat embarrassed, she glanced at Kijung, lowering her head shyly whenever their eyes met. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Kijung who was confused but Bobaee..

“What, what’s that, Raphaella-ssi?”

“Huh? No, just… I find him reliable.”

“Who? Kijung? No! Reliable? Seriously, he’s completely unreliable!”

“Well, Raphaella-ssi?”

“No, um… just… he seems trustworthy.”

“Who says that? Kijung-ssi? No, Master Kay-ssi? No! Trustworthy? What!”

“Oh, Bobae-ssi?”

“No, uh, well, I mean…”

What did Raphaella’s actions mean? Bobae was confused, and her intentions didn’t work out as planned.

“Alright, then let’s leave the support for Master Kay to Raphaella. Everyone, return to your ships. Head towards the center at the highest speed before the fishmen arrive. Fernand, Hook! Operate the New Serpent.”

“Got it.”

“Damn, I knew it would come to this. We should have sent only one person from our country on the Blue Marlin.”

Hook took the helm himself. Without Drake, it would require extraordinary efforts to chase the Blue Marlin with the New Serpent’s ship.

“Are you ready? Let’s go! The range of [Perfect Storm] is… about this much?!”

Aaaaaah——–!

With Kijung’s skill activation, the clouds above their heads disappeared, and the two ships accelerated once again. From the entry into the Dragon Palace’s territory, where various incidents involving serpents, krakens, mermaids, and the son of the sea god had unfolded, it had been 8 days, and the overall navigation period, based on Kraven’s Harbor, was now on the 53rd day.

****

“Gororororo?”

“It’s fine. Since we’ve heard the news that the prince has returned, we can’t afford such luxury.”

“Gorororo…”

Drake only became a merman; it’s not like he’s returning to the Dragon Palace, but he didn’t want to repeat the same conversation multiple times.

About 10 days into the initial movement according to Middle Earth’s time, followed by a day of rest, and now, the second forced march had already passed 7 days. In other words, 63 days had passed in total, and it was the 18th day since entering the Dragon Palace’s territory, 10 days since the chaos erupted on the sea surface.

‘I can’t believe Drake became a mermaid. Seriously. Anyway, that ajussi has a talent for surprising people.’

Even while being carried by the mermaids, Leeha could confirm the details of the incident from various perspectives. Not only Kijung but also Shin Nara, Bobae, Kidd, Luger, Fernand, and others had shared the story with Leeha.

“Hehe, that Kijung… boasting like that, and then, ugh.”

Leeha suddenly remembered Kijung’s excited voice that was sending whispers of excitement. After putting on the coat he received from Drake, he had become a central figure in the expedition, somehow.

Of course, it wasn’t just because of the role of erasing the storm. The treatment towards Kijung had changed because his remarkable achievements had left a deep impression on both the users of the Blue Marlin and the New Serpent. However, the main character, Kijung, was still unaware of this.

“Well, two other achievements are envy-worthy. If I had stayed… No, anyway, it would have been impossible since I can’t tank.”

Leeha muttered to himself about the acquisition conditions and effects of an achievement he had just mentioned. One of them was derived from Drake forcing him to drink water.

“A+ grade achievement, [Let’s drink! Essence of the Water Spirit!]… literally means drinking the essence, right? Hmm, thinking about how that essence was ‘squeezed out’ doesn’t make it very appetizing. Maybe it’s Drake’s sweat?”

Although imagining how that essence was obtained felt somewhat disgusting, considering its ability:

Even during normal battles, the naturally recovering amount of health was perceivable, and having a brief respite between battles practically allowed for the recovery of all health. It granted an incredible ability: +300% HP and MP recovery speed outside of combat, and +50% HP and MP recovery speed during combat.

‘This ability is insane, but there’s another S-grade achievement, [A person who protects things more important than life], right? I could never obtain such an achievement.’

To Leeha, is there nothing more important than life? No, that was not it. It’s because the conditions for obtaining the achievement were structured to be impossible for anyone other than a tanker class.

Kijung, who had invested a considerable amount of stats in ‘Health,’ had a total HP slightly exceeding 50,000. However, during the battle in the Blue Marlin, his total HP, “inflated” by various health buffs from Raphaella and the Taoist brothers, was approximately 78,000.

“But the achievement’s acquisition condition is something like ‘Without receiving external health recovery, survive an attack of over 150,000 damage in a single battle’… Crazy, right? Anyway, who could do that?”

Even for the usual Kijung, it would have been impossible. With the buffs of Saint Raphaella, the raised health didn’t even reach 80,000, and he had to survive nearly twice that amount of damage.

The only reason he could achieve this feat was that Leeha had handed him a legendary-ranked sword, which had a -40% damage reduction for melee attacks. Although the total attack amount exceeded 150,000, when considering the shield and ‘damage reduction,’ the actual damage Kijung suffered was approximately 77,000. It might have been closer to 77,900, given the situation where he claimed he could hardly see at all.

Not only the legendary-ranked sword but also the shield Kijung originally carried had a damage reduction effect. Together with Kijung’s ‘talent,’ he managed to withstand it miraculously!

“With a total HP of 6,000… surviving 150,000, is unthinkable.” 

Kijung mentioned that he was the first to achieve it. This meant that not only the top 10 tanks but also any outsider famous for tanking couldn’t accomplish this achievement.

“It’s not just that I can’t endure 150,000. Even a single healing during the battle would end it, so it’s impossible in regular hunting. Opportunities are limited, and the conditions are strict. It’s S-grade difficulty.”

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