Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

‘And dragon scales contain the unique energy of each dragon’s breath! In other words, what’s stored in these scales is the power of a breath! The one remaining that I made is this!’

Due to being weak in close combat, Leeha created this item to compensate for that weakness!

“I’ll make good use of it, Blaugrun-ssi! Activate the [Force Barrier] and switch ON!”

Leeha activated a skill to protect himself and extended the stick toward the mermaid.

A bright blue spark flashed from the end of the short stick, where Blaugrun’s scale was attached.

“Wahaha-ha! Get ready to be zapped, you fishman bastard! Even in regular fishing, the most intense thing is electric fishing using batteries!”

Crackling——– Crackling

“Hakkyuut, hakook! Cok!”

It was rudimentary but by no means weak Middle Earth’s first [Electric Shock Device].

The mermaid panicked and thrashed in response to the lightning-like discharge of electrical energy.

But that was all.

“…Hakkit?”

The unharmed mermaids seemed perfectly fine.

“Huh? Bu, bugeureureureuk……”

Huh? No, that can’t be.

Leeha once again switched the device off and then extended it towards the mermaids, turning it back on.

Pachit, pachachacha——–!

With sparks, the electrical energy spewed out, and Leeha could clearly feel the tingling sensation of the strong voltage penetrating through the [Force Barrier]!

“Woah, the voltage is strong enough to penetrate through the [Force Barrier]! Clearly, electricity is being discharged, but-“

Even though the bottleneck had safety measures, there was an incredibly strong brain energy that could be felt by Leeha, the user. But why were the mermaids unharmed?

It was an unbelievable scene for Leeha.

He was well aware that using just a car battery could catch a wide range of river fish. “No matter how vast the sea is, shouldn’t the current reach that far?”

Leeha was unaware of one fact.

The fact that electric fishing works only in freshwater.

As monsters, mermaids had a body structure similar to fish, allowing Middle Earth to flip them over and make them float using magic that forcibly inserted air into their bladders.

Therefore, it was natural to implement the difference in electrical conductivity between freshwater and saltwater, considering that freshwater had a higher electrical conductivity than seawater. Fish have higher electrical conductivity and lower resistance in freshwater compared to seawater. Electricity naturally flowed towards places with higher electrical conductivity.

In other words, if one electrified freshwater, the electricity would be directed towards fish with higher electrical conductivity and lower resistance. However, in the sea?

Fish, which were once conductive in freshwater, would become a ‘strong resistance body’ in seawater, causing the electricity to flow away!

This meant that the electric energy generated with Blaugrun’s scale would simply vanish, heading towards the vast ocean, avoiding the mermaids’ bodies.

‘Huh? Huh-? Why?’

Although Leeha was still unaware of such facts, the bodies of the mermaids, who had been floating around in a daze, gradually began to right themselves.

The duration of the Bubble Shoot was coming to an end.

“Ha-Ha Leeha! What are you doing?! The fishmen will return to normal soon!”

“Korok, kororok, kororok…”

Leeha: I know that too… Wait, something’s strange, what is this? Surely, I recall – Kijung said that Lee Jiwon used an enormous lightning magic to burn and kill the mermaids.”

Leeha was familiar with the situation at that time. Although he had never used the item [Electric Shock Device] before, he had subtly believed in its effectiveness while moving underwater.

However, the current situation was different from back then.

Lee Jiwon had collected over ten rounds of energy by using his own sword as a lightning rod and then discharged it toward the mermaids in the underwater environment. The situation was quite different from what Leeha was experiencing now.

Lee Jiwon had gathered a massive amount of energy before releasing it, and the compressed voltage and heat were immense. If Blaugrun had transformed into the dragon form and breathed out a breath, it might have been somewhat similar.

However, that wasn’t the case now. The electrical energy coming from just one scale of the dragon was somewhat insufficient to exert force underwater.

‘Why isn’t it working? Did Bottleneck-ssi mess up when making it? Turn it on again! On! On!’

Pachit, patchatsuchu…

Of course, those who didn’t know the difference could only feel awkward looking at the large electric shock device Leeha was holding.

Why? Why isn’t the electricity shooting out? Oh, in fact, the voltage he felt from holding it was enough to make him shudder, so why were the mermaids fine?

“No, this- Hey, Bottleneck-ssi! Did you really make this like you made the flamethrower?”

If Bottleneck heard this, how unfair would he feel? But now, there was no time to think about such things. Blaugrun, who had been clinging to Anderson, shouted towards Leeha.

[Kyuuut, kyuuut!]

“Hakit, haquuuut-! Human, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’ll kill you!”

“Haquk, revenge! I won’t forgive you for fleeing down from the surface! Hakit! You won’t be lonely because your comrades on the surface will soon die too!”

The fishmen, who had been completely flipped over and disoriented, were now back on track. With just a few flicks of their tail fins, they rapidly accelerated and started closing in on Leeha.

“Buggrrr!”

Leeha frantically swam away from the fishmen, but there was no way for a human and a fish to compete in a speed race underwater. The fishmen swiftly caught up, raising bone weapons behind Leeha.

“Ingaaaaah-”

“Grrrrrr!”

Why did they say this?!

In a desperate attempt to avoid fatal strikes, Leeha glanced backward, and a shadow that blocked his view suddenly appeared.

“Dirty impurities, get out of the way!”

“Kkororok!”

Thud!

Sea Bream killed one fishman and protected Leeha’s back!

The sound of bone weapons clashing underwater was dull and faint.

“Hakik! Commander of the Sea God’s Guard! Hukut, the Sea God is on our side!”

“Kutkut, you’re also a mermaid! Hakkot! A subordinate of the fishman! Hakik!”

“Don’t treat me like you fish heads. I am the king of the Undine tribe, born as the water spirit to protect the sea god.”

“Haququk, ‘Born as the chaser of the king of the Hakit tribe’.”

“Hakikit, hakit!”

Sea Bream confronted them with a stern expression, but the fishmen faced him, mocking without any fear. Sea Bream wanted to kill them on the spot, but he still had many questions to ask.

“What kind of trick did you use? How did you turn the Sea God into your side? How did you create a manipulator?!”

Of course, they wouldn’t answer, but Sea Bream had to ask.

Facing two mermaids and one human, with a dragon at the side, the two fishmen showed no signs of fear. They were well aware that, despite their numbers, only one of them could engage in actual combat.

“What method did we use? If you want to know, become a fishman yourself. Hakit!”

Swooosh!

The fishmen disappeared into the water without showing any fear in the face of Sea Bream, the dragon, and the others.

The fishmen confidently swam towards Sea Bream. In a typical scenario, an average fishman would never win in a 1:2 fight against fishmen.

The fishmen’s confidence stemmed from the fact that they had an advantage in this situation.

“Really, this… It’s like the heavens helped, no, should I say the sea helped?” 

Fortunately for the group led by Leeha, it was a stroke of luck. The misfortune of the fishmen was having to face an underwater battle against the Sea God’s Guard Captain.

Although the fishmen underestimated them, as Sea Bream confidently stated, he had enough skill to handle at least two fishmen. The underwater combat was fundamentally different from land battles. Sea Bream adeptly maneuvered between the fishmen’s “lower” and “upper” sides, exploiting their vulnerabilities.

Despite the fishmen being swift and powerful underwater creatures, the name of the Sea God’s Guardian Captain carried significant weight.

“Hop!”

Sea Bream swiftly evaded the attack of one fishman, then swung his bone weapon.

Zziik-!

The sharp weapon was more than enough to tear through the fishman’s gills down to its belly.

“Hakiiii…”

Looking at the fish innards flowing out into the seawater, Leeha closed his mouth. Sea Bream didn’t stop there. When another confused fishman attempted a feeble attack, he swiftly severed the creature’s arms, legs, and tail in retaliation. The aquatic swordsmanship of the Guard Captain was exceptional, rendering the fishman unable to escape while disassembling it completely in front of everyone, spilling its entrails and appendages. Sea Bream skillfully tossed the dismantled parts into the surrounding school of anchovies, which approached and began pecking at them.

“If the purpose of doing this is…” Leeha vaguely sensed Sea Bream’s intention. He seemed to want to obtain information from the fishmen. However, as for the fish…

“It has no senses. With things like pain, it won’t be able to provide any information.”

Although the fishman was still alive, he couldn’t escape. Despite this, Sea Bream continued to strip away the flesh, tearing apart the entrails, and tossing them to the nearby fish. The visual horror and cruelty stimulated the imagination. Sea Bream, with his role as the “High Priest’s Guard,” seemed to be an NPC worthy of such a position.

“After uuuu…”

After a while, Sea Bream, with a bone weapon hung on his shoulder, approached the still-living fishman and asked again.

“I’ll ask you once more. Where is the Sea God? How many of you are there? What’s the current state of the Dragon Palace? What’s the alert situation?”

“Hakiiit, hakyu… We don’t know where… Hakit… the Sea God is. There is no way for us fishmen to resist Hakit…”

There was no way for the fishman to resist. Afterward, Leeha relayed all the information the fishman shared with Team A about the underwater surface.

Of course, in the meantime, I didn’t miss the keyword the fishman subtly mentioned earlier.

Leeha: Kijung, there might be another fishmen attack. They said, ‘Kill all the comrades in the surface.’”

Kijung: What? Again? Damn it, does Captain Drake notice that she’s gone… Anyway, got it, bro! Thanks!”

“Ha Leeha-nim! Snap out of it!”

“…Huk!”

Leeha let out a groan, tilting my head while releasing bubbles. Gathering information from the fishmen, taking breaks, and resuming the forced march had taken another half a day.

“Did I doze off for a moment? Phew, the atmosphere feels dreamy, making me even sleepier. Snuggling with Sea Bream is getting more tiring.”

Still embraced by Sea Bream, Leeha surveyed the surroundings. It was a slightly different atmosphere from the dark sea until yesterday. Depending on the depth, it varied a bit, but rocks emitting light were embedded underwater, serving as markers guiding the way to the Dragon Palace.

‘In about another day and a half, we’ll reach the vicinity of the Dragon Palace. We’re almost there.’

After that, Leeha would log out again, sleep for about five real-world hours, and log in once more for the final battle.

Being carried comfortably by Sea Bream indicated that fatigue had accumulated to the point where he could doze off. After checking the time and the friend list, Leeha sent a whisper to Kijung.

Leeha: Kijung, do you see it?

Due to the break time when he logged out, they hadn’t approached the vicinity of the Dragon Palace in the past 19 days and a half, but what about Team A?

While users might have rotated in and out during the log-out rotation, the ship itself continued to advance. This meant that now, it was time to see the ‘buoy’ erected at the center of the Dragon Palace’s waters, the focal point of the Sea of Dawn, and the manifestation of the Sea God’s power!

Kijung: Not yet. Fernand-nim is still inspecting with the telescope—oh, oh, oh! There it is! No, he said he sees it!

Leeha: Can you see it? The island?

Kijung: Just a moment… Oh, oh! I see it, bro! It’s big! It’s not a joke; it’s enormous!

Leeha: Is it big enough to build a Mana Relay Tower?

Kijung: It’s more than that! What kind of island… That must be why Fernand must have mistaken it for a continent. It’s huge. Big enough. Hyein-nim is already preparing.

Listening to Kijung’s whisper, Leeha could finally let out a sigh of relief.

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