Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

The majority of reactions were the same. It was hard to believe the news of completing the quest without a single piece of decent equipment. However, some users’ reactions were a bit different.

“Hehe, well… if something like that happens, at least send a whisper.”

“He is suffering because of me for nothing…”

“As expected of Oppa.”

Biyemi, Rubini, Ramhwajung, and others believed in Leeha’s achievements without any doubt. Bobae, who had come near Kijung, tilted his head for a moment upon hearing Rubini’s words, but at this point, he couldn’t say anything to her.

“So, what happens now? Is the boring fishing trip finally over?”

“Wahaha! The Mystic! Absolutely! He did it! Leeha hyung! He did it! Bobae-ssi! Bobae-ssi!”

Kijung was jumping with excitement. He approached Bobae, grabbed her arms, and started dancing strangely, making awkward movements with their waists. The sight of the two, with their awkward yet humorous movements, spread laughter throughout the New Serpent. The big and bright laughter even reached the Blue Marlin, making Alexander and Bailephus smile, and it was enough to make Chiyo tear her hair out.

‘How?! How on earth? No, it can’t be. Drake said he wouldn’t go. Even if he did, the timing wouldn’t have matched. Did Ha Leeha have some other weapon? That dragon? Did the bronze Dragon grow? Is that how lucky he is? The purification pool? How did it appear? How did he enter the Dragon Palace? Damn it, damn it, FUCK!’

She had practically missed everything in front of her own eyes. Certainly, she had decided not to let her guard down in 1v1 situations. Accepting the mermaid quest was akin to going to one’s death, at least that was what Chiyou thought. Even watching Leeha confidently speak about what he could do, Chiyou couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

‘That self-assured attitude, that crazy attitude like he’s going to come out of a dream, I should have been more cautious! Ahhh! I’ve experienced it! I’ve experienced that guy from the National War to now, no, from the time of Hwahong and Byulcho, experiencing him missing such important information so carelessly!’

As the leader of the top-ranking information guild, Shinobi Gumi, Chiyou felt a wound to her pride more painful than a simple loss of gold. While the other users on the Blue Marlin were laughing at Leeha’s news, Chiyou was in a corner, practically tearing her hair out in frustration.

‘I will never miss it. I’ll stick close and extract everything thoroughly, Ha Leeha.’

The dancer’s eyes trembled, wide open. The unintended blow to her pride by Leeha was that significant. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t even consider the possibility of a fencer watching her.

‘Something is still strange…’

Shin Nara shook her head and skillfully concealed herself.

Kijung: Hyung! Eong-ah! What the, you completed the quest?! 

Shin Nara: Leeha-ssi! If anything happens, you said to tell me! You, you forgot again!

Kidd: What item are you going to get? Well, my hat is a bit worn out…”

Luger: Heh, Kidd isn’t the only one who needs a hat. If you don’t want your head to explode, take care of my shoes too.”

Ram Hwajung: Oppa, look…

Lee Jiwon: Hyungnim, you can share your achievements, right? At least an A+ rank, right?”

‘Huh?’

Leeha missed some of the Sea God’s words for a moment due to the flood of whispers. 

The Sea God praised Leeha’s work in restoring the purification pool, improving the relationship between mermaids and humans, which was severed a long time ago, and how Leeha was a treasure to the mermaids. And at such an important moment, people started whispering to him.

Leeha had to quickly send whispers to each person, saying that he would contact them later. With the overwhelming flood of whispers, he couldn’t help but miss a crucial word during the important conversation.

‘If it were Ram Hwayeon, she could handle everything simultaneously, but I’m not her! But it seems like Ram Hwajung said something. What did she say?’ Although Leeha missed a crucial word due to the overwhelming whispers, he decided to ask her to repeat it.

“Therefore, I want to give you a gift from our Dragon Palace’s treasury. Normally, I’d let you choose directly… but this time, I personally selected it for you.”

“Huh? What? What?”

What?

Focusing on the whispers, Leeha missed what was said on this side! Leeha did his best to grasp the current situation.

The Sea God, with a slow swaying of his tail, descended from his throne towards Leeha. Unlike Drake, who had both human legs and a dragon tail, the Sea God’s lower half was just like an ordinary fish, despite being the father of Drake. The Trident floated next to him, even though he wasn’t holding it.

What the Sea God was holding was something of a similar color to the water, with a translucent and somewhat transparent feel.

“A cloth…? No, it’s a bit too transparent to be cloth… What is it? Chilled jellyfish?”

It was highly unlikely, but Leeha had a bad feeling. Instinctively, he understood the meaning of the words he faintly heard at the end: “Personally chosen.”

“I give this to you.”

“This, it seems a bit too precious for me. Instead, I’d rather choose something suitable for my level from the leader’s treasury…”

“If you say that, Sir Ha Leeha! Are you going to ignore the Sea God’s favor right now?”

“No, it’s not like that! No, if I receive this, can I choose something else from the leader’s store that suits my level?”

“I don’t think you can think of anything else! Because nothing in the leader’s treasury can compare to this! Because the Sea God personally—”

“Stop it, Sea Bream. You can say such things because you’re the closest friend. Isn’t that right?”

The Sea God stopped Sea Bream from getting too excited. Furthermore, judging by the comments of the guard captain Sea Bream, Leeha could tell that once he accepted it, it would be over.

“Ugh… Yeah, you’re right, Sea God-nim. I made a mistake because I don’t yet have a clear understanding of the Dragon Palace and the sea.”

“Hmmm, It’s okay.”

The sea god nodded kindly and lifted the object he was holding. All eyes of the mermaids were focused there.

“I am the king who leads all mermaids, and the ruler of this sea, to my human compatriots who risked their lives for us water spirits-”

“Then, Ha Leeha, I suggest sharing the power of the water spirits with you. If anyone among the tribe has objections, speak now!”

The sea god took a deep breath and spoke in a loud voice.  In the Dragon King’s room, which was designed as a sphere, his voice ‘reverberated through the water’ and even echoed.

“I propose to share the power of the water spirit. If anyone in the clan has a different opinion, speak up now!”

No mermaid answered the sea god’s cry. Silence signified agreement. It meant that all discussions had already concluded.

“When I could only see the form of Le, I saw you handling the power of the fire spirits. Ifrit, that guy, would tell you a story or something.”

“…Uh, pardon?”

“When you, who is closer to us, see Ifrit playing around, how could we stand idly by? Come on, take it.”

Leeha momentarily tilted his head, but within the quietness of the purified chamber, he could vaguely recall what the Sea God had said.

‘Kuma! When he saw Kuma he talked about the power of the fire spirits… Is that it? Is Ifrit the name of a fire spirit? Or is it something else related to fire spirits? What’s the deal?’

Even though he didn’t fully comprehend it, Leeha couldn’t just ignore the outstretched hand of the Sea God.

Leeha extended both hands to receive the offered item.

‘Uh, this is my quest reward! My pants! My item—’

“Woaaaah?!”

He exclaimed as he received the item. The squishy and damp sensation of the item enveloped his arms like sticky rice cake!

“Whoa, whoa, what’s this? What is this?!”

“Hahaha, it seems like the little one really likes you. Well done.”

“Perhaps due to an extreme familiarity with the water spirits.”

“Hmmm. Hahaha, who would have thought that a human would be followed like this?”

Observing Leeha’s surprised expression, the Sea God displayed a satisfied look. With Drake stepping forward to make a comment, Leeha had no chance to ask questions.

Witnessing this, Sea Bream raised his weapon. Even in the Dragon King’s Chamber, being able to carry a weapon was a privilege. The roar of the Sea God’s Guardian Captain was met with cheers from all the merfolk.

“As of this moment, we declare the human Leeha as a member of the water spirits and a member of the Undine tribe!”

Waaaah! Hiii— He—

Hiiii— Ha—

Ha— Hi— Ha—

‘Wait a minute! What is this—’

“Huh? Uh, isn’t this—this thing equipped with eyes, nose, and mouth?! It’s not even a slime, what is this?”

Leeha tried to remove the clearly strange entity wrapped around his arm, but it was impossible.

“This one’s name is Jellypong. Please take care of me from now on.”

So, what the heck is this?!

While Drake congratulated Leeha, the person directly involved, Leeha, stood dazed, not knowing what to do. Jellypong, the entity that made Leeha flustered, was not explained yet, and Leeha had to stand there bewildered.

[Acquired Legendary Meta-Elemental: ‘Jellypong.’]

Even with just the name ‘Legendary,’ it was a satisfactory item. Whether it could be called an item was still questionable.

[Kyu, Kyu!]

[Mongg, Mongg, Mongg…]

[Kyuflower! KyuKyuu〜?]

[Mong, Mong… Mong, Mong, Mong…]

Blaugrun was fluttering around with Jellypong, having fun. Unlike slimes, Jellypong had an unpredictable form, extending on one side and suddenly contracting, creating shapes like a ball at times. With each transformation, Blaugrun laughed as if finding it incredibly amusing. Leeha pointed at them and asked, “So, that is the water spirit itself and some kind of armor?”

“That’s right. Just by having it on, it will protect you.”

After the farewell in the Dragon King’s Chamber, Leeha and Drake were now discussing things in a smaller room.

“And when you command it to, it can detach and attack enemies in their current forms.”

“Of course. I don’t know about the power of water spirits, but with your power, you might not even need Jellypong’s attacks.”

“Hmm…”

If Drake was confident enough to boast, there was likely some truth to it. However, Leeha still couldn’t fully trust it.

‘Meta-water spirit… Does it mean something beyond the concept of a water spirit? No, a water spirit recognizes a water spirit? This explanation sounds like it’s from some philosophical book, but the name is Jellypong?! This can’t be a joke!”

However, it was evident that this was not an ordinary item. An item that could be worn without restrictions on equipment slots—where could you find something like this in the gaming world? Even transforming into an attack form when detached from the armor?

‘Legendary-level, but there’s something strange about it. It’s beyond strange, it’s crazy. How can it change from that appearance to an attack form? What can you possibly deduce from this?’

Somewhere between a living being and an item, a ‘something.’ Leeha looked at Jellypong with some relief, at least grateful that it had a name.

“But what about its attack power? It looks like a slime, so somehow it’s not very trustworthy…”

“Slime? Hah, don’t say that in front of Jellypong. Despite its appearance, it’s a water spirit infused with my father’s essence. If it were born as a mermaid, it would have stood shoulder to shoulder with Sea Bream instantly.”

The mention of essence caught Leeha’s attention. Kijung mentioned drinking Drake’s essence for an achievement.

“Moreover, the essence of the sea god? Well, that’s a bit much to absorb, isn’t it?”

He decided to ask Drake about it, curious about anything else.

“But, about what the sea god mentioned – what was it again? What is that?”

“I heard it from my father. The Fire Bear and Soul Mate.”

“Well, yes, but the Fire Bear isn’t a spirit of fire. There seems to be some confusion.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Really?”

Kuma inherited the field boss ‘Fire Bear.’

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