Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

“Sshh—” Leeha straightened his body, feeling a sudden change in the surroundings. Despite being under the effects of the invisibility spell, the turbulence of the seawater could still be visible. Without making a sound, Leeha dived into the seawater, relying only on the minimal noise and the ripples to conceal his entry.

“All right… roughly about 2 km ahead. Let’s go. [Mermaid Form].”

[Please select the area to transform.] 

[Head/Upper Body/Arms/Lower Body/Feet]

“Hmm… Lower Body.”

[Please select the transformation type.] 

[Flatfish/Dory/Fish/Moray Eel or Squid]

Shwaaaak! In an instant, Leeha’s lower body transformed into that of a squid. Ten tentacle-like legs wiggled in the water.

“What?! How do I move this thing?” 

It wasn’t easy to adapt to suddenly having to control ten legs.

It took several attempts to get the hang of moving the expanded set of legs. About 10 minutes later, after struggling with sinking and gulping water several times, Leeha finally figured out a way to move.

It was not easy to float in the water, and it took quite a while to figure out how to move. “The longest leg must be my own leg,” Leeha thought. The two longest legs, referred to as squid arms, seemed to have the same sensation as his own legs, while the other eight smaller legs felt like automatic assistants for the two main legs.

“Okay, let’s go now.”

Ssshh— Leeha completely submerged in the water, initiating his underwater exploration. The squid legs of the transformed lower body cut through the water like a missile, extending his body forward. Unlike the sensation of swimming through the Dragon Palace as a transformed fish, this experience brought a new feeling to Leeha, and his tentacle-like tail automatically moved.

“Haha! Feels refreshing, doesn’t it? Imagining catching and grilling this guy for a meal, how tormenting would that be.” The charm of Middle Earth was creating joy and fantasies simultaneously. Leeha wanted to share this scene and sensation with others, thinking, “I’ll record this scene now and later claim an achievement for having such a skill—”

He chuckled, thinking about how this might silence Pyro, the current leader in food points, who was bound to get excited once Leeha revealed the Drake Quest. Leeha was considering using this information to his advantage.

“Still, it’s a bit unfortunate that some users lack the skills to utilize the information I provided. Well, it can’t be helped.” Chuckling, Leeha’s laughter bubbled up in the form of underwater bubbles.

Currently, the top-ranked in food points was the Fire Mage Pyro. Knowing about the Drake Quest, Pyro was likely to get excited and seek guidance. Leeha planned to use the current data to calm him down when the time came.

“If we get involved… Pyro might just tag along. It won’t be a loss for him either.” Whether Pyro would agree was uncertain, but Leeha didn’t dwell on it. The underwater view of the ship’s bottom began to unfold as he floated on the surface.

“They’are small! But there are quite a few!? One, two, three… twenty-two ships? Twenty-two ships gathered?”

The ships were not large, perhaps resembling large sailboats rather than the combat ships that Kraven referred to as “battleships.” However, their numbers were significant. Leeha relayed real-time information to Fernand and Alexander, making them aware that as long as they didn’t use the detection magic continuously, they would not be able to see him due to the invisibility spell cast by Bailephus.

Ssh- The top of Leeha’s head emerged from the water. The ships huddled together and swayed lightly in the waves. The ships only had two masts and Leeha estimated that they were only 1/6 of the size of the new continent expedition ships. 

“Still, a ship is a ship. The deck won’t be visible just by poking my head out here.”

Leeha approached one of the outermost ships, the reason for transforming his lower body into a squid was to be able to climb the rope ladder hanging on the ship’s outer wall.

Leeha carefully examined his surroundings while starting to climb the rope ladder. He grabbed it with one arm and lifted his leg. The squid legs gracefully ascended, wrapping around the rope ladder. Then, he raised the other arm and lifted the other leg.

“Is it okay?” The movement was the same as when he had human legs, but oddly enough, it felt more comfortable. The small legs automatically assisting him seemed to know exactly what Leeha wanted.

Climbing the short rope ladder, Leeha finally grasped the railing of the deck, raising his head slowly. Despite being under the transparency spell, sounds could be heard. If someone came to check, even the “wet” rope ladder might be visible. That couldn’t happen.

“As inconspicuous as possible… Perfect scouting—Huh?!”

Leeha had to momentarily stop breathing to avoid making any noise. What moved on the deck was undoubtedly different from monsters.

“…Human? No, not exactly human—”

Comparing it to the back of monkeys or how they moved swiftly for something, it was clear that it wasn’t the same. 

“…Primitive beings? NPCs of a humanoid race. If I can see their faces, it’ll be more definitive, but… Most of them showed only their backs or side views as they moved quickly. However, just that was enough to distinguish them from monkeys.”

Their appearance differed significantly from monkeys. They wore roughly made trousers, mostly leaving their upper bodies uncovered, and had no animal-like fur on their bodies. Instead, various tribal tattoos were drawn on their skin.

“They seem shorter than dwarves but sturdier. Quite a few of them look robust. Indeed, these small ships might be useful. But… what are they planning?”

Observing the situation on one ship revealed the decks of the other ships lined up. With twenty-two ships, their numbers were substantial.

“The atmosphere of their bustling movements seems quite serious. Finally, I can see their faces.”

The smallest one was estimated to be around 140 cm, and the largest was about 160 cm. Their height was similar to dwarves, but their sturdy physique was different.

“They have facial tattoos! All the facial tattoos are the same.”

Their dark-skinned faces were adorned with a red “goat’s head.” Horns extended on both sides of their foreheads, goat eyes were straight slits on their cheeks, and an overall sleek goat face shape.

“All of them have the same tattoo without exception.”

Despite different physiques and upper body tattoos, they all had the same “face,” making Leeha feel uneasy. Just as he was about to descend to investigate the situation on other ships, he heard their voices. “Red Goat! They’re coming!”

“Red Goat, prepare. We must suppress them.”

“Red Goat!”

A language that Leeha could perfectly understand, free from the strange noises of monsters, it was a flawless human language.

“Red Goat! It seems communication is possible. Well, the fact that communication is possible and that it’s an actual conversation are different matters. I couldn’t communicate with mermaids, even if language could be understood. I’ll only gather objective information and avoid hasty subjective judgments.”

Leeha focused on collecting objective information rather than delving into the content of the conversation. The fact that communication was possible was unusual in itself.

“Who are these coming? To suppress them… War? Battle?”

While the capability to communicate was recognized, Leeha wasn’t hasty in making judgments. Twenty-two ships arriving for any reason other than fishing was not something ordinary.

“I see, using sails isn’t enough. Indeed, with these small ships, sails alone wouldn’t be sufficient. Unfurling two masts, the sides of the mast extended from the rope ladder, and a sail emerged from there. The ship began to move slowly.”

“Who would be rowing the oars? War? Battle?”

Leeha was astonished at the sudden acceleration, as the ship, despite being small, gained speed rapidly. It was an unexpectedly fast pace for a place where the wind wasn’t strong.

“Who on earth is rowing the oars? Ah!”

Sudden, thunderous, and vibrant noises reverberated, shaking Leeha’s mind. On the other side of his field of view, more ships appeared.

“Maybe these ‘Red Goats’ were referring to them as ‘those guys.’ Are they also in humanoid form?”

Leeha wanted to confirm. Since he was under the invisibility spell, they couldn’t see him, but he decided to be cautious of possible blind attacks.

However, it was Leeha’s misjudgment. The guy who had been telling him to prepare for an attack now let out a booming roar.

“He must have swallowed a steam whistle or something; the voice was tremendous.”

“Red Goat!”

Following him, the others shouted at the same time. The reddish glow on the twenty-two ships flashed at that moment.

“All those guys on the ships seem to be using some kind of skill simultaneously, emitting a level of brightness that couldn’t be looked at with open eyes.”

“Ugh!”

Closing his eyes tightly, waiting for the light to subside for a moment, Leeha opened his eyes again. Thankfully, there was no cardiac arrest.

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

Before Leeha’s eyes, the visage of the Red Goat’s leader was being forced in. It wasn’t like before, with a human-like face and tattoos. It was undoubtedly the head of a beast, the ‘head of a goat’ that was ripped horizontally.

“If I breathe, its nose hair will flutter; that’s how close it is. The horizontally torn goat’s pupils rolled as if it were about to lick Leeha’s face.”

“It’s a real goat. A real red goat… Transformation? Moreover… Can they see me?”

Leeha was skeptical. It made no sense. This was Bailephus’s Ancient Gold Dragon-level invisibility spell. There was no way the magic could be dispelled, and they hadn’t used detection magic.

However, he had to admit it. The goat clearly sensed Leeha.

“What is this?”

The goat’s nostrils quivered.

Terrifyingly, Leeha activated the Stealth skill. Swwaaahhh…! Due to the invisibility spell, the light from the skill was not visible, and no sound could be heard.

However, the goat that had thrust its head in front of Leeha turned its head as if realizing Leeha had disappeared.

“Red Goat, what’s going on?”

“I smelled something strange. It was the smell of squid… No, it was the first time I smelled squid.”

“Squid, Red Goat?”

“No, full speed ahead. Relay the message to the rowers.”

“Red Goat!”

After a while, the rowing became even more vigorous.

“What is that? Human?”

“Human, no, can’t really call it human. It has a monkey tail, and all the members transform into the same appearance…”

“Hmm, in terms of communication, they don’t seem to be ordinary monsters.”

Listening to the reconnaissance information, the expeditionary force to the new continent fell into further confusion. Were they enemies or allies? The reconnaissance was meant to confirm whether these creatures could harm the users of the expeditionary force, but at that point, there was no certainty.

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