Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

Step, step.

Leeha and Rubini were passing through the Redwood Forest. They had already roughly confirmed the location of the tribe where Hudid and the black crane paleos lived, based on information from Aibex and Youngblood.

However, what puzzled Leeha was a slight discrepancy in the explanations between Aibex and Youngblood.

“Phew, this is the first time I am doing something like this. By the way, the red goat’s ‘Guardian Deity’ and the red goat’s strongest warrior, how can they get confused about the location of their neighboring enemy? Isn’t that right, Rubini-nim?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Moreover, telling us to go into enemy territory without a map, it’s just absurd. Ah, I thought it might be easier this time with Rubini-nim present… But well, without a map, it’s not much different.”

As Leeha grumbled, Rubini responded with an amused smile. Despite her smile, Leeha’s complaints were entirely valid.

Reading maps, and the art of navigation—were skills that Leeha excelled at. Even with a roughly drawn map, if he knew the outlines of the enemy tribe, he could gather information while exploring the surroundings and plan the most optimal strategy for the mission.

But now?

“Can’t they at least provide some objective measurements? This ‘mouth-to-mouth’ transmission method really doesn’t work.” The directions and distances given by Aibex and Youngblood for the black crane tribe were difficult to comprehend, not only in terms of direction but also in units of measurement.

Leeha raised his head, thinking back to the awkwardness of that time. At that moment, he was handed only a single clue: “When the lunch sun is up, look straight at it, take a step to the left, and then ‘red goat’ at full speed for half a day.” The difficulty lay not just in the vague nature of the instructions but also in the units of measurement.

“When the lunch sun is up” – What exactly is the direction when looking at the sun at noon, and how many degrees is that when considering the azimuth angle?

“How fast does a red goat move, and how much distance can it cover at full speed in half a day?”

“If it travels at full speed for half a day, how many kilometers would that be in units?”

Unable to answer any of these questions clearly, Leeha and Rubini, even with the guidance of Aibex and Youngblood, were essentially stumbling forward, slightly better than blind.

“Rubini-ssi, is this the right direction? We started in the direction Youngblood indicated, but… in forests or mountains, even if you think you’re going straight, you often end up deviating.”

“The direction should at least be correct. The morning sun is up now… This place and the latitude of the Kraven on the main continent should be similar, and the progression of the sun’s direction wouldn’t be significantly different. Considering the position of the sun at lunchtime, the current direction should be very close to what Youngblood mentioned.”

Rubini calmly responded to Leeha’s question. Leeha, satisfied with the answer, smiled and resumed walking. He hadn’t asked out of ignorance.

“It seems so. Okay, understood. Let’s continue.”

Leeha looked at Rubini, pleased with her response, and then continued walking. She didn’t ask out of curiosity.

‘Without any specific skills, she can still determine the direction using the terrain and landmarks. Choosing the Oracle profession wasn’t a mere coincidence. She has always been familiar with observing her surroundings. It’s natural for someone who’s used to it.’

What was her main profession? Hobbies? Determining the direction towards the destination without a compass and map is impossible without well-practiced skills, especially for someone who is not actively engaged in outdoor activities.

“Are you feeling uneasy? Should I generate a map?”

“Hmm… Let’s go for another 1 or 2 hours and see. The skill probably has a cooldown, and there might be mana constraints. You won’t be able to use it for a while, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

She still hadn’t used the skill to generate a map. When they left the red goat paleos’ territory, it was night. Leeha had advised against using the skill to avoid drawing attention from the flying paleos above the Blackwood.

“I remember they came quite close to the coast near the village. We should be cautious.”

Leeha recalled when the red goat paleos had pursued the members of the New Continent Expedition near the village, and something had flown in the sky, as mentioned by Youngblood. Now, with the sunrise and the considerable proximity to them, it still wasn’t the time to use the skill excessively.

“Caw, caw, caw!”

The cries of cranes echoed, and several birds soared into the sky.

“Get down.”

“What? Why?”

“Shh.”

Leeha quickly made Rubini crouch down and placed his finger in front of Rubini’s lips. Rubini couldn’t understand why Leeha had suddenly moved like this, especially when he had just mentioned that there was still some distance left. But Leeha knew better.

‘Observation and analysis of any unusual phenomena during guarded marches are fundamental and, above all, crucial.’

While advancing through the forest path, birds suddenly flew up, quite a distance away from Leeha and Rubini. Even though there was no immediate threat from humans, if birds were taking flight, it signaled something.

“There’s something. Have they already reached the perimeter of their alert range?”

It meant there might be something threatening the birds in that direction. Whether it was a black crane or a monster, it was better to be cautious.

Leeha: I’ll check first.

Rubini: Yes? But your skills…

‘[Mana Detection].’

No casting time, no mana flashes, and no flashy effects. The skills from Black Bass were truly optimized for snipers.

“Zing!”

For a moment, a large Redwood and beyond the bushes, two blue silhouettes came into view.

‘It’s real.’

Creatures carrying something while wandering around. A slightly smaller build with a monkey tail sticking out from the bottom – it was a paleos. If there was a paleos here, there was only one.

“They seem to have reached the scouting range of the black cranes.”

“So soon? How did you… – Never mind. I’ll subdue them first. When I give the signal, please generate the map. Confirm how far the nearest black crane is from here. Wait here for now.”

“Okay.”

As Ruby kneeled, the musketeer’s complaints from moments ago vanished. He now wielded the Black Bass, the successor of the “Accuracy..”

“Sa-back, Sa-back, Sa-back.”

Leeha lowered his body and moved carefully. The towering Redwood trees surpassed imagination in their height. However, this turned out to be fortunate.

‘I shouldn’t think of guerrilla warfare in the forest. It’s more accurate to consider each tree as a building.’

Leeha regarded the current situation as “urban warfare.”

After distancing himself about 60m from Ruby, Leeha finally found a spot without obstruction from the Redwoods.

“It’s been a while, Black Bass.”

Then, he took a magazine from his bag. Only 7 magazines remained. It would all be over after firing 35 shots.

Click! Leeha inserted the magazine. The satisfying metallic sound echoed lightly.

“I wonder when was the last time a sniper fired a rifle.”

Since stabilizing her Sea God transformation, there were hardly any occasions to use the sniper rifle. However, considering the remaining ammunition, it was fortunate.

“Ignore wind direction and speed. The distance is roughly 400m.”

Although using the scope at this distance wasn’t necessary, even the Eagle’s Eyes needed to be conserved.

Leeha adjusted the clicks with a smile on her face. The sensation of the clicks turning was a welcome feeling.

Once adjustments were done, Leeha looked through the scope. The black crane paleos, bustling and making noise, came into view.

Leeha calmly aimed at them.

“Now, back to my main job!”

“Rubini-ssi, now!!”

“And [Mana Deleting Bullet]!” 

Baaaaaaaang—

Gunshots echoed through the Redwood forest. Along with the sudden gunfire, a projectile shot out even faster from Leeha’s rifle. Pa-a-a-ack!

Startled, the paleos exclaimed, “Black crane!?”

“Emergency, emergency! Something’s happening!”

“Are those red goats? We need to inform the guardian deity! Black crane!”

“Black crane!”

Despite their gestures and cries, nothing happened. The paleos looked at each other in confusion.

Then, one of them cautiously extended its neck and peered into the distance.

“Uh! Black crane friends! Whether that transformation skill is fueled by mana or not, who cares? It seems to work! Hehe, it’s working well, it’s working well.”

“What is that—”

“The red goats brought them! Sacrifices! Invaders!”

“Bringing comrades! Black crane!”

Leeha chuckled, making some incomprehensible remarks. The black crane paleos were flustered, reacting like startled chickens.

“Oh? I’m alone, but you guys are bringing comrades? Wait a moment, let me talk, okay?”

“Alone?”

“One person?”

“Yeah, I’m alone.”

Leeha shrugged, and the expressions of the black crane paleos changed. Primitive tribal life seemed to even take away their intelligence. They changed their grip on their weapons and started spewing hostile remarks towards Leeha.

“You’ll regret this, black crane!”

“Invaders who use magic cannot be forgiven! In the name of Hudid!”

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The black crane paleos swiftly approached. Although they hadn’t enhanced their animals, the basic physical abilities were not to be underestimated.

Leeha flinched for a moment.

‘Rubini-ssi said there were no other cranes within 1 km. Gunshots may not be heard, but—’

Leeha couldn’t shoot Black Bess again. Even if he aimed for non-lethal areas, the basic damage was powerful enough.

What if he tried to kill the crane paleos? This thought created a temporary hiccup for Leeha, who had another plan(?) to achieve 100% affinity after completing the quest.

“Die, beast! Black Cr—”

“Black Cr—”

“It’s noisy. Ever heard of hummingbird pistols? I’m not Kidd, but I can—”

Closing the gap in an instant to a distance of 30m, Leeha revealed what he held in his hands. Besides Black Bass, he had plenty of other weapons.

Tadaaaaang—!

“With this, I can do anything.”

The hummingbird pistol and needle gun pistol spewed flames in an instant. Blood splattered from the approaching cranes, both in confusion and panic.

“Run!”

“What is this? Throwing—”

“As expected, this won’t kill them. Not even a lethal shot.”

Fortunately, they didn’t turn to ash, and Leeha was relieved. However, the destructive power of the first gunshot wound was by no means light!

When the Douroumi paleos hit by the musket pistol needles staggered, Leeha quickly ran towards them.

Pot, pot, pot, pot—!

Although they might have been momentarily confused by the lead pellets, five seconds later, it was more than enough time for Leeha.

The musket pistol, which she had held in both hands, was back at her waist, and in her hands was a different type of weapon.

“Ever experienced an electric shock?!”

“What is this again—”

“We need to defend! Black Cr—”

“ON!”

Even in the uncomfortable sea, Leeha had used electric shock devices against sea deities and mermaids. There was no inconvenience in her movements, and there was nothing on the ground to stop her.

Patsuchuchu—Patsuchuchu—

“Black Cr, Cr—”

“Wow, wowowowowowow—”

The bodies of the black crane paleos trembled and shook.

Watching them struggle to even scream properly, shivering and fainting, Leeha smiled happily. Then, he shouted in the direction where Ruby was hiding.

“Rubini-ssi! Did you find any vine-like branches suitable for a leash?”

“Yes, yes! I found some vine, so I cut a little!”

To be confident about what he was going to subdue and then instructing her to find items around for the subsequent pursuit. Rubini’s improvisational planning and fluid execution abilities once again surprised Leeha.

“Here.”

“I’ll handle the tying, so please take a look at the skill map a bit away. We don’t know how good the black cranes’ hearing is.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Leeha grumbled as he tied the hands and feet of the paleos. Until then, there was still no sign of any enemies on Ruby’s hologram map.

“All done. Hey, hey!”

Leeha patted the cheeks of the black crane paleos, urging them to wake up. It was to awaken these excellent helpers (?) who would provide the much-needed information in piles.

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