Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

“Even when given substantial clues, most people can’t interpret them properly and end up wasting them. In that regard, Luger seems genuinely remarkable.”

“I agree. Director Browless often compared me to Luger.”

“Heh, indeed, only someone with a proper head could be the director. The two of you still have a long way to go.”

Once again, Luger’s mouth corners slightly lifted. He even slowed his pace. Was it to narrow the distance and hear the conversation better from Leeha and Kid?

“I find it nerve-wracking to move like this without proper maps or a compass.”

“As long as we follow Luger, we shouldn’t have any losses.”

Leeha and Kid struggled to hold back their laughter.

Until the entrance of the Redwood Forest, Luger had been walking far ahead, but now he was almost side by side with Leeha and Kid.

“Isn’t that right, Luger?”

“That’s right, Luger! We just have to follow and trust you, right? The unrivaled musketeer Luger of [Penetration]!”

When Leeha and Kid asked again, Luger finally turned to look at them.        Not only did the corners of his mouth go up so high, he put so much force on his neck that veins were sticking out.

“Hahaha! Of course! I’ve known since I saw those paleos NPC fools like the red goats and black cranes have nothing worth seeing. They don’t know humans, let alone Dark Elves. Clearly, the NPC group contacted by Kaztor must be elsewhere. Since there are only these two paleo groups in Redwood, let’s first leave this place, and while you two build intimacy with the new paleo NPCs you find, narrow down the range-“

‘As expected. It is like that. Moreover, as Kidd mentioned earlier, with his personality, it would take over a year for him to raise intimacy alone.’

“Um, yes. Let’s go.”

Leeha and Kidd nodded and moved on.

Passing by Luger enthusiastically explaining things to them.

“Huh, wait! Aren’t you going to listen to me anymore?”

“What?”

“I, I’m Luger, the unrivaled musketeer in history, Luger! Of [Penetration]-“

“I heard everything. Now be quiet.”

Thud, only the sound of Kidd stepping on fallen twigs echoed in the silence.

Being simple-minded wasn’t a sin. Being foolish isn’t a sin either. It was inevitable for someone who has struggled with forming relationships with people. Perhaps the real issue lies with those who exploit it.

Even in moments when Luger’s body trembled, there was satisfaction in Leeha and Kidd, who chuckled with a contented smile.

“Th- these damn bastards are playing with me!?”

Click!

Luger loaded his Cobalt Blue Python.

The palpable sound of metal made Leeha and Kidd flinch. Normally, they might dismiss it as a joke, but not now.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Hey, hey, crazy guy really shot- whoa!”

“Calm down, Luger. If you go wild, you’re the only one at a loss—heup!”

There was no time to talk. Leeha to the left, Kid to the right! The two quickly leaped behind the massive tree trunk of Redwood.

Quaaaahhh——–

Goooooaaaahhhhh———

–!

An unexpected cannon blast echoed through the vast Redwood.

The sound was loud enough to be heard by some members of the New Continent Expedition scattered throughout the area.

“The ignorant guy, really shooting and causing a commotion.”

“What if we had been hit by that?”

Leeha and Kid grumbled, recalling the previous situation. Once again, Luger, who led the way, did not respond to their remarks.

***

The location where the Mana Relay Tower was installed was the narrow coastline where the New Continent Expedition first set foot.

Redwood’s dense forest didn’t offer a suitable area to install a Mana Relay Tower. As a result, everyone dispersed from that location to follow their own paths. This meant that the trio of the Three Musketeers had been walking from the very beginning of Redwood’s complete entrance.

Although Redwood, dominated by red goat paleos or black crane paleos, was vast, it had been over five hours since they scattered, taking screenshots. Since Luger fired the cannon toward Leeha and Kid three hours ago, it implied they had covered quite a distance.

“…Hm?”

“Oh! Is this annoying forest finally coming to an end?!”

Indeed, it was a reasonable expectation that Redwood would eventually end. As realistic as the game was, there were still moments as tedious as real life in Middle Earth. One of the things users disliked the most was movement.

“If it were in a somewhat explored area, you could use a warp gate or even read a book while riding a carriage… But walking around an unexplored area like this is truly hell.”

However, that hell was now coming to an end. Perhaps whatever Luger experienced with Leeha and Kidd had somewhat eased (?), as his footsteps had become noticeably lighter.

Step, step, step, step, step!

The pace of the three accelerated.

Passing through Redwoods much thicker than the pillars of most buildings, the Three Musketeers finally encountered a new scenery.

“We’re out! Oh my, goodbye to this tedious forest!”

“Seeing that there’s no discovery experience, it seems either someone has been here, or it’s not an area where discovery experience would trigger.”

Leeha stretched out both arms and yawned widely. Kidd checked if there was any notification window popping up but found no additional information or rewards.

“Making noise as soon as we come out to this undeveloped area, searching for experience points… As expected, thick-headed people can’t help themselves. You guys are still far off—”

“Don’t act so high and mighty, Luger. Be careful; something is moving about 1.6 km in front of the entire direction. I’m not sure if it’s a small-sized monster or an animal.”

“—I’ll definitely make you blind. Damn it.”

Luger tried to retaliate against Leeha for the previous revenge, but Leeha remained unaffected. He pretended to look relaxed, but he actually wasn’t.

Strictly speaking, Leeha was probably the person who knew the terror of Erica Continent the best at the moment. He directly faced the attacks of the red goat paleos and even fought with the black crane paleos.

As they emerged from the forest into a slightly undulating undeveloped area, Leeha was not foolish enough to expose himself recklessly. Kidd already had two Crimson Geckos lifted in both hands, the Three Musketeers were truly the Three Musketeers.

“Should we do a check?”

“It’s my job, so don’t move out of the way and get lost.”

Luger pushed Leeha aside and led the way. Kidd also sprinted energetically. In essence, it was as if they had reached the New Continent and encountered a creature for the first time. Excluding the paleos, who were NPCs, what lay ahead was a mystery.

Creature? Monster? Another NPC race? “Whatever it is, what’s important is that there might be an achievement or something related to the first hunt!”

Leeha quickly opened and closed the friends’ window to check the positions of others. Whether it was due to caution or a different route, the Byulcho Group was still inside the Red Wood.

The locations marked for Alexander and Lee Jiwon were somewhat intriguing, but they differed in names from Kid and Luger’s positions. “The only ones here are us! Hehe, let’s go!”

The three of them walked quickly, seemingly determined not to fall behind. Naturally, they didn’t move straight towards their destination. Utilizing the surrounding terrain was the instinct of long-range dealers!

When they closed the gap from the lingering figure at a distance of 1.6 km to 900 m, the location where the Three Musketeers were became a spot on a hilly area.

All three of them began observing from a prone position, but the details weren’t as clear as Leeha would have preferred.

Kid adjusted his hat and asked Leeha, “Do you know what it is?”

“..Uh… Well, I’m not sure how to describe that thing—”

“Don’t hesitate, just say it. This useless topic is all about the looks—”

“No, no, this time I’m not trying to tease you; I genuinely don’t know.”

Luger attempted to provoke Leeha again, but this time Leeha’s expression was serious. The mood for joking didn’t seem right.

“What does it look like?”

“Uh… It has horn-like things on its face—”

“Rhino.”

“-can you listen to what I am saying before you speak? And, um, I can’t count its legs. There seem to be around four or fifty of them.”

“Hmm?”

“It has very small legs that move sluggishly, like the legs of a centipede or maybe a millipede?” Horns like a rhino, countless small legs moving, and a body like a giant crab.

Leeha couldn’t quite determine what to call the slow-moving creature. Fortunately, it seemed that there was someone nearby who wasn’t particularly bothered by whatever it was.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

Luger quickly stood up, raising the Cobalt Blue Python. The direction of the muzzle was clear.

“Well, hold on. Shouldn’t we figure out the pattern first before attacking?”

“That’s exactly it. The fastest way to figure out the pattern is this!”

“Maybe I should go first—”

Before Kidd could step forward, Luger had already pulled the trigger.

Boom!

The roar echoed not long after leaving Redwood.

What Leeha was worried about wasn’t just whether the attack would work or not. It wasn’t even about discerning the strength of the monster.

As Luger had mentioned earlier, this was an unexplored territory! There would be no obstacles to sound transmission, and finding the origin point should be easy!

Without even looking at the new creature, Leeha first surveyed the surroundings. On the way here, it wasn’t clear, but now it was different. There could be monsters lurking somewhere within 1 km ahead.

“Kidd! Check the 11 o’clock direction, just in case someone comes from there. I’m keeping an eye on this side in case anyone shows up—”

“…Really?”

“Of course, really. Why would I lie?”

Swoosh, swoosh!

As Leeha quickly turned his head to survey the surroundings, Kidd asked again. But something was off. Leeha sensed that Kidd’s voice wasn’t directed at him. Moreover, when he confirmed that Luger, the one who fired, had a stiff expression, Leeha felt an uneasy sensation.

“…Could it be?”

Leeha turned his head to the point where the neckbone made a sound. The new monster roughly 900m away hadn’t changed its jet-black appearance. Its body was coiled like a millipede.

“I hit it… but it didn’t die?”

Maybe it was because he didn’t use a skill. Damn monster!

Luger’s complaints were not heard. Such complaints were usually reserved as excuses when dealing with field boss-level monsters. However, what about this monster now?

Did it just casually bounce off Luger’s basic attack as if it were an ordinary monster with nothing special?

“Is this really the new continent? Well, it should be interesting.”

“It’s not the time to be pleased. Its appearance is starting to change.”

Gulp, automatic tension gripped Kidd’s fist. It was clearly visible to Leeha as well. The creature, which had been squirming and curling up, was changing. No, it might be more accurate to say it was ‘evolving’ rather than just changing.

“It’s getting bigger.”

“Rather than that, shouldn’t we be more surprised by the ‘standing up’ part?”

“I think it would be better to pay attention to its lengthened legs.”

With horns like a rhinoceros and a carapace that deflected Luger’s bullets, the creature that crawled on the ground like a bug suddenly lifted its upper body as if it were a human. The constantly moving small legs were now elongated, boasting a horrifying shape reminiscent of a crab’s legs.

Could it be considered as a long bug lifting its upper body?

However, to treat it as a mere ‘bug’ was not fitting, considering how intense its roar was. It was more than enough to send shivers down the spines of the trio!

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