Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

“Hold on – that’s strange too. Does that mean Kaztor is currently a member of the Demon King’s army?”

“No, I don’t think that’s the case. He did arrive 20 years ago, but he wasn’t with the Demon King’s army, was he?”

“So, does that mean – hmm… maybe he changed his mind in the meantime?” Upon hearing Kid and Luger’s words, Lee tilted his head in confusion.

He couldn’t provide a definitive answer himself. Based on the information initially disclosed, this was the limit of the deduction.

1. Kaztor completed his research on Matan’s Shooter. (Confirmation)

2-1. An entity presumed to be Matan’s Shooter is in the Demon King’s army. (Speculation)

2-2. The presumed entity might be one of the former Three Musketeers, either Brown or Elizabeth. (Speculation)

However, with such hints, it was impossible to conclusively deduce that ‘3. Therefore, Kaztor must belong to the Demon King’s army. (Illogical).’

‘There’s also no definitive evidence to assert with certainty that Kaztor is Matan’s Shooter! Despite his monstrous sniping skill over a distance of 10km, which would make anyone think he is Matan’s Shooter, hmm…… Kaztor himself isn’t sure either.’

Most importantly, as written in his diary, Kaztor is an NPC with a clear goal.

The revival of the Dark Elf race! But what about the current Dark Elves? They haven’t undergone any changes.

‘Should I conclude that he joined the Demon King’s army… but then lost everything betting on them during the Second Human-Demon War?’ Leeha contemplated it, but even this wasn’t a satisfying answer.

“No, if that were the case, they would have sided with the demons long ago. It’s mentioned in the journal, ‘Dealing with the aftermath of using demons is also entirely possible.’ For him, the Demon King’s army is just a tool. There’s no reason for him to gamble the revival of the race.”

While Kidd and Luger were searching for other information using the keyword “Matan’s Shooter,” Leeha focused elsewhere.

‘The most crucial keyword is [Plan]. We need to find out what that plan Kaztor mentioned is. Clues will unravel from there. Moreover, although buried under other keywords, there’s also something called ‘God’s Sword.’ Perhaps a legendary weapon from the Dark Elf elders’ tales?’

To subdue the God’s Sword, then deal with the demons after using them as a stepping stone. That was Kaztor’s [Plan], and what is needed for that is the [Key].

Leeha read the journals again, finding fresh insights even in the journal read just before.

“The origin of the demons, a similar nuance to the origin of the Devil. On the day Kaztor wrote this journal, he succeeded in some experiments. While it might simply be seen as evidence of completing the Matan’s Shooter research with the phrase ‘finally succeeded in the experiment,’ or maybe it’s related to the previous mention of ‘transformation’? If Kaztor had transformed into Matan’s Shooter, he wouldn’t have had to ask Jorje for information 20 years ago.”

It became clear to Leeha that Kaztor himself becoming Matan’s Shooter was not plausible. If that were the case, there would be no need for such struggles. It seemed that only ‘humans’ could go through such transformations.

“Then, what did he learn from the transformation? What form does Matan’s Shooter transform a human into? Perhaps he experimented on a human subject—probably one of the two, Brown or Elizabeth, applying some transformation magic to make them Matan’s Shooter? At present, this assumption seems the most plausible.”

However, this assumption becomes plausible when considering the sniper within the Demon King’s army as Matan’s Shooter. Even though the evidence might shake, it was one of the possible hypotheses.

“Hmm? What’s this…?”

“What now? Is there something else?”

“I recognize this pattern.”

Kid stepped back a few paces from the large magic circle drawn on the floor. In an effort to examine the overall design, Leeha, and Luger turned their heads to look at the spot.

“Oh? Isn’t this…!”

“That pattern found in the remains of the Guardians.”

Then, both Leeha and Luger began rummaging through their bags, searching for something. After a moment, they each pulled out an object—a bone and a piece of metal. Although different objects, the pattern drawn on them was identical to that on the magic circle on the floor.

“The unique magic circle of Kaztor, it seems.”

“It’s definitely different from the patterns Sage Hyein uses.”

“Could this be one of the research results? No, considering it was used in the previous lab, it might just be his personal habit.”

In the world of Middle Earth, even the method of manipulating mana could change based on the profession. For instance, the type of wand used and the skills employed could vary even within the same profession. The difficulty of acquiring a skill in Middle Earth wasn’t just an empty saying, as even filling a rune in a particular magic circle could differ.

“All of this is information related to humans. Probably records of experiments. It’s hard to determine exactly.”

Most of the data Luger found consisted mainly of illustrations. While occasionally there were readable characters, the majority were drawings.

“They seem to be ritualizing the transformation of Paleos, and how to apply it to other races, something like that. There are two similar pictures on one page, making it easy for comparison.”

“Hmm, and there’s another race on the next page? There are pictures that seem to transform humans into something, and pictures of transforming something monstrous into a human… Pararack, flipping through the pages, the Three Musketeers could roughly draw a conclusion. [How to make a specific race take on a different form without using mana.] Research data based on Paleos was illustrated for easy recognition, but it was difficult to confirm the purpose.

“There’s nothing more to see. Is this all there is?”

“If we can’t find anything else except the diary… it can’t be, right?”

“Yes. The contents of the quest given by the elder were clearly about retrieving Dark Elf data including the [Matan’s Shooter] journal. If there’s no Matan’s Shooter journal, it’s useless…”

Luger, Leeha, and Kid slumped with disappointed expressions.

Is this really all there is? Couldn’t they even find the last piece in the Kaztor Laboratory No. 8?

Strange. Although it seemed like this was the end based on the contents of the achievement, do they have to visit Laboratory No. 8 again? That seems odd… Hm?

A small booklet caught Leeha’s eyes as he slouched. It had fallen under the table, kicked away by someone, deep into the shadows. It was probably touched when they were gathering unreadable information.

“Uh, what’s that?”

Quickly! Leeha hurriedly crawled under the table to pick up the booklet. Kidd and Luger also squeezed under the narrow table and raised their heads above Leeha’s shoulders.

“Ah, it’s cramped, like this!”

“Doesn’t mean you get to hog it alone, right?”

“It’s cramped because of your big head—… what’s this!”

Ruger shouted at Leeha, who was grumbling. When Leeha and Kidd discovered the title of the book, they couldn’t say anything more.

“The title is impressive from the start.”

[Realistic Analysis of the Abilities of “Matan’s Shooter” Starting from Legendary Inferences – Focusing on the “Matan’s Shooter” Journal.]

“Bingo.”

Leeha also realized, echoing Kidd’s admiration. This data is the last piece. In this, Kaztor’s seventh research lab and the last research lab, they could find the crucial information.

“Palak… Palak…”

Except for the sound of turning pages, not even the sound of swallowing saliva was heard. Despite not being a large table, the three men who squeezed under it were so focused on the contents of the book that they couldn’t even complain about the discomfort.

Despite the booklet’s small size and its more casual nature compared to official research data, it was a written record of Kaztor’s thoughts, so the content wasn’t lengthy. However, all three knew that this concise content was crucial enough to be revisited several times.

Therefore, spending a long time on a single page was natural. Impatient Luger didn’t rush them, Kidd didn’t mutter his thoughts, and Leeha just blinked his eyes.

Compared to the time spent reviewing the diary and collecting other materials, the time spent hanging onto a small booklet became the longest, and Leeha finally turned the last page.

The content of the book progressed in the format of thought experiments based on the “Matan’s Shooter” journal, which Kaztor himself had taken as a research subject.

Naturally, since they couldn’t experiment with Matan’s Shooter, it had to be a thought experiment. However, with solid logic, sufficient evidence, and, most importantly, hypotheses formulated by NPCs who understood the physical characteristics of the Middle Earth universe, the Three Musketeers could fully comprehend the contents of the booklet.

At least, the Three Musketeers’ speculations about “Matan’s Shooter” were all confirmed through the material.

“Crazy. Alexander is not the problem.”

“…If everything written here is true, no, it seems almost certain…”

“That’s right. If we integrate it into the game system, it would be a promotion. Someone promoted to Matan’s Shooter—”

Could dominate Middle Earth.

Though Leeha didn’t explicitly mention the last words, Ruger or Kidd couldn’t ignore them.

Matan’s Shooter’s abilities in “Matan’s Shooter” were excellent enough to dismiss Alexander as “such.”

“Kaztor was a genius.”

“Of course, he was an NPC. Just faithful to the setting.”

“That’s why it’s frustrating. How the hell do we find the one who can become ‘Matan’s Shooter’?”

Luger bit his lips in disappointment. While Leeha didn’t explicitly bring up the last words, he sighed and said, “But you know.”

“What? Do you know something?”

“Since it’s narrow, should we talk outside first? Why do we have to hide under the table like this?”

With a shoulder-shrugging admiration, the three men, almost huddled together due to the narrow space, smoothly crawled out of the table.

“By the way, isn’t this ability really excessive? To dominate Middle Earth literally means dominating. The Dark Elf’s resurgence…”

The most oppressed race and the race that knows the most about “Matan’s Shooter.” Leeha suddenly thought that the reason Dark Elves were oppressed might be because of “Matan’s Shooter.”

“Because they may have been tortured to find out this secret…”

Even after crawling out from under the table, the three men, still reserved, each processed the contents of Kaztor’s booklet in their own way.

The matan, created from the clash of God and the Devil, truly exists.

The matan was created with the power of the Devil, but its energy is different from the demons.

Those who could use the power of the matan are called Matan’s Shooters. There can’t be more than two at the same time.

The matan consists of a total of seven shots, and its shape is indistinct. Anything can be targeted without conditions when used.

It can assassinate with a single shot upon hitting. Regardless of whether the target is God or the Devil.

However, the seventh and final shot must kill the user. The legend of demons killing themselves and the confirmation of this point in Matan’s Shooter’s journal support this.

Matan’s Shooter can only be human. Perhaps because only they are a race that can become gods, demons, or humans.

‘It also means that Matan’s Shooter doesn’t necessarily have to be part of the Demon King’s army. Moreover, as it was created through a confrontation with gods, the inference that they can even kill gods is also valid.’

In the legend, the demon uses Matan as the last shot. That’s about all the three knew. However, Kaztor, who had the Matan’s Shooter’s journal as a direct record and also deciphered the sentences in the legend accurately, stated:

‘No matter how you choose the target, the last shot must hit the user… All previous Matan’s Shooters have chosen to self-destruct in this way.’

The reason the lineage of Matan’s Shooters was severed was because of this, according to Kaztor. Essentially, one possesses all the abilities to kill both God and the Devil, but in the end, one must pay that price.

Kaztor was angry, seeing it as some bizarre prank played by the energy entity called matan.

‘But what form or what is a matan an energy entity is, it seems impossible to know. Even the information that it can hit anything without conditions is just…’

Even Kaztor, who directly examined the Matan’s Shooter’s journal, couldn’t find data on it. Perhaps because there was no one stupid enough to test the matan, which only has seven shots.

Kaztor’s hypothesis was convincing enough, but there were still doubts about the ability.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!