Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

Leeha’s mermaid transformation speed was beyond imagination.

Even though the ships of Kraven’s users were moving swiftly on the surface, to Leeha underwater, they appeared almost stationary.

‘Well, the mermaid form was faster than the fastest ship in Middle Earth that ignored waves and winds during the crossing of the New Continent… Ordinary ships can’t compare.’

And Blaugrun, who was effortlessly keeping up with him, would have had to be carried by Leeha in his mermaid form in the past.

‘Comfortable, yes, but not what I expected.’

Leeha had hoped for a partner who could kindly and thoroughly introduce him to more of Middle Earth, now that Blaugrun could speak…

Blaugrun made it very clear.

He was a dragon. A dragon with the memories of an Adult, who remembered everything since his hatchling days with Leeha. Middle Earth never makes things easy.

‘I understand in my head… Ah, I should’ve saved the location of the Dragon Palace. How foolish of me.’

The location of the Dragon Palace is halfway between the New and Old Continents, in the Sea of Dawn. It takes nearly 60 days by ship, and even with Leeha’s speed, it would take nearly 30 days in Middle Earth time. Not preparing for a return trip to a city located underwater was an oversight. And then there are the sea creatures they might encounter on their way.

‘I can’t use Black Bass underwater. The good news is my speed has greatly increased. I’ll avoid fighting if possible, but if unavoidable, I’ll resort to the electric shocker.’

Now able to move freely underwater, Leeha could engage in a real close combat situation, unlike the floundering and desperation of the past.

However, he would only resort to this in emergencies, preferring to avoid combat and head straight to the Dragon Palace.

“Shall I increase our speed?”

“What?”

“I can reduce the journey to about ten days. Oh, with your current speed, it would take 29 days and over 8 hours.”

“You can reduce it to ten days? Why didn’t you use such magic before –”

“It’s different from the time with Lord Bailephus. Back then, I couldn’t freely use magic. Even for a lord, it’s impossible to arbitrarily increase the speed of two massive entities. You know that, right?”

Blaugrun spoke kindly. Although Leeha still felt he was unnecessarily adding comments, he was a pragmatist at heart. If it helped, there was no need for pointless efforts.

“Okay. But how long can you use that magic?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

“You don’t know? A dragon doesn’t know?”

Leeha asked with a chuckle. ‘See, this is how you talk!’ he thought, wearing a mocking expression. Though Leeha knew he wouldn’t get a straightforward answer, he still hoped to glean some information. After checking Kid’s location briefly, Leeha sped up once again. Another day was passing by.

***

“A group of three big men has arrived at the village entrance. They are new faces that weren’t here yesterday.”

“Okay, got it. Keep tailing them and move with Tale.”

“Understood.”

A ranger user nodded and disappeared. In the small village of Chesi, on the outskirts of the Minis Kingdom, an air of tension hung in a place that should have been quiet, neither a gateway to hunting grounds nor a starting point for special adventures. This wasn’t the first time such unrest had occurred. Periodic disturbances had made even the village NPCs learn to avoid them.

“Hyein, they should be here soon.”

“I know. They seem to be deliberately causing chaos during my login time, but luckily, they’re all fools except for Chiyou.”

Kijung swallowed dryly at Hyein’s fierce expression. Normally calm and intelligent, Hyein transformed whenever Chiyo’s name was mentioned. The ‘Shinobigumi Annihilation’ operation that Leeha had practically entrusted to Byulcho was already in its third phase. The first encounter happened ten days and three hours into the login. But against Byulcho, already entrenched in Chesi Village, they stood no chance, especially since they were blatantly dressed as members of Shinobigumi, making them easy to identify.

With Kijung, Biyemi, Tale, and other members from Byulcho, they suppressed the Shinobigumi users in the chaos, and Chiyou logged in during this turmoil.

Chiyou couldn’t escape. She always spawned in the village square, where Hyein instantly immobilized her. Before the village guards could even react, Bobae’s arrow had already pierced Chiyo’s head. Hyein escaped using blink, far too fast for the mere seven NPC guards to follow.

The second time was similar, with fewer Shinobigumi members online. For Byulcho, their gathering was a clue to predict Chiyo’s login. They controlled their numbers to create confusion, but it backfired spectacularly.

After two additional deaths, the third encounter happened, 14 days after the second one. In Middle Earth time, it had only been just over six days.

“Changing login times won’t help if they keep sending lackeys, right?”

“It’s not Chiyou’s doing. They’re just trying to catch the boss’s eye with impromptu actions. They might be somewhat high up in Shinobigumi, but their intelligence… It shows how dependent Shinobigumi was on Chiyou alone.”

Kijung nodded in agreement.

Hyein’s analysis was accurate. Although Chiyou wouldn’t have called them, Sasuke alone couldn’t control all the organization members.

Those aware of Chiyou being the head of Shinobigumi were essentially middle managers, each with their factions. For them, now was a chance! If they could rescue Chiyou, they could easily surpass Sasuke and become second in command.

They pretended to follow Sasuke’s orders while leaking information. Their deaths or wasted time in the village weakened their factions’ intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Thus, Shinobigumi was self-destructing from within.

About four hours later, nine users had trickled into Chesi Village. Pretending to be nonchalant, their awkward loitering around the square was too conspicuous.

– Standby.

Kijung sent a message to everyone. Byulcho’s users scattered around the village began gathering in the square.

When would Chiyo come? What method would she use this time to escape?

Kijung mused and smiled.

‘It’s pointless anyway.’

It all started with Hyein’s spatial lock.

Unless Shinobigumi deployed all its members, they couldn’t stand against the well-tempered Byulcho, a force to be reckoned with even for major guilds in Minis, not just Pyubiel.

Approximately 5 hours later, the community was abuzz.

[Title: Rumor has it the top ten rankers are fighting each other?]

[Title: Where does Chiyo keep dying? Is she soloing a dragon raid or something?]

[Title: [Breaking] Chiyo falls to 9th in the rankings!]

The operation had evidently taken its toll on Chiyo’s ranking and reputation. The continual setbacks and losses against Byulcho, especially under Hyein’s leadership, showed the effectiveness of their strategy and the reliance of Shinobigumi on Chiyo. With her frequent defeats and the internal struggles within Shinobigumi, the organization’s dominance in the virtual world of Middle Earth seemed to be waning.

Ranked 7th, Chiyo faced three deaths, plummeting rapidly to the 9th position.

Now the ranking stood as Ram Hwajung at 7th, Faust at 8th, Chiyo at 9th, and Bobae at 10th.

The significance of falling two places after the third death was profound.

‘Ram Hwajung and Faust are on the same level. It’s the experience points that determine the ranking order.’

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