Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

“Hmmm!”

“Right. Slowly, slowly. If you feel like you’re going to fall, I’ll catch you, so put strength into your legs without fear.”

The rehabilitation nurse encouraged Leeha. Afraid? At this moment, Leeha would probably laugh even if he fell and got a nosebleed. Every attempt to stand sent tingling sensations through his lower back. The feeling of atrophied muscles and nerve cells awakening again. Although this unfamiliar sensation brought pain, Leeha did not avoid it.

“Grrr!”

“That’s right! Good!”

Finally, holding onto the parallel bars, Leeha stood on his own two legs without anyone’s help.

He wobbled like he was dancing a silly dance for about 30 seconds before collapsing back into the wheelchair, but his eyes were sparkling with excitement.

“Ten times?”

“If it’s too much for you-“

“Can’t we do it for 10 hours? No, I want to continue until bedtime. Will you stay and watch over me?”

“What?”

The rehabilitation nurse looked astonished.

Outside the glass, unaware of the conversation inside the rehab room, people were struggling to hold back their tears again.

“Ahem, um, ahem! Ram Hwayeon-ssi.” Kijung, his voice nearly breaking, cleared his throat and spoke up.

He had cried every day since the surgery to the point where he thought he had no more tears left, but now his eyes were brimming with tears again.

“What? Staring at me like that won’t get you anything.”

“Who’s asking for anything?! Cough, cough. That… in Middle Earth, next time.”

“Huh?”

Ram Hwayeon tilted her head in confusion.

Suddenly Middle Earth? What was he trying to say?

Ram Hwajung, who had been staring at Leeha as if he were the only person in the world, also turned her gaze to Kijung.

Kijung felt awkward under their gaze.

Especially since what he was about to say felt so insignificant compared to what they had done for him and Leeha.

“In Middle Earth, well, with Ram Hwajung-ssi there, it might not be necessary but-“

“Spit it out, what do you want to say?”

“I will be… Ram Hwayeon-ssi’s shield, at least once.”

Kijung spoke earnestly. What could he offer in reality to repay Ram Hwayeon? 

In recent days, Kijung had thought about it coldly and came to a conclusion. ‘Nothing.’

There was nothing he could offer to someone who already had everything – not money, not gifts. The only thing Kijung could offer was unique to him. Some might say, is that a repayment in a mere game? But at least to Ram Hwayeon who heard these words, it wasn’t a small gesture.

“Truly Leeha’s brother. I won’t refuse such a repayment. It would have been better with the power of Byeolcho, but Master Key, you alone are enough.” She smiled faintly and nodded. Ram Hwajung also nodded and added.

“Shield-ajussi. You’re useful.”

“Shield, I get it, but I’m not an ajussi, Ram Hwajung-ssi. And saying I’m useful like I’m a tool-“

Kijung felt awkward and tried to counter her words, but she had already turned her head back to Leeha.

“Alright, this time, let’s aim for one minute. Grrrrr!”

Leeha, who had asked if he could play Middle Earth after surgery, now found the game far from his thoughts.

His focus was on the real effort to restore his physical body. Besides the rehab, everything else seemed trivial.

***

It was exactly one week since Leeha arrived in Hong Kong. In the world of Middle Earth, more than 35 days had passed.

“Commander! It seems they’re starting to come in now. The pack of three-headed dire wolves are appearing!”

“Understood. As expected from the intel. Alright, everyone, get into formation! Tankers of each division, please come forward! I’ll lead the overall attack, but each division leader will command their own battle!”

The commander of the joint attack, holding a shield, shouted as he received the report from a ranger.

The group of over a hundred people following him started to move in unison, cheering and demonstrating impeccable coordination.

As the attacking members moved, something like charcoal dust rose from the ground. The eerie atmosphere intensified.

“Is this time’s terrain quite plausible?”

“Of course, it should be a hit, right? The fourth cleared base was an A-grade, and the fifth was an A+ achievement, wasn’t it?”

Amidst the tension, what everyone still coveted was the clear reward.

Since the official opening of the new continent, what all players actively sought were these lands.

[Common Quest: When You Beat the Bushes, Snakes Will Emerge]

Objective: Confirm the Demon Bases (5/7) Failure Condition: Failure to confirm Demon Bases within 100 days (Remaining Time: 65 days)

The Demon Bases, crucial for completing the common quest!

With the revelation that the recently cleared fifth base granted an A+ grade achievement, the topic became even hotter.

“What about the third one?”

“Well, I don’t know. Some guild controlled it and there was no information about it. Anyway, the fourth base was the third location in the quest, and the fifth base was the fourth location in the quest… Considering the pattern, this one can’t be less than A+ grade. It’s probably the fifth or sixth location in quest terms.”

The sequence in which players cleared the Demon Bases differed from the actual number of bases, so they had to be referred to differently.

The place they were discussing,

The third cleared location was where Leeha achieved his feat, which was the fifth land covered in demonic energy in the quest.

“Make sure you’re fully buffed, and we’ll enter in 3 minutes! We’ve been overshadowed since the first base clearance, but this time it will be different. Our RUSH guild will clear the sixth base!”

Oooooooh———–!

The commander of the joint attack and the guild master of Rush guild. Ron, who had once taken on the role of a commander in a national battle, raised his weapon and shouted.

The large guilds with continental influence were still flexing their might in the new continent.

The main attack force of four groups, a total of 100 members.

Including the 15 backup members, a total of 115 members had, as Ron said, completed all preparations within 3 minutes.

In the new continent, such a number of players indicated that apart from a very special few, they were skilled in raids and group hunts.

“Let’s RUSH!”

As Ron shouted the guild’s motto, 114 attack members roared back and followed him.

The three-headed wolves and four-winged crows, intimidated by the number of players, hesitated to attack rashly, maintaining distance. However, once they started their charge, the true nature of the monsters couldn’t be hidden.

“Grrrrrr!”

“Caw, caw!”

The monsters attacked vigorously, but the attack force was no less capable.

Especially with their overwhelming numbers, they skillfully dealt with the pack of triple-headed dire wolves.

Just as they were about to tackle another group of monsters, the name of a user in the party window turned to ash.

“What? Who died?”

“Healers, stay sharp! Someone’s already down within 10 minutes of entry!”

“Wait a minute. Something’s weird. They were at full HP just a second ago?”

“It’s not our healers’ fault! The one who just died is a DPS! Tankers, manage aggro properly!”

A murmur arose among the attack members.

Although Ron briefly wore a serious expression, he quickly exercised his leadership to mediate the rising tension among his members.

Such incidents were common in difficult and thrilling raids, where excitement and tension often ran high.

“Let’s start aga-”

Thud.

Before Ron could finish his sentence, another user next to him collapsed.

The confused attack members were initially unable to grasp the situation. It was only after the user’s body turned ashen that they realized the gravity of the situation.

“What? Dead-”

“Assassin, it’s a stealth mob! Form a defensive formation for DPS! Cast ‘Detect’!”

A mage quickly cast a spell to reveal any invisible entities, shouting out his thoughts. His reasoning was sound: if someone suddenly dies without any sign of an attack, the only plausible explanation is an ‘invisible assassin’.

Though the bodies of RUSH guild members were already forming a defensive formation, their minds were in disarray.

“Invisible attack without breaking the invisibility? Is there such a magic?”

Soon after, ‘Detect’ spells were cast all around, and the players were shocked by what they found.

“There’s nothing detected-“

The heads of the mages who had cast ‘Detect’ began to explode one by one.

Pop, pop, pop-!

The sound, akin to a watermelon being smashed, continued incessantly. Ron’s face turned ashen in an instant.

“Raise the shields! Raise the shields! Form a Testudo formation!”

What was happening was unclear! But it was definitely dangerous!

Ron shouted the name of an ancient Roman military formation. Even though it was hard to comprehend with their minds, their bodies reacted – a characteristic of skilled players.

The members of Rush guild quickly formed the Testudo formation, enclosing the DPS members within.

The tightly formed defensive formation didn’t leave even a slight gap for attack.

All members of the attack force, unable to even swallow their saliva, braced for an unknown attack. However, after forming the Testudo, the attack ceased.

“…There’s no response.”

“What was that, Guild Master?”

“…I have no idea.”

It had been 5 minutes since the death of the mage who used ‘Detect,’ but to Ron and the members of RUSH, it felt like more than an hour in hell.

“What the hell was that…? Was it really an attack?”

Ron looked around persistently, his confusion evident. The charred ground showed no significant signs.

Monsters were slowly approaching from a distance, but the Testudo formation, while perfect for all-around defense, wasn’t an attacking formation. Staying like this would mean falling prey to the monsters. Moreover, the monsters that appeared this time were not the predatory type like the triple-headed dire wolves. They resembled trolls from the European continent but were different in color and physique, and even fully armed.

“Armored High-Trolls? Must be at least level 270.”

No unidentified attacks occurred after forming the Testudo.

Was it a response to the formation, or had some kind of bug phenomenon ended?

Ron eventually lowered his shield.

“Monsters resembling Armored High-Trolls approaching from all sides! Prepare your formations, each atta-“

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

The ashen body of Ron, with the top of his neck missing, collapsed to the ground.

“Commander?!”

“Guild Master, the Guild Master has fallen-“

The shock among the players was natural. The sudden panic was enough to break the Testudo formation.

And then, ‘unknown attacks’ poured down like rain through the gaps between the shields.

Members of RUSH, who had experienced national battles and even adult-grade White Dragon raids, couldn’t maintain their sanity.

Panic compounded with panic, chaos with chaos, the formation began to completely collapse.

“Whoa, no way!”

“Retreat! Everyone retreat!”

As players kept falling one by one, the approach of the Armored High-Trolls didn’t cease.

“Can’t-escape!”

A monster smaller than the Armored High-Trolls.

A creature resembling a goblin or kobold rushed in, tearing something apart.

Amidst the confusion, no player heard the ripping sound, but all members of Rush guild had to scream. A purple barrier was forming around them.

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