Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

“Go, go, go, space – the space is locked!”

“Crazy, damn it?! The monster is controlling the space-”

Poof, amidst this chaos, someone’s head flew off.

Armored High-Trolls began to charge with a ferocious cry. Having lost their commander, and in the face of relentless ‘one-hit attacks’ from an unidentified source, the guild members of Rush couldn’t possibly engage in proper combat.

“…Recording a video at least…”

Poof…!

It took less than 15 minutes for the entire elite force of Rush, a large guild led by Fibiel that had previously conquered the first Demon King’s stronghold, to be annihilated.

Kijung was continuously receiving information about Middle Earth through Taeil. Therefore, he was well aware of this incident, which had stirred the entire Middle Earth community and achieved 10 million views on YouTube in just two days.

Leeha lying in bed, and Kijung holding a tablet.

Both were intently focused on the screen as if being drawn into it.

The video quality was somewhat poor, and many users employed screenshots and video recording prevention items, making it difficult to discern the content clearly.

-Carut- Human- Carruruk?! Run-like-go!

-Go, go, go, space – the space is locked!

-The monster is controlling the space-

However, the key scenes of Rush guild members dying due to the rampaging monsters and unidentified attacks were clearly captured, sufficiently shocking the viewers.

The video itself was less than 6 minutes long, but its implications were far from trivial.

High-level users capable of forming an expedition to the new continent, that too 100 members from the same guild, perfectly synchronized in team play from countless raids, were completely wiped out.

Despite watching it three times, the two hadn’t spoken a single word.

Leeha, in his own way, and Kijung, in his own way, seemed to understand something from the video.

“…Hyung. You haven’t logged into Middle Earth recently, have you?”

“What?”

“No, of course not. It couldn’t be you.”

“You think I did this?”

“It resembles your attack style. In the video, they seem to think it’s an invisible assassin… but in such a case, it rather looks more like long-range sniping.”

Kijung’s eyes sparkled. He knew better, having seen Leeha’s feats up close. The victims die without even being able to discern the attacker’s location? And that too, with a ‘regular attack’ without any trace of mana waves?

“If not hyung, then Luger or Kidd-”

“They have no reason to do this. They would also need to complete the common quest. Luger may be crazy, but he’s not insane enough to wage war on Rush just to complete it himself.”

“Then who on earth…

Kijung looked puzzled, but Leeha’s expression was darker.

It’s not him. Not Kidd. Not Luger.

And a being that has a motive to kill users trying to subdue the Demon King’s stronghold.

What could that be?

All clues pointed to only one possibility.

‘This is… the doing of the “Matan’s Shooter”. Now I understand why Luger was targeted.’

Due to the screams and noise in the video, it’s hard to hear, but the ‘gunshots’ are almost inaudible.

How many seconds after a user is hit by Matan’s Shooter does the sound occur? The gap between the event and the sound was so large that it was natural not to notice the gunshots.

In other words, the gunshot sound occurs at least 6 seconds after being hit, and Leeha knew very well what this time gap implied.

As Leeha was lost in shock, Kijung, who had been watching the video for a while, lay back and chuckled self-deprecatingly.

“Kick. Should I be thankful to you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“If you hadn’t brought me to Hong Kong, where would I be?”

“True… Instead of Rush, it would have been Byeolcho who got destroyed. You wouldn’t ignore a quest to subdue the Demon King’s stronghold.”

“Right. Well, I can log into Middle Earth even from here… but then, I should also thank Chiyou. Lately, I’ve heard from Tale-hyung that the guild situation isn’t good.”

“Why Chiyou?”

“Why? Because of ‘Yamato’. Chiyou has been tormenting them for revenge, right? Sending Bobae early was also to ask her to sort things out. Especially, our lower to mid-level guild members are even considering leaving the guild…”

Kijung spoke in a somewhat light-hearted manner, but the situation seemed dire.

Unlike the ‘Shinobi-Gumi’, which simply dealt with information, the guild ‘Yamato’ comprised entirely of renowned outsiders. Their combat power far surpassed that of the average members of the Byeolcho guild. Only the top users in Byeolcho could possibly stand a chance against them.

‘When and how did they manage to recruit such people?’

Leeha pondered seriously about them once again, whom he hadn’t given much thought to before. With Chiyou’s overwhelming information capabilities, it wouldn’t have been difficult to figure out what they needed. Could she have lured them into the guild with the promise of giving them what they wanted?

Some of them might have joined for material gains, and others simply because they found pleasure in playing the role of a villain.

‘Really, this Middle Earth is fascinating. Large corporations are considering it for new business ventures, and some are even trying to establish power structures. I guess that makes sense. If it weren’t for Middle Earth, I wouldn’t have been able to fix my leg. So then… what about Chiyou?’

What could be Chiyou’s reason for playing the game? She doesn’t seem to be aiming for profit, nor does she appear to be trying to achieve something specific. She’s not even striving to be the strongest in the game.

Leeha shook his head. At least with the information he currently had, he couldn’t fathom her intentions.

Then, glancing at Kijung who was lying beside him, he spoke.

“Kijung, just go back to Korea tomorrow.”

“What? Why suddenly, hyung?”

“It’s already been 9 days since you came to Hong Kong. You don’t need to stay here anymore. Go back.”

“Okay, okay. Are you saying this because I just mentioned the guild? Of course, I should stay while you’re in Hong Kong. And I can play Middle Earth from here too.”

Though he could, Kijung hadn’t played even once.

It was partly due to the internal situation of the game, especially Chiyou’s [Yamato], but more so because he had been following Leeha around, helping with his rehabilitation.

In effect, Kijung hadn’t been able to play because of Leeha, and Leeha, knowing this, felt increasingly guilty.

“Mom keeps asking when you’ll come. Go and see her. Check if everything is alright with her. And look at this.”

Leeha comforted and reassured Kijung, then hurriedly got off the bed.

Kijung, still not fully adjusted, was startled and tried to support Leeha, but Leeha brushed his hand away.

“I can stand on my own now – there’s no need for you, is there? You’ve worked hard until now, so go back soon.”

Leeha stood on his own feet beside the bed.

His legs were shaky and unstable, but he showed incredible recovery.

Given that he had focused solely on rehabilitation to the amazement of the specialized doctors and nurses, this was perhaps to be expected.

“Can I really go?”

Seeing his condition, Kijung had no choice but to agree.

He knew that once Leeha became stubborn, he wouldn’t easily back down, and realistically, it was necessary for Kijung to log into Middle Earth as soon as possible for the management of the Byeolcho guild.

“Yes, go ahead. Quickly pack your bags at the lodge. Leave tonight if you can.”

“Alright.”

Kijung sprang to his feet.

Leeha then sat back on the bed, smiling at Kijung.

“…But aren’t you too unbothered about this? Shouldn’t you be saying, ‘I’ll stay,’ at times like this?”

“Kick, no thanks? I’m going. Anyway, thanks, brother. Because of you, I got to visit Hong Kong like this. I had a great time at the Ram Long Group’s residence, and I’ll never forget shopping with Ram Hwajung-ssi. Oh! Should I take the gift Ram Hwajung-ssi gave you to take care of for brother to Korea?”

Kijung suddenly remembered and spoke hastily.

Leeha nodded proudly.

“Just don’t keep it for yourself.”

“It doesn’t fit me, so I can’t wear it anyway. Alright, I’ll get ready then!”

The two cousins joked and laughed until the end. Kijung hurried back to his lodge to prepare for his return to Korea.

From his actions, Leeha could guess how serious the situation must be for the Byeolcho guild in Middle Earth.

‘There are only 55 days left for the common quest… So my World Tree quest would be around 110 days now.’

Leeha wanted to log into Middle Earth, but he knew rehabilitation was more urgent, so he spent the day feeling impatient.

That evening, Kijung left for Korea. When Leeha woke up after completing his rehabilitation, it was exactly ten days since he had arrived in Hong Kong.

Leeha’s daily routine was always the same. He would start with a hearty breakfast – which he didn’t know was prepared as a hotel-style breakfast on Ram Hwayeon’s orders, rather than the typical hospital food – followed by a simple neurological examination, and then immediately begin rehabilitation.

This was followed by lunch, more rehabilitation, dinner, and then some light lower body stretching before bed.

This mechanical repetition of daily life could have been boring, but Leeha didn’t feel it that way at all.

“Huff, huff.”

“Hold my hand.”

“No, huff, it’s okay. Holding Ram Hwajung-ssi’s hand won’t stabilize me. If I fall, we both might get hurt more.”

Was she offering her hand in case Leeha fell?

It was unlikely that Ram Hwajung, who was just a bit taller than half of Leeha’s height, believed she could support him if he fell.

Although Ram Hwajung’s offer to hold hands might have had a meaning beyond support, Leeha, focusing all his attention on his lower body, couldn’t think of that.

“I’m bored.”

After lunchtime and during the afternoon rehabilitation, Ram Hwajung, who had been following Leeha around, never left his side, especially after Bobae and Nara left and even after Kijung, who looked somewhat gloomy for some reason, departed.

Leeha felt a bittersweet sensation looking at Ram Hwajung.

‘Even as the youngest daughter of a top-ranking chaebol group… No, perhaps because of that, she might not have many people who genuinely care about her.’

Although she was part of the Hwahong guild, Ram Hwajung usually played solo unless specifically instructed by Ram Hwayeon.

Leeha suddenly thought that maybe her nickname, the Ice Witch, was not because of her cold personality, but rather because she was lonely, not knowing how to communicate with others due to a lack of companionship.

‘In the hospital, the bodyguards are mostly not around, usually just near Ram Fang.’

Ram Hwayeon and Jachung were always busy with work, and bodyguards were not allowed to accompany them in the hospital to maintain the atmosphere.

This meant the hospital had all the elements to make Ram Hwajung feel bored.

“Shall we go for a walk?”

At Leeha’s suggestion, Ram Hwajung’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Yeah!”

Leeha smiled warmly, realizing that despite being the Ice Witch and a top 10 ranked player in Middle Earth, in reality, she was just a kid.

Unable to walk for more than 10 minutes, Leeha sat in a wheelchair.

And behind that wheelchair stood Ram Hwajung.

“I can do it…”

“I want to.”

Leeha, who was adept at maneuvering the wheelchair himself, had to relent and hand over control to Ram Hwajung, who insisted on pushing it herself.

TL’s Corner:

Whether something good or bad happened can’t be determined unless you see the end result.

“What bad luck!” The farmer replies, “Maybe.” The next day, the horse returns with several wild horses, and the villagers exclaim, “What good luck!” Again, the farmer says, “Maybe.” Later, the farmer’s son breaks his leg while trying to tame one of the wild horses. “What bad luck!” say the villagers. The farmer’s response? “Maybe.” Finally, the army comes to the village to draft young men for war but leaves the farmer’s son behind due to his broken leg. “What good luck!” cheer the villagers. The farmer simply says, “Maybe.”

Weekly Chapters Released: 7/7 Chapter of the week

Pending Monthly Bonus Chapters: 2/2

Debt counter: 0

If you find any grammar issues, errors, or unintelligible sentences, feel free to leave a comment or join our discord server so I can rectify any mistakes I made.

Cry for help:

I have been let go from my current organization, and I will end working for them by the end of March, I would like to ask for financial assistance for the following month while I look for a new job. I would be grateful for any amount of help. Thank you! You can send your donations here: https://paypal.me/lordfifth?country.x=PH&locale.x=en_US

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