Matan’s Shooter

A scream that sent chills down one’s spine erupted right next to Luger’s ear, whether it was the roar of a lion, the ultrasonic waves of a bat, or the pinpoint of a bird.

“Chain teleport. Damn it, I have to let someone know…,” Only then did Luger realize that he had to inform someone.

But the chain teleport was once again inactive. He had already passed the Kaztor incident and had set out to find Elizabeth and Brown first, so he had no desire for anyone to follow him.

“Even if it’s just words-“

With less than 20% of his field of vision left, Luger attempted to speak.

“[Gather… Manticore-]”

If he didn’t feel an immense pain in that moment, he would have surely communicated with Leeha and Kidd.

“Ahhh-!”

Luger’s eyes widened.

[During Ghibrid synthesis, the most powerful skill will be copied.]

[If possessing up to 30% of the maximum ???, synthesis will begin.]”

[Synthesis commencing]

[Designated target: Manticore]

[Copying skill: [Pierce]]

“Damn it- S#! This-“

Luger tried to glare at Ghibrid as hard as he could, but he could no longer see anything. The synthesis chosen by Ghibrid was different from creating a typical chimera.

With unfamiliar sounds, Luger’s body began to melt, and the Manticore that had stabbed him floated on top of the melted puddle of body fluid dripping from Luger.

For several minutes, the room filled with smoke and a strong odor, and in that place, a completely new type of monster that had never been seen before was born.

“[Go to the west…]”

The Ghibrid, who still spoke sporadically, turned Luger into a Manticore synthesis monster and began to head towards the west.

Following behind him were numerous chimeras created by the Manticores.

※ ※

“Well, that’s the basics done! Can you handle it?”

“Well, it’s simple. How many days did it take you to come up with a plan like this?”

“Haha, to you it may seem simple, Leeha-ssi. But the person who devised it thought their head was going to explode.”

As Leeha made a bewildered expression, Ram Hwayeon also gave a light chuckle. No matter how capable she was, the Resistance operation plan that encompassed all the Paleos in the western part of the New Continent was definitely not something that could be perceived as simple.

Leeha wanted to find any gaps in the plan and supplement them, but he found it hard to pinpoint any major ‘holes’ to patch up, which made him stutter instead.

“Then, Koba-ssi, I’ll entrust you with Ram Hwayeon here from now on.”

“Haha, it’s surprising that you trust a human female this much.”

“Wh-what? Human female? I told you not to call me that last time, didn’t I?”

“Come on, please! At a critical moment when the top two individuals responsible for headquarters administration and field command were about to clash, what would happen!”

Leeha managed to separate Ram Hwayeon and Koba, who were about to get into a heated argument. Although he had been to the New Continent a few times, experiencing this level of quick adaptability in person was quite remarkable!

“Well, for Ram Hwayeon, this is just ‘work.’

If you call it ‘business,’ there are definitely people around her much more fearsome than Koba. Ram Hwayeon, who was unparalleled in handling work efficiently, never lagged behind Koba, and even though Koba possessed the power to ‘kill at will’ anytime, he never dared to provoke her.

“I keep my promises. With the approval directly from [Pope] and [Holy Knights], the two highest authorities among humans, thanks to you, Leeha.”

“Phew, that’s right. I just hope you continue to watch over us. Oh! There’s one more thing we promised, right?”

As Leeha extended his hand with a smile, Koba’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“I’m just lending it.”

“Yes, that’s enough. Just for a week! I’ll return it once I’m done.”

“Well… I don’t expect those bearded dwarves to do anything anyway.”

Koba carefully took out something. One was a ‘bolt-action rifle’ made by the bonobo Paleos.

Producing and distributing that in mass quantities could completely change the way the musket wielders of this land were treated.

“Crazy to think I’d do that for you, haha.”

And another one was a ‘Cobalt Blue Python.’

Koba handed it to Leeha, along with its blueprint. It was akin to the bonobo Paleos dismantling and studying Luger’s firearms, sharing all the ‘know-how’ with Leeha.

“Thank you!”

“You didn’t sit me down here just to get this, did you?”

“W-would I do that! Ram Hwayeon-ssi, you wanted it too! You were recognized for your contributions in handling that huge supply route during the national war, so they approved it directly at the Fibiel Palace! Isn’t that right?”

“Hong, not only that, but you’re trying to distance yourself from me for no reason-“

-In a dark forest. Can you make it in 3 hours?

“Hmm???

It was then. A strange yet familiar voice echoed in Leeha’s mind. In an instant, Leeha recognized the other person speaking.

• Prea?
• Are you listening?

“Oh, uh? Yeah. Okay then, I’m fine with that too.”

“Fine… with what?”

“Right. Ram Hwayeon-ssi, I think I need to go now as something urgent came up. Koba! Please take care of the western border from now on.”

“Well, we’re happy to do so. Let’s see how you handle the human female.”

Leeha exchanged a handshake with Koba and immediately activated a teleportation spell.

Even though Leeha said he was leaving, even when Koba mentioned ‘human female,’ Ram Hwayeon showed no reaction. It was because Leeha only responded with a simple “okay” to her final words.

Shwooosh… Leeha disappeared in a flash of azure light.

“I distinctly remember us agreeing to spend December 31st together.”

Ram Hwayeon murmured quietly.

＊※%*

“Leeha-nim, hi!”

“Blaugrunn.”

“I still don’t sense any presence of spirits around here. Looks like they’re not coming.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that too.”

Leeha called Blaugrunn and wandered around the dark forest. It had been over ten days since he infiltrated the vicinity with Prea. Why reach out now?

“I thought you had given up playing the spy. Couldn’t bear to abandon the spirit of nature after all? Or… are you planning to reveal everything to Chiyou and Sasuke, luring me out? Of course, in that case, Prea will never be able to contract with dark spirits ‘forever’.”

The only key Leeha has that could handle her is that. Therefore, as soon as she decides to give up the dark spirit, he’ll be at risk.

“But I have to consider that possibility as well. Maybe Chiyou baited her with the promise of another spirit instead of giving up the spirit of nature. Chiyou… she’s not someone to be taken lightly.”

The biggest worry for Leeha was that Prea was watching Chiyou.

If Leeha spoke a single wrong word or make one wrong move, Prea will immediately turn against him for bringing Chiyou into the mix.

“[Mana Clairvoyance]”

“[Mana Detection]”

If he couldn’t sense the spirit’s energy, he had to check if they’ve used invisibility or transformation. Leeha and Blaugrunn had been at it for over an hour already.

“The surroundings are clear.”

“Well, we still have about 40 minutes until the meeting time. If they were planning to set a trap, they would have come early to set it up. It doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”

“Ha Leeha-nim, you are quite something.

‘We’ would’nt fall for traps set by them.”

“Oh? Are you including yourself now? In the past, you would have only said ‘you’. Blaugrunn, you’ve matured a lot!”

Leeha chuckled and ruffled Blaugrunn’s hair.

Blaugrunn was a dragon at the Juvenile-class, quick to brush off the touch but could not hide his cheerful expression. Once a hapless little one, Blaugrunn now, deep down, acknowledged Leeha.

“It’s still early. It’s not even the time for dark spirits to come out. If they planned to ambush us, they would have said, ‘Let’s meet in the evening.’

If they wanted to release ‘the policy of lifting the ban on the contract with the dark spirits by using the influence of Chiyou and Yamato and threatening Leeha’, they would have aimed for when the dark spirit appeared.

If it’s neither of those, then Leeha only had one option. To trust and wait.

About 35 minutes passed, and just 5 minutes before the appointed time, Prea appeared.

“It’s been a while, Prea-ssi. I was worried something had happened since I didn’t hear from you.”

“Hehehee, really? But I’ve had a hard time too. You just wouldn’t believe me, and besides, if I’m going to meet Ha Leeha again, there should be some ‘excitement,’ right? Don’t you think?”

With a blink that seemed far from ‘cuteness,’ could someone look so much like a child?

Leeha looked at the forlorn expression of the white-eyed elf with a wry smile.

“You still talk so fluently. So, what’s the story?”

Honey. The sound of Prea swallowing saliva reached Leeha.

“I found an amazing… place.”

“An amazing place?”

“Nes…”

Shortly after, when Prea began to tell a new story, Leeha silently cheered in his mind.

“Gryphain! Can you protect us from the cold?”

A gust of wind carried Prea’s voice, barely audible. The shimmering light emanating from the spirit who took the form of a white-haired girl flowed towards Chiyou and Prea.

“Is this good enough?”

“Well… it’s not bad.”

Chiyou barely managed to hide her expression as she looked at Prea who was asking as if pulling out teeth. Even for the master of the poker face, the ‘buff’ that Gryphain had provided was so impressive that her eyes widened.

“The superior spirits like the Ice Spirit… I once heard that spirits such as Light and Dark should be considered one level higher than the four major elemental spirits. Could it be that all ‘non-four elemental’ spirits are like that?”

Even with the information Chiyou had known so far, intermediate spirits like Light and Dark were said to possess strength similar to that of the superior spirits of the four major elemental spirits. But is it just Light and Dark? The ‘Ice Spirit’ shown by Prea was an unknown spirit to begin with.

It was even a mystery that such a thing existed in the first place! Categorizing the Ice Spirit shown by Chiyou as one of the ‘non-four elemental’ spirits alongside Light and Dark and quickly deducing the hierarchical system of spirits was only natural.

Most importantly, Gryphain was showing abilities close to the top-grade spirits of the four major elements.”

“As long as there are no abnormalities, there shouldn’t be any significant restrictions on movement. We can get closer.”

Chiyou quickly rushed up the mountain. Prea hurriedly followed behind her.

“Since we’ll keep getting attacked, be careful!”

“Yes, understood!”

“Our goal is that castle near the peak! We must get to that castle!”

“What castle? Ahh, snowball! Watch out for the snowball in front!”

“Tsk! It seems there’s a wicked woman among them. Have you already realized that there are no abnormalities?”

Chiyou chewed her lip as she stared at the castle. More precisely, she was targeting a presence within the castle.

“Woman? What woman?!”

“You don’t need to know! Just follow me quietly!”

With a leap, one jump could mean saving a life. The massive snowballs seemed to endlessly fall, and the crevasses in between them were no small matter to navigate.

In this moment of rushing forward without any hesitation, the only thing to trust in was Prea’s spirits!

“G-Gryphain! The ground below! The ground! The ground!”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Prea plunged into a pit created by Gryphain’s ice floor. As a spirit profession that wasn’a particularly adept at physical movements, she couldn’a keep up with Chiyou’s actions, even though Chiyou herself found it difficult after escaping from the inferno of abnormalities.

“Perhaps flying through the air would be the easiest, but it might be too slow considering the circumstances!”

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