Matan’s Shooter

“… Huh?”

How cruel and terrifying the phrase “living up to one’s name” could be.

Ha Leeha blinked as he looked at the quest window.

He repeatedly wished he had seen it wrong.

* * *

《It’s a simple task. You just need to make the bullet hit the target while enduring wind speeds of 40 meters per second.》

Shimo said, tossing the words casually as he began to prepare something.

Even as he fumbled around and opened his mouth again to take out something from his chest, Ha Leeha couldn’t say anything.

《When you can read the invisible, you become able to see through all deceptions. Of course, you also need to develop the insight to see through such deceptions. Therefore, I will give you the target. Throw it towards a place where the wind blows. However, even if you are someone I cherish, I can’t give you more than five attempts―》

Ha Leeha stretched out his hand towards Shimo, showing him his palm. In fact, Shimo’s words didn’t even make it into his ears.

“Wind speed of 40 meters per second― uh, excuse me? 40 m/s! That’s a massive typhoon level! No, a hurricane! Maybe even a tornado?!”

《That’s correct.》

Shimo tilted his head slightly as he looked at Ha Leeha, as if he was asking if something was wrong.

That reaction left Ha Leeha at a loss for words.

《It was the same when I first learned. The blizzards of my hometown, Pandril, are very fierce. It wasn’t until I managed to hit the target through a barrier of 47 meters per second that I realized myself as the ‘White Reaper.’ However, I won’t force you to face winds of 47 m/s.》

“… I see.”

Should he say, “Thank you very much for reducing it by about 7 meters per second”?

“Still, just a moment― uh, okay. I understand. But what’s with the five attempts?”

《This.》

Shimo handed something to Ha Leeha from his chest.

An item that a spirit could hand over directly?

With a heart pounding in anticipation, hoping it might be a hint for the quest, Ha Leeha received the item.

《Rare Animal Soul Stone (Non-transferable)》

Effect: Summons the soul of three animals (Usage limit: 5 times)

Description: A small stone that stores the souls of animals. When used, it summons one animal soul each from land, sea, and air.

“… What is this?”

《Among them, the land animals are the largest. When you find a spot where the wind speed meets the requirement, throw this Soul Stone towards it and hit the target corresponding to a land animal.》

“Did I hear that correctly?”

It was the kind of item that brought out his old military habits.

Instead of being a hint for the quest, it exponentially increased the quest’s difficulty!

The wind speed condition was a minimum of 40 m/s.

Finding such a spot was a task in itself, and even if found, he couldn’t just choose any random target.

‘No, of course, this is sniper training, so it’s understandable― but throwing this thing under such conditions― and hitting only the land animal among the randomly appearing souls!’

Isn’t that similar to distinguishing between terrorists and hostages in urban training for special forces?

Except Ha Leeha had to do it in a hurricane with wind speeds exceeding 40 m/s.

《Can you do it?》

But what could he do?

He couldn’t abandon the skills of the second transition after completing it, could he?

The reward for the quest was a passive skill, but then there appeared another sequential quest.

Until Ha Leeha absorbed all the skills of the White Death in order, he could never give up.

‘I have to… right? Yes. But, you’re not going to replace my eyes or anything, right?’

《Haha, of course not. I will simply transfer the essence of my eyes. It will be even easier with the dragon here.》

‘Understood.’

Ha Leeha pressed the accept button.

A strategy had already been formulated.

‘Ha, I guess there’s no other way now. I need to get the Harpy hat again. As long as I have the hat that ignores wind speed and direction—’

《You know that if you do anything to ignore the wind speed and direction, you won’t gain the eyes to read the wind, right?》

‘What? Oh, really?’

There was always someone better out there.

It took Ha Leeha about three minutes to regain his composure.

He had to scream internally enough before he could face reality.

* * *

“Isn’t this a bit too much? For one skill— just to learn a skill to read the wind— all this commotion?”

Ha Leeha kicked a pebble on the street.

Although the weather was clear and the temperature pleasant in Aelstock, the capital of Fibiel, unlike near Shazrashian, he felt no joy.

‘Why is it only me going through this? What about Kidd and Luger— yeah, what happened to those guys?’

Ha Leeha opened the teleport window of the Three Musketeers but made a disappointed face.

‘Nothing is available when you need it.’

Both were logged out.

Just as Ha Leeha had sacrificed his sleep and personal time to become the White Death, they too would have poured in their time and effort.

Of course, Ha Leeha hadn’t considered their efforts.

“When we caught the Manticore, luger was already using that absurd anti-aircraft gun, so that’s one thing. But Kidd, his attacks were different from usual too.”

That would mean both had obtained basic skills at the very least, and both happened to be offensive skills!

“But me! Eyes— Eyes?! Ugh, never mind…”

What was the difference between those two and himself?

Ha Leeha suppressed his urge to roll on the street right then and there.

The reason for visiting the capital was not just to walk around.

He needed to find a suitable location and someone within Middle Earth to help him practice sniping, and fortunately, Ha Leeha knew an NPC much kinder than the White Death.

“Director!”

Ha Leeha’s steps lightened as he entered the Brown Bess Musket Academy.

Bang─────────…!

“Oh, new recruits are struggling today as well.”

Two users were grunting as they held muskets in the drill ground.

Considering that other career academy buildings were always swarming with 30 to 50 users every minute, every hour, it was an astonishingly small number, but to Ha Leeha, even they were a welcome sight.

In the director’s office, there was one more man than usual.

“Just do the usual. Make sure they get familiar with the musket as the basics of discipline, and there should be no problems.”

“Of course, senior.”

Ha Leeha scratched his head as he looked at the person addressing Browless as ‘senior’.

“I came to report that I’ve completed the transfer to the White Reaper, but it seems you don’t care. So, senior?”

“Are you Ha Leeha? I’ve heard a lot about you from Senior. I’m Flint.”

“Oh, yes. Hello, Flint-nim.”

The man greeted Ha Leeha first.

As Ha Leeha reflexively nodded back, Browless introduced the new man.

“This time, I will also be dispatched as a member of the Alliance. During that period, he will take care of the Academy. Though he joined as a rookie 20 years ago, he’s much more senior than you, Ha Leeha. Please treat him as you would treat me.”

“Oh, I see. Yes, of course.”

Ha Leeha nodded.

It was only natural that Browless was selected as a member of the Sacred Alliance.

‘To chase Elizabeth and Brown, someone like him is absolutely necessary.’

Since Browless couldn’t leave the Academy unattended, the character must have been newly dispatched from Middle Earth.

For a Musketeer to suddenly appear and start talking about seniority, it felt somewhat convenient to Ha Leeha. Yet, he was glad to meet an NPC with a similar vibe to Browless.

“I’m a bit busy right now with the handover. Is it something urgent?”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll come back later.”

“Thank you.”

Browless resumed his conversation with Flint, and Ha Leeha had to leave the office.

‘It’s a pity that he’s not very interested in me because it’s natural for him to be busy. Could it be because I’m no longer a Musketeer?’

Although it was the second job transfer for a Musketeer, he was now a proud White Reaper.

That’s precisely what he had come to report, but he couldn’t even get it out.

‘Did Luger and Kidd mention it? No, wait a minute. What are those guys’ second job names?’

As he pondered whether they had been here, a more fundamental question crossed Ha Leeha’s mind.

He had learned from Bottleneck that Luger had acquired a new skill called ‘Acht—Acht.’

But what were the names of Kidd and Luger’s second jobs?

Obviously, it wouldn’t be White Reaper, but there were too few clues to guess anything else.

While leaving the Academy, having gained nothing, he heard a loud voice from behind.

“Why are you so lifeless? Want to try some disciplining?”

“Hup!”

Ha Leeha turned around quickly.

There was only one person who would talk to him that way.

“Sergeant Kim!”

“From the look of you, it seems you failed? Hey, kid! Did you get beaten by Ha Leeha?”

A boyish, miaou tribe Musketeer was standing there, making a pun on Ha Leeha’s name.

Ha Leeha quickly grasped the situation.

The Middle Earth access device he saw at Sergeant Kim’s house was definitely not just for decoration.

A smile spread automatically across Ha Leeha’s face.

“Ha Leeha is definitely Ha Leeha. And now, Ha Leeha has truly become Ha Leeha.”

Then he drew a V-sign towards Sergeant Kim.

The boyish Miaou, who was filled with thoughts of teasing Ha Leeha, frowned.

* * *

“You’ve been given the nickname ‘White Reaper’?”

“It’s not just a nickname; it’s my official job title within the Middle Earth system.”

“…That’s ridiculous. Curve shot? How on earth do you even do that? I’ve been in and out of this training center countless times, and they’ve never taught anything like that here.”

Ha Leeha couldn’t help but feel a bit amused seeing the boyish face mismatched with the coarse tone. It always made him feel better to see the guy flustered.

“Oh, sergeant Kim, you wouldn’t stand a chance! I only learned it recently! What’s your level now—around 70?”

“This kid is a genius, huh? Yeah, I’m at 67.”

“Pfft.”

“Did you just laugh? Did you really just laugh at me?”

“No, no. You’ve leveled up quickly. You were a complete rookie last time.”

Last time, sergeant Kim’s level was barely around 20.

If he had cleared all the beginner quests from Candle Castle safely, he was probably around level 20 or so.

But now, if he had reached almost level 70, considering the inherent penalties of being a Musketeer, his leveling speed wasn’t slow at all.

“A rookie? Did this little punk just call me a rookie? If you wanna bet—…we should at least have similar guns. Hey, where did you get that gun? A Mark XV? The muzzle part looks a bit different, though.”

“Ah, you recognized it right away. But, sergeant, you won’t be able to get this gun.”

“This brat has been looking down on me from earlier!”

Sergeant Kim, fuming, grew more animated, and Ha Leeha diligently explained for him.

He debated whether to recount his whole grand Tale up to this point, especially the fact that only one such item existed in the game’s system.

So, now what was his problem?

“What is it? What’s bothering you?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re the White Reaper, you’ve got that ridiculous gun, and even the insane curve shot skill. So, why do you look so troubled? If you’re here at the training center brooding, it must be related to sniping, right?”

“…Are you a mind reader or something?”

“Just spill it, kid.”

Perhaps the relaxed atmosphere thanks to previous counseling sessions helped, or maybe Ha Leeha was now able to genuinely embrace Sergeant Kim’s advice.

With a lighter heart, Ha Leeha began explaining the quest given by the White Reaper.

Sergeant Kim’s face quickly grew sullen, which by itself proved the difficulty level of the quest.

“A wind speed of 40 meters per second?”

“Exactly.”

Ha Leeha sighed and continued.

“I’ve never attempted something like this before… Is it even possible? I mean, the muzzle velocity might allow it to penetrate a wind speed of 40 meters per second, but—”

“No, it won’t.”

“Excuse me?”

Sergeant Kim shook his head.

His face darkened momentarily but soon returned to normal.

“At much lower speeds, it swerves considerably. And you only get five chances? Do not attempt it without thorough practice.”

“Have you ever shot in such conditions before?”

“During a deployment in my sergeant days. There was a cyclone during one of our operations. It was an intermediate one, about 120 kilometers per hour—so, around 33 meters per second. You know me; I can’t hold back my curiosity. Since I couldn’t do it in Korea, I used the excuse of ‘preparing for sniper training in high winds’ to give it a shot there.”

“So, what happened?”

“I already told you. You mentioned curve shots, right? My shots back then were essentially curve shots. In fact, they swerved three or more times. I should probably call it a ‘dancing shot’ instead.”

Sergeant Kim didn’t mock Ha Leeha, saying things like ‘You’re bound to fail!’ or ‘Do you really think you can do it?’

He knew this quest was extraordinarily difficult to an extent it didn’t need to be pointed out.

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