Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

The expanding gas from the fired bullet usually gets its noise reduced by a silencer slowing down the expansion. However, for a bullet as large and long as a Black Bass, which is about the length of an adult woman’s middle fingertip to her wrist, such noise reduction is impossible with conventional baffle silencers.

“Wasting effort in attaching one would not only fail to muffle the noise but might also throw off the aim unnecessarily. To fundamentally prevent a sonic boom, the bullet has to be slowed to subsonic speeds, which inevitably leads to decreased range. And considering the sonic boom can be heard even 500m away, well – wait, hold on a second.”

It was at that moment that Leeha, having been brushing off the gunpowder and residue inside the barrel, suddenly had a different idea.

“With Black Bass’s range, there’s no need to conceal noise in ultra-long-distance sniping since the bullet would have reached its target before the sound. So, where would a silencer actually be necessary?

A simulation ran quickly through Leeha’s mind. Consider a sniping distance within 1km, in a situation where there are many enemies around and moving openly is not an option, and where the objective is to silently eliminate a target. Even the best silencer paired with regular bullets cannot stop a sonic boom. The solution lies in creating subsonic bullets by either increasing the bullet size or decreasing the gunpowder.

However, subsonic bullets significantly impact the range, limiting them to close quarters, which is typically deemed unacceptable. But what about the current Black Bass? If its range and damage rely not on the bullet’s power but on the capabilities of the firearm in Middle Earth’s context?

At a shooting range, you won’t hear the firing or explosive noise, just the ‘crack’ of the sonic boom. With a ‘normal’ range, hiding the sonic boom is an impossibility! But now-

A silencer does not completely eliminate noise. However, with minor adjustments to the bullet in conjunction with a silencer!

“Kijung!”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be right back, wait for me.”

“What are you talking about? Where are you going? What if something happens while you’re gone? Wait-“

Before Kijung could finish, Leeha had already activated teleportation, having informed Blaugrunn of his destination. Kijung attempted to grab Blaugrunn’s clothes in a panic, but it was too late.

What happens when someone casting a spell moves a considerable distance away?

“Woah, Aaaah!”

Kijung, who had been floating nearby, crashed to the ground.

Despite the loud noise, the knights remained focused on the horde of monsters in front of them, not turning back. Whether to admire their stoic behavior or to feel sad about it, Kijung couldn’t decide. Leeha and Blaugrunn did not return, and the monsters continued to confront the Divine Staff’s defensive forces for about two more hours.

※※

Clang- Clang-!

The joyful clamor of hammers sounded like a work song. The place where the verbal confrontation between dwarves and players was intense was, as expected, the Gaza City’s forge.

“Since I’ve made the scope, a silencer is certainly possible.”

The realization of such technologies was not Leeha’s concern. If he provides the precise efficacy and blueprints for the item needed, along with securing the right materials, then assembling them would be the job of Bottleneck.

Although Leeha had the handicraft skill to create items himself, precision work was still beyond him. Leeha entered the forge, feeling newly grateful for having 1480 dwarves to compensate for his lack of crafting finesse.

“Bottleneck, sir- Hm?”

“Huh? My lord? What brings a human here, who usually doesn’t?”

“Oh.”

As soon as Leeha entered, Bottleneck’s eyes widened in surprise. Despite his exaggerated greeting and flailing arms trying to catch Leeha’s attention, Leeha had already noticed him.

The coat’s edge slipping quietly behind the office.

“Well, well,” Leeha mused in a low voice, “trying to escape my sight, Kidd?”

Despite quick movement, escaping Leeha’s enhanced object recognition was impossible.

Hearing Kidd’s name, Bottleneck’s expression hardened.

“And Bottleneck-ssi?”

Leeha was smiling broadly. Bottleneck couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret that he didn’t see it that way at all.

“Ahem, as you know, Lord – the relationship of the Three Musketeers… from our humble beginnings in Hyungwslow-”

“Who do you think set up this blacksmith shop?”

“Well, that’s-”

“It doesn’t seem like that guy came for bullets… So, what could be his purpose, I wonder~?”

Leeha was already aware that Kidd had finished analyzing [Enhancement].

In other words, the reason Kidd was here was solely one thing: the official start of enhancing the Crimson Geckos!

“Well, you know… Kidd might need various items too, right? Eh? Just like you, Lord, made that scope.”

“That could be. Even making something like a functional holster could increase Kidd’s rapid-fire ability by several folds.”

“Yes, yes! Exactly that! Functioning hol- Holst what?”

“Never mind that. While you’re at it, please make one for me as well.”

Despite knowing full well, Leeha was subtly pressuring Bottleneck for a reason of his own.

“Beard Brothers! Could you give me some paper?”

“Here you are.”

With a snap, Leeha quickly sketched on the paper placed on the desk.

Before the precise engineering, checking the efficacy of the item through a preliminary sketch was the priority.

Bottleneck watched Leeha’s swift hand movements with a dumbfounded expression, barely blinking. It didn’t take long to sketch a simple-looking silencer, its cross-section, and write down its effects.

“You want me to make this? A design this simple will hardly be effective.”

“Exactly, you catch on quick. This is just a preliminary sketch to simplify the understanding. The actual, precise model will be better thought out to be more effective. Simply dividing the silencer’s interior with baffles would hardly work…”

“Hmm, so the key will be how to vent the gas out.”

Bottleneck nodded, his arms crossed.

The possibility was there, but the technician’s face showed no sign of confidence in such a solution.

“That’s right. I’ll bring you the detailed design soon. Oh! And this won’t be enough. Let’s see, where was it…”

After explaining the concept of the silencer, Leeha picked up the bullets reserved for Black Bass from a corner of the blacksmith shop.

“Could you modify these?”

“Modify? If we increase the gunpowder any further, even Black Bass wouldn’t be able to handle it. Even if it’s been [Enhanced], it doesn’t mean it’s been strengthened to withstand more explosive power.”

“No, no. Listen before you object. Hehe, this modification isn’t about increasing the gunpowder.”

“Uh, then what?”

“There are two ways. First! Reduce the amount of gunpowder! Second! Increase the weight of the bullet head! Both goals are the same, to reduce the velocity of Black Bass’s bullets to subsonic levels!”

As Leeha shouted, extending two fingers, Bottleneck’s mouth fell open.

In other words, Leeha was asking to ‘weaken the power of the explosion’.

“Harder, lower, faster, stronger!”

That had always been the motto Bottleneck hammered by as a blacksmith; it was a difficult request to accept.

“What? Why do that!? You foolish lord! If that’s the case, why not just change Black Bass to a musket shape? It’d already be faster than sound-”

“That won’t do. The range would then be much reduced, making it ineffective. Which method do you prefer?”

Leeha promptly silenced Bottleneck’s objections.

The dwarf blacksmith, pondering what to say next, found himself confronted by a user who had sneakily crept in.

“To think you were babbling about suppressors, you even considered [Subsonic Bullets].”

“Hah, typical Kidd.”

It should come as no surprise to someone as proficient with firearms as Kidd. Leeha nodded.

However, the traces of embarrassment that lingered from Leeha’s sudden appearance amused him, as his face still held a slight flush.

“Oh yeah, you were pretty slow for a [Quickdraw], you know?”

“I had no intention of deceiving you in the first place.”

“What are you talking about, hiding like that?”

“Well, you know – ahem, it’s natural to be surprised by unexpected events.”

Leeha chuckled at the sight of Kidd stuttering, which was uncharacteristic of him. Even as Blaugrunn, who had been beside him the whole time, said, “Leeha-nim, your face looks incredibly weird. Manage your expressions!”

Leeha’s laughter showed no signs of stopping.

“So, the [Enhancement] is done?”

“It’s just the beginning.”

“Hmm. Well, with the analysis from Black Bass and your experience in enhancements, Bottleneck-ssi, there shouldn’t be any mistakes, right?”

Kidd confidently discussed the enhancement status while Leeha responded as if he already knew. Bottleneck was the one caught off guard. He had been worried about the illegal enhancements without the lord’s permission, but the concerned parties seemed unfazed.

“Well, yes. The [Crimson Geckos] are the simplest in form. Having four is a bit of a drawback, but there’s absolutely no reason to worry.”

Meaning that the chance of item disappearance upon enhancement failure was nearly zero.

Leeha felt anew the simple yet strong advantage of a revolver.

‘Come to think of it, based on the failure rate- the Cobalt Blue Python of Luger might have been the highest. Much more delicate mechanisms are required to control the firing of the firearms than Black Bass’s sniper rifle. If it were simply a cannon, it would have been simpler, but ‘maintaining a usable form’ while preserving power was a more challenging task. The bonobo paleos managed to pull it off. Hmmm… I wonder if they’re better than Bottleneck-ssi.”

Leeha shook his head.

If another upgrade of the weapon becomes necessary, that would be a matter to consider when the time comes!

For now, what was needed was just a silencer and subsonic bullets.

“I’ll look into the precise design of the silencer, so, Bottleneck-ssi, check the necessary materials, and consider the [Subsonic Bullets] I mentioned. As soon as possible.”

“Well, if the lord says so, it must be. Understood, leave it to me.”

“Ah, and please take good care of Kidd’s enhancement as well.”

“Uh, oh? Yeah! Of course!”

Bottleneck’s expression brightened with Leeha’s official approval.

Kidd knew Leeha wouldn’t interfere, but perhaps he hadn’t expected formal acknowledgment.

He looked at Leeha with a slightly startled expression.

“Why? Surprised?”

“A bit unexpected.”

“Do I come off as that petty? And I owe Kidd something…”

It was Kidd who had told him to “return to square one.”

They hadn’t revealed everything, but it was Kidd with whom he had first shared a deep conversation, discussing his troubles.

Now that his fear of assassination was completely resolved, it was natural for Leeha to feel grateful to Kidd.

“What are you trying to say.”

“No… nothing in particular. Ah! Kidd, let’s also take care of that [Divine Staff]! Are you going to ignore it just because you’re not affiliated with a guild? You took on the quest. This time with Alexander and all, just leaving everything behind!”

“You’re the one who settled a schedule that’s supposed to last 15 days in less than 5.”

Kidd shrugged as if asking what Leeha was talking about.

In reality, there was plenty of time left on the quest schedule.

Leeha’s haste had indeed hastened the quest clearance, but the large number of users at the Vatican who hadn’t participated from the start was also due to ‘the rushed schedule’.

For Leeha to blame anyone for that seemed a bit problematic.

Muttering to himself yet engaging warmly with Bottleneck and Kidd, Leeha momentarily logged out to review the design of the silencer.