Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Hehe, really, you are out of breath, Prea-ssi. And speaking of which, it seems like you are seriously misunderstanding something… Anyway, without me, you would never have been able to contract with the shade spirits for eternity.”

Prea glared at Leeha with such anger that her hair almost reached the sky.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You used to have a very intellectual image, didn’t you? Weren’t you someone who understood things instantly when I did this? No, perhaps we haven’t had a conversation to that extent before?”

“Stop playing around with nonsense and speak properly, or-“

Prea tried to make one last gamble. As the grade of spirits rose, the spirit’s ego becomes stronger.

The fact that they were completely convinced by Leeha’s words and were engaging in actions that violated the contract with Prea was proof of that.

“But if they’re lower-level spirits, the story would be different! If they are dogs that haven’t been shown yet-“

Prea was confident. She had one more move left. Although they were of lower level, that high-ranking brat would be caught off guard and have no choice but to fall!

Leeha was watching each of Prea’s movements closely.

“I didn’t think persuading you through words would work from the beginning.”

Originally, she had tried to overpower with force. But at this moment, didn’t she possess a better weapon than just strength? While watching Prea, Leeha quietly contemplated.

“[Ripe Fear: Revealed]” Appearing before everyone, the top-grade terror spirit Uncanny manifested.

※: ※ ※

“Elaim-nim!”

“S-Sylphid-nim, how did you come here-“

“Ifrit unni!”

“I bow to the Earth Spirit King.”

The four superior spirits quickly knelt down. At that moment, Uncanny addressed all of them.

“Do I still seem like [that] to you?”

Uncanny locked eyes with the four superior spirits, Prea, and everyone. Is the ability for one being to lock eyes simultaneously with five beings the power held by the terror spirit?

“Well, seems like that. Is this the horror of a twist.”

“Ah, it’s terrifying. There used to be a movie like that back in the day.

‘Do you still see me as your friend?’

“That kind of thing. How scary would it be to actually experience that.”

Blaugrunn and Leeha, free from the uncanny force, were watching the scene unfold like a movie.

The five beings that had looked shocked just moments ago now wore completely corrupted expressions.

As for Prea, there was no need to even mention her.

“What- no, that can’t be right! You…”

“What are you watching?”

“Only Uncanny knows.”

“Hah, I’ll ask later. That there, it’s not a White-eyed Spirit, it’s a White-faced Spirit.”

While Leeha chuckled for a moment at Prea’s completely horrified expression, soon Prea’s screams engulfed the entire dark forest.

“I won’t kill your contractor, so don’t worry-“

Before Leeha could finish speaking, the four highest-ranking spirits all returned to the spirit realm from Prea’s body. They couldn’t stay with the unconscious spiritualist any longer.

It was a strange experience even for Leeha.

“Oh, so they faint in the Middle Earth too… I’ve seen stun effects before, but this is different.”

“What kind of obvious statement is that? Of course they faint.”

Blaugrunn looked at Leeha with a strange expression, but Leeha just shrugged; there was nothing else to say.

At this moment, what had happened to Prea’s ‘connection state’?

“If she died, she’d log out, but there’s no light now. Is it a brief connection block, leaving the game character connected without sending her back to reality… No, perhaps how much can the effect of [Abnormal State: Fear] be maximized to reach this level?”

The [Abnormal State: Fear] that Leeha remembered rendered the affected unable to move for about two minutes.

Of course, his thoughts on [Abnormal State: Fear] being just about instilling fear came from his own perspective.

[Abnormal State: Fear (Enhanced)] caused a more intense shock than that.

In other words, what was currently happening went beyond simply rendering the body immobile; compared to the usual log out that made the character disappear, it was creating an inexplicable situation where the connection was halfway cut and the character was left as is.

“Is there even a cheat like this?”

Snipe?

At least, it would be an occasion where even a chuckle wouldn’t escape from Leeha.

“Hehehe! Uncanny-ssi! Hurry back! They’ve suffered enough!”

“Oh no! I have a question.”

Swoosh~

Attempting to ask what Prea, who was trying to conserve mana by releasing skills, had seen, it was already too late.

“Anyway, it’s like you, Ha Leeha-nim.”

“Well, I’m blaming myself too, so don’t say it like that.”

“Um~…”

Despite achieving the incredible feat of subduing Prea and the four highest-grade spirits simultaneously, Leeha and Blaugrunn were in a heated argument.

Meanwhile, a small groan escaped Prea’s lips as she lay there.

Leeha took out the cheapest potion from his bag and applied it to Prea’s face.

“Ugh! Stop it! Stop-“

“Geez. Are you in your right mind now? The first time I’ve seen someone faint in Middle Earth.”

“Haah, haah, haah.”

Prea wheezed heavily. Her short and rapid breathing indicated she still hadn’t regained her senses, so Leeha extended both hands to show there was no longer any threat.

“It’s over. The spirits have all gone back.”

“What? How did that happen……”

“I get that you’re angry, but please bear with it. We still have to talk. Is this too one-sided? Nonetheless, since I won, let’s have a conversation, Prea.”

Leeha plopped down, looking around at Prea’s decision.

Even in her completely defenseless state, Prea was taken aback when she saw Leeha. It wasn’t just because Blaugrunn was glaring at her menacingly.

Why did I faint? What on earth did I see?

The assault carried out in a fit of rage, losing composure and cool judgment, resulted in the worst possible outcome. And at this moment, Prea understood everything perfectly.

“Hiya…? Who in the world are you?”

Her white eyes darted nervously. Leeha met her gaze straight on, furrowing his brow slightly.

“Well, seems like I’m jumping the gun with what I want to say. Still, considering the propriety, I’ll ask the questions first. Even though you had no initial connection with Chiyou, no association with Bluebeard, why in the world did you decide to join the Demon King’s Army? Let’s have a deep conversation about each of us. Well, if you have any questions yourself, I’ll let you ask a few.”

Of course, I have no intentions of answering straightforwardly.

He didn’t bother adding that. However, if a spirit reluctant to come forward and answer questions from the one who showed the “Terror Spirit,” the one who banned the contract with the “Dark Spirits,” it was unlikely to be found in Middle Earth.

Prea’s eyes, which had been staring blankly just a moment ago, began to gleam.

‘Anyway, her claiming to be a Middle Earth ranker is quite something. But I know that this reaction is better. If I know what she wants,’ Leeha thought, ‘It’s much easier to handle.’

Prea had placed herself perfectly on top of Leeha’s palm.

“Hehe, it tickles, Will-o’-Wisp! This kid is fidgeting.”

Leeha was observing a small playful ball of light next to Prea. Only when he strained his eyes could he barely make out the mischievous figure of a young girl within the ball of light.

“A user contracted to a light spirit… Well, there’s no doubt they are the highest level among the spiritualist users.”

As they conversed with Prea and pulled out various pieces of information, both Leeha and Blaugrunn were astonished by the revelations, and what they now saw before them was one outcome of that.

“Anyway, I have acquired the Light Spirit. I tried to contract with the Dark Spirit too, but it seems there’s no way forward on the Old Continent.”

“Actually, I didn’t expect Chiyou to catch on so quickly, but Chiyou does have a subtle side to her. Hehe.”

Prea, now displaying an affectionate attitude, tapped Leeha’s shoulder with a familiar sound. Observing her demeanor, Leeha was momentarily taken aback.

‘Is she being friendly, or is she trying to charm… Can’t she talk to people, only to spirits?’

Is this how one usually interacts with spirits?

‘And Chiyou has a subtle side? My word, if the Shinobi-Gumi folks heard this, they’d go crazy with envy.’

Is there anyone who has experienced both Chiyou and the Shinobi Gumi that could evaluate her in this manner?

Even Lark, who fully acknowledged Chiyou’s quirkiness, wondered as he watched Prea still giggling.

“So, you’ve decided to introduce the Dark Spirit, along with the other spirits, to Bluebeard, and have come here.”

“Phew. Yes, I’m sorry about earlier. Women sometimes have those days when they get really angry, you know. You understand, right? Oh, but by the way, what was that thing on your chest? The slime-like thing from earlier, was it really a gift from the Water Spirit King? Where is the Water Spirit King? I’d like to meet him too-“

“Wait! Quiet!”

Interrupting Prea, who was talking nonstop, Leeha covered her mouth and organized my thoughts.

“While Toon was returning to his hometown, Prea took on the role of ‘Toon’ and that was a directive from Bluebeard. Well, to be precise, it was a ‘deal’ that Prea received from Bluebeard, a ‘quest’ if you will. She faithfully carried it out.

Considering that it was because of that task that Prea stirred up the spirits and festeo, it was, in a way, the very cause of all the hardships for me, but now that it’s ‘over’, there was no need to be angry anymore.

Having faithfully completed that quest, Prea was introduced to a dwelling of dark spirits by Bluebeard. As an additional hint, she was told that by making a contract with the Dark Spirits, there was a high probability of connecting with other spirits that possessed the Dark Top attribute.

Prea had come all the way to the Dark Forest with a self-assured demeanor, saying something like ‘I’ve never failed in blind dates,’ just as she once told Bluebeard, only to find out that the contract itself had been sealed by me beforehand.

The moment she vowed to find and kill Leeha, she came across me entering the Dark Forest.”

“If it had been that moment, I might have rushed in without a second thought. Hehe, but I have to hold back. That’s the most important thing, isn’t it?”

When I smiled, Prea took it as a signal of a good sign and was about to bombard me with questions again. Of course, I was the one who first extended my hand to stop her.

“Anything else? You must have attached yourself to the Demon King’s Army not just to find the Dark Spirits.”

“Attached? No way! Of course, that’s not the only reason, and if you call the Dark Spirits ‘just’, you’ll likely incur the wrath of the five hundred thousand Elementalists of Middle Earth.”

“Understood. Understood. Let’s retract that statement. So, what else were you aiming for?”

Leeha wondered if she was aware of her current situation or not. In a way, Prea, as a ‘user attached to the Demon King’s Army,’ was in a state where she was being ‘detained and interrogated’ by Leeha.

Even if she is dragged along, she might end up being imprisoned, right?

Due to the nature of the game, they couldn’t inflict a tremendous penalty, but she would surely be in a situation significant enough to have an impact. Yet, she can still express her anger so openly. It was confusing for Leeha to see her as a being with pure white angel eyes.

“Oh my, as I’ve been saying since earlier, I am not siding with the Demon King’s Army! You can ask the spirits that I made contracts with, or better yet, since you’re acquainted with the Water Spirit King, you can ask him directly.”

“But you said you exchanged quests. So, that’s what it is, right?”

“Well, how should I put this? It’s business.”

“Alright… Speak in simpler terms, please.”

Leeha shook his head.