Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

If he’s here, why call other helpers?

With just Bluebeard, isn’t handling quests like this a piece of cake, if not a walk in the park?

It was beyond Chiyou’s speculation to know the full story of the quest she received. But it’s already happened. What good would worrying do?

“Leeha, hurry and go!”

“Umm!”

“The enemy of the clan, Le. Unforgivable.”

“Ohhh!? At the edge of adulthood – no, have you just entered the realm of Ancients? Talking about not forgiving me? Great! Great! I want to break your heart.”

Swish!

Bluebeard disappeared in an instant. Arzenmacht’s figure also vanished.

A sound of something breaking and mixing in the air echoed constantly, disturbing Leeha’s ears. Leeha had to make a decision. What should she do?

Using the Halucination skill is also a huge risk. Didn’t Bahamut take a long time even near the Divine Staff? Moreover, in a place where the space itself is blocked, if Bluebeard dominated the space additionally?

If he just recklessly used mana, he would end up wasting 800.

‘Then is there only one answer?’

Considering the reason why Bluebeard is catching up so late, it was simple.

‘It means what’s inside is that important. Capturing Chiyou is a priority over Bluebeard.’

Leeha: Blaugrunn, please deal with Arzenmacht and Bluebeard! Koma too! The absolute rule to follow is never to die. If it’s dangerous, transform into your Dragon form and safely withdraw.

“Understood. May Leeha stay safe as well.”

“Umm.”

Looking into Blaugrunn’s eyes, Chiyou nodded.

“Ice Oh-“

“Umm! Umm!”

Then, Leeha reached out and pulled Ram Hwajung back, turning her around.

“Ice. It’s dangerous.”

“Eh?”

Ram Hwajung pointed to the sky, making it clear that they needed to acknowledge the danger of Arzenmacht and help him.

Leeha: The priority is to catch Chiyou! Arzenmacht is also trying to block Bluebeard for that purpose!

“But… it’s dangerous.”

Despite Leeha’s strong words, Ram Hwajung’s eyes sparkled.

Seeing her somewhat gloomy expression, Leeha couldn’t help but feel uneasy. He could only hope that the moment when Ram Hwajung’s power was needed was now and he could only hope for it.

Leeha: Understood. Then give me Pyro’s fire. Can you do that much?

“Yeah.”

Leeha: And help Arzenmacht, but if it’s dangerous, run away without hesitation. Haha, if Ram Hwajung dies, your sister’s grief will have no end. Okay?

Leeha asked, but Ram Hwajung was already casting something. She wasn’t the type to run away even if told to.

‘And if possible… I can only hope that it will be a great leap for Ram Hwajung.”

Above all, there was also the fact that Leeha’s mind held other possibilities.

Leeha: Pyro’s fire is very powerful. Ram Hwajung will need a significant amount of mana to extinguish that fire alone without Arzenmacht’s help.

Leeha continuously fired at the snow golems to make Ram Hwajung’s magic a little easier, but he didn’t achieve much effect.

As expected, the snow golems, made of snow, kept dispersing and regrouping, neutralizing the damage, proving to Leeha that they were the worst matchup for him.

Leeha suddenly felt a strange premonition. Arzenmacht, Blaugrunn, and Koma were holding back Bluebeard in a 3:1 ratio. The loud noise continued and Leeha also spent time reloading three bullet chambers in preparation to aim at Pyro. Even after this amount of time passed, the mana pearls being absorbed by her did not stop.

“What kind of magic is she trying to cast?”

Just as Leeha looked up with surprise, Ram Hwajung finally raised her hand.

…[Abyssal Ice Fragment]]

Among the skills in the flame system, Hellfire is known to be the most powerful. The name, effects, and description are roughly known, but how many people currently possess it, where they learned it from, is unknown.

One of the strongest skills in the ice system, the polar opposite of Hellfire. Generally, the most powerful single target skill possessed by the Ice Mage, known for its wide-range ability!

Ram Hwajung was not in a state to qualify to fully use the skill, but it was enough for her level.

“Woww..!”

Leeha could see the pillar of fire rising from Pyro’s body transforming into solid, icy texture. The Abyssal Ice, devoid of blue or transparency, struck the air as it was.

In a bizarre spectacle, Leeha, momentarily bewildered, quickly regained his composure and pulled the trigger.

Bang, bang, bang-!

The Snow Golems no longer regenerated.

In the spot where the snowballs had scattered, an ice fragment resembling Pyro was making an angry expression.

Of course, it was only an ice sculpture.

“Py, Pyro is dead- Pyro is dead!”

“Contact Chiyou! Quickly—”

Leeha discovered three members of Yamato supplying mana from behind Pyro.

-Baang.

Three bullets shot pierced through all three members of Yamato.

A total of six Yamato members have been assassinated so far. And if Pyro is also dead, how many members are left?

“Crowley, Prea… and Chiyou.”

Only three.

If they could utilize Prea’s abilities, there would be no need for assistance from anyone else.

Leeha: Then, Ram Hwajung! I’ll leave it to you from here!

“Haa, haa, okay!”

Ram Hwajung sprinted towards the battlefield where Arzenmacht was located, gasping for breath.

Leeha now ran towards the approaching Bransylvania Castle, now looming in an imposing size.

Prea: I’m inside the castle now. Hah, it’s so dark here.

Leeha: Tell me where you’re heading next.

While listening to Prea’s inner thoughts, they could see a snowball flying towards Arzenmacht alongside Bluebeard and Blaugaroon as they headed towards the entrance of Bransylvania Castle.

Leeha felt a strange sense of discomfort at that scene, but nothing more.

“Right!”

The already open door of Bransylvania Castle revealed itself before them. Leeha leaped into the darkness without hesitation.

“Hmm?!”

Despite there being only a slight difference in just one door, Leeha felt a warm energy enveloping their body.

“It’s warm here. Can we even use potions now?”

The inside of the castle was so warm that it was unimaginable given the location where the castle was situated.

But why is there not even a single source of light in this castle?

Twinkle!

A brief glimmer of light flashed within the windowless castle.

“Prea?”

It was a familiar light.

Leeha immediately realized that it was a trace left by the light elemental summoned by Prea.

“But what was that just now?”

Through the trace left by the light elemental, the surroundings briefly came into view.

“Stone statues? … Are they all the same?”

It wasn’t items carved with the figures of animals walking on four legs. Stone statues resembling human figures were scattered all around.

“No, that’s not it. Now is not the time to worry about such things. We need to approach one clue at a time; once we get close to one clue, the next one will appear. We must follow that.”

Running towards where the light was just moments ago, Leeha remembered the location. The sound of Leeha’s footsteps echoed through the castle interior.

Leeha: Prea, where are you going?

Prea: I’m not sure either. It feels like we’re going up the stairs, but Chiyou isn’t giving us any hints at all. I don’t even know how many floors there are.

Leeha: Damn it, make sure not to leave any traces of the light spirit!

Leeha loaded the bullets into the magazine of Black Bass and found the stairs. The traces of the light were buried here and there, but it required considerable attention to discover them.

‘It’s not just a matter of darkness. The visibility is too low. We have only about 40% left… around 20 minutes. If we don’t find Chiyou within that time, it’ll be game over.’

Already, almost half of the visibility was clouded. Leeha could have refilled the flask with healing potion, but they didn’t want to take on such an adventure. The reuse cooldown time was a whopping one hour.

If any abnormal status occurred within the castle during that time, not only would the skill cooldown and duration be affected, but various debuffs like a 100 reduction in firepower and decreased movement speed would also be incurred.

‘Alright, these are the stairs. We just need to follow the traces. If Prea didn’t head underground and do something like this, I’ll catch up with her soon. Jellypong, dimensional movement! Let’s go up as fast as we can!’

Leeha gripped the railing of the stairs tightly and commanded Jellypong. Luckily, Jellypong, recognized as an ‘item,’ didn’t require verbal commands for skill casting!

[Mongmong!]

Jellypong’s tentacles protruded from Leeha’s chest. Leeha could see stone statues not only in various parts of the stairs but also in places presumed to be alone on each floor.

“If they’re so visible even in the darkened visibility, there must be an enormous amount of them… What could it be? They couldn’t have turned into monsters, could they?”

The sound of tapping on the castle walls echoed throughout Bransylvania Castle. The sound was loud enough for Chiyou to hear.

※ ※

The mini lantern that Chiyou pulled out only illuminated a very small area.

“Is it just about going this way? Just going to the top?”

“Quiet down, Prea.”

“Hehe, what about the statues around us? Shall we try melting them? I have a petrification antidote potion!”

“Don’t do unnecessary things, Crowley. Speed is crucial right now.”

“We need to know where we’re going to enjoy the journey! Oh well, let’s just go up.”

[The Bat Hiding in Bransylvania Castle]

Description:

“I’ve finally discovered where that cunning creature is hiding. But, it’s a place I can’t enter directly. You need to go in and deliver ‘My Call’ to it. Oh, and if you die in there, I can’t help you, so remember to be careful, okay?”

Bluebeard had finally found his beloved disciple.

He instructed Chiyou to find “The Blood Maiden” Bathory hiding from the eyes of the United Humanity in Bransylvania Castle and deliver Bluebeard’s will.

Objective: Persuade Bathory inside Bransylvania Castle

Reward: ?

Failure Conditions: Death within Bransylvania Castle or loss of ‘The Call of Bluebeard’ item

Penalty for Failure: The loss of the ‘Bluebeard’s Call’ item.

To Chiyou, the item is crucial as it reveals Bathory’s location.

“It’s not just about delivering the item; my mission includes persuading Bathory after that. If I can accomplish that…”

Croak~ “Huh? What’s that sound?”

When Chiyou tilted her head, Crowley started panicking.

“Aha, he’s here. He’s here! Leeha has arrived!”

“Is this as far as you go? But how do we know if it’s Leeha or not?”

Startled, Prea spoke naturally with a perplexed expression. Chiyou’s crumpled face brightened instantly.

“Crowley! Prea! Hurry, go down and stop Leeha!”

“What??”

“I said stop him! Crowley, you haven’t forgotten our contract, have you?”

“Isn’t it enough that I brought him here?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s cooperation until my quest is completed. Hurry up!”

Upon Chiyou’s urging, Crowley sullenly rummaged through his bag. Taking out a vial, he shook it vigorously, and soon a murky fluorescent light emanated from it.

“Prea, please cooperate too. Even if it’s not an ice spirit, you can use something else, right?”

“Yes, I got it.”

Taking a steady position, Prea complied with Chiyou’s command. Contrary to Leeha’s concerns, as soon as he entered, Prea immediately got rid of the ice spirit. If only Prea had mentioned this earlier, he would have dispelled the potion much sooner. Leaving the two on the stairs, Chiyou dashed forward.

‘It must be Leeha. Well, don’t expect me to be grateful…,’ a smile crept onto Chiyou’s lips as she continued to climb up the stairs swiftly. Despite her initial dilemma on how to send Crowley and Prea back, things seemed to have worked out well after all.