Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Though not fully automated, the mana-utilized railway was already laid over a long distance.

Naturally, around the railway and warp gate, camps had sprouted due to groups mining ore, almost turning the place into a small town.

“There are quite a few people here who seem comfortably around level 200… no, 250.”

“What?”

“Oh, I thought everyone had moved to the new continent.”

The number of NPCs and users here indicated just how eagerly the Shazrashian Federation sought this place, and it also showed how many players wanted to explore the newly opened area, despite being able to go to the “Sacred Alliance”.

While Ha Leeha walked, marveling at the surroundings, Blaugrunn also scanned the area meticulously.

“The greed for development of humans… tsk-tsk.”

However, his expression was a bit different from Ha Leeha’s.

Ha Leeha chuckled at the sight of the tongue-clicking elder dragon.

“While dragons also collect lots of things… What are you talking about? Blaugrunn, your lair is no joke.”

“Wh-what are you talking about! We are not driven by personal greed, but purely due to the supernatural powers imbued in those substances—and our curiosity about them—”

“Yes, yes, I understand, bronze Dragon-nim. So that’s why you have so much ‘gold’ piled up? Were you really curious about the ‘supernatural powers’ of gold?”

“… Gold… that, as a material for magic…”

Seeing his face turning bright red, Ha Leeha burst into laughter.

Blaugrunn stood with his mouth agape, unable to take a step, just staring at Ha Leeha as if his very core had been pierced.

“Kuh, at times like this, an achievement like 『Shut a Dragon’s Mouth with Words』 would really fit.”

As Ha Leeha muttered while walking, Blaugrunn hastily caught up, unwilling to lose.

The sudden banter drew the curiosity of nearby giants, who soon focused on Ha Leeha and Blaugrunn.

Initially, it was mere curiosity about the noisy exchange.

However, as soon as they saw the human’s face, their expressions changed.

“Ha, ha, ha—”

“Ha Leeha! It’s Ha Leeha───!”

“Damn it, pack up! Pack up quickly!”

“Emergency! Emergency! Call the security team, call the security team!”

“Run, you bastards! If we stay here, we’re all done for!”

The atmosphere suddenly turned into a battlefield.

Giants who were consulting maps to find veins, pushing carts, or selling potions and buff scrolls to others—everyone affiliated with the Shazrashian nation dispersed chaotically, centered around Ha Leeha.

“… Huh?”

Blaugrunn sighed.

“It would be weird if your face wasn’t well known. You did stir up quite a mess in the capital.”

The commotion mostly involved NPCs, while the players gazed at Ha Leeha with awe.

Naturally, no security team was dispatched to arrest Ha Leeha. He hadn’t broken any rules of Middle Earth.

“Hm… I kind of like this feeling. Maybe this is how Blaugrunn feels when he sees humans. Grr! I’ll eat you all!”

“Please don’t lower me to your level, Ha Leeha.”

“What?! You want to be scolded?”

As the bustling streets cleared, leaving them empty and clean, Ha Leeha and Blaugrunn walked on, joking even more freely.

Leaving the newly forming village behind, they headed north.

The railway leading to the warp gate had gaps where temporary rest stops had been set up as spots for exchanging carts.

“It’s impressive how swiftly it has stretched out within a few days… but it’s not necessarily a good thing for me.”

The initial admiration faded quickly.

He began to worry. With giants’ presence already so widespread, how far would he need to go to find undeveloped areas?

Ha Leeha needed to find the “Pure Snow” untouched by development.

The noises of pickaxes and spells being cast to extract ore from a distant vein, and the wizardry echoing from a nearby mountain midpoint slowly faded as they walked on for hours.

Even Blaugrunn began to notice the surrounding quietness.

“It seems they haven’t reached this far yet.”

“Hmm, though saying ‘this far’ implies we have already walked quite a distance.”

Ha Leeha glanced back.

It had been quite a while since the rail was last visible, and the noise from nearby mountains was also dying down.

“But what did they mean by ‘one who controls ice and snow’? Blaugrunn-ssi, don’t you think there’s a Silver Dragon living nearby?”

“As far as I know, no.”

“Then maybe a white dragon.”

“White? Hmm. I don’t think there’s a lair around here. And considering what the human soul said earlier, it meant they did such things in the past in ‘somewhere else not here’, right?”

“… Right.”

“Then it might not have much to do with a dragon.”

Ha Leeha nodded, considering Blaugrunn’s words. Shimo probably never ventured up here in the past.

At that time, it was still an undeveloped area, not yet unified by the Shazrashian Federation, a region where Shimo would have offered prayers.

‘Wait a minute. In that case, not a dragon’s lair but… something that could emerge in such a way—Ah?! Come to think of it, the phrase itself—’

Criiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

“Ugh!?”

“Hm?”

The enormous noise from somewhere made both Ha Leeha and Blaugrunn frown.

They quickly identified the source.

“… Seems like someone did come this far.”

“Huh, what is that now…”

Ahead, at the base of the mountain range, they saw a group of giants gathered closely together.

Perhaps because they were equipped for mining rather than combat, they struggled against the giant bird that had just screeched.

“It looks like a type of condor… it’s huge.”

“Right? It’s even bigger than most harpies. Almost griffon-sized, isn’t it?”

Its size rivaled that of the monsters he saw while searching for Elizabeth and Brown’s dwelling.

Even with just one bird, the giants were having a hard time.

“Should we step in?”

No new proper characters have been introduced or mentioned.

“Well… Since I’m already doing it, let me give it a try.”

“Ha Leeha?”

“There’s something I want to test.”

Ha Leeha’s hands moved like lightning. In no time, the magazine was loaded into the Black Bass and a bullet was chambered.

Even Blaugrunn, who had seen such a scene thousands of times, was momentarily surprised by the speed.

“If it’s a test…”

“My eyes.”

Ha Leeha lifted the Black Bass.

As he took a standing firing position and aimed at the unknown monster, his passive skill was activated.

* * *

He felt an intense heat rush to his eyes, a sensation that was slightly unpleasant. However, that feeling vanished in an instant.

─────────────……!

In a flash, Ha Leeha’s eyes entered the state of 〈Distorted Vision〉, rather than his regular sight.

‘Oh, so this is what it does?’

It wasn’t a vague concept like reading the wind.

As Ha Leeha aimed at what appeared to be a giant bird monster, a type of condor, new elements came into his ‘view’ which he hadn’t seen before.

“Heh… I see the 〈lines〉…”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, I see. Now I understand why he calls it ‘reading the wind’.”

It was essentially a set of guidelines.

The various ‘lines’ traced in the air indicated the actual strength and direction of the wind.

‘This is cheating… It’s definitely cheating.’

What amazed Ha Leeha even more was that it wasn’t just about reading the wind.

He moved the Black Bass’s muzzle here and there, away from the bird monster.

Blaugrunn was pestering him, asking if he planned to kill all the giants over there, but testing this was more important to Ha Leeha at the moment.

‘A thin line extending about 100 meters from the muzzle, different in color from other lines… Could it be…?’

Was it indicating the bullet’s trajectory?

Not only could he read the wind, but it could also show how the bullet would move, influenced by the wind?

‘Damn, with this, even an elementary school kid could snipe! Of course — the skill level is low and the rating is low, so the line is faint and the range short, but still…’

While the skill level and rating were low, making the 〈Predicted Trajectory〉 only around 100 meters, it was still incredibly useful.

In other words, if he were shooting at a target within 100 meters, it would be almost impossible for Ha Leeha to miss.

“The bird monster is approaching humans. If you don’t shoot, I will—”

BOOM────────……!

Only Ha Leeha could see the bullet’s path.

‘Hmm, it does move. It’s fascinating to see the trajectory perfectly, unlike a tracer.’

It was affected by the wind speed and direction.

But for Ha Leeha, who was reading the surrounding wind, and thanks to the 『Piercing the Wind』 achievement that moderately reduced the impact of wind speed and direction, hitting the target wasn’t difficult.

“… You’re a really good shot.”

Blaugrunn grumbled but was nonetheless impressed by Ha Leeha’s extraordinary skill.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“Oh, right. It seems this is indeed a newly opened area.”

“Pardon?”

Ba-bam―!

Just from shooting down a bird, an achievement window appeared before Ha Leeha’s eyes.

〈Achievement: New Species Discovered! ― Condor Family (A-)〉

Congratulations!

You have discovered and hunted a new monster species presumed to belong to the condor family in the northern continent of the Lope. This newly observed avian species, which differs from the condors found in Minis’ Desert Canyon or Fibiel’s Rocky Mountains, has sparked the interest of Shazrashian biologists who are now flocking to this region.

Evolved to be significantly larger than their southern counterparts due to the cold climate, these creatures not only have lightweight bodies for adept flight but also possess enhanced abilities to sense the wind.

In honor of the first discoverer—yourself—the Shazrashian biologists have named this condor species the 〈Shazra-Leeha Condor〉.

Reward: Agility +16, stamina +16, ice Attribute Resistance +10%.

(This is an achievement without the Hall of Fame.)

“A new species of monster… but that name is ridiculous!?”

It was Ha Leeha’s first achievement related to monsters.

Considering that there had been new area discovery achievements every time he explored new regions, it was not unusual to have monster discovery achievements as well.

The distinct feature was that the discoverer’s nickname cleverly merged with the monster’s name!

“What’s wrong with the name?”

“It sounds like ‘Shazra-Leeha Condor’! And look at that—it’s a type of condor—”

A condor, or more commonly, a vulture.

Ha Leeha, still without a hat, felt the cool breeze sweep over his bare head as he touched it.

From a distance, he saw Giants bowing in gratitude. Ha Leeha waved his hand as he approached.

It wasn’t to receive their thanks.

“Can I have the carcass?”

“Heh heh, alright, alright. Blaugrunn, you might want to study it too as a keepsake.”

The loot from a new monster was indispensable.

‘Wow, but the fact that there were no achievements during the New Continent exploration… That implies someone caught those monsters before me?’

A realization dawned on him.

Even when he pursued Elizabeth and fought the monster ‘Ankylosaurus’, only the ‘One Shot’ achievement popped up, not a discovery achievement.

‘Which means… they were all just greedy.’

After the New Continent’s navigation ended, why did Alexander, lee Jiwon, and Fernand vanish so quickly?

To catch new monsters faster than anyone else.

To set foot in new areas before anyone else.

That’s how they could become overwhelmingly powerful in Middle Earth.