Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

**Description:** A wing feather that absorbs the fierce northern winds. It can be obtained from the newly discovered condor—henceforth called Shazra-Leeha Condor.

〈Claw Resembling the Hand of a Hero〉

**Description:** A claw extracted from the foot of a Shazra-Leeha Condor, which belongs to the Condor family. Each claw is as large as the hand of a giant adult man and is sharpened to the point where it can be used as a rake.

“Hero-grade material items!? Plus, two wing feathers and three claws… It must be generous because of its huge size.”

The fact that hero-grade items appeared meant that the monster’s level was quite high.

Even when hunting Harpies at levels 180-200, only rare items were obtained, yet here, hero-grade items were appearing.

“Although making a hero item would require a lot of materials… Just grinding here could yield items on par with the pre-transformation Black Bass. Incredible.”

A good reward implied something about the levels and stats of the monsters.

Ha Leeha thought that the level of the monsters here could exceed that of most in the western part of the New Continent.

“How much can be killed in one strike, really?”

Despite that, seeing that something could be killed by him in one strike meant his attack power was unusually strong compared to other users.

Even Ha Leeha could not accurately gauge the general attack power level of other users, so each attack was surprising.

“Thank you very much.”

“If it weren’t for you, Ha Leeha-nim, we would have…”

“But what kind of monster is this? Hearing its cry made my magic stop dead.”

The Giants muttered as they looked at the monster’s corpse.

Meanwhile, they couldn’t help but glance at Ha Leeha, who had taken down the newly appeared monster in one blow.

To the Giant NPCs, Ha Leeha was like the Grim Reaper.

“Oh, does it freeze magic!? It seems to have the ability to freeze mana with its cry!”

“Well.”

Blaugrunn’s eyes twinkled as he listened to the Giants’ opinions, but Ha Leeha showed little interest.

“If these guys weren’t here, I would have achieved a local discovery accomplishment. Tsk.”

Just as the Giants were sneaking glances at Ha Leeha, he was starting to take more interest in them, though most of it was close to resentment.

“Why did you all come here? There are many other unoccupied mountains. Didn’t you find any mineral veins?”

“Th-that is…”

Nearly twenty Giants, each several heads taller than Ha Leeha, gathered and looked uneasy.

Ha Leeha heaved a deep sigh and fiddled with the magazine of Black Bass.

As the metallic sound of clicking echoed, their eyes widened in awe.

“Because of the minerals! The minerals!”

“I mean, there are still many undeveloped mountains behind here, so why come all the way here?”

The distance between the last mining site and here was quite considerable.

Ha Leeha and Blaugrunn had found them in a place they believed was devoid of people.

Why had they come all the way here?

“Is there some kind of special mineral?”

Blaugrunn caught on and asked in a solemn voice.

Seeing the Giants nod in agreement with Blaugrunn, Ha Leeha understood their situation better.

“It’s… a special mineral. The mineral reaction here is definitely different from other places. Of course, it doesn’t seem to be gold or silver…”

One of the Giants stepped forward with a device that looked crude to Ha Leeha, like a makeshift radar.

“It may only be rare and hold little value. But for us small-scale operators, we need to take such gambles instead of looking for common iron or copper veins…”

Ha Leeha finally understood their plight.

Unlike other groups, this one had fewer members because they were taking a dangerous gamble for greater profit.

“Hmm, gambling… you don’t know what’s actually inside yet, and if that—er, condor monster appears, it’s dangerous. Right?”

“…Yes.”

The giant, who seemed to be their leader, nodded.

Besides the miners, there were combat-type NPCs as well, but as they’d mentioned earlier, if a mana-freezing pulse was released, it would be hard to handle the Shazra, henceforth Condor, at a general level.

So then?

“What if we help?”

“What?”

“What if we protect you until you find the vein?”

“Protection… you mean?”

The Giants murmured, not fully understanding.

“Yes. We will guard you, even if the Condor appears. What can you give us in return?”

“Ha Leeha-nim! But we’re in a hurry—”

“Right. So I’ll be leaving.”

“—Here— What?”

“Blaugrunn will stay. He’s interested in the monsters anyway. He can take the corpses, and I’ll keep the dropped items. Deal?”

The Giants would share some rights if they found rare minerals.

Ha Leeha would continuously loot the material items from the Shazra, henceforth Condor, through Blaugrunn.

Even if the monsters were at the level of the western part of the New Continent, they would not stand a chance against Blaugrunn.

Moreover, as this was not a teleport-restricted area, Ha Leeha could always join Blaugrunn using the Partner skill.

“Two more are already flying over. What will you do? If you say you can handle it, we’ll just leave.”

Ha Leeha pointed to the mountain ridge.

Even the Giants could deduce that the large dots dotted in the sky were monsters similar to the Condor.

They had struggled with just one; how could they handle two?

This proposal from the beginning was one they couldn’t refuse.

“We’ll give it to you. How much do you need?”

“You all need to make a living, so I don’t need too much… After all, the minerals won’t be coming out immediately. Just promise me this. If I need those minerals later, sell them to me at cost price.”

“Well, if it’s at cost price—”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’ll take 100% of what you find. How much could I possibly need? I’m just a single individual, right? Ah, our agreement is to protect you until you penetrate the lode. Once you make it there safely, you’ll be able to avoid most of Condor’s attacks. Deal?”

From the standpoint of a single individual, it would be impossible to handle 100% of the supply.

If he were talking as the lord of Gaza City, it would be different… but Ha Leeha didn’t explain that far.

“Understood…”

Ha Leeha sensed the reluctance in the nod of the Giant, who wore an expression as if he had bitten into something bitter.

It had never been easy talking even to NPCs from Fibiel or Minis.

‘But with the Giants…’

For some reason, his attitude became unusually tough.

Ha Leeha realized once again that choosing a good representative for a race was vital.

To him, the Giants would always remind him of Igor and the Czar Guild. The grudge he held from being wronged by them so many times made him feel justified in getting payback.

“Then, Blaugrunn, handle it. Keep in touch.”

“Understood.”

After parting ways with them, Ha Leeha headed north again.

If they were the last Giants to reach the northernmost point, the areas beyond would now all be unexplored.

If the same could be said for the monsters as well?

‘Kreuh! Time to sweep up those achievements!’

With a quest to find the Pure Snow in hand, Ha Leeha headed north with a mindset far from pure.

In less than four hours, he had acquired five new achievements.

All of them were A-grade.

* * *

“Karrarrrrk—!”

『Myong!』

“What? There was another one!?”

Boom────────…!

Ha Leeha quickly pulled the bolt and fired.

While checking the achievement window, a wolf suddenly lunged at him and turned into ash as it tackled him.

“Ugh!”

With a ridiculous scream, Ha Leeha tumbled into the snow.

Fortunately, Jellypong had protected his head well from the surprise attack by a previously dead wolf.

Even a Giant on all fours would be smaller than the wolf that had just pounced on Ha Leeha.

〈Achievement: Discovered a New Species!—Canidae(A-)〉

Congratulations!

You have discovered and hunted a new monster on the northern parts of the Lope Continent, presumed to be from the Canidae family! This mammal, different from the wolves commonly found in the midlands of the Lope Continent, has now attracted Shazrashian’s biologists.

The white-haired wolf appears to have mastered blending perfectly with the surrounding snow. A foolish hunter would only notice their existence after their claws tear through flesh.

Noticing their transparent eyes and claws, Shazrashian’s biologists have decided to commemorate you, their first discoverer, by naming it 〈Ice-Heart Wolf〉.

Rewards: Strength +8, agility +16, intelligence +8

(This achievement does not include a Hall of Fame.)

“Phew… Right, wolves don’t move alone, do they? I even learned that at Candle Castle.”

Ha Leeha pushed aside the wolf’s corpse that had pounced on him and managed to get up.

Indeed, the A-grade achievements possessed significant benefits.

Conversely, it meant that the monsters offering these achievements were of a considerably high level.

“It was really tough. The saber-toothed tigers with icicle fangs, the snowy grizzly bears, and the wolves larger than most bears… Despite their size, the bear and the wolf were almost invisible. Without 〈Distorted Vision〉, I would have faced a preemptive attack.”

Predators camouflaged to blend seamlessly with their environment, almost like they were using a 〈Camouflage〉 skill.

This battle made Ha Leeha appreciate the passive effect of 〈Distorted Vision〉.

Initially unseen, the hunters suddenly revealed their predatory gaze and claws when the skill’s passive effect activated.

‘Thank goodness the effort was worth it.’

Ha Leeha smirked at the achievement window.

The five achievements satisfied Ha Leeha in various ways.

The regional achievements “Cold Wind Mountain Range” and “Non-melting Ice Lake” were A-grade, providing 32 stat points each and increasing his ice resistance by 10%.

‘With all the ice resistance from roaming around Shazrashian, my ice resistance is already up to +90%.’

Thanks to the White Reaper quest and his travels through Shazrashian’s cold areas, Ha Leeha’s fire resistance had long surpassed 100%, and now his ice resistance was nearing 100% as well.

‘And the three monster achievements… They were interesting.’

Even though he didn’t particularly like some of the names, like 〈Saber—Leeha Tiger〉 or 〈Ice Grizzleeha〉, he still found some amusement in them.

After all, it meant his name was etched forever in Middle Earth.

More importantly, the estimated level and strength of these monsters felt significantly tougher than those on the new continent.

‘The hero-grade materials, the ample number of monsters… With proper camping, leveling up and collecting achievements could be feasible… Karelin would like it, wouldn’t he? Heh, it’s funny how, after opening such a difficult new area, the 〈Sacred Alliance〉 is busy searching the new continent. How pathetic.’

Ha Leeha opened his friend window to check on those whose locations were disclosed.

Almost every user was exploring the new continent.

Thanks to information he received from Kijung, Shin Nara, and Ram Hwayeon, he knew exactly what the 〈Sacred Alliance〉 was doing and where.

“Heh heh… Searching for the Demon King’s Fragments!? And instead of heading east, they’re starting their search in the west?”

This OFFICIAL ORDER left 〈Sacred Alliance〉 members unable to refuse, wasting their time unwillingly.

‘Experts with prior information, like Kidd and Luger, are lurking around the Corrupted World Tree’s Forest, but they can’t cross it.’

The central point of their defensive barrier was precisely at the Corrupted World Tree’s Forest on the new continent.

To cross it would signify a shift from defense or internal search to offensive action.

However, as thorough exploration of the western part of the new continent hadn’t yet been concluded, the 〈Sacred Alliance〉 was biding its time.