Arcane Sniper

Having observed Bluebeard breathing so serenely, Leeha finally allowed a smile to stretch across his face.

“Hehe, Le, your acting was just too clumsy. That poker face of yours is evidence enough.”

“Arrogant…”

Bluebeard intended to charge at Leeha immediately.

His speed was so fast that even Prea, a spiritualist, couldn’t react in time. However, Leeha had been waiting for this exact moment.

The moment when Bluebeard, having exhausted his strength while fighting Prea, would focus solely on him.

The highest-level Chaos spirit had ‘temporarily’ obeyed his command.

The highest-level spirits of the four elements could exert pressure on Le. If so?

“〈Familiar Fear: Designate〉.”

What about a highest-level fear spirit?

Le, who had been charging straight toward Leeha, had to confront the uncanny face overlaid on Leeha’s own.

“I already know about Uncanny’s presence!”

Despite facing each other directly, Le knew of Leeha’s skill set.

The fact that Bluebeard had closed his eyes before Leeha had even cast his skill was proof!

He brandished his magical sword without hesitation.

Since the Uncanny skill would only take effect by making eye contact, it dissipated without any effect, torn apart by the magical sword.

“I know that too.”

Leeha was aware that Bluebeard had some level of immunity and measures against a skill he had experienced once.

“What—?”

The moment Le broke through the dissipating Uncanny, he was met with a bullet.

Le hurriedly raised his magical sword to block the bullet. Seeing this, Leeha smiled.

“This is checkmate! Devour, black.”

―Hehehe… Finally, I shall taste the Demon King’s Fragment.

Immediately after using the skill 〈Familiar Fear〉, Leeha launched his prepared ‘next’ attack.

The 〈Burn Out〉 bullet targeted Le.

〈Burn Out〉

Description: Halsyzrik, the queen of the Spirits of Lethargy and Sloth, dislikes combat. Instead of overpowering her enemies, she wanted them to behave similarly to her. Her ability to strip away all hostility and passion from her enemies was rumored to be so overbearing that even the Water Spirit King Elaim found it unbearable.

Effect: 1. Limits the movement of the target (within a radius of 2 meters).

2. Reduces the target’s strength and agility stats by 90%.

3. Restricts skill usage (tenfold casting time, effective duration reduced to 10%).

Mana: 1,500

Duration: 1 minute

Cooldown: 1 hour

“Ugh—what—?”

Le’s charge froze on the spot.

More precisely, he began to move very slowly.

Even those movements couldn’t exceed a 2-meter radius. If that’s the case?

“〈Multi-Warhead Shot〉.”

“Attack, everyone!”

All that remained was concentrated firepower.

The 50 multi-bullets and the powers unleashed by seven different spirits hurtled toward the immobilized Le.

Due to his drastically reduced stats, his hands barely reached his hat.

“Damn it all—!”

Le screamed as he watched all sorts of magic and bullets rain down on him.

────────────!!!!

* * *

“Crazy talk! Even if it’s Lady Ram Hwayeon, how can she say something like that?”

“If we retreat now? Even if we are just level 160 players, we are still worth something as healers!”

“Yeah! Are they looking down on us because we’re low level?”

Despite the chaotic skill casting, the players shouted at Ram Hwayeon. Even amid the backlash from the players positioned at the rear of the front lines, Ram Hwayeon stood firm.

“That’s why it’s necessary! We need your power, your precious strength to gather and… defeat that monstrous creature!”

“What are we supposed to do with our power? I don’t have any skills that can reach that far!”

“Stop with the nonsense and give me a mana recovery potion! Or at least step aside!”

“Ugh!”

Healer users pushed Ram Hwayeon aside and stepped forward.

Ram Hwayeon didn’t get angry. If this were any other day, the users wouldn’t have treated her with such disrespect. These were just regular users who hadn’t even turned off their combat assistance systems, the most common type of players in Middle Earth.

Involvement in such a large-scale event war was only a source of simple thrill and fun for them. They could fight believing that a single heal, a single buff, or a single attack skill from them had a significant impact on the “Worldview of Middle Earth”.

Under normal circumstances, most users wouldn’t experience such thrills and excitement! In reality, even if they deserted the battlefield right now, it wouldn’t be a disaster, as Ram Hwayeon’s calculations already accounted for that. But it was challenging to convince users who saw themselves as heroes of Middle Earth.

“Chimeras and Manticores are coming this way!”

“Prepare from here! A Chromatic Dragon has broken off from the central area and is heading this way!”

“Tanks, step up! We’re all going to die!”

Chaos, pandemonium, a mess. The uproar was not just confined to Ram Hwayeon’s location. Users were noisily fighting on all fronts, so she couldn’t call on other users who were usually close to Leeha.

If the main users holding back the incoming Chimeras left this position, that front line would completely collapse.

‘That’s why regular users are needed this time. We can’t pull out rankers or outsider-level users.’

These users could fight more skillfully and perfectly than ten to twenty regular users, maintaining the front lines. Turning off the combat assistance system and heightening assimilation rates made them superior to regular users at the same level, not to mention those users with higher levels and greater fame who held even more powerful cards.

They couldn’t be pulled out.

Somehow, they had to convince regular users. But what could possibly snap them out of their ‘thrill addiction’ state?

Just as an anxious Ram Hwayeon was about to act, a violet light flashed beside her.

“Unni.”

“Hwajung!”

Ram Hwajung looked around and asked, “Oppa’s things?”

“They’re here, but the people—right! Everyone! Please, pay attention here one more time!”

Ram Hwayeon grabbed Ram Hwajung’s shoulder and shouted loudly.

Ram Hwajung, quickly assessing the situation, flew into the air with her sister.

As people’s gazes gathered, Ram Hwayeon continued speaking.

“What you all need to do is the same as what rank 6’s Ram Hwajung is about to do! It’s more valuable and important than using a single heal or skill here! We need your strength to kill Tiamat!”

“Hey, what are we supposed to do about the battle if we leave? Without this skill, the front line will collapse!”

“Ram Hwajung is just family anyway! Instead of that, cast a Blizzard or something…”

“Hwajung!”

Ram Hwajung froze the mouth of the user criticizing her and her sister.

While the ice fragments around his mouth quickly fell off, the atmosphere grew more hostile.

“What are you doing! Stop interfering and go command the Paleos or something!”

“Even if it’s do-or-die, how can you expect us to go along with some gamble we don’t even know about?!”

“Yeah! At least tell us what we’re supposed to do! Who’d go just because you said so!”

“I’m going.”

Amidst the chaotic uproar of users, an unexpected voice was heard.

The crowd, criticizing the two sisters floating in the air, turned their heads in unison.

Naturally, the two sisters hovering in the air saw him first.

“Who the hell is lying…”

“It’s real.”

“W-What?”

He leaped easily, pushing past the users.

A user so fast that you couldn’t see him casting magic. He naturally floated in the air and approached Ram Hwayeon and Ram Hwajung.

“It’s Lee Jiwon!”

“What the heck! Why is Lee Jiwon here!?”

As if the noise from the users was unimportant, the man with a somewhat somber face alternated his gaze between Ram Hwayeon and Ram Hwajung.

“Lee Jiwon.”

“Annoying.”

“Hwa, Hwajung!”

Ram Hwayeon quickly covered Ram Hwajung’s mouth. Lee Jiwon paid no attention to Ram Hwajung’s provocation.

Ram Hwayeon swiftly apologized to Lee Jiwon and asked him.

“How did you get here…?”

“Stayed low until defeat was inevitable. They said they were capturing Tiamat. How? Do you have a method?”

Where had he been and what had he done all this time?

He responded quickly. Ram Hwayeon nodded while pondering Lee Jiwon’s actions.

He hadn’t appeared on any front lines. Had he been hiding, observing the course of events?

Or had he been waiting for an opportunity to capture Tiamat or Le by himself?

“Yes.”

“With Hwahong’s skills— not even a chance with this ‘shrimp’.”

“You, die—”

“Hwajung!”

Ram Hwajung tried to rush at Lee Jiwon, but she stopped at her sister’s stern command.

Ram Hwayeon spoke to Lee Jiwon.

“I can’t do it alone. We need everyone’s strength.”

“Words like ‘everyone’s strength’ alone won’t crack Tiamat’s skull.”

Lee Jiwon nodded toward Tiamat as he spoke. Ram Hwayeon also nodded in full understanding.

“That’s right. Ultimately… Ha Leeha will kill him.”

There was a reason why Ram Hwayeon didn’t mention Leeha’s name often.

Despite significant achievements, many still doubted Leeha’s abilities.

Claiming that he had destroyed Bluebeard’s staff only offered a temporary morale boost. For users who had never faced Bluebeard, they only responded with, “Is it real?”

The reactions of the surrounding users were similar.

“Huh? Ha Leeha? No way—”

“No matter what, hitting that dragon with a gun—”

“I knew it. If Ha Leeha does it, I’m in.”

Ha Leeha dealing with Tiamat.

Ram Hwayeon’s statement was genuinely believed by only one person there.

Lee Jiwon’s words stirred a huge reaction swiftly.

“—Wh, what?! Lee Jiwon! A ranker like you!?”

“Someone who can effortlessly handle two chromatic dragons is saying this! Then rather than—”

“Folks.”

Lee Jiwon spoke.

At once, the surroundings fell quiet. He was a user with enough presence to make this happen.

Still holding firmly to the second rank, he was a South Korean solo gamer who didn’t care about outside opinions.

“This is a definite gain. Won’t you join?”

His single comment wavered the hearts of the users. Ram Hwayeon sensed the change in atmosphere.

“This is the only opportunity! The longer you delay, the more users will die due to Tiamat— or the chimeras! To save them, you must act now!”

They still wanted to be regarded as “heroes of Middle Earth”.

Especially with their role models Lee Jiwon and Ram Hwajung present here.

“The strength of each and every one of you will save Middle Earth! I and Lee Jiwon here can guarantee it!”

So, it was only necessary to stroke that sentiment.

The users, whose focus was waning, were now listening intently to Ram Hwayeon’s words, having even stopped using their skills.

Without using skills, there was no impact on the front lines. The moment they unconsciously realized this, there was no more time for hesitation.

“Damn it, let’s go!”

“Yeah, let’s go! Whatever it is, if it helps, that’s good!”

“My jaw almost snapped using skills. This is a relief! Let’s go, everyone!”

The exodus from the very back of the front line by ‘regular users’ rapidly followed suit.

Lee Jiwon’s joining in, Ram Hwayeon’s guarantee, Ram Hwajung and Lee Jiwon aiming to kill Tiamat… All they had to do was add a spoon and reap the benefits…

Though rumors began to deviate from Ram Hwayeon’s intention, she didn’t mind.

At this moment, what was crucial was the users’ voluntary participation.

“Let’s go!”