Arcane Sniper

Chapter 961

However, the users who were logged into the game could not know that the official website had been updated.

More than anything, they could not understand the current situation and were simply perplexed.

“What exactly did I just see?”

“… My mana is zero. All my mana was completely drained. I didn’t even use a skill…”

“What was that ‘white cube’ we just saw? It looked like a bug.”

“A part of the sky turned white like a sliced cake…”

“I wasn’t the only one who saw that, right?”

What the users saw was a split-second moment.

They saw the entirely black Tiamat that had been filling their upper field of vision until now. They saw the snowflakes blowing towards the writhing cosmic entity. They even saw the laser-like light shooting towards it.

And after that?

The moment they thought the laser might have reached the vicinity of Tiamat, a part of the sky turned stark white as if it had been cut away.

Not a single person understood that the laser had infinitely divided and dominated all the space.

Even though Leeha had informed them that his skill would shoot and infinitely divide, no one had perfectly understood it.

Of course, the ‘process’ was not at all important to the users.

This was because the results that clearly showed what had happened were unfolding right in front of their eyes.

“Tiamat…”

“It looks like only the fishhead and tail are left, and the body is gone!”

The six gigantic eels that had filled their view were now reduced to just their heads, some parts of their necks, and a portion of their tails.

A significant part of their long, massive bodies that connected their heads and tails had disappeared as if deleted.

“Huff, huff…”

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

『You have obtained the achievement: “Removed the Core of the Chromatic Dragon.”』
『You have obtained the achievement: “Freedom to the Dragons!”』
『You have obtained the achievement: “The Final Step.”』
『You have obtained the achievement: “Message from Shimo.”』

‘Only three levels up? But considering there is no PK message or chaotic system…’

Leeha’s attack did not affect Lark.

In other words, it meant that Lark had died before Leeha’s ＜White Reaper＞ could fully unfold.

‘Damn, still, I definitely… definitely saw the skill, Lark.’

Although Lark had already been prepared for it, even for Leeha, it was a bit disappointing.

A user who had been criticized by everyone but ultimately fulfilled their duty.

Someone who had been active only in the shadows and thus had not been recognized until now.

Leeha tried to understand the current situation through the various system messages and notifications ringing in his head, but he didn’t have the time to check them.

“Oppa!”

Ram Hwajung ran frantically and hugged Leeha.

It was such a powerful tackle that some of his HP was slightly consumed, but Leeha didn’t even feel the pain.

While Ram Hwajung was hugging Leeha’s waist and rubbing her head against him, Ram Hwayeon, who had been signaling everyone from atop the mana supply tower, slowly approached Leeha.

“Ha Leeha…”

Barely managing to call out Leeha’s name, she covered her mouth with both hands.

In a snow-filled place like this, she couldn’t just hug him.

Given their situation of not being able to publicly date, behaving this way was reasonable and appropriate.

“Hwayeon…”

But can emotions be so easily controlled?

“Ha Leehaaaa!”

“Hwayeon!”

Ram Hwayeon ran and embraced Leeha. Leeha hugged her tightly too.

A fortunate aspect amidst their misfortune was that the majority of users’ gazes weren’t directed toward them.

Even when Ha Leeha hugged Ram Hwayeon, while Ram Hwajung dangled from his waist, most of the users’ attention was on Tiamat.

There were only a few people watching them.

Among them was Lee Jiwon, who stood at the forefront of the mana supplier.

“What kind of skill is this… No, is this even a skill?”

Rank 2, having gone through battles on land and in the air, yet even he couldn’t comprehend this form.

Ha Leeha, embracing Ram Hwayeon, gave a slight smile to Lee Jiwon.

“It’s a conditional split skill. Without your guidance, Lee Jiwon, and without you leading these people, I could never have used it.”

“Mana consumption per split?”

“Yes.”

Listening to Ha Leeha’s response, Lee Jiwon checked his own mana. Thanks to MP recovery, only about 33 mana had been restored.

‘With all my mana, Ram Hwajung’s mana, and all of their mana…’

How many users were lined up behind?

Compared to Lee Jiwon and Ram Hwajung’s levels, it didn’t amount to much, but the jobs of the users at the rear of the frontlines were generally mages or healers.

‘Even if they’re low-level, they would have been around level 160 to 170, and assuming they aren’t useless with empty mana pools, if their mana tanks were filled to 70%…’

Lee Jiwon quickly calculated.

He couldn’t know the exact number, but he was certain it was over 5,000.

Conservatively estimating, if there were 5,000 mana-using jobs at level 170?

Adding in himself and Ram Hwajung, who possessed much more mana compared to them?

How thick could one rune beam be? There were enough beams to ‘slice through’ the sky.

Minimum estimated mana consumption: about 40,000,000.

If the users behind had a bit more mana, or if their levels were higher than Lee Jiwon’s calculations, the total mana could surpass 60 million.

Possibly, the total mana among the users could even reach 100 million.

“Kuk… Kukukuk. Uhihihit.”

Meaning they spent such a crazy amount of mana to achieve this.

Despite the absurdity, they actually accomplished it.

“I acknowledge it. I totally acknowledge it. My gloom has completely vanished, truly. There was always a way.”

Lee Jiwon’s face brightened.

Seeing Ha Leeha’s phenomenal feats and strength, alongside his approach to Middle Earth, made the solutions to his issues become apparent.

“Pardon?”

“I’ll repay you with achievements next time. Thank you, hyung~”

“W-wait, Lee Jiwon!”

Swoosh―!

He teleported away immediately.

Ram Hwayeon, who had also regained her composure, took a step away from Ha Leeha.

It wasn’t the right moment to move during such an ambiguous conversation with Lee Jiwon.

And when it all ended, Tiamat’s colossal body, left only with a head and tail, started turning into ash.

* * *

“The color’s ash… It’s dead.”

“It’s falling! Tiamat’s falling!”

Tiamat was dead. Her mana no longer existed.

Without the mana to keep her massive body afloat, it was natural for her to fall to the ground.

When the head and tail of the ashen Tiamat began plummeting rapidly, a fanfare resounded in the minds of all users connected to Middle Earth.

The Queen of the Chromatic Dragons, Tiamat, has been sealed in the Abyss.

She will never forget those who sealed her and those who scarred her body and mind.

『Sealer: Lark, Dragon Slayer, lv. 277, Minis Affiliation』

Cumulative Damage Ranking:

1st. Ha Leeha

Second Place: Bailephus

Third Place: Alexander

No further rankings

You have acquired the Achievement “Tiamat’s Curse”.

You have acquired the Achievement “Kuzgunak’sh’s Last Wish.”

“What—.”

As Leeha read the newly displayed achievements under the public announcement, his eyes widened.

Tiamat’s Curse? Accumulated damage? Why were these popping up for him?

‘And what’s with Kuzgunak’sh’s Last Wish— Gah!’

Leeha wanted to check the achievements further, but the surrounding users were causing a commotion, making it impossible for him to do so.

“Whoa!? It was really Lark who sealed it!”

“I thought there was something up there earlier! But how did he get that far?”

“He’s truly the Rainbow Knight! Did you see that aurora just now!?”

“Damn, that’s a skill? And his job title is Dragon Slayer?”

“But where did Lark go?”

The Sealer of Tiamat, Lark. Job: Dragon Slayer. The commotion was created by a significant number of people who couldn’t figure out Lark’s whereabouts and those who didn’t understand his job title.

No matter how much they talked among themselves, they couldn’t resolve their questions.

However, the important point was just one thing. Although it was described as sealing, Tiamat would no longer cause havoc.

Amid the cheers, a clear question arose.

“Ha Leeha? What happened to Ha Leeha!?”

“Why is Ha Leeha ranked first?”

“We didn’t see him except for that one time at the beginning. Wasn’t Alexander the one who went wild the most?”

“No, that’s also weird! Alexander didn’t even land a proper blow— and why is Bailephus separately ranked in second place with Alexander? Aren’t they practically the same entity?”

“What does ‘No further rankings’ mean? Those dragons that fought Tiamat— are they saying all those dragons and users didn’t make it to the rankings?”

Despite the frantic questions from the people, Leeha couldn’t provide any answers.

After all, he didn’t even remember inflicting damage on Tiamat.

Without giving Leeha a moment to express his ignorance, users kept on discussing and speculating, making it impossible to find a resolution.

So, what was left to do?

“Damn! What does it matter! Let’s take down some monsters!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Push through───!”

The colossal body of the falling Tiamat was slowly evaporating and vanishing.

Since it no longer posed a threat of crushing the users beneath it as it hit the ground, there was no fear left among the users.

Most importantly, what about the weakened chromatic dragons after Tiamat was sealed?

『Our Queen…….』

『What about the Elder? I can’t feel the mana of Elder Onyx either.』

『What’s happening?』

No matter how high the basic AI was set, it couldn’t grasp ‘what it didn’t know’.

It was only natural for the chromatic dragons to fall into panic.

『It is righteous to annihilate evil!』

『This is no mere revenge for the Lord— this is the pure defense of good!』

With the absence of great beings like Bahamut and Bailephus, the morale of the metal dragons, which had barely held on, began to soar.

Rather than facing the enemy with anger, the situation of the metal dragons became favorable enough for them to calmly and dutifully fulfill their roles.

If the metal dragons dominated the sky like that, chimera and manticores on the ground wouldn’t stand a chance.

Some manticores tried to pierce the metal dragons and turn them into chimera, but they couldn’t keep up with the-nimble movements of the metal dragons.

One by one, the manticores either had their wings torn by the dragons’ claws or were ripped apart by their jaws.

The chimerae weren’t in a better situation either.

“Arzenmacht.”

『Yes. Hmmm—!』