Arcane Sniper

Chapter 968

It had already been one of the things he discussed with Leeha.

If ever given the opportunity to inform others, it had to be done efficiently and precisely.

『The one leading this third faction is indeed user “Chiyou”, who had become a vampire-class user, along with user “Agromni Igor”, user “Pyro”, and…』

“Yes! Or rather… and? Why ‘and’?”

When Leeha spoke with Alexander, it was about revealing the existence of Chiyou’s faction.

Even though Chiyou had already been stigmatized as part of the Demon King’s army, the real danger was that she had become an even more malevolent force hindering the regular players of Middle Earth.

Naturally, the main pillars of this group were Chiyou, Agromni Igor, and Pyro. They couldn’t reveal everyone hiding in the shadows, like Shinobigumi and Yamato.

What reason did Alexander have to use the word ‘and’ even when there seemed to be no room for it?

‘Could it be… No, he shouldn’t say that much!’

Leeha felt a wave of unease.

He had some leeway to figure things out in other ways. Knowing Alexander to some extent, having moved together before, he pondered if Alexander thought the same way.

Leeha should have considered those aspects during the conversation with Alexander in the dead Bahamut’s lair, especially given Alexander’s emotions as someone who had bonded with Bahamut long before Leeha did, owing to his rank 1 position.

『NPC Arcane Sniper, “Kyle”.』

Alexander did not merely want to bring down Chiyou’s faction.

He had a personal vendetta against the Arcane Sniper, who was a sworn enemy of Bahamut.

『Any user or NPC colluding with or aiding them will be considered a traitor to the “Sacred Alliance”!

I have already informed Commander Ewin about this. Of course, those who inform us about their activities and hiding places will be rewarded in the name of the “Sacred Alliance.”』

『Yes, that, Phase 4! For Phase 4, we will continue this discussion in part 2, after a short break―.』

Leeha switched off the TV.

A stunned Kijung said nothing to Leeha.

“Hyung… Arcane Sniper… is that what you mentioned before?”

“Damn it! We need to persuade Kyle back to our side.”

It would not benefit Leeha to turn Kyle into an enemy, and revealing such significant information about Arcane Sniper would be a regrettable move.

If either Elizabeth or Brown were to die because of this…

If users acted hastily due to Alexander’s grand persuasion, causing something to happen?

Kyle might never come back.

Despite being Arcane Sniper, with a limited number of bullets, and given that users would fiercely pursue him, it would be nearly impossible for him to endure.

“The conversation didn’t go as you planned with Alexander, did it?”

“Yes. It’s infuriating. After all that effort in Bahamut’s lair, Alexander just decided everything on his own.”

As Leeha stood up and headed for the refrigerator, Kijung, watching him cautiously, asked quietly.

“So, what do you think, hyung?”

“About what?”

“What do you think Phase 4 means?”

Phase 4 was something that wasn’t fully revealed even in the broadcast with Alexander.

Leeha contemplated the phrase:

『Pandora’s box must be opened. Whatever it contains.』

“Pandora’s box supposedly had all the world’s evils inside… Ah, and hope remained at the end. Isn’t that how the story goes, hyung?”

When Leeha did not respond, Kijung spoke first, sharing his guess. Leeha nodded as he listened to Kijung.

At this point, Leeha actually knew what the phrase “needs to be opened” was referring to.

“It was probably meant to be like Pandora’s Box… perhaps it’s ‘The Stairway to Heaven’.”

“Huh?”

“I mentioned it last time. The door in Laputa.”

“Oh, oh! That’s it!”

Kijung exclaimed in excitement. The interpretation of the first phrase was predictable enough.

But what about the second one?

‘No matter what’s inside it…?’

What was inside it?

As someone who had already visited Saur Land and Laputa, Leeha had a fairly certain idea of what was there.

“Then when that door opens, won’t… some new monsters or something appear?”

“Who knows.”

Like the existing Shimo and White Reaper, winged figures that appeared somewhat angelic might be there.

Leeha chuckled lightly as he spoke.

Wouldn’t they be individuals granted some degree of divine power? If they appeared as ‘monsters’ and as Leeha’s enemies?

“Well, in some ways, it might turn out well.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told you about Black Bass, didn’t I? My weapon.”

“Yes, you mentioned that after capturing Tiamat, some percentage went up.”

Kijung nodded.

Leeha smiled slyly, recalling one achievement he had acquired.

〈Achievement: The Last Step(S+)〉

Congratulations!

You have reached the stage just before liberating one of the sealed weapons in Middle Earth, 『Black Bass』. What arduous efforts have you undergone, and what demanding events have you endured to get here?

Now, you must choose whether to surpass legend even if it means being covered in blood, or to relish the world of Middle Earth with your sufficiently heightened skills.

Surely, there can be no regrets regardless of the choice. Middle Earth awaits your decision, thanking you for your efforts thus far.

Reward: 30 stat points

You are the second registrant of the 〈The Last Step〉 achievement.

The firsth three registrant will be recorded in the Hall of Fame, with effects increased by 200%.

Effect: 60 stat points

“Yes. The charge rate related to the seal increased. Hehe… Even though I didn’t directly kill Tiamat, at least nibbling at it seemed to have been worth it.”

“What did you nibble on?”

“No, ahem! Anyway, there’s something of that sort.”

He had killed Tiamat and Onyx.

To be exact, he killed Onyx as it absorbed Tiamat’s Dragon Heart.

In the end, Tiamat’s essence of magic seemed to be contained within that heart.

‘Seeing that the charge rate of Black Bass reached 75% in an instant… that must be it!’

How long had the charge rate stagnated at 50%?

For Leeha, who thought one of the Demon King’s Fragments must be killed to fill the remaining 25% related to magic, this situation felt like a winning lottery ticket.

One of the achievements that arose from this was precisely ‘The Last Step’.

Even with 90 stat points, which was undoubtedly significant, the reward wasn’t as special as he expected.

He could understand why.

‘It’s literally part of the process. It’s like a bonus for users going through such arduous paths that the GM described as toil.’

What caught Leeha’s eye was that he was the second registrant for this achievement.

Who else possessed a sealed weapon?

‘Kidd and Luger. But… it can’t be them.’

Leeha had been confident in himself. All of the weapons possessed by the Three Musketeers were Ego weapons. However, he believed that he would have been the first to awaken his own consciousness and have shown the fastest progress regarding charging and release.

Then there were individuals outside the Three Musketeers.

“Alexander or… Lark?”

Killing Tiamat was such an impressive achievement, after all. Of course, unless he asked them directly, Leeha had no way of knowing.

“Now, what’s left is to kill those related to God. Well, if monsters like angels comes out when ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is opened, maybe I could fill up the remaining charge rate.”

He had mentioned that it would be fine even if monsters appeared when the door was opened, and this was exactly why.

Kijung listened to Leeha’s words, nodding.

“Absorbing blood… That weapon’s settings are really bizarre.”

“Keke, don’t even mention it. Last time, it saw you and tried to entice me, saying that it would give me a 3% charge if I killed you.”

“Huh? Me?”

“If you kill those who serve gods, the divine power bearers, you can raise the charge… If there’s no other way, Kijung, you might—”

“N-no way! Don’t even joke about that!”

As Leeha crept closer, Kijung quickly shuffled back from his seated position. Watching Kijung retreat faster than most insects, Leeha burst into laughter.

While Leeha laughed, Kijung suddenly clapped his hands together with a sound of realization, saying “Ah!”

“But you mentioned absorbing the blood of gods, right? The goal of that Black Bass weapon.”

“What? Yeah. Why? Trying to die? Haha, if you would die for me, I would gratefully—”

“No, no, then why not just literally absorb the blood of a god?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Kijung tilted his head, asking the question, but even Leeha, who received the question, could not answer it.

Absorb the blood of a god?

How conceptual could that even be?

“How can one absorb the blood of gods?! To begin with, they have to exist. Even on Middle Earth, gods only conceptually exist. If I go to the Ezwen Papacy and ask them to donate just a drop of blood on a piece of artwork—”

“I have one.”

“—for charity, just one drop—What? What?”

Leeha looked at Kijung. Kijung was also looking at Leeha.

The cousins stared at each other’s dumbfounded faces for quite some time.

“What did you say, Kijung?”

“… I have an item I received from the Vatican. It’s a holy relic containing the blood of the main god—”

“Really… it’s blood?”

“Yeah, judging by Petyr’s reaction, I’m sure it is. It was used to kill the undead leader of the ‘Midnight Circus’—”

“Hey, you idiot! Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

When Leeha shouted, Kijung flinched. However, a bright smile spread across Leeha’s face.

“Oh, what? Hyung, you didn’t ask! You have to say you need it—or when fighting the Demon King’s Fragment, I was going to give it to you eventually, but these days—”

“You idiot! You lovely idiot!”

Leeha rushed at Kijung and ruffled his hair with a whirlwind of hands.

For Kijung, it felt like a mutated ‘headlock’, but anyway, the cousin siblings laughed together as they rolled around for quite some time.

“Log in right now, Kijung!”

“I got it! Ahh, my head. Hyung, you log in first!”

With that spat settled, Leeha practically pushed Kijung out of the house. Then, he turned his attention to the Middle Earth connection device.

“The blood of the main god!”

Didn’t they say heaven helps those who help themselves? With the demon charge percentage at 25%, now only the 25% divine charge remained!

“Perhaps… Perhaps now—”

He could achieve 100%. No, Leeha was somewhat sure of it.

“It’s a complete seal release, black.”

Leeha reclined on the Middle Earth connection device.