Arcane Sniper

Chapter 973

“Hehehe, thank you too! I never expected to see such a battle. We really thought we were all going to die! Right, Koba?”

“Indeed… The dragon Tiamat was something beyond our power to handle. Not even deploying all my skills could have matched it.”

“Heigh-ho! Koba, talking like that? It’s the first time I’m hearing it!”

“It’s neither shameful nor embarrassing to have respect for a human who vanquished Tiamat. It’s rather a natural thing for a proud warrior to do, Harhei.”

“Chuckle, you’re right! You’re absolutely right!”

The mythical creature of the Gorilla Paleos, Harhei, and the mythical creature of the bonobo Paleos, Koba, bowed their heads to Leeha.

They neither shouted nor cheered but simply bowed their heads as a gesture of respect to a formidable warrior.

As soon as those two mythical creaturess bowed, all the Paleos working on building the stone tower bowed their heads to Leeha as well.

“Everyone?! This—oh, there’s no need for this. I mean—well, anyhow—.”

I didn’t kill Tiamat.

Leeha responded to their gratitude with an awkward voice. Should he really bother explaining that he wasn’t the one who killed it?

‘Ugh, well. Since Lark probably has close to zero affinity with the Paleos… I suppose I should pass on the message.’

Was Leeha being recognized because these Paleos remembered the moment Lark was ‘killed’?

Or perhaps, not having seen Lark use his skills, they attributed the grand and impactful final strike to Leeha?

Leeha couldn’t be entirely certain of the reason but bowed back in acknowledgment towards the Paleos.

Just a few steps away from Leeha, Hyein and Ram Hwayeon found the scene quite chilling as well.

It was evident how startled Ram Hwayeon was since she didn’t even yell “Get back to work!” at them.

The Paleos of the New Continent were indeed creatures with profound pride.

“If they intended to be cooperative like this from the start… I almost lost my voice giving out work instructions.”

“Hahaha. Looks like you’ll have to play the foreman around here for a while, Ha Leeha.”

Though Hyein said it jokingly, the users, caught amid the bowing Paleos, wholeheartedly agreed with him.

“Wow… I’ve never witnessed anything like this before. So, Paleos can behave this way.”

“Ha Leeha should take the opportunity to act a bit more arrogant this time.”

“Giggle, he’s certainly being himself, isn’t he?”

Bobae, Jin Gonggong, Biyemi, and other special forces personnel were mixed with the Paleos, coerced into labor together.

It was only after Leeha received gratitude from the Paleos that the atmosphere gradually returned to normal.

Hyein, having found a slight weakness in Ram Hwayeon, gathered all the special forces together for a break.

With Ram Hwayeon unable to object, users flocked joyfully around Leeha.

Users like Biyemi, Jin Gonggong, and Tale were curious about Leeha’s skills, newly acquired achievements, or recent accomplishments, and initiated conversations.

What drew Leeha’s interest more than their twinkling eyes was Bobae’s demeanor.

“Bobae, did something good happen? Did Kijung buy you something?”

“Huh? Ehehe, do I look like I’m in a good mood?”

“Yes. You’re just smiling all the time.”

Bobae appeared more cheerful and her voice brighter than ever. It had been so long since Leeha had seen this side of Bobae that he couldn’t quite recall the last time.

And there was certainly only one reason for Bobae’s good mood.

“Of course I’m happy! Because—”

“Because I’ve come. Leeha, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your face.”

“Oh, oh? N-Nara?”

Bobae’s best friend, Shin Nara, was also there, sweating alongside her. She had neatly folded her Sacred Order’s cloak to avoid any interference with her labor, tirelessly working among the Paleos to build defense towers.

“That girl, honestly! Always worrying people for nothing. Do you know why she didn’t contact you?”

“Everything happens for a reason! You think you’d be different, Bobae?”

Bobae was beside herself with laughter and was playing pranks because she hadn’t been able to spend time with Shin Nara in quite some time, and Shin Nara was just as receptive to it.

Leeha was somewhat taken aback, encountering the cheerful Shin Nara so suddenly.

“What… is it?”

Most importantly, Ram Hwayeon was there as well. In such a situation, Leeha found himself unable to avoid considering Ram Hwayeon’s perspective, though surprisingly, she appeared indifferent.

The way Ram Hwayeon responded was to be expected to some extent.

“Anyway! The reason Nara didn’t contact us was because of Lark! That man told her not to! He was saying misleading our allies would mislead our enemies too! Onyx might develop strange suspicions if everyone behaved unaffected! That man has strange ways! Even had a bizarre mind battle with AI!”

“But honestly, he’s not that bad.”

“Always busy taking care of her boyfriend, it seems!”

No one knew for sure when Shin Nara had arrived there. Yet Bobae had likely spread these stories to prevent any misunderstandings about Shin Nara since her arrival.

The reason she hadn’t made contact thus far and the inevitability of being with Lark. Even the fact that she and Lark had become romantically involved.

“Oh… uh?”

The most surprised was Leeha. He inadvertently glanced at Ram Hwayeon, who simply shrugged.

What on earth had unfolded here?

“So it’s come to this. Shin Nara from the Sacred Order and the Rainbow Knight of the Virtue Knights have become a couple.”

Ram Hwayeon explained. It was precisely for this reason—since Shin Nara and Leeha had met—that there was no evident worry.

It was the birth of another official couple.

* * *

Leeha remained dazed for a moment, unable to utter a word. Even he couldn’t grasp the complex emotion blooming within his heart.

Did he like Shin Nara? No, even Leeha himself felt that wasn’t it.

The excitement he felt looking at Ram Hwayeon was distinctly different from the emotions provoked by looking at Shin Nara.

‘Even when she first saw me in a wheelchair…’

Leeha reflected on that time. When Shin Nara, who reached out for a handshake upon first meeting him, did so without concern for his wheelchair-bound state.

Wouldn’t Shin Nara be the best example of someone who judges purely by the substance of one’s character rather than their appearance?

As Leeha briefly contemplated Shin Nara’s personality, he realized he could understand now.

Specifically, he knew quite well the reasons she would like Lark—one of the first to sacrifice for the greater good, despite his cantankerous and irritable nature.

“Congratulations, Nara.”

“Why congratulate me… it’s embarrassing.”

Seeing Shin Nara accept Leeha’s congratulations with a refreshing smile also left him with a strangely liberated feeling.

His feelings toward Shin Nara closely resembled those for a respected friend.

And now, she was with Lark. Leeha thought that, if it were before their fight with Tiamat, he might have been more carried away by emotions. But now?

“And thank you, by the way, for the Tiamat battle.”

In a way, Leeha thought that perhaps he knew more about Lark than anyone besides Shin Nara.

“Thank you? No, rather I was relieved because it ended quickly.”

“By the way, is Lark okay?”

Shin Nara nodded with a smile, but the melancholy lingering around her lips was unavoidable.

“Hmm? What do you mean by that? Oh, because of the death penalty? Maybe he feels sorrowful not being able to log in yet?”

Bobae mumbled to herself as if asking Nara. Shin Nara didn’t particularly respond, and Leeha just smiled.

Shin Nara probably didn’t want to recall or talk about what had happened at that time.

Leeha thought it was because she genuinely shared in Lark’s suffering.

‘Above all… it was too horrifying.’

How long would the impact of seeing his skin completely melted last? What level was Lark’s assimilation rate?

Could a person possibly endure that kind of pain?

Even Kijung, who was once decapitated by Igor, was disoriented for days from the mental shock.

However, compared to being beheaded, Lark had undergone ‘true torture’, Leeha thought.

Those previous incidents with the paleo were one thing, but hoping that he had developed resistance to torture might be too much.

Could experiencing it once make it easier to go through a second time? Leeha shook his head at such thoughts.

Of course not. The mental shock would be tremendous.

“By the way, what sort of reward might there be? Ha Leeha-do you know anything?”

“Hehehe, probably Lark will know once he logs in.”

Biyemi, brimming with confidence and hinting that he knew something, replied instead of Leeha, piquing even his interest, although he hadn’t cared much about the reward.

“Huh? Biyemi, do you know something about Lark?”

“Isn’t it obvious why the Tiamat reward hasn’t appeared? Hehe, it’s because the person who actually killed Tiamat, the ‘Dragon Slayer’ Lark, is absent from this world.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Hehe, no, it’s not about making sense; it’s the truth.”

Biyemi speculated that the reason the “Sacred Alliance” didn’t make the first move was that the ‘protagonist’ of the Tiamat battle wasn’t present.

Leeha, along with other users, nodded. Besides, wasn’t Lark deeply connected to Ewin, the General Commander of the “Sacred Alliance”?

A significant number of NPCs, unaware of Lark’s ‘death,’ would treat him the same once he logged in, and that’s when the proper rewards would begin.

“And around that time, a new quest line will probably emerge.”

“What quest line? Oh, right. Now that I think about it, something else will progress once Kijung is confirmed as C9—.”

“No, no. Ha Leeha, you’re not quite catching on, are you?”

Biyemi gave Leeha a knowing wink. However, Leeha didn’t grasp Biyemi’s signal at all.

Turning his back, Biyemi, whom Leeha was observing in confusion, had another surprise up his sleeve.

“Huh? What’s that—?”

“S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E!”

“Aahhhh!”

“What the-!”

“What’s happening!”

“Oh, damn, that scared me!”

From Biyemi’s cover, Petyr emerged.

Leeha, as well as the members of Byulcho, were ready to jump into combat due to the sudden appearance.

“Bwahahahaha!”

“Kakakaka!”

Successfully achieving his surprise entrance, Petyr was high-fiving Biyemi. It was only after calming his startled heart that Leeha could finally see Petyr.

TL’s Corner:
So Biyemi’s revenge is not that important I guess?