Matan’s Shooter

Chapter 784

Matan’s Shooter 784

“Shall we exchange information? Just between the two of us, a secret.”

“It doesn’t seem to have much value. Your quest doesn’t seem to have much to do with me.”

Shin Nara looked at Lark’s face, who was just half a step away. His eyes were sparkling.

“Well, you never know. It might be relevant. Honestly, I’m quite excited too. It seems to be related to my sword, but… it came with a strange ‘clue.’”

Listening to Lark’s excited tone, Shin Nara also made a strange expression. She had been pondering about the recent quest and the strange clue she received.

“I also met a new quest after encountering ‘Outcast Lepanto.’ It doesn’t seem easy to clear, and the method seems obscure, giving me a headache.”

“Hehe, maybe Nara-ssi, oh no, sorry for calling you Miss, it’s okay to call you Dame Shin.”

“Huh?”

Lark’s eyes widened.

“If you didn’t hear it, forget it! Anyway! That clue, it’s probably what I’m thinking, right?”

Blushing, Shin Nara lowered her head.

As her voice grew louder, Lark’s expression also started to change oddly. His facial muscles quivered as he barely held back a smile mixed with mockery.

“Heh, that’s right. What’s 『Nara-ssi’s』 name, then?”

“Se… Swift-Blade, uh, inspector.”

Shin Nara felt embarrassed to bring up her job title.

It would have been fine not to mention such a grand name!

Or rather, why does she feel embarrassed about this when she’s fine with being called Dame Shin or Nara-nim?

“Huh? What did you say? It’s hard to hear clearly?”

“Uh, swift-Blade Inspector!”

“Wow?! Wow, really?!”

Seeing Lark’s eyes widen, Shin Nara felt even more embarrassed. Clearly intending to tease her, he leaned in closer as she shrunk back, and then his eyes sparkled as he spoke.

“Isn’t it cool?! Swift-Blade Inspector. Perfect for 『Nara-ssi』! Oh, right. I heard that you used to only move around after buffing yourself a couple of times. Gotta show off to your opponents, huh. Swift-Blade Inspector. Truly the most suitable job title for 『Nara-ssi』.”

“Well, that’s…”

Usually seeming to have a profound understanding of the world, she now looked as innocent as a child, her eyes sparkling. When Shin Nara lost her words, Lark spoke first.

“Don’t be too embarrassed. I’m feeling extremely embarrassed too.”

“What are you… talking about?”

Shin Nara asked cautiously.

Lark smiled mischievously and gripped the handle of his sword.

“『Dragon Slayer』,” he said.

Shin Nara’s eyes widened, was he cracking jokes even in this situation? But Lark’s expression was surprisingly serious.

“Whether they want us to clear a quest with no explanation or clear method, or do they want us to fail, or want… oh! Should I just beat up Alexander? Haha!”

Even though he tried to lighten the mood with his joke and laughter, Shin Nara could tell.

Lark’s eyes were not those of someone joking around.

“Dragon Slayer…”

They were also triggered with the 『2nd Job Advancement Quest』.

However, unlike Shin Nara, whose skills and attributes were clear, Lark’s quest was triggered without anything being verified, resulting in a quite different quest format.

“Then, please help me with my quest first.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said you don’t know the clear method well yet, right? So if Lark helps me clear my quest… I’ll help Lark clear his quest too.”

Shin Nara, who had been silently observing Lark, reached out her hand first.

Whether it was simply for the 『Fibiel-Minis Joint Investigation Team』, out of curiosity for Lark’s 『2nd Job Advancement』, or for some other reason, she herself couldn’t properly understand.

Meanwhile, in another place, the 2nd Job Advancement Quest was racing towards its end.

Jachung couldn’t contain his nerves and kept looking back and forth between Ram Hwayeon and the person in front of him. The middle-aged figure with long silver hair sat silently in Castle Dale’s office.

“Division Head, no, Guild Master. Shouldn’t you ask how the situation turned out?”

“Wait, Jachung. This is the dragon that Hwajung followed the most faithfully in this game. He wouldn’t have acted recklessly.”

The actual target of the 2nd Job Advancement, Ram Hwajung, was not indoors. Arzenmacht was sitting quietly with his eyes closed, showing no sign of movement.

The two figures who couldn’t understand the meaning behind their actions showed signs of anxiety.

“What on earth is happening?”

After arriving in Hong Kong to handle office work, the Ram Sisters immediately logged into Middle Earth. However, Ram Hwajung had completely lost control due to the sudden appearance of Arzenmacht.

“If Hwajung hadn’t responded, the entire Hwahong Guild would have rushed in… Phew… Maybe Castle Dale wouldn’t have survived a major disaster that was narrowly averted 24 hours ago.”

After exchanging a brief conversation with Ram Hwajung, Arzenmacht-nim sent her away somewhere.

“Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Let’s go.”

“Only… only that was it! What in the world- What are you talking about! They said to trust Leeha in Korea, but this is too much! What did Hwajung prepare for the topic she just logged into?”

Ram Hwayeon muttered, biting her lip lightly, resenting Leeha. What on earth is that dragon? A place where even the word ‘thing’ is not valid, a place where location information is not shown, where did Ram Hwajung fly off to and what is he doing?

She asked Arzenmacht, but the dragon didn’t offer any response. It was only Ram Hwayeon who realized that he seemed uncomfortable and was now at odds while offering herself.

It meant that almost 24 hours had passed in this state.

“Oh.”

“Ahem! I-is there any, anything uncomfortable? If you need something, please feel free to say-”

“Nothing.”

“Ahem.”

Hwayeon, who had rushed out, returned to her place at Arzenmacht’s word. Hwayeon glanced at the clock and asked him.

“D-Dragon-nim, I don’t know what you did to Hwajung. But probably… have you given her something to do within the 24-hour limit? So… are you feeling anxious now that time is almost up?”

Arzenmacht’s eyes squirmed nervously. Hwayeon’s eyes widened, taking a hesitant step back. The angry expression of the dragon felt just like this.

“I am Hwajung’s sister.”

But Hwayeon was different. She felt she could read Arzenmacht’s expression. It wasn’t just because her abilities were exceptional.

“I see.”

Seeing Arzenmacht nodding, Hwayeon felt a certain conviction.

‘This dragon… somehow resembles Hwajung.’

A facial expression change that didn’t fit the situation. It was because the pattern strangely resembled her younger sibling.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me where Hwajung is and what she’s doing right now?”

“Abyss.”

“What?”

“If she doesn’t come back, she will die.”

“Four minutes left.”

Hwayeon couldn’t help but have a pale face for a moment. The words she had never heard before, but she could tell they were of great importance. Above all, even if she couldn’t understand anything else, she could understand that ‘if Ram Hwayeon doesn’t return within 4 minutes, she will die’.

“W-What are you talking about!? Hwajung will die? Abyss? Where is that? How, how do you get there? Why all of a sudden?”

“It is a place that has not yet properly opened.”

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“Wh-what? No, it’s not just similar to Hwajung, it’s even more intense for Hwajung! You need to explain it so that I can understand!”

“We don’t have time.”

Arzenmacht mumbled. Inside Ram Hwayeon’s head, who suddenly acquired vast information, countless mind maps were being drawn. Despite the roots of information spreading based on all sorts of words, it was difficult to extract the desired information.

She only knew of one ‘Abyss’.

At least in the Middle Earth, there was only one place with such a name.

“… Abyssal Maw? That, yes, yes, from before. It was found in the underground central part of the continent—there, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Wait a minute! Saying ‘that’s right’ and ending it like that is not enough!”

“M-Master! It’s dangerous!”

Jachung tried to stop Ram Hwayeon from rushing towards Arzenmacht, but Ram Hwayeon was not aimlessly diving at Arzenmacht.

Where was the Abyssal Maw?

What was found there?

“Bluebeard! That was where Luger discovered Bluebeard first!”

How should one handle this silver-haired middle-aged man, who threw his own younger sister into that place and lay back on his armchair as if lounging comfortably?

After Luger discovered the Abyssal Maw, many people came to that place. But as it turned out, there was only a hole painted with fresh paint, and no one could enter it, nor did anything come out of it.

However, because a considerable number of high-level monsters became ‘zoned’ on the way down there, even though it was a hunting ground for users, it was nothing more than that.

“But you can enter? Moreover, what does it mean that it hasn’t opened yet, so there’s a chance?”

What happens if ‘it opens’?

All the results that emerged from the mind map were all in question marks, and Ram Hwayeon wanted to pour it out to Arzenmacht, but she couldn’t.

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“One minute left.”

“Don’t say goodbye like that! If something goes wrong with Hwajung, then you —”

“Me?”

“You. You won’t be able to leave this place safely.”

“M-M-M-Me-”

Jachung couldn’t quench the virtual flames flickering between Ram Hwayeon and Arzenmacht.

The two ‘individuals’, glaring at each other as if trying to kill each other with their eyes alone, only Ram Hwayeon put strength into her glaring eyes, while Arzenmacht sighed heavily and buried himself in his chair again

“How fun.”

“Fun? Let me show you what real fun looks like!”

“Commander Kuhyuk!”

In that moment, a bright light burst out in the middle of Castle Dale’s office. Blue light flashed quickly, but what sustained longer than the blue was a color beyond the sky blue, something white.

“What in the world is this now—”

Ram Hwayeon squinted her eyes, looking at the place where the light burst. And she saw a small silhouette there.

“Woah.”

Upon hearing the sound of a sigh reaching her, ran Hwayeon wanted to call out her sister’s name. What had happened, what had she done. But Arzenmacht was one step ahead, embracing her.

“13 seconds. Good job.”

“It was tough.”

Unlike his tone towards Ram Hwayeon and Jachung, Ram Hwajung’s tone towards Arzenmacht felt so warm. Ram Hwajung even ran that was unusual for her, running into Arzenmacht’s arms.

Was it like a baby bird flying to its mother bird?

“Hwajung…—”

“…I mean, although—Chairman Eunji comes to mind.”

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Ram Hwayeon and Jachung just watched the scene with blank expressions.

Only then did Ram Hwajung turn around and report to her sister.

“Unni.”

“Ah, y-yes, Hwajung. Abyss—no, where have you been?”

“It’s done?”

“Yeah.”

“『Snow White.』”

It took quite some time for Ram Hwajung to notice that the blue wand in her hand had completely turned snowy white. The 2nd advancement of the Ice Mage, a user with the Snow White job, was born in Middle Earth for the first time.

“At least until today, it should be fine. They probably won’t even start a night ambush, and even if they switch commanders, it takes more than a day to complete it no matter how fast they are.”

“Then you…?”

“I’ll go somewhere for just today.”

Yawning stretchingly, Leeha said to the White Reaper. In Middle Earth, a day equals about 3 to 4 hours of real time.

“I should go to bed quickly.”

Even if he manages to get some sleep, it will be more than enough to play in Middle Earth for over a week again. Once he returns, the enemy’s formation will have tightened up again. He will have to snipe at the commander level first and then stall for time again.

He had already examined the Giants’ predicted advance path multiple times with the White Reaper, so he just had to survey their formation as soon as he logged in. After all, in war, one could not plan everything. He knew that things change as they live through it.

Satisfied with his plan, he prepared to log out.