Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Why so? Are you not going to give it to me?”

Leeha looked alternately at Bahamut’s face and the quest window.

This was precisely why he felt uneasy about having the fruit of the World Tree in his hands.

【Radical Growth’s Shadow-2】

Content : Deliver the ‘World Tree’s Fruit’ to Bahamut within 150 days of acquiring the ingredient item (Time remaining : 68 days)

Reward : Useable item [Growth Accelerator]

Failure condition : Exceeding the deadline

Upon failure : Ingredient item ‘World Tree’s Fruit’ will disappear

“So，what happens if we remove a seed from the World Tree’s Fruit?”

“What?”

The quest explicitly called for the delivery of the World Tree’s fruit. However, had Leeha not promised the spirits? One of the two seeds within the fruit must be planted in front of Citadel Gaza!

‘How will it go if I explain carefully…?’

Leeha told Bahamut all about his experiences with the spirits and on the new continent.

Bahamut couldn’t help but lose his composure when Leeha mentioned that Toon had fully recovered and the high-ranking spirits had “returned to the spirit world.”

This was the first time Leeha was seeing Bahamut, who had managed to remain calm during the Kuzugu’nac incident, expressing such a dark visage and he was a bit surprised.

“So that’s why the mana of Bailephus was so weak…

It seemed that Alexander and Bailephus had yet to arrive at Bahamut’s Lair.

Leeha waited momentarily until Bahamut decided to speak again.

The Platinum Dragon and lord of the metal dragons quickly regained his lightly smiling expression.

That sitting on a throne requires good expression management is something he knew very well.

“You’ve had a lot of hardship. High-ranking spirit fellows are vastly disagreeable, let alone dealing with such creatures.”

“Well，it wasn’t easy.”

“Ha! Leeha-nim! Using such an impudent tone towards the Lord-“

“What can I do about the truth? Isn’t lying more impolite?”

Leeha laughed as he tussled Blaugrunn’s hair, who struggled in response. Blaugrunn was still unable to counter Leeha’s logical(?) rhetoric.

”So… as I mentioned earlier, I must remove one seed, can you make the growth accelerator with that?”

“You can make a growth accelerator with a fruit with only one seed remaining. However, you will not be able to achieve the result you desire.”

Leeha was about to exclaim ‘Woah’! but paused abruptly. He couldn’t achieve the result he wanted? If he created a growth accelerator, wouldn’t that be the result he wanted?

He wasn’t sure whether to express joy or sadness.

“The result I want…

“You’ve forgotten what your goal was? Weren’t you trying to grow this guy into an adult?”

“Ah- Ahhhh?!”

Leeha despair. What the heck! It means that all the running around was in vain!

The moment he obtained the Water of World from Poseidon, everything he did to receive the World Tree’s Fruit through the top-ranking spirits turned into a futile effort.

‘If I break the promise with the spirits-… no, no. That could be the worst choice.’

Leeha’s mind whirred negatively, but quickly came to a halt.

He remembered the cautionary words from Noeanen as well. The Earth Spirit King Gnoas said that he would know when the seeds of the World Tree’s fruit were properly planted.

If he did something inappropriate, he would definitely be despised by them forever.

Bahamut had an ominous grin on his face, as if he understood what Leeha was thinking.

“The implication is that there will be insufficient energy to grow the dragon. Ah! Speaking of planting the seeds of the World Tree’s fruit, how about spraying the growth accelerator on it? The spirits would love it!”

Bahamut was gifted in adding fuel to the fire.

“Eeeaah！Just make it！I want to leave here quickly–!”

Bahamut roared with laughter at Leeha’s protest. However, it was a forced laughter.

Toon’s full recovery and the exchange of energies between the Demon Lands in the Erika continent was no light matter. Thus, the Lord intentionally played the high-spirated joke.

“Paytor-ssi!”

“Yes, Lord.”

Leeha came right back to Gaza City.

It was quite frustrating staying at Bahamut’s lair, but there was one more thing that he actually needed to do.

“Hmm, do we have some farmland around our castle?”

“Which kind of farm are you talking about?”

“I’m planning to plant a big tree.”

“There is some fallow land on the left side just from the north gate. The area is roughly this much.”

Paytor immediately drew out a map to show Leeha. It was a place close to the castle gate, but not visited often by users. This was exactly what Leeha was looking for.

‘Phew, I was worried if we didn’t have any land. I thought I might have to plant it inside the castle. How fortunate.’

Shouldn’t the castle make the most out of development approval for maximum profit! It was such a waste to use any part of the land, even for a World Tree, for farming.

‘The World Tree could be a landmark for our city…but that’s going to take at least 800 years, doesn’t it?’

Does that make any sense?

Leeha tilted his head and suddenly thought of a bad (?) idea.

‘Yeah, plant one here first … and later go to the spirit world to get another seed of the World Tree there?!’

There could be only one seed of the World Tree per 10-month cycle in the Spirit World. It doesn’t reproduce because the only seed it bears cannot, but as an ornamental?!

‘Hehehe…hehehe. I can’t do that for now, but someday…

If we just let the seeds that are used for reproduction grow slowly in the ground and care for the fully-grown World Trees, Gaza City’s name will spread across the Roppe continent.

“Ahem! Declare that fallow land as a Special Management Area right now.”

“By Special Management Area, you mean-“

“Include it within our security patrol area, put up fences all around the fallow land. Please prevent ordinary citizens from getting close as much as possible. You understand what I’m saying?”

Giving it a plausible name, Leeha gave instructions to Paytor. The talented domestic NPC fully understood even with just a brief explanation.

Leeha left the Lord’s office and headed directly to the fallow land on the north side, to the place that will be declared as a ‘Special Management Area’ by today.

“Why don’t you just order that guy to do this?”

“Hmm, it’s better for me to do the planting.”

“Are you scared of Noenane? That it might get postponed and you’ll get scolded.”

“Ho, who’s going to get scolded!”

As soon as he left the office, Blaugrunn grinned and joked about it. Obviously, he was trying to lighten Leeha’s mood.

Blaugrunn did not participate in the total attack on the Demon’s Base but knew plenty through the expressions Leeha showed, the words he said to Bahamut, and through the information exchange among the dragons.

“But how are you going to use the growth stimulant? I turned out not to be able to use it. Are you really going to sprinkle it on the real seed of the World Tree?”

“……There’s no way. It was so hard to obtain it.”

“Then?”

“Hmm… I have a plan. But for now, please dig some ground to plant the seed.”

Leeha tilted his head and stood in front of the fallow land. Blaugrunn nodded and cast a spell.

“[Dig]”

Fwaaaah—!

With a single spell used lightly, the ground of the fallow land was excavated down to a depth of 4 meters.

Leeha looked at Blaugrunn, struggling to close his gaping mouth. The piles of dirt were floating in the air.

“Um, Blaugrunn-ssi?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what it means to ‘plant a seed’?”

“Of course. Now, throw it in.”

Blaugrunn looked at Leeha with a ‘what’s the matter’ expression. Leeha smiled at her.

“Right here?”

“Yes.”

“Throw a seed, the size of three fingers, into a 4-meter deep pit?”

“Yes.”

“That… I’m glad that dragons don’t farm.”

“What do you mean?”

Blaugrunn stared at Leeha with a frown. Was I being mocked? That was the look in her eyes, but with such ignorance, how could she be mocked.
Leehan let out a sigh and bowed his head.

“Ah… Alright. Please lay down this land you are holding on – you have hoisted – and… dig down about 15 cm. Goodness, Duya. Why are there so many headache-inducing people lately? I will have to take a break and get some sleep.”

Things were supposed to unfold smoothly after the operation in Hong Kong, but for some reason, there wasn’t a single bright light in his days.

“Uh-uh…”

Blaugrunn puffed his cheeks, but still paid close attention to Leehan’s words.

Not long after, as the monitor seed was properly planted in the ground, the nearly desolate wasteland sparkled radiantly, exuding a green hue.

‘Once I go out and come back in… It’s about time to go out for rehabilitation treatment. After my evening treatment and sleep, by the next log-in, the full penalty for the failure of the common quest would have been revealed.

‘I have a rough estimate. But, there will be much work ahead. Including the uses of growth-promoting agents. There are a few things I’ve been considering; I think it’s time I began.’

Leehan scratched his head and bid farewell to Blaugrunn.

“Hwajung, what are you doing? You didn’t even turn on the lights.”

“Sister.”

Ram Hwayeon, who just barely finished her tight work schedule, was surprised when she saw the inside of the room.

The reason being that Ram Hwajung was sitting huddled up with her knees drawn in, alone in the room without even a light on.

“What happened?”

“…Nothing.”

Ram Hwajung hid her face between her knees.

Ram Hwayeon, who would certainly pick up on such obvious signs, thought it was quite a transparent action, particularly among siblings.

Flashing a light smile, Ram Hwayeon reached out and gently patted Ram Hwajung’s back of the head.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen in Middle Earth? Is it because you couldn’t catch Toon?”

“It’s annoying.”

At Ram Hwayeon’s words, Ram Hwajung instantly responded.

Just as she thought, it was Toon. Ram Hwayeon nodded in understanding.

Most of the users were consumed with worry and anxiety due to the failing quest.

But the rankers were different. Rather than passive feelings like worry and insecurity, it was active emotions like anger and resentment that made them seethe with rage.

Ram Hwajung, who was currently ranked 7th, was no different.

“Even with Alexander and Lee Jiwon together, they still couldn’t catch that thing. They should have just swallowed their greed-”

“Oppa didn’t come to help. It’s annoying.”

“-Uh?”

Ram Hwayeon, who was about to comfort Ram Hwajung, faltered after hearing her response. Was Ram Hwajung annoyed not because they couldn’t catch Toon but because she is disappointed in Ha Leeha?”

“……Leeha?”

“Yes. Oppa. He aimed for the dinosaur. If I had properly frozen it”

Tears were welling up in Ram Hwajung’s doll-like eyes. Looking at her face, with her small lips furiously biting down, Ram Hwayeon felt taken aback.

‘I was a bit annoyed too, analyzing the effects of the failure of the quest.

However, was that the emotion that had been rocking her younger sister, Hwajung, even more fiercely? And not because the quest failed, but because she couldn’t help Ha Leeha?

“Sister.”

“Yes, Hwajung.”

“Help me.”

“You… you’re asking for my help? Are you asking me to help?”

Ram Hwajung nodded as she looked up at Ram Hwayeon with tear-filled eyes. Her eyes looked like they were going to spill tears at any moment, but she was stifling her tears.

‘Oh my, Hwajung is-‘

She doesn’t ask for help from anyone.

She doesn’t really listen to anyone’s words. The youngest daughter of Ram Family was so stubborn in her own way.

The first to approach Ram Hwajung was due to Ram Hwayeon’s purpose of operating Middle Earth for ‘business purposes’. She had a hunch that her youngest sister’s personality had changed significantly.