Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Faust raised his altitude while riding the Ancient Lich Dragon, keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings.

Although Luger, who had disappeared with Fernand, was a minor concern, any worries vanished after confirming the light bursting in the forest, attacking the Adult Dragon.

“As long as my head doesn’t suddenly explode, I can be at ease. Besides, who would have thought that Chiyou’s speculation would be wrong? No, I should commend her for arriving so quickly.”

From Faust’s perspective, not knowing when the Eastern New Continent Expedition set out, he could only assume they arrived here within a few days.

And what did it mean that Leeha was not in the group? It indicated that the person named Ha Leeha was not included in the enemy’s pursuit.

Faust felt a sense of exhilaration.

Watching spotted Lizardia’s sinister smile, Bailephus became enraged.

“How dare you daydream while facing me, you half-human necromancer! After Kuzgunak’sh, you dare to touch another red dragon!”

There were two reasons for his anger.

Faust, realizing something, widened his grin even more.

“Khaha, you, a metal dragon, disgustingly meddle in the affairs of a Chromatic Dragon. Was Kuzgunak’sh your lover or something? No wonder you couldn’t hold back and rushed in back then.”

“You wretched beast!”

Faust had also turned Kuzgunak’sh’s headless corpse into an undead.

He missed that situation keenly.

If he could have made that dragon a lich, his power would have been much greater.

“Well, the Dragon Heart was destroyed anyway. Now that I think about it, that was Ha Leeha’s doing too. Damn, what a curse.”

An inextricable bad connection that seemed to entangle wherever he went.

Looking at Bailephus and the Alexander combo charging at him, Faust’s expression finally turned serious.

The only opponents he could vent his anger towards Leeha on were the enemies right in front of him.

“〈Bone Spike〉, 〈Summon Undead: Ghost〉.”

Kwa-chachachak―!

A gigantic bone pillar shot towards Bailephus.

It was a skill with a sharp bone surface, like a saw-tooth sword fifty times larger than Igor’s. Although it exuded a sufficiently terrifying force, Bailephus blocked it with a light gesture.

“〈Flame Strike〉!”

Kwaaaaaaaaaaang───────!

“Hmm……”

Alexander found the ensuing smoke and explosion displeasing.

Faust should know better that a dragon could not be captured with bone-related skills.

Then why use such a skill?

“Kaahaaaaah—!”

“Kiieeeeee────!”

Breaking through the smoke, countless monsters charged at Alexander and Bailephus.

“Spectral entities!”

Moreover, these were ghost-type monsters that ordinary attacks could not affect, the ones Leeha found most daunting.

Seeing phantoms and half-transparent creatures approaching, Alexander was momentarily flustered, but his top-ranking combat senses remained intact.

“A cunning thought worthy of a lizard. I will handle this, comrade. 〈Judgment of Justice〉.”

As soon as he saw the explosion, light flashed from his spear, casting the skill.

Fwoooooong……!

It took just one swing to slice twenty-five spectral entities.

Faust felt momentarily astounded, but thanks to their delay in the air, he had more time to gather “reinforcements”.

“As expected of Middle Earth’s top individual! Go, dullahan, Death Knight! And—Breathe!”

It was a spectacle of monsters that neither Bailephus nor Alexander had ever experienced.

Various undead monsters, riding ghostly and skeletal horses, scattered to attack Bailephus while a high-temperature flame breath descended from the center.

“This will take… some time. Especially in this land where a dragon’s power is partially restricted…”

Alexander knew the trepidation in Bailephus’s voice.

There weren’t many Ancient Dragons superior to Bailephus.

Even if necromantic power was added, they believed the strength of dragons was on their side.

But this was not an ordinary situation.

While they were slightly restricted upon crossing into the Eastern New Continent, the enemy had gained an advantage through a secondary transformation into a Deathbringer, enhancing their power.

Moreover, the onslaught of unexpected necromantic skills forced Bailephus and Alexander to break their promise with the expedition team.

The promise was to swiftly deal with Faust and the Ancient Lich Dragon and then assist with the Adult Dragon.

“We have no choice but to trust them.”

The immediate issue was not that.

Even focusing entirely on completely repelling the enemies before them would not be easy.

Moreover, the fact that it was nighttime was the most unfortunate for the Eastern New Continent Expedition team.

“Kukuku, you will find it no easy feat to dodge. 〈Horror Ensemble〉.”

With his skills, he induced a mezz effect that caused the opponents’ abilities to drop.

Through summoning undead, he disrupted their concentration and caused target confusion.

In the midst of this gap, the Lich Dragon’s breath followed as the main attack.

Faust during “Night” had become proficient in simultaneously performing three tasks and controlling the surrounding Adult Lich Dragons.

* * *

As busy as the battle among the Ancient Dragons was in the high sky, the low-altitude skirmishes were equally hectic.

『Aaaaahhhh—!』

『〈Poison Swamp〉.〈Cloud Kill〉.』

“Run, Kidd! Don’t let your feet touch the ground!”

“I know! But we shouldn’t jump too high either!”

“Of course!”

Browless and Kidd enhanced their speed through leaps that were better described as lunges instead of mere jumps.

The land they had just traversed turned into a poisonous swamp and toxic clouds were emitted overhead, while the white dragon’s breath was launched obliquely.

Dodging these three simultaneous attacks and launching a counterattack? Such a feat was unattainable even for the most skilled musketeer.

—–, —-, —-!

-, -, -, -, -, -, -…….

That is, it would have been impossible if they were not those endowed with the attribute of Rapid Fire.

As Browless fired three heavy shots and Kidd expertly sent successive bullets, the white dragon, having unleashed its entire freezing breath, began casting a spell.

『〈Ice Wall〉.』

A thick and high ice wall appeared to block their bullets. However, the speed of the bullets was faster than the formation of the ice wall, and six of the fourteen bullets hit the dragon.

Some might consider six hits insignificant, but for them, it was significant. Both could see the white dragon staggering in the sky with those “mere six shots.”

Of course, there was no room for joy.

“The attack itself works, but—”

“—Linking them is the problem. We don’t have the leisure for follow-up attacks!”

As the white dragon’s focus wavered and the ice wall disappeared, a blue-scaled dragon crossed that space.

“The Blue Dragon’s breath is coming, scatter, Kidd!”

Just as Browless and Kidd, who were running together, turned in different directions, an explosion occurred in the neck of the Blue Dragon, which was about to unleash a thunderous breath similar to Blaugrunn’s.

Boom—!!!

『Ugh!? What is this—?』

The blue particles gathering in the Blue Dragon’s mouth vanished without a trace.

Naturally, Luger, the Cannoneer, had observed the scene and could not help but click his tongue in disappointment.

“Tch, if I could have hit it with Acht-Acht, I would have blown its head off…….”

Even though the attack was successful, it was not a second-tier job skill but a regular shot from the Cobalt Blue Python.

Fernand grabbed Luger’s sleeve urgently.

“We, we don’t have time! Other dragons are gathering near the Blue Dragon!”

“Damn it, don’t nag me! I see it too! You should find a safe place quickly!”

“There, there isn’t such a place—”

“Can’t the human compass find something like that!”

As the two bickered and started moving again, a brief tactical meeting was held near the dragons as Fernand had feared.

『Something has infiltrated. Copper, come with me. Paralyze the entire forest with your gas breath.』

As the black dragon flew off to find Luger, a Copper Dragon with literal copper-colored scales followed him.

It was unimaginable for Metal Dragons to take orders from a Chromatic Dragon, but as they had all become “Liches”, they were simply members of Faust’s family.

The Lich Dragons, who had even established their own hierarchy, moved with impeccable coordination, rivaling the best user parties in terms of synergy.

‘We expected it to be difficult, but this— the difficulty is absurd!’

Kidd almost tripped when the ground suddenly turned into ice but barely managed to regain his balance and move. A corrosive green spear pierced the spot he had stumbled on.

If he had fallen and lost speed, that spear would have impaled him.

What should they do? What sequence of attacks should they follow?

They couldn’t proceed as they would in a typical dragon raid. Moreover, in this numerically inferior situation, standard strategies wouldn’t work.

—Kidd! Do something! What’s taking the director so long? If we keep dodging like this, we’ll run into Kaztor! How much farther do we have to go?

A whisper that sounded like Luger’s scream reached his ears at that moment.

The expression of the running Kidd changed instantly.

―Indeed. Is this what you call a hunter’s instinct?

―What nonsense! Come here quickly! We need to regroup first―

―No, we need to run more. We need to scatter further.

―What?

To catch a Lich Dragon? This method was the best choice.

Kidd’s calculations were complete.

―The first thing that needed to be destroyed was the Lich Dragon’s chain attack. I will contact the lieutenant.

They thought they had to fight together because of their numerical disadvantage. Normally, facing monsters was a matter of many versus many. But this was not a normal situation and their enemy was not an ordinary monster.

Moreover, considering their own situation?

―You, you! Are you telling me to take on two dragons by myself!?

―Are you saying you can’t handle it, 〈Cannoneer〉?

―……I’ll show you what even a mere 〈Desperado〉 can do.

They were the only ones with such professions in Middle Earth.

Luger’s pride was wounded, and he growled in a low voice. That was enough.

Kidd whispered quickly to Browless, and Browless agreed immediately.

In that moment, Luger, who had Kidd and Fernand with him, started to scatter in different directions.

What was needed was not a 7:3 fight.

A 3:1, 2:1, and another 2:1 battle.

All that while staying as far away as possible from the Lich Dragon’s controller, the Deathbringer Faust.

“The cooldown is 7 days in Middle Earth time…a full day and a half in real-world time, but—”

Kidd glared at the dragons pursuing him.

He noticed the blue and white scales.

If they were electric and ice types, their skill combination and synergy wouldn’t be easy to handle either.

So, he had to decide.

“―I have no choice. If I want to take down the dragon the fastest.”

Now was the time to use his hidden skill.

He was far enough from Browless and Luger, and he couldn’t see any familiar terrain or landmarks of the Eastern New Continent anymore. Kidd quietly muttered.

“〈Overclock〉.”

Initiating temporary synchronization and brain input/output enhancement.

『Playtime with 100% synchronization: Condition met』

『Death count during 100% synchronization period: 0』

『Applicant’s status, level, and profession balance in existing world view: Excellent』

Skill—Overclock has been approved.

『Temporary synchronization change, current synchronization: 150%』

『Middle Earth system brain input/output enhancement rate: 400%』

『Optimal maintenance time: 3 minutes』

Using beyond the maintenance time may harm the user’s body. Be cautious.

Exceeding double the maintenance time will force disconnect from Middle Earth.

“Gaaaaaah—!”

Kidd threw off his hat and clutched his head.

Was it the agony of splitting his head with an axe? If this had been his first time, he wouldn’t have dared to use the skill and wouldn’t have endured such pain.

But he was the ‘Leader’ of the Three Musketeers.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo.”

Acquiring a skill and testing it under suitable conditions, imagining the perfect moment to use it, were basics among basics.

『Now― die, human.』

『Karrrr!』

The two Adult Lich Dragons, whose intelligence dropped to the level of normal dragons as they distanced themselves from Faust, dashed at Kidd.

Kidd watched the approaching dragons.

“Huuu……. I couldn’t use it during the Pyrot-Cocri incident, but—”

Even though it appeared he hadn’t moved from his spot, he had already picked up and was wearing the hat he had thrown.

“―There is no better skill than this.”

Kidd’s form vanished.

Simultaneously, 139 gunshots rang out.

139 holes were pierced into the body of the Blue Dragon.

TL’s Corner:
Damn, Kidd is like a gaming PC, getting overclocked and increasing his speed.