Matan’s Shooter

Pei Wu spread out seven of his fingers.

“Ah, seven people?”

Hearing Kijung’s question, he shook his head.

“Th-Then seventy people?”

When he shook his head once more, Kijung almost wanted to scream.

“Seven hundred… people?”

“As of the moment we found Master Kay, we have issued a recall order to everyone. Right now, they’re all at our guild headquarters.”

Kijung couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

Raphaela and Rubini were equally amazed at the scale of a single guild’s mobilization.

“Indeed… it was like that during the national war as well. It felt like a separate division composed solely of the Hwangryong guild…”

Listening to Raphaela’s admiration, Pei Wu smiled.

This was not an ordinary terrain.

As Leeha had directly experienced, there were many creatures here with levels and strength higher than the monsters that appeared in the western New Continent.

In other words, there were at least 700 individuals capable of searching the northernmost new terrain of Shazrashian, though everyone could guess that the actual number available far exceeded that.

Pei Wu never bragged about such things, so he just smiled.

In the meantime, Kijung quickly whispered to Leeha, updating him on the situation.

“How many days did it take you to find me?”

“About two days.”

“Seven hundred people in two days. You don’t know exactly what I’m doing, right?”

“That’s correct. We only knew it was a serious matter involving the Pope of Ezwen…”

In other words, even with such scant intelligence, they mobilized seven hundred people.

Kijung stared into Pei Wu’s eyes.

He could not detect any signs of deceit. The martial artist had the same clear eyes back then as he did now, avoiding Kijung’s gaze.

“Above all, it’s Master Kay’s matter. I considered it a chance to repay a life-saving debt.”

“Ah…”

Kijung had once risked his life to protect Pei Wu.

As a tanker, he valued his life not only for his role but for the sake of the entire team. He thought it better for Pei Wu to live than for him to die.

The martial artist, however, had kept that in his heart.

Pure sense of duty had driven him.

Hearing such words, Kijung couldn’t help but agree.

―Hyung, all the Hwangryong members have gone back. Besides, since it’s come to this, we should let Pei Wu join too.

―Think carefully! Even though Pei Wu might be an incredible asset, if all the Hwangryong members have returned but Pei Wu stays, people will surely realize something―

―Yeah. So, we have to finish this within two days.

―What?

―With all five members assembled and Rubini guiding us… We can’t afford to drag this out.

Kijung steeled himself.

Now that everyone had gathered, it was time to proceed swiftly.

―Kijung…

―Hyung. I’ll contact you after we deal with Pyrot-Cocri.

―Alright. I’ll help as much as I can.

Although Leeha said he would help, the person who was actually supporting Kijung was someone else.

Indeed, heaven helps those who help themselves.

“I don’t know if it’s related to Master Kay, but several hours ago, five of our guild members were annihilated in a particular area. They were skilled enough to handle typical monsters, but it was strange they couldn’t even manage a contact before dying.”

“Eek?! What?”

The vital evidence Pei Wu mentioned rekindled Kijung’s determination.

Kijung glanced at the Hwangryong guild members beside Pei Wu before he spoke.

“It would be an honor to have you join us. However, there is only one spot left, and we need to move with as few people as possible…”

“Alright. All of you, return.”

Understanding Kijung’s words, Pei Wu quickly commanded.

The guild members beside him gave disapproving looks, but Pei Wu ignored their warnings.

More than anything, he possessed confidence.

“Do you think I’ll be defeated?”

Though not very tall, Pei Wu’s deep voice made him appear much more imposing.

The guild members of Hwangryong had no choice but to activate the crystal ball.

With no further interruptions, Kijung finally had the chance to disclose the details of the quest.

“…The Demon King’s Fragment, Pyrot-Cocri!”

“To be precise, it’s a clone. A clone. It can’t exert all the power of the Demon King’s Fragment, but the abilities and skills are identical―something like that.”

“Ahem, Kay. Honestly, it sounds pretty much the same to me.”

“But the power is different. The energy! It’s not the full 100% Pyrot-Cocri, so, uh, according to Leeha hyung, it won’t exceed 20%, which should be enough.”

“20% is still a frightening figure. Even 10% would be terrifying―”

“Hyung, stop saying things that make us lose confidence.”

“―But it also means we might be able to win because Pei Wu joined us.”

Hyein greeted Pei Wu’s participation with a playful tone.

“Indeed. I am pleased to join with the greatest spatial mage and the strongest snow sorcerer in Middle Earth.”

Pei Wu also expressed his gratitude towards Hyein’s warm welcome.

At that moment, Hyein was practically the only user who could accurately calculate their strength. Even he thought that the raid would be impossible due to the lack of dealers, but Pei Wu joining them changed the story entirely.

‘It may not be complete altruism… but for now, we must utilize it.’

Unlike Kijung, he felt a heavy responsibility to find out who was behind Pei Wu’s involvement and what their true intentions were.

“Pei Wu, could you point out where your guild members were massacred?”

As the atmosphere turned friendly, Rubini approached Pei Wu with a question.

Pei Wu, impressed by the large holographic map Rubini had created in mid-air, quickly pointed to a spot.

“Here.”

“Understood. We should start a detailed mapping around that area.”

“Great! If possible, let’s finish this by tonight, right, Rubini?”

“Don’t feel pressured― I’ll do my best.”

Kijung indulged in the excitement surrounding Rubini.

With what could be considered the strongest possible team, he felt certain the quest would be completed.

However, their conversation was overheard by the person who had prompted Pei Wu’s involvement.

“What? What did you say?”

“You heard correctly. Pyrot-Cocri.”

“Holy—!”

Lark stood up abruptly.

After pacing around the table twice, he sat down quickly.

“I know Secret Police Cheka wouldn’t reveal anything. Nonetheless, this is a matter of extreme importance. Absolutely, no one should speak of this matter, no matter who asks.”

“Of course. However, if the king commands―”

“Okay. That’s a different matter. But that won’t happen.”

“Hmm. So, how do you plan to track them?”

Lark’s eyes gleamed at Cheka’s question.

What should his next move be?

‘I thought it might be something related to a dragon, but to think it’s a Demon King’s Fragment, its clone… Damn, I wish I could join them.’

It was Lark’s genuine wish to unlock his secondary class.

However, Pyrot-Cocri was not an easy target either.

Requesting to join? As Kijung mentioned to Pei Wu, all five slots for the quest were already filled.

‘Then, what’s my role? Hmm…’

Lark pondered for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, he made up his mind.

“I will finish within two days, and you mentioned the location where the Hwangryong members were killed?”

“Yes.”

Despite all the talk, it was far better to become ‘bait’ for the Eastern expedition than to just search the Western frontier aimlessly.

“I can’t let you all have fun without me. I’ll represent Minis and step forward, Cheka.”

“Do you think you can handle it alone? For the sake of our national interests, it’s better to persuade Raphaela and Rubini to create the perfect opportunity―”

“No, no. That won’t do. As I mentioned last time, it’s best when Master Kay moves in their own way. Tampering with the team they’ve set up would do no good.”

“If that’s the case, what do you plan to do?”

In response to Cheka’s question, Lark stretched while seated in his chair.

“Well, you know… the last hit is always the most satisfying. Just give me the location.”

Lark held the crystal ball and glanced at Cheka.

Cheka still felt that he didn’t truly understand Lark.

* * *

After reaching the area pinpointed by Pei Wu, Rubini meticulously utilized her skills.

Although a clone of Pyrot-Cocri wasn’t likely to be in one spot, they were confident it hadn’t left the northernmost region of Shazrashian, which sped up the search.

Knowing it was there and searching with that assurance, rather than blindly, made a huge difference. Coupled with the information that it was nearby, it felt less like a search and more like a real operation.

“〈Area Mapping〉, 〈Three-dimensional Scanner〉.”

Using precise mapping to create a detailed map and confirm the distribution of monsters, it was simple to identify their strength based on the ‘size of the dots’ representing them.

“No matter how many times I see it, it’s impressive. If we had this skill during the national war, all our detour routes would’ve been exposed.”

“I was elsewhere at the time. Master Kay, Raphaela? Can you confirm?”

“Hmm, it doesn’t seem to be here.”

“The ones clustered over there seem to be similar in size to that wolf monster, right? And the number of entities too.”

Kijung and Raphaela used their divine powers to check the dots on the map.

They had hoped to detect undead immediately, but none were sensed in the current group.

“I’m bored. I’m going.”

“W-wait a minute! Ram Hwajung! You can’t go alone!”

“Wolves. I’ll kill them quickly.”

Ram Hwajung occasionally grew bored, but the northernmost region of Shazrashian had quite a few monsters. Whenever she felt restless, she would venture out with Arzenmacht for a quick hunt.

“Hmm, I thought we’d find it quickly…”

“I’m sorry, it seems I’m not much help.”

The search that began at dawn had now passed into the afternoon and was heading toward evening.

As the sun began to set, Rubini was about to deactivate her mapping skill when Raphaela hurriedly stopped her.

“W-wait a moment! Rubini!”

“Why?”

“Master Kay! Those—five dots over here!”

Five dots appeared at the edge of her map.

Though they briefly appeared and then vanished again, Kijung could deduce the same thing as Raphaela.

“Hyein hyung, we need to bring Ram Hwajung.”

“Those five dots just now―”

“Yes. They’re likely Pei Wu’s… guild members.”

“Guild members? But I distinctly remember telling them to return―”

“No, not the ones who left.”

At Kijung’s words, Pei Wu made an expression of realization.

Having received a crash course on Pyrot-Cocri, he now understood the nature of the third Demon King’s Fragment.

“… So they’ve become undead.”

“Yes. Pyrot-Cocri may be near their movements.”

Shwaaa…!

Hyein quickly brought Ram Hwajung over, and after verifying the coordinates on Rubini’s map, he immediately began drawing a magic circle.

“Arzenmacht. Summon it.”

“Okay. Please, go ahead.”

They completed their preparations for battle.

In the minutes it took for Hyein to draw the magic circle, the five party members and one assistant had finished all their preparations.

“Here we go!”

As Hyein struck the magic circle with his staff, a burst of purple light erupted.

─────────────…

TL’s Corner:

Lark planning a Kill Secure. 🙂