Matan’s Shooter

He had thought he wouldn’t gain anything, but the creators of the Dark Elves couldn’t let the protector of the Dark Elf clan go empty-handed!

“Damn, suddenly three skills? Wait, and they even reduced the penalty for the 《Forbidden Rage》 skill? Doesn’t that basically turn a hero item into something close to a legendary one?”

He wanted to immediately open the system window to check. However, he needed to follow the proper order.

Letting the Dark Elf chieftain know of his return took precedence.

“Phew… it feels like I went to another world. Oh, Ha Leeha-ssi! I have something to ask you—”

“That… yeah? Something’s strange.”

As Leeha looked around to find the Dark Elf chieftain and Tatar, he realized something had changed.

He felt a sense of discord so strong that he had to cut off Prea’s words.

“No, it’s just… something—oh, the time!”

“Time? Oh, now that you mention it—”

Had it been around three hours since they were in the spirit realm? Although the contract with Prea’s spirit took quite some time, it certainly did not exceed four hours.

Since they had entered when the sun was at its zenith, it should now be afternoon. Simultaneously, Leeha and Prea raised their heads.

The sun had not yet reached its zenith.

“Did time go backward?”

Leeha immediately corrected his thought. Time going backward was impossible in Middle Earth.

Then what was left?

As a chill ran down his spine, a buzzing voice echoed inside Leeha’s mind.

―Hyung! Where were you yesterday?

―Uh, Kijung?

―What were you doing that you couldn’t be contacted? I even reached out to Aunt, and she just said you were in-game. Whispering didn’t work at all—

―Huh? S-slow down, buddy! What? Whispers?

Whispers had not come through.

Even if they had, what kind of event took place during the maximum of four hours they had been in Middle Earth that would make Kijung react like this?

‘No, no. So… it wasn’t just four hours. Could it be—’

Leeha recalled something he had heard once. Before the forests around the World Tree in the center of the New Continent were contaminated.

He had heard it from the spirits of wind and earth when he received the ‘Seed of the World Tree.’

『The World Tree doesn’t grow just anywhere. It’s better to store power in the spirit realm. If you gather strength there and plant it in this land, it will grow much faster. At more than 1,000 times the speed.』 RＡ

“Time… the flow of time—”

“It changed! I can’t believe such a thing…”

Even Prea, who hadn’t known originally, could tell now. All the summoned spirits around her were indicating this very fact.

There was also someone to explain it to Leeha.

“In reality, 24 hours is equivalent to five days in Middle Earth—but the ratio must have been twisted—”

How much time had exactly passed? Only Kijung knew.

―Whispers? I tried all day yesterday, all night long! I watched Tiamat rampaging right before my eyes!

Four hours in Middle Earth corresponded to four hours in reality.

If four hours in reality meant almost a full day in Middle Earth, it wasn’t odd for Leeha to feel as if he had traveled back in time.

However, that wasn’t the remarkable part.

―What did you say?

―Tiamat moved. All 38 of the Old Continent’s chromatic dragons have crossed over to the New Continent.

―What!?

What timing could have been spoken of for it? Even if he had known the timing, what could Leeha have done?

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All he could do now was act as quickly as possible.

“Prea!”

“Yes, yes?!”

“The contracts with the spirits are definitely complete, right? You can use them here immediately?”

“O-Of course! Should I show you now?”

Called out loudly by Leeha, Prea looked flustered.

It was just that his voice had grown louder due to the urgency of the situation, but it was the first time Prea had seen Leeha in such an emotional state.

“No. No need to show me. Instead…”

Leeha took a moment to organize his thoughts.

In the end, suspicion couldn’t be helped.

Someone who betrayed once could betray anytime. But right now, he had to trust.

Considering the upcoming battles, only trust was the way to survive.

“From now on, we need to trust each other.”

Leeha spoke to Prea as if seeking confirmation.

She hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

“Of course. After working together so far, there’s no benefit in betrayal. Introducing me to the four types of dark elemental spirits… I will never forget that.”

Prea extended her hand.

Leeha nodded and shook hands with her.

His face remained stern, but there was still a place for a faint smile.

The same went for Prea.

* * *

She had already noticed.

What was in Leeha’s bag? Something significant enough for the Spirit Kings to mention the legendary Wood Elf Spiritualist, ‘Allen Srna’, to a human user who made a pact with a terror spirit.

Besides, even while possessing “that”, he did not use it to threaten, persuade, or lure her.

‘What I was searching for through Chiyou is in Ha Leeha’s bag.’

If she had read the explanation of 〈The Key to the Spirit World〉, she would know that every spiritualist user and NPC in this world would desire it.

Someone like Ha Leeha couldn’t possibly be unaware of this.

Nevertheless, he did not approach her with a forceful attitude.

Even when he showed such tendencies occasionally, he always adhered to the principle of a 1:1 exchange. When Prea offered something, he would reciprocate, and when she completed a mission, he would show something in return.

‘A person as pure as a spirit. Pfft, interesting.’

When Prea looked at him and laughed, Leeha was momentarily flustered. Moreover, why was this handshake so lengthy?

“Um, well, I am quite busy now―”

“Of course. Anytime.”

“―Oh, one more thing. Since we agreed to trust each other 100%, I have something to inform you. Did you know the Queen of the Chromatic Dragons, Tiamat, has fully revived?”

“Of course.”

She knew more than just that.

Through the dark spirit, she had seen Tiamat’s human form.

She was confident Tiamat wouldn’t make any movements for a while.

That is unless a special variable arose.

“While we were in the Spirit World, she caused havoc. Prea-ssi, please look into it.”

“What, what? Tiamat― No, how―”

“I don’t know either. So please look into it. I need to report to the Dark Elf chieftain and then head over right away. Jellypong, let’s go!”

『Myooong―!』

Jellypong immediately started moving with agile, three-dimensional maneuvers. Leeha started heading towards the Dark Elf NPCs, including Tartarus.

Prea stood there, stunned and bewildered at the spot Leeha had just left.

‘Tiamat? Bluebeard said it wasn’t the time for movement yet, so how?’

Prea briefly looked in the direction where Leeha had disappeared. Then, she snapped her fingers.

“Kisisit, why, why, why?”

“Where have you been?! The familiar scent has intensified!”

The dark spirits gathered around her.

If it were any other time, Prea would have interacted with them to strengthen their bond, but she didn’t have the leisure now.

“Shade, tell me everything you heard near Le in my absence.”

“It was fun! It was fun!”

“Yes, yes! Tiamat! That six-headed dragon finally showed its dragon form! My, my! A dragon with six heads! We are lucky to see such a sight because of our contract with you!”

The dark spirits started chattering excitedly.

Prea still couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

“Dragon form? Didn’t Le say that was impossible? How? They said if Tiamat took dragon form, it would be uncontrollable, so she would stay in human form for the time being, right? Did I mishear?”

She recalled what the dark spirits had said only a few days ago. Currently, there are users on the Demon King’s side.

In other words, the story was set to progress continuously!

Even a few days ago, with Faust by her side, such an event hadn’t occurred. At least, Tiamat hadn’t moved in dragon form except for the time when she had just been reborn.

‘But how… so suddenly?’

As Prea tilted her head in puzzlement, the dark spirits began to transform.

She watched as they turned into a black mist.

『This creature appeared! Kisisit, one type of Chromatic Dragon! Black!』

“black dragon? The Onyx of Minis?”

『Right! Onyx!』

『It came leading the dragons! The battle went boom―bang―pow but they said it was fine!』

Other dark spirits transformed into shapes of multiple small dragons.

The dragon models made of black mist flew haphazardly before Prea’s eyes.

Prea began to grasp the situation.

The Chromatic Dragons moving from the Old Continent to the New Continent wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by the Metal Dragons.

‘But they couldn’t act. If Bahamut moved, Pyrot-Cocri would awaken.’

Did the users come forward to stop it?

But as long as there was a high-level dragon capable of breaking through even spatial barriers with them, it surely wouldn’t have been easy to hold them back.

“So? What happened? How many dragons appeared before Le?”

『Thirty-eight!』 『Thirty-nine!』 『Forty!』

“No way, it couldn’t have been more than 38! So, all 38 dragons appeared, huh. Practically, they brought every dragon except those below the juvenile level. No, rather…”

Did they all arrive before Le and Tiamat without a single straggler?

『Kshss! It got interesting from then!』

『Yes, yes, yes!』

『Humans chasing behind! And the moment Onyx spoke to Tiamat—!』

The black mists shaped like dragons scattered into the air.

Shuuu…

The black mists began to gather together. Prea swallowed dryly as she watched.

She had realized what they were trying to depict.

‘The shape they are forming now… Tiamat!’

Fwaaaaaa—

Finally, the black mist took on a specific form.

Perhaps because they had merged into a complete shape, they were now expressing a firmer and smoother texture.

Prea saw Tiamat’s true form, depicted as if it were made of black metal.

“This is… the Six-headed Dragon.”

Even in a model, it was a presence that seemed capable of utterly eroding the will and morale of anyone who saw it. The queen of the chromatic dragons stood there.

* * *

“Ram Hwayeon!”

The place where Leeha arrived was a fortress located slightly to the west of the central area of the New Continent. It was the fortress of the ‘Partisans,’ a coalition group of Paleos, newly established after Ram Hwayeon’s deployment plan was approved.

As Leeha knew, it had only been completed about three weeks ago in Middle Earth time and was a stone fortress, not a wooden one, largely built with the labor of the Paleos.

“Ha Leeha!”

Ram Hwayeon halted her steps as she attempted to rush towards Leeha.

Seeing the expression on her face, where she bit her lower lip tightly, Leeha could tell that she was holding back—suppressing her resentment and sorrow, as well as her joy.

There was only one reason, of course.

The place already laid in near ruins, with walls more than half-collapsed and structures toppled, presenting a desolate scene.

Only the makeshift command center barely retained its shape.

There, Ram Hwayeon, some key figures of the Partisans, a few warriors from the Celestial Army, and a handful of renowned users were gathered.

“Kijung.”

“Hyung. Sorry for yelling earlier.”

Kijung raised his hand towards Leeha with a weary face.

Embarrassed by his passionate outburst when he first made contact with Leeha, his voice was now substantially subdued.

“What happened? What is all this? Why is the fortress like this?”

“Ki, kik! Where were you that even ignored whispers, Ha Leeha?”

“Ignored! No, it was an area where whispers couldn’t reach. More importantly, what happened? Where is Tiamat?”

Biyemi spoke to Leeha in his characteristic mocking tone.

Despite already knowing from Kijung that Leeha had been in a special area where whispers couldn’t reach, he spoke in such a way, seemingly out of frustration.

When Leeha mentioned Tiamat, several sacred creatures of the paleo tribes flinched.

“Magnificent. I thought I had gotten used to dragons, but… that was not a dragon. There was no way to withstand it.”

“Hudid….”

Hudid, the mystical creature of the Black Crane paleo tribe, shook his head.

As the number of Paleos able to fight in the air was extremely few, if something had happened with Tiamat, surely he was at the forefront.

Leeha was about to ask something, but Hudid quietly closed his beak.

What exactly happened and how?

Which users and Paleos had come, what kind of battle took place? How strong was Tiamat, and what form did it take?

Leeha looked around for someone who could explain all this.

Neither the boisterous Bobae nor the equally strong-natured saintess Raphaela spoke a word.

There were many questions to ask, but few mouths willing to answer.

The quickest way to impress the current situation upon Leeha was already known to someone else. Hyein, who was quietly rummaging through a bag behind Kijung, took out a crystal ball and handed it to Leeha.

“Ha Leeha-ssi.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Take a look at this, and you’ll understand.”

“Did you record it?”

In response to Leeha’s question, Hyein nodded.

TL’s Corner:

Finally, some action.