Matan's Shooter

Through the NPC in the warp gate, Leeha moved from Castle Van Cowl to Radcliffe, a city adjacent to the red mountains. There, he was treated the same way. There was nothing bad about that, but he felt somewhat disappointed.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Hooo, go away! You bastard! Are you trying to kill me as well!”

“No, it’s not like that. The monsters beyond the red mountains-”

“This bastard! Everyone! A killer has appeared in our town! Everyone!”

“Haa…… Information cannot be obtained directly.”

Regardless of the region, it was clear that the attitude of the NPCs of Minis would be a hindrance to Leeha.

“Looking for a magician to hunt griffins~! 2 people are waiting for a ranged dealer, we will go as a 3-person party!”

“Looking for a tanker or hybrid tank! Someone who wants to hunt on the red mountains who is level 170! Only those who know how to tank flying mobs~ Sir! Sir! Are you a tanker? Would you like to join us?”

The second option was users. It was also possible to join a party and ask them questions. Watching the user who was looking for a party cling to a person, Leeha pondered.

“Get your hands off me.”

“Eh?”

Perhaps because he was wandering alone, he probably caught him as he wondered if he was a user looking for a party. The man had red, shaved hair. He wasn’t as big as a giant, but he was quite big, enough to attract people’s attention.

“Get your hands off me if you don’t want to die.”

“Ohhh… Yes.”

The party leader looking for a tanker or ranged dealer removed his hand. Even Leeha, who was quietly devising his plan, was attracted by his action.

‘Is he a person who was impressed by basketball anime?(TL: Sakuragi) I think the nickname Kang Baekho fits perfectly. No, it feels like as the level goes up, the number of mannerless users increases. It would be worth watching if I put him next to Luger- huh?’

The red shaved-haired man looked around and made eye contact with Leeha.

Gulp!

Leeha felt like his thoughts were read, so he turned his eyes to him. Even so, the man did not remove his gaze on Leeha. As if he was going to put holes in Leeha’s body with his eyes, Leeha continued to feel his energy.

‘Kuaa……. Why is he like that? Did he recognize me?’

The probability that this user is from within Minis is high. Was it possible that this person was killed by Leeha during the war?

There was enough reason for Leeha to be hated here, that is why he got numb to it. Leeha pretended to look elsewhere for a moment, then quickly turned his head. The man who had been staring at him disappeared.

“Phew, what would I have done if he suddenly attacked? As expected, it’s not possible to join a party.”

It was dangerous. In addition, if the information was leaked, it could get troublesome. In a situation where it was difficult to ask users to join their party, a name came to Leeha’s mind.

“Ah! I’m so stupid.”

A person’s name suddenly came to Leeha’s mind and Leeha quickly checked his status in his friend’s window.

-Fernand-nim! Hello!

-Ah, Ha Leeha-nim. Are you going to go to the Red Mountain? That’s great.

Information check! From NPCs? From users? Didn’t Leeha have an acquaintance who had better information than anyone else? Even the NPCs call Fernand the Pioneering King! In fact, as soon as Fernand saw Leeha’s location, he guessed his route and answered, satisfying Leeha’s expectations.

-As expected of the Pioneering King. Besides Bluebeard, I have another quest right now. Ah, it’s not different, do you know where a monster-like chimera appears?

-Chimera?

-No. It seems there are more than one so it should be called a ‘swarm’ of chimera….

I was wondering if Fernand-nim knows anything.

-I have seen it some time ago, but…. It wasn’t in the borders of Minis. I crossed the border in the Red Mountains-

-Really? Did you see any?

-I had a quest to find a mine for the dwarves. It was memorable because I ran out of time and the quest failed.

‘Wow……

Leeha was reminded of what Bottleneck said. They went to look for a new vein, and the first group reported that they saw a group of chimera.

And what was Fernand saying now? The user who led the group that reported the incident was him.

‘Wait. If that is the case, wouldn’t it be better to just take Fernand as a witness instead of Chimera Parts? Is that possible? No, that’s not it. We don’t need to prove that the chimeras are there right now, it is to prove that Bottleneck does not have anything to do with chimeras. 

That is the quest……’

Fernand: If you’re going to catch a chimera, be careful.

While Leeha was organizing his thoughts, Fernand sent another whisper. His voice was low and heavy.

Leeha: Are they strong?

Fernand: The chimeras are chimeras, but there are dragons living there. There are probably a few people who know.

Leeha: Eh? Dragon? T-The White Dragon Raid is not there. 

Fernand: Heuheu, are there only white dragons? Isn’t it because the White Dragon is the weakest dragon, the reason why everyone only runs White Dragon Raids? There are also dragons in the Red Mountain.

Leeha: Wow! This……. Do you know what kind of dragon it is? What kind-

-Fernand: don’t know either because my immediate reaction was to quickly run away. Since it has a connection to the name of the place, well, can it be a red dragon? No, considering that the dwarves were looking for a copper vein at that time, it is possible that it could be a metal dragon.

Leeha: Hmm… Okay. Thank you for the information!

Fernand: You’re welcome, if you find traces of Bluebeard, please contact me right away!

Getting information didn’t put Leeha’s mind at ease. He was happy to hear about the chimera, but the dragon. Leeha’s mind got dizzy and complicated.

‘A dragon related to a copper vein, is it possible that it is either a Copper, Bronze, or Brass Dragon? If that’s the case, it would be fortunate…… but if it is red-’

Leeha received a blessing from the Gold Dragon Bailephus.

There was a positive intimacy effect with metal dragons, however, it decreased the intimacy with Color Dragons. In other words, depending on which dragon lives in the Red Mountains, Leeha’s safety could change a thousand different times.

“Phew……. I need to go first-”

“Wait.”

As he was about to leave the town, 

Leeha heard someone call out to him. And looking back, Leeha could not help but be surprised.

“K-Kang Baek-ho-”

The man with red-colored shaved hair stood there. He did not have a favorable eye.

“Kang Baekho?”

“No, no,  that’s-”

Leeha was so surprised that he unknowingly spat out the words that were only in his mind.

Hearing the word Kang Baekho, the red-haired man tilted his head. In the meantime, Leeha took control of his emotions and regained his composure.

Anyway, they were inside the town and even if he was a Minis user, the probability of attacking him right away was low.

“What do you want?”

“Are you going out?”

“What?”

“I asked if you were going out of Radcliffe. Are you going to the Red Mountains?”

What is this?

At that point, Leeha felt slightly offended. Judging from the way he treated other users earlier, Leeha knew the red-haired man wasn’t normal, but that was all nonsense!

“Why do you want to know?”

“What?”

Leeha was not without a temper. And he had already been through this type of user several times.

Most importantly, his level of cuteness could not compare to Luger’s.

“I don’t have any reason to tell you, and if you want to ask something, be polite. Then-”

“No, wait”

The man grabbed Leeha, who calmly turned around.

Kwak-! The strength that held his arm was unusual.

“What are you doing, can you let go? If I perceive your action as hostile, you will die right away.”

If his HP decreased even a little, Leeha tried to take action, but it didn’t. As Leeha frowned, the corners of the man’s mouth went up.

“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just curious. I thought I might be able to help, so I asked.”

“I want to explore the Red Mountains, but there are a lot of monsters, so it is dangerous to go alone. If you are going there, wouldn’t it be better if you brought me along?”

Leeha tilted his head and looked at the man.

What was that awkward way of speaking?

‘Is he an NPC……? No, judging from how the party wanted to invite him earlier, he looks like a user. What country did he come from that the conversation is like this? He’s like a user, and NPC at the same time… Is he a minority? Is that why the translation is not smooth?’

Seeing that no quest notification appeared, Leeha guessed that he wasn’t an NPC.

However, the way he spoke was too awkward for a user.

Still, Leeha felt that he should treat him like a human in any case, after all, he said he was sorry.

‘Dark skin, tall nose, sunken eyes*••…. Certainly not from the East, maybe Turkey? Is he an Arab? Is that the reason?’

The system in which each country’s language is automatically translated, but it is only people’s evaluation, and Leeha had not experienced it himself.

In other words, it was reasonable to guess that it was not able to translate languages from some countries.

“Don’t you want to? But you have to believe me. Other people might not know, but there’s a dragon in the Red Mountain.”

“Huh?”

And that one word made Leeha, who was worried, relax.

It was top-secret information that Fernand told him only a few people knew. Knowing that meant that this person was also good at collecting information or has actually traveled around the Red Mountains.

‘There’s also a high probability that he knows about the chimera.’

The user did not make other people feel good, but there’s no reason to decline if he is of help.

“Let’s make a party and go together, okay?”

“That’s right.”

“What is your level?”

The man looked down for a moment. In fact, party hunting was not his main purpose기

There was no need to talk about level, but that was not the reason Leeha asked.

“183.”

“Hmm, okay. Tell me your nickname, I’ll send you a party request.”

“Kuzi.”

The final step separates a user and NPC. The red-haired man passed Leeha’s final test.

There were only a few NPCs who understood the concept of level, but that was only for Madam Ju.

‘An NPC that deals with a lot of information, and at the same time has a deep relationship with users, they won’t understand the word level because they don’t have an understanding of the game. Besides, it’s not bad if he had a level where they could share experience points…

They had a 20-level difference.

Being at that close distance also made Leeha feel a strange connection with the man.

Leeha left Radcliffe after making a party with the red-haired shaved man, Cushy.

(To be continued…)

P.S.
Kang Baekho or Sakuragi – the main character from the anime Slam Dunk