Matan’s Shooter

“Ulrek-nim! Please watch, this isn’t an attack!”

“Hm? What―”

“Jellypong, release your tendrils!”

『Myeongmyeong!』

Jellypong’s tendrils intertwined with the Red Zeppelin’s tendrils.

Realizing what Leeha intended, users hurriedly began to release their own tendrils.

Since the Red Zeppelin was already in a gentle descent, searching for a place to land, the distance to the ground wasn’t very far.

“Ugh, damn it! I’m going first―”

“Ahaha! You can’t get there faster than me!”

Given the users’ skill levels, falling after releasing the tendrils might result in some damage, but they could survive the height.

However, Leeha had something even faster than free-falling.

“〈GHOST IN THE SHELL〉!”

Boom──

By the time the gunfire started echoing, Leeha’s body had already touched the ground.

Faster than the Red Zeppelin, a user landed on Laputa.

An entry ticket to Laputa was an S rank achievement.

What kind of achievement could he earn upon entering Laputa? Even at the lowest, it was speculated to be an S rank or higher.

‘Well, I hope it’s a clean S+ rank━’

Leeha couldn’t contain his excitement. And as the excitement grew too intense, he realized he had no other thoughts.

Fanfare rang in Leeha’s head. Ba-bam—!

Congratulations!

The first R- rank achievement in Middle Earth has been unlocked.

『Ha Leeha, White Reaper, lv. 263, from the nation of Fibiel』

Other users, please strive to keep up!

“What?”

“Hm?”

“… What is this?”

A new achievement rank that was previously unknown in Middle Earth.

Barely two minutes after the announcement that Leeha had unlocked the achievement, communities around the world exploded.

* * *

“R-minus?”

“Is there an R- rank?”

“This doesn’t make any sense…”

The users releasing their tendrils simultaneously paused as if on cue.

Until the Red Zeppelin safely landed and released its tendrils, they couldn’t move.

What exactly was R- rank?

Wasn’t S+ rank the peak?

Since S+ rank had appeared with much fanfare through Kijung, r-rank couldn’t be lower than S+.

‘What is this?’

Leeha himself was as baffled as the surrounding users. R- rank?

At best, he had been thinking about S rank, and maybe, with some luck, an S+ rank achievement that would greatly boost his stats.

But R- rank?

“What are you all doing? Human Ha Leeha, you’ve arrived at the Laputa you and your group have been so curious about; is that your way of expressing your joy? Humans are hard to understand.” �

Ulrek shook his head in confusion as he walked out, releasing the Red Zeppelin’s tendrils. The scene around truly was enough to startle the users.

Not just the yellow-gilded ground but also remnants resembling ruined building columns, traces of old roads, and deep craters demonstrated the overall atmosphere of the place.

“Alright, alright! Ahem, as curious as I am! Well, we’ve reached Laputa, so shouldn’t we get to work? Let’s move!”

Leeha quickly blocked out the distracting whispers in his mind and looked away from the surrounding users.

As he clapped awkwardly and began to walk with exaggerated steps, the other users found it hard to say anything.

What was the name of the achievement?

What was the content of the achievement?

How powerful was the R- rank?

There were mountains of questions he wanted to ask, but what use would it be to rush him?

“Y-yes. There’s quite a bit of fatigue… First, an investigation—Oh! Ulrek-nim-nim, just how long can we stay here?”

Fernand, agreeing with Leeha’s words, asked Ulrek-nim.

Laputa wasn’t something you could just see in an hour or two. Staying for several days was hardly feasible either, given how long it had been since they logged out.

The guide leading the party was still considering the condition of the entire group.

“Hmm, our purpose this time is not for research. You can stay here until your objective is complete.”

“What? Really?”

“… However, I’d prefer it if you didn’t stay more than ten days. We need to return for our own research as well.”

Although he didn’t mention Pyrot-Cocri’s bones directly, Fernand was well aware of their interests.

And if they had ten days?

Luger and Kidd exchanged glances.

Alexander was already wrapping his spear with cloth.

“We can take a hefty rest for five days… then regroup, right?”

Fernand asked them for their opinion. Five days in Middle Earth’s time was 24 hours in reality.

It meant their suggestion was to take a full day off and log in again.

“We could just push on, but if you all are tired, so be it.”

“Exactly what I wanted to say. Hmph, it’s just starting, and the excitement’s already fading.”

As Leeha shrugged his shoulders, Luger opened his mouth not wanting to be outdone.

Seeing Fernand’s troubled expression, kidd pulled his hat down and walked into a nearby alley.

“… Then, just two of you need to stay and investigate. I’m off.”

Not wanting to show the logout scene in front of the NPCs, Alexander and Bailephus also began preparing to disband as they found a suitable spot.

With that, Leeha and Luger didn’t have time to be stubborn either.

“Th-then, sir! We’ll just—check the surroundings for a bit. Let’s take about five days of personal time.”

“Hmm? Alright, understood.”

As Leeha hastily reported to Browless, Luger also slowly made his move.

The users exchanged farewells.

The first thing the group did upon finally arriving at Laputa was log out.

“You know it’s your loss if you’re late, right? Make sure everyone logs in on time!”

“Alright, let’s meet again in five days!”

Leeha quickly pressed the system window.

He couldn’t settle his mind due to the appearance of the R- rank achievement and the ensuing excitement.

‘Haha, great. First, let’s search the internet—Hmm?’

As Leeha pressed the logout button, something caught his eye. Ulrek-nim, Bailephus, and Browless were examining parts of the Laputa ruins.

But another one?

The other dinosaur, who had been eager and excited for research as it was his first time, was nowhere to be seen.

‘Huh? Where did GM go? Did he already head off for research?’

The dinosaur had been missing since the moment they got off the Red Zeppelin. But what could be done about it now?

Ultimately, Leeha logged out as well.

* * *

〈Title: Now the 〈Sacred Alliance〉 overwhelming the Demon King’s Army, lol〉

〈Title: -re: lol, it finally seems unbalanced〉

〈Title: Is there a job called the White Reaper? What is that?〉

〈Title: Ridiculous, level 263, look at that leveling speed, lol〉

〈Title: -re: Hangs out with Master Kay, it’s awesome〉

〈Title: -re-re: Master Kay was level 288 last time, ridiculously fast〉

〈Title: R- rank achievement = Mythical item, agree?〉

〈Title: -re: Is there even such a thing as mythical grade?〉

〈Title: -re-re: Thought legendary was the highest. Never heard of mythical grade before〉

〈Title: Where to Attain R- rank Achievements?〉

“Pff… Heh heh heh.”

Leeha couldn’t contain his laughter.

Although he had been worn out from playing for a longer time than when he went to the Dragon King’s Palace, he couldn’t easily fall asleep.

Initially, he just wanted to look up the R- rank achievement, but he got hooked on the “community’s reaction” and couldn’t drag himself away from the computer.

‘There’s nothing. It seems I am indeed the first.’

In both the largest Korean community and internationally famous portals, there was no information about R- rank.

At this point, where achievements up to S+ grade had been disclosed, he wondered what could come next if the world of Middle Earth expanded.

‘Considering the game’s nature that uses Minus, Zero, and Plus, there were cautious speculations that SS or S++ grade, SSS rank, and the like might come next, but the prevailing idea was that anything beyond S+ grade just wouldn’t exist.’

Middle Earth, which emphasized balance in its universe, probably hadn’t created an element for inflation. If it did exist, it might come after the current Phase 3.

Of course, those thoughts were just what common users believed.

Users closer to the top level, especially those associated with quests like “Demon King’s Fragment” like Bluebeard, knew how harsh the game of Middle Earth really was.

‘The balance tilts towards the 〈Sacred Alliance〉? The world’s greatest balance? Nonsense… The ones maintaining that balance must be sweating bullets.’

Just a slight slip could tip the balance drastically.

If there hadn’t been a showdown between Bahamut and Bluebeard or if Kijung hadn’t intervened to disrupt Tiamat’s resurrection…?

‘No, before that… If I hadn’t discovered the Peklo City and managed to escape safely…’

If only the impeccable Pyrot-Cocri had awakened, the Demon King’s army would have ‘easily’ triumphed.

Leeha stared a little longer at the monitor screen.

The sudden appearance of the R- rank, the arrival of Laputa, the discovery and sealing of Pyrot-Cocri. What the 〈Sacred Alliance〉 sought was being achieved to some extent.

‘But… strictly speaking, this is just the beginning.’

They hadn’t captured Arcane Sniper nor could they draw aid from Saur Land.

To fend off their overwhelming firepower, a lot had to be unearthed within Laputa.

‘What could there be?’

To balance the still-tilted playing field between the Sacred Alliance and the Demon King’s army, what should be done and what could be done?

‘Was it fortunate that Kijung and Lee Jiwon managed to delay Tiamat’s resurrection? Come to think of it, what is that guy doing?’

Leeha briefly checked his smartphone.

Even when the R- rank achievement alarm went off, there was no whisper from Kijung.

If he were logged into the game, he definitely would have contacted him. So, it was likely he was asleep.

“Ah, forget it. I should sleep too.”

Leeha flopped onto his bed.

Had he checked his friends list before logging out, his thoughts might have been different.

* * *

“The words of the Exorcism Cardinal are…”

“Yes. Tiamat has fully awakened.”

Kijung nodded heavily. Many cardinals gathered in the Great Hall of the Vatican started murmuring.

It was a different atmosphere than when he would usually hold an audience in a private chamber.

This was likely because Kijung was not alone in standing before the Pope.

“Is that true? Can it be confirmed in the name of the dragon?”

“Yes.”

“Indeed.”

Two people answered the Pope’s question.

The silver dragon with flowing silver hair, Arzenmacht, and his partner, Ram Hwajung.

“So— in other words, here, Ram Hwajung is the partner of a dragon. She has the authority to communicate with the Leader of the Metal Dragons, Platinum Dragon Bahamut. And the metal dragon Bahamut—”

“Can sense that Tiamat has awakened… is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

Usually, it would be Leeha or Alexander, as dragon partners, who would come to report. However, the two dragon partners were currently in the Eastern part of the New Continent.

So, the only user left to report to the Pope was Ram Hwajung.

Ram Hwayeon had contacted Kijung, asking him to accompany her sister to the Vatican, considering it was too much for her to deliver the ‘proper information’ alone.

It wasn’t just because Kijung was Leeha’s cousin.

The news that the Holy Knight and Exorcism Cardinal, ‘Master Kay’, had returned alive from facing Bluebeard and Ghibrid had spread across the New Continent and all of Middle Earth.

Ram Hwayeon had recognized this, noting his trustworthiness, skill, and connection to ‘Tiamat’, and thus appointed Kijung as Ram Hwajung’s protector.

Ram Hwayeon’s judgment was almost spot on.

“Then, what should we do!?”