Matan’s Shooter

Chapter 444

Chapter 444

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

“It’s fascinating. In some ways, it’s similar to druids transforming into animal forms. If we had someone like Jin Gonggong, we could have confirmed it.”

Hyein expressed regret. Because he thought of it as a form of the Polymorph skill, he believed it could be possible, but those who experienced it didn’t think the same way.

“No. If it were Jin Gonggong’s transformation, we’ve seen it several times. While complete transformation into the respective animal is possible, it’s limited to whispers. As far as I’ve seen, there’s no Polymorph skill that allows one to walk around on two legs like a bright red goat. That’s a different category…”

“That’s right. It’s not a skill that transforms into an animal. It’s more like reinforcing… enhancing your body with the energy of an animal. A sort of possession.”

Leeha was approaching the concept of infusing the energy of an animal into one’s own body. The somewhat eerie explanation made other users gulp and swallow.

“Too bad! It would have been great to confirm what those red goats were fighting against.”

“It would have been impossible even for a Leeha if they noticed my magic. Immediate retreat would have been the correct answer. They might have nullified invisibility using some kind of magic. Even with considerable magic detection, it seems impossible to catch them. Hmm… Did those guys really nullify invisibility?”

Kijung expressed disappointment, but Bailephus praised Leeha’s judgment while also questioning the mana of the unknown individuals. Leeha, however, couldn’t be sure about that.

“It’s unlikely that invisibility was nullified. If they had nullified it, they would have asked, ‘Who are you?’ when I released the spell. The guy only sensed me to some extent, saying there was something unseen here. Definitely something… that’s how he put it.”

“Instinctively noticed my invisibility spell, huh?” 

Bailephus merely nodded, and despite being an Ancient Dragon, his knowledge was limited when it came to the new continent.

Even with such a significant keyword mentioned, it was clear that he wouldn’t provide further hints.

“Is that really all, Ha Leeha-ssi?”

“What do you mean? Do you think I’m hiding something?”

“No, no. Just asking. Why so sensitive? It’s just a question.”

Chiyou chuckled. While looking at her face, Leeha suddenly noticed Shin Nara standing behind Chiyou.

Shin Nara briefly met Leeha’s gaze but quickly averted her eyes.

“Nara-ssi..”

Leeha felt frustrated by Shin Nara’s inexplicable behavior, but in this situation, there was nothing he could say.

Instead, someone else spoke up for him.

“Chiyou-nim, there’s no need to doubt Ha Leeha-nim’s words. This is a time for us to come together, so let’s avoid such remarks.”

“Huhut, Rubini-ssi seems to really like Leeha-ssi.”

“What are you talking about—”

“Just think about it, does Nara-ssi feel the same way?”

And Chiyou was waiting for that moment, the moment when Rubynee would step forward for Leeha.

‘Really, dislikable human. Do they think Nara-ssi would say anything just because they do? Whether they are an extraordinary enemy or something else hasn’t been revealed yet. But even if not, Chiyou, I really don’t like you—’

Leeha found it amusing to see Chiyou seeking Shin Nara’s opinion, especially when Chiyou had been thinking Leeha did nothing but despicable things.

“Well, if you guys like it, that’s fine. My mission is just to safely arrive on the new continent, so let’s focus on that for now, Chiyou-ssi.”

“What should we do, then, Chiyou-ssi?”

“Yes, yes, of course. So, how should we proceed?”

“Just a moment, Nara-ssi—”

“Buhit! What’s the big deal? Have we all forgotten how we got here?”

Leeha tried to grab Shin Nara, but Shin Nara took a step back.

With the discussion led by Petyr, the atmosphere swiftly shifted again.

There was no time for private conversations, and considering Petyr’s proactive opinions, Fernand released the thoughts he had been holding onto.

“Ha Leeha-ssi, the ship was small, right? How many people are on board?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes.”

“What about food?”

“Food?”

“Yes. With twenty-two ships, each with many people, and a small ship with only two masts. And if there are fishermen, there should be even more passengers. Although they’re smaller than humans, if they’re like NPC races, those guys must eat… Could they carry a lot of food?”

“No, it would have been challenging.”

If there were plenty of provisions stored below deck, it might have been possible, but below that, there would be spaces allocated for the fishermen. Fernand was indeed a born adventurer.

“Right. That makes sense. Then the answer is clear.”

“What are you thinking, Fernand?” Alexander asked as Fernand nodded.

“Ha Leeha-ssi, the ship may have been small, but we arrived at the new continent sooner than expected. We made it here quickly. It won’t take more than a week. Considering the maximum, it would be within four days. You mentioned that the small ship was faster than expected, but anyway, with such a small ship, they couldn’t have ventured far out into the ocean.”

“…We should move at night.”

“Yes. Carefully. Chiyou-ssi’s map, Jin Gonggong-ssi’s transformation, Yongyong-nim’s pet, Elmi-nim’s hawk, and Ha Leeha-nim’s eyes—activate all scouting abilities.” 

It meant finding a safe anchoring point somewhere on the new continent while avoiding detection.

In other words, it meant achieving the second requirement of the New World quest and, in fact, the minimum condition for success.

“Everyone, except the minimum number of people required to operate the ship, should log out and rest. After logging in with all of the logout rotation members-”

Alexander’s command was quick.

“-we will enter the New Continent.”

There were about 30 hours left in Middle Earth time until the users who had left were able to log in. They would all log in together right before entering the new continent.

Approximately six hours later, the final navigation towards anchoring on the new continent was about to begin. A short rest and reorganization were on the agenda.

The users had enough time to rest. By the time everyone had logged in, the New Serpent and Blue Marlin ships had already changed direction and moved a few hours away.

Even if they were still present, they probably couldn’t see this far, but caution was necessary. The creatures capable of detecting Dragon’s invisibility spell required extra vigilance. While long-range scouting wouldn’t be conducted due to the nature of the ship, they still needed to be careful.

‘Even if they haven’t been here until now, we should be more cautious. If they’ve sensed our presence, they might be making efforts to confirm it.’

There had never been a case where ships came from ‘beyond the sea’ for them so far. But now?

If they had sensed Leeha’s presence, it made more sense to put effort into confirming that. It was a common opinion among the members of the New Continent Expeditionary Force to be cautious if there was even a 1% chance of danger.

“The sun is setting soon.”

“So far, we haven’t found any danger underwater, in the air, or anywhere else. It seems they haven’t noticed us yet. How about the mast, Leeha-nim?”

“Nothing on this side either. It seems we can start getting ready.”

The sun was already heading into the western sea.

Listening to Leeha’s announcement, Fernand and the Kraven users responsible for navigation, began their final checks on the weather and direction.

“The wind is perfect, but it’s a shame that we don’t have Drake’s Sailing skill. If we had the skill to nullify waves, we could increase our speed by more than three times.”

“Just having acceleration is fortunate enough. Anyway, we need to use every skill available.”

Fernand estimated that it would take about four days for them to anchor on the new continent with their normal sailing speed. However, the time given until the sun rose again was approximately 12 hours.

Even using all their skills, they wouldn’t make it in that time. Even with maximum effort, it would take at least two days.

Therefore, they planned to cover as much distance as possible before sunrise and strengthen their perimeter defenses afterward.

Then, when the sun set again, the plan was to make a final sprint and dock at the New Continent.

“Adjusted to the northeast! Now, just increase the speed,” reported Fernand with a determined expression to Alexander.

The leader of the New Continent Expeditionary Force nodded and met the eyes of each user gathered around.

“It’s the final stretch. With me here, there’s nothing to fear.”

The confidence of the number one-ranked player was not just arrogance, and now even the users knew that. Approaching this closely meant that even in the worst-case scenario, Alexander and Baileyphus might reach their destination!

It served as insurance against quest failure. Of course, no user wanted everyone to perish and only escape quest failure. Briefings for unforeseen situations had been prepared based on each person’s experience, and users were well-versed in coping strategies and situational scenarios.

There was no need to delay any further.

“Let’s go,” Alexander said.

There was no response from the members of the New Continent Expeditionary Force. They understood that there was no need to delay any further; their mighty ships were their tickets to the new continent.

“Full speed ahead!”

Therefore, Alexander’s command was simple.

The members of the expeditionary force did not respond. Perhaps they thought that the noise of their large ships should not reach the enemies’ ears.

A bit of excitement lingered, but more than that, there was a sense of determination. The users returned to their assigned ships.

All sails began to swell as the wind caught them.

It was when the sun had just dipped below the sea.

“Speed up!”

“Let’s go, speed up!”

Suddenly, two massive ships began to increase their speed in the darkened sea.

The sea was calm, but the users, even though they knew there was no enemy in the vicinity due to the thorough scouting by Druids, pets, and summons, couldn’t help but feel uneasy in the unexpectedly quiet environment.

‘Even if it’s known, they can’t appear this quickly. But it’s too quiet; it makes me uneasy.’

While cutting through the dark sea, a red light flashed on the deck.

Rubini had used her Area Mapping skill, revealing the vast map.

Despite being known, the sea remained calm without a hint of an enemy. This fact, while comforting, also raised concerns for Leeha.

“The sea creatures are the ones that make navigation challenging. This is precisely why Kraven designated the area just before sea creatures appeared as their territorial waters.”

In other words, the absence of sea creatures might be because the New Continent is indeed very close. There were three main assumptions for this phenomenon.

Firstly, the issue of depth. It was assumed that sea creatures might be active in shallower waters.

Secondly, salinity levels. Although it’s the sea, the difference between coastal and open sea waters is significant. Therefore, it was speculated that sea creatures may only be active in the central ocean areas, and not in the coastal waters adjacent to the continent.

And lastly, the third reason…

“…they systematically killed off the sea creatures as they appeared.”

Since these were monsters, it was natural that they would respawn after a certain amount of time. However, the possibility of such a setting couldn’t be ruled out.

While the ships were small, their basic maneuverability, based on sail power, was smoother than the sea creatures. The threatening appearance of the red goats that Leeha had observed also aligned with the assumption of such a setting.

“Their presence was substantial…”