Chapter 573

Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter] Chapter 573

“Grrrrr-”

Leeha clenched his eyes shut and quickly closed his mouth.

Opening his eyes in seawater was painful enough, but in a stream of lava? Even if it’s just a game, no one would want to endure the torment of their eyeballs burning in lava.

Ding, Ding-!

Despite the confusion, the system alert sounded.

Thankfully, in Middle Earth, one could see even with their eyes closed.

‘Dammit, someone died in the lava, of all the unfortunate-‘

[You have resisted the abnormal status ‘Extreme Heat.’]

[You have resisted the abnormal status ‘Burn Injury.’]

[You have resisted the abnormal status ‘Real Name.’]

[You have resisted the abnormal status ‘Fear.’]

‘- Going to... Huh?’

Immersed in the thick lava, Leeha suddenly felt a strange sensation. Not only had he resisted the abnormal conditions, but he hadn’t felt any particular sensations since falling into the lava.

‘It... it’s not hot?’

He wondered if he just hadn’t.felt the heat because he had just fallen in. But that wasn’t it. Time had passed as normal, even the effects related to abnormal conditions had been applied.

However, the fact that it still wasn’t hot struck Leeha as peculiar.

‘What’s going on?’

Leeha slowly opened his eyes.

A scarlet world, a stark contrast to the blue world seen from under the sea, filled Leeha’s view.

The only exception in this scarlet world was the blue aura enveloping his body.

“Jellypong!”

[Myong, myong-]

“Damn, this feature existed too?” The water spirit, created from the essence of the Sea God, was wrapped tightly around Leeha’s body.

When attacked, it surrounded Leeha’s body, not only absorbing the damage but also providing heat resistance?

[Myong, myong!]

Jellypong’s arm sprouted out and gave a playful wink. Leeha was suddenly filled with an overwhelming emotion.

“Jellypong...Thank-“

[Myong myong myong!]

“-woawwwww?!”

Before his admiration could fully register, Jellypong’s arm began to rotate like a propeller behind Leeha.

In an area where the [Mermaid Transformation] couldn’t be used, he had a feature that could mimic its effects.

Shooo....

Leeha swam through the lava as if he was in a tiny submarine.

The Lava Lizards, who had been waiting for Leeha, began to sway their tails and paddle through the lava again.

‘Middle Earth really gives you all sorts of experiences. This feels even more miraculous than when I was going to the Dragon Palace.’

Is this what it feels like to move through a marsh?

The Lava Lizards swam a good distance through the bubbling lava before they began to rise to the surface again.

‘It’s about a 30-minute journey from that place. Can’t quite figure out the direction though.’

Lava is a term specifically referring to magma that has fully erupted and is flowing.

But since he was completely submerged in lava and unable to see the outside,

Leeha had no way of knowing whether he was in the inner parts of the volcano where the magma was, or if he had just followed the flow of the lava.

In essence, this place was no different from the secret area of the “Lonely Volcano”.

When Leeha finally set foot in the chamber inside the volcano, a place that couldn’t be entered by any player and even the paleos of the New Continent,

Ta-dah-! Ta-dah-! An unexpected achievement fanfare played.

[Achievement: Guardian of the Lonely Volcano(S-)]

There was no cordial self-introduction.

The guardian deity of the Lava Lizards and a monstrous lizard flicked its tongue.

Considering the size of its tongue was close to Leeha’s entire body, it was more like dealing with an enormous reptile, even larger than an ancient-grade dragon.

“Yes. That’s correct. If there’s something I can help with-”

“Even if you burned yourself up, it would be insufficient to generate thermal energy.”

“-Pardon?”

“We’ve been using the waste of the bats you killed as fuel so far. Do you know what that means?”

“Of...course.”

Leeha nodded, not quite understanding but going along.

He knew that in cold regions, dried cow dung is used as firewood.

But bat droppings?

Though the bats were as vast as large dogs, would their waste be enough to be used as fuel?

Moreover, with magma everywhere,

Why would creatures with even their skin made of magma need fire?

Leeha had his questions but kept them to himself.

Nevertheless, the giant lizard opened its mouth as if it knew what Leeha was thinking just by looking at his expression.

“You probably don’t know...... If you do not continuously heat the magma, allowing it to circulate within the Earth, terrible things happen. Magma would erupt not just from volcanoes but everywhere. If all the magma inside erupts, the continent might sink. Are you ignoring the potential destruction of this land?”

The lizard’s vertical pupils glared at Leeha.

“Bat... dung is used to heat the magma? I thought magma is heated merely by the internal pressure and temperature of the planet-“

“Don’t spout nonsense. We are the ones managing all the magma beneath the surface. To keep it consistently heated, their droppings were necessary. In other words, a lump of dung from a single fuel bat is far more valuable than your most precious treasure, even more so than your insignificant life.”

The lizard’s head moved closer to Leeha.

Leeha was momentarily stunned by the lizard’s words, which were different from what he knew, but after all, this is Middle Earth.

If the game setting is as such, so be it. Leeha remembered why he was here. Perhaps this was a good thing. If he knew what they wanted,

he would have a significant advantage when building familiarity.

‘Knowing about magma so much, it’s a foregone conclusion that a《Fire Flower》can be found here...... Now, shall I try to butter them up a bit? 《Bargaining》”

All that remained was for Leeha to showcase his skills at manipulating the negotiations.

“I understand. Your efforts to maintain not only this area but also the entire world as a balanced environment. I risked coming here to confirm that.”

Leeha smiled with a hundred percent affinity, looking at the giant lizard. However, he has assumed too easily this time.

The lizard’s eyes bulged out.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I have no interest in relying on someone who already killed our fuel bats.”

“Eh? What?”

“Kill him.”

Common quest affinity penalties could be compensated for by Leeha’s high reputation on the New Continent.

But now was a different story!

It was Leeha himself who had slaughtered their ‘property’ and ‘treasure,’ the fuel bats! Even if Leeha were confident and asked for a favor, they wouldn’t agree.

“Hold on, that’s not what I-” All the Lava Lizards stood, hearing the lizard’s words.

Despite having no particular weapons, their entire bodies, made of magma, were weapons in themselves.

‘I don’t even have the stamina from my previous life! If it’s now, I’m really gonna be beaten!’

Leeha stepped back from the charging Lizards,

but only met the gaping mouth of the massive lizard behind him.

‘Damn it,damn it,was 《Bargaining》 only possible if the other party was willing to listen in the first place.’

Just like with the Onyx, Leeha had to provoke their interest.

Without such a keyword, no matter how eloquent, it was futile. In a situation like this where they have absolutely no interest in Leeha, there’s no opportunity for bargaining.

“Skink,Skink-“

“Resistance only brings more suffering, Skink.”

There’s no way to counter them now. If he showed even a hint of aggression, he might never be able to get the 《Fire Flower》.