Chapter 76

Translated by: xLordFifth

Edited by: Spitfirus

‘Extreme Rapid fire… !’

Leeha looked at Browless with a bewildered expression. Of course, he knew that Browless could do it. He just thought, ‘there are two muskets that were already loaded, maybe three’.

Of course, Browless easily surpassed Leeha’s expectation.

‘Does this make sense? Did he reload it himself and shoot it?’

He couldn’t believe it.

Three shots were fired in just over 20 seconds.

It took about 7 seconds or so to fire one shot, which was unbelievable, even when he witnessed it himself.

‘I can’t shoot my musket that fast!’

What’s more, for a full-length musket? Leeha knew it well, because he had handled modern guns before.

A single shot of bolt action without a bullet box took more or less 3 seconds if a skilled person handled it.

If one was a first-time user of bolt action, it would take about 5 seconds.

In other words, what about the reload speed that Browless showed?

It could be said that the speed of a bolt action was achieved using a musket.

‘Are you saying that his hands had the ability to go beyond the history of firearms? How the hell did he do it?’

For Leeha, it was revolutionary itself.

“Were you able to see it clearly? Come in.”

Browless fixed the position of his hat and entered the academy.

Leeha, who was looking at the director’s back, felt infinite respect.

‘Awesome! If only I could make that quick fire skill my own…  that would be great!’

In Middle Earth, which embodied medieval fantasy, what kind of musket, which was the strongest among weapons in terms of attack, could be shot every 5 seconds?

‘It’s not a revolution, it’s a scam. Magic or whatever, it would not matter.’

It made one wonder if all the other professions would gather and hold a demonstration. Of course, Leeha was just thinking about it.

I should try to learn how to do it—.

“Yes! Respected director! I’m coming!”

Leeha followed Browless with big army-style steps.

“You look stupid.”

“Sorry.”

Browless put the musket on the wall, in the collection room.

There were three shelves embedded on the wall.

The place that Browless chose was the middle. The top and bottom shelves were empty.

‘Come to think of it, that musket looks pretty special.’

What goes in the three shelves, three muskets? Of course, it had to do with the three musketeers.

It was easy to see for Leeha.

Three of the most famous musketeers in the history of the Fibiel Kingdom, the founders of Brown Bess Musket Academy.

Perhaps it was there where the three founders put their guns.

What happened to the two empty shelves? Leeha suddenly wondered what happened to the other two.

‘And that musket that Browless used…  Does the gun have an effect to shorten the reload time? Surely, it should increase agility, right?’

As experienced by Leeha, if the musket had an +50 agility effect, it would definitely increase the reload speed.

‘Still, 7 seconds is a scam!’

Leeha looked at the musket.

There was not even a single reflection, it was so black that it hurt the viewer’s eyes.

Neither the barrel, nor the butt plate seemed to be made of ordinary material. What the hell was that pitch black musket? It was like a gun that was needed only by someone hiding in the dark sniping.

“What are you looking at?”

“Ah, sorry.”

Leeha scratched his head and turned.

It was as if Browless’s voice was admonishing Leeha. Apparently, he doesn’t like someone getting interested in his musket.

“I went to the Sacred Knights. Someone knows you, rookie.”

“It seems you saw Sir Shindong no,…. Sir Syndergaard.”

“Right. I let them know that Hijuit-Ka died.”

“Huh! Yes. I have successfully completed the mission and returned.”

Leeha, proudly and confidently raised his chest.

Browless nodded slightly.

He still had an expressionless face, and his tone was cold, but was clearly different from before.

“Sheymoore is quite far. You returned sooner than I thought.”

There was a sense of arrogance in the way he spoke. With a hint of curiosity.

“Yes! I ran nonstop to report to the director!”

“Ran? Haha, you’re really good at making funny jokes. Is that a distance that you could run to get here?”

It didn’t matter if it was real. Leeha looked at Browless and smiled.

“Anyway, good job, rookie.”

“Thank you!”

Leeha, while sitting, took an alert posture and answered firmly. Today, his respect for Browless came out of nowhere.

As if in response, the sound effect for completing the quest resounded.

Babam-!

[You have completed the quest: A promising seedling -1.]

[Intimacy with Browless increased by 30%.]

[Intimacy with the Sacred Knights increased by 10%.]

[Fibiel Kingdom’s national contribution increased by 20.]

‘Huu, good. Good.’

As a result, his intimacy with Browless was 95%!

The Guard Captain, who was businesslike in Candle Castle, even hugged Leeha when his intimacy reached 100%.

So what about Browless?

‘I don’t think he will, but… ‘

At least he wouldn’t be as cold as he is now.

Even now, he grunts most of the time while answering.

But Leeha wanted more than that.

There must be some words that he would hear when his intimacy reached 100%.

‘Would I be able to learn rapid fire as well?’

Another sound effect echoed in Leeha’s ears as he smiled.

Babam-!

‘Huh?’

[You have completed the quest Browless’s Expectations.]

[Intimacy with Browless increased by 30%.]

[You have achieved 100% intimacy with Browless.]

[Continental Reputation increased by 30.]

“So much… no.”

Browless shook his head slightly.

He thought for a moment, hesitated, and opened his mouth calmly.

“You have exceeded my expectations.”

And he knew.

‘Also… Even if I didn’t see it, I must have done the hidden quest, right?’

Another quest, [Browless’s expectations] was also cleared.

With this, Leeha reached 100% intimacy much faster than expected, which he thought could only be achieved by completing a quest one more time.

“Thank you!”

Leeha’s voice was loud and refreshing.

Who would have thought that Browless would give such a compliment? Even when he over-achieved, there were no words of praise.

It didn’t really suit Browless, but it made Leeha twice as happy, hearing compliments from his mouth that didn’t suit him.

“Don’t laugh.”

“Yes… ahem, of course.”

It was a pity that the effect disappeared so quickly.

“It would be a waste of time to ask you to gather the gallbladder of bears or the teeth of snakes.”

“It’s okay sir! If you want to, I could do it perfectly well!”

“No, no. You don’t have to. Because you have other work to do.”

There was something else? Is he trying to give me another quest?

Browless’s words were difficult to understand at first, but Leeha felt good.

‘Yes! My rank has gone up from [Rookie] to [You]!’

Leeha waited patiently for the next quest, but Browless did not continue to speak.

After he emptied his cup and came back after refilling his tea, Browless still didn’t say a word, and Leeha continued to wait.

‘This is so… I can’t even ask…  why are you doing this to me?’

In the end, it was Leeha who opened his mouth first.

‘Now that I have 100% intimacy, I could ask, right?’

As soon as he entered the collection room, the words he wanted to ask reached the end of his throat.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“How did you shoot that fast?”

What was the secret to the speed that made the musket into a bolt action rifle?

“You think that’s fast?”

“Yes? Naturally… “

“This…  It’s still slow. I will have to call you ‘Rookie’ again.”

But Browless grinned as he took a sip of tea.

‘What does he mean now? Surely? Is he saying it could be faster?’

Faster than 7 seconds? Does that make sense?

“How-”

“Didn’t you tell me what’s important for a musketeer?”

“Ah, yes. I remember.”

He couldn’t forget. Because there was only one thing that Browless had been talking about since the beginning.

‘Talent. Is he bragging about his talent now?’

Was it beyond what an NPC could answer? Should I just give up?

‘No, I can’t.’

He must somehow learn it. At least get a clue.

Cutting the reload time into a few seconds was like breaking through human limitations. It was not something that could simply be explained with innate talent. Whether it was a skill or weapon option, Leeha thought that there must be a secret besides talent. This time, he looked straight into Browless’s eyes and asked.

“Is it some sort of skill, gun option, or magic?”

“Are you talking about delicate hand movement? You can’t shoot like me with that.”

“Is that so?”

It was not a skill.

“I really want to learn rapid fire. Could it be that rapid fire has something to do with the musket?”

Browless took a sip quietly.

Rather, this quietness, this tension, made Leeha nervous.

I shouldn’t have asked, I should not have asked!

‘Hmm…  Is he thinking about something?’

Leeha also drank a sip of tea.

In a situation that seemed to have broken down, Leeha realized the intention of Middle Earth once more.

‘There’s something. Some keyword…  Just like when I convinced the bakery owner in Candle Castle, I should get a clue to move this story forward.

And what would be the clue? Only one thing popped into Leeha’s mind.

“And that musket, the founders of Brown Bess Musket Academy. Aren’t there two other people along with the director-?

With a sound of teacup being brought down strongly, Browless finally opened his mouth.

“Do you know about the three musketeers?”

“Three musketeers?”

The three musketeers that came out when he had a question about the musket. There was only one thing it referred to.

“Aren’t those the three people that founded the Brown Bess Musket Academy?”

Three of the strongest musketeers of the Fibiel Kingdom.

Upon hearing Leeha’s answer, the corner of Browless’s lips rose slightly. However, his eyes were somewhat sad.

(To be continued…)