I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

The entrance ceremony was held at 10 a.m. Since it was a traditional event that all freshmen had to attend, being late would have been problematic. 

I stuffed half-smoked meat into my mouth, threw on a shirt that had been dried on the rack, and headed out of the forest.

Thirty minutes later, I arrived at the ceremony site. The doors of the Catlic Hall, the location of the first entrance exam, were open. 

The assistants were guiding everyone with precision, and hundreds of students stood on the sandy ground. 

I lined up at the far end of the Magic Department. At the very front, I could see Ciel and Elena. Right behind them, Lumina spotted me and waved enthusiastically.

“Hey! Good morning!”

“…”

If I recall correctly, she said she caught a cold yesterday. Seeing her recovered, I felt a small sense of relief. 

But that’s beside the point.

I couldn’t act like I knew her here.

Lumina Halloway was already surrounded by many female students, all chatting with her. 

In the middle of their conversation, she saw me and greeted me, unintentionally drawing attention.

“W-Wait, did Lumina just—greet me?!”

“No way! She was waving at me!”

“You’re mistaken!”

At that one statement, the male students around me began to argue. Such was the level of Lumina’s influence. 

So it was better to ignore it as much as possible.

But then there was the next person.

Lien gave me a slight glance before giving a light wave.

“…!”

I didn’t expect that. The shock hit me like a wave.

Fortunately, it appeared like no one else noticed.

But, we’re in a debtor-creditor relationship…

Is she looking forward to getting her money back…?

It might not be a good sign. To me, that one wave from Lien felt like a loan shark saying, ‘Remember the deadline, you know? And you know what happens if you don’t pay up, right?’

I silently vowed to visit the Loren Trading Company today to repay the remaining silver coins.

— “Top of the Magic Department! Ciel Dunhart! Second place! Elena Valencia!”

It was the Magic Department’s turn to be called. 

Ciel and Elena went up to the podium to receive their awards and deliver their speeches.

Once this was over, the entrance ceremony would be finished. Next was a brief orientation, and then we could head home quickly.

Today, I planned to finish smoking the meat and make jerky as well.

‘Smoked meat is too greasy to carry around.’

I pondered over leisure thoughts as I stood there.

“Ugh, aahhh—!”

A commotion broke out next to me. A student was frantically shoving everyone aside, trying to run outside. He pounded on the door of the Catlic Hall but was quickly restrained by the guards.

With a runny nose, teary eyes, and a look of sheer terror.

I tried to recall the original story.

‘There was nothing like this…?’

The entrance ceremony proceeds as normal. Unless, of course, something like a demon suddenly appeared, as if on a ‘Nightmare’ difficulty level…?

‘Ah.’

It must be a demon. That was the only explanation.

As soon as I made sense of the situation, the noise erupted again. A familiar voice from somewhere near me.

[Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—!]

The terrified screams interrupted Ciel’s speech, drawing everyone’s attention.

[Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—! Aahhh—!]

The never-ending screams.

The students began to murmur anxiously, and the head professor of the Magic Department, Mason, adjusted his glasses and approached the man. 

“You… Quiet down a bit.”

Just as he tapped the man with his wand—

Whhoooosh—!

A pillar of light surged from the ground. Radiant streams flowed between the sharply carved runes of the magic circle. 

It resembled the ‘Vision’ magic that Professor Mason had used before the entrance exam of Artena Academy began. 

“How could you—”

Professor Mason’s face twisted into a grim expression. However, before he could react, the magic was activated, leaving only an afterimage as he was transported elsewhere. 

In an instant, all the professors and key faculty members disappeared from the Catlic Hall.

I looked at the man. If my assumption was correct, then he was…

[Plak, the Mimic]  

Lv: 60  

Race: Demon  

State of Mind: [Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit.]

It was then that I realized the true identity of this man; a monster lurking in the treacherous labyrinth north of Magic Mountain. 

A demon who, under normal circumstances, should never appear until the demon king’s arrival, yet here he was.

He could copy the stats and skills of any person he spoke to as we witnessed.

As the boss of a rare dungeon, the strategy was to gradually chip away at his health while casting silence magic on him… 

But if one awakened him this early in the game, the success rate of defeating him was 0%.

That’s because Plak’s mana was infinite by default, and he could utilize the abilities he copied to their fullest potential. 

Thus, he managed to use Mason’s complex vision magic in just one second, without any casting time or mana consumption.

‘This is bad.’

Plak had cleverly teleported the strongest professors and guards away, leaving only the students inside Catlic Hall.

The crowd was unable to hide their fear. They started to panic and act erratically.

“Ahhh! The, the professor is gone!”

“The guards! Where are the guards?!”

“Open the door to the hall! We need to escape!”

The previously orderly entrance ceremony had descended into chaos.

There was no way we could receive any support, and the door to Catlic Hall—who knows what a demon might do to it—meant that everyone would be massacred if things continued like this.

‘I have to take him down.’

And I needed to do it discreetly.

Didn’t I have a new sniper rifle?

‘Time to hide.’

For now, I slipped into the crowd of students and used concealment magic. Climbing up the stairs to a higher vantage point, I observed the situation.

[You…]

Plak picked up the wand left behind by Professor Mason and pointed it toward the entrance of Catlic Hall.

[Quiet down a bit.]

Boom—!

Professor Mason’s second spell, powerful telekinesis, crushed the area around the door. Debris fell to seal the entrance shut, and the doorknob shattered, making it impossible to open the door physically.

Now no one could escape. Oddly enough, this was what I wanted. 

If the demon fled, it would be released into the world. 

He had to be taken down now.

I climbed the ivory wall of Catlic Hall and rushed higher. No one was thinking about coming here.

In that precarious position, with everything below me, I drew out my sniper rifle.

Looking down at the scene, I saw Princess Elena controlling the students, while Ciel had countless magic circles floating around her, ready to clash at any moment.

“A demon…”

Ciel’s lips barely moved as she muttered. Luckily, she wasn’t trying to speak with the demon, but if she uttered even a single word to it… A disaster would unfold.

Ciel knew how to use high-tier magic. The only reason she didn’t use it was because it immobilized her body.

If the demon were to copy Ciel, it could unleash countless high-tier spells upon Catlic Hall. And that would mean utter destruction.

[Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit. Quiet down a bit.]

Woom—

Ciel began firing her magic indiscriminately. Plak started to respond. There was no more time to waste.

“I’m shooting now.”

I put my eye to the scope. The familiar abilities of my clairvoyance naturally flowed through, locking onto the demon.

As I infused a thousand units of mana and light elements into the rifle—

[You have selected the light element.]

[The target’s element is darkness.]  

[There is a significant level gap between you and the target.]  

[Insight is activated!]

[Your level, stats, and skill grades have temporarily increased!]  

[Damage amplification applied!]  

[ Kyle ]  

Lv: 60  

Race: Human  

Gender: Male  

Title: The Most Notorious Scoundrel, Demon Slayer  

Mana: 5000/6000  

Karma: 0  

Unique Trait: Sniping Master  

Traits: Perfect Accuracy, Crisis Detection, Rapid Fire, Touch of Death, Iron Man, Indomitable Spirit  

[Stat Details]  

Invested Stats Points: 0  

Strength: 35  

Stamina: 35  

Endurance: 35  

Intelligence: 35  

Perception: 35  

Mana Perception: 18  

Spirit Perception: 17  

[Talent Details]  

Element: Multiple  

Class: Multiple  

Growth Efficiency: A+  

[Active Skill Details]  

Liberation  

[Passive Skill Details]  

Shooting Proficiency: B+  

Mana Efficiency: B+  

Firepower: B+  

Firepower Control: B+  

Crafting: B+  

Butchery: B+  

I could feel power surging through me…

Right now, it felt like I could somehow deal with that demon.

Reining in the thrill slowly, I pressed the iron trigger.

And then—

Bang—

That was it. The recoil ended with a single jolt of my shoulder. There was no smoke rising as it usually did when I fired a shot.

Yes. It was as if… I had just fired a gust of wind.

I looked at the demon. My eyes couldn’t follow the trajectory of the bullet, so the outcome was—

Ciel was about to cast her spell, and Plak was prepared to counter it, but then…

“You, qui—”

It was astoundingly anticlimactic, and the power of the sniper rifle was overwhelming.

A streak of blood sprayed from Plak’s head, painting the air for a fleeting moment. He fell face-first onto the sandy ground.

And that was the end.

What followed was only a heavy silence.