I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

“Everyone! Gather to one side!”

Princess Elena was trying to control the panicking students. 

The most important thing in a wartime situation is mental strength. If one loses their mind and gives up when the enemy charges with a sword, they won’t even have a chance to fight back.

They would be cut down simply and become the next victim.

The ancient wisdom she learned as a member of the royal family taught her.

‘Use your brain in every moment.’

No matter how critical the situation, the moment people lose their reason and scatter, that’s when the real hunt begins. It’s no different from letting a wolf loose among a flock of sheep. 

To prevent that, she decided to gather everyone and think of countermeasures to block the wolf’s path.

“Right now, let’s form a hunting party with those who are immediately combat-ready!”

She therefore began recruiting for a hunting party. At Artena Academy, there were only two combat-related departments: the Knight Department and the Magic Department. 

Elena had no doubt that if they fought together, they could deal with the demon. 

But they were all quick to run away, and despite her calls, they didn’t quickly gather. 

‘How annoying.’

To Ciel, who could easily destroy all those people alone, they were just an obstacle.

Ciel thought of the man whom she presumed to be a master.

That day, when the deep darkness devoured the sky. The man who demonstrated an unparalleled technique that swept away everything with a single blow.

‘If it were him…’

At some point, Ciel had started to admire him. The power of the master she had seen for the first time was so immense. She had always wanted to catch up to that level of strength.

‘Couldn’t he take down that demon in an instant too…?’

Ciel looked at the demon. 

Plak decided there was no need to hide his demonic energy anymore. He conquered the space with his presence.

[Quiet down a bit.]

The amount of demonic energy was overwhelming, enough to make one’s arms break out in goosebumps. And the feeling of infinite, latent mana.

If it were the person she had in mind, could he really face this demon?

“He can do it.”

Ciel reached her conclusion and deployed her magic circles. The unique crystals of ice magic formed and hovered behind her.

If he could do it, she had to follow.

That’s the path to getting closer to the master’s level. The path to fulfilling the aspirations of her family.

So…

“I can do it too.”

Dozens of icicles floated behind Ciel. No, even that wasn’t enough. Hundreds of spikes began to fill the sky. 

Ciel made a resolution—to defeat the demon with all her might and take one step closer to the master’s level.

With that resolve, as she fired her magic.

Whoosh—

Plak fell, struck by a formless energy shot from someone. Ciel instantly understood.

‘The second one…!!’

The master is here.

Ciel quickly looked around. But in all the chaos, she couldn’t pinpoint the origin.

With such a concentrated magic missile, a tremendous noise should naturally accompany it. But as expected of the master’s level, there was nothing. 

Even with that destructive power, not a single sound was made…

If it was the person she knew, he would have already hidden himself. Once he decided to hide, there was no way to find him.

“So, once again…”

He helped and left.

Realizing this, Ciel clenched her fist tightly.

The truth was, it only meant that she was still lacking. A burning desire welled up within her to one day become strong enough to catch up to him.

———

Meanwhile, Lien was standing beside Princess Elena, listening to the strategy to support Ciel. 

Despite the princess’s enthusiastic explanations, Lien’s thoughts were consumed entirely by Kyle.

The shock from yesterday was significant. This was because her ‘golden eye,’ which rarely revealed the colors or scents of others, had shown something faint yet striking in Kyle.

Since there was no possibility that her ability was wrong, Lien was trying to find the reason for this anomaly in Kyle.

Though it was a hunch, she began to suspect that Kyle might be someone with abilities that surpassed even Ciel Dunhart. Or perhaps he held all kinds of information beneficial to the trade guild.

She turned these ideas over and over in her mind, but then—

“Surely. That’s not possible.”

Thinking about him living in a house on the mountains because he couldn’t afford a dormitory room left her feeling puzzled. The more she thought about Kyle, the more she felt as if she were falling into a labyrinth.

“Hmm? What did you say just now, Lien?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself.”

“Yes, we should go help Ciel.”

And so, while pretending to listen to Elena’s talk, Lien kept searching for any signs of Kyle.

“A-Ah! The demon!”

“Of course, it’s Ciel Dunhart!”

The demon had fallen. A golden glow circled around the demon, and by the time the glow extinguished, Lien caught sight of Kyle hurriedly descending the stairs.

Immediately after, the academy staff quickly took over to handle the situation. While the students praised Ciel Dunhart and spread tales of her bravery, Lien’s eyes were fixed on only one person.

“Kyle, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere…?”

“I’m fine. I was in hiding.”

“Thank goodness…! I was gathering some friends to protect them… and then I was looking for you, but suddenly you disappeared, so I thought you were… I-I’m sorry!”

“What is there to be. No need to apologize.”

The boy was chatting with Lumina Halloway.

“Hmmm?”

Kyle.

There really was something about him.

———

And so, the entrance ceremony ended like that. Since a significant event such as the demon’s intrusion had occurred, the orientation was postponed to the next day.

The academy made sure that students could return home early that day, and because of that, I walked home with a wide grin on my face.

Sitting on a tree stump, I opened my status window.

[You have defeated Plak, a Mimic Demon!]

[5 Level Up!]  

[You have points available for stat investment!]

[Honor to your benevolence! You have earned 5 karma!]  

[Your comprehension of skills has increased overall!]

[ Kyle ]  

Lv: 15  

Race: Human  

Gender: Male  

Title: The Most Notorious Scoundrel, Demon Slayer  

Mana: 660/1500  

Karma: 5  

Unique Trait: Sniping Master  

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

[Stat Details]  

Invested Stats Points: 10  

Strength: 16  

Stamina: 8  

Endurance: 1  

Intelligence: 1  

Perception: 1  

Mana Perception: 1  

Spirit Perception: 1  

[Talent Details]  

Element: Multiple  

Class: Multiple  

Growth Efficiency: A+  

[Active Skill Details]  

Liberation  

[Passive Skill Details]  

Shooting Proficiency: D  

Mana Efficiency: F  

Firepower: F  

Firepower Control: F  

Crafting: F  

Butchery: F  

“I leveled up so quickly, huh?”

I had reached the next checkpoint—Level 15. The EXP bar was filled to the brim.

In a way, I was actually relieved that Plak, the Mimic Demon, showed up. 

As demons level up, they could resurrect, set up basic barriers, and gain increased health. 

However, because Plak’s abilities were so overpowered, his health wasn’t that high. He had no barriers and no resurrection either.

After all, if Plak could copy and spam skills like a nuke, adding barriers and resurrection would be overkill.

“Maybe I should invest in my stats.”

The stat points I received from this level-up totaled ten.

Last time, I split my points evenly between strength and stamina. 

The main reason was to manage the sniper rifle’s recoil and to maintain a balanced lifestyle in the wilderness.

“Now, the recoil is manageable.”

With the sniper rifle’s evolution, the recoil had noticeably reduced, giving me more room for other considerations.

Naturally, the stat that stood out was perception. Intelligence and endurance improved magic efficiency and combat learning, but… They were not particularly urgent.

“Should I prioritize perception?”

Perception essentially refers to innate talent. It allowed one to learn and use magic more quickly and in greater detail.

It made a huge difference in firepower as well, and most importantly, in order to learn higher-tier magic, you have to lift the stat restriction on mana perception.

Basic magic required around 10. Beginner magic required 20. Intermediate needed 30. Advanced needed 40. And the ultimate magic, the pinnacle of all spells, needed 50.

Of course, given Kyle’s rather dismal magic talents, I was not expecting to reach that level.

If I could just learn survival skills like basic fire-making, water-pulling, magic-based physical enhancement, basic barriers, and gust creation (like an air conditioner), that would be enough.

All of those fell into the basic category, so—

“I should probably get mana perception to at least 10.”

Since it was currently at 1, I’d need to invest 9 points.

[Mana Perception has increased to 10!]  

[Basic Magic has been unlocked!]  

I put the remaining point into stamina. Since my stamina was already lacking, this would help. Though I did feel my body getting healthier as I trained, the fatigue was significant as well.

“Still, is there any training better than this?”

Even without directly investing stat points, my stats increased when I exercised and trained. 

Just going back and forth to Artena Academy had already increased my stamina by 2 points. 

Since the numbers were low, the efficiency was surprisingly good. 

I hadn’t started actual training yet, but once living in nature became more manageable, I’d begin. 

“There’s so much to do…”

When I broke it all down.

I wanted to go out regularly for hunting and gathering to supplement my nutrition, and I also wanted to make a lunch box to bring for meals during classes.

I planned to borrow a few basic magic books from the library to learn those foundational spells I mentioned earlier, and I’d need to keep up with physical exercise and shooting training.

I also had to find a way to overcome the major weakness of snipers: close combat. 

There was still a lot I hadn’t even begun to handle.

There were countless cobwebs and dust sticking to the house, and the wooden boards were worn out. I planned to clean and renovate everything from top to bottom.

I needed to mine more rock salt and buy a jar to make jerky as well. That’d be a purchase.

“Now that I list everything, it’s quite a lot.”

When I used to live a busy life as a developer, I romanticized the idea of returning to the countryside. Even if it wasn’t a rural village, I dreamed of building a small house like a campsite and living within nature.

Wow! The fresh air of the wild! The breathtaking scenery!

When watching YouTube videos, I imagined all these things, letting my imagination run wild. 

But as I faced the reality—it was not easy. Figuring out what to eat each day was a struggle.

I had four smoked rabbits left, which, if I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, would only last a day.

“Wasn’t I planning to make jerky instead of just smoking meat?”

It wasn’t practical to aim for a preservation time of 1 to 2 weeks with smoked meat. It took too long to make, and one could produce a lot at once.

I’d have to create an efficient meal plan.

Salad for breakfast, salad with meat for lunch, and meat for dinner.

Hmm. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about muscle with this diet.

“Let’s do this—”

In any case, there was no time to sit idle.

I picked up my iron pickaxe, slung my bag over my shoulder, and headed into the forest.

In terms of a certain block-building game, my goal was to gather about 64 units of rock salt. 

That was the plan.

“Phew—! One more set!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

That day, I spent the whole day mining rock salt. Though my initial plan was to gather just 64 units, I ended up mining a few more sets to avoid having to come back again.