I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

I surveyed my surroundings. There wasn’t a single structure in sight. 

All I could see were snow-covered rocks, trees, a vast expanse of a snowy field, and towering mountains. 

It was immediately apparent what they based this location on. 

A snow-capped mountain instantly came to mind—Mount Everest. It felt like they had directly transplanted that place into this world.

The scenery was beautiful. The way the snow-covered mountains blended with the sun, reflecting pure white across the landscape, was truly stunning. 

But the issue was—

“Hoo… This is…”

The bitter cold was almost the same as the real place.

Although the temperature wasn’t exactly the same, it felt like being stuck inside a freezer, the chill hammering against my body.

I exhaled deeply, and a puff of white breath floated up into the sky.

I looked over at my teammates. 

Are you guys okay…?

“Gah. My tongue— Aghhh!”

Lucas was desperately trying to remove his tongue, which had stuck to his palm. It seemed like he was getting punished for constantly running his mouth. 

Yeah. Not going to help him.

“Hahaha! It’s cold! So cold!”

There was another lunatic in our midst—Roden, who had stripped off his shirt and was letting out a hearty laugh.

He was running in place, seemingly thrilled to be doing some winter training. Even though he was using the earth element to strengthen his body, that didn’t make him immune to the cold. Seeing him like this, I was sure something was wrong with him.

I sighed and turned to look at Ciel.

“Get ready. We’re heading out right away.”

On her end… She was perfectly fine. Coming from a northern family and being an ice magic user, it seemed like she had some natural resistance.

I gestured toward Lucas, who was making a ruckus, and Roden, who had already started doing push-ups.

“Hey, Ciel. Are you really going to go now?”

“Yes.”

“Look behind you. Do you see their condition?”

“It’s fine as long as I finish quickly.”

Crunch.

Ciel began walking forward, a magic circle already appearing behind her, prepared for any battle.

Honestly, I wanted to fight too, but the cold made me wish I could just stay and rest. 

Another five minutes out there, and I might freeze to death.

Besides, following Ciel, who had a notorious tendency to get lost, didn’t seem wise.

“But there’s a teamwork score to consider, right?”

Creak.

Ciel’s footsteps came to a halt. Her brows furrowed slightly.

She let out a frosty breath before replying.

“… Fine.”

It was hard to tell if it was a sigh or not. She turned around and followed me.

And so, we started looking for a place to rest.

With my heightened vision, I quickly found a place to shelter.

“Huh…?”

It was a cave on the mountainside with a faint red aura emanating from it.

[Warning! An enemy with hostile intent towards you is lying dormant!]

Normally, we would need to search the entire area thoroughly, but—

“Found it…”

This episode’s main event.

There was no need to go any further.

———-

Whoooosh.

A dark cave. 

Outside, a snowstorm was raging, blanketing everything in sight. It was impossible to see beyond the swirling snow.

It was fortunate we found this cave so quickly.

Whoosh—

I summoned a flame in my hand and brought it close to the branches. 

But since they were thoroughly frozen, they wouldn’t catch fire easily.

After five minutes of waiting, the branches finally started to burn.

Once I built the flame up to a campfire level, it was warm enough to be comfortable.

“Ah! That’s warm… Hey, Kyle, for an F-grade commoner, you’re surprisingly useful! Just keep being our fire-starter, and this whole beast combat session will be a breeze. Leave it to the top student, Ciel Dunhart, and myself, Lucas.”

It seemed Lucas’s tongue had thawed since he started running his mouth again. 

After listening to his chatter for a week, he was starting to grow on me a little.

Every game needs a cocky, annoying character like him.

“Hahaha! Next is sit-ups! One, two! One, two!”

And every game needs a gym fanatic like him too.

I shook my head and twisted my body to wring the melted snow water out of my damp clothes. 

Ignoring the ruckus around me, a quiet energy hung in the air. Ciel sat with her knees drawn up, lost deep in thought.

“Master…”

She murmured softly in a trance. Her voice was usually steady, but now that she spoke in such a low tone, it carried a melancholy vibe.

‘How badly does she want to be a master?’

Though she appeared obsessed with achieving the title of Master, in reality, Ciel didn’t cling to that dream for herself. 

Her family had brainwashed her into thinking that way all her life.

It felt awkward seeing her like this.

That’s not the kind of character you are.

I decided to break the tension with a joke.

“Why suddenly talking about the ‘Master’? Is it someone you like?”

It was just a lighthearted tease.

But Ciel sharply turned her head, glaring at me with narrowed eyes.

“No…! That person… That person is not someone I could ever…”

“Could ever what?”

“…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence and just stared at me, silently revealing her discomfort.

If she disliked it so much, couldn’t she just say it outright…?

Unfair. I was just trying to lighten the mood.

“Hmm. Having a spat, are we?”

At that moment, someone shuffled next to me. It was Roden. He lifted and lowered a rock with a solemn look on his face as he spoke.

“It’s better to make up. I once had a childhood friend back in my village, someone I promised to marry. But after a fight, all that’s left in your heart is regret. She even tried to apologize to me back then, but—”

“Let’s just get going.”

Ciel abrupt flashback cut.

Now that everyone’s warmed up, there shouldn’t be any complaints about moving forward.

I gave Ciel a nod.

“Yeah. We should get going.”

“Oh, we’re moving already? Then I, Lucas, shall take the lead!” 

With Ciel in the lead, we all stood up. Outside, the snowstorm continued in full force.

As we were about to step out, I spoke up to the group.

“I have pretty good ears. Earlier, I heard some strange cries coming from deeper in the cave. I think there’s a beast inside.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Ciel. It’s inside the cave. And Lucas, didn’t you say you’d lead the way? Go ahead.”

I lifted a torch and handed it to Lucas, who nervously eyed the gaping darkness of the cave.

A black void where nothing could be seen.

His hands trembled slightly as he hesitated.

Sigh.

You idiot.

“I’ll go.”

I brushed past him and entered the cave. Ciel and Roden quickly caught up to me with hurried steps, and Lucas came running after, yelling loudly.

“W-wait! Don’t leave me behind!”

Finally catching up, Lucas trailed behind us, sticking close.

And so we moved in a single line through the darkness.

The deeper we ventured, the walls, once frozen solid, turned to ice. Icicles sprouted from every direction, hindering our progress, and the ground was becoming increasingly slippery.

A biting cold air seeped from within, and with the heightened tension, any moment could bring an unexpected attack.

I tightened my grip on the torch.

‘No matter how experienced I am, I can’t know everything.’

This episode was random in nature. 

What kind of beasts would appear and how they were grouped was random. 

Even if one played it a hundred times, they’d get a hundred different scenarios.

But there was still a way to make some educated guesses.

‘Given that we’re in a snowy area…’

We were likely to encounter beasts related to ice. It meant my fire magic might prove to be a major asset.

‘Let’s get ready to channel my mana…’

The moment I took another step forward—

A pair of red eyes gleamed in the darkness. There were hundreds of them—beasts clinging to the ceiling of the cave.

The alarm of danger blared in my head, and I shouted out.

“Bats ahead!”

Screeeeee—!

A swarm of ice bats came flying toward us, their talons sharp as ice spikes. One scratch might be manageable, but their numbers were overwhelming.

But before we could even form a proper battle stance, the situation resolved itself.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

From behind, a spray of ice pillars shot outward, instantly turning the bats mid-flight into frozen sculptures.

I turned around to see Ciel exhaling white mist, tilting her head slightly.

“Not going?”

“No. That was perfect. Nicely done.”

Come to think of it, we had Ciel here. No need to worry about small fry.

From then on, progress was straightforward.

“Icefang Wolf!”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“Ice Tusk Rabbit ahead!

Boom! Bang!

“O-one more wave of bats!”

Boooom!

I called out the targets, and Ciel took them down. It was almost too easy. 

In the original game, Ciel’s specs weren’t as high in order to keep the players engaged, but here in reality, without any of those restrictions, she was in full swing. I was basically catching a free ride.

And so, we reached the final destination. A long ice tunnel led to a dome-shaped area. At its end, a towering yeti waited.

“Die.”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The moment she saw it, Ciel launched her magic. Ice pillars erupted like geysers, threatening to freeze everything in their path. 

But this time, things were different.

Thud!

A particle-like barrier around the yeti shattered the ice pillars effortlessly. 

That was a shield no player could penetrate. It was later revealed in Chapter 1, Act 4 that it was the armor of the Demon’s minion, the Black Knight.

“Tch.”

Annoyed by the fact her attacks were blocked, Ciel unleashed all her magic.

Whirl!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Crack! Crack!

A blizzard infused with icy shards battered the yeti. Jagged ice pillars rained down upon it, and hundreds of icicles pelted it like a hailstorm.

Roaaaaar!

Yet despite the relentless assault, the yeti remained unscathed. It let out a thunderous roar, its eyes now glowing a deep crimson.

[Warning! A great danger has awakened from its slumber!]

[Yeti Possessed by a Demon]

Lv: 50

Species: Beast

State of Mind: [Filled with irritation at the presence of these insects.]

This was when the demon’s influence started. The real episode was beginning.

Crack! Crack!

The yeti’s body contorted and twisted as it transformed. Its molars grew out into menacing, horn-like protrusions reminiscent of a demon, and its muscles bulged to grotesque proportions, rivaling the size of a truck. 

One hit from that beast would be game over.

But there was still one more stage to come. Finally, the demon’s incantation resounded.

[… Die.]

Boom—!

A metallic sound echoed like something tearing through its own throat. 

The reverberation of that explosive aura filled the cavern, and instantly, Lucas and Roden collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. 

Characters without mental fortitude skills or high enough stats are knocked out in one blow. 

This pattern was the worst one.

In other words, it meant no character swap and surviving on one coin alone.

Luckily, I had the ‘Indomitable Will’ trait to shield me. I turned to look at Ciel.

“Another demon…”

Her naturally high stats shielded her from the attack’s effects. That’s one way to deal with it, I suppose.

In any case, it left just the two of us.

Ciel’s eyes were locked on the demon, as dozens of magic circles appeared around her. And then she spoke to me in a low voice.

“Take them out of here. They’re in the way.”

Two unconscious bodies and one F-grade commoner. 

Clearly, she had made her calculations. Having us around would limit the space for her magic.

I complied without a word. 

I slung Lucas and Roden over my shoulders and moved them to a safe area in the cave, setting them down gently. Then, I unfastened the wooden box I’d brought.

Boom—!

The battle had begun.

But no matter what she did, Ciel would never be able to take down that demon alone.

So, while I was out of sight, I quickly changed into my disguise—donning my black camouflage suit and mask—and grabbed my sniper rifle.

“It’s finally time to give this a real test.”

Until now, there hadn’t been a single chance to use it properly. Every enemy so far had gone down in one shot.

But now, I finally had an opponent who could withstand more than a single attack.

This was my chance to see just how powerful my sniper rifle really was.

I glanced up at the trait floating in my vision.

[Touch of Death]

Grade: Unique

Death comes like a whisper in the night. When the fourth whisper echoes, fate slips in like a shadow.

4th Shot Enhancement.

‘I’m counting on you.’