I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

“Phew… Is it really over…?”

The ice cave now contained only the Yeti’s corpse. 

I leaned against the ice wall. As I released the breath I had been holding, my heart pounded strongly in my chest.  

‘If I hadn’t taken it down in one shot, it would have been a disaster…’

I had almost faced a game-over situation. My stamina wasn’t particularly high. 

During the fight with the Yeti, I made swift and decisive judgments, but now that it was over, I felt completely drained. 

Even with an indomitable spirit, facing death was terrifying. No matter how my traits forcibly backed resolve, fear was still present.

I put the sniper rifle back into the wooden case and thought to myself, ‘At least, for now, I can relax a bit.’

The Act 1, Scene 2, of the Beast Combat Training had ended like this. Now, all that was left was cleaning up the aftermath.

I just needed to pack away the mask and camouflage gear and become one of the extras shocked by the demon’s appearance. 

With the stealth skills I had, pulling that off wouldn’t be an issue.

A demon appearing in the middle of beast combat training was a major calamity. Handling it was now up to the academy. They would be deeply shaken. 

After all, it was a grave matter for a demon to appear during an internal academy event.

Morale among the students was already low due to the earlier incident at the entrance ceremony. But there was still a way out. 

Even now, the demon king, wearing the guise of a human, was active in the shadows of the empire. 

This meant that demons appearing and rampaging beasts weren’t problems confined to the academy alone.

Some might ask, “Why not just hunt down the weakened demon king right now?”

‘That’s not possible.’  

In , the demon king’s identity was randomized each time. 

The main characters and supporting characters were not part of that logic, but there were still too many people involved. Finding the demon king among them was nearly impossible.

However, the final chapter of the episode always unfolded in a specific location, and the signs leading up to it would eventually become clear. Until then, all I could do was wait.

“Time to change.”

Leaving the wooden case behind, I prepared to take off my camouflage suit.

Tap. Tap. 

Just then, I heard footsteps nearby. Standing at the base of the ice cave was the ice girl—Ciel Dunhart. 

She trembled with blood all over her. Even her slender legs were at their limit. 

She barely supported herself against the wall as she walked toward me.

“You…”

Ciel asked in a trembling voice,  

“Was it you again…?”

Her gaze was fixed on the Yeti, whose upper body had been severed. 

Normally, this would have been a situation where my identity might be exposed, but I was still wearing my mask and camouflage. At that moment, I needed to become her Master.

I simply nodded.  

“I did it—”

My voice was heavy and monotone, resonating with a strange echo from my vocal cords. 

At my words, Ciel closed her eyes briefly and then smiled faintly.

“Yeah. It was you…”

Ciel’s legs gave out. She looked like she couldn’t take another step. It seemed like her ankle had given way. She must have walked all this way in that condition.

I needed to make a quick exit before she overexerted herself or the academy staff arrived.

“I’ll be going—”

I kicked the wooden case out of the way and walked out. Ciel’s gaze burned into me, as if she didn’t want to miss a single detail of my figure.

As I reached the end of the cave, the snowstorm was still raging outside. I could easily leave now, but my feet wouldn’t move. 

It wasn’t the cold that was stopping me—it was Ciel.

“Hey…”

I turned my head to look at her.

“That thing you said about me being strong… You got the wrong person…”

I looked into her emotions.

[Ciel]  

Lv: 45  

Race: Human  

Emotions: [She feels deep shame about how pathetic she is.]

Ciel seemed mentally cornered, like she was standing on the edge of a cliff.

She had faced an overwhelming enemy no less than three times. The feeling of helplessness was frequent. 

She wanted to become a master, but the wall before her was as high as a towering clock tower. It was impossible to reach with just one leap. 

She kept pushing herself to become a master, which, of course, was the wrong approach.

“Sigh─.”

I let out a sigh. 

Ciel’s pupils trembled at the sound.

‘I overlooked it.’

In the original story, Ciel never faced such an overwhelming opponent early on. 

Once the Act 1, Scene 4: Underground Cavern episode, where she loses control to a demon, concludes, she completely secured a prominent position. 

The curse blocking her talent disappeared. She began manifesting high-level magic, which she had only studied theoretically, and eventually deployed even the highest-level grand magic by herself. 

By the final battle against the demon king, she surpassed the rank of a grand mage and became a master.

Of course, the second trial involved fulfilling her family’s secret wish and overcoming the dark side of the northern family… But this truth only unfolded later.

It wore her down mentally, but no one physically hindered Ciel.

So, there was no reason for her to feel such a wall. After all, she was destined to become a master. 

I hadn’t worried about her growth, but now I realized there might be a problem.

“I… I’m not that strong…”

“No.”

I cut off Ciel’s stammering words. I needed to correct my mistake.

Ciel raised her head and looked at me. Her watery eyes tried to gauge my intentions. 

In those pupils full of self-doubt, I firmly planted my words.

“You have talent. The talent to become a master.”

Just like in the original story I had laid out.

“You have it──”

“Ah…”

Ciel trembled. 

I moved my feet through the snowstorm outside.

It might seem like I was flaunting something she already knew, but it appeared Ciel’s EXP had increased after being recognized for her role in defeating Herpen. 

Level 45.

She, too, had hit a lock.

Still, her level increased. 

She should celebrate.

“If you show growth the next time we meet, I’ll give you a gift.”

With that, I stepped into the softly piled snow. But the blizzard had ceased by the time I finally came out.

With no intention to get caught, I immediately used concealment, packed my camouflage gear, and pretended to be unconscious next to Lucas and Roden.

———-

When she gazed at the snowstorm, it brought back memories of the past.

While reading a book, the view outside the latticed window of the north was always a swirling blizzard.

It was so fierce that you couldn’t see ahead, and the winter added more weight to the trees. 

It was an unchanging scene throughout her life.

Ciel’s life was always like that—learning etiquette, acquiring magic books, and continually manifesting magic. 

In a family where no one acknowledged her, even the retainers pressured her, saying she was not good enough to become a master. 

She never left the mansion and merely stared through the window at the fierce sleet outside, feeling stifled.

She just wanted to see the scenery…

————

Ciel looked outside the cave. 

How was it now?

The fierce blizzard had stopped in the direction he had left.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“Haa…”

Ciel could only hold onto her trembling heart.

“A gift…”

———-

As expected, when the exam didn’t end after the scheduled time, the academy checked for anomalies and intervened. 

Upon confirming Ciel’s injuries, we were transported, and I received a wooden box in the hospital ward.

In one of the hospital rooms, academy staff from the investigative committee kept coming in and out, continuing their examination.

“Did you see anyone else?”

“No… I fainted right away…”

“What did the demon look like?”

“Well, aside from it being a yeti-type monster, I can’t really remember… Ugh, my head─!”

The investigation continued for several hours.

Lucas, Roden, and I were mere extras. We didn’t have much to say. 

The academy investigator realized we had no valuable information to offer and turned to Ciel. 

Ciel gave a detailed account of the demon, but when asked, “Was there any external intervention?” she hesitated before replying, “I don’t know…” 

She avoided the most important question. It made me think that Ciel wasn’t in her right mind at that time either. 

Perhaps, after being overwhelmed by the demon and feeling dazed, she ended up revealing her true thoughts.

After confirming that I had no injuries with the priests and medical staff, I returned to the forest. 

Although they tried to stop me, I couldn’t compromise. If I left my home for just a day, the meat I had stored would likely spoil. 

There was work to be done for the next batch of jerky.

“Sigh. Let’s head inside.”

I opened the door to my home, which somehow felt unfamiliar after a long time. 

The dust and cobwebs that had filled the place were now gone. 

Over the past week, Lumina had occasionally visited, and together we had done a thorough cleaning. 

Although I had firmly refused her help, the condition of my home must have shocked her. 

Rolling up her sleeves, she enthusiastically declared, “Let’s clean!” 

I recalled the image of Lumina, who had visited once and now started dropping by more often.

At first, she kept her distance, but she quickly realized that her presence didn’t bother me. 

She didn’t let it show in the academy, which I appreciated, so it wasn’t a problem. 

Even the suspicious looks from Cedric and Roden had subsided, and things were going well these days.

I settled down and opened my status window, expecting there to be a lot accumulated.

[5 Level Up!]

[You have points available for stat investment!]

[Respect to your kindness! You saved the girl from a formidable enemy! You’ve gained 10 Karma points!]

[Your comprehension of skills has increased overall!]

[There are unlocked achievements!]

[Chapter 1, Act 2, Beast Combat Training]

[Shop Points +10] [Completed]

[ Kyle ]

Lv: 20

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Title: The Most Notorious Scoundrel, Demon Slayer

Mana: 300/2000

Karma: 15

Unique Trait: Sniping Master

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

[Stat Details]

Invested Stat Points: 10

Strength: 16

Stamina: 12

Endurance: 1

Intelligence: 1

Perception: 10

Mana Perception: 10

Spirit Perception: 1

[Talent Details]

Element: Multiple 

Affinity: Multiple 

Growth Efficiency: A+

[Active Skills]

Liberation, Ignition, Water Control, Gust

[Passive Skill]

Shooting Proficiency: C-

Mana Efficiency: F

Firepower: D

Firepower Control: F

Crafting: D-

Butchering: D

I scanned through the status window.

Shooting proficiency, lots of Karma, and achievement points. All of it was good, but my focus was on one thing. 

I immediately used the investable stat points.

[Endurance has grown to 10!]

I picked up the book I had been studying for a week. It was a hardcover I had borrowed to improve my close-combat abilities as a sniper.

‘Valencia Standard: Rolande Noble Swordsmanship’

I now had the knowledge and stats. 

Now, I could finally learn it.