I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

The Day of the Mentee Magic Duel.

I was doing some light jogging.  

“Huff…! One, two—!”  

A month ago, I used to struggle to run a lap around the eastern part of Magic Mountain, but now it was somewhat manageable. 

Unlike back then, when I couldn’t even lift my head, I could now enjoy the scenery as my legs carried out their duty.  

The change wasn’t just in my lower body; it was also evident in my upper body. 

Kyle, who once had a scrawny, weak body, had now developed noticeable lean muscles.  

I didn’t pay much attention at first, but after seeing Lumina’s reaction—who came by once every two days—I became certain.  

— “Kyle, you’ve, um, changed quite a lot since then…?”

While Lumina was teaching me fire magic, I accidentally exposed my upper body. She was clearly referring to the difference compared to back then.  

One thing that puzzled me, though, was that my stamina stat had only increased by 6, yet the change appeared significant. 

Was there really that much of a difference…?  

I didn’t feel much of a change myself.  

“Huff…”  

The early morning light spread across the vicinity. The leaves within the forest glistened with dew and reflected the gradual change of seasons. It was the time when the nights were getting shorter, and summer was approaching.  

While resting on a rock along the eastern coastline, I took out my sniper rifle and infused a small amount of mana into it.  

[Silent Eclipse]  

Grade: Unique  

Serial Name: 1  

[Charged Mana: 17%]  

“There’s still a long way to go…”  

I had been steadily infusing mana into the sniper rifle for two weeks. 

Meeting the mana requirement was essential for its evolution. The karma and intermediate mana stones could be gathered slowly over time.  

In any case, I decided to take my time with this sniper rifle’s evolution since it wasn’t an urgent issue.  

There was another event looming right in front of me.  

I recalled the episodes from Act 1 and 3.  

‘The mentee magic duel…’  

Over the past week, I’d been mulling over various things.  

‘If the problem is Luin’s corruption, should I just assassinate him before the magic duel?’  

‘No, maybe sticking to the original plot would cause fewer disruptions.’  

‘But as the one playing the role of the original protagonist, can I control all the variables?’  

I debated with myself endlessly.  

“The conclusion was simple…”  

For now, assassinating Luin was off the table. If Luin didn’t go berserk, I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the damage increase and additional damage from ‘Insight.’

And if Luin reacted to my gunfire and managed to escape the academy, it would be a nightmare to deal with after that.  

It was better to handle him properly.  

‘I’ll take care of him during the duel!’  

This was the scenario with the least amount of variables. 

Luin didn’t use his demonic powers on just any opponent.  

He was skilled at using the demonic power and remained stable when fighting even against Ciel, maximizing his chances.  

Luin was merely a disposable villain meant to highlight the protagonist, so he only reacted to the player.  

Specifically, it was something the player said to him that triggered his transformation into a demon.  

—How’s the power of the demon working out for you?

That sharp remark is what provoked Luin.  

In the original game, the player discovered that Luin was using demonic power and subtly hinted at it.  

It was a way of telling him, “I know about your evil deeds.”  

Luin’s reaction becomes dramatic. After realizing his secrets had been exposed, fear and anger swirled within him, making him unstable.  

The first phase was him recklessly firing off magic far beyond his capability.  

The second phase began when horns started to sprout from his head, marking the start of his demonic transformation.

Phase 3 was when Luin became fully consumed by the demon, turning into a complete puppet. 

As his health decreased, each phase was triggered. This was the scenario in the ‘Nightmare’ difficulty.  

“I’m the only one who can do it.”  

After all, I was the only one who knew that Luin was using the power of a demon.  

What I needed to keep in mind was that I could only deal elemental bonus damage starting from Phase 2.

During Phase 1, I had to rely solely on my physical abilities, except for the use of ‘Insight.’

But I wasn’t worried.  

I had been training relentlessly with Ivel for this moment.  

Even though the idea of Luin going berserk was daunting…  

There were no other choices.  

I had to do it.  

Somehow.  

———

The mentee magic duel at Artena Academy was held on the 30th floor of the Mage Tower. 

The Catlic Hall, which could hold hundreds of people, wasn’t large enough to accommodate the event.  

The indoor duel arena resembled a baseball stadium. Over a thousand students were entering and exiting in orderly lines.  

Seats were packed based on students’ rankings in the Magic Department, and in the large corridor at the back, vendors had set up stalls to sell food.  

The mentee magic duel, which took up two weeks of the semester, was run like a large festival. 

I finally understood why Ivel had dark circles under her eyes leading up to the duel.  

‘Ivel… You’ve really worked hard…!’  

Whether it was due to her workaholic nature or something else, I couldn’t help but feel fear rather than surprise. 

Testing such a large-scale duel arena, hiring all the staff, reviewing the hundreds of vendors’ applications, and coordinating the duels of hundreds of participants… It was terrifying.  

Did you know?  

In this world, there was no Excel for administrative work.  

Just thinking about that gave me chills.  

‘Crazy…’  

I shook my head to clear away these thoughts. I wanted to enjoy the duels with a fresh mind, but here I was, thinking about something so dreadful.  

I switched topics.  

‘Who’s my opponent for the duel?’  

The mentee magic duel proceeds in 350 brackets according to the 350 members in the department.  It was great if you could win by default and advance without having to fight.  

“Let’s take a look.”  

Rustle—

“Oh my, Kyle. It’s nice to see you.”  

As I was checking the paper I’d received upon entering, a girl with blue hair sat beside me. She smiled like a fox and slowly lowered the paper with her fingers.  

It was Lien behind the sheet.  

“Gah…!”  

I immediately clutched my chest.  

Was she here to collect money? I still had time before the repayment date…  

Having struggled with debt in my past life, I couldn’t hide my tension. 

‘Please, Lien, don’t just show up out of the blue like this.’

‘You might come across like a loan shark to someone in debt, you know?’

I calmed my mind and responded.  

“Y-yeah, it’s good to see you. But what brings you here…?”

“Oh, hehe. Thanks to you and Senior Ivel Adford the other day, sales skyrocketed that day. I came by to thank you in person and say hello. We’ve also set up a stall for the mentee magic duel. You might see it at the back. Come by and visit, I’ll give you something for free.”

“Oh… Thanks. But were the clothes we bought that expensive? I knew it was costly, but I didn’t expect sales to jump that much…”

“No, it wasn’t the clothes. It was something else.”

“What was it?”

“That’s a secret~”  

Lien raised a finger to her lips and stood up from her seat.  

“Anyway, make sure to stop by. The Loren Trading Company is also expanding into the food industry, and this is our latest business venture.”  

“Got it.”  

Lien left to promote the stall to others. Watching her leave, I couldn’t help but think.

‘She’s really working hard.’  

As the head of a trading company as large as the Loren Trading Company, just maintaining the status quo would be exhausting. But Lien was aiming for even more.  

Her ultimate goal was to turn Loren into a company that influenced the entire empire and to become the head of the Lodran family.  

Her life was nothing but competition. If she rested in the comfort of success for even a moment, she would fall behind her siblings and meet a disastrous end. 

There was no way around it.  

“What are you looking at, Kyle?”  

A familiar voice tickled my ears. It was Lumina, who had now become a friend. At first, our relationship was one-sided, but after all the help she gave me, I couldn’t refuse her anymore.  

A person needs to have some conscience.  

“Lien just stopped by to say hello. She told me to check out the Loren food stall.”  

“Loren’s food stall? I didn’t know they did that too… Sounds tasty… Let’s go together! I’ll treat you!”  

“Sure. Let’s go later. Look, they’re coming.”  

I pointed to the group of female students running towards Lumina. 

They always seemed to show up like ghosts whenever I was talking to her.  

“Lumina! Section A has a great view!”  

“Let’s go check out the stalls together!”  

Kyle’s bad reputation still lingered, and it wasn’t hard to imagine they thought I might harm Lumina. She was kind to everyone, after all.  

“Uh, okay! See you later, Kyle!”  

Lumina was dragged away by her friends. Finally, some peace and quiet.  

I waited for the match to start.  

[The mentee magic duel is about to begin!]  

The announcer’s booming voice echoed through the stadium. He was shouting into a magic engineered megaphone.  

[Ciel Dunhart vs. Hamel Freeron!]  

From the very beginning, it was Ciel Dunhart, the top student of the department. Her opponent was ranked 16th in the department.  

With that ranking, he should be able to put up a decent fight against Ciel. Any student ranked in the top 50 of the Magic Department was considered promising.

In the press section, flashes from cameras were constantly going off, while scouts from various guilds, royal families, magic towers, and institutions were watching the duel closely. 

The thought of getting to witness such a spectacle excited me.  

How thrilling would a battle between these shining stars be…!  

As the developer who created all this, seeing the mentee magic battle in person, instead of just as graphics on a screen, was exhilarating.  

There aren’t many things that make my heart race like this.  

I calmed my excitement and focused on the match.  

To put it mildly, it felt like eating fried chicken and drinking beer together — sheer satisfaction.

———-

Beep!

The whistle signaling the end of the match echoed through the stadium.  

There were no cheers, no applause.  

Everyone held their breath, replaying the battle they had just witnessed in their minds.  

Schwwwt!

In just one second, an ice wall had spread. It not only covered the arena but also reached the stands. 

Thanks to the protective barrier, the audience was unharmed, but the opponent wasn’t so lucky. 

Hamel lay on the ground, unconscious.  

An overwhelming display of skill that instantly took down the 16th-ranked student in the Magic Department.  

The announcer was caught off guard. He yelled in a stunned voice.

[V-Victor! Ciel Dunhart!]  

Upon hearing this, Ciel calmly made her way to the waiting room. She lightly touching her cheek with her cold hand and muttered quietly.

“Gift…”  

Ciel’s growth was undeniable. She was a true anomaly.  

While everyone remained speechless in disbelief.

“???”

A startled cry echoed like a ripple from the silver-haired boy sitting in Section B.

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