I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

[… Winner! Ciel Dunhart!]

The arena echoed with the announcement.

Wowwwww!

For a moment, there was silence, then a thunderous cheer erupted, heating up the entire stadium.

Amid the commotion, Ciel walked back to the waiting room, and the medical staff carried in a stretcher.

Ssssss… 

The icy structure began to dissipate into white mist. I stood there, watching the scene in a daze.

The duel I just witnessed was that astonishing.

“She won in a single blow…?”

In the original story, Ciel didn’t achieve any significant growth during her mentee magic duels. 

This was because her mentor lacked magical knowledge compared to her.

As a child, Ciel had studied magic extensively in the northern Dunhart family. Her knowledge wasn’t limited to any one element or category, and she had even completed an intellectual study, understanding parts of scholarly theses.

From the moment she enrolled at Artena Academy, she had never missed first place in midterms. 

What they taught in her major classes was already common knowledge to her, and it was as simple as taking notes from a catalog of knowledge she already possessed.

What could a mentor possibly teach Ciel? 

She had surpassed her teacher from the beginning.

The second-year student who took on Ciel as a mentee was little more than a bystander. If he’d had high grades, he might’ve had something to offer, but as I know, he ranked around 200. A poor student.

He’d given up on playing the role of a mentor and was secretly hoping for the honor of winning the mentee magic duel.

Originally, Ciel would lose to Luin, and that dream would be crushed. But now, it appeared possible that Ciel could actually win.

“Ciel, winning against Luin…?”

… That was an unexpected variable.

Luin assumed that he had a fair chance against Ciel and could handle the situation without fully unleashing his demonic power. 

But if Ciel pushed him relentlessly… Luin might use his demonic power to its fullest.

And if Ciel still won?

He might push himself too far and enter a demonized state.

‘And that… must not happen….’

At that moment, a red barrier sealed the space, locking Ciel and Luin in a deadly battle.

Ciel would use advanced magic, and the aftermath would affect the Underground Cavern episode in Act 1, Scene 4.

Keeping Ciel’s impressive growth in mind, a duel between her and Luin mustn’t happen.

Yet, the more I thought about it, the more a question lingered in my mind.

‘Why has Ciel gotten so strong…?’

In the previous episode, even in the monster combat training, her magic output wasn’t this powerful. 

The size, scale, speed, and weight of her ice wall—everything had improved.

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

Could there really be a catalyst for her growth…?

A catalyst…?

“That time…”

A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

When I’d played the role of Master, right before stepping into the raging snowstorm.

— If you achieve growth by our next meeting, I’ll give you a reward.

I remembered clearly the words I’d said to Ciel back then.

At the time, I’d said it to motivate her since she looked uncertain… but it appears it became the seed for her growth.

I nodded, looking at Ciel as she entered the waiting room. For a moment, I pulled up her status window.

[Ciel]  

Lv: 49  

Race: Human  

State of Mind: [Excited to receive a gift from her Master.]

Just as I thought.

She had been level 45 back then, and now it appeared she’d broken through her growth barrier.

At that level, each level-up was difficult, with the EXP bar nearly doubling. 

But to have achieved such growth on her own? That’s no small effort. 

It was the result of pouring every moment into magic training, leaving out time for sleep.

… Just how badly did she want that gift?

‘You really worked hard.’

I felt a sense of admiration. Although I had known for a long time that Ciel was diligent, I had never actually seen her efforts firsthand.

But seeing it transpire before my eyes, I finally understood.

‘In any case, she must not face Luin.’

Ciel’s level was 49. Sorry to say, but Luin, who relied on the effortlessly gained power of demonic force, couldn’t defeat her.

I unfolded the tournament bracket. Ciel and Luin were on the left side, while I was on the right.

‘Ah… Ciel and Luin are in the same block.’

If they both kept winning, they’d end up facing each other. It was perhaps fate.

The winner of their duel would go up against the winner of my bracket. That would be me. I planned to climb up to that match because I intend to face Luin.

“So the only way is to somehow make Ciel forfeit.”

A duel between Luin and Ciel. If Ciel forfeited, it’d set up the match between Luin and me.

Convincing Ciel, who was brimming with anticipation of a gift from her Master, to voluntarily forfeit was nearly impossible.

But the solution lay within her psychology.

“A gift… I’ll need to give her one, won’t I?”

When the time for the duel between Luin and Ciel approached, I’d summon her as Master. I’d congratulate her on her growth and give her a gift.

It might seem like cheating, but there was no other way.

‘It’s not bad for Ciel, either.’

The gift I’d prepared was a ‘special weapon,’ the ultimate item tailored to a character.

In a game, if there was a character draw, naturally, that character would have a specialized weapon. That’s what was being sold in the shop.

So, now that the game had become real, where was the special weapon draw? 

In the secret shop.

───[Special Weapon Draw Event]───  

[Guaranteed special weapon or higher item with 10 draws!]  

[One draw: 1 shop point]  

[Current attribute rate up! Ice, lightning]

It was exactly the same as the in-game banner I’d seen.

The points I’ve accumulated so far totalled 20, earned by clearing the achievements in Act 1, Scene 1, and Act 1, Scene 2.

Adding my current karma brought me to 35 points.

That allowed for 35 draws.

“I’ll do it later.”

My duel round was coming up soon. Drawing the weapon now would be troublesome if there was no place to hide it.

[Next duel: Lumina Halloway vs. Lucas Mirun!]

I slung the wooden box over my shoulder and went down to the waiting room.

——-

Ivel was waiting in the waiting room while dozing off in her seat. 

The dark circles under her eyes indicated she’d overworked herself up to today. Even here, she was catching sleep in brief snatches.

I decided to wait for Ivel to wake up.

[Winner! Lumina Halloway!]

Wowwwwww—

“Ugh, huh—!”

Three minutes later, as Lumina’s duel ended, Ivel jolted awake. 

Half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes and looked at me, surprised.

“You—! If you’re here, say something! How much are you going to damage a senior’s dignity…!”

“Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you by nudging you. I was watching. So, is all your academic work done now?”

“Oh… Yeah, it’s all done. I only have one real-time duel display left, but that’s not under my supervision. Filling in evaluation scores based on students’ duel results… That’s after the duels… Ah! Why am I telling you all this! There I go again. I’m not saying anything else.”

“Understood.”

For the past week, Ivel often talked to me as if unloading work details, like on the first day, then regretted it later. Her reactions were simply adorable.

She let out a deep sigh and stretched her arms.

“Ugh, anyway, it would be a relief if no incident happens this time. Please.”

Oh, um…

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Good luck.

I casted a sympathetic glance at Ivel.

At that moment, the waiting room door opened, and Lumina entered.

“Whew~ That was close. I barely managed to win with a mid-level spirit, right? Oh, Gale, are you sulking because you didn’t get to do much? Don’t worry, your turn will come soon… Ky-Kyle? Are you waiting here?”

“Yeah. My duel is coming up soon.”

“A duel…! I’ll be cheering for you! Senior, he’s my friend. Do you want to come watch with me?”

“Should I? Your name is Kyle, right? And your mentor is Ivel? This should be interesting.”

A female senior responded from outside the door. Lumina waved her hand and said.

“Oh hello, Senior Ivel! Good luck, Kyle! We’ll go ahead and find our seats.”

She left with her senior, heading to the stands, and Ivel watched Lumina’s back as she walked away.

“You seem close with her.”

“Yeah, sort of.”

“Watch Lumina’s duel carefully. You could end up facing her, and her high-level wind spirit, Gale, isn’t an easy opponent.”

“I understand….”

Analysis alone wouldn’t be enough. To beat Lumina, I’d need to rely on more than just magic and daggers; I’d need to use the sniper rifle to stand a chance.

[Next duel! Kyle versus Taylor Drake!]

Before I knew it, the announcer called my name. It was time.

I stood up, slung my rifle over my shoulder, and placed the wooden box down.

“Take care of it during this match.”

After Ivel’s confirmation, I headed to the arena. It was a rectangular sandpit, with remnants of the previous match scattered around.

My opponent… Was a brown-haired boy I didn’t recognize.

“My name is Taylor Drake! I heard you entered the Magic Department and ranked 350th. And then you got a free ride up to second place… I heard everything from Lucas! I’ll reveal your true colors here!”

He was engaging in pre-match trash talk, bringing up Lucas, which indicated he was part of the noble faction.

Not that I cared.

‘Let’s finish this quickly.’

I remained silent under the barrage of his taunts. I had preparations to complete before Ciel and Luin’s match.

A mountain of tasks awaited me.

Using the sniper rifle on this opponent would be overkill.

Fwoosh!

Ding!

As soon as the match began, I dashed forward.

——

TL Note: Hello everyone! I’m back with regular updates. I had to step away due to IRL circumstances. Here’s a small mass release to compensate. Hope you will enjoy.

Happy reading!

Also, Previous chapter are all re-edited and proofreaded. Enjoy!